International Search Engine Marketing Blog

Much has changed from the original usage of Page Rank and its relative importance within the search engine results pages. However, even though Google is fairly transparent regarding its value, many people misinterpret the information or do not maintain a complete understanding of its value as it relates to links, which in reality is one of the most crucial concerns to any company involved in an SEM campaign. Hence why decoding Page Rank is crucial for a site’s webmaster to understand.

First it is important to debunk a myth that is a former truth. Using the rel=”nofollow” tag does not help a site retain the value of its internal links. An example seems appropriate to explain this in further detail. During times of the internet past, webmasters could use this tag to funnel link credit to pages only within their own site; this is no longer the case. If there are two links on a webpage one with the no follow tag and one without then half the Page Rank will pass to the linking page without the tag and half will simply vanish. Not that long ago use of this tag would allow a page following the same structure to pass 100 percent of the link’s value to whichever page it desired.

Why did this change take place? Simply put, the engineers at Google became smarter and modified the appropriate algorithms. SEM companies took advantage of the rel=”nofollow” tag to horde Page Rank and not pass it to legitimate sites. This practice undermines Google’s entire goal of using links as a way of voting since it allowed webmasters to place links to other sites but not count them as votes. SEM companies could exploit this process to keep page rank within their sites and not distribute it to others as Google intended; a primary reason for the change.

Now if a webmaster uses that tag no credit is passed to linked site. That tag simply tells the search engines that that website is not vouching for the credibility of the other. It provides no direct benefit, and can hurt a webmaster if the tag is used inappropriately. The only time one should now use this link is when they are uncertain of the website’s creditability. Typically this should occur in comments or forum postings since if webmasters create the link themselves then generally it is to a credible site who deserves the recognition Google intended the link to provide.

It appears that online reputation management is now an official marketing niche. Agilis marketing originally mentioned the emergence of this market nearly one year ago on this blog. We continue to fine tune the strategies utilized when helping new and existing clients. Included below are a few common suggestions that almost any business owner can implement on their own to improve their online reputation throughout the internet.

Review websites are easy places for individuals to register and places information on any company. It is important to act proactively on the most common sites, post basic information, and respond to comments whether negative or positive. There are many places where consumers read reviews about a company’s products or services, but a handful is more commonly visited. Please keep in mind that specific industries often contain niche sites for businesses. As an example, any owner of a travel or tourist related business will certainly want to register at Trip Advisor. Regardless of the industry, these are a few key sites to place business information:

Google Reviews:

The simplest way to add a review is to type in your company’s name and location. Unless it is a brand new business, it is likely there are already reviews from others about your company. Take the time here to add a review and ask a few others to do the same. Make certain not to overdo it and that the reviews are realistic. If the business is newer a webmaster might first need to register their business with Google’s local listings. Still, even if it is an older site, it is smart to register it through this system since it will allow addition of information visitors may not find otherwise

Insider Pages:

This is a widely popular site where reviews are often siphoned from and displayed in the search results or on other websites. It is important with online reputation management to ensure that there are reviews and positive ones. The addition of a few at this hub is recommended.

Yelp:

Yelp is well known for its local listings. Therefore, it is especially important to place commentary here if your company serves a local market. Travelers as well as locals commonly visit this site directly to learn more about a restaurant before eating there. Thus it is smart to include a detailed review at Yelp that appeals to a business’ target audience.

While these are certainly a few key places to register, please remember this simply a primer in online reputation management, managing reviews and placement of those reviews within the search results is crucial. This primarily focuses on ensuring positive reviews are at the top of Google whereas negative search reviews, such as those often found at Rip Off Report, are hidden deep with the search results.

This post is a slight departure from the typical topics. Since Google is the primary search engine the individuals practice SEO and SEM techniques it is possibly of value to know what else the company offers. A few of their new Google tools are more related to traditional online search than others. However, the common thread among all of them is that they offer a unique way to find information that either did not exist or formerly cost money to access.

It surprised me to see that such little advertising went into GOOG-411. As one might imagine it provides the same information that paid 411 services do, only it is free. Simply dial 1-800-GOOG-411 and their automated 411 information system does not cost one penny. What makes the service unique, aside from the cost, is that it provides more information than traditional 411 services. Lately, it is the norm to also receive text messages with a business’ phone number if one desires. Now a person can also receive detailed business information about the company as well as a map with its location. If your phone is already GPS enabled than not only do you have the telephone number for a business, but you also can end up receiving turn by turn directions to reach its brick and mortar location.

