Here's we go again. Despite the recent debacles of Wave and Buzz, Google is back on the social bandwagon with the new '+1' button. And you've just got to admire their persistence. If there's one thing Google is not afraid to do, it's fail. Which is a good thing. I'd love to work for a company with that sort of courage. Nevertheless, their latest social product seems destined to become another punch line for nerds and search geeks.

To find out why, you'll need to head over to Search Engine People for my latest guest post – Why Google +1 (probably) won't work

Enjoy!

If there's one thing that makes every SEO sweat, it's the fear of getting a site slapped out of Google's index. It's widely believed that duplicate content is one of the quickest ways to meet that fate. Or is it? I recently came across one of the more blatant examples of content being duplicated across multiple domains within a high profile industry. And Google's response… not to penalise one of the sites, but to reward it with the top 3 rankings for a high volume keyword. Which begins to make we wonder why I've been worried about duplicate content all along. After all, if they can't pick up this high profile case, what chance do they have of detecting it elsewhere.

Check out the full post over at Search Engine People – Duplicate content penalty: Myth or fact?

A couple of weeks back I wrote about how search was increasing turning social with the integration of Facebook 'Like' data into Bing's search results. And yesterday we took another big step forwards into the inevitability that is social search. Indeed, we may look back upon December 1 as a historic date in the evolution of search engines, with two distinct cases emerging to validate the role that social will play in the future of search…

Case 1: Search engines confirm they use social signals

Many within the search industry have suspected that search engines have been utilising social signals as part of their algorithm for some time. Darryl King presented a compelling case study at SMX Melbourne recently on how social signals drove astonishing organic search results for the My Politician site during the Federal Election. Darryl contended that social signals had to be a significant factor, because there was simply no other way his new site could be outranking others with far superior traditional SEO signals.

Yesterday Google confirmed this to be true. In an interview on Search Engine Land, Google and Bing verified that they both analyse of the following social signals within their existing algorithm:

1. How many times a link is shared in social media
2. The authority of the person sharing the content

Perhaps most interestingly, both search engines indicated that they gave more credence to sharing behaviour on Twitter, as they had superior mechanisms for determining user authority within the microblogging platform. Personally, when consulting on social media I consistently advise organisations to invest in Facebook first, given its monopoly of the Australian social media landscape. However, this insight gives greater cause to consider Twitter as a serious social media channel for business.

Case 2: Google changes algorithm to penalise negative reviews

A few days back a rather large story broke on the NY Times regarding a businessmen who actively sought negative consumer reviews as they enhanced his Google rankings. Naturally this was a bad news story for Google. Any situation that brings into question the credibility and quality of their search results is a bad outcome for Google. So they  revised their algorithm to penalise businesses that generate poor publicity and bad customer experiences. While they stopped short of saying online customer reviews directly impact search rankings (because how easy is that to game), there's no question they want to integrate consumer driven reviews as an algorithmic signal in the future (look at Google Places as a clue).

Why this is a big deal for social media

The documented chain of events should be music to the ears of anyone providing social media consultancy services. Within Australia at least, social media can still be a relatively tough sell outside any industry targeting the youth demographic. In a country where many of the largest retailers still haven't transitioned to ecommerce, there are plenty who are still hesitant towards social media. Conservatism reigns supreme at the big end of town…

However, few organisations question the effectiveness of search. It is consistently nominated (along with email) as the most effective marketing channel in the arsenal. AIMIA's recent Australian Retail Industry study found Australian marketers rank search their second most important marketing channel. Thus, the fact that social media will assert an increasing influence over search engine rankings is significant. While it seems not all marketers see the value in communicating with their customers, there's no question they see the value of the SERPs. Every social media consultant should be working this into their PowerPoint presentations.

The exciting part is that they have only just begun! Social search technologies are only in their infancy. Google clearly hasn't nailed it just yet and have admitted as much. But they will continue trying. And… if there's one thing we know about Google, it's that they give weight/credence to age and history (domain age anyone?). You can be sure that if/when they nail social search, they'll be rewarding those brands with a proven track record and strong signs of authority and credibility.

The message should be loud and clear by now. If you're not in social media already, it's time to get your feet wet. Because your future search engine rankings will depend on it.

