The Real Relationship between Social Media and SEO

Everybody knows social media and SEO are connected, but how? The better you understand the nature and strength of the various connections, the better you can focus your efforts on activities that get results.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to sort things out because the social-SEO relationship is becoming more intertwined (some would say, muddled) all the time. In this post, I’ll bring up a few points we’ve been discussing at our agency as we try to respond to the changing environment.

Comments and ideas welcome! We are all learning together here.

Ranked Results versus Display in SERPs

The first thing we’ve been trying to do is distinguish between rankings and display visibility on Google SERPs.

• Ranking optimization is the traditional way of thinking about SEO. We apply a set of activities to specific URLs and domains in ways that leverage Google’s search algorithm and improve the ranking position of particular pages of web content.
• Display optimization applies to making content visible in new/other sections of Google SERPs – personalized search, time subsections, and search subsections such as “Blogs” and “Discussions.”

Google is now giving much greater emphasis to personalized results, at the expense of traditional results. Social content, such as Google+ postings and blog posts, appear prominently in SERPs. As time goes on, it’s likely that Google will give equal weight to content in SERPs that is both subjective (i.e., content that is favored by people in your social networks) and objective (i.e., content that is indexed and ranked according to Google’s traditional algorithm).

In light of all this, here are three strategic points worth thinking about from a social and SEO perspective.

1. Social shares – Tweets, Likes, Google +1’s, etc. – carry weight in Google’s ranking algorithm, but as yet it’s hard to establish more than a ballpark impact.
2. In contrast, social media content and shares have a clear and significant impact ondisplay visibility. Original Google+ and/or blog content is indexed and displayed in regular, personalized, time-sensitive and social subsections of a SERP. Content endorsed with shares by your social connections is visible. (Original Twitter content has been devalued lately, but I think in the long term it is likely to gain prominence.)
3. User behavior and preferences are critical element in devising SEO strategy. The importance of display visibility depends largely on whether a user is logged into Google, and the extent to which a user has an active social media network. If your target market is not logged in and/or has few active relationships, traditional search results are all that will matter to them.

10 Social SEO Action Steps

In terms of focusing on social media activities that have SEO impact, here are things most worth doing.

1. Add Google+ buttons to your blog and most sharable web pages. Make social sharing as easy as possible across all popular/relevant social platforms.
2. Create a Google+ company page and share your content on it.
3. Write keyword optimized, original content on Google+.
4. Shares and original content on Google+ matter more if your company page is circled by many users. It therefore may be helpful to make a strong effort to build your Google+ community.
5. Encourage people to +1 your content.
6. For Facebook and Twitter, having an active social media presence is useful IF social sharing is generating links to your content. Links, not shares, are the more important social media metric from an SEO perspective.
7. Content that is unlikely to be shared on social media, such as a company’s About page, should be optimized in the traditional way. Pushing social shares is not worth the effort.
8. Content that is likely to be shared, such as a blog post, should, conversely, be promoted heavily through social media activities.
9. If your target market isn’t active or interested in social media, focus less on content sharing through social media and more on traditional link acquisition activities. If your target market is active in social, balance the two.
10. Measuring traditional rankings is pretty straightforward: what we need are ways tomeasure display visibility. Any tips for how to do this?

By: Brad Shorr from Straight North.

When did Facebook become so uncool?

Facebook -- the once-underdog social network founded by a kid in a hoodie in a dorm room -- may have officially cemented its status as a titan of the tech establishment it once challenged.

What changed? Facebook -- no longer a feisty startup but a 3,000-person, soon-to-be-public corporation with $3.9 billion in cash and an $85 billion to $100 billion valuation -- spent $1 billion to gobble up a much-smaller competitor, the photo-sharing app Instagram.

When it did so, it stirred up a caldron of ill will that the "People of the Internet" have been harboring toward Mark Zuckerberg's once-hip company. Some Instagram users said they were downloading all of their photos and then deleting them from the app just so Facebook couldn't get its hands on them.

