The realm of local search is a burgeoning and rapidly evolving space. And since everyone is local somewhere, it’s a topic worthy of some consideration – whether you’re the mom-and-pop sandwich shop, or the multinational drugstore chain. This post is the first of a two-part series, in which I’ll introduce the concept of local search, and highlight some of the unique differences between optimizing for visibility in local search results versus traditional organic search results. Part two of the series will delve into some tactical “nuts-and-bolts” of local search optimization.

Before I go much further, let’s define what I mean by “local search”. Local searches are those made in pursuit of something tied to a particular geography, often with the intent of taking some sort of action offline. Really, you can think of these as the sort of queries one might have made (or still make) within printed yellow page directories. In response to the increasing use of search for local purposes, search engines evolved to serve up specialized results when they think the searcher is interested in a local result. Because of Google’s 72% domination of the internet search market, I will almost exclusively addresses optimizing for visibility within Google’s answer to local search – Google Places, which are displayed via Google Maps search results.

Search results for "brew pub ann arbor", serving up Google Places listings.

Local search is, in a certain sense, the great equalizer of internet search marketing. At times, traditional, purely concept-driven SEO might be seen as favoring the “big guys” – those who can afford substantial and wide-reaching SEO undertakings to establish their authority on a given topic and propel themselves to the top of the SERPs (content generation/syndication efforts, linkbuilding campaigns, sizeable online PR, etc.). Local search, on the other hand, favors, well… localness. And you don’t have to be big to be local.

This essential difference in the thrust of local search (compared to more general organic search) is driven by a distinct set of factors. Those factors prioritize the local significance and legitimacy of a business just as much as its topical relevance. As I mentioned above, Google will return location-driven Google Maps results on the SERP when it’s fairly certain the searcher is performing a local search. Those search results are populated by listings within Google Places, so much of the focus of local search optimization (for Google, anyway) is placed on tuning up those listings. Once you’ve tackled that, the key is making sure other aspects of your business’ online presence (local directory listings, customer review sites, your own landing page, etc.) are in proper alignment with your Google Places listing(s).

In my next post on this subject, I’ll go over ways specific ways one can demonstrate the legitimacy, topical relevance and overall significance of your local business to Google, resulting in improved visibility in local search results.

SEM companies often fail when it comes to explaining complex ideas, which is unfortunate, because if you can’t explain complex ideas, you must work much harder to help explain the importance of an idea or proposal, and it can even prevent clients from learning about good work you did.

This is just the reality of SEM: it is measurable, depends on complex interactions of systems, and often involves ideas that are relatively new. But you don’t have to give up on reporting. In fact, you can spend less time actually messing with powerpoint, more time talking to the clients and your co-workers, deliver much better reporting, and have fun in the process. Read More

The 2010 Winter Olympics are underway and my own home television glows each night with these fantastic displays of human strength and achievement. Tonight, I find my mind unable to avoid a cross over of thoughts between the day to day (specifically, my job as a relationship manager for an internet marketing company) and the Olympian marvels that I am viewing. This particular evening I find myself comparing the sport of curling to SEO. I mean, think about it. It shouldn’t be that far of a stretch to equate SEO to a sport.

Let’s look at this in the most simplistic way. Let’s say you are the head of marketing (maybe a CMO or a director). That makes you the thrower in the game of curling. As the head of marketing, you have the obvious goal of achieving more conversions. In the sport of curling, this would be like getting the most points. In general, with SEO, the idea is that you can increase your conversions by being higher on the search results; being on the first page and being higher in the list. With curling, you receive more points by first getting stones in the ‘house’ (the target) and then these points can be higher if you are closer to the ‘button’ (the center of the target) than your opponent. Now what really struck me as being much like an SEO effort is the well thought out strategy and active play of the stone on route to the target. The thrower is a part of a team and the team consists of two other people who are actively engaged with the stone, listening to the thrower and responding accordingly. They adjust the ice as needed and thus the path of the stone as it works it’s way toward its resting spot. This struck me as being much like our SEO engagements. Each day, we are actively maneuvering a client’s site toward the desired position within the search results. We listen to our client for feedback as we roll out a strategy. We determine the best approaches to navigate obstacles or knock the components out of the way. Basically, we are continuously engaged with our customers and their sites and we are continuously correcting as necessary to achieve optimal results; to get more conversions – to win! So if SEO is like Olympic Curling, I can’t wait for our gold medals!