2010 is fast coming to an end. Which can only mean one thing… bold predictions from marketers about what may transpire in 2011! Last year my predictions were a little left of centre, so this time round I've taken the topic a little more seriously. In particular, I've focused my attention towards the questions of what Google may do in the next 12 months. I identified five trends around which I expect them to focus extensive energy – local search, mobile search, social search, integrated search & search speed. Hardly crystal-ball gazing, I know, but I have taken a stab at where I think the big G may take each facet of search in 2011.

If that sounds like a whole lot of fun, check out What Would Google Do? over at Search Engine People

Google sure knows how to shake up the search industry! Just weeks after rocking the SEO industry with the localisation of organic search results, Google served the paid search industry a similar dose of instant evolution by releasing Product Listing Ads out of beta phase.

For the uninitiated, this video provides an overview of exactly how Google’s new Product Listing Ads work:

As someone who helps manage paid search for an online retailer with 10,000+ products, Google’s new Product Listing Ads are incredibly exciting. However, it’s also important to note that Product Listing Ads are likely to have considerable implications on the search landscape. I’ve identified five key implications for search marketers below:

1. Paid search ads become more visible

Google itself boasts that Product Listing Ads are twice as likely to attract a click than a standard text ad in the same position. Which makes perfect sense when you consider that Product Listing Ads integrate product imagery. Images attract attention.
My hunch is that the new ad format will cannibalise clicks from organic search.

Retail sectors in particular will see strong adoption, and product imagery will draw searchers away from organic listings (where multimedia is less prevalent). Users will be drawn to the paid listings when product imagery matches their search query. A moderate shift towards paid search results is likely, which you’d have to think is Google’s intent.

2. Google becomes a price comparison engine

By integrating price directly into Product Listing Ads, Google has immediately transformed itself into the world’s largest price comparison engine. Which is a HUGE deal for online retailers (and a pretty significant problem for existing price comparison engines). Make no mistake – the integration of price points will influence user behaviour in a significant way.

Brand awareness and brand equity will retain slightly less importance as price competitiveness becomes a primary motivation in earning the click. If an online retailer isn’t price competitive, they’ll be eliminated from the consideration set before the consumer even reaches their site. Quite simply, retailers with over-inflated prices will be exposed.

3. Product descriptions matter!

Many online retailers treat product descriptions with disdain. Indeed, most tend to copy and paste descriptions provided by their suppliers, which results in duplication of product description content across competing retailers. While this isn’t ideal from an SEO perspective, it doesn’t do any great harm either. However, the importance of product description content increases significantly with Product Listing Ads.

Unlike standard text ads, advertisers don’t create the text displayed to the searcher for each ad. Instead, ad content is pulled directly from product descriptions uploaded to Google Merchant Center. Use the standard description content provided by your supplier, and you’re likely to see bland text that mirrors your competitor’s ads. While the task is laborious, there is now a real incentive to write customised and persuasive product descriptions.

4. Reconsideration of culled keywords

Culling non-performing keywords is common practice in the optimisation of a paid search campaign. However, the change in landscape warrants reconsideration of products and keywords that have been culled due to poor performance.
In particular, the integration of pricing information will change user behaviour. Insights gained through the history of the campaign need to be re-evaluated with new elements influencing click behaviour. The game has changed. Failing to re-test products that have performed poorly in the past may simply make them more profitable for your competitors.

5. Online retailers set to prevail

If you don’t sell products online, Google’s Product Listing Ads will be unavailable to you. Which gives online retailers a significant advantage over businesses without ecommerce capabilities. If Product Listing Ads are truly twice as likely to be clicked, competitors maintaining standard text ads will find it increasingly difficult to attract clicks.

All of which places businesses without an online retailing capability at a distinct disadvantage in the paid search environment. Retailers without ecommerce capabilities may quickly find themselves turning to SEO for redemption.
 

