e-mphasis Internet Marketing

How to: Track Google Places using Google Analytics

naturalseoexpert — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:05 +0000

So now you’ve claimed your Google Places listing(s) for your business, how are you going to measure how effective your Google Places listing really is? Google does provide analytics for Google Places listings but the data is very simplistic, often unreliable, out of date or incomplete and more importantly doesn’t tell you how effective this traffic is for sales, however there is a solution.

Google Places Needs Better Analytics

The data collected by Google in the places analytics only shows the top 10 search phrases for which your places listing appeared over a selected period and doesn’t provide any of the key metrics that Google analytics offers in terms of visitor information, e.g. mobile users, loyalty etc.

…and don’t get me started on reliability, as we have reported on a number of occasions outages in reporting stats for Google Places can last as long as several weeks. Something there would be uproar about if it was the standard analytics.

A business can’t really afford to be relying on this as a source of measurement, so how can you deal with this?

Making Google Places Traffic Trackable

At e-mphasis we often use the Google URL builder to provide tracking data to identify clicks through to clients websites from Google Places listings and therefore provide the same level of analytics available for managing your traditional incoming link or social media campaign effectiveness.

Simply choose a unique combination of:

source – e.g. google
medium – e.g. places, maps
campaign – e.g. local, {town name}

along with an appropriate web link in order to create a URL to add to your listing and then tracking the quantity and quality of traffic through your website is easy.

Search Visitors That Don’t Arrive Via The Web

Of course the difficulty is tracking the visitors that don’t arrive via the web, those that simply find your location and turn up, or prefer to use the phone.

On solution for phone enquiries is to use a phone number service which can give you a call routing and tracking capability whilst still putting the caller through to your main number.

Technology Enabled Consumers Tell You More

Tracking in-store shoppers via online research is more difficult, coupons can help or customer surveys but social media can also play a part. Consumers who use technology for research often use it for other means too and therefore promoting social check-in through sites like Foursquare and Facebook can enable you to connect with the type of consumer likely to have used a Google Maps search.

Of course one you have connected with them finding out how they shop is much easier. Promotional offers that collect such information make getting consumers to fill in a survey much easier.

Want to find out more about Google Places SEO, follow my SEO company, e-mphasis on twitter @e_mphasis

Tagged: Google places, google places results, Google Places SEO, measuring google places, tracking google places

The Life Of Steve Jobs

naturalseoexpert — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:41:04 +0000

As a tribute to Steve Jobs, here is a summary of the significant events of his life that made him the entrepreneur, leader, innovator and visionary.

Born Feb 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah “John” Jandali, was put up for adoption. Father was a Syrian political science professor, mother was a speech therapist.
Shortly after Steve was placed for adoption, his biological parents married and had a 2nd child, Mona Simpson. Jobs as 27 when he uncovered information on his biological parents.
As an infant, Steven was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named “Steven Paul Jobs”.
As a boy, Jobs and his father would work on electronics in the family garage.
While Jobs has always been an intelligent and innovative thinker, his youth was riddled with frustrations over formal schooling – Jobs tested so well, however, that administrators wanted to skip him ahead to high school—a proposal his parents declined.
After enrolling in high school, Jobs spent his free time at Hewlett-Packard where he befriended computer club guru Steve Wozniak.

Steve Wozniak, Co-founder Apple Computers:
“When I heard the news, my mind just went blank, like I’d been clobbered with a hammer,” Wozniak said on the show, which airs on CBS, the company that owns CNET. “I didn’t expect it more than anyone else. Over night, a lot of the memories [came back]: things that we did together, how important they were, the way that Steve thought, and he talked, and his leadership from the early days, and the way he founded things. It’s like my head is swirling in it.”

After high school, Jobs enrolled at Reed College. He soon dropped out of college but attended creative classes for 18 months.
In 1974, Jobs took a position as a video game designer with Atari. Several months later he left Atari to find spiritual enlightenment in India.
In 1976, when Jobs was just 21, he and Wozniak started Apple Computers.
Jobs and Wozniak are credited with revolutionizing the computer industry- The two conceived a series of user-friendly personal computers that they initially marketed for $666.66 each. Their first model, the Apple I, earned them $774,000.
Three years after the release of the Apple II, sales increased 700 percent to $139 million dollars.

Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and former Apple chief evangelist:
“May Steve rest in peace. My deepest sympathy to his loved ones. No CEO has done more for his customers, employees, and shareholders than Steve.”
“He changed the world — my world, your world, the entire world. His words to live by: ‘There must be a better way.”
“You changed our lives, Steve, and you showed us that there is a better way. . .we will miss you.”

In 1980, Apple Computer went public with a market value of $1.2 billion on the 1st day!
In 1985, Jobs resigned as Apple’s CEO to begin a new hardware and software company called NeXT, Inc. – The following year Jobs purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Apple eventually bought NeXT Inc. in 1997 for $429 million. That year, Jobs returned to his post as Apple’s CEO.
Believing in Pixar’s potential, Jobs initially invested $50 million of his own money into the company. Pixar’s films have netted $4 billion. – The studio merged with Walt Disney in 2006, making Steve Jobs Disney’s largest shareholder.
Steve Jobs remained a private man who rarely discloses information about his family. What is known is Jobs fathered a daughter with girlfriend Chrisann Brennan when he was 23 who from teenage came to live with her father.
In the early 1990s, Jobs met Laurene Powell at Stanford business school. They married on March 18, 1991, and lived together in Palo Alto, California, with their three children.
With a new management team and self-imposed salary of $1, Jobs put Apple back on track.

Steve Jobs – Interview Wall Street Journal 1993
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful … that’s what matters to me.”

His ingenious products such as the iMac, effective branding campaigns, and stylish designs caught the attention of consumers once again.

Mark Cuban, Internet entrepreneur and billionaire:
“He was a once-in-a-generation mind. His ability to understand and translate pop culture was second to none. He will be missed.”

In 2003, the same year as the launch of iTunes, Jobs was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumor, a rare but operable form of pancreatic cancer. Instead of surgery, Jobs chose to alter his pescovegetarian diet. In 2004, he had surgery to remove the pancreatic tumor.
In recent years, Apple has introduced such revolutionary products as the Macbook Air, iPod, iPhone and iPad all of which have dictated the evolution of modern technology.
Since then whenever Apple releases a new product, competitors scramble to launch products to compete but Apple always leads the way in design and user experience.

Bill Gates, founder of Apple rival Microsoft:
“I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.”
“Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.”
“The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.”
“For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”

Since 2009 when he underwent a liver transplant until he recently resigned his post as CEO, Steve Jobs has been plagued with further health issue whilst fulfilling some of his greatest achievements.
In 2011 Jobs completed his greatest commercial achievement, making Apple the worlds largest tech firm with capital value of over $360bn

U.S. President Barack Obama:
“By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike.”
Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: He changed the way each of us sees the world.”
“The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”

This inspirational video says so much about Steve Jobs attitude to life.

Could Google’s Social Strategy Be Isolating Them?

naturalseoexpert — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:45:16 +0000

In today’s news (September 7th 2011) we hear that Bing has signed a deal with Twitter to confinue to use tweets within it’s search output. As reported in an article by Search Engine Land no such arrangement has been reported by Google, what does this mean for the search giant going forward?

Has Google+ Left Google With Nobody In Their Circle?

For the social media industry it has not been a major surprise that Twitter decided to continue to work with Bing, for a little while the relationship between Twitter and Google has been on the rocks. Notably Bing is the preferred search engine for Facebook, the world’s largest social media site.

Ironically the Launch of Google+, Google’s social media platform, seems to be isolating them in the social media world from the other providers they had previously worked with and now it puts them in a position where they may have to go it alone.

Like the geek in the school classroom, most people recognise that Google know’s it stuff when it comes to providing search answers but are they taking steps in the wrong direction when it comes to the social scene. What do you think?

Tagged: Google, social media news, twitter deal

Why Businesses Need A Mobile Strategy

naturalseoexpert — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:12:25 +0000

You already have a search marketing strategy and a social media strategy so is it really necessary to have a mobile marketing strategy for your business?

Is mobile simply more hype by the marketing experts to make you part with your hard earned profits?

What Is A Mobile Marketing Strategy For?

Firstly mobile marketing is nothing new, it started over 5 years ago with SMS based solutions, smartphones have simply expanded the opportunities and the size of the marketplace. By 2020 it is predicted that there will be about 10bn mobile internet devices worldwide – 10 times the number of PCs currently in use!

