This is one of the important factors when you're starting to make your web page. It is very important to have a good homepage optimization because it will help you increase your home page traffic. Ranking your home page between top 20 searches is really important. You will probably find it so hard to find your site on the result page when it is not in the first 20 hits.
This is how you can optimize your web page. Correct titling of your page is one of the most important actions. You should know that web search engines put a lot of importance in every page title in sorting hits on SERPs. The title must be a short description of your web page and should be structured with your keywords. The keywords shouldn't be repeated in the title for search engines will consider it as a spam which will lead you to a penalty points when ranking the results.
Another important thing in optimizing your web page is choosing the right keywords. You must do a proper research for you to help find the right keywords for your site. There are lots of useful tools in the web that you can use like Google AdWords keyword tool and a lot more. Try not to stuff your page too much with you keywords. Use synonyms, this will help to make your content sound natural.
Metatags are also important in optimizing you page. Meta description is a short description of your web page. You can use ten to twelve keywords which should not be repeated, as what I said search engines will treat multi keywords as a spam.
Actual page content, you shouldn't forget about this part for this is the most important thing in creating a web page. Keywords must be found in your page content; this will help the search engines to know what the topic is. But not to use it too frequently because spamming will result your page into a ban.
This is the least important factor in making a home page optimization, the page url. Basically, this is the name of your of your webpage which appears in a web browser's address bar. Search engines used this as an identifier for you web page and they also store the URL in their index as one of the ways they know the subject matter of a web site.
Doing a good Home page optimization will now then, help you attract more traffic for your website. Optimizing your home page is not just about search engine optimization, but it is also about optimizing your most vital landing pages for conversions.
Alyssa is an SEO specialist and have had remarkable success upon giving her clients a quality SEO services.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
SEO: Homepage Optimization
PPC and SEO Working Together
Most companies are often faced with the dilemma of determining how to maximize limited online marketing budgets. Are you looking for high performance, but need to be conscious of costs? So what tactics should be used, PPC or SEO? The answer is both. PPC and SEO are often viewed as two very different online marketing strategies, with each side having their own supporters as to why their respective online marketing effort is the most effective. SEO can generate great results, but it often requires patience to achieve higher rankings and is seen as a long term strategy. PPC has more control, but can be very costly depending on the industry.
If your PPC and SEO campaigns aren’t talking to each other, you’re wasting a lot of time and money. Whether the work is being done in house, at a single agency or by multiple agencies, it’s important to share insights learned in each area to avoid duplicated efforts and missed opportunities.
Here are a few things to consider:
Campaign Structure:
Your sites architecture and your Ad Words campaigns should not be that different. In fact, both should have a natural flow from high level content to very specific topics and subcategories. Those subcategories can be considered ad groups or pages on the site with the keywords appearing as text on the pages and in the ad groups.
Keyword Strategy:
It’s important to establish how your keyword mix will intercept your audience and how PPC and SEO will fit in. Broad terms tend to be hyper competitive and the most expensive, while long tail terms tend to be less competitive, but they drive higher qualified traffic. Depending on campaign goals it might make sense to optimize longer tailed terms while utilizing PPC to catch the broader search terms as ad copy, landing pages, ect can be quickly controlled. The key is to know when to emphasize one over the other, or when to use one to support the other.
Another cross tactic approach is to take advantage of PPC search query data. Analyzing PPC search query data might uncover terms that are driving a lot of paid traffic, but don’t perform well in organic search. Those keywords become an opportunity for the SEO team to create optimized content around which will increase your traffic volume without increasing your PPC budget. This type of cross tactic sharing should be happening regularly as your target audience will not remain in the status quo with their search habits.
Landing Pages:
Assuming the necessary tracking is in place on all pages and keywords, you can take valuable learning’s from the actual landing pages. If you notice that certain pages created for organic keywords perform well from a conversion stand point, why not re-purpose those pages as PPC landing pages? This allows you to create offers and calls to action for those specific keywords.
Google Docs Adds Pagination
Every time I get writer’s block, I head somewhere else to write. I don’t just mean grabbing my laptop and going to a coffee shop, either (though I do that too). I mean going to a library or a friend’s house and using their computer. I’m able to do this because so much of the world of productivity has moved onto the web – including cloud document creation through services like Google Docs.
However, Google Docs, is nonetheless limited in a number of ways, making certain tasks impossible, and the constant development struggle for the Docs steam is implementing all the necessary features from the established world of offline document creation. Over the last year Google has implemented a wide array of these features, but one of the most crucial was added today (on April 12th): pagination.
Pagination, or the visual display of actual page breaks – demonstrating how words will actually look on a page, how changes in margin/spacing will change page flow, etc. – has been a standard for offline word processing since the 90s. Having it available in Google Docs is both important in matching the standard and in adding a number of other vital features. This includes putting headers/footers on each page, putting footnotes on the bottom of corresponding pages, and in-browser printing (in now, a feature restricted to Chrome). However, pagination may also lead to other in-demand features such as page numbering.
Users who prefer the unpaginated approach can switch to the classic format by going to View > Document View > Compact. If you’re eager to use paginated documents and haven’t seen the update yet, be patient: the feature will be released to all Docs users by the end of the day.
Google’s Algorithm Officially Integrates User Feedback
Everywhere you look in search engine optimization sites, the word of the day seems to be “Panda.” Or, if you prefer, “Farmer” – since the two monikers both describe the major Google algorithm that was implemented to fight off spam. While everyone is eager to figure out how to avoid being flagged as a spam site, another major element of SEO has just been made official: user feedback is a recognized signal in Google’s search algorithm.
This isn’t exactly unexpected. After all, Google representatives have been saying for several months that user feedback, including on social networks, would be examined for its potential uses in search. Additionally, the Google “+1″ button released serves an almost identical function by allowing users to state, clearly and simply, which sites they like. Even further, Google’s “block site” feature allows users to point out pages that seem to be spam.
Each of these services had an ambiguous impact on SEO. The +1 or promoted social search features, for example, certainly did impact the results your connected friends saw – but did it impact the site’s rank overall? Would it with enough +1s or other promotions? Similarly, while the “block site” feature didn’t originally impact search directly, how would that data be used?
That’s all been cleared up with a simple statement in the global rollout of Panda: “We’ve also incorporated new user feedback signals to help people find better search results.” Of course, exactly how much will be impacted by these signals, how quickly shady optimizers will start trying to game this feedback, and what precautions Google is taking against false positives in feedback are all unknown.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
What if my competitor is cheating at SEO?