It’s been a huge couple of weeks in the search industry. Even in an industry renowned for constant innovation, the past couple of weeks have brought about two monumental changes. First came Google Instant. And while the concept sounded reasonable in theory, it added little to the search experience in my opinion. It kinda made me feel like I’ve got ADD (moreso…). But while Google was busy trying to convince the world that Instant revolutionised the search experience, Bing casually stole their thunder by announcing a change that truly could change search. And that was the integration of Facebook data into their search results! Which meant that for the first time, we have a serious social search product on our hands…

Social search buzz

Social search has been a buzzword within the industry for a couple of years now. It first gained momentum back in 2008 when Yahoo announced that they would integrate Delicious data into their search results. Of course, the Yahoo/Delicious initiative ultimately failed for a number of key reasons:

• Delicious lacked the scale and usage of the larger social networks
• Significant discrepancy existed between a user’s Delicious network, and their true circle of influencers (aka their social graph)
• Delicious data was too easy to game

Late last year Google also attempted to enter the market with its own social search product. Yet it failed for the similar reasons (not scale in this case, but an inability to create a relevant social graph). Despite the failures, search professionals continued to salivate at the true potential of social search. The reason is simple. People trust people. More than they’ll ever trust an algorithm.  Even in the age of Google, friends & family are still the most trusted source of information (even if they aren’t the most qualified):

So imagine the power of a search engine that considered the content your friends and family Like alongside the standard algorithm-driven results. Bing took the first steps towards delivering that outcome last week via the integration of Facebook’s ‘Like’ data into their search results.

How does Bing’s social search work?

Well… if I run a search for ‘running shoes’, Bing will return a standard set of results, as per normal. However, at the same time, it will scan my social graph to determine whether any of my friends have Liked content related to running shoes. If my pal Chris Liked a pair of Asics cross trainers, it’s likely that content would be integrated into the search results. Suddenly, search is able to expose content from the people I trust most. Content that would otherwise have been invisible to me. Pretty cool huh?

Of course, the key reason Bing’s social search product actually stands a chance of success is their partnership with Facebook. Because when it comes to social data, Facebook is the only kid on the block. No other network has the scale to power a search engine in a meaningful way. Delicious certainly couldn’t. And even Facebook has a long way to go yet. While ‘Liking’ behaviour is common, it probably needs to increase by a factor of 1,000 before it can truly influence search in a meaningful way. But nevertheless, the seeds are in place for a powerful social search experience in the future. And Facebook has shown time and time again that they have the ability to influence user behaviour.

What Bing’s social search means for digital marketers

The implications for the digital marketing industry are incredibly profound. In particular, three digital channels seem particularly affected:

• SEO: Of course, the SEO industry will be significantly affected if/when social search truly takes off. While many SEOs have long used social media to help spread content and generate indirect links, social search could mark the era when social media becomes a mandatory element of every SEO program. With Bing offering up two slots for social content on the precious page one real estate, it’ll be a brave SEO that continues to ignore Facebook. Much like universal search created a demand for image and video optimisation, so too will social search necessitate a unique skill set.
• Social Media – Naturally, social media marketing will also be strongly affected by the emergence of social search. More budget will surely flow into social media as a result. And I’d also expect a far greater emphasis on Facebook above all other social networks (even moreso than now). Suddenly, the value of a powerful Facebook community increases significantly. While a Facebook ‘Like’ is a nice little engagement metric at the moment, it gains a whole lot more value and credibility when it directly influences search results for related search terms. An army of fans with a tendency to ‘Like’ branded content will become a real corporate asset.
• Content Marketing - Like social search before it, content marketing tends to be another buzz word within the industry. Yet it too could become become a beneficiary should social search take flight. The ability to create content that people ‘Like’ will become a critical skill. Indeed, linkbait will be joined in the SEO arsenal by Face-bait. Organisations will dedicate time and resource into the production of content primarily for the purpose of gaining  Facebook ‘Likes’.

Before we get too carried away, it must be said that we’re still at least a couple of years away from having a social search product of any real value. Until the ‘Liking’ of external content becomes a regular habit for the average Facebook user, we simply won’t see social search have anything other than a menial impact of search results. But personally, I suspect we may look back at this in a few years as the moment when search took its next major evolution!

Eighteen months ago Google launched a cool mobile application that localised search results based on GPS coordinates. To me, it seemed like a killer platform for local advertising via mobile devices. And it still is. But the competition for the lucrative local advertising has become hot. In particular, Facebook has entered the market with gusto following the launch of their Places product. In fact, I think Facebook Places has the potential to become the dominant platform mobile-driven local advertising. Even bigger than Google. Want to know why? You’ll just have to read my guest post at Search Engine People then…

Check it out – Will local advertising bypass search?

