Internet Marketing Blog » Google

How much of a Pie Chart Looks Like Pac-Man per Matt Cutts?

Thos003 — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:29:52 +0000

A lesson in Repurposing Content -

I heard an English teacher once say that “Every modern love story is a copy of Shakespeare.” She used Westside Story as an extreme example, stolen from Romeo and Juliet. She went on to challenge us to find a theme that Shakespeare did not cover. But there are those who argue that Shakespeare himself stole content. Who did Shakespeare steal stories from? Well, no one really knows at this point. But if he did borrow some ideas, does that constitute stealing? He took stories and themes and reworked them so eloquently that they became his own. Taking a peak at what people have done in the past and building upon their thoughts and ideas can be a healthy exercise. Adding to the conversation is a good thing. Further, those that we can identify with and build better thoughts with may even thank us. …or not. Matt Cutts may just consider me more of a pest than a pest control guy. I concede. But thanks Matt Cutts for the original Pac-Man Pie Chart idea.

Making Viral Pieces

Do your homework first. Successful viral marketing campaigns don’t just “happen”. Search out things that have already been done in your vertical. People send the same chain letters over, and over again. In fact, I was shocked just recently to get an email about some scandal 5 years after the first bogus email came through. Yet, the same sensationalism exists, and that email was forwarded and will continue to be forwarded for who knows how long. The point being, if it worked once then it will likely work again. If people liked it before then they will like it again. Weighing human nature into business is part of a winning strategy. Love songs are still sung, and new songs still come. So find something that worked well in the past and do it again. Do it better. You may not be able to judge a viral piece correctly every time, but if you do your homework then you can certainly increase your percentages.

But Don’t mind me, Just a pest control guy… Make it a great day!

-Thomas Ballantyne III
Director of Marketing for Bulwark Exterminating
Follow me on Twitter —> @Thos003

Update: Google Local Mixed Results Hit the Blender

Thos003 — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:56:47 +0000

Well there have been a bunch of busy bees in the Google local search hive. Local has been under the knife a few times. From reset data, to cool visual effects. These are today’s changes in Google’s local blended results.

The New Gray Google Map Marker

Less intrusive, less eye catching, more interactive.

Rolling over the this gray marker will change it blue for pay per click (PPC) ads on the right, or red for organic listings on the left. Scrolling over markers in the google map section highlights the respective listing markers in the PPC and organic section. You will also get a nice snippet for the local organic listings. No snippets for PPC. It’s also interesting to note that the listings have moved the once red-pins-now-gray-pin to the right of the blended results. Google also removed the triangle pointer they once displayed for the top listing.

Example of Snippet and red corresponding markers for search term Phoenix Pest Control.

Blumenthal alludes to the fact that the move from grey to red might be happening because Google is losing revenues on the local results. So this could decrease traffic to the local listings. But at this point we don’t know how much this will effect traffic to the local listings.

The Local One Box Left-Foot-Shuffle

The One Box moved it’s map to the right, the area usually occupied by PPC ads. … Just a new look?

Searched Bulwark Houston

Changes to Listing Preview

In the past a listing preview would show a screenshot of the website for both local search results and regular search listings. Now the local search results show a smaller screen shot accompanied by a map, images found in google places, quick glance of categories, business hours, review sites with review count, and a feedback link.

Full Disclosure - I am a pest control guy for Bulwark Exterminating

The feedback link takes you directly to the “Report a problem” screen of google maps.

If the red pin change was due to a decrease in revenues then it might be interesting to note that this preview is pushing Google’s property a little more. Further, the other review sites are now only visible in the extended view. In the past those sites were found under the place page listing.

Local Bug Report

In the image below the cursor was over the map and it was highlighting the first PPC ad for Bulwark Exterminating and not the correct ad for scorpion control. Just a minor scripting error.

Script Error - Mesa Pest Control Search

This happened again in a Houston search. The marker with no number indicates “not on the map”, the marker with the 1 in it on the map belongs to a different Houston pest control company.

Bulwark Exterminating | 10900 Brittmoore Park Drive

With all the recent updates Google has been moving the local map rankings around. And sadly Bulwark Exterminating dropped out of the Houston pest control local pack. Clearly something is wrong. Needless to say, we have found a few bugs here as well. Not simply because Bulwark wasn’t listed, but because Google was listing a cash parked page from Godaddy that’s for sale. Apparently on-site SEO has little to no relevancy in Google’s Local Listing algorithm.

Yesterday's screen shot for Houston Pest Control

Just a few minor bugs google may want to check into. Overall, Google has done a good job with their local search section. Overall, they still have a lot of problems to fix.

But Don’t mind me, Just a pest control guy… and that is the Search Pest Report.