Pundits weren't kind to Facebook, either. David Horsey of the Los Angeles Times, writing about the Instagram purchase, noted thatthe company is looking more and more like "Big Friend," a gentler variation on George Orwell's all-seeing Big Brother. Data indicate others share that view, too. A new poll, conducted before the Instagram news, found that 28% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Facebook -- twice as many as disapprove of Apple and nearly three times as many as Google.

This backlash highlights a new reality: As a technological juggernaut, Facebook is more Microsoft than Tumblr. To use amusical analogy employed on Twitter, it's the Nickelback to Instagram's Bon Iver.

Facebook and Instagram's images couldn't be more different, so it's tempting to say that this Goliath-buys-David event is a turning point for Facebook. But people have been writing about Facebook losing its mojo for years now. In 2009, AdWeek ran this headline: "Is Facebook getting uncool for 18-24s?" A year later, mainstream news websites noted the phenomenon of parents and grandparents joining Facebook, scaring off younger people.

"It's official, Facebook is becoming uncool," CBS declared.

It's hard to pinpoint the moment when Facebook's image problem started. Maybe it was when users realized how much data Facebook was collecting about them. Maybe it was when CEO Zuckerberg started to seem less like that geeky, counterculture college kid and more like a run-of-the-mill billionaire.

But it is possible to take a look at the conversation and tease out a few factors that seem to have led to Facebook's current status as an inescapable, perhaps Orwellian, Internet giant.

Read more: http://www.gerente.com/detnoticia.php?CodNotic=3046&Fuente=CNN%20USA

Pinterest Marketing Stats [INFOGRAPHIC]

Social Media Gains in Marketing ROI

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter have changed the way consumers communicate and advertising in these channels is quickly becoming an integral piece of the digital marketing toolkit. A recent MarketingSherpa survey found that eight out of 10 companies of all sizes are using social media to market their products and services. The same MarketingSherpa survey also found that 39% of business executives are finding social media to be very effective at influencing brand reputation; another 37% said social media is very effective at increasing brand awareness.


Perhaps even more important is the growing body of research that shows that social marketing campaigns are having a positive impact on marketing ROI. An Aberdeen Group study, The ROI on Social Media Marketing, reported that companies using social marketing showed a 5% average year-over-year improvement in customer profitability compared to just 2% for non-social media marketers. In addition, companies that used social marketing gained an average 4% year-over-year improvement in ROMI (return on marketing investment) compared to a 1% improvement for non-social media marketers. 

For search marketers in particular, consumers exposed to a brand’s social marketing
campaigns are 50% more likely to click on paid search ads, according to The Influenced: Social Media, Search and the interplay of Consideration and Consumption a study by media investment firm Group M.
There are numerous synergies between search and social marketing, and even their differences make them ideal complementary marketing channels. This report examines how search marketers can most effectively utilize social marketing campaigns, focusing on the strategies, tactics and case studies that are already generating success.


Adobe and Search Marketing Now would like to thank the following SearchEngineland
and SMX contributors for their assistance in developing this report: Ciaran Norris, head of digital, Mindshare Ireland; Jordan Kasteler, managing partner and SVP of content development, BlueGlass; Rae Hoffman-Dolan, CEO and managing director, MFE Interactive; Tyler Calder, director, paid search, SearchEnginePeople; Greg Finn, CMO, Cypress North; Kelly Gillease, VP, marketing, Viator; and Kent Gibbons, founder and director of search, SEOoptimise (U.K.). Thanks also to Karen Burka, who prepard this report.


Editor’s Note: This report was prepared during the beta period for Google +, which went live on September 20, 2011. While it is clear that Google intends to be a major player in the social media space, it is too early to evaluate the impact of Google +, or to include recommendations for social marketing on this channel. We have therefore not included it in this report, but suggest that marketers follow its growth and the opportunities it may present as another viable social marketing channel. 

