Jetting Blogs

The Role of News in Blended Search – Observations & Best Practices

Posted by BlogPostman under Pay-Per-Click, Press Release Distribution

We’re starting this Spring Break week off with a very rare guest post from TopRank Marketing client, Jiyan Wei. Jiyan is Director of Product Management at Vocus, Inc. where he drives product platform strategy and roadmap execution for PRWeb. I’ve presented on panels with Jiyan several times at search marketing conferences, talking about the virtues of search, social media and public relations, finding him to be a very strategic and smart marketer. We’ll be co-presenting at the upcoming MarketingPros B2B Forum in May on Content Optimization and Marketing. In this post, Jiyan discusses the progression and importance of news content in blended search: Once upon a time, Page 1 had a special meaning for PR practitioners and business owners alike. It meant that for one day, they had received the pole position in the consciousness of the consumer, who would hopefully transition from newspaper consumer into business customer. For businesses – both local and global alike – Page 1 either meant an outpouring of business or pending doom. With the emergence of search as ubiquitous, Page 1 has begun to take on added meaning. Business owners are still very concerned about Page 1 but now, depending on whom you ask, Page 1 often refers to search and the consequent generation of a limitless stream of business and leads without having to pay for ongoing PR or advertising. For many, Page 1 in search has become the new holy grail of business owners and SEO practitioners alike. When I’m asked the question, “Will PRWeb get us onto Page 1 of search,” I immediately start shaking my head vigorously while hoping no one from the major engines overheard the question. Of course, nothing can guarantee you will be on Page 1 of search. That being said, as part of a broader online marketing strategy, news releases can be an effective tool to facilitate the outward expression of news and information about a business, which over time can result in the creation of online authority in the eyes of search engines. Yet with blended search, the picture becomes muddled. At some point in the last couple years, Google (and now Bing) decided that users want more than just Web results when they run a query in search and so started offering a front page that contained a broader array of types of content including images, video and news. According to some accounts news performs better in blended results than other forms of media and unlike other forms of media in blended search, news has a distinctly temporal slant. After all, news is really just information with a timestamp. What this means for business owners, communicators, marketers, etc. is that under some circumstances, news can actually be a viable gateway onto Page 1 of search in a relatively short amount of time by leveraging sites that search engines regard as ‘news sites,’ including news release sites. All that being said, here are some specific observations we’ve made about news in blended search: 1. If a recent news story is relevant to a query, it is more likely to appear somewhere in the results This may seem fairly obvious but the devil is in the details. Nailing down ‘relevance’ between a query and results is a tall order but we have found that placing your target keywords in the title, preferably in the first part of the title of your news story, dramatically increase the likelihood that your news story will show up for queries of the target keywords once the crawlers have found the story. As the keywords descend into the story, from left-to-right and top-to-bottom, they become less impactful in terms of helping your story get onto the blended results for your target query. 2. News results can include thumbnailed images and these can improve click-through rates Crawlers like Google look for relevant images to place in connection with news stories in the news block in blended search. They normally extract images from within the body of the story so including these images can result in having a thumbnail placed in connection with the result. Who cares? Well, everyone has seen the heat maps that show the importance of receiving top billing on page 1. What we’ve found from our own internal tests however is that results with image thumbnails can have click-through rates that are similar and sometimes even higher than results that are actually located higher. In other words, reader’s eyes are naturally drawn to the thumbnail so even if the news block is located lower down on the blended results page, the inclusion of a thumbnail can mitigate the lower placement to a great extent. 3. Many types of queries can result in news There are some types of queries that seem to have an obvious time slant: current events, sports, celebrities, etc. However, we have seen news show up in blended search results for query types that seem less obviously tied to a date. For example, tip sheets and best practice documents can be easily turned into news stories that can have a presence in blended search and drive traffic. With Spring right around the corner, there is a great opportunity to leverage audience demand for content to drive Web site traffic. For example, a quick glance at Google insights reveals that queries for ‘Spring decorating’ are on the rise. An opportunistic interior designer could use the opportunity to submit a release with a title like ‘Spring decorating tips from leading interior designer,’ that will have a good chance to tap into an upwards trending query in the blended search results. 4. Individual stories don’t appear in blended search results for long Using your news to get Page 1 placement is a short-term proposition. As quickly as the story enters the blended search results, it can disappear. We typically see news stories show up in the blended search results for 24-48 hours. Depending on how dynamic the news landscape is for the query (some queries are going to receive a flood of news stories that may wash your story away in hours), the lifespan of your story may be even shorter. Connect with Jiyan on Twitter , his blog or visit PRWeb, TopRank’s favorite press release distribution service.

