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SEO News: New Google On The Way!
2009-08-28 10:22:00
It’s been a while since last posting due to: A. Some blog software problems B. I’m the current President of the Honolulu Chinese Jaycees and that’s taken a lot  my extra time. Things have eased up on both fronts so I should blogging more regularly. Follow me on Twitter for daily tips and search engine news. The BIG NEWS right now is the looming change at Google , called Google Caffeine. It’s the biggest under-the-hood change Google has done in years. It is supposed to bring search closer to delivering real time results. An obvious response to Twitter and other recent developments. Tests have shown that Caffeine is faster than today’s Google and it also grabs more results in that shorter space of  time it takes to give you an answer. However, more results isn’t necessarily better since very few searchers go past the top 30 listings anyway. You can conduct your won tests of today’s Google versus Caffeine right now: CompareCaffeine.com What do...
More About: News

Bounce Rates – SEO Ranking Factor?
2008-12-17 02:06:00
It looks like Google might be using your bounce rate as part of their ranking algorithm. What does that mean for our SEO efforts? Strictly speaking it’s not actually an SEO problem. Let’s define what a ‘bounce’ is and get some other facts of the way first. A bounce is a single page visit – the person arrives on your site, looks at the page they arrived at, then leaves without going any further. A bounce could be someone who takes one look and backs out or someone who reads the whole page before taking off. Now – how is Google figuring out yoru site bounce rate? They have a variety of ways, the most complete being the monitoring of Google Analytics, if you use it. Other avenues are whether you use the Google toolbar or the new Chrome browser. They can also keep track of how quickly a searcher returns to Google again for a search. Bounce rate is actually a good way of determining site quality, at least on first glance. If your visitors aren’t ...
More About: Ranking , Rates , Factor

Site Needs Renovating, But Afraid Of SEO Drop?
2008-12-13 00:45:00
Many businesses realize that their site(s) need to be changed – sometimes for a more current look or to improve the user experience or some other reason. What holds them back is the real fear that they could lose the search engine rankings they’ve fought so hard to get. After years of consistent SEO, the possibility of losing their position, and by extension the profits that go with it, is a worry they must deal with seriously. So what do you do? The number one thing to do is this: proceed slowly, carefully considering how to hang onto your optimization at every step of the way. With the new pages, you must plan out how you will keep the keyphrases, the page titles, the headings and subheadings, the linking, the copy and every other search engine optimization ingredient you’ve contributed in the new design. They must maintain their same prominence and general positioning within the pages. And those pages MUST retain the same addresses. Even a slight change, for exa...
More About: Site

SEO – A Long Term Marketing Investment
2008-12-11 02:17:00
“What?!?! It takes THAT long?!?!”. I was sitting across the table from a prospective client who had just gone into shock. His outburst took place after I had told him that SEO might not produce results for a few months. His site was in bad shape and has not seen any search engine optimization ever. And it showed. I knew this would probably be a slow grower, but the rewards would be great for their high priced services if we could move them up in Google. Unfortunately, they would never get those rewards. The client had no patience and couldn’t see the point in SEO if he couldn’t instantly be seeing the money roll in. Despite my attempts to smooth the way and explain things, I was pretty certain that I wouldn’t be doing their search marketing. Too many businesses fall prey to this demand for No-Waiting Results. I’ve heard too many stories from businesses about how they had hired an SEO company promising mountains of profits from SEO in under a month...
More About: Marketing , Investment , Long , Term

Cyber Monday Sales Up 15% Are You Listening, Hawaii Businesses?
2008-12-03 23:23:00
Just as there is the traditional ‘Black Friday’ for stores on the day after Thanksgiving, there’s now an online twin – ‘Cyber Monday ’. Cyber Monday is, as you probably guessed, the online sales day on the Monday after Thanksgiving. The big news here is that, in the midst of this economic slowdown, online sales were up 15% over last year. It’s a sign of the times and an indicator that sales are resilient online if you know how to reach these customers. The even bigger news is that the weekend after Thanksgiving saw an even bigger gain over last year – up 19% over 2007 to be exact. Hawaii businesses – are you getting your cut? Are you using SEO, search and internet marketing to their fullest? Are you working on improving your sales funnel on your site(s)? Are you addressing the online customer’s needs and wants? Now is the time to get your search and internet presence moving. We need to see more local business success here in...
More About: Sales , Listening