It's a question that comes up all the time, but there hasn't been a good answer to it. There are painstaking ways that you can analyze your competitor's Web site for signs of elementary cheating, such as hidden text, keyword stuffing, and other simple forms of search spam, but don't bother. The search engines do a reasonably good job of sniffing those out themselves nowadays. But what about the big time search spammer? What about someone who has set up an elaborate network of linking sites all designed to rank his site higher and your site lower? How can you catch someone like that in the act of cheating at SEO? If it is your competitor engaging in such tricks, it is a burning question.
My friend Ted Ulle pointed me to an announcement last month that might help answer that question, where a partnership was announced between search tool vendor BrightEdge and the search engine blekko to combat search spam.
no spam!
Image via Wikipedia
Not many details emerged from that press release, so we'll have to wait and see if this is real progress, but it is a start. I can think of several things that such a tool might be able to do:
* Identify link farms. If blekko can use link analysis techniques to spot unusual link patterns coming from sites that don't make sense, they can alert you as to what your competitor is doing. They might not be able to algorithmically detect a sure spamming incident, but they might be able to identify something for you to analyze on your own.
* Identify paid link manipulation. Just as with link farms, competitors who buy links masquerading as free links violate the search engines' rules and are benefiting from higher rankings if undiscovered. If blekko can clue you in to suspicious patterns, you might find that where there is smoke, there is fire.
* Uncovering negative SEO. You might be guessing that the search engines themselves work very hard to uncover the first two abuses, which leads to an even more insidious trick. What if your competitor is setting up these spammy techniques, but pointing them at your site to get you penalized? It happens, and blekko might be able to uncover suspicious patterns to alert you.
If you're thinking to yourself, don't Google and Bing try to catch all of these things? Yes, they do. But they are doing it with algorithms only—the cases that are most egregious are the only ones that get spit out for human analysts to review. They can't look at everything and the algorithms are not foolproof. If blekko's algorithms are any good, the human analysis of these possible spam problems can be "outsourced" to people willing to do it for free.
It is yet to be seen exactly what BrightEdge has implemented here and just how magical the blekko algorithms are at uncovering search shenanigans. And it isn't clear how Google and Bing will respond when provided reports on bad behavior. It's possible that they will take them seriously and investigate, but it's equally likely that so many bogus reports could be generated by people using such a tool that they will be largely ignored. You can imagine a situation where anyone runs a check and then send whatever is spit out to Google, rather than using that as a jumping off point for real investigation.
If we marketers use these tools to cry wolf, don't be surprised if Google and Bing quickly ignore our cries. That would be a real shame, to me, because I think this is a great idea. It's the social approach to spam. Give people the tools to police their competitors and there is a more level playing field for everyone.
Regardless, I will be quite interested in what is delivered here. I'd love it if those who start using the tool would post their experiences here. And if anyone has deeper information than the intriguing press release, please post that, too. I can't help but think that this is a new front in the war on spam that Google and Bing overlooked: crowdsourcing. We'll see if it works.
Dear Client: I Love You, But Will You PLEASE Stop Obsessing Over Your Search Engine Rankings?
Dear Client:
I love you. I really do! But please, for the love of all that is good and holy, will you stop obsessing over search engine rankings?
I get it, you hired me to perform Search Engine Optimization on your website. Why do we optimize for search engines? For rankings, right? Well, no, not anymore. It's been almost a decade since the SEO industry began it's turn toward a fuller website marking experience, looking beyond search engine rankings as a metric of success, and instead looking at business growth, conversion rates, and return on investment.
Rankings are a traffic delivery mechanism. Traffic can be hit or miss. Not all traffic is targeted. We see it all the time, clients like you are looking for rankings for your industry terms. But, quite often the time and effort needed to rank these favorite phrases holds no value compared to the conversions it delivers. That means, the ROI just isn't there.
Instead of focusing on these "pet" terms, and potentially wasting thousands of dollars in the process, I could be focused on building exposure through some other relevant terms that have a better conversion rate and give you a much higher return on investment.
I understand where you're coming from: You need rankings to get traffic, and you need traffic to get conversions. But, would you be happy if I could help you get more traffic and conversions, even if your favorite keywords were not ranking? Would you trust me if I told you that not all the keywords you care about are valuable?
I hope you hear what I'm saying. I totally understand that you need exposure on the search engines to get the traffic and the conversions you need. But, rankings for certain high-traffic, low value keywords isn't going to give you both. Oh, you'll get traffic, but you'll see your conversion rates plummet.
My question to you is, who will you blame when you see conversion rates go down? Is it the design team, the usability team, the marketing team, the SEO team? It may not be anybody's fault, except that you're ranking well for very poor converting keywords.
Finding Keywords that Deliver
In an ideal world, EVERY industry related keyword would bring you quality, converting traffic. But, a few minutes looking at the keyword research data will tell you otherwise. Every industry has thousands of terms that are not relevant for any particular site within that very industry. It's true for your competitors, just as it's true for you.
Good optimization is all about finding the right keywords. Not just industry terms, but terms which match the searcher's intent for the product, service, or information you offer. Sometimes the searcher's intent is clear in the search phrase. Many times, it's not. If the intent isn't clear, you can do two things: Guess or test.
Guessing at the intent means you either assume it is a valuable keyword or it isn't. In SEO, this can be a huge gamble. Guess wrong, either way, and you are either potentially wasting a ton of time, or you're losing out on a lot of potential conversions.
The better option is to test. The best way to do that is via PPC. Throw up some ads using your testing keywords, and see what happens. If the keyword converts at a rate comparable to other keywords, then you have yourself a winner. If not, you just saved yourself from wasting a bunch of resources on optimizing a loser.
Rankings Don't Always Matter
If you know all your keywords are winners, you still have to be careful about measuring rankings over results. There is a lot more to a good conversion than ranking for your best terms.
Did you know that in some circumstances you can actually get more traffic by ranking lower in the results? It happens all the time. Why? Because your title and description tag are written to drive the click and conversion more so than to get rankings.
You can tweak your title to improve clicks and conversions, and that may cost yourself some ranking positions. But, if you tweak it for rankings, you may lose both clicks and conversions. It's not always win/lose, sometimes you can win-win, but the better wi
1 Year since iPad Announcement. Now How Is the Tablet World Doing?
Exactly one year ago, on January 27 last year Steve Jobs announced iPad at a press conference held for the device. The planned tablet was rumoured for years before that as people realized it should have been a logical step after success Apple had with iPhone. A year later and numerous gadget of the year awards, I thought it would be fun to discuss our initial expectations compared to actual user experience with the device.