Maximize The Benefits Of Utilizing Pay Per Click Services

Posted by BlogPostman under Pay-Per-Click

The virtual world has blessed us with a plethora of options to make money. In the present scenario, online marketing has become the name of the game. Amidst all the techniques which are utilized for online marketing, Pay Per Click is considered a profitable approach. Besides this, Pay Per Click also needs to be utilized for ensuring that your website remains listed on the top position of every search engine. Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) enables you to market the business to the people who are searching for your services or product. The combination of PPC Management and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services can work wonders in the world of internet marketing. The unparalleled combination leads to the creation of a powerful advertising medium. Pay Per Click management facilitates you in reaching out the global audience. Moreover, you are also capable of targeting individual towns and cities. But with the availability of a myriad of companies to choose from, you must be really concerned about making an appropriate selection. So how can you distinguish yourself from your competitors in the arena of business by utilizing the most effective Pay Per Click Services? The market is flooded with several companies that claim to offer the most profitable Pay Per Click services. However, Pay Per Click Toronto is the name which fulfills all your expectations. The company is focused on utilization of innovative techniques and employs effective strategies for bringing the targeted customers to your websites. Offering a bird’s eye-view of the internet marketing perspective enables the organization to benefit from all the traditional and niche marketing prospects that are available online. The unparalleled resources of Pay Per Click Toronto leave no stones unturned to make your endeavor a success. A dedicated team of talents and necessary expertise from various domains facilitates in creation of dynamic strategies. The utilization of such strategies enables in taking the web presence of your organization to a new level of excellence. Moreover, the organization makes every decision on the basis of your customers’ requirements. In addition, Pay Per Click Toronto ensures that your business receives the highest benefits from Pay Per Click search programs like MSN, Google Ad Words, Yahoo Search Marketing and other search engines by working according to your budget. The company strives to maintain top positions for your website by adding new key phrases. – About the Author: For more information regarding: pay per click Toronto, search engine optimization Toronto and pay per click advertising Toronto; please visit: http://www.oilchange.com Article Source

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Maximize The Benefits Of Utilizing Pay Per Click Services