If you have a smartphone then you’ll no doubt alreday be aware that many things you used to use a computer for are more conveniently achieved on your phone. Today’s smart phones enable people to do so much more than just keeping in touch with friends and searching for nearby products and services, they enable a social and personal experience for every activity we choose to engage in.

It should come as no surprise then that businesses that want to continue to engage with their customers and potential new customers will have to ensure that they have a comprehensive mobile marketing and engagement strategy.

Businesses WILL Get Left Behind By Mobile

Much like the internet, adoption of mobile is happening at a furious pace and most businesses existing online presence will be found woefully lacking in a mobile enabled world. Traffic to your website via a mobile device is likely to overtake desktop traffic by the end of next year, with 41% of the US population already with a smartphone. As happened with the internet, businesses, including well known brands will get left behind by the speed of change. Almost everyone knows a book shop that has suffered at the hands of Amazon and developments in mobile will likely have a similar effect on some industries.

So Where Does A Mobile Marketing Strategy Begin?

As with any marketing, each and every business must consider it’s unique marketing approach, focused on it’s ideal customer and using the technology to help achieve it’s objectives. Think about how a mobile user could be enabled to do something that previously would not be possible on the move, benefitting them and your business.

Understanding what works and what doesn’t will be a critical part of any mobile marketing plan and measurement of the effectiveness of any trial is essential. Fortunately mobile, in common with it’s technology partner, the internet, has many tools to make possible. Potentially mobile will offer more insights into customer buying decisions than have been available even through the internet due to the relationship we each have with our phones.

Don’t believe us? If you have Google Analytics for your website, check the growth in mobile device use over the last 8 months. At e-mphasis we echo the words of Google’s Eric Schmidt, “If you don’t have a mobile strategy, you don’t have a future strategy”

Tagged: Mobile Marketing, mobile marketing strategy, mobile strategy

Is There A Gap In The Mobile Marketplace?

naturalseoexpert — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 09:44:14 +0000

With the recent news that HP is pulling out of the mobile device marketplace and most of the major players are entrenched in a battle for supremecy for integration with social media, search domination and apps to keep us amused is there now a gaping opportunity?

HP would be considered by most to have been a company that targeted the professional end of the technology market and certainly their pedigree in servers, network infrastructure and managed solutions for business upheld this.

With their exit from the PC and mobile device marketplace the landscape of the technology marketplace will change.

Google, Apple and Microsoft Are Chasing the Consumer

The Android, IOS and Windows 7 phone environments are all very heavily weighted toward the consumer market, this is clearly represented in the marketing of each of their offerings, so who is going to mop up the business market?

The business integration, replication and management tools that HP offered on the desktop have never really been delivered in the mobile environment and with no HP in the mix suddenly is there now a gap in the mobile marketplace for a professional mobile solution?

Examples of the types of functionality that are not fully catered for in the mobile world are centralised calendars and email systems, access to full mobile equivalents of desktop productivity tools and a professional data sharing and security model on an enterprise scale.

RIM Blackberry are probably the only company with a product that comes close to offering this functionality and yet they seem to be struggling to maintain market share against the major players.

Mobile Marketplace: Consumers In Charge?

The irony is that with the emphasis on the consumer, the business needs may well be dropping down the priority list and if demand is not there then obviously suppliers won’t be keen to invest in a product. In fact it seems to me that even those in senior corporate roles seem to be making decisions on their mobile technology based on their needs as a consumer and not as a business person.

Mobile: Is the Gap Widening Or Disappearing?

Will the focus on consumer needs extend this gap still further or perhaps the gap will disappear completely simply because there isn’t enough demand for a professionally focused mobile device. Only time will tell…

Tagged: HP, mobile, mobile competition

Google Places Accounts Suspended In UK Guidelines Crackdown

naturalseoexpert — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 22:00:52 +0000

Many Google Places accounts have been suspended due to guideline compliance issues. What can you do if your Google Places account is suspended?Google have enforced category rules in the UK for a large number of listings to match the similar restrictions applied recently in the US and Canada.

Users whose accounts are affected will finds when they log in to their Google Places account that listings are rejected and accounts may even be suspended.

Do Your Listings Comply With Google Places Guidelines

This seems to be down to compliance with Google Places guidelines that state each business category should be a single phrase as opposed to a list of phrases which was previously supported. No notification of this change was given although the change to the guidelines some time ago and enforcement in the US and Canada implied that this would be on its way to the UK too.

