Outrider Search Marketing Blog

Google's Paid Link Policy Has Too Much Gray

Over the past few months, Google has been spreading word of its policy to penalize sites which pay for or sell links. Google software engineer, Matt Cutts, started out with a broad definition of paid links, but has been fine tuning the definition to include paid links in “poor quality” directories and lately links in paid reviews or paid posts. These clarifications by Cutts only serve to highlight a policy that is highly subjective and cannot be uniformly applied. To avoid penalty, sites are now supposed to add a nofollow attribute to links which are paid. The nofollow attribute is a signal to the engines not to pass link credit to the linked page.

Sure some paid links have the intent of influencing the search results. However, there are valid business reasons for companies to put a value on the traffic and influence that they send through a link. Last week, Cutts illustrated Google's policy against paid post links by using a brain tumor search example. Yet, paid links in the healthcare space have a very valid purpose that has nothing to do with influencing search results.

When seeking critical information like health care, it is the job of both Google and the consumer to make sure that the source from which they get their information has third party validation. This means that the site has been "reviewed" by medical professionals, their privacy policies are sound, and that the site operates aboveboard in regards to any advertising content. In fact, WebMD.com displays three accreditation badges in the footer of every page of its massive site from urac, TRUSTe and HON. HON appears to be the only program that does not charge for this review. The WebMD profile page at urac has a link to WebMD that is not using nofollow. WebMD is not using nofollow on the outgoing links which confirm the accreditation.

These paid links make complete sense and serve the consumer. Companies that review healthcare websites have a valid business model and deserve to be paid so they can do a quality job on the review. For as long as I can remember, Google has always preached "think of the user." That's why Cutt's brain tumor example doesn't work for me. Accredited healthcare sites provide a better user experience. Does the consumer care if the health site paid for the review or used nofollow?

Outside of the seriousness of brain tumors, paid links can play a valid role in all industries. And that’s the problem. Google cannot define bad paid links in black and white. A policy with this much gray can’t be followed by even the most rule-abiding webmaster. Outside of the SEO community, I doubt many website owners are even aware of the policy. In fact, it's so hard to enforce and detect paid links that Google has coerced the webmaster community to self report via nofollow.  The rule followers will fall in line -- losing visibility and more control to Google. The rebels will roll up their sleeves for a workaround and continue business as usual.

Selling Links & PageRank Effect

I just read this posting by Matt Cutts at Google of how they want to remove paid links, which concentrate on paid posts / reviews on web sites.  He uses a great example about brain tumors.  Nothing like going for the gut, because no one in their right mind would want their search on brain tumors to be effected by spam.  The issue here is that their rule is trying to be applied universally.  I admit, I am completely against paid reviews of products because as a consumer I want an unbiased review (oxymoron), but to put all of your faith in product reviews is ridiculous.  Plus, no one has mentioned that if you are investing your money and faith in one search engine, then you need to expand your search.  I also want to state I do feel that Google in a whole does try to do good, and make money.  I am not going to fault them for that, they are a business.  If someone is putting all of their faith in a search on Google for an issue as serious as brain tumors, then, how do I say this nicely, they might want a family member to run their affairs.  The internet is one source of information, and Google is one piece, albeit a big one, of that source.  So I commend Google for trying to clean up the their results because in the end it will only benefit all of us, and if they make money in the process, good.  Because that means they will be around for everyone who commented on Matt's post to also make money.  I would love to hear my counter part Lisa's - Organic Search Manager - opinion on this subject since this is her specialty.

- Jeff Gores

Facebook User Data Serves as Goldmine for Microsoft

Facebook has grown exponentially since it opened up to the general populace. It currently ranks as fourth on all websites worldwide with approximately 14.7 billion page views in September 2007. According to eMarketer, 12 percent in Latin America and Carribean, 35 percent in Asia Pacific, and 28 percent in Europe, Middle East and Africa use social networks. The strong international presence will prove to be very beneficial for Microsoft’s investment in the long run.

In October 2007, Facebook sold 1.6 percent to Microsoft for $250 million. The buzz regarding this partnership has run rampant in the news media and the online community at large. How will this impact Facebook? Will it affect online advertising? Will it change the user experience for the better or worse?

The social networking space is fertile ground for Microsoft. Although Microsoft has a presence in the international community, the partnership with Facebook will ameliorate their visibility and connect them with their core and fringe market. Microsoft will also benefit from the expanded advertising audience leveraged by Facebook’s global network. Currently, 43 percent of Facebook’s page views are from international users and that is only expected to grow exponentially. According to Datamonitor, 75 percent of social networking users come from outside the United States.

