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It’s fairly obvious to most users that Google has been personalizing the ads that show up on their search results page for a while now. Users searching for a local bakery would see ads featuring baked goods and bakeries in their area listed along the top and down the right-hand side of the search engine results page (SERP). This may have been a little disconcerting for some who felt their privacy must have been invaded to achieve such specifically targeted ads.

The tug-of-war between privacy and personalization online has been ongoing. Google is attempting to take some of the mystery out of what information prompts which ads with their new transparency feature. Now users are able to click a “why these ads?” Google AdWords link where they can see exactly what information was used to render a specific ad. Furthermore, users will be able to “opt out” or block ads sponsored by undesirable sources.

How will this affect Google advertisers?

Google has reassured advertisers via their Google AdWords blog that a site whose ads have been blocked will not suffer a direct decrease in their page rank. That’s good news for responsible members of the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) world who may fear that arbitrary user blocks will have a negative impact on their site’s overall ranking. Another up-side is the likely weeding out of spammy advertising designed to draw the user’s eye, but contains no real usable information.

The new transparency feature extends to Gmail account holders, as well. Slightly more invasive in the ways it decides which ads to show you, Gmail users will have a similar experience when they click the “why these ads?” feature. Unlike the SERP where users are generally receiving ads based on their search criteria, the ads you see in Gmail are predicated on the content of your current email thread.

Is there a way out of such specific Google ad targeting?

For those of you who are uncomfortable with such a personalized marketing experience, you can “opt out” and your words will no longer be used to customize the ads you see. While this may make you feel as though your email or search content is more private, it’s important to understand that Google is still saving your information, even though they’re not using it directly.

You can probably assume that Google has many checks in place so that their new feature can’t be exploited; it would be uncharacteristic if they didn’t. Hopefully, this level of user feedback will help the search giant to more effectively promote quality ads. Additionally, depending on the extent to which a user utilizes said feature, there may be a positive backlash that boosts the efficacy of organic SEO. Either way, it’s clear that Google is actively trying to minimize privacy concerns by giving users access to the inside information which is dictating their ad experience…whether you felt like sharing that information or not.

Halloween is supposed to be the spookiest day of the year. Cobwebs crisscross suburban white picket fences, ghosts lurk around every corner, the familiar seems strange and even the mailman is unrecognizable in a mask that would frighten any Halloween aficionado. Scarier still, hoards of children are released en mass to go door to door, collecting fuel for their high-energy escapade in the form of Pixie Sticks and Snickers bars.

While for many, the most frightening dance features Grandma in a Lady Gaga costume doing the Monster Mash, the SEO world trembles in fear at the dreaded Google Shuffle (well, maybe both).

The Scariest Day of the Year

Picture this: The day dawns like any other. While your morning coffee brews, you hop online and take a quick look at your Google rankings. Sitting at the computer, your heart drops to your stomach, your hands grow cold; you hear a blood curdling scream and it takes several moments to realize that it’s coming from your throat. You peer at the computer screen through tears of disbelief and ask yourself, “How can this be?!?”

“This” is the absence of your site in a leading spot on Google’s search engine result page (SERP). Seemingly for no reason, your site which has held a high ranking on Google’s result page for your favorite keywords is relegated to page three or lower. You frantically check your site for missing tags and find no obvious sign that would indicate why your site has fallen in the rankings. What did you do wrong? As it turns out, nothing. You’ve fallen victim to the Google Shuffle.

What’s the Google Shuffle?

While slightly less popular than the Electric Slide or the Macarena, the Google Shuffle has SEO sources around the world on their feet and moving frantically. Before you slap on your dancing shoes and overhaul your business plan, there are a few things you need to remember.

For starters, the search algorithm utilized by Google is ever changing. Google is not the leading global search engine because they created a terrific product and then sat down. They are constantly striving to refine and improve their methodology; working to bring users the most beneficial results on the Web. If you have been practicing white hat SEO, it’s likely you have nothing to fear; your site will probably be restored to its rightful spot within a few days, if not hours. If you’ve been shady in the way you utilize SEO, you may have a problem on your hands.

Although there is no exact formula for maintaining a highly-positioned site, there are several constants that may be adhered to. Quality, original content, current information and an easily navigated page are what Google is trying to provide to users. Period. The algorithm change dubbed Google Panda was designed specifically to identify pages that do not meet those qualifications. Affected sites were likely playing the Google algorithm game instead of focusing on the utility of the page itself. This kind of SEO might work for the short-term, but your page doesn’t have a leg to stand on should the Google process change even slightly.

Don’t let the Google Shuffle get you down! Odds are that your page will be leading the pack again shortly. If, however, your site remains on the back pages, maybe it’s time you stop focusing purely on ranking high and put some of that energy into creating a site which deserves to be highly-ranked.

