TAG | Google
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Google says website page loading speed will be key to rankings in the future!
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Search Engine News
We’re all constantly trying to climb to the top of a Google search results page! Well here is a great hint that may help you climb search results a little faster.
Recently Google rep Matt Cutts suggested that page load times / speed of your website will affect your site position in Google. This hint is in line with other news the Google plan to “speed up the internet”. Previously Google has not factored page load time into the algorithm, although it does make a great deal of sense considering Google’s all about the end user experience. Who wants to be sent to a slow loading website, the quicker the better!
Matt suggested that we should all start paying attention to the tools and other resources found on http://code.google.com/speed a variety of plug-ins and external tools aimed to help optimize your web pages for speed.
At the end of the day what does this mean for your web pages?
It means start optimizing images, cleaning your code, compressing java script etc..
Although this can be seen as just adding to the work load of SEO’rs.. quicker page load for your visitors means a much happier consumer which will have a knock on effect for sales, consumer engagement and enjoyment.
Join the Google Speed Web Revolution, and let’s speed things up!
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
25
Facebook Now Cash Positive and Profits Are in Sight
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Social Media, Twitter
One major issue facing social media platforms is how exactly to monetise their services. Subsisting on investor funding isn’t sustainable, so turning the corner and making a site profitable is a significant priority, but one which many struggle to achieve.
For many years YouTube was a cash cow for Google. Whilst it was widely used and hugely popular, the video sharing site just couldn’t find a way to turn that into hard currency. In fact two months ago to the day, in a strange piece of social media circularity, it was announced that Facebook had 250 million users whilst YouTube were on the verge of making profit. Today, Facebook has reached 300 million users and is itself the one who is ready to start funding itself.
Whilst the word ‘profit’ has been noticeably excluded from most statements, it has instead been exchanged for the far less committal phrase of ‘cash positive, it seems Facebook have now finally reached a point where business income (investments aside) is able to outstrip outgoings. But why has it taken this long to achieve this landmark?
Turning Promise into Profit
As Facebook is now the third most visited website in the world*, why can’t it match the success of those above or, for that matter, below them? In the last quarterly financial statement (reported, oddly enough on July 17th as well , in our post Recession Proof Google Continue to Post Tidy Profits), Google made $1.48bn. That’s 15% of the entire value (at least when Russian firm Digital Sky Technologies splashed the cash back in May) of Facebook in three months of trading. Whilst Google may be leagues ahead in terms of traffic, the blueprint for making money is not all that dissimilar – paid advertising.
Microsoft’s participation with Facebook has gone far deeper than simply providing capital. The software giant also manages the social media giant’s sponsored links, which is where, predominantly at least, the opportunity for profitability has arisen. But Facebook is an intuitive company, it hasn’t and won’t simply restrict its income on this one stream.
Twitter offers a distinctly oppositional model. They are one of the few social media sites to turn their back on advertising as a revenue stream (see Twitter Say No To Advertising) and whilst not turning any kind of profit, they are still looking at ways to pump money into the service. Premium options for tweets from most popular members in the Twitterverse, as well as commercial accounts seem like the most viable way to go cash positive with their increasingly popular service.
Innovative Monetising
Facebook have seemingly bi-passed this predicament. With 300 million users now on board – a 20 per cent rise from this time in July – the potential for future growth, new monetising initiatives and mammoth profit margins have never seemed more plausible. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t explore similar avenues. For example, if the storefronts, pioneered by companies like 1-800 Flowers and featured in our blog post ‘Setting up Shop on Facebook‘, take off, this could provide a whole new affiliate style revenue stream for the company. This in turn may spawn new initiatives too in the future.
As a website and a business, Facebook has been continually written off. Despite criticisms over leaked figures showing losses in 2007 and 2008 and questions over valuation and the continued rebuffing of offers from the likes of Yahoo! ($1bn) and Viacom ($750m), they have remained largely independent – Russian and Microsoft investment aside.
As a pre-cursor to this week’s financial revelations, we have the million dollar (more likely billion dollar) question as posed to Mark Zuckerberg – founder and owner of Facebook – by Time magazine in an interview back in July 2007 (yes, the 17th again as well for good measure):
TIME: Beyond Facebook’s exclusive advertising deal with Microsoft, which gives the software giant the right to sell ads on the site, what are some of your ideas about monetizing your 30 million users?
