‘AdWords’

Google has the goal of ensuring faster and better search results for users. As such the search engine giant introduces new algorithms and changes to search result displays on a regular basis of which the most recent change has to do with sitelinks.

More Links Displayed

In the past the Google sitelinks were limited to about eight results, but now will be full-size and complete URLs. In addition, each sitelink now comes with a short text description which looks strikingly similar to normal search results and their descriptions delivered upon a search query.

Improved Search Results Display

The main idea of the sitelink is to help the user find sub-pages or links under a main domain. It is particularly useful for searching a large website even before getting to the landing page. With the sitelink the user can click on the relevant link and navigate directly to the sub domain or directory level of the website.

Brands Benefitted Most

The latest announcement by Google indicates that one can now expect up to twelve such links. In effect it will help the large brands to get the best results exposure and thus getter positioning at the organic SERP. With the system brand searches are definitely favoured and upcoming or unfamiliar brands will have to make more use of sponsored links – thus AdWords to get above the fold positioning at the organic SERPs. Top ranked sites will welcome the increase in sitelinks while small websites still struggling for position may find themselves even more alienated from the top of the fold positions.

Main Benefits of Sitelinks

The main benefits associated with sitelinks pertain to brand searches allowing the user to navigate to relevant pages within a website faster and thus increase the search functionality for the user. The intent of the searcher can be predicted better.  Brand owners benefit from sitelinks through more links now available, controlling searches to ensure that the users go to the relevant pages and also ensuring that the brand owner can display parts of a website which may have been overlooked without the sitelinking.

It boils down to top ranking. The better a site ranks, the more it will benefit from the additional links displayed. In effect only the number one site gets the benefit and thus all the more reason to fight for the top SERP spot. One should note that sitelinking favours brand searching rather than normal searches.

When Will the Sitelinks Benefit a Searcher?

If you for instance, want to know which movies show at a nearby movie theatre or want to get an idea of the exhibits displayed by a tradeshow host, you will be able to use the sitelinks. Although the ultimate goal of the search may be for some specific information, most searches start out broad.

Without the sitelinks the user may think that the results are not relevant, but with the links the user can get down to the specific pages because of the prediction of intend characteristics of the system. If the user wants to get an overview of the main or important pages of a site, the links listed will help a lot. Webmasters gain control over pages which may be missed the in normal searches.

How Have Sitelinks Changed?

Google has changed mainly the number of sitelinks (from eight to twelve) and the way they are organised. The links are now in columns for ease of reading and with more links listed, more access to the website is given. There are displays now for more search results. The links are now full sized URLs and with descriptions similar to normal search results, the user is aided in the search to locate a specific part of the site.

Algorithm Changes

Sitelink-rank is now combined with the normal SERP rank ensuring better quality in the lists. With the new algorithm duplication is avoided and the SERP is better organised. As such the results from the top ranking site will be organised under the top domain followed by the results of other sites.

Who will be able to see the Sitelink Changes?

Users with the updated Firefox browser, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 7 will be able to see the changes over the next couple of days.  Users with older browsers will not benefit at all.

The Top Changes Announced by Google

• The links are more visible with full size text and more distinguishable with a green URL.
• More links can be displayed. In the past a fixed number of links was displayed, but webmasters can now optimize for more link displays.
• Links can rank according to queries ensuring better results according to queries.
• Results from one domain in the past could show up in the normal search results as well as the sitelinks. Now the results from one domain will be listed under the top domain and thus make it easier to identify that the results are from one website.

More Webmaster Control

Google provides the webmaster with the required tools to manage the sitelinks for their sites. The webmaster can demote a link if it is not correct while the latest algorithms consider the demotions. One can also block a link and up to a hundred demotions can be made. Webmaster control is available in Google Webmaster Tools.

Areas Not Affected

One line links can still appear on multiple results and the links on ads don’t change.

In Summary of the Changes

Webmasters are encouraged to make use of the control features in Webmaster Tools to ensure accurate delivery of link results. The changes to sitelinks benefit brand searches the most and make for more reason to get top ranking in the natural search results for brand related queries. If a site is not yet in the top ranking, it is recommended that the webmaster makes use of sponsored links to appear above the line when queries are made. The changes in sitelinks have been made to improve search functionality and thus the user experience at Google. Evidently it will benefit the large brands and websites most.