So how is the tablet market these days? First of all, we should admit it: Apple has really transformed the gadget and computer market heavily with iPad – where no one thought a tablet computer would really take off, we now have a market where everyone suddenly seems to want one. And it is no wonder that this market is now heavily dominated by iPad – for example, in third quarter iPad accounted for 90% of all sales of tablet computers.
It is pretty obvious that this situation will change with time and Android-based tablets will eventually get a good share of the market as there are enough fans of Android operating system who will probably also want to own a tablet computer in addition to their phone. But let’s admit it: Apple has taught us that a tablet computer is actually something we might want and even need.
So I think that the most impressive thing about iPad is that all the critics (me included though I did not criticize it, only thought it was somewhat useless) liked the device much better after actually taking it in their hands and playing with it. We watched all the presentations and demos with understanding of how cool it is but without wanting to own it immediately. But honestly, it is incredibly difficult not to fall in love with the device once you put your hands on it and realize how smooth user experience is.
Let’s face it: initially we did not believe in many aspects when they claimed iPad was sooo good. For example, many of those of us who have already migrated to ebooks from paper thought that iPad will be a gorgeous reader but definitely not something to replace a Kindle, for example – we were all expected to have eye strain with the bright screen iPad has. But experience shows that iPad is not only gorgeous as a toy to play with magazines and books and then quickly return to E Ink – reading with E Ink under a lamp results in eye strain while I have never felt any discomfort reading on iPad though I have to admit I rarely get the luxury of reading for long hours without interruption. But to be fair, I never get that luxury, no matter what device I would want to use for reading.
Another important issue where we were sceptical was battery life: initially we did not really believe the claims of 10 hours on single charge – it just did not seem realistic. At the same time many hoped it would at least be somewhere close to the truth as it would turn iPad into a perfect Transatlantic flight companion finally giving the freedom of extra batteries for our laptops.
Over the years we have learned not to trust the battery life figures declared by computer manufacturers. We know that they use the least resource-hungry apps and modes to achieve their results but you will never really want to work in those modes – like, with the image on your screen barely visible to save battery on brightness. So when we see that a computer is promised to work for 5 hours, we rarely expect anything over 3 hours in normal conditions – and that would still be pretty good.
But to our surprise iPad battery generally tends to exceed not only our expectations but even Apple’s claims as well – on some apps in various situations it can work even beyond the promised 10 hours which is longer than any laptop you have probably ever used and definitely ideal for a mobile companion. Me personally, I don’t even take the charger with me for weekend getaways because the battery is more than enough for email checks, Saturday evening movie and occasional reading in a cosy chair if I’m lucky to get some time to myself.
But it would be far from fair to say that iPad only offered us numerous pleasant su
1 Year since iPad Announcement. Now How Is the Tablet World Doing?
Exactly one year ago, on January 27 last year Steve Jobs announced iPad at a press conference held for the device. The planned tablet was rumoured for years before that as people realized it should have been a logical step after success Apple had with iPhone. A year later and numerous gadget of the year awards, I thought it would be fun to discuss our initial expectations compared to actual user experience with the device.
So how is the tablet market these days? First of all, we should admit it: Apple has really transformed the gadget and computer market heavily with iPad – where no one thought a tablet computer would really take off, we now have a market where everyone suddenly seems to want one. And it is no wonder that this market is now heavily dominated by iPad – for example, in third quarter iPad accounted for 90% of all sales of tablet computers.
It is pretty obvious that this situation will change with time and Android-based tablets will eventually get a good share of the market as there are enough fans of Android operating system who will probably also want to own a tablet computer in addition to their phone. But let’s admit it: Apple has taught us that a tablet computer is actually something we might want and even need.
So I think that the most impressive thing about iPad is that all the critics (me included though I did not criticize it, only thought it was somewhat useless) liked the device much better after actually taking it in their hands and playing with it. We watched all the presentations and demos with understanding of how cool it is but without wanting to own it immediately. But honestly, it is incredibly difficult not to fall in love with the device once you put your hands on it and realize how smooth user experience is.
Let’s face it: initially we did not believe in many aspects when they claimed iPad was sooo good. For example, many of those of us who have already migrated to ebooks from paper thought that iPad will be a gorgeous reader but definitely not something to replace a Kindle, for example – we were all expected to have eye strain with the bright screen iPad has. But experience shows that iPad is not only gorgeous as a toy to play with magazines and books and then quickly return to E Ink – reading with E Ink under a lamp results in eye strain while I have never felt any discomfort reading on iPad though I have to admit I rarely get the luxury of reading for long hours without interruption. But to be fair, I never get that luxury, no matter what device I would want to use for reading.
Another important issue where we were sceptical was battery life: initially we did not really believe the claims of 10 hours on single charge – it just did not seem realistic. At the same time many hoped it would at least be somewhere close to the truth as it would turn iPad into a perfect Transatlantic flight companion finally giving the freedom of extra batteries for our laptops.
Over the years we have learned not to trust the battery life figures declared by computer manufacturers. We know that they use the least resource-hungry apps and modes to achieve their results but you will never really want to work in those modes – like, with the image on your screen barely visible to save battery on brightness. So when we see that a computer is promised to work for 5 hours, we rarely expect anything over 3 hours in normal conditions – and that would still be pretty good.
But to our surprise iPad battery generally tends to exceed not only our expectations but even Apple’s claims as well – on some apps in various situations it can work even beyond the promised 10 hours which is longer than any laptop you have probably ever used and definitely ideal for a mobile companion. Me personally, I don’t even take the charger with me for weekend getaways because the battery is more than enough for email checks, Saturday evening movie and occasional reading in a cosy chair if I’m lucky to get some time to myself.
But it would be far from fair to say that iPad only offered us numerous pleasant su
SEO in Marketing and Why You Should Learn It Article Source: <a href="http://EzineArticles.com/6161448">http://EzineArticles.com/6161448</a>
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is of critical importance in marketing if one's goal is to have their site be found on the internet. Search engines such as Google and others look for information on a website and if it is there they will rank the site at a higher level. When a website is posted live to the internet the only people who know it is there are the webmaster and the company. The site simply has to be promoted. SEO is an excellent tool that helps create blog posts and articles, social book-marking and getting indexed by search engines. Faster results and getting noticed will be the reward. Added benefits include:
• creating internet marketing web pages
• making one an expert
• knowledge in what one wants an outsourcer to do
• competitiveness
• keeping a virtual lookout on the network
How does one go about learning SEO? Initially just getting started, learning it and doing it is a good course of action. Equally, there is nothing to stop the newcomer to SEO marketing to start a site and be able to figure out what works by trial and error. Continuing along the learning process, it is a great idea to start reading information on SEO like blogs and books, watching SEO tutorials on video sites, keeping an eye on the SEO experts on Twitter and being sure to attend conferences. Online courses are available everywhere and are often free of charge.
