Exploring Side Streets with Chris Brogan

News Flash: I follow Chris Brogan on Twitter. A few months ago I attended Blog World Expo in Las Vegas. I wrote about it. I promised that I would try to apply what I learned. One of the first things I did was to begin following Chris Brogan. Don't get excited. I am one of 124,385 followers. (To put this in perspective I have 41 followers.) You are probably shaking your head and asking "is Judy nuts?" But to that, I say: "Does me being one of 3,400,000 TIME Magazine weekly subscribers or one of 6,685,684 National Geographic monthly subscribers shock you or make you question why I would even think of "following" these honored publications?" I hope not. I subscribe to these publications, local newspapers, SEO/SMO on-line newsletters for the same reason that I follow Chris Brogan - each opens avenues to useful and timely information that can impact my business, Webconsuls' clients, and my personal life.

This past week Chris mentored: Don't Forget the Little Side Streets. Exploring side streets with Chris Brogan is quite a ride. I hope you will take the time to read his post, he offers really good insights and, unlike a few, Chris is optimistic and looks for ways to extend the expiration date for some of these "streets". For example, when was the last time you:

• examined your "YELP" reviews
• verified your Google Local Business Center Map
• updated your Bing Local Listing Center
• checked out Yahoo Answers
• refreshed your Facebook Fan page
• responded to a Trip Advisor review (negatively or positively)
• tweeted something of positive value, as opposed to a rant

Navigating and maintaining these "streets" takes time. But the beauty of the Internet in general and social media in particular is the fluidity and vitality that you can manage to. Every time you think you don't have time I want you to find a business person who can recall the angst of designing and ordering a brochure. Trust me. Before the ink was dry the area code had been split in two, your AAA rating had changed for the better or the beautiful maple tree that graced your front lawn had fallen. Yes, maintaining your "streets" and exploring side streets takes time, but you can do it on your time and make your journey as interesting as you want. There really is nothing like a road trip.

Here is my favorite photo of a real "side" street.

No Name Street 2000

This post is dedicated to Chris Brogan, thanking him for inspiration.

SMO and SEO News Feeds For You

It seems it is almost impossible to keep abreast of all the SMO and SEO news. You can scan the headlines on Google, Yahoo, your favorite newspaper or tech magazine and the amount of information is astounding. Just today I again realized I have an account with Google Reader which automatically sends me more information. I signed in and saw my Google Reader inbox had 851 items! I guess you now know I have been too busy for Google Reader. But this post is not about the Google Reader, it is about how to keep our Webconsuls' clients abreast of internet marketing news. Turns out Webconsuls set up SMO and SEO news feeds for you and our clients over two years ago. So again I ask the proverbial question: Is anybody "listening" or in this case reading?

The experts keep talking about Twitter. I have a Twitter account, I follow and am followed; however, there are a few things about Twitter that annoy me. Today I will just mention two: (a) some people provide TMI (too much information) or should I say information that is redundant (since they have more than one account) and useless information; (b) it often takes two to three clicks to get to the meat of the message. Let me give you a real life example. Today I signed into my Twitter account around 6:30AM (MST). I read a Tweet that said: "6 Reasons to Embrace Social Media Today Web 2.0 Journal". So I clicked on the link, but instead of being taken directly to the article I was taken to a TweetMeMe page that listed 65 Twitterers who had RT (retweeted) this article. I then click on the original link and I am taken to a blog post by Web 2.0 Journal. I read the article, it was interesting, but didn't really provide too much new information, it was more one writer's opinion. Just like my blog post today, is basically my opinion.

Here is my advice for today. If you want to go to one place and read the headlines for SMO, then I invite you to visit Webconsuls' SMO in the News Page. There you will find the current SMO headlines and you only have to click once! If you want to read the SEO news then visit Webconsuls' SEO News Page.

P.S. If you want to find me on Twitter, click here.