The Google +1 button has been rolled out and received with mixed enthusiasm by website owners and AdWords advertisers. Many of the webmasters have already added the +1 button to their sites. No doubt, Google changes their search and indexing algorithms on a regular basis and keeping up with all the changes can be hard work. Google Buzz may very well disappear completely or if the company strategizes correctly, they may just combine the two ensuring more interactivity amongst searches.

If you haven’t placed the Google +1 button on your website yet, you will benefit from the tips and pieces of information about the new roll-out from Google.

Google +1 Button Will Influence Rankings

Google announced that the +1 feature will definitely be used in determining a web page relevance to a search string and thus also its ranking. Website owners will thus have to carefully consider the content of their sites and the keywords optimized for. Quality will count since the user will have the power to click on the button for liking the content. The button can almost be compared to the Facebook Like button, just with a bit more power.

How Does The User See The Google +1 Button?

When a searcher comes across a web page related to a specific search, they can simply click on the Google +1 button to recommend it as relevant to the search. The users must be logged in with their Google account to use the button and can set the public display in their profiles. The button and likes of a person will by default be publicly displayed unless set otherwise in the profile settings.

Users will see recommendations from contacts below their search results, helping them to get more relevant search results. The moment the user clicks the button, the content will appear in the user’s profile at Google under the Google +1 button tab. It can be seen in 44 languages, but the annotations will only be visible in English.

Is The Google +1 Button The Same As Google Buzz?

The +1 feature is not intended as a conversation tool whereas the Google Buzz feature has been created to promote conversation about interesting topics or web content found by searchers. Up to now, it has not been used widely and many website owners have already replaced it with the +1 feature, seen as more relevant to searches.

How Will The +1 Button Feature On A Website?

Google provides the website owner or AdWords advertiser with several styles and sizes to select from. If a site owner has a bit of technical knowledge, more customisation can be done to the button. One can add several +1 buttons to a single web page at various places. If a user clicks one, it will mean a recommendation for the whole page. Google has suggested placement of the +1 button near the page title and the links to be shared. In addition, you can place the button at the end of the page as well.

Google has given recommendations regarding faster loading speed such as placement of the script tag at the end of the page before the closing of the page body tag. It is worth keeping in mind since loading time of a page is also considered regarding page ranking. When it comes to AdWords, the +1 annotations will appear next to the headlines.

Where Will The Button Also Be Visible?

The Google +1 button will be visible under the Share at YouTube, and will also be visible at the Blogger, Android Market and the Google Product Search facility. It is not available for mobile search at the moment, but Google most probably will add the feature to the mobile search in the near future.

How To Add The Button At A Blogger Site

Simply click on the Page Elements under Design on the blog dashboard and once you have located the blog posting area, you can edit by selecting the share buttons option where the +1 button can also be found.

Why Place The Google +1 Button At Your Web Pages, Blog Posts And Search Ads?

According to Google, adding the button to your pages, AdWords and blog posts, you ensure that your pages and ads will be immediately visible. By giving your visitors more opportunities to plus one your content, you increase the chances of more relevant traffic to your site. This is so because the plus one annotations will be visible in the search results. The idea is that people are more likely to click on search results with plus one annotations than those not reviewed and recommended.

Terms Of Usage

Google by now has learned that SEO marketers and web publishers don’t take long before they get shortcuts regarding Google features. As such the company has created strict rules and regulations for the usage of the Google +1 button. One for instance, may not entice a visitor in any way to click on the +1 button. Publishers may also not try to discover who used the button unless the user has allowed sharing of such information with the publishers. Publishers cannot give awards in return for clicking on the + 1 buttons.

Analytics For The Feature Are Not Yet Available

Although you will not be able to use Google Analytics for the +1 button yet, Google is working on such to ensure that website owners will be able to get information on the demographics and content clicked for. In future then, webmasters will be able to use information derived from Google +1 button clicks to improve their web content and marketing strategies.

Should You Ignore Or Use?