Cell phones are a surprisingly growing import vehicle of possibilities in marketing. The potential customers and readers for business sites is increasing every day because people all over the world are now able to log onto the internet on a variety of wireless technology devices including cell phones and tablets. A business is now able to reach their customers and followers from just about anywhere in the world at any time of day or night.
Going mobile with marketing is much better that the old way of placing ads in newspapers and other print media where the only people that see it are the people who have purchased the paper or magazine. If the company has a well optimized website, the potential of customers from all over the world finding what they are looking for on that site is far greater and the potential for success is simply huge.
So many businesses are having their websites professionally optimized to increase their chances of being found online. Unfortunately some companies are forgetting the search engine optimization that is needed in order to fill in the gaps and help more customers find their newly optimized website online. Never forget the SEO portion of optimization! You competitors sure haven't and if you do not take advantage of SEO, you may be left behind in your niche which can have disastrous results when your competition leaves your website in their website's shadow and traffic.
When a website continues its optimization strategy and is successful at being found by its customers on a regular basis, the leads and sales potential has ultimately been opened up for unlimited possibilities. Leads and sales opportunities should be collected on a regular basis with some sort of opt-in email address collection process. Once the SEO and traffic generation are combined this strategy will work, and work very well. A targeted list of leads and potential sales that people have chosen to participate in can be built for use in continued marketing efforts.
Since 1995 when the internet started becoming a household word businesses and private individuals have come to realize the advantages it represents for internet marketing. Those who have not seen the light almost twenty years later will be at a great economic disadvantage if they left this opportunity for exposing one's business on a global scale to pass by.
For more information on SEO and marketing, please visit our website at goldenvisionforyou.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?
Google’s +1 is No Facebook “Like”
With the release of Google’s new +1 feature, it is clear that Google is working hard to oust Facebook from their social throne. As a search marketer, I think the new feature is pretty great. Eventually AdWords advertisers will be able to get statistics on what ads have the most +1’s and Google Webmaster Central will report +1 stats for organic listings.
In addition, I’m sure the number of +1’s a piece of content receives will somehow factor into how well it performs organically. This move from Google perfectly reinforces Rand Fishkin’s recent SearchFest presentation on The Future of Great Links (aka social signals are the new wave ranking elements).
But as a user however, I’m just not sure I’m into it.
For starters, I hate the name. It’s hard to integrate into daily lingo and I think it will be some time before it is adapted as universal. In addition, I don’t like the look of the button. It’s ugly and clunky and makes Google look lame compared to how slick the Facebook Like button integrates.
It’s also difficult to wrap my brain around the idea that I’m sharing this information with my network of friends. What friends? My Google friends? I hardly consider my gmail contact list my friend list. Sorry, but my friends are on Facebook.
So is this the next big thing for Google or is it just the next Google Buzz?
Web Analytics - The ROI of "Why?"
Possibly the biggest mistake you can make when analyzing your own web data or reporting other people's data to them is stopping at what happened. Here's an example....
"Search Engine traffic rose 20% in the last 3 months."
Sweet. So, let's everybody meet at Outback for an awesome blossom with some extra awesome, right? Not so fast my friend. Let's add a little context to that little observation we made above.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Why Expectations Factor Into SEO Success
SEO's Start at a Disadvantage
SEO has gotten an ugly rep over the years. Some of it deserved, some not so much. Unfortunately, many good SEO's get lumped into the same category as the bad ones. Kinda like lawyers, I suspect.
For years, SEO has been relatively easy to jump into, and "expert" SEO firms have appeared virtually overnight, only to disappear a few months later. The other day I talked with a friend who was hired by an SEO firm to be in charge of opening new branch offices. According to him, this company has an incredibly streamlined and automated SEO "process", that has them growing like gangbusters. Each month they are opening a new office in a new location!
I've been around the block a few times, but this is a first for me. I've not seen any (legitimate) SEO company that is growing so fast they need a new location every month. Unfortunately, my buddy doesn't really have any industry experience. When I kindly mentioned the word scam, he assured me this is all legit. I have my doubts.
There may be more to this story that I'll find out later, but right now it smells. Many of these fly-by-night SEO's find ways to get businesses to lay down their money, only to prove that they could not meet the promises portrayed.
SEO expectations are a two-way street, and it's important for any SEO to lay them out clearly, and early, so the client doesn't think they'll be getting something they won't. In most cases, these high and/or impossible expectations come from SEO's trying to sell their service to the unsuspecting business owner. The SEO makes promises they know can't be met, but closing the sale is more important that full disclosure.
These types of SEO's, both large and small, are one of the reasons that many businesses have walked away soured on SEO altogether.
Managing Client Expectations
Over the years, my company has often been in the position of signing clients that came to us after having a bad experience with another SEO firm. I'm sure we're not alone in this, and I would imagine we've had a few former clients that have done the same after leaving our company as well. It's for this latter reason that I am always very careful about how I proceed with a new--or potential new--client that comes to us from another SEO company.
One of the things I'm often amazed to find out is that the clients often don't even know what their SEO is doing for them. They get periodic ranking reports, maybe the SEO asks them to make a change or two here and there, but by and large, the client has no idea how much (or how little) of an effort is being put into their website for optimization.
SEO can't always be done in a set number of hours per month. You might go on an SEO binge for a month and then let it rest for another. But, the client should always be kept in the loop from one month to the next. Even if it's just a quick email letting them know what's going on. But, even better are regularly scheduled reports that keep the client abreast of what's been worked on, what the successes have been, and even what the plans are for the month to come.
The tricky part is, if a contract calls for 50 hours of SEO involvement per month, the SEO may have some months where they are investing 80-100 hours. The client can easily get accustomed to this level of service and expect that each month henceforth. In reality, the 30-50 hours of overage will end up coming out of other months where the SEO works only 10-20 hours.
This can leave the client feeling as if the SEO stopped trying, when in reality, they are just letting the hours catch up to the work already performed. When the client doesn't understand this dynamic, they can easily become disenchanted with the performance of the SEO.