Mobile Full Browsers

At the AdWords campaign level settings you can find targeting for devices with full browsers.  The default is targeting “All”.  You can opt out of specific devices.  The reporting for mobile devices such as IOS and Android is blended.  If you would like to see device specific reporting you will need to create separate campaigns, each targeting single devices.

Mobile targeting of specific devices and carriers can allow message specific to the user.  For example, advertising Android application only to android users.  When advertising the Android Market, Instead of the display URL, a direct download link appears in Google search results.  Simply include “itunes.apple.com/” or “market.android.com/” followed by the app name in the ad’s display URL, and it will automatically display as ‘Download iPhone App’ or ‘Download Android App.’

WAP Browsers

Mobile internet devices know as WAP browsers were the first mobile devices to access the internet.   These devices can not view standard websites.  Websites have to be codes in WAP compatible code.  Google.com is WAP compatible and supports AdWords advertising.  WAP requires its own ads which have fewer characters than standard text ads.  The destination of WAP ads must be WAP enabled page.  WAP browser devices have been decreasing in market share due to the introduction of mobile devices with full web browsers such as Apple IOS and Google Android devices.

There was a time when flipping through a Yellow Pages phone book was the most reliable (and available) way to discover local businesses. It was up to you to figure out that clothing was listed under “apparel”, thrift stores under “consignment”, your local electric company under “utilities”, etc. Additionally, your only way to gauge the quality of one business over another was tied up in the size of the ad that company was able to purchase. The bigger the ad, the more reputable the business, right?

Fortunately for consumers, vendors have had to adopt a new marketing strategy when selling their products online. It’s not enough to simply push their company in the face of potential customers; that’s not how today’s patrons shop. A consumer search is less about choosing which company has the best brand marketing and more about researching that company’s product reviews.

How Important are Consumer Reviews?

Unless your business is listed on local directories (Google Places, Yelp, Citysearch, etc.), the chances of attracting new customers online is greatly diminished. People are interested in how one company rates over another; they are also willing to travel a little further for a more highly rated proprietor.

A survey released by Harris Interactive indicates that 59% of those surveyed utilize search engines first when they are researching a local business. For users under the age of 35, that percentage grows to an impressive 83%. Meanwhile, only about 8% of consumers go first to a given merchant’s own site. The study also found that although the majority of those surveyed would not travel more than 30 miles to investigate a new business, about one-third were willing to go between 15 and 30 miles to do so. While branding is still imperative when promoting your business online, these statistics make it clear that listings in local directories are almost as important in terms of attracting new customers.

This is just another reason why maintaining a lasting relationship with a reputable SEO source is essential. We will optimize your company’s listing on a site like Google Places; making it stand-out to users browsing for your product or service. Expertly maximizing comments left by happy customers will help to boost your business’ rating.

Holiday shoppers are eagerly preparing to start pounding the pavement, looking for the best deals. But before they hit the bricks, more than half are likely to do a little online research first. Get an optimized local directory listing and make sure your business tops their lists!

You may have heard this increasingly popular buzz word come up in conversation, at a networking event, or in the news. A website’s Page Rank refers to a number that is arrived at by using a very complex algorithm developed by Computer Scientist and Co-Founder of Google, Larry Page. Google (and only Google) uses this algorithm as a way to assign value and importance to websites. The Page Rank values can range from a 10 which is the best value a website can be assigned to a 0 which is the worst value a website can be assigned.

Google uses Page Rank (among other tools) to determine the relevance of websites and help to determine their placement in the SERP, or the Search Engine Results Page. While Google won’t release all of the factors that contribute to Page Rank, several industry professionals have started to decode the process providing us with useful information. Having a high Page Rank can help with placement in the SERP but it is not a solid guarantee for the coveted number one result. That’s where Search Engine Optimization comes in.

Using several factors, Search Engine Optimization builds the relevance and importance of your website to help improve visibility when people search for subject matter that is closely related to the content or services on your particular website. The higher up in the SERPs you are, the better chance you have of gaining valuable visitors, or clicks, to your website. The more visitors you get every month, the more brand awareness is created, referrals are generated, and customers develop.

While Page Rank is an important differentiator to consider when evaluating how you can improve your own website, it’s important not to exclude other equally as important factors. The quality of content on your website, the relevance of that content to the services you are looking to provide to potential customers, the layout of your website and the ease of use are all important aspects to consider.

When Citrix was created in 1989, its founder, Ed Iacobucci could never have guessed where technology would take his small start-up company. The internet itself was barely in its infancy and “cloud” technology was as distant as the clouds themselves. A former developer at IBM, Iacobucci understood the importance of emerging technology and formed an early partnership with Microsoft.  Due to his foresight, Citrix was able to stay afloat; despite an inability to turn a profit during its first six years following inception.  The company earned no revenue at all between 1991 and 1993 and had it not been for funding from Microsoft, Intel and a few other venture capitalists, Citrix would have gone belly-up during that difficult time.

