Local Search Marketing Strategies -
Local search marketing has grown extensively over the past couple of years and is expected to grow even more moving forward. While this growth has opened up many opportunities for marketers, it has also created challenges.
At the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, Ian White, the CEO of Urban Mapping, spoke with WebProNews about local search marketing tactics. He explains how his company provides a solution to help marketers with their local efforts.
The service that Urban Mapping offers extracts geographic keywords from specific areas. It provides keywords such as names of churches, schools, landmarks, hospitals, and more.
As mobile technology advances, White said services such as this would become increasingly important. Although most mobile devices are equipped with functions that recognize location, it doesn’t mean that every user knows how to use the technology. In addition, many users may want to use local search for locations other than their own.
Yahoo on Coming Changes to Ad Platform -
Google has been the dominant player in search advertising for a long time, but is Yahoo and Microsoft about to shake things up with their joint effort? Only time will tell, but one thing that is certain is that the online marketplace will definitely see many changes in the coming months as Yahoo and Microsoft implement their search agreement.
The advertisers that use Yahoo’s ad platform will soon be migrating to Microsoft’s adCenter. The full transfer is anticipated to take place over the next 24 months and will begin in the U.S.
According to David Pann, Yahoo’s Vice President of Search Advertising, the company hopes to have the U.S. migration completed in time for the holiday season this year. However, if meeting that timeline means sacrificing quality, Pann told WebProNews that Yahoo would simply move the timeline to ensure the highest quality transition.
After the deal is implemented, Microsoft will be in charge of the core advertising platform for both companies, which specifically includes matching, ranking, pricing algorithms, and more. Yahoo, on the other hand, will maintain its responsibility for the consumer experience.
Speaking about the benefits of the deal, Pann said it was a “win” for advertisers, consumers, and publishers.
“It’s really a win for advertisers with a single buy getting access to more inventory, it’s a win for consumers for a greater relevance, and it’s a win for consumers and publishers since they have greater access to a new set of participation and inventory.”
In spite of all the changes the deal will bring for advertising, Pann was quick to say that Yahoo is still innovating and would continue to do so.
Keep watching WebProNews for more on Yahoo’s current innovations as well as information on company’s mobile and real-time efforts.
Since there are now so many different ways for people get to websites, natural search has become increasingly difficult over the past few years. Seth Besmertnik, the CEO of Conductor, talked about this idea with WebProNews and explained what search marketers need to do to leverage the changes.
In past years, SEO focused on content and keywords. However, when Google came along, the game changed. Google introduced links in relation to content and more.
Today, organic search is even more complex with personalization, real-time search, social media, and other new features popping up rapidly. As a result of the complexity, Besmertnik emphasized the need to have a scalable infrastructure that tracks everything.
He said this is critically important for businesses that want to compete in natural search. In addition, businesses that want to find synergies between their marketing efforts need to make sure they make the most of one area before they add more and complicate matters.
Besmertnik used the analogy that “you have to have bricks before you can build a wall.” Ultimately, companies will not be able to successfully blend efforts until each is established.
Yahoo Details Implementation of Search Deal -
Now that Yahoo and Microsoft have been granted regulatory approval for their search deal, what happens now? That is a question that many people in the search industry want answered.
Just for a recap, Microsoft will power Yahoo Search and Yahoo will become the exclusive search advertising provider for Microsoft’s search engine, Bing. Recently, WebProNews had the opportunity to sit down with Shashi Seth, the Senior Vice President of Yahoo Search Products, to learn more about how the alliance between the two companies would be integrated.
First of all, Seth points out that the full integration will take between 18-24 months. As it takes place, he is quick to say that users will continue to receive a compelling search experience from Yahoo that goes beyond the traditional search page.
In spite of the partnership, each engine will maintain its individual areas of focus. For Yahoo specifically, Seth says, “…What our users will continue to find is that not only can they find that great content that resides on [the] Yahoo network on Yahoo Search, but also that we can take people from Yahoo Search to the appropriate properties etc., in the right context…”
According to Seth, users will likely see slight modifications to Yahoo Search over the next several months as the Microsoft integration is completed. However, the companies have not yet decided if they will do a major launch with new features and functionalities.
There are still many questions regarding Yahoo such as the company’s level of commitment to search, implications on advertisers, future innovations, and more. Keep watching WebProNews for more information on these very issues directly from Yahoo.
Driving Traffic with Domain Names -
According to Monte Cahn, the Founder and President of Moniker, finding the right domain name is key in driving traffic to your site. At SMX West in Santa Clara, Cahn talked to WebProNews about several issues surrounding domain names.
He said specifically, “It’s not all about SEO and SEM strategies, but without the right domain name, you’re really not going to be successful on the Web.”