What are the client's expectations? The client may assume they are paying for top rankings, while the SEO believes the client is paying for hours invested with an expectation of certain results. The question is, are the client's and SEO's expected results in line with each other? Does the client understand that the budget is often a factor in how quickly
Monday, April 11, 2011
Google search quality is hiring
I wanted to mention that Google’s search quality team is hiring. We work on everything from synonyms and spell correction to core ranking, UI changes, evaluation, and yes–even webspam. The sorts of people that do really well in Google tend to be smart, personable, can work well in teams or independently, get things done, and take initiative. It helps to have a healthy balance of theory as well as the pragmatic ability to build/launch real systems.
If you’re a smart engineer who wants to work on interesting problems across the scale of the entire web, why not reach out? drop us an email? Contact joinsearch at google.com to reach the recruiters in search quality directly. The best way to apply is to through our search engineering page. If you’re a great engineer who would like to work at Google in search, I hope you’ll apply! (The majority of people in the search quality group are based in Mountain View, California, by the way.)
SEO's Start at a Disadvantage
SEO has gotten an ugly rep over the years. Some of it deserved, some not so much. Unfortunately, many good SEO's get lumped into the same category as the bad ones. Kinda like lawyers, I suspect.
For years, SEO has been relatively easy to jump into, and "expert" SEO firms have appeared virtually overnight, only to disappear a few months later. The other day I talked with a friend who was hired by an SEO firm to be in charge of opening new branch offices. According to him, this company has an incredibly streamlined and automated SEO "process", that has them growing like gangbusters. Each month they are opening a new office in a new location!
I've been around the block a few times, but this is a first for me. I've not seen any (legitimate) SEO company that is growing so fast they need a new location every month. Unfortunately, my buddy doesn't really have any industry experience. When I kindly mentioned the word scam, he assured me this is all legit. I have my doubts.
There may be more to this story that I'll find out later, but right now it smells. Many of these fly-by-night SEO's find ways to get businesses to lay down their money, only to prove that they could not meet the promises portrayed.
SEO expectations are a two-way street, and it's important for any SEO to lay them out clearly, and early, so the client doesn't think they'll be getting something they won't. In most cases, these high and/or impossible expectations come from SEO's trying to sell their service to the unsuspecting business owner. The SEO makes promises they know can't be met, but closing the sale is more important that full disclosure.
These types of SEO's, both large and small, are one of the reasons that many businesses have walked away soured on SEO altogether.
Managing Client Expectations
Over the years, my company has often been in the position of signing clients that came to us after having a bad experience with another SEO firm. I'm sure we're not alone in this, and I would imagine we've had a few former clients that have done the same after leaving our company as well. It's for this latter reason that I am always very careful about how I proceed with a new--or potential new--client that comes to us from another SEO company.
One of the things I'm often amazed to find out is that the clients often don't even know what their SEO is doing for them. They get periodic ranking reports, maybe the SEO asks them to make a change or two here and there, but by and large, the client has no idea how much (or how little) of an effort is being put into their website for optimization.
SEO can't always be done in a set number of hours per month. You might go on an SEO binge for a month and then let it rest for another. But, the client should always be kept in the loop from one month to the next. Even if it's just a quick email letting them know what's going on. But, even better are regularly scheduled reports that keep the client abreast of what's been worked on, what the successes have been, and even what the plans are for the month to come.
The tricky part is, if a contract calls for 50 hours of SEO involvement per month, the SEO may have some months where they are investing 80-100 hours. The client can easily get accustomed to this level of service and expect that each month henceforth. In reality, the 30-50 hours of overage will end up coming out of other months where the SEO works only 10-20 hours.
This can leave the client feeling as if the SEO stopped trying, when in reality, they are just letting the hours catch up to the work already performed. When the client doesn't understand this dynamic, they can easily become disenchanted with the performance of the SEO.
What are the client's expectations? The client may assume they are paying for top rankings, while the SEO believes the client is paying for hours invested with an expectation of certain results. The question is, are the client's and SEO's expected results in line with each other? Does the client understand that the budget is often a factor in how quickly results can be achieved? Or do
Gas prices in 'firing range' of all-time high
(CNN) -- Gas prices have jumped nearly 20 cents over the past two weeks, approaching the all-time high, according to a survey published Sunday.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular is $3.76, the Lundberg Survey found. The previous survey three weeks ago found an average of $3.57.
That means prices are now just 35 cents -- "within firing range" -- of the all-time high of $4.11 set in July 2008, said publisher Trilby Lundberg.
"This doesn't mean that we will get there," she said. "Crude oil will decide."
Crude prices have been impacted by the unrest in the Middle East, she said, but also by two other major underlying factors: increased demand in developing nations and the weak dollar.
"Unless crude oil relents and slips, we can expect a further rise at the pump because pump prices do not reflect all of the crude oil price hikes that have occurred," Lundberg said.
CNNMoney.com: All eyes on oil and earnings
The latest Lundberg survey, which tabulates prices at thousands of gas stations nationwide, took place on Friday. Of the cities surveyed that day, the lowest average price was in Tucson, Arizona, at $3.41. The highest average price was in the San Francisco Bay area at $4.13.
Here are the average prices in some other cities:
-- Chicago - $4.11
-- Seattle - $3.85
-- Boston - $3.71
-- Houston - $3.67
-- Atlanta - $3.61
-- Memphis, Tennessee - $3.56
-- Denver - $3.49
Gas prices in 'firing range' of all-time high
(CNN) -- Gas prices have jumped nearly 20 cents over the past two weeks, approaching the all-time high, according to a survey published Sunday.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular is $3.76, the Lundberg Survey found. The previous survey three weeks ago found an average of $3.57.
That means prices are now just 35 cents -- "within firing range" -- of the all-time high of $4.11 set in July 2008, said publisher Trilby Lundberg.
"This doesn't mean that we will get there," she said. "Crude oil will decide."
Crude prices have been impacted by the unrest in the Middle East, she said, but also by two other major underlying factors: increased demand in developing nations and the weak dollar.
"Unless crude oil relents and slips, we can expect a further rise at the pump because pump prices do not reflect all of the crude oil price hikes that have occurred," Lundberg said.
CNNMoney.com: All eyes on oil and earnings
The latest Lundberg survey, which tabulates prices at thousands of gas stations nationwide, took place on Friday. Of the cities surveyed that day, the lowest average price was in Tucson, Arizona, at $3.41. The highest average price was in the San Francisco Bay area at $4.13.
