Big news was announced last week – Yahoo Search is officially powered by Bing’s organic search results.

There have been clues that this would happen including evidence of testing throughout the summer, but now it’s official.

Bing!

There is also chatter that Yahoo’s paid-advertising platform will be powering Bing’s ads this fall.

It only makes sense that the both organic and paid ads would be driven by the same product…stay tuned!

For years Blizzard has been advising our clients to respond to reviews placed at websites like TripAdvisor, Yelp and Yellowpages.  Until today – reviews left at Google Maps (now called Google Places) were the stepchildren that didn’t offer this feature.
Belabor the fact no more!

Announced today at the Google Lat Long blog, Google now offers verified business owners the ability to respond to reviews made directly on their Google Places page!

Responses will be featured below the review:

At Blizzard, we recommend everyone: 1) be aware of all reviews made of their business, 2) respond to reviews in a public forum where appropriate; and 3) understand that all feedback is valuable.

Google agrees with this stance and gives some helpful tips for responding to reviews:

1) Be Nice - This isn’t just a guideline – it’s a good idea.
2) Don’t Get Personal – Remember that you’re replying to feedback about an experience, not about you as a person.
3) Feedback is Helpful – Both positive and negative feedback can be good for your business and help it grow.

If your business listing isn’t verified, we advise you to do that as soon as possible.  If it is verified, start responding to reviews  – both negative and positive – to engage with your audience and ensure future viewers of those reviews see you care about each and every guest.

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

TripAdvisor is helping out hospitality businesses in the Gulf Coast that have been affected by the spill by offering a free business listing for 3 months.

This includes listings for both new and existing customers.

This offer is extended to owners and managers of hotels, vacation rentals, inns, and bed and breakfasts on the coastline and within 10 miles of the shore that have been impacted.

For more information, call TripAdvisor for Businesses at 866-322-5942 to inquire about your listing.