Google health is an incredible tool that I did not even realize existed till working on this piece. It allows for central storage of all your medical information in one place. Google addresses privacy concerns from the onset because it hardly requires mentioning how sensitive health data is for patients. Presently this tool allows individuals to put all their medical information in one place. The company also partnered with CVS and other pharmacies so that prescription and drug information is automatically downloadable and linked to an account if one desires. Thus not only does this tool store information, but it allows for easier updating of the details. While I cannot predict Google’s future plans for this tool, it has the potential to drastically evolve doctors and patients access to medical information. Rather than filling in a medical questionnaire at each new doctor’s visit, and possibly forgetting some details, one could simply allow a doctor access to their medical profile. The possibilities for this feature are countless and potentially beneficial to all parties.

Another tool that is more directly relevant for our audience is the search based keyword tool. This Google feature is a variation of the traditional keyword tool that allows business owners to discover new keywords phrases that the other tool possibly overlooked. During the development of a keyword list, there is absolutely no reason why anyone should not take advantage of both this supplementary offering and the traditional AdWords feature, to further develop a SEM campaign. Of course there are numerous other new Google tools available, but it seemed worthwhile to highlight a few of them. It is truly amazing the technology and access to information that the company is developing. I find it exciting to see such developments taking place that help everyone better organize information.

Countless times a year individuals search for companies on the internet and negative information appears. The list below contains a carefully ordered set of questions to ask anyone who is or wants to help to give your company a good name online; included are trick questions that serve as litmus tests to ascertain an individuals’ actual knowledge.

• Do you suggest submitting the Google AdWords Trademark Complaint Form? FYI: The form is located here: https://services.google.com/inquiry/aw_tmcomplaint
  Is it smart to lodge DMCA complaints?What do you propose as an external link strategy to improve my company’s appearance on the web?
• How important is the utilization of online social networking (i.e. blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc…) for your company’s Internet reputation?
• How does Page Rank impact the SERPS?
• What is your guarantee?
• What is your affiliation with SEMPO?
• Will ripoffreports.com and other such sites still appear in the SERPS?
• Do your strategies coincide with the terms of service and webmaster guidelines for each search engine?
• How will the Sandbox impact achieving the campaign’s desired goals?
• How long before results are noticeable?
• [If asking an outside agency] What are you going to do that our company cannot do on its own?
• [If asking an individual] Why should we utilize your expertise versus that of an outside agency?

As an abbreviated answer to the last question, as the owner of Agilis Marketing, I have over a decade of experience utilizing the internet to improve a brand’s image. Only a handful of individuals, including myself, can claim they are experienced in this niche and have expertise that dates back to the time GoTo.com existed (before Overture took over, and before Yahoo purchased that company and turned it into Yahoo! Search Marketing).

Utilizing an outside agency, combined with a knowledgeable liaison is another strategy medium to larger capitalized companies employ. However, if a company is fortunate enough to find the proper person to handle the entire campaign in-house, equal or better results are achievable at a fraction of the cost. Please feel free to ask Agilis Marketing any questions.

After taking a family trip from the east coast to the west I started to understand the travel value behind SEO and all other forms of search engine marketing to any company whose target audience primarily consists of tourists. There are many people who rely solely on the internet as a means of determining where to spend their time and a company with no internet presence has little chance of over seeing these tourists’ business.

It is important to make it clear that despite the headline of this post marketing on the internet encompasses much more than simply showing up at the top of the search results for a particular phrase or as indicated: travel SEO. In fact, dependent upon the target audience of the marketing campaign, other promoting elsewhere on the internet is more profitable.

Before the trip, my father created a list of top tourist sites based primarily on recommendations from tripadvisor.com and the majority of places we visited were on that list (restaurants included). After jokingly giving him a hard time for creating such a list in the first place, I thanked him in the end since my family ended up enjoying an excellent vacation. The marketing takeaway gleamed is the value the internet has upon influencing tourists’ decisions while traveling to an unfamiliar destination. Thus it is important not only for a company’s site to appear at the top of the search engines, but also for it to appear at the top of major well known travel sites such as the one my father utilized.

All that said, one of the most common venues tourists utilize is a search engine, such as Google, when selecting a skydiving location or a restaurant to eat at after a day of activities. Hence the value of ensuring your company has a site that is optimized to appear at the top of the search engines. The same strategies are utilized with a travel SEO campaign as with any other. However, as part of the entire search marketing campaign it is crucial to hire a marketer that understands the value of other online sites that tourists frequent and help ensure that your company is listed near the top.

Many companies lately placed International search engine marketing on the back burner for a valid reason; the need to first better focus on local SEM. However, as economic climate has shifted certain companies are switch from survival mode and back into growing their brands. Thus it seems appropriate to readdress the value of marketing to customers in the U.K. and other countries abroad. After dominating the local market expanding to other regions is common, but there are many slight differences to consider.