Custom Business Signs

Posted by under Pay-Per-Click

One color is enough to make people notice your business signs before they see those of someone else. You want your custom signs to tickle the interest of people, and they should also be very visible. The human eye looks for contrasts, whether the viewer is aware of it or not. So a well-made sign with light on dark or dark on light will stand out to viewers more than signs that use all dark colors or all light colors. Those may go unnoticed by the very customers the businesses are trying to attract. What colors work for your business? You probably have certain colors in your logo, and in other advertising your business does. So start out with contrasting colors that include those of your logo, so people will associate your company with these colors when they see them. The purpose of custom business signs is to attract potential customers to read your message. Make your lettering stand out effectively to draw the attention of people passing by. Regardless of what your sign says, you have to grab attention before it will be read. When you select the color scheme for a custom sign, remember that contrasting colors work the best for people to notice, whether they even realize it or not. You can use a light background with dark words and symbols, or a dark background with light symbols and words. Either of these two ways will get the maximum attention of people going by. The colors will help to increase the effectiveness of your signs. Dark colors recede and light colors advance, which makes them more easily visible to the human eye. Backgrounds that are white or off-white are very popular in custom signs. Not only do they give you the contrast you need, but they are usually cheaper to have made. They will also not draw any attention away from your logo or wording. You can use any color you like on your sign background, of course, just keep in mind what will draw the most attention, since that is the purpose of having signs made in the first place. As long as you don’t use light lettering with a light background, your words and logo will stand out. Color and artistic design will make your signs more appealing to read, and people will read it more easily if you use contrasting colors. A bright color message with dark around the borders will also grab people’s attention. Different colors evoke various emotions in the people who read your sign. Depending on what type of business you are in, you’ll want to utilize colors that best convey your message to readers. Pink and light blue will attract the feminine eye, whereas purple may suggest authority or wealth. Artistic businesses also use purple a lot to express that flair. Red is an eye-grabbing color, and speaks of strength and passion. White is an excellent color for any background, and yellow will grab attention with dark printing. Use your color choices to tell people what type of business you have. Bannerstoyou.com is a leading provider of Bannerstoyou.com in the USA and beyond. They can provide all your needs for vinyl banners for business or personal use. Bannerstoyou.com is a leading provider of vinyl banners in the USA and beyond. They can provide all your needs for vinyl banners for business or personal use. Tom Jacobsen is a writer for http://www.bannerstoyou.com who has worked in the industry for some years. Article Source

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Custom Business Signs

Keyword Elite 2.0

Posted by BlogPostman under Pay-Per-Click

Brad Callen’s Keyword Elite has graced the market again and this time it’s version 2.0 and its already kicking up a storm so to speak. Advertisers are always seeking ways to improve their online sales and especially boost the effectiveness of their Pay Per Click advertising campaigns. Keyword Elite has presented itself as an industry changing tool that is a must have for the serious online PPC marketer. Keyword Elite offers users the ability to generate literally hundreds of relevant keywords. The most valuable of which are what are called long tail keywords. In generating these narrow keywords Keyword Elite gives tremendous incite into untapped Niches. Most people tend to focus on the most popular keywords and understandably so since that is what is drawing the most traffic. However the concept behind Keyword Elite is that the software will generate unpopular keywords that are “buyer keywords”. In other words the keywords that you want to focus on are not those that draw free information seekers but those that draw buyers for whatever product you want to sell. With Keyword Elite you can search for and actually find the keyword phrases that very few people are using to make huge profits with pay per click advertising. And perhaps the most stunning and valuable feature  of Keyword Elite 2.0 is the so-called “Adwords Time Machine”. This feature allows you instant access to the past 6 months of ad history for any Google Adwords advertiser! You can therefore determine if a competitor is making money with their Adwords ad campaign and you can model your own ad strategy based on theirs. It’s quite an unfair advantage. The online marketing landscape is becoming more and more competitive especially with folks trying to make a little extra cash here and there it is for this reason that I strongly recommend Keyword Elite as an essential tool in your online marketing toolbox. For more information on Keyword Elite 2.0 “Click Here” Article Source

