November 2008 Archives - Professional Blog Service

What Does Google Really Care About?

November 26, 2008 By Mike Seidle

Okay, it’s the day before thanksgiving and I’ve decided to pick on Google a little bit. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Google despite the fact that a lot of people are currently calling it ‘The Wal-Mart of the Internet‘. I’ll save that discussion for another day, because on this Thanksgiving eve, I’d like to examine how difficult it must be to have to write the parameters that decide which results you get when you do a Google search.

So what is Google’s main prerogative?

Well firstly, they want to make sure you use THEIR search engine, so providing relevant search results is high on the list. If people start using another search engine, they’re not clicking on the paid ads on Google, Google goes under, and the end of the free world as we know it will very soon be upon us.

Here’s where it gets interesting…

Google needs people to click on the paid ads in order to stay in business. I make it a point to never click on the paid ads unless I plan on buying something. I know some people don’t know the difference between paid and unpaid search results, so they click indiscriminately. My point is that the folks at Google are smart (really smart) and they’ve adjusted their algorithms so that blogs are favored for the organic search results so that if someone is primed and ready to buy, they will click on a paid ad. It’s really brilliant if you think about it.

On a side-note, I’d like to thank the folks at Google for all the great services that I use and enjoy every day (Google reader, Google analytics, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Apps, Google Chrome, and hopefully soon Android).

They’re a truly unique and amazing company that continues to adapt their business model and stay ahead of the curve, as well as keep us all on our toes. I hope everyone has a happy holiday, and your comments are always welcome.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: Google, organic search, search results

Fresh, Hot Content

November 20, 2008 By Mike Seidle

Background Info: I have been in the search engine optimization business for over seven years.
More Background Info: I just left SEO land for good. There is a better way.

First, I can tell you what isn’t working: traditional Search Engine Optimization. I could make up a lot of really impressive, buzzword rich, techno-spam to explain why. Instead I’m going to cut to the chase: search engines want fresh, hot content.

So the game has changed from old fashioned keyword rich, quality content with a million high page rank links to a model where the best, fastest content factory wins.

search Search your name: you’ll find social networks and social news sites own it.

Search your product names: chances are you’ll run in to social media sites like dealstreamers (Fat Wallet type social deal sites), blogs and membership forums.

Search for your core products: Unless your product is described by uber competitive keywords, you’ll find blogs, forums, and news articles.

All of which have one thing in common. The content is usually fresh, or at least surrounded by fresh content. And the funny part is that content is not difficult. It takes some talent, some training, time and lots of discipline. Oh, and a maniacal dedication to getting more content. And more content. You can’t stop. And that’s why most companies are struggling with dealing with the 2009 model of internet marketing. They are stuck worrying about the wrong things like link structure, gaming Google (good luck with that), rich media and widgets, when the real issue should be having lots of fresh, hot content.

Making fresh, hot content is exactly what ProBlogService does best. And it’s why I get up in the morning. Somewhere, there’s a company that needs content. We want to supply it. Content is the new rocket fuel for your marketing program.

Mike Seidle is the CEO of ProBlogService.com, a full service blog and social media agency. ProBlogService.com provides blog writing, management and promotion services for business.

Filed Under: Business Blogging Content, Ghost Writing, ProBlogService Tagged With: business blogging, business blogging content, content factory, link structure

12 Business Blog Essentials

November 4, 2008 By Mike Seidle

There are about a million items a business blog could have, but the essentials make up a short list. Some essentials relate to blog structure, others relate to the message you provide on key pages. Get the following 12 essentials right and your business blogging will get serious results.

Also, be sure to check out the bonus 3 at the bottom of the list.

Business Blog Essentials

1. The purpose of every blog post/page is clear to visitors.

2. A homepage that clearly conveys the blog’s offerings & purpose.

3. Easy to find breadcrumb navigation.

4. Obvious links. (Underlined Links are what we have been using for years. Don’t reinvent the web.)

5. Copy (content) written for the general public. (3rd-5th grade level)

6. All options and next steps are obvious.

7. Free of any wording or imagery that is unnecessary, confusing or distracting.

8. Consistent with icons, buttons, menus and links. (Make sure they look and work the same no matter what.)

9. A site wide search feature which logs search queries.

10. A short sales funnel which tells people what they are getting, what it costs and how to buy it.

11. A “printer friendly” link for content or a style sheet for print media so pages look good on screen and off the printer.

12. Quality assurance system to fix broken links, spelling errors and other items.

Bonus: Three Deadly Mistakes

Not putting descriptive titles and alt tags on pictures and links.
Failing to do so means search engines and people with visual impairments may not be able to use your site.

Reinventing the web.
Make your website look like a website and not like a high end print brochure.

Forgetting that some people have slow connections.
There are a lot of users in offices where the shared T1 is slow or who have an old-fashioned modem at home.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: best practices, blog design, blogging, business blogging, navigation, post, website navigation, websites

Which Analytics Platform Measures ROI Accurately?

November 4, 2008 By Mike Seidle

Yes, there are always massive discrepancies in analytics between platforms. It’s because each system measures things in different ways.

Ever wondered what what the difference was between ad servers, log analyzers & javascript based analytics tools like Google Analytics? And which one you should be using? Here is a brief primer to help you understand.

Ad Servers
An ad server reports clicks that result in a redirect to a web page. There’s no guarantee the visitor made it to the page or wasn’t further redirected.