With international SEO it is crucial to remember what works locally will not necessarily work overseas. While everyone reading this post likely already realizes this it is still worth a one sentence reminder. Not even considering cultural differences, a simple SEM campaign’s keyword base can change dramatically from one country to another. Utilizing the United Kingdom as an example target audience, it is important to remember even the smallest of changes that could result in a large opportunity cost if missed. Using Agilis Marketing’s industry as an example, individuals in the U.K. tend to search for search engine optimisation which is a different phrase than the one utilized in the U.S. because of the spelling difference.

Aside from the basics such as in the previous example, it is key that the SEM company hired has experience or at least knows how to operate an international campaign differently. For instance appearing at the front of the search engines for phrase “planning a trip to New York” on another country’s search engine, involves obtaining recommendations from other websites within the country of origin. A rookie mistake for many marketers is to create press releases and blog posts with Unites States based websites and companies. If your company is targeting a new audience, make certain to promote it within that region. Is this common sense? Yes, but often such items are overlooked a company can spend thousands by overlooking such an important component involved with international SEO and internet marketing.

After recently conducting multiple searches on Google and the other major search indexes there is a clear trend that shows in an increasing number of niche SEO companies. Some of these companies are based within the United States, while others are headquarter internationally. Expect to see this trend to continue in this field along with other industries or businesses. As an example Agilis Marketing is also starting to follow this same strategy. A search on Google for law SEO returns a top ten listing for a page within this blog.

What is important to understand from this trend is that SEO and SEM firms are increasingly practicing what they preach. It is not uncommon for any SEO company to suggest, and rightfully so, that a company target specific keyword phrases within their industry and geographic niche. If a company only sells its products or services to customers in the U.K. it makes little sense to target visitors elsewhere. Of course the converse also holds true for companies within the U.S. or elsewhere. Those a United Kingdom SEO company might work best for businesses in that Geographic area. The keyword here is “might”.

Simply because a business of any kind appears in the top of the search engine result pages does not mean it is the best choice, on many occasions the opposite is true. Following an earlier example on niche SEO companies, type “SEM for Lawyers” into Google and take a look at the listings that appear. Upon an initial, glance many of the listings contain websites that are offering extremely expensive services to this target audience, likely based upon the assumption that attorneys are not as privy to the true costs of search marketing and are willing to a premium to experience the comfort of knowing a portion of the firm’s marketing budget is devoted to internet marketing. Unfortunately, what is unrealized in the above scenario is that a law firm is possibly over spending for underperformance. A search for city + SEM Company might of yielded better results.

The primary takeaway here is to take nothing at face value and conduct appropriate research. Simply because there are niche SEO companies that purport to provide the “best” services for a target audience does not mean that they do. Rather conduct a variety of searches and shop around. If that same company also appears for other terms aside from just their niche that is perhaps a positive sign that the business is better rounded. The bottom line here is not to take anything at face value and do business with a company simply because it is on a list of the top ten in the Google SERPS for one phrase. Conduct more searches and more research before signing on board with any niche SEO Company, oftentimes a run of the mill search engine optimization firm can provide equal if not better results at a fraction of the cost.

As a dentist, chiropractor, veterinarian, or any other health professional provides local health service, the proper usage of SEO to attract and retain customers is not an easy to task. One factor to consider is whether SEM is even needed or is it best to stick with the Yellow Pages and the traditional method of referrals to market a practice. The opinion on this blog is obviously biased; nonetheless that does not make it incorrect. Data illustrate that prospective patients are using the internet more often to find a provider for their local health services.

A well executed SEO campaign can place your practice write in front of the eyes of consumers when they are definitively looking for a provider. One field that is likely more to benefit from such exposure is the practice veterinarian medicine. With a vet there are fewer limitations from insurance companies and oftentimes vets are simple chosen based upon location to a pet owner’s home rather than other marketing efforts. That said, a larger number of individuals are turning the web to research and ultimately select a veterinarian. This is particularly true when surgery is involved with an animal. The Detroit Dover Animal Hospital is one practice that appears to utilize SEO to attract clientele. A quick search on Google for veterinarian Westlake will show the practice in the top of the listings.

Now should all health practitioners jump on the band wagon? Perhaps, but thus most likely to benefit are those that practice more general patient services and those with more specialized. This may initially sound odd. However, consumers often will conduct a search on the internet to locate a local chiropractor and a research the best doctor for a more complicated procedure. Whereas, more routine outpatient types of operations or services that fall in between the above range can typically come from a referral when he consumer does not find it worthwhile to do the research and rather to go with the recommendation of an already trusted professional; perhaps one found initially on the internet.