Search/Internet Marketing A Cure For Hawaii’s Ills?
2008-12-03 00:50:00
The Honolulu Advertiser carried an article today on the fact that Hawaii had seen a big gain in bankruptcy filings last month. It should be noted that this is going on all over, not just in Hawaii. Another important aspect is that many of these were personal bankruptcies. Still, that leaves a lot of room for Hawaii businesses to be included in that number. And they were indeed present. What can Hawaii businesses do? Some won’t be able to do much in this time of crushing upheaval. It’s not their fault, it’s the time and the conditions. Some, though, could be doing better. It’s my belief that SEO & Search /Internet Marketing could be a way out for some. Search engine marketing – whether that’s organic SEO, paid search (Google AdWords, etc.) and/or marketing on and of the site itself – are the most cost effective marketing avenues out there. It pays off better than print and TV, hands down. Search/internet marketing gives you the means to ta...
More About: Internet Marketing

Paid Search News: Google AdWords & Automatic Matching
2008-11-30 06:53:00
If you’ve ever run an AdWords campaign you probably already know that Google will show your ad for related keyphrases that are close to your selected keywords. That can be problematic if you don’t pay attention. It’s part of ongoing work to eliminate keywords or keyphrases that aren’t good for your bottom line. It looks as if Google is looking to expand these possibilities for adding keywords to show your ad for even more, though. They’ve been integrating a new feature for some AdWords campaigns as a test the past few months, expanding it even more recently. The idea is that any ‘extra’ room in your daily budget could be applied to clicks for these ‘Automatic Matches’ that Google makes on your behalf. Since Google has been doing this kind of matching for some time, it seems that this new feature in paid search would expand the matching potential even more. Right now it is set so that you have to actually opt-in to have this match...
More About: News , Search , Google Adwords

Your Bounce Rate: Its SEO & Internet Marketing Implications
2008-11-24 09:33:00
People often ask what their Bounce rate should be. There’s not one answer as it will vary across different industries. And even subsets of industries. What you should look at instead is improving your bounce rate constantly. One thing that is making the SEO circles is the bounce rate’s effect on rankings. Some SEOs are making a good case for it being a factor in Google’s ranking of a site. How much they can tell about your bounce rate is difficult to say. Some won’t use Google Analytics now for precisely this reason. After all, if Google is doing your Analytics, then know exactly what your bounce rate is. Keep in mind that while there is good evidence that indicates bounce rate in the search ranking formula for Google, it’s not confirmed. In the end, your goal should be to improve your bounce rate consistently. Your internet and search marketing depends on that. What do you do to improve your bounce rate? You simply make sure that you’re targeting...
More About: Marketing , Internet , Internet Marketing , Rate

Search/Internet Marketing: The Importance of Trust & Rapport
2008-11-22 03:14:00
As this blog has said before, Search & Internet Marketing don’t end when the prospect comes through your virtual door. You still have work to do. Many businesses concentrate so much on the work outside the site, they forget completely about the crucial importance of the on site experience. Hawaii business has a long history of being built on relationships and trust. In Honolulu, and especially on our Neighbor Islands, people do not ‘do businesse’ as quickly as on the Mainland. Here, some measure of rapport must be built. If you can establish that you have mutual friends or relatives, even better. It’s a slower, yet in some ways, richer way of business. This need for trust and credibility has direct applications for all businesses on the internet, whether they’re in Hawaii or not. There is a desire by your visitors to feel comfortable buying from you – or just ‘buying you’. Without a brick-and-mortar shop to visit, at least initiall...
More About: Internet Marketing , Trust