Fortunately, the acquisition of a product created by Novell called “Network Access Server” proved to be a turning point for the struggling Citrix. After further development and some fine-tuning, Network Access Server was released by Citrix under the name WinView. This commodity become the very first released by the company to turn a profit and paved the way for what Citrix provides in today’s market.

What is Citrix?

Citrix occupies a unique niche in the computer science industry. Their introduction of WinView in 1993 marked one of the first remote-access technological breakthroughs; it provided a connection for multiple users with programs and other applications from one main server (a system still utilized by many companies today). WinView laid the groundwork for Citrix to be a top provider of remote access services.

Today’s focus on mobile internet has put Citrix in a very enviable position. Users expect high functionality from small devices that may not have been possible were it not for the Cloud technology introduced by Citrix. As the demand for increasingly comprehensive, mobile-internet access rises, so has the company’s revenue. In fact, Citrix’ services are so in demand that despite downward-trending profit margins for much of the technology sector, the company is surpassing its market projections.

Citrix third-quarter profits rose a sizeable 5% as a result of its online services and product license sales. This prompted the company to increase its projected fourth-quarter earnings to a 76 cent increase per share, instead of the originally stated 75 cents. While an additional one cent per share may not sound like much, that figure represents adjusted revenue of roughly 10 million dollars. In light of its successes, Citrix has purchased several key domains that further its position as the top provider of remote technology, not the least of which is cloud.com.

Citrix is a shining example of what adapting to emerging computer science can do for your business. The thriving cloud technology market of today would have seemed like science fiction if presented to Ed Iacobucci in 1989. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this rags-to-riches story is specific only to businesses involved in computer science; today’s technology has the potential to increase revenue for virtually everyone! Don’t get stuck thinking the hi tech industry has nothing to offer your business; call us and discover your expanded marketplace today!

In their ever-expanding quest to bring more relevant, higher-quality results to users, Google recently unleashed the newest version of their Panda program. For those of you not aware of Google Panda, it’s an algorithm created by Google to weed out websites it perceives as low-quality. Low-quality can refer to a variety of things ranging from copied content to thin affiliate sites.

The sites that have been affected by the change are somewhat surprising. Many “reputable”, well-known websites have found their traffic greatly diminished following Panda’s application. Site’s whose primary revenue is dependent on Google Adwords traffic are scrambling to make up for the loss. There are a few sites in particular that have been very vocal on numerous forums regarding what they perceive as “unfair” tactics on the part of Google.

What is Google Panda Trying to Eliminate?

• Web pages that are all ads with little content
• Sites largely featuring copied content
• Pages featuring outdated information

Unfortunately, these sites haven’t realized that they are losing their Google traffic for a reason that has nothing to do with any algorithm. They mistakenly based their entire business plan around understanding how Google works, rather than focusing on maintaining a quality site with original content. By concentrating only on the mathematical way Google picks one site over the next, a heavily algorithm-focused company will always be playing catch-up. Any change to the Google code and they have to completely re-examine the way they do business.

However, the news is not all bad. Many websites are enjoying a boost in their internet traffic thanks to the updated release of Google Panda. These sites have not only done their due diligence in regards to organic SEO, they have worked to maintain original content that is current, helpful and user-friendly.

Simply stated, Google is not trying to hurt anyone’s business; it’s working to improve its own. Though it is the globally preferred search engine, Google is still in a competitive market where it is constantly striving to improve its product. Higher-quality results mean a higher-quality product.

So instead of complaining about how unfair it is that Google changed its practices (which it does quite frequently), perhaps time would be better spent addressing the issues on your site that caused it to drop in the rankings in the first place.

Whether your business is an actual physical store or online, marketing on the internet is vastly important. There are a variety of methods available to you when you decide to promote yourself online. Some traditional marketing techniques have crossed over to the web, but they are generally more costly and less effective. These strategies focus on popup ads and interruption marketing; both of which run the risk of annoying the person you’re trying to impress.

In lieu of flashy, traditional popup ads, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising allows you to get your company name noticed and gives you the opportunity to easily track your visitors. You have the ability to place your ad on specific pages where it is likely to generate user interest. That way, your company is highly visible to your target audience.

Another terrific way of getting your brand out there is through email marketing. By creating a spot on your website which allows customers to opt-in to your email circulars, you are tapping into an audience that you already know is interested in receiving information about your product or service. Email is an excellent way to let customers know when you have new inventory or are running a special sale or promotion. It can also be a great way to gather feedback from existing customers to improve your site or even your company!