I was recently working on an SEO engagement that began with an extensive phase of keyword research and analysis.  As we worked to categorize, organize, and generally make sense of the terms that populated the language of our client’s industry, we began to notice clusters of search terms for which no corresponding content could be found on their website.

Did our keyword research efforts somehow run amok, inadvertently pulling in keyphrases unrelated to our client’s business?  That was certainly a possibility, and can happen quite easy if you’re not careful.  Another, more exciting possibility is that we uncovered niches within our client’s market (perhaps even potential products or services) that they weren’t even aware were worth considering.

The beauty of well-executed keyword research (using some of our favorite tools like Google’s Keyword Tool), is that the keywords you come across often paint an interesting picture of the subject you’re investigating.  Looking at the language used by searchers can give you insight into their needs or motivations (consider, for instance, the different needs associated with the search terms ‘buy dog leash’ vs. ‘dog leash training’).   And better still, Google’s Keyword Tool doesn’t just give you keyphrases related to your subject, but the traffic volumes associated with them, as well.  With this information, you begin to understand the degree of interest associated with the terms your keyword research uncovers.

Of course, this is a very simplified demonstration of the potential for using keyword research to aid in market research, but it’s a beginning.  With the right tools and know-how, there’s a strong case to be made for using keyword research to kick-off your quest for new market niches and opportunities for new products or services.

Search engine marketing is generally better when using a combination of strategies, but marketing budgets are not infinite. How should your company choose between Social Media and Search Engine Optimization strategies? One major consideration that can influence your choice between SEO and Social Media that is not often discussed is the impact of  product maturity.

Products and product categories are generally tracked on a life cycle curve that describe phases of a product’s development. From a marketing perspective, the primary aspect that needs to be considered in each stage is the way that it can be described, and the level of awareness the public has about that product. A Product in early stages often doesn’t have a commonly understood name, and the public has lower awareness about it. Think about how, in the last thirty years, the “mobile cordless cellular handheld telephone” has been shortened to “mobile”, “cell”, or “cell phone”, and think, as well, how many more people are aware of what these devices are.

How does this relate to search engine marketing? Well, each stage matches to a particular marketing strategy. Early stage product growth is driven by the enthusiasm of early adopters who can evangelize to the larger community. They also create the language of need and desire around the product that can be used as the product matures and grows. This makes it a good candidate for a social media campaign, since social media is most effective when being used by enthusiastic, authentic promoters through their online communities.

Mature product growth, in comparison, is driven by effective marketing and branding of known features, most of which can be simply and clearly expressed through simple, short, phrases. Since SEO focuses on widely used and understood keyphrases to generate visibility, it is a strong fit for later stage products.

So what do you have? A new, innovative idea that is going to take the world by storm, once people understand how to talk about it through your cadre of enthusiastic early adopters? Or do you have a well made, high quality or high value product, which just needs to win visibility against its existing competitors? The answer to that question — and how you can take advantage of it through Search Engine Marketing — can provide a lot of interesting ideas for your marketing team’s strategy sessions.

• We occasionally get asked for recommendations on books, blogs, and other resources for those who are new to web metrics and measurement. So, here is a round-up of Pure Visibility’s top five web analytics resources:
  • Best book for Web Analytics: Web Analytics: An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik.If you’ve dabbled at all in SEO, you may remember an SEO: An Hour a Day book. Well, the same publisher has contracted one of Google’s top web analytics minds, Avinash Kaushik, to write this similar guide on web analytics. It is introductory, but picking it up guarantees that you’ll be getting your introduction from the best, meaning no best practices left unmentioned.
  • Best blog for Web Analytics: If you like the book, another fantastic source from the same author is Avinash Kaushik’s blog, Occam’s Razor.