The Google +1 button is a social sharing feature, something at which Google has not been able to succeed thus far. Considering that web pages are now almost cluttered with all the social sharing buttons, one may be sceptical regarding usage of the +1 by users.

Although people use the Like feature for Facebook, they tend to be less concerned about what their friends search for and will want to search for regarding organic searches. On the other hand, a +1 annotation or more can certainly help to improve visibility in the search results and as such we recommend that you add the button to your pages and ads sooner rather than later.

Let us handle the process should you struggle to add the new Google +1 feature to all your web pages.

Google announced its Google Instant feature on September 8, 2010. It has certainly rocked the SEO world with hundreds of bloggers and web marketers speculating about the possible outcomes for SEO. Some have said that Google Instant will kill SEO, while others commented that it would certainly change search behaviour, and thus keyword selection for both organic searches and AdWords. To fully understand the possible implications for SEO and web marketing, one must also review how the user is affected by the new feature and why Google has introduced it.

What Is Google Instant?

It is a new improved search feature allowing for the displaying of results as a user enters the search into the search box. The idea behind the technology is to improve search relevancy and decrease search time. Google claims that the Google Instant feature can reduce search time with up to five seconds on each search. For the busy user, it will most certainly ensure better time management, but will the results be better?

Doing a few searches on terms, it has become obvious that in most cases the dynamic nature of the enhancement does allow for more relevant search results. Google argues that people read quicker than they can type. With that in mind, possible searches are immediately listed allowing for the user to select one of the suggestions or to complete the key phrase. As such a user will be able to ignore the suggestions. With the dynamic nature of the search facility, Google Instant picks up on the search behaviour of the individual and will adapt suggestions to be more relevant as it learns.

Users no longer need to complete the search phrase and enter before they get an idea of what is available. Google displays the possible search phrases as the user types. If the search phrase is close enough to what the user had in mind, the likelihood for someone typing the whole phrase before entering diminishes. The user can adapt search strategies on the go and will not need to first glance at a page for results before adapting the search. By quickly glancing at possible phrases or keywords, immediate, and more relevant searches, can be applied.

Benefits Of Google Instant For The User

- Quicker searching and thus time savings.
- Suggestions based on AI predictions provide search guidance.
-The most relevant suggestion is visible in light grey directly in the search box allowing the user to stop typing and simply entering for display of results.
- While typing results will appear, allowing for more time savings.
-The user can immediately identify whether the search results will be relevant.
- Since the user still has the choice of turning the feature off, the more conventional static search facility is still available.
- The user can still filter results with the Safe Search facility to protect against offensive language and sites. User control is thus still intact.
- Search as you type allows for glancing at the results as a user types. Since a person can still glance and take in information while typing, the results will be better.
- None of the functions of the Google search page are lost.
- Higher level of interactivity for the user.
- The less sophisticated user will be able to get better results while the advanced searcher will be able to use the predictions for quickly narrowing in on results.

The benefits of Google Instant for the user are obvious. One may ask why Google has decided to change the way searching is done when clearly everyone was used to the static searches. The answer is obviously for better results, but really thinking about it, it all boils down to staying ahead of the pack. Google needs to ensure highly relevant search results and will thus need to constantly change the interface for improvement of such. Since most website owners have begun to optimize, the web now consists of billions of well optimized pages competing for the same keywords. One may consider whether search results are that relevant with static searches at the end of the day. The feature is thus a welcoming change allowing for natural query language combined with settings of predicted keyword phrases.

Implications For Paid Searching (AdWords)

Advertisers paying for the total page impressions may in future find that their click through rates will be affected while the amount spent on Adwords increase. Such advertisers may want to consider changing their payment to that of payment for click through rate rather than page impressions. The Quality Score may thus be affected by the increase in impressions. The safety net according to Google however, is that for an action to count as an impression the user must click, enter or search the advert or must at least pause for viewing of the associated SERP. This pause period must be at least three seconds which should thus balance out the possibility of Quality Score being affected. Theoretically then, impressions should decrease rather than increase. Unfortunately advertisers will have to give it time to see the real impact of Google Instant on their page impression rates.