Here are the average prices in some other cities:
-- Chicago - $4.11
-- Seattle - $3.85
-- Boston - $3.71
-- Houston - $3.67
-- Atlanta - $3.61
-- Memphis, Tennessee - $3.56
-- Denver - $3.49
Friday, April 8, 2011
STAND WITH ANNA HAZARE
220,595 have signed. Wow we hit our 100,000 signature goal in 15 hours!! Let's get to 500,000
Campaign launched on 7 April 2011
Right now, Anna Hazare, a 73-year-old Gandhian, sits fasting in the burning sun, and he will stay until death -- unless the government agrees to consider a powerful law that could rid Indian politics of the scourge of corruption.
This “Modern Mahatma” is taking the utmost act of courage and determination to push through a bill that would give an independent body the power to punish corruption -- even in the Prime Minister’s office. Across the country a movement has exploded, driving a media storm of pressure that’s engulfing Singh. But dirty politicians are desperately trying to water down or kill the law.
For the first time in forty three years, we have the chance to change the way politics is done. Let's join together and stand with Anna Hazare to tackle corruption and clean up Indian politics. We have no time to lose -- sign the petition to be delivered directly to Prime Minister Singh and reported to the media, and spread the word to everyone:
Click here to sign the petition!
Hazare is championing a citizen-developed bill called “Jan” Lokpal that will create an independent body, selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities, with enough power to investigate and punish all politicians. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence its investigations.
Since 1968, when this bill was first introduced, greedy politicians have thwarted its passing. Now the government is pushing for a watered down Lokpal with no hope of ending fraud, vice and dishonesty -- it gives politicians overriding power to decide who will be investigated, and is a complete sellout.
Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Singh to endorse the "Jan" Lokpal. Members of the opposition party have begun to make the right noises in support of Anna Hazare. And even the National Advisory Council, a powerful advisory body to Sonia Gandhi have come out in favour of the bill. But corrupt politicians and vested interests are doing all they can to kill it.
Anna Hazare has set the example. But only a national citizens movement can ramp up the pressure to get Singh to endorse “Jan” Lokpal and save Hazare's life.
Click here to sign the petition!
Corruption in politics has become a plague across our country, it is draining our resources and demoralizing our nation. This bill would go a long way to deterring those that steal and undermine the public good. Last year, the Avaaz community in Brazil won an important victory -- against the odds millions of people came together and pushed through a historic anti-corruption law. India has a proud history of people power overcoming oppression -- today if we all stand with one voice we can fight this corruption that is poisoning our political system.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Indian style in desert city
The fashion fervour has set in in full swing. If the ongoing fashion week in the city is keeping the style savvy in spirits, there’s more in store later this month. The upcoming Dubai Fashion Week (April 19 - 23) will have an inimitable Indian flavour with many of our home-grown designers all set to showcase their collections in the desert city.
The strong Indian designer contingent that is Dubai bound this month, shortly after the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week is over, comprises of Delhi based designers such as Gaurav Gupta, Reynu Taandon, Hemant and Nandita. Other designers such as Ekta Singh, Meher and Riddhima will also be part of the showcase. And designer Raajesh Pratap Singh will carry the torch of the grand finale at the Dubai Fashion Week.
Designer Reynu Taandon who’s not participating in the ongoing WIFW says, “I have set up a stall at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week so that I do not miss out on making my presence. For the fashion week in Dubai I have come up with an exciting collection that reflects the sensibilities of the place. My collection for the Dubai show is all about the jungle resort look. There will be lot of kaftans in georgette, embellished with African embroidery.”
Dubai is the city of buyers, which is another reason for the designers’ strong interest in the city. “Dubai has a lot of buyers so it’s always good to showcase in such places. I’m going to showcase the holiday collection which emphasises on kaftans, tunics, lots of zebra print with tribal embroidery,” says designer Nandita from the designer duo Hemant and Nandita. Another reason that draws Indian designers to the city is that they consider Dubai to be more fashion forward as compared to India. Designer Gaurav Gupta who’s participating at Dubai Fashion week buys that thought completely.
“Dubai is cosmopolitan and fashion forward for sure. The fashion sensibility of the people there is very modern. Keeping that in mind, my collection is semi-couture with interesting detailing and contemporary designs,” says Gupta. Designer Nandita adds, “They demand for trendy and attractive clothes. For them fashion comes above comfort unlike Indians.”
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Keep your eyes to yourself
There’s an unwritten rule followed by nearly all city dwellers—never make eye contact. If you attempt to do so, your glance will be met with utter disregard. You do not exist, other than being an object to avoid. I learned this the hard way. Upon moving to San Francisco from Minnesota—the friendliest of all possible places—I would attempt to make eye contact with strangers on the street out of courtesy. In Minnesota, this is commonplace. There, my glances were often met with a polite smile or a courteous “hello.” In San Francisco—even on streets that were anything but crowded—they were ignored with complete indifference.
Imagine, then, my surprise when I learned of San Francisco’s reputation as a friendly city. If San Francisco is considered friendly, I thought, then I’m steering clear of New York. I mused that such indifference to others must be an artifact of city life. That’s not to say there aren’t friendly people there—it’s true that San Franciscans are a generally genial bunch once you get them off the sidewalk, as are the New Yorkers I’ve met and nearly every other person from a big city. But when I’m in a small town, things sure do feel different. Walking down the street is no longer a sterile affair. It’s no family reunion, but it is degrees warmer than in cities. Still, my own experiences weren’t enough to convince me that this could be a universal trend.
Luckily, my hunch was proved correct the other day by a study which compared the rates of eye contact among people in central Philadelphia, suburban Bryn Mawr, and rural Parkesburg. The study’s authors parked two college students—a guy and a girl—outside a post office and a store in each location for two hours. The students counted the number of people who made eye contact and if anyone said “hello,” “how are you,” or the like. Lo and behold, rural Parkesburg held true to the small town stereotype. Between 70 and 80 percent of passersby glanced at the stationary students in the Parkesburg, while just 10 to 20 percent did in Philadelphia. Bryn Mawr’s pedestrians fell predictably in the middle, with around 40 to 50 percent making eye contact.
The rural types were also much more likely to say something to the strangers. One quarter of people in Parkesburg opened their mouths in greeting, while just three percent did for Bryn Mawr and Philadelphia combined. (The city center was by far the least friendly—only one person said something to each person at both the post office and the store.) In addition, everyone who did say something did make eye contact.
The study’s authors contemplated a few possible explanations for why the city dwellers were so hesitant to make eye contact. They favored the sensory overload hypothesis—that people in big cities are surrounded by too many people, noises, and other distractions—though they also speculated that city folk may fear strangers more or that small town people may be more curious about strangers. They also touched on the idea that city people are more hurried than either suburban or small town people. This notion has been covered both before and since by a number of different researchers. In general, people in larger cities do tend to walk faster, so there may be some truth to this.
