Search Engine Marketing Blog

Google top 10 ranking is tied to keywords, so there are no clear cut answers. Suppose you rank in top 10 for some of keywords. Does it mean that you will rank good for all the words? Of course not, so the question really lies in the niche keywords, that means keywords are those keywords which are searched quite often.

Take the example of keyword 'download' which is one of the most searched keyword on Internet. On average 'download' keyword attracts millions of searches in a month, not only in Google but also in Yahoo and MSN.

If you rank on number 1 on Google for 'download' keyword then you are guaranteed to get at least hundreds of thousands hits per day. So it is a matter of fact that being on No. 1 on Google can attract a lot more traffic for niche keywords than what you could get by any other way of Internet marketing, online advertisement or web promotion on print media advertisement.

As you already have thought, getting into Google top 10 for niche keywords and retaining this position is quite difficult. But doesn't it worth. Think a minute about the trend: the Internet is becoming the dominant advertising platform and in some countries, such as UK, it has already surpassed traditional advertising methods.

However, converting the hits into sales is another challenge. Irrelevant content or a poorly designed website distract visitors and thus draining all your effort in Search Engine Optimization.

The best way to increase your popularity is to strongly combine a good rank on Google Top 10 Ranking, good web design, well organized layout, web promotion and relevant content.

Do you want to be first in Google's rank? Do you invest in AdWords so that people see your website or content? Remember those days –those actual days- in which Google implemented minimum bids. Well, this is almost history, because Google is going to remove them. Then, there will only be a "first page bid", which will inform you about the amount of money you need to pay to get your ad listed on the first page of results.

However, Google is not giving up the Quality Score, but redefining it. Instead of having it calculated from time to time on your campaign, the Quality Score will be determined on each search query.

Remember when you had to pay a specific amount of money to get listed? Well, now you will know how much you have to spend to get listed on the first page. It is possible that the new system will be hated by those who have great QS, since affiliates gaming Google with coupons and bad QS will now get their ads listed no matter what. They’ll just have to pay like 12$ per click.

If you are not among the selected publishers which will be able to test it in its beta fase, then wait until this goes to the market and see the results. Then tell us.

When you are faced with Social Media, StumbleUpon can bring you some great experience in promoting your content. You can go the organic way or you can add some boosts to your activity.

One of them is Stumble exchanges. This is not the cleanest way to make social media, but it is not totally dirty too, especially if you apply some good practices. One of them is to provide only decent websites or content when you are going to exchange. If you have an article or website that sucks, no matter how many stumbles you get, you will still have it, and therefore your popularity will drop down. There are a few good communities out there spreading the Stumble love, there are also places that might not be such a great idea to join to trade.

Which are the good communities? The StumbleUpon Exchange system has over 3100 users so far, and the entire idea is based around points you get for stumbling other peoples content. You can buy a set of points if you want to bypass stumbling for points, and then the traffic will keep coming in without any work.

Next up is StumbleSwap. This is a very easy to use web interface and forum for exchanging Stumbles. You'll have no problem getting your content Stumbled, since this site already gets a lot of traffic and users. As in the other communities, the more you review sites, the more yours get reviewed.

Finally, the StumbleUpon Exchange Group over at Blog Catalog. This is a very useful tool in any link builders arsenal. If you don't already have a Blog Catalog account, it's worth because the site provides quality traffic in itself. Once you've signed up you can join the Stumble Group.

Not everything is Google in this SEO life. Microsoft's AdCenter Community Team is now available at Twitter. So now users will be able to follow updates from the AdCenter Community Team on content posted on the AdCenter Blogs & Forums. Yes, imagine Google's AdSense wouldn't exist! Then you are not lost, there is life out there.

From AdCenterCommunity, Mel explains:

Extending our social media reach even further, we'll be using the micro-blogging service - Twitter - to let followers know when we've added new posts to the Advertiser Blog, API Developer Blog and Web Analytics Blog.

Alerting you to enthralling threads on the AdCenter Forums will be part of the plan too!

I'll also be at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose next week so expect some "Live Tweets" from some of the conference sessions!

To follow us and find out what we're saying simply visit: http://twitter.com/adcenterblog.

So you got there. Another way to maintain updated to social media and SEO strategies.

As expected, Beijing Olympic Games traffic is soaring. It started immediately after the first Games weekend, when people returned to work and went online to keep track of events as they unfold, according to Nielsen Online.

See some examples: NBC's Olympics video site experimented a jump in its traffic of 85% on the first day of the work week. Other sites enjoyed a nice boost as well.

But the top site was Yahoo! Its unique audience nearly doubled to its Olympics site on Monday, and became the top site on August 11. Show me the numbers:

Meanwhile, what happened with NBC is related to new habits with mobile users, according to the AP. There are many of who are viewing coverage via their mobile devices, and they are doing so for the first time. On both Sunday and Monday, nearly half a million people viewed Olympics videos on a mobile device.