The two word key string may still keep its popularity amongst users and the advertisers. Users refine their two word key string (mid tail) searches as they type even when Google provides predictions until they see the phrase that they want. In this instance, not much change is expected in the sponsored clicks and web marketers are expected to keep the same strategy in keyword selection when it comes to Google Instant as they have used with the classic Google approach.

Long or Short Tail?

Since prediction suggestions may appear after the user has typed the first word in a keyword string, websites optimized for single keywords rather than phrases may be pushed up in the search results of organic searches. The sponsored ads appearing on the search results page may thus refer to the first keyword in a string and as such advertisers will have to make sure that they select single keywords for their AdWords campaigns as well. The advertiser thus must make sure that the user sees the advert earlier rather than later. This however, could also cost the advertiser more than for a longer keyword string. The cost per click may increase for the advertiser focussing on this type of strategy. AdWords campaign managers will have to monitor the process over a period to assess whether shorter and thus broader terms bring better results for them than the longer, but more specific key strings. Weighing the costs will thus be a major consideration in selecting the shorter and broader terms or going for less traffic, but more targeted and perhaps also cheaper traffic by means of the long tail method.

Brands To Get More Exposure in Paid Ads

Brands, related to a specific industry, may experience more impressions and thus higher click through rates. This may influence the quality score and they may pay for it. To prevent brands from suffering under the new search system, the quality score assessment done by Google will have to be adapted in future. Some believe that indeed, brand bias exists with the new system, providing some brands preference related to a specific industry over others. A brand with the industry name included in the brand name from the start of the word will thus get more untargeted traffic while others related to the same industry without the industry name in the brand name right at the beginning of the name, will experience less traffic. It is thus a two edged sword. Either a brand gets high volume traffic, but not targeted or gets less traffic, but also less exposure.

Brands Thus Have More Preference With Google Than Generic Terms

If a campaign manager has hoped to make the most of generic terms, the bad news is that there is a bias towards brand names when it comes to brand versus generic terms. Both will have to be targeted, but some brands will definitely lose as explained earlier.

Paid Ads Will Experience Visitor Traffic Differences

As explained, several shifts in keyword traffic can be expected for paid ads. Google for instance, may show ads for related companies near a specific location when a user types in such a search. A search for Johannesburg may lead to Google showing guesthouses near Johannesburg. As such Johannesburg guesthouses may get more impressions and the term guesthouses may experience a reduction in impressions. Time will tell.

Ads Displayed While A Search Is Typed

In the past Google has displayed public ads and other ads when there were no relevant ads to a search or particular website content. The feature is now to display ads as the user types. The paid ads campaign manager will want to get in on the displayed ads and as such research will have to be done. The idea should be to have one’s ad displayed while the user is still typing the search. Keyword research for organic searches must thus be done as well as for the possible suggestions by Google. The marketers will have to assess which types of ads will be displayed while the user types the search and make sure their ads are also displayed during the period. It means a lot of hard work ahead for most.

How Does Google Instant Change SEO?

With searching behaviour changed, SEO has to be adapted. Companies able to change their optimization of web pages quickly enough to reflect such will thus get the top rankings first. It is generally accepted that the single website owner doing optimization will at the end of the day see a decline in traffic. The larger website owners making use of SEO companies and specialists will thus definitely have an advantage. The secret will be to change optimization and keyword selection over the next couple of months to reflect the new searching behaviour of users.

The good news for SEO companies is that organic searches will not fall away. The users will be able to view more search results in one session. The predictions and streaming make it possible to quickly change a search to be more relevant to the intended query. Google thus leads the users in searches. We may even see users become more sophisticated in their search techniques based on the displaying of predictions by Google.

Users will still however, use Google organic searches for information retrieval. This means that just as in the past, when the majority of people used the organic search facility of Google and a tenth of the users clicked on sponsored ads that the same will apply for future searches. The pages on the web will not change, and all that will happen is that for some websites the traffic may decrease and for others it will increase. A well ranked site in the classic Google environment will also rank well in future whether or not Google Instant is applied.