Social and Search Marketing Synergies

Search marketing has proven its marketing worth by driving traffic, brand value and an audience ready
to convert. Social media – encompassing news, bookmarking and knowledge sites such as Digg and Wikipedia as well as networking and sharing sites such as Facebook and YouTube – provides huge audiences, lots of brand conversations and an entirely new marketing frontier. There are four key metrics that are useful when looking at the two digital marketing channels:


• Traffic: How many visitors do they drive?
• Demand/Search Intent: How likely are those visitors
to be after something specific?
• Conversion: Did the create positive business results
on the site?
• Branding: How can these sites influence branding by
appearing in search results?


Search generates huge amounts of traffic. A second search strength is user intent: people search when they are looking for something specific. They’re ready to convert, which is why search traffic can be so valuable. Measuring that conversion is also an important metric. Did visitors fill out a form, buy a product or perform in a way that produced positive business results? Finally, various studies show that search also can have branding value. There are few stories of entirely new brands being built from search, but brand lift has been shown in many ways. More important, brands can be hurt by bad reviews that show up in search and are helped by positive references. Since every search listing on a search engine has brand potential, search is very high in brand value.

In comparison, social sites also have the following strengths:


Traffic. Social sites can generate huge amounts of traffic. Facebook’s worldwide user base is at 750 million and counting.

Demand/Intent. Social sites demonstrate varying degrees of search intent, but all are positive. For example, visitors to social news sites are usually looking for specific information. Search intent can be even higher on sites like YouTube where users often are actively seeking a photo or video. Even at Twitter, search provides a way to seek out brand news and buzz.

Branding. There is strong branding potential on social media sites. The key is developing a positive tone around your brand and letting the viral nature of social media build the brand for you. Consider the search for JetBlue, where currently the company’s official site is listed along with its Twitter account and its YouTube channel. 


Source: searchmarketingnow.com
 

How to: Get More Clicks on Twitter

Advertising on the Go: Facebook & Mobile Ad revenue

In the United States alone, companies spent close to US $4 billion dollars on mobile advertising. Many experts believe that by the virtue of being delivered on our cellphones – an object most of us consider personal – mobile advertising is an intimate way of reaching out to consumers. While banners ads and SMS text ads are equally common, the latter, because they’re usually chosen by customers, perform better.

Mobile Search, of course, is the next big thing in search. Almost everybody who can use search on mobile is doing so. Despite this, target advertising is still rare in the mobile marketing world. So it’s not, by nature, interactive and mostly relies on text and banner ads. However, experts, like ABI Research practice director Neil Strother, believes that the future of mobile advertising is going to be much more focus and target specific. Right now, interactive ads are expensive and may not even be reaching the right consumer; certainly, a huge risk for marketers in the current economic environment.

Mobile ads need focus

Temporal and Spatial information is a valuable source for marketers. It helps them get to understand the consumer better, many times over. Tapping into this to create more effective mobile advertising will boost mobile advertising revenues. Strother predicts a future mobile social, in the form of a personal cloud, where social sharing and purchase could be done right from the device in one’s hand.

In recent years, mobile phone, by nature of its affordability and portability, has become one of the most widely used media device. Interestingly, it is also one of the least used media by marketers. Consider these figures: Mobile phone receives just 1% of the global marketing budget, despite the fact, that the total number of mobile phones in the world, are three times more than TV sets and 4 times over internet-based Personal Computers. Despite the fact that mobile isn’t as targeted, and interactive, as the other mediums, the sheer rate of return on investment is fabulous. The median CTR for Text Messaging is 14.06%, where as the median conversion rate is 8.22%; both rates many times higher than TV and Internet.

It sure gets attention

Because mobile advertising is an opt-in, where subscribers choose what they wish to receive, businesses can customize and offer real-time solutions and offers. For instance, a comforting Asian massage could be followed up by a lovely sushi meal. And indeed, more and more users would be open and available to receive this information on their mobiles, as it is believed that the average adult in the United States is spending more time on his mobile phone, as compared to the newspaper or magazine.