PPC and email marketing are quite effective; they both generate business. However, the most proficient way to make a name for your brand online is through well-orchestrated SEO. SEO lets major search engines know that your site is legit and relevant; relevant and legitimate websites are awarded higher positions in search results. A higher position in search results increases your company’s visibility ten-fold. In addition to attracting a larger volume of web traffic, a highly ranked site tells users that you are a credible source of information and increases the likelihood that content on your site will be used as a resource for comparing similar products or services.

Regardless of the nature of your business, a significant internet presence is imperative. The web has become the primary resource for finding a quality provider of a specific good or service. Without an easily accessible, user-friendly site, you are missing out on a bevy of potential customers. Don’t give your competitors greater visibility simply because you don’t think there is an internet market for your brand! Call us today and see what we can do to get you noticed online!

Last week, many Google Analytics users noticed that several of their ranking keywords had been replaced with “(not provided)”. The change occurred days before Google announced the advent of a new protocol, ostensibly created to improve “privacy and security” for users. Basically, Google has started withholding referrers containing crucial keyword information from searches performed by users who are logged-in to the Google system (via Google+, Gmail etc.). This means that when a signed-in user searches for a given set of keywords and then clicks through to an organic result, the referral information will show only that the user arrived at that site via Google.com; it will not allow anyone tracking the traffic on the site to have access to what keywords brought that user to that site to begin with.

Had Google simply halted access for everyone looking to track the keywords utilized by logged-in users, it would be easier to believe that Google truly had added privacy and security as their main goal. Unfortunately, there is a glaring hole in the presumably altruistic intention of the change: paid advertisers will still have access to referral information. Regardless of your opinion on user security, it’s difficult to look past the fact that only advertisers willing to pay will be able to benefit from the data that used to be free for everyone.

As it stands right now, only a small percentage of data is being withheld from analytics users, though it would be a safe assumption that that percentage will rise as Google+ increases in popularity. The announcement of the change comes roughly a month following the release of Google+ to the general public.

Though nothing has been confirmed, there are plenty of rumors out there regarding the possibility that Google Analytics Premium users may retain access to referrer information. The startlingly high price tag attached to the service that was a deterrent for most normal-sized businesses may not seem so high if that becomes the only way to access the majority of referrer information (but don’t start working on a 150k yearly analytics budget quite yet; the number of Google+ users would first have to eclipse other sites like Facebook to make even contemplating an upgrade to Google Analytics Premium prudent).

Plainly stated, if Google’s main focus was truly increasing user privacy, they would have done so with a level playing field. The idea that a change in security applies to everyone except those who are paying Google to advertise is highly suspect. While it remains to be seen what effect this will have on SEO in the future, it’s clear that having an adaptable, experienced SEO source is going to be key in maintaining the benefits of organic SEO that you and your business have come to expect.

The holiday season is once again upon us! The “official” start of the holiday shopping season (Black Friday), may be more than a month away, but the trickle of seasonal revenue has already begun for many eCommerce merchants. While the stress of the season may be different for online sellers than brick and mortar retailers, the holidays are nonetheless a very busy time for both.

For business owners selling merchandise from a physical location, the month of December means extended hours, jammed parking lots and hoards of last-minute shoppers. For eCommerce sellers, the last month of the year brings with it dramatically increased web traffic, a flood of shipping orders and unlike most location-based businesses, an online store never closes.

It is understandably easy to get swept up in the tidal wave of orders that looms promisingly around the corner. Your busiest season is no time to start a new project, right? Wrong! Though it may seem ludicrous when your time is at a premium to do anything not directly related to the business of doing business, now is actually a great time to put an experienced SEO source in your corner.

Wouldn’t it be great to know which keywords are bringing visitors to your site? What path they’ve taken to find you? Whether or not they were searching specifically for your brand? E-commerce business owners who have this information are less likely to be taken off guard by a seemingly random flux of new orders. They are aware of the time lapse between a visitor arriving on their site and when that visitor makes a purchase. An eCommerce site that utilizes SEO is able to maximize their holiday revenue by maintaining a high rank in the major search engines’ results. They are able to tailor their advertising strategies to reflect the habits of their target market.

Black Friday may mark the start of the holiday rush, but an eCommerce business is uniquely able to capitalize on the spirit of Black Friday the following Thursday…or Tuesday…or Saturday. If you know what your customers are looking for, you have a tangible advantage over sites that do not utilize SEO.

Imagine how much business you would lose trying to run your eCommerce site with a dial-up modem! Well, attempting to rank highly in a major search engine while forgoing the invaluable assistance of a reputable SEO source is tantamount to the same thing.

Don’t wait until the Black Friday rush is upon you to start considering your SEO needs! Call us today and make the 2011 holiday season your best yet!