How is this going to affect the Facebook user who logs into their page to connect with friends? This partnership will provide Microsoft with invaluable information – the contents of their users’ personal diaries. Currently, my Facebook page contains data like my gender, age, origin, relationship status, group affiliation, networks, interests, favorites, my social graph and so much more. Without having face-to-face interaction with me, they know details that only close friends are privy to.

This partnership will provide Microsoft with tangible information that can be leveraged into increased convergences. Utilizing the information that Ben Harper is my favorite musician, I absolutely love shoes, I am a big fan of Weeds and Dexter, and I use T-mobile for cellular service will definitely impact what form of advertising will be filtered to me.

Obviously, Microsoft has the muscles and tools to mine this personal information to their advantage. Online users will no longer be bombarded with banner ads that do not apply to them. They will increase the chances for purchase by customizing the content. This targeted form will decrease the margin of error involved in mass advertising, and provide a better return for investment for the clients’ dollar.

- Reem Abeidoh

Creating Evangelists for Your Brand

Creating Evangelists for Your Brand
By Tarina Carr

What is an Evangelist? If you were playing a word association game the first thing to come to mind is church, but in the world of search marketing and social media the word evangelist takes on new meaning.

Web 2.0 is the birthing place for these people we call brand evangelists. They are enthusiastic advocates of the brands they consume and they spend a lot of time sharing their experiences, good and bad, with others in their circle. They are the kingpins of the blogosphere and can have an overwhelming influence on a company’s brand image, both online and offline. This group is very passionate about speaking their truths and getting others to rally them on in their plight to create or affect change.

Understanding the power that Brand Evangelists have and how you can leverage their expertise to control this “change” that they seek is highly advantageous to any company who wants to be an authority in their search space. How do you do this? The answer is simple, relationship building. Real bloggers and Brand Enthusiasts are self appointed VIPs with a huge fan base, so the way to their heart is through their ego. They know the power of their words, so getting them on your side is not as easy as just asking for a shout out. You have to be willing to get to know them, understand and respect the mores of their group, learn their language, foster friendships with them and other bloggers in the community, and participate in the discussion not only for name drop and product placement opportunities, but with the intent to add value to the needs of the group. While doing this requires a heavy investment in your time, the benefits to your search results are priceless.

As Search Marketing Experts, it’s important for us to not only understand the standard tactics of bid management and Meta  tag optimization. We must also understand that Search is a dynamic and interactive world where consumers are in a position to control the fate of our clients’ brands. Knowing this, we should become motivated to get our clients involved in these social communities to create relationships with those who have the ability to effect change, to encourage the perpetuity of conversations centered on their brands by being there to set the record straight or just to add value to the discussion, to append a humanistic persona to the brand, and to have an overall marketing concept focus where the needs, desires, and feelings of the customer is always top priority.

Find your Brand Evangelists, start building your relationships and watch your results soar!

A Diamond in the Rough

 

A Marketer's Guide to Social Bookmarking & Tagging
SMX Conference -€“ October 16, 2007

A Diamond in the Rough

 After a day-long focus on Digg.com, the Marketer's Guide to Social Bookmarking session finally discussed other social networking sites. To preface this posting, I must admit that if I haven'€™t learned anything else over the last seven hours, I've learned that Digg is to social media as Google is to the search engines. Is the world big enough for two Gods??

 Anyway, this session provided applicable knowledge that can be utilized by a wider range of industries. Much of social media is subjective to the audience'€™s opinion, which gives the audience ultimate control over your posts'€™ destiny. This doesn'€™t fly in the Pharma vertical where everything that is shared on the web has to be legally approved. I understand the importance and relevance of Digg.com, but can it be used for my purposes?  When I asked a few of my social marketing colleagues about how to best utilize these sites for this specific category, they were just as bewildered as I was, yet interested in helping me find a solution.

 Social bookmarking and tagging helps to break this mold of subjectivity by creating an environment where a client can indulge in a little self-promotion, but still remain in control of their content. Social Bookmarking and Tagging involves the use of collaborative bookmarking and social news sites like Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Newsvine, and others. The tasks involves properly tagging articles, webpages, images, and videos with targeted keywords and submitting the content to appropriate social networks.

This "a la carte"€ Search Media Marketing (SMM) menu option is all about leveraging the opportunity to create compelling content that encourages people to link to and then have it spread like wildfire within the social news environments. It'€™s about establishing a network of friends on these modules, which will help to increase your brand awareness and link popularity.

I am excited about becoming more conscious about the content I choose to bookmark and the words I associate with them to describe their relevance. I am also excited that after almost six hours of sitting and wondering how any this "€œstuff"€ applies to me and the clients I serve, I've found my diamond in the rough and will be taking it back home to  St. Louis.