Account holders should change their content to comply with the listing guidelines and request review (which can take several weeks) in order to deal with this situation.

Listings appear to still be visible for a number of accounts despite the rejected status but this may not remain the case. Those taking rapid action to comply with the guidelines are more likely to find that their account remains active going forward.

Tagged: Google places, google places account suspended

How To: Setup A Follow Button For Twitter

naturalseoexpert — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:17:47 +0000

Not one to be left behind in the battle of social media recommendation stakes, Twitter have just launched a new “One-step Follow” button which can be installed on your website or blog.

Why would you want a Twitter Follow Button and how can you set one up yourself?

Why Set Up A Twitter Follow Button?

All previous versions of any “Follow us” links drove visitors away from a company’s site by directing visitors to the social media site in order to engage with them there, thereby taking traffic away from your own website – surely not a great idea. This new button allows individuals to stay on your pages (logging in on the pop-up window if they are not already logged in to Twitter) and then enabling them to have a new channel of communication with your company through this connection without removing your sites visitors.

Twitter Follow: Other Considerations

As with anything you place on your site it must be valuable to your customers & compelling also. Always make sure you provide your potential new connections with interesting content, something they will want to read, something that they will want to refer back to time after time, and even information they might want to pass on to others.

Making the Most of The Twitter Follow Button

Give your customers a gentle nudge…. Remind them to connect with you whenever you communicate… add a link to your email signature.

Integration of social media into your everyday communication channels is becoming ever more essential, and Twitter have given us just another way of making this more straight-forward.

You can get the code needed to add your own website follow button by using Twitter’s own Twitter Follow Button Resource.

If you’re not following us already, try this example:

Follow @e_mphasis

Tagged: Twitter, twitter button, twitter follow button, twitter followers

Google Improves Places Navigation

naturalseoexpert — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:15:40 +0000

Navigating local business results on Google has always been a little clunky. Users looking to access reviews, business information and local directions may have found that searching through a number of listings is not as efficient as it could be. Now Google have made some improvements to the User Interface (UI) to enable much more efficient access to Google Places content.

Quicker Searching Through Google Places

There are two subtle but effective changes to the navigation of local results, both aid comparison of locations and save the searcher time in assessing their local business results. They are also both accessed via the full business listing details.

Next and previous Google Places

The first of the changes provides the user with the ability to quickly step through the local results that matched their search without having to click back in between each result. The convenient Previous and Next options above the map image provide a much more accessible way to compare local results and step through each of the possible solutions to their query.
Back to search Google Places

The second change provides a pull-down list of local query results from which the searcher can jump directly to a particular entry. This compliments the first enhancement by providing a jump back to the entry that most interested the searcher having stepped through the list of local matches but also enables the user to jump directly to familiar brands.

Google Places User Interface

Both of these features should enhance the user interface for Google Places enabling searchers to more rapidly assess the results presented and make it easier to select the most appropriate provider of the product or service searched for.

Given the increase in volume of Google Places listings as a result of SEO’s response to Google’s focus on local, this is a useful addition to their local search tools.

Tagged: Google places, google search, local search, user interface

Google Places Performance Update Explained

naturalseoexpert — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:58:38 +0000

What Is A Google Places Performance Update and what can it tell you about how your local business listing is performing?

A Google Places performance update is a 30 day overview of the effectiveness of all business listings that you manage under your Google account.

This report will include how many impressions and actions your listing has generated and also what your top search phrases are for each individual listing including how many impressions each word or phrase has generated, it also provides and list of your top performing listings should you manage multiple listings under one account.

What Are Google Places Impressions?

An impression is a count of each time your listing has appeared in a Google search however depending on where in the results your listing appeared it is possible that the user searching did not see your listing.

In the example shown the local listing for Computer Cheap has appeared in Google searches 385 times. Therefore generally the higher the number of impressions your listing or listings have, the better, as this means that your listing is appearing on Google more frequently and creating greater awareness of your company in searches.

What Are Google Places Actions?

Actions are very important in terms of how “relevant” or “popular” your listing is, as each individual action represents where someone has shown interest in your listing.

This can happen in two ways, either by clicking through to your website or to your places page for more information (e.g. if you have 5 actions on your listing then 5 users have selected to click through to either your website or the listing information page).

