Coaching For Success
Posts tagged Google
How Is Google Categorise Your Internet Business Website?
Mar 2nd
In the fast moving world of internet business marketing we all know why we need to be visible to prospective clients, you know what it is your offering them and how your product or service can help them, but have you ever stopped to wonder how search engines like Google view your site? How it is being categorised?
You know how you would look at your site and categorises it but what if search engines do not see it the way you are categorising it. Lets face it if you think your site is about one thing and search engines think it is about something else the end result is that you will not get traffic or the right type of traffic, you could be ranked incorrectly or not at all – sobering thought isn’t it but how many internet business owners really check to see how they are being categorised.
This potential issue is not difficult to sort out as using tools and certain search operators you can find out easily and fix any potential problems. For example if you use the search operator “similar” you can check how Google views your site. To do this simple go to Google search and type in related:www.domain.co.uk/~domain.co.uk Replace www.domain.co.uk with your own internet business domain name. Make sure there is no space after the colon. You will then get results pages, which will show other sites Google thinks are related to your site.
This is very useful to see how Google is looking at your site, if they are related (similar) then that is good your on the right track and the search engine understands what your site is all about, however if they are unrelated then you have issues you need to fix as soon as possible even if it is partially related i.e some of it is similar and the rest is not you still need to work on harmonising your site so search engines categorise your site properly.
Some simple tweaking to your Internet business site can allow for clarity and show Google without a doubt what the topic/category of your site really is. Search engines like Google determine what your site is about by looking at your content on the site and the search engine optimisation (SEO) you have used for the site along with the type of links coming into your site to categorise your site.
If you have lots of links coming into your site from totally unrelated external sites then this will not help with clarifying your position or reinforcing the ideas you have about your site and the category it falls into. If you are in this position then you need to look at your links again and ensure they come from related sites that compliment your own. Any anchor text you are using should be one of your keywords this will help your search engine optimisation (SEO) as well.
Ensuring that your Internet business website’s search engine optimisation (SEO) matches your content is important to ensuring that search engines categorise your site properly to effectively maximise your potential to generate useful traffic and gain potential customers.
Google Updates and How To Stay Ahead
Feb 11th
Last year Google changed the way they rated links and many Internet business people did not really pay enough attention to this and in the process of recent updates found that their rank was affected. The latest update also had many Internet business owners scratching their head as to why their rank had changed.
John Mueller at Google stated that “the new algorithms where looking for high quality, unique and compelling content”, not easy to do these days in the ever burgeoning online content race, however if you feel your site content is unique try to separate it and ensure title tags and metas on that page are good, that it is within the top layer structures of your site where it is easy to find and not on pages where you have auto generated content from other sites. By doing this it helps ensure your content Internet marketing efforts are well received for the next round of updates by Google.
Back to links however, the basic fact is not all links are created equal, so many links you maybe creating for your site may not only not being weighted the way you think they should be but also the value of the link can be affected despite the fact that the link maybe within your field, come from similar and reputable sites. So really what does this mean for the perplexed Internet marketer, simply this Google is weighting links based on how likely a “reasonable surfer” would be likely to click on that link. In essence Google is looking at two things:
• Link visibility (where links are placed and their appearance)
• Link relevance (how relevant is the site you link to or that is linking to you)
This change means essentially that a lot of practises people used to use for linking really do not
apply in the same way as before or are no longer as effective as they once where. So methods like: Bulk directory submission – This has been bad for ages but people for some unknown reason are still doing it, Bulk link exchange – Use this only if you want penalties or to be banned from search engines. Forum posting and blog commenting was once extremely effective but now it can help people but do not count on it for link juice, similarly Social bookmarking is still a helpful resource but not really useful for link juice anymore.
Instead use the following Internet marketing linking methods, Guest blogging – This is always a great way of getting exposure for your internet business and also of gaining high quality links to your site, Link baiting is also great, basically you put great content up on article sites etc and it acts as bait which people will choose to link to, this method will only work with excellent content that you can spin a few times for variation. Try using Social Media to attract links via Twitter, Facebook, Myspace etc.