-Thomas Ballantyne III
Director of Marketing for Bulwark Exterminating
Follow me on Twitter —> @Thos003

Google Places Added Correct URL Feature

Mat Siltala — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:02:54 +0000

UPDATE: Good discussion going on over on Google Plus about this: https://plus.google.com/115671137696411026556/posts/SKAvdpzTzu9

Maybe I am late to this, but I just noticed a new thing with Google Places. Has anyone seen this before today? I have not seen anyone talking about it or making mention of it yet. Anyway, after you click on the website it has a box pop up that asks you: “Is abcwebsite.com the correct website for this business?” Looks like they are trying to finally improve the way they link the websites to the Google places pages.

Also, perhaps this will be good to weed out spammer companies like putting weird landing page websites as the place page buiness website instead of the actual page. (Why do that anyway, seems dumb)

For example: I have seen (not to be mentioned here companies) create websites with the URL (for example) like this: realbusinessname.nottobementionedcompany.com … Again, I ask how stupid is that to build out landing pages when the company actually has a legitimate website! Hopefully they are trying to get rid of crap like that by giving us the ability to change it. Now the only thing I worry about is if the (nameless company doing this) is the one holding all the real companies Google Places login info.

Anyway, I like this new feature. That is, if its new …

Google May Be Trying To Weed Out More Spam

Adwords +1 Button Changes Internet Marketing.. PPC, CRO, CTR

Thos003 — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:00:48 +0000

Introducing the new Google Adwords button.

How will Google Adwords +1 Button change Internet Marketing? Does it affect PPC? Will it help or hurt CRO? Can it really increase CTR? What’s the Math?

In a recent email from Google Adwords was the following notification:

In the coming weeks, your search results and ads on Google will include a +1 button, which users can click to recommend your ads. You don’t need to make any changes to your account in order to take advantage of them. The final landing page URL of your ads can also appear on the Google profile of any user who +1’s your ad.

That time has arrived.

What this means is that now when your ad receives a +1, Google notes its final landing page URL. When the same URL appears in an organic search listing, the organic listing will include the same personal annotations as would an ad. The ad button also works both ways. Therefore, if a user +1′s one of your organic listings, then the ads Google resolves to with the same final landing page URL will include the same personal annotations. The idea is that this will increase the chance of your ads getting noticed. In theory this will also increase your CTR.

Google Question and Answers:

per a Google Adwords Representative

Will a +1 click/vote through a Google Ad cost the advertiser anything?

You will still be charged per click on your ad the same as always — a plus 1 does not count as a click.

Awesome. Adsense +1′s don’t cost extra for the advertiser.

Does this work for Google Boost Ads as well?

“Yes.

And… Yes. I concur.

Does the +1 affect Adwords Quality Score?

Google Reps response:

+1′s (whatever their source — organic search, ads, or +1 buttons on publisher sites) are a signal that affects organic search ranking, but +1′s do not change quality scores for ads and ad ranking. By adding +1 buttons to your pages, you give your visitors more chances to +1 your content, resulting in additional +1 annotations on Google search results and search ads. Studies have shown that customers turn to advice from people they trust when making purchase decisions, so more +1 annotations could lead to more, and better qualified traffic coming to your site from Google search.

The way we measure Quality Score for your ads has not changed. We continue to use historical AdWords performance information, clickthrough rate (CTR), and other signals to calculate your Ad Rank and cost-per-click (CPC). That being said, if personal annotations from +1′s on your search results, search ads, or website increase the CTR on your ads, your Quality Score is likely to improve as well.

So the +1 button does not directly change quality score, but could indirectly change quality score by increasing the Click Through Rate (CTR). This is a good thing for companies that foster customer relations and customer service. Having a higher CTR, increasing quality score, and then saving on the cost-per-click (CPC) means a better ROI for the business. This also turns out to be a better user experience for Google users because they finding those quality companies. This is a win-win-win scenario.

The Problem Pests

The first step in this equation looks pretty good, but this math problem has a few pest issues. ….LANDING PAGES.

We have landing pages for our Google PPC campaign to track our PPC and they are “NoIndex” pages. How will this benefit or hurt us?

In your case, if you have a different landing page for Google PPC, any +1 to your PPC ad won’t also show on your organic listing- but would +still show on the ad. If you put a +1 button on your Google PPC page and someone +1′s it, then when someone in their network sees your ad, they will see the annotation below it.

Hmmm, that doesn’t sound so good. Would an Extreme Canonical Trick help?

+1s are tagged currently at the URL level. So, if you have a landing +page just for Google PPC, then if someone +1s that ad, you will only see the +1 annotations below that ad and not on the organic link. If the same URL is used for both PPC and Organic listings, then any +1s to that URL (whether on the landing page itself, on the ad, or the organic link) will show up for all links to that page.

