Be Careful Using AdWords for Keyword Research

For the past decade, most of us in the field of search have relied on Google's AdWords data (either in the public tool, the API or the tools inside AdWords accounts). It's the best source we've got, but many marketers may not realize that sadly, the numbers and queries may not always match up to what's actually happening on Google's search engine. I'll illustrate with an example.

An SEOmoz blog post ranks in the top 2-3 results for many keywords around the phrase "blog traffic." Here's a screenshot of some of those rankings:

I went into our Google Analytics account and pulled the related keywords along with how much traffic they've sent in the past 30 days:

Then I went to Google's AdWords Tool and searched for "blog traffic" to compare the suggestions:

Here I got confused, because many of the terms that we receive traffic for are NOT shown above in the list... Is Google hiding them? Do they not know about them?

To be sure, I typed them into Google's AdWords Tool manually, performing [exact match] searches only:

Holy cow... There they are. So, AdWords does have volume for these, and will display it, but only if you enter them exactly (or rather, "more exactly" - you can find them if you do sets of imprecise, but closer queries, too). I made the chart below to illustrate which terms were available from the broad reserach:

As you can see, there's ~50% of the terms not shown in the suggestion list, which is fairly substantive and could lead to some serious missed targeting opportunities.

THE IMPORTANT LESSON: Running discovery-focused searches in AdWords may not show you all the valuable/high-volume keyword phrases connected to a word/phrase.

There are a few ways to address this challenge:

1. If you have the budget, my top recommendation is to buy a few, very broad keywords in AdWords, send them to a relevant landing page on your site, but realize you probably will lose money on the campaign. The goal isn't conversions, but rather to learn by watching the keyword terms/phrases for which you get impressions. This is also great conversion-testing if you have the budget to invest, but even a week or two of data can be highly valuable for future keyword targeting.
2. When searching in AdWords, start broad, and then enter narrower queries and note the new phrases that come up. Make sure to use exact match, and be diligent in testing variations. Google only lies through omission.
3. The relative numbers of searches aren't perfect (as you can see above), but they are relatively decent. In fact, I'd say they've improved in what they show vs. the actuals you'll see compared to prior years. However,
4. Use your own analytics as a guide to find new terms/phrases you might be imperfectly targeting. And if you see keyword variations that have a unique or different intent, it might even pay to create a more targeted page for that query, and you often need less work to rank, since Google uses the "indented results" system to drop a second URL from the same domain directly underneath the first one on a given page.

source: seomoz

Attention SME’s# online document managements hold the key for future market share

There has been lot of debates of late on whether the world will end in 2012 or we’ll stay alive!! Well, this is something that I can’t comment upon but I can say one thing quite firmly that in near future the thing called online document management system is going to create more impact upon the way various small or large businesses and particularly SME’s have been working so far.

In today’s business world the speed and precision of finding the requisite data and information at right time can have a direct impact on any business. Mostly the vast business related information generated by any business remains in a cluttered state and you spend hours to find, view or share them. Implementing an online document management system means you don’t need to go through all those hassles anymore. Powered by the latest SaaS (Software as a Service) model of software delivery, online DMS is also a very easy-to-use procedure.

Significant benefits of using an online DMS are:
• Document archiving
• Simultaneous multi-user access
• Document security
• Disaster recovery

The future of online document management systems

As I have already stated that over the past few years the paradigm of doing any business has taken a 180* turn, it’s no wonder that in upcoming years online DMS would only become more relevant due to its advanced usage. This is an era of smart phone and tablet; yes, no more of those big untidy files or racks in your office.
The studies done in recent past are a clear indication of the fact that due to rent-cost or time-management, today, every other business is in search of systems that will help them do their business in a more concrete and organized manner besides saving unnecessary time, cost and energy.


Why online DMS is going to be the future

While reading a techno-journal some days back, I read a very interesting observation by Naomi Miller, director, enterprise document management product marketing, Documentum. She says, "The next generation of CMS software will produce a convergence between enterprise content management (ECM) and information storage systems, offering customers a complete information lifecycle management solution for end-to-end management of structured and unstructured enterprise information". I too agree with her totally.

After all, this is a fast-paced world where the margin for error is almost zero. Who want to take risks in this precarious scenario? When you have something like an on-line DMS, which is both user-friendly & money saving, don’t you think it’s too obvious that it will only grow with time and take more of the market share?
Looking forward to your comments

Why white label document management is must for SME’s

Online document management systems (DMS) are usually used to run a business in a more well thought-out and user-friendly way to save time and cost. It helps to collect scanned copies of key files in a centralized server and thus users can access them from any location at any time with an internet connection.