P.P.S. If you are wondering about today's photo...this is from 1974 when I was employed by the Cal State Los Angeles University Newspaper, The University Times, a daily paper in those days.

P.P.P.S. As always, let me know what you think.

Will LeapFish compete with Google and other Search Engines?

LeapFish.com is a search engine portal that allows you to search through Google, Yahoo, and MSN (Now known as Bing). Some say that LeapFish might even be competing with Google but I don't believe it can since its main search results are based off of Google's engine.

LeapFish does have some nice features though; it displays the Market Summary, top News, and Latest Videos from Youtube. The interesting thing about the videos is you don't have to hit play, simply place your mouse over the thumbnail and it will begin playing.

The search is nice because you have the ability to compare results from the top three engines and see where your site ranks based on the keywords you enter.

As for advertising on LeapFish you pay for the keywords as would with any other PPC Campaign except you keep the spot until you are willing to sell it. For Example, if you purchase "California Drug Rehab" you hold that spot for every time someone searches that until you want to sell it. It's interesting but not sure if it will last.

LeapFish has also been known for taking their client's money and it's possible those rumors began because of their advertisement slots.

Have you used it? What are your thoughts on this website?

Is Bing a decision engine, a surname, a candy bar, a slag heap?

Is Bing a decision engine, a surname, a candy bar, a slag heap? Over the past couple of months I have been reading a lot about Microsoft's new search engine BING.com. We are all familiar with Microsoft, right? We know about Live Search, Windows Live Search, and MSN Search. And now we have Microsoft's latest reincarnation, BING, and more importantly BING is being referred to as a decision engine as opposed to a search engine. I suppose MS is for all intents and purposes now a matchmaker! Not only is MS finding you mates to choose from they are determined to help you make the decision.

A few of observations about BING:

• On the serious side: I want our clients to know that the Webconsuls' Team will be following and studying the impact of BING from an SEO standpoint. That is what we are tasked to do. There are a number of questions to be asked and answered, but we must do this responsibly. And on that front, Webconsuls will keep our clients informed.

• BING is quite lovely to look at. Everyday the home page photo changes and these photos are dramatic. Google's basic home page is pretty blank, but works. Yahoo, which by the way is still my default home page has a lot of information and I have grown accustom to reading the news' headlines, clicking on finance, travel, etc, I have never had a Yahoo account or email account.

• There are a number of sites that you can visit that will allow you to compare search results for BING to GOOGLE, like this one. And there is another site that lets you compare search results from GOOGLE, BING, and YAHOO. This site's search results are returned in a "blind" state and the fun feature about this site is that you can vote for which search results best suits your search query. You might be surprised which search engine's results you really like.

My final thought today has to do with the choice of the name "BING". I will say that writing this blog always gives me an opportunity to learn new things and today is no exception. Why "BING"? I understand that originally Microsoft was going to call their new search (decision) engine KUMO. They actually registered both trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. KUMO is a Japanese word that means spider or cloud. Hmmmm, well I guess we can all get the "spider" connection to the world wide web and in the IT world "cloud" is a metaphor for the internet, so I guess it could have cleverly worked. So I come back to question: why "BING"? I am going to assume, although I know that can be a mistake, that someone at Microsoft looked up the meaning(s) of the word "BING".

BING Toy Company founded in 1863, famous for the manufacturing of toy trains
Bing is apparently a fairly common surname, and let's not forget Chandler Bing of Friends
BING Candy Bar, made in Iowa
BING cherries, all with pits
Bing is another name for a slag heap which is a collection of the tailings or by-products of mining (DATA Mining comes to mind?)
Bing is the name of a soft drink produced in England
Bing is the name of Chinese flat bread
Bing is also a phrase used by prison inmates to describe solitary confinement

Ok, maybe they didn't do a lot of name research, maybe they just liked the sound of "BING". Maybe they like saying "Bing and Decide". Whatever....I invite you to go to their Discover Bing informational site and learn all about it.