It seems that Beijing 2008 will perform a strong impact on how people use technology, and this has also a wide impact on traffic and SEO.

Google has developed a new feature: it is a Google Reader Feature that will let you share your blog posts with friends. One of the advantages of this is that you will be able to do it separate from your Gtalk contacts.

This could be a great advance for Google and for users as well, since it might be a powerful tool to increase traffic. And in the future they may allow to share specific folders with specific friends, having a conversation with their friends, etc.

One big problem, however, is the fact that Google has pushed this too hard without giving users the ability to close the window. If you take a look to the screenshot, you will understand why:

Forum members call the push a bit too much. Where? In several Google Groups threads. Why? Because they consider that bubble a "pesky" one that won't go away – how could it, without a "close" button?c

Google Reader Guide said that the best way to remove the bubble (for now, until they fix it) is to hit "Edit" and then "Cancel".

In order to improve its usability and function, Microsoft has updated their Webmaster Tools program. The new update provides many handy upgrades and new features, as well as explaining the significance of each one.

If you got the updated program, take a look at the brand new "Crawl Issues" report. Webmaster who are having difficulty getting pages indexed will appreciate the information in the review guide that highlights common problems. Which ones? URLs with query strings that can cause the crawler to bog down.

Pages blocked by exclusionary processes, 404 errors, and information on unsupported content types can help these site owners to pinpoint the problems on their site, leading to more thorough indexing.

Webmasters will be able to analyze data and share it with colleagues when using the export capability, and it will be easier to find your backlinks without digging through lots of data if they use the advanced function of filtering by sub domain or subfolder.

The increase in data available on backlinks and their origins can help the webmaster find out more about the sites that link to its site and can assist him in planning promotion and advertising.

When you get the update, take in consideration that every issue is updated from the moment your site was last crawled or a problem was encountered. This will allow you to find and fix things that hinder your site from being indexed.

This updated tool allows you not to concentrate only on Google, but enrich your site.

Have you listened about Performics Search Marketing? Well, it is still owned by Google, but Publicis Groupe will buy it, in what looks a strange deal: this time is not Google which buys, but the opposite way.

But what is Performics? It is a leading consultancy service that helps companies in improving the effectiveness of campaigns. It is run from Chicago and its services include advance market expertise solutions, reporting platform, active account management and local platform solutions. With this deal, it is expected from Publicis to strengthen its search capabilities and to enhance the VivaKi Nerve Center.

Performics was born in Chicago in 1998. A total of 200 professionals from search marketing field work in it, and there are offices also in San Francisco, New York, London, Sydney, Hamburg, Beijing and Singapore.

Performics as of now has 130 SEM clients who represent more than 200 international brands. The main role of Performics after its acquisition is to help Publicis Groupe and their clients to increase their profit in search marketing.

From Google's point of view, Performics will benefit from this change, while and since Publicis Groupe, a leading advertising company, will be able to use and benefite from the hidden potential of Performics. Publicis Groupe hopes to importantly grow by delivering a wider scope of its service and by enhancing its portfolio. Performics will help Publicis Groupe's overall performance and bring in fresh talent into it; it will also improve their new partners affiliate marketing.

Publicis Groupe is one of the top 4 largest communications groups. It is also the world's second largest media counsel. It plays a major role in digital and healthcare communications. It has its operations in 104 countries and 5 continents, with about 45,000 professionals worldwide. It offers solutions to customers worldwide who are in need of wide range of communication services. Publicis Groupe's services are provided mainly from its three major autonomous advertising networks - Publicis, Leo Burnett and Saatchi and Saatchi besides the two multi-hub networks Fallon and Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

Sometimes we stumble with strange but interesting artists. Although this could not be used directly in our SEO activity, it is always good to know about such things are happening around.

Now we found a SEO rapper. A what? Yeah! A SEO rapper. Take a look here:

This guy, called Houston, will present a live show at the Wordpress convention.

This guy is also a Christian rapper, and in his site, he says:

I personally thank you for taking the time to see check my site out. God has been working tremendously in my life. To my believers, keep praying for me. To the unsaved, find Jesus and hide him in your heart. Time is of the essence.

As you can see, SEO world has also some fun stuff to show to the world, so stay tuned!

Social bookmarking is an important tool you may want to use in your SEO efforts. One of the main social bookmarking sites used to be Del.icio.us, which is now Delicious.com, a relaunched site with some new functionality. This first times, the old Del.icio.us should soon redirect to the new dot com address. In addition, newcomers will find it easier to understand how to use the site’s services. Just to let you have a visual understanding of the difference:

The old del.icio.us:

The new Delicious.com:

Which are the additional improvements?

• Speed. The pages load much faster than the older version.
• The search engine is much faster and smarter. The search feature will now search within another public user's bookmarks, one of your tags or your social network.
• Improved RSS feeds and APIs.
• New forum for additional support.