Google+ launch Businesses pages….

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Speedy Social Media

Google+ Businesses pages finally launched..

Ever since Google launched its much-anticipated social media network, Google+, business owners have been patiently twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the chance to make a profile for their company.

Well as of this week the wait is finally over. It’s the moment marketers, social media professionals and brands have been waiting for. Google+ Business Pages had finally been released out into the social networking world.

Google+ Pages – A profile page specifically for Brands and Businesses, much like its older relative Facebook Pages. According to official update on Google’s blog, Google+ pages will be a place where brands and businesses can connect and create a lasting bond with their customers.

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Google+ Pages rolled out globally this week and will be available for all users. However, based on updates seen on Google+, some users are having difficulty creating their pages.

It’s likely that Google+ Pages will have a high level of visibility than Facebook pages thanks to their integration with basic Google search.

Pages places will generally turn up in the regular search results below an organization’s own website. Google also plans to enable a feature they call Direct Connect. Limited pages have this feature at the moment, but Google states many more are coming in the future. You will be able to go direct to pages that have Direct Connect enabled simply by adding the ‘+’ in a search query followed by the name of a page.

Although the service looks promising, a few bugs still exist. Currently, only one user can be registered to any given page, making management of a page difficult for a larger organization or department. Some early users have also noticed that it is far too easy to accidentally publish information to an account so be careful!!

Finally, a Google+ pages steer users away from companies’ actual websites in favour of their G+ Page. This may be a drawback to some users, however, owning a space on Google+ is yet another web presence that no business large or small will want to miss out on.

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Ready to get your business set up on Google+ Pages? Head to the Google+ registration page to get started. Businesses are asked to classify under one of the following categories:

· Local Business or Place

· Product or Brand

· Company, Institution or Organization

· Arts, Entertainment or Sports

· Other

Businesses are allowed to create as many pages as they like, providing you the ability to have a separate page for a particular product, product line, or event. Your Google+ page will have a +1 button, similar to those now found around the web. As a page however, you won’t have the ability to +1 other pages.

Local business pages have additional functionality which allows you to provide a phone number and address that will add a map and local contact information to your page. Although similar to the already existing Google Places service, they presently remain two separate services that must be managed individually.

We’re excited about the new ability to connect with our audience on G+.

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How to boost your Google clickthrough rates.

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Speedy Social Media

How to boost your Google clickthrough rates.

Lately many site owners have been asking me what clickthrough rate they should be getting from listings in various page positions on Google. This is because they have not been getting the amount of clicks they would have expected.

A study by AOL in 2006 showed that on average each listing should get a predictable clickthrough rate. The number one spot should expect to receive a clickthrough rate of 42.3%, number 2 was 92%, number 3 8.44%, number 4 6.03%, number 5 4.86%, number 6 3.99%, number 7 3.37, number 8 2.98%, number 9 2.83%, and number 10 2.79%.

However recently these figures don’t match up with reality. Why not well mainly its due to the new types of listings that are being included in the SERPs of Google which are pushing down and drowning out the more traditional natural search engine listings.

Depending on the search term Google places alone can push down 70% of normal SEO listings completely off the front page. That makes the fourth natural search listing the 10^th actual listing on the page. Google news, shopping, paid search, you tube results etc also force down the natural search listings making them near obsolete.

As if this weren’t bad enough the natural listings are also becoming far less interesting than the other types of listings. So potential shoppers may see a natural search listing in position one but would rather click on the Google shopping result or one of the more exciting listings surrounding it.

The end result is that ‘simple’ natural listings are receiving far fewer clicks than they should for keywords that trigger universal search.

So what should you do? Well as the old saying goes if you can’t beat them, join them!! For every natural search listing you have for your targeted keywords, you should also have a least one more advanced Google listing such as, video, news, shopping, Google places, Google map, blog, sponsored ads (Adwords, PPC) or any others that apply to your website.

For more info please contact us Flarecom or Speedy Social Media

Should Google get a plus?

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Speedy Social Media

Should Google get a plus?

When I read my emails in gmail it pretty obivious that the ads displayed in the right column are related to the content in my emails. We already know that Google, as a search engine, uses our search behavior for targeted advertising. This is nothing new, however what about G+?

Is G+, a platform where we share potentially private information, are we putting too much trust in Google?

= ???

Everything we now know about Facebook is that it was designed as a place for people to “connect.” We share tons of private information on Facebook and that information is now used for advertisers that generates BILLIONS of revenue for the Social Media giant.

Now along comes G+. This is a new social media platform where millions of people are sharing similarly personal information. That we are used to, but what makes G+ different? Well maybe it is the main intention of the service from the beginning.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt did an interview with NPR’s Andy Carvin discussing the real names policy on G+. Carvin told Bloomberg Businessweek the following;

“Eric replied by saying G+ was built primarily as an identity service, so fundamentally it depends on people using their real names f they are going to build future products to leverage that information.”

So the real question that is on everyone’s mind is what then really is the difference between Facebook and G+. It’s simple. Facebook was not designed with any of this in mind. It was, from the beginning, a place to connect with friends and share the “college” experience, but ended up more about sharing your life experiences.

G+ from the beginning was designed to gather your information as an “Identity Service” to pass your information on to large corporate advertisers. For this reason ONLY do they care to provide you with this so called social experience.