Webconsuls will continue to study BING and keep you informed. Let me know what you think.

Yahoo Search Marketing Notification Email- "Minimum bid requirements have increased for some of your keywords"

Have you ever gotten an email notification from Yahoo Search Marketing stating that your 'Minimum bid requirements have increased for some of your keywords' in a Pay Per Click account you have with them?


Well let me attempt to set the record straight.  This auto notification email specifically pertains to a keyword or set of keywords in your account that Yahoo is adjusting is invisible 'floor' of bidding.  This is to say that for Yahoo's PPC program, they choose and set a minimum bid required to be displayed at all, even on lower pages.  Therefore, the 'old school' model of being at the minimum bid of $.10 may not get you any impressions.


This auto notify email is then attempting to tell you that you may need to increase your bids as a result of this invisible floor raising up on your keyword(s).


These emails shouldn't though, give you too much of a problem in having to log into your account and track down the affected keywords, because if you were at the minimum bid previously and now wouldn't be displayed, you weren't pushing this keyword aggressively in the 1st place.


It is annoying to me how Yahoo goes about its business in attempting to alarm you with auto emails, so you can take time out of your day and in their hopes, spend more money with them.  Again, if this was an important keyword for your campaign, you would be attempting 1st page positioning and therefore wouldn't be affected.


Yahoo is sure to let you know when your account has run out of money or in this case, when it wants you/is making you bid higher on the per click level.  Now I just hope I can get some service on why they reject an Ad URL change and NOT tell me about it.


Do you have a marketing account with Yahoo and have no idea what I'm talking about?  Let me educate you and help build your business.  Yahoo historically around 33% cheaper than Google AdWords, both of which are necessary.

Yahoo Ad Scheduling

Yahoo Search Marketing, the Pay Per Click (PPC) division of Yahoo! Inc has been historically behind the 8-ball, or more specifically behind Google AdWords for the last 3 to 5 years of PPC advertising.

Yahoo's argument was, we were the 1st on the scene and Google has since leap-frogged us by taking our model and improving upon it- an argument with some validity.  But now 5 years down the road, Yahoo is still playing catch-up.  This is even after the famous 'Panama' launch that was to solve everything.  Not to be confused with your favorite South American canal, or a Van Halen song.


Well Yahoo has taken a small step in the right direction by now including a full ad scheduling feature.  Previous to this upgrade, Yahoo's scheduling was all of, start date- end date.  Now, like Google, the PPC advertising can be scheduled to the hour, every hour of every day of the week.


For example, I want to push my Ad's in the morning only, Monday, Wednesday and Friday but have evenings only on the weekend.  You can customize and specify exactly to the 1/4 hour when your ads will run and when the won't.  The trick now is deciphering when and when not to run your ads.

Do you feel like you want to utilize this type of tool, targeting only parts of the week where you see your best results?  Let us help- Webconsuls.com.

PPC Ad Scheduling

Both Yahoo and Google have their own forms of 'ad scheduling'.  This means that we can choose when we want our ads to be shown and just as importantly, when we don't want our ads to be shown-- well kind of.

Google fully provides this functionality- hour by hour, day by day, even down to every 1/4 hour, when to display your ads.  The campaign 'edit status' button has what looks like a hyperlink, which is where you can find the ad scheduling function.

Yahoo Search Marketing on the other hand, allows you to schedule a start date and an end date, which is their full and complete definition of ad scheduling.  Therefore, taking your campaigns on and offline at certain hours is a manual process-- log in to the account and literally turn the account offline or back online to perform the same function.  This is ridiculous- Yahoo needs to step up to the plate.  We are not asking for voice command here.

Both search engines have the faults and points of utility, but for this function it's a runaway: collegiate versus kindergarten.

Blog Posts, Search Engines and Puppies

One of the joys of having a child in the house is how they can be so easily impressed by simple adult skills and knowledge. I know this phase will pass, in our house this period of time is passing very quickly. The other day I realized that I had an analogy for why blogs are so helpful when placing in the search engine results as I was asked to locate a small misplaced toy. 