If you use any of the above your internet marketing efforts will be more effective so to will be your efforts to either hold onto your PR (Page Rank) or improve it. Most of all you need to ensure that incoming links are from sites deemed by Google as having a good weighting or value, you need to ensure your internet business websites content is unique and easy to find so that in the next round of Google updates your business does better.
Google Enhances Local UK Search With Nearby Shops
Jan 27th
If you are a UK internet business owner and you also run a brick and mortar retail store, you should be extremely excited about the recent introduction of the feature known as Nearby Shops into the UK.
A Boost For Both Online Shoppers And Merchants
Not only will online merchants benefit from this new feature, thanks to the increased visibility afforded their businesses through Google‘s global and local reach, but online shoppers will also benefit from increased awareness of the shopping options available to them in their vicinity.
Shoppers searching for products online using Google Products will be shown a map displaying shops that are nearby that sell the item or items entered in the search criteria, along with shops selling similar items.
The way it works is by you, the merchant, syncing up your account in Google Places (if you don’t have one, then obviously setting this up first is a pre-requisite) with the products you have listed in your Merchant Centre Account (again, this also needs to be created if not already there) by linking the two with the same URL, resulting in your shop being listed in the Nearby Shops results for a particular product search.
Local Is Going Global
Providing consumers with local information and options is becoming increasingly important for many of the bigger internet companies. A prime example is the fact that eBay decided to take the plunge into the local arena, just before Google made its move into local, through its purchase of the local shopping site, Milo. EBay’s new tool is called GiftsNearby, which combines its product inventory tool with the Milo software tool to provide searchers with local results.
Competition For Local Supremacy Is Increasing Dramatically
Competition in the local sector is growing more fierce as consumers’ preference for local search and results increases and the competition is only expected to intensify in 2011.
To that end Google has made dramatic improvements to its tools with a view to refining its local search capability. The company acquired Blue Dot to add mobile product inventory to its Product Search tool, which it further enhanced with the addition of two new search tools, Popular Products, which lists products by search volume, and Aisles, which sorts products into sub-categories.
The online search, offline purchasing market is huge, and, if your internet business isn’t set up yet to take advantage of this burgeoning market, contact a UK internet business consultant who can assist you with your local search efforts.
Google Instant And Your Business SEO
Sep 10th
Once again Google have made changes to their search engine. The all new Google Instant apparently hails a new dawn in the way people will search and get information for related keywords. This post gives a brief overview of what Google Instant is and how to ensure your Internet business remain visible and relevant in searches.
What is Google Instant
Google Instant helps users find information faster by showing relevant results as a query is typed. As users get this immediate feedback, they’re able to refine their searches more quickly and find the results that more precisely match what they need. So in essense in addition to keyword suggestions, users will now also get instant search results based on their past queries displayed as they type.
Normally when you put in a keyword or phrase, you press search and you are served a list of results. Most of the time you will find that they are correct for what you were looking for, however occasionally the result will be inaccurate, it is these inaccuracies that Google’s new Instant seeks to rid you of by adapting search results as you type.
According to Google the benefits of this system are that your searches are faster by simply predicting what you are searching for and showing results before you finish typing, which should cut down the time wasted in searching. Also the smarter predictions feature can help guide your search by giving options to aid your search so that as soon as an option appears that is correct you can click it and get your results. The final benefit is the fact that results are served up automatically before your eyes as you type. If you want to see it work follow the link below:
http://www.google.com/instant/
Google Instant Search Result - Notice how it is filling in the blanks in the box your are typing in and making suggestions below
Basically search results evolve and change potentially as you type each additional character, into the search box. By speeding up your search results, Google believes that you will be a happier to do more searches on a more frequent basis as they have made it easier for you to get access to the information you require.
So what does this mean for your business SEO?
In essence it means if you want your site to be seen as one of those that comes up as a person searches Google Instant that your SEO efforts must be specific, targeted and that your site needs to be well optimised. Google have clearly said that their ranking algorithm will not change within Google Instant.
For many clever business owners these new search functions will help them become more visible as they will have already concentrated on visitor needs as a major part of their SEO to understand the needs of their visitors/ potential clients.