So to me it is a question of integrity and trust. Should we be as open to share this information with Google knowing their true intentions? Or should we be more cautious? How much info will they share? Can we opt out? Maybe some questions we need to be asking before we give them too much.

Do you have a question about G+? Why not get in touch with Flarecom or Speedy Social Media to answer your questions or tweet us.

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Attract local search queries

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Speedy Social Media

Localise your SEO

One of the most overlooked ares of search engine optimisation is local SEO. An optimisation strategy without thinking about your locality is a major lost opportunity. Denying your website the chance to attract local targetted keyword specific traffic is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

First on your agenda should be your niche geographic search queries. Analyse your stats to see who is searching for what and from where. Try to identify which words your potential customers are searching with. Are they ready to buy or are they just doing research? Are they big spenders or cheapskates? In general pick terms that match up with your service, that you think will convert into sales and will have a good search volume.

Once you have settled on the best search terms ensure you have the right mix of geographic search terms and draw up a list of the primary search phrases that you can spread across the text of your site.

Ensure the keywords are consistent with the page theme and title, and that there is a good mix of content in your site aimed at local visitors.

Off site marketing works too. Promote your site to local and regional directories and don’t forget to claim your free Google places listings.

If you’re running a Google Adwords campaign, its worth creating specific ad groups to specific geographical areas. Being laser focused for optimisation, content, advertsing and promotion will serve you well in the long term and is also likely to pull in visitors from further afield, who maybe can’t find what they are looking for in their neck of the woods.

Do you have a question about search engine rankings? Why not get in touch with Flarecom or Speedy Social Media to answer your questions or tweet us.

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5 reasons your business should blog

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Speedy Social Media

1. Attract an audience

Every business needs traffic, whether this is foot traffic in a high street store or ‘eyeballs’ to an online store. A good blog not only generates traffic, but also helps retain that traffic, keeping people coming back and growing in loyalty.

2. Inform, interact and learn from your audience

Informed and educated visitors become confident, loyal customers. More people are turning to the internet to research before they buy. You can position your company as a go-to resource, thereby winning more business. Plus, with blogging, information flows both ways. You can gain insights into your customers’ minds, their needs, challenges and preferences. Comments, feedback forms, surveys and polls become instant, spontaneous market research tools. It’s like working with a free focus group that tells you which products you should create and why.

3. Retain your audience

Too many marketers focus on gaining initial visibility through advertising or attention-seeking stunts. If that tactic does not convert into instant sales, the budget and effort are wasted. With a blog you can hold prospects’ interest for longer, winning customers round over time, and bringing them back to hear from you long after their first contact. No need for spammy, desperate-sounding sales messages.

4. Links for direct traffic & SEO

You can’t beat valuable, authoritative content for attracting links from other websites, forums, discussion lists and social networks. These links bring a quantity of attention, as well as quality, targeted visitors that turn into good leads.

As well as the direct traffic benefit of leads, links are important in bringing in search visitors. The more linkable your website, the better your search results will be. Very often traditional websites are difficult to link to and not easy for search engines to index. This can be due to the website’s structure, the software it’s built with, or its overly complex URLs. Blogs are almost always superior in this respect.

5. Building trust and familiarity

Trust is vital in making sales and important for encouraging visitors to opt into your lead-generation process. By starting with compelling information and resources, and by encouraging repeat communication, you build familiarity. Over time, this creates a strong bond of trust, making sales so much easier.

Your blog also provides multiple routes for customers and prospects to get in touch. It can show your human, approachable side, allow better customer interaction, and improve customer service.

All of this adds up to more new and repeat sales from much happier and better informed customers.

Domain Name Renewal Scam

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Speedy Social Media

Please READ this carefully. A company called the Domain Renewal Group is sending letters out suggesting you renew your domain name with them. The letters look like an invoice.

Beware of this Domain Name Renewal Scam!

A friend got a letter in the post last week from an outfit called Domain Renewal Group. They were originally called the Domain Registry of America (DRoA). The Domain Renewal Group have been using this under hand sales tactic for a few years now.

The letter is clever in the way it’s written. It makes the reader assume their domain name is due for renewal with this company. Most domain names need to be renewed every 2 years & for some people it is quite easy to forget who you registered your domain name with. So the assumption is this letter is an invoice which must be paid.

They send the letter out about 3 months prior to the renewal date of the domain before your normal reminder gets sent out by your current domain name registration company.

It is NOT an invoice so just ignore it.
It’s an attempt by DRoA to get you to pay them for a domain name that they don’t even control! Many people and businesses fall for this trap. Make sure you’re NOT one of them!

If you get one – DO NOT FILL IT IN!

You need to know what happens when someone does pay this dodgy outfit. The consequences can be disasterous to your business.

When you pay them, they email you telling you to transfer your domain name to them. Most people will ignore this email, thinking it’s just a confirmation of payment. A few months later, you will get a reminder email from your current provider. You’ll probably scratch your head at this time wondering why you’re getting another reminder when you’ve already paid to renew! Most people will ignore the email assuming it’s an over sight.

If you get an email reminder contact the person or company who sent the email & check to see if your domain name needs to be renewed. If these reminder emails are ignored your domain name will expire & the first thing you’ll know about it is when your email & website stops working!

If you get one of these letters, ignore it & call the person who looks after your website or your web hosting company.

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