MG Seigler commenting above on Google’s latest announcement to closely integrate Google+ features into search results. Starting now, search results will be more closely tied to your Google+ profile. The rub is that very little of your Facebook, Twitter or other connections or content will be integrated into these results. To me and a lot of other users, this feels like Google is shoving their Google+ social network down your throat and essentially forcing you to use it or suffer with poor search results. As a marketer, that means you better get on the boat now.
Tag Archives: Search
You’re going to use Google+ and like it
But when they use that natural monopoly to start pushing into other verticals, things get gray. Travel, restaurant reviews, etc, etc. We see more of it each year. But this, at first glance, seems decidedly worse. Google is using Search to propel their social network. They might say it’s “not a social network, it’s a part of Google”, but no one is going to buy that. They were late to the game in social and this is the best catchup strategy ever.MG Siegler
Google Instant and what it means to your business
Google pushed an enhancement to their search results earlier today. Google Instant shows you instant results as you type in hopes that you get better, faster and smarter search results. No more having to write big, long search queries because Google can now finish your sentences! Certainty this will free up more of your brain power to focus on more important things like tending to your virtual farm. To try out Google Instant go to Google.com or here to try it out.
I’m still trying to get a grasp on the impact that these instant results will have on both the consumer and advertisers, but I do think 2 big things will happen because of it.
- There will be greater emphasis on the very first result. Since users will narrow down their searches within the search box, they’ll rely more heavily on the first result. This could suck if your business isn’t #1.
- Google predicts the ads it shows based on what it anticipates your search to be, but doesn’t officially serve the impression until you actually land on that particular query. For advertisers, you’ll get a more qualified user even though your number of impressions may decrease. This is good. Less waste for the advertiser.
What impacts do you think will come of Google Instant? Tell me in the comments below.
New Feature: Google Ad Sitelinks Boosts Click Thru Rate 30%
In November, Google launched a small beta of Ad Sitelinks. Essentially, Ad Sitelinks is a feature for search-based ads that lets you include up to four additional links to deeper content on your site beyond the main landing page or link. To give you a better idea, here’s what they look like.
Well, I guess the test was successful, because Google is now releasing the feature to all Adwords users. In fact, they’re even reporting the advertisers are boosting their click-thru rates upwards of 30%!
Ad Sitelinks is available on the campaign level, so before you turn it on you’ll want to make sure that the additional sitelinks you create are releavant to any ad in that particular campaign. When a user’s search matches a keyword in your Ad Sitelinks campaign, Google will decide if your ad is up to snuff (ads with the highest quality score are most likely to contain sitelinks) to show Ad Sitelinks and whether to show the two-line or the one-line format.
To turn on Ad Sitelinks, shimmy on down to the Campaign Settings tab in your Adwords account. Once you’re there, go to the “Show additional links to my site” section under “Ad extensions.” All clicks are charged the same rate, regardless of which of the Sitelinks are clicked, but you may want to make sure you increase your budget a little in case you experience the same success as the beta testers.
Got questions or want to find out more? Check out the FAQ on Ad Sitelinks.
Hack Your Competitors Super Bowl Advertising
NOTE: I originally posted this story last year right before the Super Bowl. I thought it was timely and in addition, I’ve updated it with a little more information. I will agree that this technique is sometimes frowned upon in the search world. This is by no means a supplement for creating an amazing product.
Don’t have $3MM to spend on a 30-second Super Bowl commercial? Take advantage of your competitors deep pockets by bidding on long-tail memorable ad keywords that your competition may have missed. For example, Career Builder put out a series of spots during last year’s game that focused on “Follow Your Heart.” Users who searched on the “follow your heart” terms most likely didn’t remember the brand behind the commercial. Monster.com took advantage of Career Builder’s publicity by bidding on their tagline and directing a large amount of focused traffic right to their site.
NEW: Here’s how to get started. AdAge has a list of 2010 Super Bowl commercials and the creative behind them. First, take a look at your competitors and see if you can find any holes or key terms from their spots that may stand out in a user’s mind.
Results from Google keyword tool
Next, drop on over to SpyFu and input your findings from above. So for example, I’m a competitor to Dockers and I see that they’re running an ad with the song “I Wear No Pants.” From what I’ve found via SpyFu and cross-referenced through Google Adwords tool, I see there isn’t much bidding going on for the term. There isn’t a lot of search volume on this term either, but that could change. Again, we’re really just trying to find a small niche of long-tail terms. The likelihood that you get rich on these is slim to none. Heck, you may even want to go as far as registering a keyword happy domain and using it for a landing page. I hear that www.I-wear-no-pants.com is available.
Lesson: If you’re the guy paying $3MM for a single TV commercial, make sure you have a little extra left over for other channels as well. If you’re the guy who can’t afford the budget, riding your competitors coat tails, doing a little recon and spending a few hours setting up a landing page could turn you into the MVP.
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