Whatever the reason, I admit I exhaled a slight sigh of relief when I discovered that science confirmed my suspicions. San Franciscans, New Yorkers, Londoners—no matter how friendly they are underneath, suffer the same aversion to eye contact as other big cities. Small towns do feel friendlier.
TEPCO stops leak of radioactive water into Pacific
FUKUSHIMA —
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) succeeded in stopping highly radioactive water from leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant early Wednesday morning after injecting a chemical agent, it said.
In a bid to stem the leak, TEPCO injected about 6,000 liters of ‘‘water glass,’’ or sodium silicate, and another agent around a seaside pit located near the plant’s No. 2 reactor water intake, through which the highly radioactive water had been leaking heavily.
The leak has apparently seriously contaminated the marine environment, as a seawater sample taken near the water intake Saturday showed a radioactive iodine-131 concentration of 7.5 million times the maximum level permitted under law.
As the first case of contamination levels in seafood have exceeded the limit, radioactive cesium over the limit was detected in young launce in the sea near the northern part of Ibaraki Prefecture.
The highly radioactive water has been filling up the basement of the No. 2 reactor turbine building and the trench connected to it. The water, believed to have come from the No. 2 reactor core, where fuel rods have partially melted, ended up in the pit.
In order to make room for the storage of the highly contaminated water, TEPCO also continued to dump low-level contaminated water into the sea.
While officials have said the crack in a maintenance pit plugged was the only one found, they have not explicitly ruled out that radioactive water is leaking into the sea from another point.
Authorities insisted the radioactive water would dissipate and posed no immediate threat to sea creatures or people who might eat them. Most experts agreed.
Radiation concerns in the area intensified after the discovery over the weekend of the crack, which photos showed water pouring out of and splashing into the sea.
Since then, workers have raced to find a way to seal it, pouring in concrete and injecting a mixture of polymer, sawdust and shredded newspaper. Both failed.
But TEPCO spokesman Naoki Tsunoda said the injection of 400 gallons (1,500 liters) of “water glass,” or sodium silicate, and another agent near a seaside pit appeared to be successful.
It was a rare bit of good news for the utility that owns the crippled nuclear plant. But highly contaminated water continues to pool around the complex. Tsunoda said officials were investigating whether the contaminated water is leaking from other places.
Japan nuke plant spews more radiation into sea
16:00 JST April 5: Radiation in seawater at the shoreline off Japan's tsunami-ravaged nuclear power plant has measured several million times the legal limit over the past few days, though officials contended Tuesday that the contamination still does not pose an immediate danger.
Radiation has been pouring in to the Pacific from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake spawned a massive tsunami that inundated the complex. Over the weekend, workers there discovered a crack where highly contaminated water was spilling directly into the ocean.
Experts have said that radiation dissipates quickly in the vast Pacific, but they have also said that it's unclear what the long-term effects of large amounts of contamination will be.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday that samples taken from seawater near one of the reactors contained 7.5 million times the legal limit for radioactive iodine on April 2. Two days later, that figure dropped to 5 million.
TEPCO said in a statement that even the large amounts would have "no immediate impact" on the environment but added that it is working to stop the leak as soon as possible.
The readings were taken closer to the plant than before - apparently because new measuring points were added after the crack was discovered - and did not necessarily reflect a worsening of the contamination. Other measurements several hundred meters farther away from the plant have declined to levels about 1,000 times the legal limit.
Radiation measurements from Tokyo Electric Power Co. were called into question last week, and the nuclear safety agency ordered the utility to reanalyze its samples. As a result, some figures were held back and several days worth of measurements were released Tuesday.
Radioactivity is pouring into the ocean in part because workers at the plant have been forced to use a makeshift method of bringing down temperatures and pressure by pumping water into the reactors and allowing it to gush out wherever it can. It is a messy process, but it is preventing a full meltdown of the fuel rods that would release even more radioactivity into the environment.
It means means water is pooling throughout the plant, and some of it is making its way to the ocean. Workers are now desperately trying to find a place to store it because it is also preventing them from restoring normal cooling systems.
Starting late Monday, they have been pumping more than 3 million gallons of less contaminated water into the sea in order to make room in a storage facility for the more highly radioactive water. That process is expected to take two days.
Friday, April 1, 2011
10+ Points About Google +1
Google +1 hit the press yesterday and many are wondering whether Google can get a truly social product off the ground. However, the product announcement is more of an invitation to join an experiment rather than a Google-wide launch.
The success of Google +1 really is in our hands. Here is a summary of the fundamentals:
1. It's just a voting button for search results pages.
In line with Google's latest social strategy, Google +1 is a social layer for search results pages, rather than a proper social network.
2. Everyone needs a Google Profile to use it.
Yet, it sort of is a social network because it can only be used by users with a public Google profile. Anyone who uses any Google products, already has a Google Profile, but it has to be upgraded to be made public.
Strictly speaking Google +1 is not a social network. At this stage it is more like a collaborative set of tools for users of Google products.
However, pay attention because, the bad news is that regardless of whether you want to use Google +1 or not, all Google Profiles will go public or be deleted July 31.
3. +1's are shared publicly, but can be undone.
Anything you +1 gets shared publicly with your 'social circles'. This means that people you are directly connected to will see, where relevant, what content you +1 and anyone visiting your public profile will also see everything you +1.
However, any +1 you make can be undone, both in the search engine results pages and in your public Google Profile. The +1 tab in your profile can also be made private - but it is important to note that it just hides the aggregated view of what you personally vote up, not the +1's themselves.
In all cases, anything you +1 is public in the Google search results pages unless you manually undo it.
4. Your 'social circle' will see your +1's.
Who gets to see what you +1 is defined by your social circle. Essentially your social circle is dictated by the Google products you use and any web apps that you use that use Google Profiles authentication (similar to Facebook Connect or Login with Twitter).
You can manage who can see your +1 activity via your profile dashboard - you need to scroll down to the "Social Circle and Content" section. There you can edit your social connections and your social content connections. The former is who you know in your Gmail contacts book and the latter is services you are connected to using Google Profile authentication (e.g. Blogger, Youtube and external services such as Quora).
It is worth noting that the social graph of Google +1 is exactly the same as the social graph of the fated Google Buzz.