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Keyword Elite 2.0

7 Answers to News SEO Questions You Should Know

Posted by BlogPostman under Pay-Per-Click

Recently I was invited to give a basics webinar on optimizing news content  for search.  The intersection of search and PR/communications are obviously something quite familiar and while I’ve done several such presentations with our client PRWeb , I had not done one with Search Engine Watch before. The outcome exceeded all expectations thanks to the excellent promotions by PRWeb and SEW plus Mike Grehan’s smooth handling of moderator duties amidst technical difficulties. Over 7,000 people registered, there were over 400 questions and 650 Tweets using the #prweb hash tag during the webinar. The way it goes with many webinars when you’re invited by an organization to participate, is that the topic and title/description are determined beforehand. The speaker adapts themselves to that.  This presentation content focused on optimizing writing for the web with a particular emphasis on optimizing content common to public relations. As promised, I’ve sorted the bulk of the questions out and will present several here along with my responses. I hope they are useful. If I’m not currently optimizing my site and I have a limited budget, where do I start? The first thing any marketing activity needs to start with include setting goals, understanding your audience and the market. The lowest cost method of outsourcing that kind of activity where search engine optimization is concerned, would be to hire a consultant or agency to do an audit. An SEO audit represents the initial evaluation and research along with recommendations to be implemented by the client. Typically this involves: competitive research, keyword research, web site code/template evaluation, content optimization recommendations, link building research and recommendations, tips on content creation/promotion/repurposing and to varying degrees, social media recommendations. Web analytics, monitoring and ranking tools are also often recommended. An audit does not take the place of consulting since it’s an evaluation and recommendation, not implementation and guidance on an ongoing basis. It is however, a cost effective start. Here are a few resources: Top 3 Tactics To Improve Search Engine Rankings Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide Do’s and Don’ts of On-Page SEO for Public Relations 5 Online Marketing Resolutions for 2010 Should your newsroom blog be placed under the site’s domain, or maintained separately under the blog software’s domain to allow for incoming links to your main site that are coming from a different site? There are two parts to the answer for this question. First, the reference to “blog software’s domain” sounds as though the blog is hosted with a third party service such as blogger.com or typepad.com. Example:  yourblog.blogspot.com or yourblog.typepad.com My advice is to avoid using third party hosting services for your blog. If you’re too invested in such a service or have other reasons for using them and cannot use something like WordPress installed on the server where your web site is hosted, then use domain aliasing options so that your blog URL is part of your company domain name or a domain name that you own. Example:  yourblog.com or yourblog.companydomainname.com. This puts you in a position of more control since the blog content lives under a domain name you own vs a domain like blogspot.com, which is owned by Google. While links from your blog/newsroom hosted on a blogspot.com to your company web site do count as inbound links, there’s not as much value from many links to your site from one other site vs many links to your site from many other relevant web sites. Which leads us to the second part answer to where the newsroom should be hosted. My preference is to host the newsroom either as a sub-domain or a sub-directory of the main company web address. Example:   newsroom.redcross.org or in the case of TopRank, it’s  toprankmarketing.com/newsroom/ The links that you attract from other relevant web sites to your newsroom pages will build PageRank back to the rest of your web site. This is more true with the subdirectory than the subdomain. Also, keeping your newsroom address as part of your company web site address is useful for branding and user experience. Some advice on subdomains and subdirectories from Matt Cutts of Google and here’s a good post discussing the SEO pros/cons. Should you post press releases on your own website (before distribution)? How do search engines deal with the duplicate content issue in this case? If you’re a publicly traded company, publishing financial announcements need to happen on the wires first, or at least at the same time as publishing the press release on your own web site.  For other companies not constrained by such requirements, posting a release to your own site first is fine. As for dealing with duplicate content when your press release is published on your own site as well as on the wire service, it’s a pretty common situation. In fact, it’s often a goal for companies that distribute their releases through a newswire service to get as many other sites to copy and republish the release as possible. If the release is properly optimized, each time another web site with a unique domain name publishes a copy, it creates a link back to whatever web page on your corporate site you’re trying to draw attention to.  This sends more traffic and can affect the search ranking of the destination page. A long standing problem with situations where the same content is hosted on different domain names has been debated and worried about by many, many webmasters. Search engines like Google don’t like to show multiple copies of the same content in the same search results. It’s not a good user experience. Therefore, when duplicate copies of the same content are detected, Google likes to pick a canonical version and only show that one. Duplication with press releases is quite common because of distribution on wire services and to influence search engines to rank a certain version of your press release, there are a few steps you can take. One piece of advice many webmasters try to follow is to publish the release on your own site so Google crawls it there first.  