Since there is so much talk of 301 redirects, how do people know when to use them and when to build up a domain name? Cahn says people should always use 301 redirects for various misspellings of the brand’s name.
On the other hand, he advises companies to build out subsites for their products or services. By doing this, companies can take advantage of link juice and use the links and referrals to drive SEO value.
One of the biggest mistakes brands make with domain names is not being proactive when they release new products or services. Cahn gives examples where both Microsoft and Apple released products before checking on the availability of the domain. If companies wait until after they announce their new product or service, chances are the domain name price will skyrocket.
Is your domain name driving traffic to your site?
Incorporating Social into Email Marketing -
Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing but is still very effective. Social media marketing is a relatively new form of marketing but is also very effective. What happens if the two are combined? According to Kara Trivunovic of StrongMail, email and social media provide many great advantages when they are put together.
When people integrate social into their email marketing programs, they have the opportunity to not only expand the reach of their existing offers, but also to encourage existing customers to evangelize on their behalf. As a result, companies could grow their database through acquisition, which is not usually common in email marketing.
As Trivunovic points out, there are three primary ways that people use to implement social into their email marketing efforts. They are:
1. Sharing with your network
2. Leveraging as a medium to incentivize current customer base
3. Business model: acquiring customers through referrals
Trivunovic told WebProNews that approximately 86 percent of email subscribers share their email via email when they are asked to evangelize on the behalf of a company. Other social sharing methods include Facebook, Twitter, and blogging.
Incidentally, of that 86 percent that share via email, 19 percent of the receivers convert. That said, it seems safe to say that social media and email marketing work pretty well together.
How Search and Social Affect PR -
Most marketers utilize search engine optimization in order to make it easier for customers to find them and, ultimately, buy their products. As search, social media, and public relations become more intertwined, marketers need to understand that journalists are essentially customers as well.
Lee Odden, the CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, spoke with WebProNews at OMS and explained this idea. It is no secret that all companies want media coverage since it produces credibility, sales, search visibility, and more. So, what can marketers do to get noticed by journalists?
Based on survey conducted by TopRank, 91 percent of reporters, journalists, and editors used Google to help them find contacts in 2008. Of those surveyed, only 27 percent used social media. However, George Washington University and Cision released a report this year showing that 86 percent of the media use blogs and 64 percent use social media.
What does this tell marketers? According to Odden, marketers need to optimize their content in regards to what journalists are looking for. In other words, he suggests including terms such as “expert” and other credentials, specifications, and trends that journalists would use.
Incidentally, the survey found that TV and online journalists were more apt to use social media to find information.
Enjoy Audio with Sennheiser Products -
Sennheiser is a brand that is known for its quality microphones, headphones, and wireless transmission systems. The products the company released at CES 2010 proved that it is raising the bar for its audio innovations.
Sennheiser recently partnered with Adidas to produce new sport headphones. The companies took complaints and turned them into solutions to make an athlete’s experience better. According to Eric Palonen of Sennheiser, the headphones sound great, stay in place, and are sweat proof.
Another product Sennheiser displayed at CES was the MM 450, which won a CES Innovation Award. The MM 450 allows users to answer phone calls and listen to music in stereo. In addition, it cancels up to 90 percent of ambient noise, which makes it perfect for a frequent traveler.
For more information on Sennheiser and their products, visit their site.
Not even two days after Google announced the launch of its Nexus One smartphone, CoPilot Live released its v8 GPS navigation app specifically for the device. The company’s product was already available for the Android platform, but it debuted the Nexus One version at CES 2010.
CoPilot Live offers turn-by-turn GPS navigation. Instead of downloading maps for each trip, the maps are stored on a memory card with CoPilot Live. A CoPilot representative told WebProNews that the app does not require users to be reliant on the mobile data network or worry about the potential risk of a costly data bill.
CoPilot Live is available on the Android market and the App Store for $34.99. It includes unlimited navigation and there are no ongoing costs or subscriptions.
New to the Online Marketing Summit this year is a special day dedicated strictly to search that is called the Search Engine Strategies Forum. As Incisive Media’s Matt McGowan explains, the two shows came together to provide a more comprehensive view of search.
Incisive’s ClickZ brand first became involved with OMS over a year ago. The two even launched the ClickZ/OMS Whistle Stop Tour, which consisted of marketing and SEO seminars throughout 22 cities in the U.S. over the course of 2 months. McGowan said the tour would take place this summer as well.
At OMS San Diego specifically, the SES Forum will provide information regarding SEO, paid search, social media, and more. McGowan said the day would cover search from an introductory level to an intermediate level.
Keep watching WebProNews for more exclusive coverage of OMS in San Diego.