5. You will see total +1 counts for sites you are not socially connected to.
Although personally identifiable +1's will only be shown to people you know, you will also see general counts for URLs in the search engine results pages (SERPs) which have received many +1's. This will be display is the same way as the 'shared by' counts which appear in universally targeted Google News results.
6. Paid search ads can be +1'd.
One fairly unique feature of Google +1 is that ads can receive votes. In effect, this means users can bookmark ads. Social buttons in search ads would mean social clicks could potentially turn into earned media (which in turn impacts social networks). Could +1 be the 'killer app' for Google's Pay-per-click business?
SEW expert, Alex Cohen, posed these questions on how +1 buttons might affect paid search campaigns to Jim Prosser, Manager, Global Communications & Public Affairs at Google:
How will +1 on ads impact Quality Score?
+1 does not change how we calculate Quality Score. As always, we look at an ad's performance relative to that of other ads for the same query, position, and UI treatment. However, while advertiser performance will of course vary, we believe that +1's may increase CTR, which would positively affect high quality ads.
Will advertisers ever be able to opt-out of it?
The +1 button and personalized annotations are the default experiences for all signed-in Google.com users searching in US English. If advertiser
Acquisition Marketers And The SEO ROI Dilemma
After over 12 years practicing the art of SEO, and selling SEO services to clients, I thought the industry had reached a stage of “acceptance”.
But there is still a very smart group of people out there that are doubters – The Acquisition Marketers.
SEO Personality Types
Company executives and owners have varying degrees of sophistication when it comes to understanding why SEO is important, or why it should be an important part of the marketing mix. I would break down the most common personality types as follows:
Me Too – My competitors are doing it, I will too.
The Rank Hound – I want to be #1 for my favorite keyword because I know it’s important (without any proof to back it up).
The Small Portfolio Ranker – I understand that there are a number of relevant keywords that appear to drive business for us, let’s attack them as a group.
The More, The Merrier – Capturing the long-tail is an important part of driving relevant visitors to our site, and they are more likely to be buyers.
Doing Great, Just Need A Bit More - Our SEO is performing well for us. It would be nice to push it up a notch or two, what’s the latest and greatest?
Been There, Done That – I’ve hired consultants before, and we just haven’t see the results we needed.
The “Been There, Done That” group is the closest to The Acquisition Marketers in terms of mindset. For the most part, these are sophisticated marketers, who use tight measurements to determine where to spend their marketing dollars.
ROI Focused Marketers Still Doubt
Stock image from Shutterstock, used under license
The surprising part for me in recent weeks is that there are many Acquisition Marketers who still doubt that investing in SEO is even worth the effort. And, they have not even given it a try.
In some sense, it’s the “paralysis by analysis” conundrum. As SEO practitioners, we have all been faced with the question of “what’s the ROI?”
In my last article, 10 Quick & Dirty SEO Success Metrics, I made the case that tracking SEO success can get messy when you look at attribution tracking, and that you may have to resort to some more basic measurements to prove success.
It is exactly this messy success tracking that makes Acquisition Marketers hesitant to invest in SEO.
The Case For SEO As An Acquisition Vehicle
So, here’s my case for why SEO is a necessary piece of Acquisition Marketing:
A well-executed SEO strategy requires crafting and generating valuable content, promoting that content, and finding ways for trusted resources to link to that content. It takes time to see organic search results.
In this process, the most likely scenario is that “The Rank Hound” will be disappointed, and the “The Small Portfolio Ranker” will begin to have doubts, but may see some positive signs. “The More, The Merrier” will see the breadth of keyword traffic begin to expand, and will be happy to see that progress. But, even “The More, The Merrier” will begin to question if the right tail keywords are bringing in traffic.
However, this entire SEO process is moving the acquisition dial in the right direction!
Acquisition benefits include:
Purchase Influencing. Quality content that is generated is positively influencing buyer behavior. Whether or not the content is found via a search engine (at the beginning), the content is still pushing website visitors closer to being buyers. By “content”, I don’t just mean written text (which is of course valuable) – great content will take many forms, including video, images, graphical depictions (including infographics), webinars, contests & promotions, local search assets (e.g. Google Places), and many other forms of great, creative, and convincing content.
Awareness. Visits from long-tail keywords, even if not the best-converting keywords, are building brand awareness, and planting the seed that your site is there for them to come back to. You may see this traffic come back to you in future visits in your analyitcs as “Direct/Bookmark” or search queries for your brand name. But, it wa
Japanese earthquake and tsunami top SA Google searches
South Africans flock online to find out more about the Japanese disaster that shocked the world
Natural disasters once again take prevalence on the list of fastest rising South African searches from the last 30 days.
Google Zeitgeist, a tool that provides insight into web searches, reveals that the earthquake and tsunami that took place in Japan on the 11th of March have captured five places on the list, after the quake in New Zealand took the top spot last month.
‘Japan earthquake’ comes in at number one, followed by ‘tsunami’ and ‘tsunami in Japan’. The last few places on the list focus on the current Cricket World Cup, with many South Africans still in mourning over the Proteas’ disappointing early exit from the tournament.
Fastest rising searches, last 30 days, South Africa
1. Japan Earthquake
2. Tsunami
3. Tsunami in Japan
4. Tsunami Japan
5. John Cena
6. Japan
7. CNN
8. Cricket Scores
9. Live Cricket
10. Cricinfo
The events in Japan also appear on the list of fastest rising Google image searches for the month of March 2011, indicating that many South Africans wanting to comprehend the extent of the disaster, turned to the Internet for visuals.
With multimedia sources becoming increasingly available, users also flocked to YouTube to see actual footage from the day. Videos such as ‘Tsunami slams Northeast Japan’ and ‘Powerful quake hits Japan’ have already received over 9 million and 5 million views respectively.
Despite global events, celebrities also feature on the image list - as always. Model Tracy McGregor appears in fourth position, perhaps because of the recent notoriety she received as Playboy South Africa’s first cover girl.
Vanessa Hudgens’ break-up with High School Musical veteran, Zac Efron, has also captured a lot of attention, with the young actress claiming the number seven spot. Controversial R&B artist, Chris Brown, takes eighth place amidst the media frenzy surrounding his recent backstage outburst after an interview on ‘Good Morning America’, an interview that he felt had focused too much on the Rihanna assault scandal.
Fastest rising image searches, last 30 days, South Africa
1. Japan Earthquake
2. Japan Tsunami
3. Japan Tsunami 2011
4. Tracy McGregor
5. Japan
6. Tsunami
7. Venessa Hudgens
8. Chris Brown
9. Smoking
10. Space