These stats can be affected by hijacking (toolbars that redirect traffic), bots, the end user, and in some cases, performance of the ad server (I clicked and it timed out!).

Bottom Line: Ad servers accurately measure ad displays and clicks. They are not so accurate at telling you how many people visited a website.

Log Analyzers
A log analyzer report on pages served by a web server. It does not see pages served from caching proxies used by ISPs and does not see pages served from a browser’s cache.

Bottom Line: Log analyzers accurately report server activity and nothing else.

Javascript Based Metrics
All java based metrics (like Google Analytics) will report web site activity accurately if the end user has javascript and no software that blocks your tracker (7-15% of your visitor’s computers have this depending on who’s metrics you are using).

Bottom Line: Javascript based metrics tell you within 7-15% what pages have been viewed.

So, since the best we can do is within 7-15% accuracy anyway it’s best to measure actual ROI with javascript based metrics. In other words, measure the success of each campaign by the number of sales made vs. the amount of money spent to get the traffic to that particular campaign.

Do this and you are sure to get your metrics right.

Filed Under: Blog ROI Tagged With: ad server, caching, google analytics, log analyzer, measuring, social media analytics, testing, tracking, traffic, web server, websites

Four Fixes For High Bounce Rates

November 4, 2008 By Mike Seidle

There are four major reasons your business blog’s bounce rate may be high.

1. Bad Traffic – People aren’t looking for or expecting what they get when they enter your blog.

2. Too Complicated – People get lost because there’s too much going on and it’s not easy to see where to start.

3. Poor Performance – Slow loads, error messages, unprofessional content, etc…

4. WTF – Visitors arrive at your homepage or blog post page and promptly say “WTF!” because the page is unorganized, off-topic, cluttered, etc.

Fixing each reason is easy, just follow these tried & tested tips…

Bad Traffic

How to Identify
Check how much traffic is being sent by weak advertising programs like directed traffic (people who are forced to go to your site), pop-under ads and unrelated paid search ads. If there’s a lot, you may want to re-think these programs. Look at your site statistics package’s search keywords report. If they are unrelated to your site, you’ve found the culprit.

The Fix
Make sure that links and traffic sources match the message on your page. In other words, create headlines and excerpts that succinctly describe the blog post and make sure any anchor text links used in blog promotion efforts accurately reflect the content of the referenced blog post or page.

Too Complicated

How to Identify
This one is hard to diagnose because your blog probably seems simple to you. You’ve got a homepage, a blog page and regular pages, right? Not exactly… You also have archive pages, author pages, tag pages, sidebar items (widgets), and perhaps a few other types of pages depending on your theme. So, what to do?
The Fix
Fixing a complicated page requires you to identify and eliminate unnecessary options, widgets, links, graphics, and aesthetics. Look at your blog’s page structure & navigational system from the perspective of your reader. Give them what they want easily and quickly.

Poor Perfomance

How to Identify
Use a free service such as Google Webmaster Tools to identify broken links, slow loading pages and other potential errors which detract from visitor experience. Or, make sure your browser is set to show page load activity. Then, go through each section of your blog, each type of page, and watch the bottom of your browser to see if there is something that has to load which slow down page load time.

The Fix
Once you have identified the page loading problems, whether it is a poorly written widget or a over coded header.php, get someone who knows CSS and pHp to change the code and speed things up. If Google Webmaster Tools identifies lots of broken links, get to work redirecting those links.

WTF Factor

How to Identify
Of all the problems, this is the hardest one to overcome and the most common. Why? Because many business blogs are crafted by a staff that is either overworked or under-trained (or both) and assume that their blog is easy navigate and their content is sufficient. Here’s how to identify WTF problems in four simple but probably painful steps:

The Fix
1. Have someone you trust read a few of your key posts & pages out loud.
2. Ask them, “What do you think this page or post is about, what would you do next?”
3. Allow them to navigate the blog and notice if they can find the content they are looking for.
4. Let them debrief you with an honest appraisal of your business’ blog and be willing to listen.

Filed Under: Blog ROI Tagged With: bounce rate, bouncing, search engine, search keywords

Conversion Points: A Lesson in the Obvious

November 4, 2008 By Mike Seidle

What are they? Why do they matter?

Let’s talk about conversion points. These beauties are a feature built into all well structured business blogs that create immediate transactions, sales or leads. They can be as simple as a well-placed button that says, “Buy Now” or “Get the White Paper.”

One Step or Two
A great conversion point lets the customer make the transaction without leaving the page. This makes it simpler and faster for the consumer to buy—and what’s faster for the consumer is faster and potentially more profitable for the business owner.

A next-best option is for the conversion point to lead the customer to the shopping cart or form. While it takes more time and effort on the consumer’s part for the sale, it still results in a sale.

The Obvious

Before we get started with them, 78% of our own clients’ pages don’t have a conversion point. That means that 78% of these pages DON’T SELL. And if your page doesn’t sell, how do you make money?

Every page should have at least one conversion point. Better yet, let’s make a rule. Every page should have a minimum of one conversion point. Try to make the conversion point that lets the customer stay on the same page. If this is impossible, lead them directly to the shopping cart or form.

Make it as easy as possible for the consumer to purchase your product, and they will.

Filed Under: Blog ROI Tagged With: call to action, sales page

What Does Google Really Care About?

Fresh, Hot Content