Online Videos Watching to Increase Exponentially in 2011

Innovative new television sets are selling like hot cakes with price tags starting in the $1000 range. Features like High Definition Television (HDTV), high resolution and enhanced pixels are major selling points for buyers. This is a strong indication that people have not stopped watching their favorite shows on their fancy TVs. But something has changed. Those same people are now watching broadcasts online as well. Social marketing through online videos, AKA Television 2.0, connects the community to the shows and enables interactivity.

According to The Conference Board and TNS, 16 percent of internet households in the US are streaming TV broadcasts online. In 2006, news programs accounted for approximately 63 percent of online content watched by Americans.  There were around 47 percent of US online households watching entertainment programs online. In 2007, 44 percent of content watched online is entertainment programs, which matches the viewership of news programs. It is evident that the love for entertainment has had a large effect on online TV viewing. eMarketer projects that there will be 200 million broadband internet users by 2011, and 91 percent of those users will watch videos online.

There are definite perks to watching TV shows online. It enables people to view their programs at their convenience will limited commercial time. Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer, doubts that online video will impact US TV viewing time. He predicts that both channels will grow at the same rate and online video will serve as a support tool and even complementary to mainstream TV. comScore’s analysis in March 2007 noted that Americans usually watch videos online from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. on weekends, which works well with the standard TV primetime schedule of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weeknights.

A great example of this is the “30 Rock” show on NBC.com . If you missed an episode on TV, you can go to their website to load and view it. After a brief advertisement, you are able to enjoy the entire episode. There is even expanded content on the web, which encourages interaction and participation with the online community. This social element directly connects program watchers to the show, the actors and the general brand.

While these benefits are attractive, there are drawbacks to online videos. If many people are accessing the same online file, they are sucking up NBC.com’s bandwidth which in turn stalls the process. Similarly, if a user’s virtual memory can’t process all the info at the necessary speed, the viewing experience is slow. This cannot compare to the simplicity and immediate gratification of TV watching. However, this is soon to change as an increasing amount of people are using broadband internet. Pike and Fischer estimated that by the end of 2007, 58% of US households will have broadband.

Social media applications like Television 2.0 are increasing viewer capability to maintain their schedule while catching up on their favorite shows and interacting with fellow program lovers. It is easy to access, download and enjoy. Still, I agree with Verna; people are not going to trade in their 60 inch name brand TV for their laptop or desktop screens any time soon. There is still something to be said for the traditional viewing experience.

- Reem Abeidoh

Bursting Your Internet Bubble

There has been of late, a little rumble about this Internet bubble bursting, with some trying to stir those deep down emotions that took many beers and a little therapy to suppress.   Some of it has been thought through, some of it just wants an increase in its blog readership.  You have your doomsday scenario from Mark Simon and then there is the counter thought (I think, because Aaron has a "to be continued..." on his post).  I guess I am more of an optimist because the one thought that I would like to put on the table and I believe that no one has talked about yet, is that the Internet or web (call it what you will) is ingrained in the human population's life, more than it has ever been.  Back in the day, it was all about creating cool technology, especially for males in their 30's and how we could make people want to use it.  Now, the web is used more than TV in most youth's lives, so there is no reason to abandon it.  And these youth will grow into adults with not knowing life without an Internet, and come to expect that life revolves around the digital output.  Now I don't have my head in the clouds too much, and I do realize that there will be a day that the money brought into our business will slow down, and that certain businesses are paying too much, but I don't see that happening any time in the near future.  And I am not quite sure that it will happen because Google misses a quarter badly.

Some fuel for the fire can be found here:

New York Times

The Wall Street Journal

Times Online

- Jeff

 

Plugging into a Niche Social Community is Like Putting on Your Best Fitting Jeans

While the growth of FaceBook and MySpace is still a phenomenon, there is a substantial fracturing of the social audience into niche communities. The buzz may send users to FaceBook and MySpace in droves, but do they stay? Do they plug in? Or is it simply overwhelming for most people to feel comfortable in networks of this size? 

Finding your way in a smaller niche community that aligns with your interest is like putting on your best fitting pair of blue jeans. It’s all about the comfort factor. It’s natural for people to want to hang out with people like themselves. It’s easier and more rewarding to participate if you have a deep interest in the topic. The shared interest is the sticky factor that brings people back to the site, helps them find online friends and keeps the posts and comments rolling.