  This source is especially great for unpacking the oft-confusing definitions of web metrics. It is also a good place for those using Google Analytics, as Avinash is known to include detailed step-by-step introductions to the new features that Google introduces.

  • Best book for Website Optimization (SEO-focus): O’Reilly book Website Optimization.

  How does this pertain to Web Analytics? Well, in our estimation, it is virtually impossible to do any real good for your website through measurement without a sound understanding of Search Engine Optimization. The content in this guide, which covers everything from paid search to the more technical issues that can lead to problems with a site, definitely lives up to the high standards O’Reilly sets for its manuals.

  • Best book for Landing Page Optimization (testing): Landing Page Optimization by Tim Ash.

  Landing Page Optimization is the design and implementation of tests for landing pages in your website. By setting up well-planned and executed tests, you can quickly increase the ROI you are seeing for the site. This book is by an entrepreneur of one of the most advanced companies who specialize in large scale testing. It is detailed and well-written, and the discussions of various strategies remain focused on the ultimate objective, of increasing revenue.

  • Best Holistic Marketing Measurement Blog: Forrester Research’s Interactive Marketing Measurement Blog.

    Forrester is known for their excellent insight into the trends in marketing, online and off, through comprehensive research. This blog is a great resource for interactive marketing measurement, including larger trends like social media engagement measurement, and lead management, both of which tend to be entwined with our more traditional definitions of web analytics.

Got any more favorite resources for Web Analytics? Share them with us!

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At a recent talk I gave to the Lake Superior Ad Club, I was asked to recommend some good books on SEO. The first book that came to mind is O’Reilly’s Website Optimization, which is very recently published and has a great section on search engine optimization. We contributed chapters on paid search, and are honsetly impressed by the team of authors Andy King was able to pull together for this book. The work on SEO is no exception. However, not wanting to sound self-serving, I promised to do some research and supply more suggestions. Read More

You going to this year’s Internet User Experience (IUE)? This will be the fifth annual edition of a several day conference here in Southeastern Michigan, March 30-April 3. The schedule provides 3 days of more intensive workshops and tutorials (March 30, 31, and April 3) surrounding 2 days of conference fun (April 1-2).

No foolin’, the fifth annual IUE conference will be a great event for learning, sharing, and networking.

Pure Visibility’s Co-Founder Linda Girard will provide one of the keynote presentations on April 1 as well as participate in a panel on April 2.

April 1, 2009 – Linda will provide a keynote address, Bringing the Left Brain and Right Brain Together Online: Branding + Optimization.

April 2, 2009 – Linda will participate in a panel presentation Branding Search Engine Optimization and Usability with Karyn Kozo of branding and creative design agency re:group and Laurie Kantner of usability research consultants Tec-Ed.

Other Pure Visibility folks will also be in attendance, so if you’re registered, come find us and say hello. If you aren’t yet registered, you might consider doing so by March 10 to snare early bird pricing and a copy of Dr. Susan Weinschenk’s Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click.

Registration is open!

We’re hiring!

We are looking for an enthusiastic Internet search analyst to join our team. The ideal candidate will have experience developing, launching, managing, and optimizing paid search and organic visibility campaigns for clients across multiple search engines. Google AdWords management experience and Google Advertising Professional certification are important qualifications.

Details on the open position can be found in the Internet Search Analyst job description.

To apply please send your resume and cover letter before March 13, 2009 to: jobs@purevisibility.com

Most large companies have at least some online data with an outside vendor or agency. Since even good agency relationships aren’t permanent, there will be a point where the data managed by that agency needs to come back home or migrate to another agency.

Yet many companies don’t have the simplest legal or procedural checks in place to make sure that their precious marketing data stays with them. In fact we have even worked with agencies that insisted the company’s sales data was theirs and could not be transferred at all.

We have also been utterly surprised to find agencies that are not interested in taking on the existing data during a handoff. As a result, that company had to start from scratch when creating their paid search campaign, delaying effective marketing for nearly two months.

Don’t let this happen to you! Your online traffic data is one of the most important sources of information for future sales effort that exists. Here are three simple steps for protecting your precious online marketing data:

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