I recently had the pleasure of doing an interview with Tim Reid & Luke Moulton from Small Business Big Marketing. The boys were nice enough (or silly enough) to ask me to be a guest on their show, which was a lot of fun. Tim & Luke’s excellent podcast series focus on practical tips that small business owners can implement to improve the marketing of their business. Previous podcasts have included illustrious guests such as Iggy Pintado, Michael Klim & Martyn Thomas. And then there’s me… In the podcast we discuss the critical online channels every small business should be leveraging including search engines, email & social media.

Check out the podcast at Small Business Big Marketing, and if you like it, why not subscribe?

Have we just seen the beginning of the great local search war? Quite possibly. Last week Google brought out a new iPhone application. And if doesn’t have the team at the Yellow Pages checking their pants for traces of leakage, I don’t know what will. The application is called the Google mobile app, and it has major implications for anyone playing in the search directory market (yes… that means you Yellow Pages). A two minute demo of the awesome new application in action can be seen below.

Looks pretty darn cool huh…? To this point most people have focused on the voice recognition software, and in particular the accuracy of the voice driven search queries. Despite reports that the application struggles to recognise international accents, I’ve found the application gives me accurate results roughly 75% of the time for basic one & two word queries. Perhaps I’m not as Aussie as I thought I was…

But what I find a whole lot more exciting about the tool is the fact that for the first time, Google is delivering truly accurate local search results. My favourite feature of the iPhone is the GPS tracking. In fact, my recent holiday to Tasmania was guided solely by my iPhone. No maps necessary. The new application uses the iPhone’s GPS tracking to pinpoint your location, and serve results matched to that area. Cool! It works best when you’re looking for local services such as restaurants, cinemas and my personal favourite… the pub. Which could be where a whole lot of Yellow Pages execs may find themselves spending a lot more time soon. Because Google just cracked their local advertising market.

Google says to small business – ‘How you doin’?’

There’s no doubt that Google’s algorithm does a great job returning accurate search results at a broad level. A generic search for the word ‘supermarket’ returns the biggest brands in the industry. However, what Google hasn’t done well historically is tell me who my local supermarkets are and where I can find them. True geographic relevance is a problem they never quite mastered (although the integration of Google maps into search results did initiate a step in the right direction).

As a result, Google’s advertising platform was rarely relevant for small business. Many small businesses are restricted by geographic boundaries, particularly service based industries. A hairdresser in Melbourne simply can’t service a customer in Sydney. The inability to localise search results effectively ruled many businesses out of advertising within Google. Instead, most stuck with traditional directories like the Yellow Pages because they applied a more effective local search process. Until now…

The new application seems to resolve Google’s local search dilemma. The iPhone’s GPS tracking allows a user’s location to be accurately pin pointed. Google’s mobile app does the rest. No matter where I am, results are localised for that region. Of course, this type of search was possible with the iPhone previously via Google Maps. But I doubt many people were aware of it. Introducing it to the search engine brings the capability into the mainstream.

The obvious next step for Google is to expand the advertising platform beyond keyword targeting to also include location targeting (notwithstanding Google’s current attempt at geo-targeting which sucks pretty badly). Location targeting would allow a Melbourne based hairdresser to set up ads that only appear to people located within a 10km radius of the salon. That’s pretty damn powerful. And the end result…

Google advertising suddenly becomes a whole lot more relevant for small business. And Yellow Pages advertising becomes more and more unnecessary (and irrelevant). Who still pays for placement these days anyway for goodness sakes…?!?!

Getting the local search revenue model right

While we’re talking about pay for placement vs pay-per-click advertising, it’s worth pondering just how Google will monetise local ads. My experience in local search is quite different from standard search, and I expect it will be typical of most people. The key difference is intent.

When I’m searching on my laptop, information gathering is my primary intent. I’m generally trying to learn more about a particular topic. Which means that when I get to Google’s search results, I need to click through to achieve my goal. Google’s results simply don’t give me enough information. Thus the pay-per-click model works perfectly.