Finding the Sweet Spot

Marketers are flocking to niche communities and many are finding the right notes with these target markets. CafeMom is a growing social community that recently received $5 million in VC funding. To appeal to this demographic, advertisers like SaraLee, HP, Kraft, and JCPenney are finding inventive ways to integrate into the community instead of just running banners. JCPenney has provided gift cards for a room makeover and then follows the mom as she transforms her house. Sara Lee has provided a widget that lets people take a quiz to identify which type of sandwich they are on their profile. In case you’re wondering, I’m a BLT – which tells the world that “I’m Easy Going and Make Friends Everywhere I Go.” 

To start finding your sweet spot, check out these lists of niche social networks at Fabric of Folly, and Wikipedia. 

Niche within a Niche

Even in a niche community, groups within the community allow even further fractionalization. Can you see a day when advertisers key their messages to groups within niche communities? Or would users chafe at that much targeting? There’s a migraine group on CafeMom. Would an ad from a pharmaceutical company be welcome here? The answer is going to be found in extensive testing and targeting. What works on CafeMom is not going to work on GamerVision. Marketers who listen to their audience and participate in communities are going to be able to hit that sweet spot more often.

The Role of Search in Reputation Management

Reputation Management is known under many alias': brand management, crisis management, and more. Whatever your title for this topic, Joseph Cowan, Sr. Strategist from Outrider, made it very clear this is important! The presentation was full of "real-life examples" of companies in dire need of reputation management or companies who have successfully implemented such a campaign.

A reputation management campaign should be treated like life insurance. It's there and running, but hopefully you wont have to use it very often! One great example Joseph gave was Mattel. As you'll recall Mattel voluntarily recalled a large number of their toys as a result of lead paint. To any brand, a recall such as this can be detrimental, however Mattel was smart about it and immediately launched a campaign explaining the recall and sending concerned parents to their website to learn more. They took over a portion of the Yahoo homepage with a video from the Chairman & CEO of Mattel explaining what was going on. They drove users via paid search to http://www.mattel.com/safety/us/ where more details were available. Mattel immediately jumped to their feet and took action!

Many companies and brands have come under fire in recent years including JetBlue, Cadbury Schweppes, and Wendy's. Each of these circumstances presented a great opportunity for a reputation management campaign to aid brand perception. To quote Joseph, "Consumers that have an open mind, that are willing to research an issue and get the most information, will use search engines to do so. Appropriate use of paid search, search engine optimization, and trademark registration can be effective means of getting your point of view to the consumer in a controlled format."

In closing, there was a great quote shared from Warren Buffet that said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to destroy it."

Keynote - Deep Thoughts on the Internet

Outrider welcomed Jordan Rohan, Managing Director for RBC Capital Markets to present the Keynote on Wednesday morning.  I have seen Jordan speak before and I find his presentations interesting.  They do jump around so you have to be in the mindset to not follow the PowerPoint. 

Jordan's strength is his ability to provide an outside expert opinion about our world, the internet.  So the following are Rohan's take on the Internet;

Rohan started the conversation about is the internet Cyclical or Secular. At the end of his discussion on this topic Rohan concluded that he felt the internet has grown in size enough to be Secular.

Google has the leg up in International search.  The future will show and depend on what happens after you get to the site.  Which brings up why Rohan believes Web Analytic companies will be a hot topic for investments.

Search is complex.  A/B testing, conversions will be a focus.

ebay doesn't really like Google (nobody really does), and proved with their pull out of paid advertisement in Google that they don't necessarily need them.

8% of Keywords drive 53% of the total clicks equaling 15% of the budget spent online.

Increase in Micropublishers and niche content is booming because proprietary content matters right now on the internet.  Ad networks make it beneficial to be a blogger.

Ad prices are in a steady decline.

GOOG has more Market Cap than AMZN, EBAY, YHOO and IAC combined.  Pretty amazing (author's comment).

ebay has too much crap (technical term) on their shelves.  It is too hard to find what you really care about.

Yahoo! has stalled since the launch of Panama.  Which makes Yahoo! a likely candidate for a takeover - not likely in the next 90 days though.

There was/is nothing that AOL could have done about their decline. Advertising.com is doing well for them though.

Outrider is the only company that works well with others in the WPP portfolio (we did not pay him to say that).  Believes that the agencies under the WPP and other holding companies don't usually work well together even though that is why they were acquired.

Can't explain:

• WPP buys 24/7 Media
• Right Media sells to Yahoo! for a valuation of $850 million
• Yahoo! offers $1B for Facebook (2006)
• What is a portal if it has no proprietary content

Prediction:

• AOL spun off to shareholders
• Omniture (OMTR) will be acquired in the next 18 months
• Google significantly expands Display advertising
• Shareholders force Yahoo! to sell

Pick:

• Bankrate.com
• Gmarket.com

There you have it.  Rohan has spoken, now go buy stock, and do search marketing with Outrider.

- Jeff