When I returned with the small bobble I was met with wide admiring eyes and a WOW, how do you always know where EVERYTHING is? (Trust me when I tell you that I am being sure to enjoy these moments of alleged omniscience as it will surely pass.)

Knowing my time is limited and that I had her undivided attention I decided to explain to the little one just why I usually have the answer to where everything is.

 

"I scan."

"Huh?"

"I am always scanning the house."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as I walk through the house I am always scanning. I just automatically make sure things are in their place and I take note of what I see."

 

Replace scanning with spidering and house with World Wide Web and I am just like a search engine spidering links, exploring and noting where everything is so as to find it later!

Well, imagine you have just arrived home and the grocery shopping had just been done, or someone came home from a trip, or for some reason new items have been added to your home. What will you most likely need to do?

You will need to put your stuff away and you will want to know where it is so you can find it when you need it. Search engine spiders will not put your digital files or your groceries away. Deciding where items go and putting them there is still your job.

 

So why will the search engine be draw to your blog? How does a blog help me?

Blogs feed the purpose of search engines.

That search engine is going to investigate to see just what you added and where. It is the search engines' job to know what material is available on the World Wide Web. Whether it be Google, MSN, Yahoo, Dogpile, you name it,  the search engines must familiarize themselves with fresh timely material in order to return the most relevant search. Search engines must keep up on new additions in order to perform the job they were designed to do.

Using a blog to consistently add useful relevant content is a powerful method to draw the search engines to spider (or scan) your site and index the timely information you post.

For help on how to add a blog to your web site or blog training to make the most of your blog please contact us at Webconsuls, LLC.

Google AdWords- The Keyword Tool

Google AdWords does provide a way internally to get suggestions for keywords in your marketplace, its called the Keyword Tool. This tool is found when drilling into the account at the 'keyword' level. This means you have clicked past both the Campaign and Ad Group levels to display your keywords and ads.

This tool is free to AdWords users, so great right. Well in the past not as much because depending on what you gave the tool as a starting term for more suggestions, the tool spit out those suggestions from most general (least useful) to specific. Furthermore, the only information associated with these suggestions was 2 simple horizontal bar graphs detailing, 'advertiser competition' and 'search volume'. So hopefully your are following me in that no numeric data was given whatsoever.

Now Google has expanded the tool to return suggestions with 'approximate search volume' for the last month and 'approximate average search volume' with an actual value. Practically speaking, your campaign has only to spend a predetermined amount any way, so its not as if one regularly finds him or herself adding up search volumes, but it is nice to quantify what Google used to shove into a half inch blue bar.

When it comes down to it, we need to have all the necessary keywords in the PPC account regardless of search volume because we need to target what it is we have deemed necessary in achieving our projected goals. That is, we do the best we can with what we can in the given market with a given budget for a certain business model. But I can say it is significant that Google's Keyword tool is a bit more useful, and frankly it is nice to see Google sharing any real data with us at all. I'm sure tired of getting email replies that might as well have been some fraction of a bar graph. But Google must be listening to the people to some extent in changes as little as this one.

Yahoo and Microsoft can't work it out

Microsoft and Yahoo have yet to work out a deal for Microsoft to takeover Yahoo via a stock bid in the $30 range. We at Webconsuls are not noting this in the slight chance that you hold Yahoo stock or in my case stock options. It is significant to note the impact of re-merger of the 2 giants in the search results category.

That is, Yaho and MSN used to have a search marketing partnership which ended about 2 years ago. With Google the clear market share majority player, it would be nice to see Yahoo beef up its partners, especially for MSN who since the split from Yahoo has yet to be a formidable opponent.

In a perfect world, Yahoo Sponsored Search would give us the option of eliminating the partner network with the exception of MSN, should a merger ever be completed.

We'll keep you updated.