Here is another quick update on Google Webmaster Tools.

They recently enlarged their data in the “links to your site” report.  Finally, Google seems to be showing a healthy list of all the links that point to your own website.

This improvement means that Google Webmaster tools will become one of the goto tools for measuring how many links point to your website.  One nice feature is that they also break the links down by which page they link into, so you can get a better sense of your “deep linking” strategies.

Read yesterday’s article about the exciting “search queries” report that talks about improved data in that report too.

Getting a better ranking in Google Local  is always difficult.   The main reason is that it continues to be a “black box” that is hard to reverse engineer.  It often seems to irrationally rank one business over another.

Our favorite research resource is David Mihm’s Local Search Ranking Factors which has been updated in June of  2010.

In a nutshell, they survey a bunch of local search experts on what they think most important factors are.  They tally the results, and voila, you have an instant resource on what the true experts believe works and doesn’t work.

Here are their top 20 factors:

1. General Importance of Claiming Place Page / Local Listing
2. Business Address in City of Search
3. Associating Place Page with Proper Categories
4. Volume of Citations from Major Data Providers + IYP Portals
5. General Importance of Off-Page / Off-Listing Criteria
6. General Importance of Customer Reviews
7. Quality of Citations from Major Data Providers + IYP Portals
8. Product / Service Keyword in Place Page Business Title
9. Volume of Customer Reviews associated with Your Business
10. Quality of Unstructured Citations
11. Volume of Unstructured Citations
12. Proximity of Address to City Centroid
13. Customer Reviews Left on Third-Party Websites
14. Product / Service Keywords in Place Page Description
15. General Importance of On-Page Criteria
16. Quality of Inbound Links to Website
17. Velocity of Customer Reviews Associated with Your Business
18. Volume of MyMaps on which Your Business Is Included
19. Associating Photos with Your Place Page
20. Associating Local Area Code as Primary Place Page Phone Number

And here are the top negative factors that hurt you (the worst one is the last): Read the rest of this entry »

Google has recently improved its Webmaster Tools by improving its “Search Queries” report which lists:

• The top search queries for which your site appeared in search results
• The number of impressions that query received
• The number of clicks each query received
• The Click Through Rate (CTR) of each query
• The Average Position of each query

It starts by showing a nice graph of impressions vs clicks:

And then really gets amazing by showing details of clickthru rates and rankings, query by query:

Three reasons why this is important:

1. Google now provides authoritative data of where you rank for each keyword phrase.  It actually averages the position if you showed up in multiple spots and it shows which pages showed up in each spot.   No more guessing!
2. By producing the Click Thru Rate (CTR) for search results, Google may actually be revolutionizing the SEO industry.  We can now see how often a high ranking by itself doesn’t convert impressions into clicks. Finally, SEO companies like Blizzard Internet can impress upon customers the value of writing compelling titles and descriptions (which increase CTR), the value of worrying about sitelinks, the value of coming up in multiple spots.  To put it bluntly, we can focus on clicks from Google instead of rankings.  Looking at the data, it is clear that a high ranking doesn’t automatically lead to a click
3. Google is demonstrating it knows the CTR of specific queries and websites.  I believe this is the first step to a major change in Google’s algorithm.  My prediction is that soon you will move up or down partly based upon your CTR.  Better start improving those CTRs if you want to keep the top spot!

It should come as no surprise that CTR could become part of the algorithm.  Google has ranked PPC in AdWords for a long time based upon click-thru rates… why not move that into its organic algorithm?  I think it is gonna happen!

Want more evidence?  Google also has a load-time monitor in its webmaster tools, and your load time is now part of the organic ranking algorithm.  Google knows that websites that load fast are more enjoyable by its users… so it bumps them up a bit.  If I were Google, I would start lowering websites that have below average CTRs for specific queries… they are a waste of search engine real estate.

I recommend you start investing in improving your CTRs of your important keyword phrases… start by writing and testing better titles and descriptions.  Stop stuffing keywords in there.

Want to know what is next?  Bounce rates! Google knows if users do a search, click on your site, and bounce back!  Another sign that you don’t deserve to rank for that keyword phrase.  BTW, this factor is also already in Google’s Adwords algorithm.  I bet we are talking about that in the next year.

Ad network Chitika recently published interesting findings from an examination of a whole lot of search-driven ad impressions.  Their research shows that three-word search queries hit the sweet spot and drive the most search traffic. Specifically, Chitika looked at a sample of 41,103,403 impressions of search traffic coming into their network between June 13 – June 19.

The company found that 26 percent of (organic) search-driven traffic was the result of “three-word searches.”  Here’s the full breakdown of organic search volume by query length:

1. Three words: 26 percent
2. Two words: 19 percent
3. Four words: 17 percent
4. One word 14 percent

Chitika added that “any query beyond five words will see dramatically lower traffic.”

How many monitors to you use in your workspace? I have 2, sometimes 3 when my laptop is open.

Everyone at Blizzard Internet uses at least 2 monitors and our developers have 3.  One employee told me that “you will pry my 2nd monitor from my cold dead hands before taking it away from me.” So, that pretty much sums up how they feel about it.

I HIGHLY recommend that you get your employees at least one more monitor because:

1. It will increase their productivity. I have seen research that productivity can be increased by anywhere between, 9-50%, that alone is worth the cost. I read this in Computer Weekly, the USA Today, and the New York Times.
2. It’s cheap. 24″ screens are now less than $300.
3. They will love (or at least like) you more. This will increase morale and increase productivity.

Check out my productive team:

Larry, the master of his own domain and master of coding, uses 3 monitors to rule the world.
Matt optimizes his productivity when optimizing websites using dual monitors.
Angelina Doglie is working as slow as molasses with her single monitor.

See more pictures of the Blizzard Internet Marketing Team being productive on on Flickr.

The BP oil spill is taking a toll on the vacation home rental market in the Gulf of Mexico.

Normally, June through September would be the peak season for crowds of tourists basking in the beautiful beaches on the Gulf. Instead the phones are ringing with cancellations and the near future is discouraging.

Most of us cannot  truly feel the extent of the sadness, anguish, and anger of the residents and  businesses along this coast. Certainly, no amount of money can reverse this tragedy but there is  hope in obtaining some monetary compensation for lost rental income and perhaps property values in the area.

Read more on PR Web: The Gulf Oil Help Center Dramatically Intensifies Its Efforts to Assist Vacation Rental Property Owners In Destin, Orange Beach, Mississippi & Louisiana.

More information on help for rental or business property owners impacted by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill  can be found by calling  the Gulf Oil Spill Help Center at 866-714-6466, or contacting the group via its web site at http://GulfOilSpillHelpCenter.com

Is it a just a game fad or a great loyalty marketing?

Some innovative marketers are turning to location based internet marketing and using it to track and reward their loyal patron’s visits to their establishment through a growing number of mobile resources.

There are a number of applications that provide information and/or allow users to “checkin” (register) their visits to almost any location based on GPS features in their mobile devices.  Some of the applications reward the user with awards and badges and sometimes the user can receive free or discounted rewards from participating establishments.

The number of users is growing but its usefulness is still controversial. Read the rest of this entry »