Where Search Engines Go, So Should Your Search Engine Marketing
2008-11-20 01:28:00
Google is getting more and more personal. As discussed before, the results one searchers gets will often be different from another searcher’s, even if they uses the same search phrase. Google is tracking your search behavior and take that into consideration when they assemble and deliver results to you. Another development recently is Google delivering results based on your geographic location. They will give a boost to businesses and search listings that are located – or are more relevant – to your area. So far that doesn’t necessarily mean that local businesses automatically make the Top 10 for everybody using Google in your town. It does, though, give you an edge that most businesses would be wise to exploit. Many SEO and search marketing experts are now saying that strict rankings will become meaningless as they don’t apply across the board. One searcher’s Top 10 will not be the same as another’s. Your search marketing will need to get m...
More About: Marketing , Search Engines , Search Engine Marketing , Search , Search Engine

Google AdWords Improvements (Part 2)
2007-12-12 08:55:00
The 2nd feature of Google AdWords that has seen improvements added is the Ad Diagnostics Tool. Basically, the tool is for those keywords you believe your AdWords ad should be showing for - but itsn’t. It can be very frustrating to aim an ad at a specific audience and/or keyword phrase and come up empty. The ...
More About: General , Google Adwords , Adwords

Google AdWords Upgrades Its Features
2007-12-11 08:18:00
Are you a Google AdWords user/advertiser? Google AdWords has added a couple of new features to aid you (and me) in running your campaigns. Here’s the breakdown: IMPROVEMENT #1 - Location Targeting If you used the AdWords geographic targeting tool before, you know that you chose could choose areas, but if you only wanted to choose one ...
More About: General , Features , Google Adwords

Search Engine & Internet Advertising Hits Another Landmark
2007-12-05 02:00:00
According to ZenithOptimedia (try spelling that 5 times fast), Internet advertisings will pass radio next year, making its piece of the global advertising pie that much bigger. This is a massive gain in a short period of time. Then again, that’s been the story of the Internet from 1995 on. What does that mean to you? ...
More About: Advertising , General , Search , Search Engine

Holiday Shopping Started - Local Style
2007-11-24 03:21:00
The Honolulu Advertiser had the usual story on the insane lengths shoppers go to on the day after Thanksgiving. One was a lady who stood in line 10 hours at a local Wal Mart(!). The article also reported that many people were telling reporters that this year would see a smaller budget. The cost of ...
More About: Shopping , Holiday , General , Words , Style

SEO Tip - Check Your Site Links
2007-11-20 00:53:00
People often forget to do regular checks on their site. For exampe - are you absolutely sure that every picture on your site actually shows up? I’ve learned the hard way that one wrong letter in the path can screw things up. Having a ‘broken picture’ icon proudly displayed on one of your pages can ...
More About: Yahoo , General , Links , Words , Site

New Hawaii Record Label
2007-11-17 01:24:00
A new Hawaii record label has just started, run by the Baraquio family. Locals will know the sisters from their tv show, Living Local. The first release is coming out next week, a CD entitled ‘Lost & Found’. The Baraquios have shown a great understanding of not only the right way to do business, but ...
More About: Label , Record , Cord

Google Update Going On - PageRank Drops Common
2007-11-04 06:58:00
This is old news in some ways, but the update is still happening so I consider it fair game. You may have experienced a drop in both PageRank and keyword rankings. This seems to be a bigger update than usual. Google ’s new system, introduced in the last couple of years, was supposedly to be one of ...
More About: Pagerank , General , Words , Update

Hawaii ?Local Businesses? - Get Moving Online or Get Extinct
2007-11-01 23:45:00
Hawaii is always behind the Mainland on trends and developments. Some say we’re 10 years behind, some say 5. That lag may have shortened due to the Internet, but it still exists. Frankly, the Islands’ slower movement forward is fine with me. While I lived on the Mainland I grew tired of the new ‘thing’ ...
More About: Hawaii , General , Moving , Local , Online

Your Site Map - Make It Easy to Find By Humans & Search Engine Bots Alike
2007-10-25 12:23:00
I’m always surprised by sites that either do not have a sitemap (or is it site map? I never know) or hide it away. It’s like they’re ashamed of it. They shouldn’t be, because it’s an important part of any web site. Some visitors actually look for the site map immediately on arriving. For others ...
More About: Yahoo , General , Search , Search Engine , Words