What is White Labeling?

Well, though I assume that most of my readers here aren’t oblivious with this term but for those who don’t possess too much idea about the usage or various aspects of this feature, here is a short description for you people.

See, white label solution is an immensely crucial subject for those dealing with any online promotion or web-marketing business. This process gives you easy access to share company logo, design, products and a host of other services without too many hazards. Some people also relates this term with affiliate promotion. It’s like; I offer you to post your links etc to publish in my website and in return you’ll pay me or give me a certain profit. Through this case both parties get a share and gain an advantage in their respective web-businesses.

Why traditional DMS no more ideal for you ?

With changing time and business scenario, various tricks of doing businesses have also changed. In this fast paced world, where, no matter what business- small or big- you are into, you have to remain on your toes all the time. Thus today you are left with no choice but to get yourself adept with the latest evolutions and acquire new technologies to survive in this rat race. You make one mistake and your competitor is through.

Due to factors like; difficult installation process, up-gradation hazards, limited access, too much time-taking etc, the traditional DMS isn’t the right option for you anymore. So, what is the solution? Keep on reading,

Advantages of using a white label document management system

1) When you are enabled with a feature like white-label solution your clients are able to see and go through your site directly, it obviously makes the most of your customer base.

2) The moment you start getting more attention from your customers it’ll unquestionably increase your revenue as a result. More people mean more visibility causing more business. See? It’s as easy as a candy.

3) While using a white label DMS you have more chances of offering more services and products to your customers. More people will get to know about your services and thus your range of doing business also broadens.

Apart from that the most important benefit of using a white label DMS is that you are able to reduce all your unnecessary promotional costs. You don’t need to spend money anymore to generate extra traffic to your website.

Offering various training sessions to your clients by charging a particular rate also is an added bonus of using a white label document management system.

Google Vs Bing

ShopCity: Latest Publisher To File Antitrust Complaint Against Google

Google Is Target of ShopCity Antitrust Complaint to FTC from Bloomberg News reports yet another FTC antitrust complaint was filed against Google. This time the complaint was filed by ShopCity, a service aimed at helping local businesses sell products online.

The complaint was filed on November 11th by Gary Reback, an antitrust lawyer at Carr & Ferrell LLP in Menlo Park, California, who wrote “From the day ShopCity launched its network, the upstart competitor faced the full measure of Google’s anticompetitive tactics.”

Google’s Adam Kovacevich told Bloomberg the reason ShopCity doesn’t rank well is because the “company was violating Google’s guidelines against duplicate and auto-generated content — which our users tell us they don’t like.” Adam added, “we twice offered the company advice on how to improve their websites.”

ShopCity said they did listen to Google’s advice but have yet to achieve higher rankings from implementing the tips Google offered. Gary Reback, ShopCity’s lawyer, said Google did increase their rankings in June after receiving the subpoena from the FTC but since then their rankings have both increased and decreased over the months. Maybe, just maybe, those had to do with the Panda update?

ShopCity is one of many companies suing Google for anticompetitive practices, many have similar complaints and most will lose in court.

Related Articles:
Live Blog: Google’s Eric Schmidt At The US Senate Hearing
Google, Yelp, Others To Appear At Antitrust Hearing Wednesday
Google Expects A Black Eye At Today’s Senate Antitrust Hearing
Google Wins Potentially Significant Antitrust Victory In Ohio
Do The Majority Of Americans Think Google Is Unfair?
EU Antitrust Complaints Against Google Grow To Nine
WSJ: Android, Along With Web Search, Now Part Of Google Antitrust Probe
Googleopoly: The Definitive Guide To Antitrust Investigations Against Google
Google Set For US Senate Committee Anti-Trust Investigation
Related Topics: Google: Antitrust | Google: Legal


About The Author: Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio over here. See more articles by Barry Schwartz

Google+ Pages: connect with all the things you care about

In life we connect with all kinds of people, places and things. There’s friends and family, of course, but there’s also the sports teams we root for, the coffee shops we’re loyal to, and the TV shows we can’t stop watching (to name a few).

So far Google+ has focused on connecting people with other people. But we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about—from local businesses to global brands—so today we’re rolling out Google+ Pages worldwide.

People + pages, better together
Google+ has always been a place for real-life sharing, and Google+ Pages is no exception. After all: behind every page (or storefront, or four-door sedan) is a passionate group of individuals, and we think you should able to connect with them too.

For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real world. And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most.

For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they recommend you with a +1, or add you to a circle to listen long-term. They can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face. All you need to do is start sharing, and you'll soon find the super fans and loyal customers that want to say hello.

