Will Google answer the ROI of Social Media?
It’s a question still asked in board rooms, on conference calls and in face-to-face meetings probably a thousand times a day. What is the ROI of Social Media? Google as ever love to listen and offer solutions and it’s aim is to answer that question with the latest update to Google Analytics. The nature of social media makes it difficult to really quantify where or when sales funnels begin and what exactly social media is responsible for, but with the new set of social reports within the much trusted Google Analytics system Google claims to “bridge the gap between social media and the business metrics you care about”. The ‘Social Report’ as Google label it, should help you identify the full value of traffic from social sites and measure direct conversions and also their impact on future conversions. The official Google Analytics blog has a good introduction to the new features. What is particularly helpful is the analysis of shares, via Twitter, Google +, etc which is often a strong indicator of how well your content is being pushed out and your reach is being extended beyond just your own following. It is far from perfect, but for free this latest tweak by Google Analytics goes a long way towards catching up the with Web 2.0 world it has never really been able to serve. The ability to track downloads of MP3 fileslike podcasts is still awaited, but at least now you are able to track more readily in a single place, who is ‘sharing’ your content and promotions.
Six reasons you should be using Google+ for your Business
We all know the power of Google and while it has dipped toes into the social media sphere before and failed, this time, with Google + most of the experts are taking notice and suggesting they’ve got it right. But why? 1. It’s indexed by Google This clearly means that anything you put there, any mention of your business, any discussions you are involved in are definitely throwing your name out there. The more mentions of your name, the more appearances on Google search and hopefully the more business will come your way. 2. It’s busy People signed up in their thousands last year to Google + and while that is slowing down, it is not something those already signed up are ignoring. Latest research suggests that 60% of Google + users are logging in every day and that 80% of them are engaging with their circles every week. 3. It’s big The total number of Google + members is said to have passed the 90 million mark, so that’s a pretty wide potential audience. Not as large as other more established networks of course, but remember thise signing up to Google + have probably done so as they are more committed to engaging and want to take more of a part in the network. Those go-getters are perfect for your business. 4. It’s more customisable Maybe not in look, but in function, which is perfect for you when you are trying to run a business too. Gooogle’s search background is clearly evident in what you can do with Google +. Rank other people’s posts and shares and personalise how you order people within circles (effectively groups) you have created. You can define how, what, where and when you see and engage with what is going on on Google +. 5. Creating a business page is easy OK, it’s not branding friendly, but people are still searching for text, so that is perfect. Creating a page is literally a few clicks with the minimum of fuss and you then have a hub to work from on the network and increase your brand or at least ‘name’ visibility. 6. Your competitors may not be there… yet Stealing a march on the opposition is always good and when the tool is as potentially powerful as Google + that could be massive. More and more businesses are wising up, so you may have to be quick, but becoming an expert on Google + may just be the perfect way of staying ahead of your competition and at least showing to potential customers you are not stuck in the dark ages. If you are serious about using social media as part of your business – and if you are serious about your business you should be – then Google + is where it is about to all happen. If you learn nothing else and appear on only one social media network, Google + is most likely where you need to be.
A fun and factual daily task
Did you know that Google run a daily puzzle challenge? The Google-a-Day sub-site is designed to improve your googling skills and of course help Google in their ever continuing thirst for knowledge. Each morning at 00:01 EST (That’s 05:01 GMT), Google sets a new puzzle and also posts the answer to the previous day’s teaser. If you love cryptic crosswords you will love Google a day, and even if you don’t it is a great way to hone your search knowledge and skills. Google have even made it easy for you to avoid finding other people’s posted answers by setting up a special search tool that hides all such comments, while still letting you use all your favourite google search skills. Certainly worth checking out, but be warned it can be addictive.
Adjusting to Google’s sitelinks change
Google announced recently that it has improved the way sitelinks appear. The newer version is expanded and it’s presented as a column of relevant links. Now when people search for a site they instantly see a greater idea of what your site includes. The purpose of this update is for users to get to the information they need easier and faster. By showing them the most relevant links, they no longer need to go to the site’s homepage and then navigate through it to get to the information they’re looking for. So, this is how sitelinks look like now: Who can benefit more from the new sitelinks? Aside from the user who’s saving time with searches, there are also the big brands that are benefiting from this change. Let’s think about it – the new version of sitelinks takes up a lot of space on the first page of results, which equals to less space for its competitors or less relevant sites. This means that users will pay more attention to the main result and less to the ones situated below. To big brands this translates to an increased number of conversions coming from organic visits and powerful keywords. So what should be your next move? You should focus more on optimising your content correctly and on website architecture – site structure, URLs naming, etc. What do you think about Google’s sitelinks update?
Top six killer SEO tips for your website
Over the years we’ve covered the art of search engine optimisation (SEO) here in some detail. From understanding what search engine optimisation is to creating content which attracts lots of links, we have advice that can help. The thing is, we have so many blog posts now that it’s not that easy to find the key bits of SEO advice you need. That’s why we’ve decided to bring together six of the best SEO articles we’ve written – so you can find out everything you need to know about getting your website to rank highly on search engines like Google. Why you should bookmark Google’s keyword tool Google’s keyword tool has been around for years now, and it’s one of the most valuable tools you can use when you’re trying to improve your site’s rankings. Why? Because it can tell you what people actually search for online, helping to make sure you optimise your website for the right phrases. Learn about Google’s keyword tool > Top six examples of link bait Link bait is anything on your website that attracts lots of visitors and encourages other people to link back to your website. Because the number of links that point at your site have a huge influence on its rankings, link bait is a great way to climb the rankings. See how to write your own link bait > Big mistakes in SEO writing Writing optimised content isn’t rocket science, but there are some basic rules you should stick to – and some key mistakes to avoid. For a start, content is king, not your keywords – so always keep the people who’ll be reading what you write in mind. What not to do when you write for your website > Six questions to ask an SEO consultant It can be a good idea to bring in an expert to help improve your website’s search rankings. But there are lots of people out there who call themselves SEO experts – the trick is spotting the good ones. It’s vital to ask the right questions. What to ask an SEO consultant > What on earth is Google PageRank? There’s a lot of confusion about what Google’s PageRank actually is. Some people reckon it shows you how your site ranks in Google. Others reckon it’s meaningless. But actually, the truth lies somewhere in between. Find out what PageRange means > How to label your images Every element on your website matters, and images are no exception. Labelling them accurately makes your images more likely to show up in image search tools like Google Images – and that means you’ll get more visitors to your website. Read about labelling images for SEO > What are the key tips you’ve learnt about SEO? Share them with us in the comments.
