It's now official, Google Caffeine is live universally. Google posted about this on their blog last evening. Matt Cutts also sat down with Danny Sullivan at SMX in Seattle in this video as well. (With all that caffeine I wonder if they were sleepless?)
What becomes most apparent at first look is that this update is about speed of indexing new content as well as the really staggering amount of storage it takes to accomplish this task. "Freshness Matters"
I've not seen as many people notice another feature of Caffeine that may be the most "actionable" form an optimization perspective. Google now has more ability to associate data about any particular piece of content they index. They are explicitly telling us that they are building capacity into their algorithm to reference more indication of the quality or importance of a document. Also note that a document might not refer to just a web page, it could be a video or other content.
What does that tell us? Yes, your content will get retrieved and indexed more rapidly than ever before. But you also need to make sure that Google gets as many signals as possible that it is worthy of attention. Links to it, reviews of it, "Likes", tweets and any bit of information that Google might be able to pick up are more important than ever. This has been fundamentally true for some time, but the number and nature of these signals of quality are only going to increase.
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome. »Quality of Leads, Not Quantity of Leads...That's What Is Important
Very often we face the challenge of explaining to our partners that lead quality is more important than lead quantity. This discussion is important to have whether you perform Internet marketing in-house or with an agency.
Want more Leads or Sales? Make Sure You're Leveraging the Point-of-Action
Providing the right message to ensure trust and confidence is key to any online conversion. Whether they are filling out a form or refinancing a house, you must gain the customer's trust. Right at this moment, when they decide to continue or leave, is where the leverage must take place. It's a short timeframe, usually less than 10 seconds. By leveraging these point-of-action moments you can positively affect your paid search campaigns.
Performance-Based Email Marketing: The Phenomenon of Only Paying for Results
If you're anything like me, your inbox is probably inundated with promotional emails. Save 40% through Sunday. Apply for our rewards card and get 20% off your next purchase. Sign up now. The messages may be slightly different, but the goal is exactly the same. Get consumers to click on the email, see the value in its content, and take the appropriate action.
Heat Maps and Click Patterns Provide Value
Imagine talking to someone on the phone without dialing, or attempting to solve a maze puzzle while blindfolded. Or even better yet, singing song lyrics with no sheet or background music. All of these seem pretty silly, wouldn't you agree?
Let Your Audience Help You Choose the Topic of Your Next Video
Utilizing your pre-existing viewers is already an important tool when it comes to gaining popularity and rankings for your new videos, but have you ever considered letting them decide what your new videos should be about?
Of course graphics look spectacular on your Web page. But if your goal is to drive traffic to your site and you’d like to employ SEO tactics, taking up your screen with Flash or large pictures won’t help. And it can oftentimes keep your visitor waiting for your visuals to load, weighing down your website.
Without text – and the proper placement of that text – your site may suffer in the SERPs. Get keywords high up on your Web pages (in the header, in breadcrumbs, in paragraphs that are at/near the top of the page) to help boost strategic keywords.
The key is balance.
When you’re using graphics or pictures, be sure they enhance your website by helping the reader understand the branding of your site, or help direct the visitor to perform the action you’d like them to take.
Ask yourself:
• Is your text clear and concise?
• Are call-to-action buttons surrounded by white space for visibility?
• Do all links work properly?
• Is your site easy to navigate through?
• Are there enough quality keywords on your pages to bring customers to your site?
Rather than keep your customers waiting, keep 'em happy and put your website on a diet free from heavy graphics.
Fathom knows how to optimize websites for key performance. Contact us to see how we can help increase your Web traffic.
Image provided by daveynin on Flickr
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome. »I was always under the impression that press releases were supposed to be dry and...
They were only supposed to tell the story of the XYZ Company merging with the ABC Company, or how a new product that hit the market would change our lives forever…or not. My opinion of press releases changed a couple of weeks ago when I attended a webinar presented by Janet Thaeler, author of “I Need a Killer Press Release-Now What?” Ms. Thaeler is an Internet marketer and blogger who knows her stuff. In 2009, she won the “Social Media Content Guru” Award from the Social Media Club. She is also an online PR and online press release expert at OnlinePRBook.com.
I discovered that press releases don’t have to be dull. In fact, you need to make them interesting and unique in order to grab the attention of your target audience. You also want to make sure that your topic is actually noteworthy. It’s a good idea to focus on something that:
- happened recently
- is happening now
- will happen in the future
Another thing I learned is to call upon the oracle of Google Trends when you’re having a hard time coming up with press release topics. Google Trends allows you to enter up to five topics of interest and see how often they’ve been searched for on Google over time. You can see the geographical regions where people have searched for the topics the most.
When writing your press releases, don’t be afraid to tell the story of the people who were affected by your news. Share a story about how a product or service that your company offers impacted a customer’s life. Or, share helpful, industry-related tips. Doing this keeps your audience engaged and also piques their interest in your company.
Finally, use social media to promote your press release. Facebook, Twitter and other social media portals are great for online promotion. But don’t bog people down with information in your post. An intro sentence or two with a link to your release should be sufficient.
The writing team at Fathom can help you make the most of your online press releases.
Learn more about our Search Engine Optimization services today.
Image provided by Bennigan on Flickr
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome. »
Not too long ago, a visit to YouTube and a search for Saturday Night Live-related skits would have proven disappointing. Internet videos are hot, but NBC was having none of it - to watch music or comedy-based videos from the venerable staple of late-night TV, searchers had to go to NBC itself to view SNL-related material. These days, times have changed - SNL clearly recognizes the power and reach of their videos on multiple websites, especially one with the popularity and influence of YouTube and its Google-indexed massive library of videos. SNL skits can be found directly on YouTube, usually with onscreen text directing viewers to SNL's own website to watch full episodes.
NBC and SNL's embrace of YouTube is just another example of smart Internet marketing - content videos on major video portals can be used to direct viewers back to your own website for increased traffic, leads and sales. Fathom's Internet video marketing department specializes in creating product and service-specific videos that span the Internet and direct viewers back to our clients' websites. Reach out to us and let Fathom help you reach-out to the video masses.
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