While I am sure that there a few geniuses out there that have this problem already solved the rest of us like to create separate landing pages to track Google Adwords, and to improve conversion rates. Optimization of landing pages was one of the benefits that Google Pay Per clicks offered without the hassles of including SEO. Many search engine marketers (SEMs) enjoyed the flexibility of design available within the safe haven of pay per clicks. Because search engine rules demand webmasters show the search bot spiders and the human users the same page, this +1 adwords creation is going to bite into landing page and conversion rate optimization. This seems to be more than a little problem, in my professional pest control opinion, this is an infestation waiting to explode!

Gaming the +1s to increase CTR?

Per some spammy emails you can buy Google +1s, doesn’t this open up a new black market?

According to Googler Fredrick Vallaeys, “No, Google +1 only influences your circle of friends/connections.”

Don’t mind me, Just a pest control guy… and that is the Search Pest Report.

-Thomas Ballantyne
Director of Marketing for Bulwark Exterminating
Follow me on Twitter —> @Thos003

Google Adwords Will Be Removing Position Preference

Thos003 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:13:09 +0000

Google Adwords will be removing position preference. The feature has already been disabled. But for those that would be grandfathered in, they are removing this option entirely come May 2011. This announcement came via a message within the Adwords.

Announcement:

Retiring the position preference setting

In early May, we’ll be removing the option to set position preferences. Learn more about what this means for your campaigns.

Position preference gave advertisers the ability to tell Google where they wanted their ad to appear in Google’s search ads on a given page.

We call it a preference because we can’t guarantee you’ll always get the position (or rank) you ask for. Here is an example of how you could set your position preference:

Higher than a given position (such as above 7)

Lower than a given position (such as below 4)

Within a range of positions (such as from 2-8)

In a single exact position (such as position 2)

http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=31788

On the same page, Google explains why an advertiser might like a specific position or range:

If you find that your own ad gets the best results when it is ranked (for example) third or fourth among all AdWords ads, you can set a position preference for those spots.

Sad to see the Ad Position Preference Go.

Many people in the Adwords world have found better conversions from lower positions. Positions 1 – 3 get the most clicks. They also get the most window shoppers. A window shopper is much less committed to buy then an individual that walks into a store. Searchers that take the time to read the ads are much more serious in their buying commitment. So being in position 6-8 is like slapping a “Serious inquires only” label on your ad. You get individuals that are making a conscious effort to select which ad best fits their needs and wants. From a salesman’s perspective, this is a getting a little “yes”. Every sale comes from a lot of little “yes’s” to get the big “YES.” Truth be told, I found better conversion rates for many searches in positions 6-8. I would also bid on words that are profitable to me when I can get a user to stop and think, “Scorpions as in pest control” vs “Scorpions the band”. Position number 1 is not where I want to be, even if I am willing to pay more than a guy wanting to sell a CD.

Sorry Google, but it seems that you are moving away from listening to your advertisers. Call me old, but for me the phrase “the customer is always right” still has a nice ring to it.

How Advertisers target average positions without position preference?

So all is not lost. By staying on top of the changes in the internet marketing industry you will find that you can still get a position preference. What is unclear by their automate suggestion is if you can aim for a lower position rather than a higher position. Selecting the automate tab gives you the default suggestion “Raise bids to first page CPC”. So one can target “Higher” positions with Google’s automate tool.

How to get your content removed from Google

Mat Siltala — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:00:18 +0000

I saw this question posted yesterday by Jay Thompson on a post he’s trying to get removed from Google:

“I don’t know how long it will take Google to de-index the post, but it should get de-indexed at some point (and if an SEO wizard is reading this, tell me what, if anything, else I can do to get it de-indexed). Below is a screen shot of my WordPress backend showing the post is set to noindex/nofollow.”

It is in reference to this page: http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/a-follow-up-to-my-lones-group-v-rothamel-article/

Since I know a thing or two about SEO, I thought I would help this guy out, and answer his question. I have used the nofollow command in the robots.txt to remove as well as going into my Google webmaster account (removal request tool) and removed pages that way (a site got hacked and I had to request a ton of pages get moved – so trust me, I know it works)

With all that said, Matt Cutts did a great video that really explains EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about the topic. Hope this helps Jay!

oh and PS – if anyone else knows any other tips or tricks to include, please feel free to add them in the comments!

Google Instant Serving Up Instant Trash For The Kids

Mat Siltala — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:13:03 +0000

Ok, been saving my comments about Google Instant, but got a SERP “instant” result today that was to good to keep to myself. I missed the Sundevils game last night, so I wanted to check out the score this morning. I go to Google and start typing in …. well, see for yourself.

Instant Google Search for Arizona State Sun ...