However, my experience with local search is quite different. When I’m out and about, I rarely engage in traditional Google searches (unless I’m on the train). Instead, I use Google for simple searches. My intent is to locate, not to learn. Mobile searches are generally for the purpose of finding local services such as car washes, restaurants and yes… the pub.

The interesting thing is that Google’s mobile application provides truly awesome local search results. Perhaps a little too good. I’m given the address, phone number and a link to generate directions. But in most cases I suspect I’ll need little more than the address. You see the problem? I don’t need to click. I’m not after more information. My intent was to locate. Which means the pay-per-click model isn’t likely to generate the maximum revenue for Google.

Is a pay-per-call model coming?

The solution to Google’s dilemma may be in a premium priced pay-per-call model. One of the cool features of Google’s local search is that users can call local businesses directly from the search results. All they need to do is click on the phone number. It seems logical to me that a phone call (driven by local search) is worth a hell of a lot more than a click from a generic Google search. The purchase intent is significantly higher. Therefore, the value of the lead is higher as well.

The wash up

Of course, this is just the beginning of the local search wars. A whole lot of water has to pass under the bridge before Google truly sends the Yellow Pages out of business. Smart phones such as the iPhone need to reach critical mass in terms of adoption. Google needs to find a way to integrate sponsored ads into iPhone search (that small screen doesn’t particularly lend itself well to two columns). And of course, a specific localised version of Adwords needs to be developed with geo-targeting capabilities.

But one thing is for sure. Google has signaled their intentions. And they are local. If I were a Yellow Pages exec right now, I suspect my pants would be turning a shade of yellow themselves…

The long tail of search truly is a wonderful thing. For new bloggers like myself it offers a rare opportunity to pull in a little organic search traffic. And believe me… that ain’t such an easy thing to do for new bloggers in the digital marketing space. After all… you’re competing against an industry of SEO’s. Every search engine referral is like a little nugget of gold… or is it…? While reviewing my top search rankings in Google Webmaster Tools I came across a few peculiar phrases that made me chuckle…

My favourite organic search engine rankings

1. Addicted to fire

That’s right folks. Google has categorised me as a fire bug with a top 10 ranking for the phrase ‘addicted to fire’. I can only imagine how disappointed our little pyro friends are when they click through to see my addicted to blogging piece. No explosions… no bushfires… not even a freakin’ camp fire. Just some marketing geek ranting about his blogging addiction. Let’s hope they don’t come after me with a box of matches…

2. Top 10 reasons why you suck

Ummm… well you’re reading this blog for starters… Seriously… who types this query into a search engine…? And more importantly… what were they expecting to find…? A customised list outlining 10 reasons why they’re a loser…? “Well Chris… for starter’s you wet the bed until you were 14…”. If your self esteem is truly this low, you deserve to end up at my crappy blog

3. Suck on line

Hmmm… one thing is for sure… whoever typed this in certainly wasn’t looking for my article on why Top 10 lists suck. While their intentions remain somewhat ambiguous, I suspect they were looking for something a little more X rated. Here’s a clue for next time buddy… try using a few more descriptive words next time. You might have a little more luck finding the exact type of sucking you’re after.

4. James fortunate fire

Ok Google… what’s with the fire connection. I’m not a pyromaniac for goodness sakes! Who knows what the intentions were for this wacky web surfer. The way I look at it though… James + fire certainly does not equal fortunate! I can’t think of too many happy scenarios involving fire (unless of course you are a pyromaniac).

5. Signs you’re just friends

Looks like I can now add ‘relationship counseller’ to my resume because Google has decided I’m an expert on determining ‘when you’re just friends’. So on that basis, here’s a little piece of expert advice on the house… if a girl won’t have sex with you, she probably just wants to be your friend.

It’s your own fault James!

Yes… it is true. My laziness in implementing SEO tactics for this blog has consigned me to complete long-tail irrelevance. I figured it was more important to be churning out content at the beginning of my blogging life cycle. But with a solid content base now behind me, there are no more excuses! No longer will I stand to be categorised as a fire starter and a relationship counseller. It’s time Google recognised me for who I am – a digital marketer! Game on Google!