This implies that they have found your listing to be the most relevant to their search, perhaps due to position in the results, familiarity of your brand, ease of access or convenient in terms of location.

Top Search Queries – What Are They And What Do They Tell Me About My Listing?

A top search query is a word or phrase that your listing is appearing for the most, these are very important in terms of optimisation of your listing as these words or phrases allow you to see how relevant the searches are that your listing appears for.

For example; if you are a computer retailer and you’re appearing for “houses for sale” this is completely irrelevant and while it may have resulted in an impression it will most likely not have resulted in an action.

Whereas if you were appearing for “computers for sale” this is a very relevant search term and may well result in an action as your listing will have been what the user has been searching for.

The top search queries also allow you to see how many times you have appeared for a particular word or phrase, these figures add up to your total number of impressions.

Monitoring the ratio of the actions to the impressions helps experienced marketeers understand the phrases that are most likely to generate engagement and hopefully sales.

What Are My Top Performing Listings?

If you have multiple Google places listings managed under one Google account then you will receive a list of your top performing listings within the Google places performance update.

This list gives you a quick overview of the listings that you manage that have the greatest number of impressions and actions and will give you an insight into how well your listings are doing.

How Is Your Google Place Performance?

If you have a Google Places listing post your click through rate here (Impressions/Actions) as a comment so that other Google Places users can get an idea of what can be achieved, I may even offer a prize for the lowest of some free help!

Tagged: Google places, Google Places Actions, Google Places Impressions, Google Places Performance Update

How To: Write an Effective Blog

naturalseoexpert — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:17:02 +0000

Blogging is an established method of increasing your web presence but what can SEO techniques teach you about how to write an effective blog?

Blogs can be used to keep clients up to date, demonstrate expertise or simply entertain and is an ideal way to leverage the social side of the web. From a search perspective blogging is particularly effective for targeting longer but often more relevant search phrases.

Who Is Your Blog For?

As with website content. when writing blog articles think about what interests your ideal reader and write with passion or strong (ideally justifiable!) opinions. A good strategy is to answer potential questions, warn of pitfalls, offer ‘Top tips’ or explain something through a story, real or invented.

Use phrases liberally that users might search for and leave them wanting more information or engage them by asking for their comment.

SEO Blog Tips: Use Google Insights for Search to identify the most searched for phrases relating to a topic

Be a Long Distance Blogger not a Sprinter

Blogs need updating regularly, aim to achieve a consistent frequency of blogs, perhaps start with one per month and then once you get used to a regular commitment you can always increase.

Ideas sometimes come in groups so use a ‘draft’ facility to store article titles so that you can expand on the content later or even form part of a series.

SEO Blog Tips: Identify text in blog articles that can be used as links to create relevant inbound links to your website

Blog Short and Sweet

Keep blog articles to a single topic and not too long, 200 words is a good minimum but avoid going over 1000 words. In longer articles it can help readers if you summarise your points in the last paragraph.

SEO Blog Tips: Check the frequency of key search phrases in your content, your no. 1 phrase should be included about 4-5 times in 200 words

Writing Content For Blogs

Use attention grabbing titles with intriguing first paragraphs and clear headings. These aid scan reading and highlight your ideal search phrases to the search engines. Include at least one piece of media; funny or striking but relevant pictures, informational graphics or a video (all with permission of course) but not too many.

SEO Blog Tips: Make sure relevant pictures are named using the key text you want to search in for

Guest Blogging Opportunities

Offer guest blogging opportunities, it can take the pressure off generating content if you’re busy and often encourages people to share your blog on their own social media.

Make sure that you keep the content of the articles on your blog relevant to your business.

SEO Blog Tips: Encourage guest bloggers to link to the blog article from relevant and prominent pages on their websites

So What Is A Good Blog?

The only way to know whether your blog is working other than direct feedback is to have some form of measurement. Most blog tools have some form of analytics or can have them integrated, use these to identify which articles attract most visitors and therefore act as a guide to future article topics.

SEO Blog Tips: Use analytics to establish where your most engaged visitors are coming from

Thank you for the original question to Annabelle of South East Timber and Damp who provide services to deal with damp, dry rot, condensation and woodworm infestation problems.

Why not share your blogging tips in the comments below?

Tagged: blogging, effective blog writing, how to blog