Zuckerberg: Advertising works most effectively when it’s in line with what people are already trying to do. And people are trying to communicate in a certain way on Facebook – they share information with their friends, they learn about what their friends are doing -so there’s really a whole new opportunity for a new type of advertising model within that. And I think we’ll see more in the next couple months or years on that.
Essentially this is exactly what has happened. More people are using Facebook, spending more hours and sharing more information all the time. This has given Facebook a unique insight into the lives and interest of people and is now allowing them to provide highly targeted advertising, not just the very general demographically based ads of yesteryear. This in turn has lead to the company becoming cash positive.
Just as YouTube have finally cracked that seemingly impossible social media solvency nut, so Facebook have followed suit. With more money at their disposal, they can now look to develop the services they offer and ensure that Facebook remains as relevant in the future as it is today. With storefront’s now opening and a new Facebook Lite in the offing, clearly the benefits of their explosive income growth are already being felt by businesses and users everywhere.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
24
Twitter Negotiating Real-Time Search Deal with Microsoft and Google
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Microsoft, Search Engine News, Social Media, Twitter, Yahoo
When I posed the question, ‘How will Twitter monetise…?’, at the tail end of last week, I didn’t expect the answer to be quite so immediate. Today it has been announced that Twitter are holding talks with both Google and Microsoft to seal a deal that will see feeds being shown alongside standard search results.
This is a move that has been some time in the making. Bing stole a march on Google at the beginning of July by integrating the tweets of a select band of Twitterati royalty (as covered in our blog post, ‘Bing Unleash Real-Time Search’). Whilst Twitter has struggled to find a way to make money from its hugely popular service, the search engines have been seeking ways to tap into its real-time capabilities. A match made in heaven, surely.
Initial reports suggest that the Twitter team are talking to executives at both Microsoft and Google; although it remains unclear whether they favour either, both or maybe even neither. Details are a little sketchy but it appears as though Twitter will be looking to tap into some of the search engine’s huge advertising revenue by affording them the chance to mine their data.
A shrewd move, particularly if it comes off. Firstly Twitter won’t have to sell advertising on their own pages, therefore they won’t suffer the backlash of disgruntled members. Secondly, the Twitter service will suddenly become available to an even wider audience, helping to cajole a few more to sign up. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, they can finally establish a continuous and productive revenue stream.
On the other hand Google and Bing will also get what they have been looking for, real-time data. People follow trends and want to know the latest news as it happens, which has accounted for much of Twitter’s popularity. Whilst Facebook may be bigger in terms of audience, Twitter has cornered the market in information sharing; and whilst they still maintain that position, it is surely time to cash in.
As with most business deals, you can expect this to be protracted and have various twists throughout the negotiations. Whilst it will be interesting to see what the outcome is, it will surely be more interesting to see how quickly and what the effect of this Twitter/search engine integration will be.
Whilst I suggested that the news on Twitter’s monetising plans should be expected ‘in the coming months’ following their major investment, this wasn’t quite what I envisaged. Most people could have foreseen that significant investment would lead to equally significant development; but this, on the face of it, appears to be Twitter really getting their act together and ensuring they remain vital and a major part of both search and communication.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
24
Google and Microsoft Complete Twitter Deal to Herald Real-time Search Era
0 Comments | Posted by andy in SEO Glossary
It appears that real-time search could finally become a reality. Following our post earlier in the month, Twitter negotiating real-time search deal with Microsoft and Google, it looks like the ink is now drying on an agreement that will see the aforementioned search engines gain complete access to the social media site’s network.
This is a brave new world for search engines and could well change the way we view and use SERPs in the future. Bing and Google are now free to start developing ways to incorporate Twitter feeds into their searches, opening up unique opportunities for the respective engines and their users.
The news today had a slightly unexpected twist, when Microsoft also announced that it would be adding Facebook updates into the mix (not something that was originally mooted). Whilst Twitter will be first on the agenda, despite its non-exclusivity, the Facebook integration could certainly add a new dynamic to Bing, particularly if the earlier real-time assimilation proves a success.