A number of pages are already available (see below), but any organization will soon be able to join the community at plus.google.com/pages/create.

Direct Connect from Google search
People search on Google billions of times a day, and very often, they're looking for businesses and brands. Today's launch of Google+ Pages can help people transform their queries into meaningful connections, so we're rolling out two ways to add pages to circles from Google search. The first is by including Google+ pages in search results, and the second is a new feature called Direct Connect.

Maybe you're watching a movie trailer, or you just heard that your favorite band is coming to town. In both cases you want to connect with them right now, and Direct Connect makes it easy—even automatic. Just go to Google and search for [+], followed by the page you're interested in (like +Angry Birds). We'll take you to their Google+ page, and if you want, we’ll add them to your circles.

Direct Connect works for a limited number of pages today (like +Google, +Pepsi, and +Toyota), but many more are coming. In the meantime, organizations can learn more about Direct Connect in our Help Center.

With Google+, we strive to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. Today’s initial launch of Google+ Pages brings us a little bit closer, but we’ve still got lots of improvements planned, and miles to go before we sleep. So stay tuned.

Source: Google Blog

How To Find Local Influencers On Google Plus

Google has been making a big deal out of privacy lately, but Google+ just launched a slew of new features designed to make people easier to find.

I am particularly intrigued by the new Ripples feature, which allows you to see who has shared a post and track it as it gets shared by others. It is, in fact, like watching a ripple.

Ripples strikes me as much more of a feature for marketers than for consumers. I suppose Google+ wants to attract power users who typically have more of a marketing mindset than the average Joe.

So of course the first thing I thought of was that Ripples would be an excellent tool to find local influencers on Google Plus. Here’s how:

(Warning: The techniques described below are merely for educational purposes. I take no responsibility for the potential spam and privacy issues Google has unleashed here.)

1. First Find Google+ Users In Your Target Location

I am sure Google+ will eventually have some nifty ways for you to find people near you who share similar interests, but let’s say you wanted to find those people today. Perhaps you want to engage with them about subjects you share in common.

Maybe you’re a vegan restaurant in the Bay Area and you want to build a network of local vegans to share recipes with and perhaps at some point get them to promote your restaurant. Well there’s an app for that — a search app that is, called Google.

Go to Google and do the following search:

This query shows you URLs of Google+ members who use the word “vegan” and whose profiles show that they live in the Bay Area. Depending on the query, you may need to play around with this a bit by adding additional filters. For example, if you were looking for people in Brooklyn but didn’t want to find people named “Brooklyn,” you would add “-intitle:Brooklyn”.

Here are the top results of my Bay Area vegan query:

2. Find People Who Are Interested In What You Have To Say

Google gave 2,740 results for this query, which means that you now can find several hundred people who might be interested in your vegan vittles. You could click on each of their profiles and figure out which ones seem interesting and willing to engage, but first:

3. Find The Most Active/Influential Ones

Go back to Google and do the following query:

This query, in theory, will show you all of the posts for a particular member — in this case, me. As you can see, I have made 191 posts thus far (nothing about vegans, though):

If you want to see if the person has been active recently, click on the “Show Search Tools” link at the bottom of the left-hand navigation on the Google SERP:

Set the filter to “Past 24 hours” or “Past week” or a custom range to see how active the person is.

Once you have found the right people, it’s time to check out some Google+ Ripple action. Review the posts by the member that contain the keyword you are interested in by doing the following query in Google Plus:

When you have found a post that looks relevant to your subject click on the “View Ripples” link on the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the post:

Now, you can see who else has shared this post:

This data shows you how influential the person is, how popular the post is and who else is interested in the subject. By examining this data for each member, you can start to figure out who is most influential about your subject matter in your area.

Once you have built the list, then it’s up to you to figure out how to engage with them in a way that will be mutually beneficial and help get your message out.

Now it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyhow: These techniques are only valuable if you can convince people to invest their attention in you.

And there are no magic queries in Google that can do that for you.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Entries

• Up Close With Google+ Search
• How To Post Your Google+ Feed To Facebook And Twitter
• How Being "Friends" On Google+ Leads To Better Rankings
• Marketers Root For Expanded Opportunities Represented By Google+
• Google Tweaks Its Rel=Author Display, Promotes Google+ In Search Results

Related Topics: Google: Social Search | Locals Only

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About The Author: Andrew Shotland is the proprietor of Local SEO Guide, a local search engine optimization consulting company specializing in yellow pages seo and local directory search—the blog is pretty fabulous too. See more articles by Andrew Shotland