Web Usability Takes Target to Court
2007-10-12 09:24:00
Target is being taken to court. Is it because of employee/employer issues? No. Is it because of unsafe products they sold? No. Is it because of alleged discrimination against a customer? No, but you’re getting warmer. The National Federation of the Blind is taking Target to court over their web site. Specifically, the fact that they ...
More About: General , Usability , Target , Court , Sabi

SEM & SEO Equally Effective
2007-09-25 01:00:00
Marketing Sherpa just came out with the results of a new survey. They polled 2500 Search Engine marketers/marketing firms and found that SEO and SEM ran neck and neck. At least with the marketers. This doesn’t surprise me. I’ve found that search advertising, such as AdWords , is as profitable and beneficial to business as search optimization. ...
More About: Yahoo , General , Effective , Ally

SEO Tip - Don?t Forget Your Image Names
2007-09-14 10:02:00
In the past, optimization for images & graphics consisted of stuffing keywords into the ALT tag. This tactic was so abused that Google no longer takes the ALT tag as seriously as it once did. Still, it’s worth using that outlet for a keyword or 2, as long as it’s done with a lighter touch. The ...
More About: General , Words , Image , Forge , Names

FACT: Offline Advertising/Marketing Affects Search Behavior
2007-08-28 08:46:00
It looks like the other side of the coin is valid as well. A couple of posts back I wrote about studies that showed how search directly influenced offline sales. Now, another study has come out, done by Jupiter Research. This time, the numbers told us something interesting about offline influencing online. According to the study, ...
More About: Marketing , Advertising , Offline , General , Behavior

Google Launches Click Fraud Center Online
2007-08-22 09:50:00
Google, more specifically Google AdWords , has just launched a new site dedicated solely to click fraud - info on it, info on fighting it, info on what they’re doing about it. At least that’s what they say the site will be. Right now there’s not much there: http://www.google.com/adwords/adtrafficqu ality/index.html Check it out for yourself. At the time ...
More About: Google , Fraud , General , Click

FACT: Your Online Advertising Increases Offline Sales
2007-08-08 02:04:00
2 new studies and their findings were revealed recently, one of them commissioned by Yahoo . The Yahoo study involved 175,00 subjects who were divided by theri exposure, or non-exposure, to online ads. Their demographics and ‘behavior’ patterns were identical otherwise. Very interesting data emerged that showed the strength online advertising gives to your offline sales: > ...
More About: Advertising , Online Advertising , Offline , General

Google Bans Squidoo - Make Your Own ?Squi-Don?t? Joke Here
2007-07-19 23:45:00
Google has been taking Squidoo pages out of its index today - and it looks like a house cleaning, not a case of taking out a few bad apples. Is it a case of the good being taken down with the bad or is the site’s problem that widespread? According to news and industry reports - ...
More About: Google , Joke , General , Words

Google: You Gotta Keep Em Separated!
2007-07-17 10:58:00
Google, or at least its Australian brand/version, is being sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The allegation being made is that Google is not making the distinction between paid listings and organic listings clear enough. This will be interesting to watch as it could affect the entire industry, advertisers included. This isn’t the ...
More About: Google , General , Words , Gott , Rate

What Have I Been Doing?
2007-07-06 07:59:00
Good Question. I’ve been gone to a family reunion. We all stayed in a large cabin near/in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It’s like Vegas gone Country, without the gambling or alcohol. A great example of knowing your market and fulfilling their expectations. The place is a cash cow. More on that later. I’ve also been writing articles ...
More About: Been , Doing

Hawaiian Language Might Take Over The Web
2007-06-07 04:37:00
Few need to be told about the Wikipedia - it’s a internet phenomenon that has helped make Web 2.0/User-created-content the latest revolution. Bigger than hip-hop! Hawaii residents were proud to see a Hawaiian word on something so important, even if the word didn’t represent the vital quality that made it so unique. ‘Wiki’ means ‘hurry’ ...
More About: Language

This Time I Mean It - I?m Back
2007-06-01 11:04:00
The past month has had its difficulties. Nothing like Lindsay Lohan Difficulties, but enought that my eye was taken off the ball for a little while. Now I’m back and swinging for the stands (VISUAL: Me standing at home plate, pointing to center field, Babe Ruth style). I’ve read a few good books lately, like the ...
More About: General , Time , Back