“Search results, like warm cookies right out of the oven or cool refreshing fruit on a hot summer’s day, are best when they’re fresh. Even if you don’t specify it in your search, you probably want search results that are relevant and recent.”
That’s what Google said when they announced on November 3 the new “freshness” update to their algorithm. And since the announcement, you may be wondering how you can use the algorithm change to your advantage. Here are some tips that will help you rank higher in search engine results, and also provide your website visitors with relevant, useful content.
- Get a blog. The most effective and highest ranking blogs are installed on your company's domain and are updated frequently.
- Shoot videos and promote them. Videos are a great marketing tool for your website pages, blog posts, and more. However, you should also be mindful of frequently uploading your videos to YouTube and other video sharing websites. It’s just another way to show Google that you’re providing new and relevant content for your audience.
- Get social. Regularly share content on social media properties and connect with people who have like interests.
- Manage forums. With the introduction of social media and blogs, many businesses have all but abandoned managing or contributing to forums, but it might be time for you to explore this tactic again. A forum offers you another way to develop fresh content, and it also allows customers to learn more about your products or services, ask questions and vent frustrations. In turn, you can respond to the forum posts.
- Q & A content. Adding this section on your website gives website visitors a place to consult if they have questions. In addition, it’s a section that can be continually populated with new questions and answers as they arise.
- Time stamp content. The freshness algorithm update wants the most recent and relevant content to rank, so it’s almost a no-brainer that you’ll want to date your blog posts, press releases and other materials as you upload them to your website.
The algorithm change is designed to improve the quality of search results and make sure you get the most up to the minute answers to what you’re searching for. So embrace the freshness algorithm update and start developing and sharing timely, relevant content.
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If you are involved with serious Twitter marketing for business, then we have a resource you shouldn't miss. As seen by attendees of today's SMX Social Media Marketing 2011 conference (Scottsdale, Arizona), Fathom's new directory of Twitter tools contains something for every kind of professional Twitter user. And we're not just showing you the directories for followers and professional groups that everybody already knows about.
Speaker Kurt Krejny instructed on different ways businesses can use Twitter to analyze their followers and get results that matter in his presentation, "Twitter Analysis & Action: Cater to followers and attract influencers with a laser-focused strategy." He was one of three members in the panel discussion—“Boosting Business with Twitter Marketing”—moderated by Search Engine Land’s Elisabeth Osmeloski.
Check out the searchable Twitter marketing tools directory for:
- short descriptions of every tool;
- links to each tool's website;
- multiple categories of tools based on business need;
- future updates;
- your own additions! (tell us @fathomSMtools or @FathomOnline with the hashtag "#TwitterTools")
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As I’m sure many PPC’ers are aware, it is incredibly easy to make one little mistake that can turn an account horribly wrong. This is why it is extremely important to have a checklist of items to peruse before posting any new campaigns in AdWords.
Here is my checklist:
For search and/or display campaigns:
1. Review budget, geo-targeting and all campaign settings.
2. Review all display URLs per ad group to ensure consistency.
3. Review ad copy – Make sure there are no violations such as multiple exclamation points.
4. If you have copied a new campaign from an existing campaign, remember to edit your bids.
5. Make sure all ad and keyword destination URLs have the proper appends.
- Sort ads and keywords by destination URL to ensure each one is going to the proper landing page.
6. Make sure each landing page has a form which is clearly visible.
7. Review all negative keywords to make sure they make sense and prevent overlap with any regular keywords.
8. In the interface, remember to make edits to any ad extensions you want running for your campaign.
9. After posting ad copy changes, check back shortly to confirm everything went through without any issues.
- Sort by ad status in Editor, and scroll down the list of your ads making sure nothing is disapproved.
Note: If there is an ad copy violation, you will not always get a notification from Editor letting you know.
For display campaigns specifically:
1. Do not include any negative keywords unless otherwise noted.
a. However, do exclude any topics and/or placements that you wish not to appear on.
2. When editing bids, make sure you edit the display max CPC bid and not the max CPC at the keyword level.
3. Make sure that all keywords are in broad match.
4. Do not have any active keywords in a “managed placements only” campaign.
If you have made it through this list, then you are well prepared to avoid any careless mistakes. To quote author Jeffrey Mayer: “If you haven’t got the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over?”
To learn more about paid search best practices or determine a winning paid-search strategy, request a free evaluation today.
1 Comment »Yahoo! has recently closed down its site explorer, leaving it more time to focus on upgrading shopping and recipe search results for the holidays.
The goal of these improvements for Yahoo! search results is to create a more dynamic searching experience for users. This will make it easier for searchers to find relevant recipes and shopping results directly through Yahoo! search.
The new recipe-related content added to Yahoo! search results includes a slider with the top-rated recipes from AllRecipes.com and other related sources. It also includes a filter that allows searchers to browse by a specific ingredient option and share their favorite recipes on Facebook and other social media channels. Yahoo! even allows users to quickly scan recipes to view the ingredients in a recipe and the amount of time it takes to make them.
The new Yahoo! shopping-related searches are similar to the recipe search changes. The company kept its shopping tab at the top of the search results, but it also added a similar slider that shows products related to your search. This function allows you to comparison-shop and filter based on specific aspects of the item you searched.
Available now, the new search functions in Yahoo! should make it easier for users to shop for holiday purchases and holiday recipes. This season, Yahoo! may offer a more user-friendly experience for shoppers.
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome. »Ever wonder what separates the successful blog from the not-so-successful blog? Well, wonder no longer. Conducting yet another evaluation of the “blogosphere,” Technorati surveyed 4,114 bloggers across 45 countries. What it came up with is a fairly extensive picture of the blogging landscape, noting not only who the bloggers are, but also who is doing it successfully.
Who Are the Bloggers?
In an Internet marketing world where content is king, it may come as a surprise that corporate blogs were actually on the decline in 2011. Technorati found that only a mere eight percent of the bloggers surveyed blog for a company, with the largest majority of bloggers representing hobbyists.
Also, it may come as a shock that, in a marketing landscape that rewards fresh content and topical ideas, the majority of bloggers do not blog daily, or even weekly. Instead, most of those who call themselves “bloggers” post on a monthly or semi-monthly basis.
Who is Doing It Successfully?
Invariably, your concern should not involve the majority. No, as Technorati’s survey points out, the vast majority of blogs are far from successful. So instead of worrying about the majority, your focus should be on who is blogging successfully.
If you learn nothing else from the survey, keep this in mind: The top bloggers post a lot of content, even going so far as to submit multiple blog posts a day. According to Technorati, the top 100 bloggers surveyed generate an average of 36 times more content than all the other blogs on the market.
So what does all this mean for your company’s blog? In short, it is not enough to simply create a blog and hope for the best. Instead, use the top bloggers as a guide and make a commitment. By creating fresh, engaging content that your audience can count on, your Internet marketing campaign will see some major results.
To get a full understanding of what the top bloggers are doing, check out the entire survey from Technorati.
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