Without going too far into the realms of tabloid speculation, Microsoft may well have been aided in the procuring of Facebook rights due to their earlier investment and continued advertising support. With dual streams of content, Bing could very well be on the cusp of getting one over on its far more illustrious counterpart. As Facebook remains the dominant force in social media it will be interesting to see how Microsoft is able to siphon information in a way that adds value to their developing real-time services.
The new deal means that both Google and Microsoft have full access to Twitter’s online content. Every tweet can effectively be mined and shown within the search engine results, adding far more visibility and integration across the different media platforms.
Bing of course was a pioneer of real-time search, being one of the first to include a Twitter feed, as limited as that was at the time. Google though have the knowledge and the online prowess to optimise their Twitter compatibility and create something that Internet users will flock to. So how they choose to start including tweets will be down to their own individual standpoint, creating a potential polarity between the two.
This of course is only the first step in what is likely to be a prolonged developmental pathway. But with Google and Microsoft announcing the news on the same date, October 22nd 2009 could well prove to be a pivotal moment in the history of search engine development. It will certainly be interesting to see how it affects SERPs and the culture surrounding search, which of course includes SEO, in the coming months.
Currently Google are still developing their concept, whilst Microsoft have realeased a very tentative Beta site; although when recently tested this wasn’t actually operational. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this developing story and will report upon any further developments from either party. All we do know is that real-time search engines have finally reached their sink or swim moment, can full social media integration ever work? Well, we’ll soon find out.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Google Services for Websites Update Announced
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Internet News, Search Engine News
The Google Services for Websites package has recently received a bit of a revamp. Designed to help manage either your own or a range client sites easily, the latest updates will no doubt be welcomed with open arms by Webmasters everywhere.
Fundamentally the original Google Services for Websites was designed to show you exactly how your site was perceived by Google; where it failed, where it succeeded and how it was performing generally. With the new updates, this process has been speeded up whilst also integrating a number of new useful tools.
The first of these new tools is Web Elements. This is basically a simplified way of integrating applications including YouTube videos, presentations and maps. Through straightforward drag and click coding you can have a site bulging with useful information for your visitors. You can also interact with site users and others around you with Conversation Element whilst also searching across your own or other site with Custom Search. All of which is designed to make websites more engaging without becoming overly complicated to manage or implement changes.
The speed at which your page loads and responds is also critical to how well your site as a whole performs. If visitors are left waiting too long to see what you have to offer, you can be sure that they’ll take their business elsewhere pretty sharpish. Page Speed not only shows you how your website is performing but also provides tools and tips to help counteract latency issues.
If you’re a website hoster then the Tips for Hosters tool might be right up your street. It’ll help you to optimise your hosting platform to make it more accessible and, hopefully, more profitable. By integrating other Google Tools including Translator and Analytics to ensure you’re finding the right audience and are able to communicate with them in their language.
Of course not everybody chooses to use – or is in fact able to use – the Google Services for Websites package; but from our experience and how these new changes are shaping up, it really is invaluable. The added efficiency and in-depth knowledge it provides on visitor activity and expectations can make the difference between online mediocrity and success.
To find out more about the new updates as well as all existing services, visit the Google Blog.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Do You Suspect Click Fraud? Here’s a Simple Solution…
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Bing, Click Fraud, FAQ - PPC, Google Adwords, Pay Per Click (PPC), Yahoo Search Marketing
We recently had reason to suspect that one of our client’s Pay per Click campaigns was being targeted by one of their competitors. We suspected that they were clicking the ads to try and use up the daily budget early in the day. The trouble was how to identify who was clicking the Ads.
There are many expensive Click Fraud solutions available but we found a simple and free way of checking who was clicking the ads by using Statcounter.
By putting the Statcounter code on the website pages we were able to easily see the IP addresses of the clickers. This clearly showed that two Competitors were in fact clicking the ads. We then forwarded our findings to Google and hope this will result in a refund for our AdWords client.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Pay Per Click Fraud Remains Constant at 16 Percent
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Click Fraud, FAQ, FAQ - PPC, Pay Per Click (PPC)
Click Forensics have just released a press release highlighting the fact that pay per click fraud for Q3 2008 was 16%, a slight reduction on the previous quarter and the same period in 2007.
Pay Per Click Fraud Rate by Quarter This data is taken from their Click Fraud Index.
Unfortunately, the UK is listed as one of the PPC fraud hot spots accounting for 3.5% of all fraudulent activity.