With the IPO just around the corner, Facebook needs to find ways to up its revenue. Given all that we have heard of mobile advertising, there’s one stream of revenue just waiting to be cashed by Zuckerberg and co. The company claims that out of its 800 million users, about 300 million use the social networking site on their phones. That’s one helluva revenue base just waiting to be tapped through mobile media.

 Going Facebook mobile

Nobody knows yet, how Facebook mobile will integrate advertising with it. It’s quite likely, of course, that the current PC formats, which may be highly customized, but are relatively non-obtrusive, could be adapted to Facebook mobile. Another possibility maybe sponsored stories that appear in the mobile news feed. For instance, actions like check-ins, posts, writing on the wall, could turn into sponsored stories.

Given Facebook’s huge edge in terms of what it can offer mobile marketers, i.e. customer information, users may indeed soon see Facebook advertising on mobile. Marketers could tap into the temporal and spatial variable advantage that Facebook offers and create ads that are better targeted. Facebook friendships could also be used to influence mobile advertising in some way. For instance, friends could ‘like’ a brand or offer real-time opinion, while a friend is at a store. Again, this works against marketers. But the advantages of mobile advertising outweigh its disadvantages for marketers.

Late-comer disadvantage?

While it may seem like the right time for Facebook to enter into the mobile advertising market, many may think the new-age companies rather late embrace of the new technology may be off. However, there are a number of reasons why Facebook may have chosen to hold off on mobile advertising.

One of the reasons, according to Dan Frommer of Business Insider, is that Facebook was originally conceived and later marketed and expanded as a desktop device. The mobile access was a mere convenience. However, given that there are 95 million monthly active users, it is a pleasant surprise for Facebook and now they’re going to use the handheld popularity to their advantage.

According to Frommer, Facebook must now make the site increasingly relevant and just as much popular on mobile devices, as it is on the computer. Navigating between the two media, should be a comfortable experience for users. This ease will help Facebook retain its leadership in social networking, even if the preference for the medium of access changes. It may be easy for experts such as Frommer to say, and while this may be valid, it is not as easy for Facebook itself to adapt to an entirely new medium so easily. Despite the figures of users staring them in their face and extra revenues seemingly so close, they must have chosen to remain focus on their core medium. Although, it is now time to adapt and change.

It’s all about the user

Mobile advertising on Facebook, like Facebook itself would be led by the user. The user will have to voluntarily talk about a product. For instance, at an apple store, a user has seen a new ipad and has posted the picture on his wall. This takes the brand, marketing and mobile advertising to the next level. Thus Apple is reaching consumers who are actually likely to appreciate and buy the iPad and Facebook gets paid for it. While users get to share information about products that they like.

At this point, Facebook’s web partners are Coke, Levi’s Playfish, among many others. It has also tied up with non-profits, such as Amnesty, UNICEF and so on. In fact, many brands can tie-up with non-profits and increase their profile on Facebook. For instance, IKEA has been trying to get Facebook users into its store by advertising that every Facebook friend invited to the IKEA store would be leading to a donation of $1 to Save the Children. This can easily translate to a Facebook mobile campaign!

As a late entrant, Facebook has some serious competition. Google’s Admob, Millenial Media’s Ad network and Apples’s iAd are all potential competitors. In fact, Google gets the biggest share of the mobile revenue pie in the US – about 24% of the $630 million in mobile advertising goes to the Google treasury. But then, Facebook has shown potential for exponential growth on the Web, it may just do them in mobile ad revenue.

Source: Preetam Kaushik - Daily Deal Media

Facebook Commerce Holds Promise for Retailers

Social networks don’t account for much ecommerce yet, but heavy Facebook users see it as a one-stop shop

Social media and ecommerce have evolved since 1-800-FLOWERS launched the first Facebook storefront in July 2009. Internet users have become more comfortable with online buying on Facebook as they spend more time on the site.