This is usually simple things like what products or services they are looking for what issues they may have that your products or services can solve or simply an understanding or the language and terminology of your sector.
The new search features in Google Instant can also help you gain a better insight into finding out some of the things mentioned above in order to better serve your market sector/s or for your business to create new products or services to fill the gaps you may uncover.
For those who have not done their site optimisation in this way, do not be disheartened now is the time to update the way you optimise to ensure you stay visible on Google Instant. Search Engine optimisation (SEO) like all things is evolving, so too should the way you build your Internet business site to address these changes and your visitors needs.
Optimising Your Site For Even Higher Conversions
Sep 3rd
It is important for every internet business website to get the maximum amount of traffic that it can in order to boost rank and also generate sales. Yesterday we discussed the importance of the call to action function so that visitors will perform some meaningful action, however ongoing testing is needed to ensure you get the maximum conversions you can.
Development and Site Testing Cycle
So today we look at some of the additional things you can do to optimise your site so that it has an even higher conversion rate and also increases traffic flow to help your Internet Business flourish.
If you want a better performing website then it is important that you must optimise it in all respects. Technically, the backend code of a website must be simple and free from extraneous code. Basic Search Engine Optimisation can be utilised through use of meta-tags, header tags, alt tags as well as in the overall content which consists of texts, images or videos.
If you are unsure how to do some of this yourself, try reading up on it or get an internet marketing service or web developer to help you. when you have done all you think is possible with your page the next thing you need to do is use a site optimiser like ‘Google website optimiser’.
In essense what it does is allow you to test between variations of your site to see which is the best for conversions, for example if you had two possible headlines for your homepage you could run an A/B split test in which half of the visitors to your site would be shown Headline A and the other half would see Headline B. You could then see clearly which headline brought you the most orders.
Google Website Optimizer lets you carry out tests like this, the only downside is proper testing can take several weeks before you could see what works and what does not. The real power here though is that it allows you to carry out loads of these tests at the same time.
An example of this muliple testing phase could be the ability to test a headline, a page element/s – such as images, text, prices and even offers, which can all be tested at the same time. Each time someone visits your site they will see a different combination of these elements. Google’s Website Optimizer will then take an average of which of the elements performed the best, you can then use this information to produce a highly converted traffic magnet page.
Many people do use Google Adwords to run split tests, basically they will create two identical ads with different destination URL’s and see which ad does better, however this is really not the same as testing onsite features so really should not be used to optimise your site, however Google Adwords can and should be used for ad optimisation to help drive traffic.
Google Website Optimizer
The biggest problem any site owner has is not knowing what caused a person who has visited your site to exit and testing can help you solve some of the issues but not all. Having other features may help you to see if you can combat some of these loses. Features like Live Chat or a help type pop up may allow you to connect with that person before you lose them, so it is worth considering adding such a feature.
Web analytics package are great tools to help you see what is being clicked on your site. At the most basic level, the ‘site overlay’ function tells you where people click, where they don’t and also where they are leave your site from. This can help you improve the pages not being clicked or remove them and add to or improve those that are.
Usability testing is probably the easiest testing you can perform and can really be virtually free as you can ask anyone you know to go to your site and test it to see how easy, it is to navigate, find information etc and feedback that information to you so you can improve those features. Make sure when doing your usability tests that you look at fixing all the things that are ‘broken’ do this first as these are probabily the fastest improvements to do and quickly seen.
Marketing strategies is always an issue and can always be improved, to do this start by identify from your usabilty tests where your marketing tatics on and off page are weakest. Look at everything from initial marketing of your site right through to closing a sale, make sure you look closely at your ads, homepage, product or services pages and the all important checkout page and confirmation of order page.
If your usabilty testing has shown any issues on these pages fix those first before testing your marketing and retest the usabilty of your site with a new group of people once changes have been implemented.
Running a successful website is not a one-off time/ effort deal you need a lot of creativity and constant monitoring if any success is to be had in generating an income. Being able to anaylse traffic on your internet business website goes a long way in developing more targetted high volume traffic and gaining new customers.