If you’re a pay per click advertiser, clearly you need to be vigilant with your traffic. There are professional solutions available for anyone wishing to monitor their paid traffic closely or, as reported last month, there is a simple solution if you do suspect click fraud and want to monitor your traffic.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Google Moves Sponsored Links
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Google, Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine News
One small move for Google, one giant leap for online marketing… well maybe.
It may only be a centimetre or two but Google’s decision to move their sponsored ads much closer to the organic listings could improve ROI.
The new Google layout definitely puts the sponsored links in eye range, which could only mean one thing – advertisers get a higher Click through Rate, a better quality score and more traffic.
It will be interesting to see just how much of an increase in traffic advertisers experience and more importantly how this affects the quality of the traffic they receive.
Only time will tell but this could be a win win situation for Google and Pay Per Click management.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Ad Exchange Heralds New Dawn in Display Advertising for Google
0 Comments | Posted by andy in FAQ - PPC, Google, Google Adwords, Pay Per Click (PPC)
Having already conquered paid adverts on SERPs, Google is now looking to do the same for display ads to. Ad Exchange is a new initiative that is designed to provide a forum for advertisers and hosts to meet and fill websites with wonderful advertisements.
Based around its already hugely successful DoubleClick display ad that Google acquired last year, this updated resource is set to help the search giant gain a tighter grip on Internet advertising. The trade off between the provision of advertising space, provided by the host website, and the advert itself, provided by a sponsor, will now be done in an auction like programme on Ad Exchange. This opens up rafts of opportunities from both sides, and will doubtless be greeted by groans down in Sunnyvale, California.
Just as DoubleClick has been around for some time, both before and after its integration into the growing Google Empire, so has Yahoo’s own display ad platform – powered by Right Media. Yahoo have slowly grown a core group of advertisers and even beat Google to the punch in providing a universal display ad marketplace, launching My Display Ads back in June.
Whilst Yahoo are still a profitable and hugely successful search engine, they can’t compare with Google on most fronts. Until this point though, they had gained a decent foothold in the display ad field, a foothold which could be looking decidedly shaky with this announcement. The head start that they had may well melt away with the coming of their predominant search rival, although it will be interesting to see how this pans out in the coming months and years.
On paper though Google’s advertising formula is peerless. AdWords is the most successful and widely used paid search format and DoubleClick is one of, if not the leading display ad service. All told, this could be topping up the far from depleted coffers of the Google enterprise in no time at all.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Google Trial Local Listing Ads
0 Comments | Posted by andy in FAQ - PPC, Google Adwords, Pay Per Click (PPC)
With the initial Wave furore now settling down, it appears Google are continue to innovate; although this time it’s in one of their key monetising departments – paid advertising.
The Internet search titan is currently trialling a service that will incorporate local search with PPC. Whilst local search results will still be contained alongside a location map in a box near the head of the SERPs, the new Local Listing Ads will appear in the advertising banner immediately above it, with the businesses location still denoted by an alternative numbered pointer within the map itself (shown below).
Whilst trials are happening in San Francisco and San Diego areas, this appears to offer a very logical and interesting leap forward in both paid and local search. The new system though, at least as it stands currently, will require little in the way of management. All businesses need to do is select their location, determine what sector they’re in and just pay the amount Google defines for each click. Even the adverts use just a single uniformed style, with the name, web address and contact details displayed. All very simple.
This could therefore become a hotly contested advertising platform pretty quickly, particularly in business sectors that have numerous individual companies operating in a single area. But as this is still in the developmental stages, we can assume that Google will iron out any creases before the roll it out to the wider world, that’s also if they decide to of course.
For Google this represents another revenue stream, but for local businesses in competitive markets, it could well provide an invaluable source of traffic. Local search is an increasingly popular and important area of search engine optimisation. By targeting searches in your business’ immediate vicinity you can eliminate wider competition and focus on visitors who are more likely to be seeking your services. Local Listing Ads could well add another dynamic to this.
Of course it won’t replace traditional PPC services or Google AdWords, not in its current form at any rate. This is simply an additional option, something that should be used to compliment any PPC or SEO work you’re doing. The main advantage for site owners though is that it requires little or no management, meaning your ads could be created in minutes and left to their own devices. As this is only being trialled currently we will keep you posted on any developments, if and when it does land in the UK.
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