“It is not surprising that shopping and socializing—activities that complement each other in the real world—are beginning to converge online as well,” said Krista Garcia, eMarketer analyst and author of the new report, “Facebook Commerce: Reaching Shoppers Where They Socialize.” “As social media, and Facebook in particular, plays a larger role in consumers’ lives, people are becoming accustomed to performing routine tasks like reading news, watching videos and listening to music, as well as discovering products and shopping, all while staying logged in to a single site. Instead of compartmentalizing daily routines, social media users are treating Facebook as a one-stop platform.”

Retailers are still in the early stages of using social media as a sales vehicle, but the channel is poised for growth. Booz & Company estimated that $1 billion in goods would be sold through social media in the US in 2011. That figure is expected to triple in 2012 and reach $14 billion by 2015.

While social commerce still represents a tiny percentage of overall retail sales, and Facebook is just one social site, that site is the clear leader and already offers retailers a variety of options for converting users into consumers. Some of those consumers are warming to the idea of buying products and services while on the site.

In a Q4 2011 Oracle survey of North American internet users, nearly one in five respondents said they would buy through Facebook or had already done so, while 15% were not aware they had the option. Approximately a third said they would never purchase products via Facebook, however.

“Facebook’s role in ecommerce is currently in flux,” said Garcia. “Brands are beginning to realize its capabilities, while users are growing accustomed to mingling with companies online and sharing shopping activities with friends. Even though social media is still more of a marketing tool than a sales vehicle, Facebook’s influence on shopping behavior extends beyond triggering conversions on the spot.”

Source: emarketer.com

Facebook Marketing: 8 Tried & True Tips For Businesses

Tip #1: Pages not Profiles

This first tip is pretty important. If your business has a Profile instead of a Page, then you won’t be able to utilize most of the other tips we’ll be sharing. Pages have several advantages for businesses over Profiles, including…

Tip #2: Promote Your Page Offline
If you build it, they will not come. You need to let people know about it. First, go to facebook.com/usernameand secure a vanity URL for your Facebook page. Then, put that URL everywhere…

Tip #3: Use Facebook Ads
Creating an ad for your Facebook Page is an easy 5 step process – design it, target it, set budget, review it and pay. Use Facebook Ad Insights to test and determine the copy and images that get the highest click through rates…

Tip #4: Custom Tabs
Adding a custom tab to your Facebook Page can be an effective way to help your Page stand out from the crowd, promote exclusive “fan-only” deals, showcase a new product or simply welcome new visitors with a branded splash page…

Tip #5: Offers, Discounts & Deals
Facebook fans want discounts. In fact, it’s the number one reason they’ll “Like” a Facebook page. I discussed this in more detail in a March 2010 post called Hook A Facebook Fan Up: They’re Looking For Discounts…

Tip #6: Profile Image Billboards
The profile image on your brand’s Facebook Page is valuable real estate. Take advantage of that. Whether it’s a Facebook contest you’re hosting or an off-Facebook marketing effort you want to make your Facebook fans aware of, turn your profile image into a “billboard” display…

Tip #7: Facebook Video
Video can be a great part of an online marketing mix. Many people upload and share YouTube videos, but there are also advantages to Facebook Video as well…

Tip #8: Wildfire Contests
Facebook contests can be a great way to generate buzz, interest and excitement around your brand. Hosting a contest on your Facebook page is also an effective way to build awareness of your page and boost fan numbers…

Source:  Chad Richards

Happy Holidays from Actimedia!

5 Web Trends for 2012

1- Mobile Continues to Grow

In previous posts I’ve mentioned where the mobile market is headedand the importance of the emerging mobile market. With over 5 billion mobile devices expected to be in use by 2012, I don’t see this area losing any steam next year. Marketing in the mobile world will continue to grow and according to the Direct Marketing Association, mobile spending is predicted to grow 39 percent and should come close to the $1.2 billion mark. With only 33% of US businesses having mobile friendly websites, the time is now to “go mobile” while the opportunity still exists.