Remember this: Google makes us remember differently
We all know the internet has changed the way we do things, but a new study from a Psychologist at Columbia University, New York suggests that our reliance on being able to ‘Google that’ means modern brains now remember information differently than they traditionally did. The study, titled “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips,” comes from psychologist Betsy Sparrow who talks about the results in this video. The four part tests measured how we remember information. Firtly, a series of trivia questions were posed and the participants asked them to rate the difficulty of that question, then followed with a colour identification test. This is where the first alarm bells rang. When words in the color identification test were related to search engines (e.g. Yahoo and Google) then respondents answered more quickly, effectively using the ‘search engine’ concept as a trigger to recalling the informaion. The second part of the test saw the trivia questions turned into statements. Participants were told to read and recall these statements. However, some of the sample were told that that the information was saved and accessible again for example via a search engine. In other cases the participants were advised that the facts in the statements were not retrievable. The results? The second batch of participants seemed more able to memorise the information and recall the information at a later date. The final parts of study then went on to reveal that when participants were shown data and shown where they might be able to find that data at a later date (ie in a specific folder on a hard drive) the subjects found it easier to remember the data location than the data itself. Sparrow has labelled this adaptive memory, the art of memorizing methods over memorizing facts and is in fact a natural way of conserving brain power for tasks by using the memory-finding medium instead. “Our brains rely on the internet for memory in much the same way they rely on the memory of a friend, family member or co-worker,” said Sparrow. “We remember less through knowing information itself than by knowing where the information can be found.” Yet despite the negative connotations that some may put on the findings Sparrow thinks it is a good thing, giving us a better focus on storing more information or at least more ways of understanding information. Do you rely on the internet more than your brain for information?
Does Google PLUS really add to our world?
It looks like Facebook. It’s blurb sounds like Facebook. If you got up close, it probably even smell’s like Facebook, but this is Google entering the social networking arena…again. A select band of people (were you one?) were this week invited into Google’s latest project – a social networking service called Google PLUS. Those selected few will also soon be able to invite others and the idea is to let people share and discuss status updates, photos and links as you would in Facebook but in a more intimate group. Small groups or ‘Circles’ is the focus – colleagues, best mates, sportsteam teammates etc – and for that purpose there are group text messaging and video chat facilities built into the network. The Google line is it is more like real life, you have more control and more privacy: “In real life, we have walls and windows and I can speak to you knowing who’s in the room, but in the online world, you get to a ‘Share’ box and you share with the whole world,” said Bradley Horowitz, a vice president of product management at Google. Pitched by anybody else and actually it probably sounds like a poor-imitation of what is already out there. Yet this is Google saying this and backing the project so people will sit up and take notice. The biggest issue is whether the heavily scientific and engineered approach that has seen Google become so successful using algorithms and data analysis, can be converted to a more touchy-feely and informal approach that social networking thrives on. What Google hopes is that people will sign up with PLUS to enable them to get at least some insight into the valuable world that is developing in social networks in terms of advertising data and trends that so often is not accessible to Google’s search robots or experts. The ‘reality’ approach includes an attempt to mimic those occasions when people want to be your friend when you don’t really care. Unlike on Facebook, people do not have to agree to be friends with one another. Via your circles however you can have greater control over who sees what about you. So you effectively get more than one persona. The multiple personality aspect is promoted as a benefit and can offer greater control, but could also offer its own difficulties and dangers of course. The potential winner as we see it at the moment is ‘Sparks’ which is a push type notification of “what you’re into and … stuff it thinks you’ll like”. It may sound a bit Big Brotheresque but the viral aspect and shared interests appeal of Twitter and Facebook could be amplified by this tool. Google has of course launched big ideas before and then slowly retreated but expect it to push and bang the drum on this one more and more as the year progresses and they tweak based on feedback from a growing user base. Have you had an invite to Google PLUS? Have you taken the plunge? What are your thoughts?
Content is still king – more or less…
We’ve featured video here before from Matt Cutts and this contribution on the Google Webmaster Central YouTube account is well worth viewing. Understanding how Google indexes and ranks has got to be easier to understand from those who deal with it every day an are responsible for tweaking it, right? Well we enjoy Matt Cutts’ contributions but in response to a user question “More or less content on a homepage?” he didn’t really offer a definitive answer, but is still worth a quick watch. “You can have too much” says Cutts, advising against large pages, with long download times. However, the general gist is that more content is actually better. It’s a case of including more text for the googlebots to pick-up and index so as Cutts explains: “rather than just pictures, for example, if you have pictures plus captions – a little but of textual information can go a long way”. So maybe our recent push to encourage more of you to turn to blogging may also help with your google ranking by getting more text on your site. Are you put off by too much text on a website?