Just what you want your little kids seeing when they go to Google and check out the scores too huh??? But even more annoying? The “Instant” SERP image result (of these two girls paying swords with their tongues) is almost 3 years old. (look at the arrow) nice job on this Google.

Trash results

I was not “instantly” serves the scores from last nights game, or even given relevant results, instead I was served trash! I am with Graywolf, I wish we had Google Understand, instead of Google Instant. I still don’t know the game of the score because I saw this “Instant” SERP result and got distracted and started writing this ~~rant~~ post. Again, great job Google. Great job!

Every SERP In Google May Harm Your Computer

Mat Siltala — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:58:38 +0000

If your visits from Google are down today, there may be good reason! I Twittered upon something amusing this morning, but this also stinks too, because it really does make me wonder if the referrals will be less today because of this Google mix up.

Thanks to a tweet by @coplandmj I woke up to an interesting problem Google seems to be having. Every result in the SERPs are telling searchers “This site may harm your computer”. I have seen this before on a few sites, but not EVERY SINGLE ONE. I did a random search for SEO Blog and had to screen shot it for those who may miss it – check out all the SEO Blogs that may harm your computer – LOL. I wonder how long this one will take to fix, and what the story behind it is.

This site may harm your computer Google Error

iPhone Google Voice Search, Does it Work?

Andrew Melchior — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:16:53 +0000

Ok, so like me, I’m sure many of you iPhone users out there have been reading the hype about the new Google Voice Search feature of the Google App for the iPhone. I have seen a few stories zip through to me via Google Alerts, but until now I didn’t really pay any attention to them. This morning I decided to download the Google App and give Voice Search a try to see how it works for me. Here is what I found.

Google App Install:

It’s as simple as all the other apps you can download from Apple, simple click on the Apps icon on your iPhone and either search for Google or just go to the Top 25 Free Apps page and it’ll be there, it almost always is…and yet it is FREE. Click on the App, click on Free, click on Install, and bang…the download begins. After a few minutes you’ll be in Google App heaven ;o)

First Open:

When you first open the Google App you’ll see a screen with the following instructions: “For voice search, just bring the phone to your ear and speak.” I did just that with my son yelling in my ear and I got a scrambled mess for my search results. Although the phone did make out what that I had said something, the search results were way off from what I stated (more on that to come).

Features of Google App:

Along with the Voice Search features the Google App is loaded with other Apps within the App. By clicking the Apps button at the bottom you can gain quick access to online Google Apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Docs, etc. From the settings button you can access search settings to turn on SafeSearch, on/off Voice Search, etc…nothing really that special in the settings.

Does Voice Search Work?

Because my first test of the Voice Search netted me bad results I decided to give it a real test and 9 out of 10 times the phone got my audio search strand correct. Here is what I searched for and the results I got:

1. Spoken term: memory foam mattress, results: memory foam mattress

2. Spoken term: byu cougars, results: byu cougars (they are going to kill Utah BTW)

3. Spoken term: search engine optimization, results: search engine optimization

4. Spoken term: social media optimization, results: social media optimization

5. Spoken term: honda motorcycle, results: honda motorcycle

6. Spoken term: cool beans, results: cool beans

7. Spoken term: Jennifer Garner, results: Jennifer Garner

8. Spoken term: Barack Obama, results: Barack Obama

9. Spoken term: link:www.google.com, results: linksys colin www.google.com

10. Spoken term: money management software, results: money management software

As you can see, the App did great with all my standard search terms, but when tossing in an advanced search request to show the links pointing to Google, the phone got confused. Overall, though…it’s an amazing application and Voice Search is a great feature, earning it a coveted icon spot on my iPhone’s homepage!

Please welcome…Andrew Melchior and try to stay with me

Andrew Melchior — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:59:31 +0000

Hello and welcome to my first Dream Systems Media Blog post. My name is Andrew Melchior and I’m going to be posting to this blog on a daily (I hope) basis. To start I’m going to give you a little background on who I am and what I’ll be doing here at DSM.

I got started in the online industry back in 2000 when I launched my first ecommerce website and it was fast moving from there. After launching that site I quickly became inspired to learn as much as I could about internet marketing so I dug in deep and began reading all I could along with testing and applying what I learned. I also had the chance during that time to begin working with some ecommerce consulting companies like Prosper, Inc. In doing this, I got the chance to literally work with over 1000 small .com start-ups and this gave me the ultimate learning and proving ground to apply different strategies in. Fast forward to 2008 and I am now part owner in literally 16+ different ecommerce, blog, and service based sites, DSM included, and will be working in DSM to help acquire clients and service them toward helping them reach their goals. I am very confident we’ll be able to do just that and also know that the clients we have will not just be satisfied, they will be amazed at what we can do for them.