2- Quality Matters

Google’s Panda/Farmer update earlier this year affected a lot of websites and brought to light that a “quality” website is favored by the search giant. Post Panda, design, branding, user engagement and social signals all seem to have more weight to a site’s rank. No one really knows how much weight these factors have but a poorly designed, ad heavy site with thin content that was ranking well will not rank as strongly after this update. You’d think that quality would be a given but this relatively major update has really tried to weed out the content farms and low quality websites.

3- Pin It!

Check out that graph! With vists up 10,000 percent from last year and up 50 percent from last month, I’d say that the scrap booking inspired social network Pinterest, is gaining popularity.  Is it just a fad or will this social network really take hold? Compared to other  networks, Pinterest is the biggest mover. It might be too early to tell but I think 2012 will be a big year for the pin boarding site. Think of the site as a blend between Google Images and Twitter. Users can create “boards” based around specific interests and “pin” images to them. Users can follow others with similar interests and can share, comment, interact with others boards. The visual nature of the site is pretty cool and really sets the site apart from other networks. Having all of your interests and your friends interests at your fingertips can offer up tons of inspirational ideas and recommendations that are accurate and credible to your tastes.

4- Google Dethroned

Google dominates the search world with a 65% market share but the need for the most accurate and relative search results might push users away from algorithm based search engines. Search results maintained by humans present a socialized search experience that might gain popularity in 2012. At the moment, I don’t think any of these have the potential to dethrone Google but at one point no one knew about Google either.

• Blekko’s goal is to use human editors and not algorithms in order to personalize and socialize the search experience. With users maintaining topic tags, search results can be more relative and accurate to the query. Blekko averages 1 million searches a day.
• DuckDuckGo has partnered with Blekko and shares some of the same information and technology to improve search results. DuckDuckGo’s main feature provides zero-click info, similar to Google Instant Search, DuckDuckGo tries to provide the most relevant information without clicking. DuckDuckGo averages about 5 million searches/month.
• Greplin, Wajam and Quora are three other alternatives that are socially and human driven search engines.

5- Filter Bubbles Burst

Eli Pariser offers up some very insightful thoughts based around how we find information and how that information is filtered to us. We experience these filter bubbles on a daily basis and may not even know that certain content is hidden from us. Google forms user profiles and engineers the info sent to your results page based on past searches and web activity. If I like Obama, Google determines that and sends me pro Obama links when searched, if I do not like Obama, I mainly get negative links when I search for Obama. As Google tries to serve up what it thinks I want, my view of the world is misshapen by the search engine.

Social Business Model

Social Media and Small Business [infographic]

Five Companies that are Rocking Social Media

Who's Using Google+ ? [Infographic]

US online video ad spending to grow 43.1% in 2012

Whether they think of it as magnetic content or advertising, marketers are increasingly focused on creating video assets. This type of media reproduces the richness consumers associate with TV, often at a lower cost. And if online venues tend to fall short of TV when it comes to reach, they make up the difference by engaging viewers in an active, lean-forward mode.

The virtuous circle of content and technology adoption that consumers are experiencing is also fueling this trend. eMarketer estimates that US online video ad spending will grow by a compound annual rate of 38% in a five-year span ending in 2015, making this by far the fastest-rising category of online spending.

By 2015, video ad spending will reach $7.11 billion, up from $2.16 billion in 2011. In the past year alone, growth was 52.1%.

Similarly, in the UK video advertising will lead the pack, growing by a compound annual rate of 65% over five years. By 2015, UK video online ad spending will reach $850 million, compared with $150 million in 2011. As a percentage of total online advertising, video will grow to 8.2% in 2015 from 2.1% in 2011.

Still, challenges remain, including the high price of online video ads and the need for better reach and measurement. Several factors will mitigate these problems, making the upward course for video ad spending strong in 2012 and beyond. These factors include better filtering technologies for user-generated content, so publishers can better monetize it with ads; the emergence of cost per view and cost per engagement pricing structures; the increased use of interactive ad units and magnetic content; and personalization and targeting of video ads.

For more information on marketing developments expected next year, stay tuned for the forthcoming eMarketer report “Top Trends for 2012,” available to eMarketer corporate subscribers only.