However, if there are more links to another version of the same release hosted elsewhere, the other copy might be perceived as deserving to rank in search results instead. For more tips on how to deal with duplicate content in a press release situation, watch this video interview with Adam Lasnik of Google that I took at SES London. Adam offers advice on making sure copies of your content attribute the source and all link back to the original to provide Google information about what version is canonical. Is it useful to submit Press Releases to Social Media sites in addition to submitting to PRWeb.com? Deciding what to share on social media sites should take into account what types of content members of the social community are best responding to.  Press Releases are often formal marketing communications, not exactly conversational. As you understand the community you’re trying to reach with the press release, you should know whether it’s appropriate to share a press release with them in a social media setting. The big mistake many marketers and PR professionals make is to register with a variety of social network, news and bookmarking sites and then self submit, vote and rate their own press releases without having ever participated in the community.  With no network paying attention to what you’re sharing, few will ever notice the press release. If you do have a network on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Digg and others, then you will know first hand whether it would be acceptable to the community to share content in a press release format. Outside of social media news release, your best bet to take advantage of social media distribution of a press release would be to make it easy for the press release to be saved, shared and submitted by interested readers. You can do this with widgets or plugins offered by ShareThis and similar services. Many wire services already support those features as well.   Additionally, you should monitor pickups of the release on the social web. If you see someone submit or share a release you’ve sent out on a social media site, reach out and thank them, answer any questions and show interest. That can generate interest from others in the community.  One tip I recommend is to write a blog post version of the press release and share that content with social media communities. Then include a link to the full press release within the blog post for people that want more information. What you should not do is treat social media sites as a place to dump press release content thinking it will get a lot of exposure because there are many members of the community.  Here are some additional newsroom SEO tactics . What is a good Social Media approach for a company which generates little in the way of genuinely newsworthy material? Companies that say they have nothing “newsworthy” to publish are more common than you might think. There may be deeper issues to deal with than a social media strategy if there’s nothing new, innovative or unique to talk about.  A good social media marketing program cannot fix a broken business. A business exists to make money fulfilling unmet customer needs. A perspective to consider would be to take the focus off the company and put it on the customer. Use social web participation as a way to better listen with and connect with customers to find opportunities to serve them better. Develop relationships with influentials and encourage feedback. Innovation can certainly come from a customer base as can the spread of a great idea. Focus on connecting with customers and helping customers connect with each other in a social context and there may be more newsworthy material than you ever expected. Here are a few useful resources on Social Media and PR: Improve Public Relations with SEO & Social Media Why Use Social Media For Public Relations 3 Steps for Effectively Using Social Media For PR There are so many shady SEO people and firms – how do you pick a good one? There are no more “shady” SEO people than there are “shady” clients. Professionals that provide effective SEO consulting are reputable, experienced and in my experience, probably more talented than most traditional marketers you’ve ever worked with.  People doing shady things in the name of SEO are NOT professionals and the absence of that word, professionals, in the question is the problem. Picking a good consultant or agency means doing homework. Know your market, set goals, understand your competition in search and start asking for referrals from others who have hired SEO companies. Word of mouth is powerful both for companies that need to hire good SEOs and for good SEOs to attract business. Our agency, TopRankMarketing.com for example, has relied mostly on word of mouth to attract new business since 2001. We also get a lot of new business from search itself (practice what you preach) and from networking on and offline. Here are a few resources on hiring a SEO and one on “shady” SEO: How to Hire a SEO Firm – According to Google 5 Tips on Hiring and Getting the Most Value from SEO Consultants Dear Fox News: SEO Is Not Search Engine Scamming (Unless You’re Scamming Yourself) Part of the issue is demand.  Take the next question for example: “Can you use article spinning software to publish Press Releases? Or is there an Press Release spinning software to create many press releases based on one press release? Other words, is there a difference between article marketing and press releases?” Article spinning software for press releases? Demand for shortcuts, silver bullets and “we want everything now” helps create the shady side of SEO as opportunists take advantage.  Automatically generating garbage pages in press release format will help NO ONE. That’s it for this round of questions. I’ll post another round next week. Thank you to PRWeb and Search Engine Watch for having me participate on the webinar. What are your questions about optimizing news content? If you’d like even more in-depth information about SEO and Public Relations , AND you happen to live in the Louisville, Kentucky area, be sure to check out the event Social Media Club Louisville is having next Tuesday night, Feb 16th.