Searching Behaviour Of Users Will Influence Key Strings

The head and long traffic may decrease while the fat tail traffic increase may become more. This will be the case as Google Instant provides predictions which may lead a user to be more specific. If someone for instance, types in Seychelles, predictions such as Seychelles holidays or Seychelles diving may prompt them to be a bit more specific. The users applying a specific approach such as typing Seychelles romantic holidays may be prompted to be less specific through predictions such as Seychelles holidays.
With the interactivity gained with Google Instant, the user may become less willing to scroll down to the bottom of the page or to the second page for more results. As such, the top five search results will get more traffic than before. Generic pages which are also well ranked, may in future far out perform the more specialised, but lower ranked pages. The trend may be caused by the predictions which are supplied by Google when the first three letters of the keyword is typed in.

How Does Google Instant Affect Natural Searches?

Advanced searchers may continue searching with the Boolean Operator style and sophisticated methods, but they are in the minority. Since most searchers make use of natural language queries, SEO specialists may have to reconsider their optimization strategies. Whereas a long phrase would have been used in the past directly, the user now gets predictions even before the first and second words are completed. As such users may often opt for mid tail predictions. Since natural language is so dynamic, it may take a long time before users typing in the whole long string will be able to find exactly what they want through the long tail method. Google has to adapt and predict more. So for now, it will still be the shorter phrases that will steal the limelight.

How Important Will Rankings Be?

Top rankings will become even more important than before. The top five results will become the focus point as the SERP has to be moved down to show the search suggestions. The user thus will always be able to see the top ranked results and in most likelihood will select from the first five more often than before.

Has Google Regained Control Over Keywords?

The answer must be yes. SEM and SEO specialists have tried their best to keep up with the many index algorithms of Google and many have succeeded. This of course, also compromised the search results as more manipulation of search results could take place by skilled SEM and SEO specialists. Google has taken an important step in regaining control over the search results by now recommending the most likely and relevant phrases to the user.

What Should the SEO Do To Make The Most of Head Terms?

Considering that the head terms will play an extremely important role in keyword searches and traffic to a site, the SEO may have to focus more on the one word head term to drive as much as possible natural search traffic to a website. The SEO must do several searches, and exceptional keyword research to find out which natural language phrases are used most and optimize for that. This inevitably means more work on the part of the SEO to find out which suggestions or predictions are offered by Google at every stage of a keystroke for a particular keyword and keyword string search. Top five ranking must be gained for the particular suggestions to ensure that the users click on a particular site. The rest of the sites will get the breadcrumbs, and although such may still be high, a drop in traffic can be expected if the SEO and SEM do not adapt their optimization and marketing strategies.

With the expectation being that more people will do fewer searches or never finish their intended searches before clicking on an ad or organic search result because of a suggestion or display of ads made by Google, the SEO and SEM will have to be adapted to such. You will thus focus on head terms, brand terms and of course, ensure top five ranking.

Some Other Considerations When It Comes to Google Instant

People have raised concerns about possible slowing down of their Internet because of Google Instant. Google has indicated that it would not happen and when compared to other web services including video, the connectivity will be fast. Google also said that they tried to minimize the data sent versus data receive ratio during each search. Some users still have slower connections, and they are the ones that will be negatively affected, but then can turn the feature off. The feature requires Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3, Google Chrome 5 or 6 and Safari 5 for Mac. Many users may still make use of older browser versions and may thus not be able to utilize the full potential of the system. The classic way of searching will thus not completely fall away, and as such the SEO and SEM must decide whether or not they will still optimize for the old way of doing things as well.

In summary one has to look at:
• Browser capabilities of the user.
• User preferences – such as still wanting to use the classic search methods.
• Internet connectivity speed.
• Natural language versus Boolean search usage.
• Possible Google predictions for every keystroke.
• Brand names and generic terms.
• Traffic shifting.
• Top five ranking.
• Head terms, middle tail and long tail searches.

With the roll-out of Google Instant, a new playing field has opened. It will be up to SEO and SEM marketing teams to make the most of the feature. Those who fail to adapt their optimization and paid ad strategies will be pushed to the edges. For a site on the Internet competing for the top five positions, such a push could mean the end of the site or the ad campaign.

Smaller sites or companies with less capital and resources to spend on such will suffer while the big guns will get bigger. The secret to survival will thus be to get a top SEO or SEM team or company to be on the job of getting your site in the top five rankings for every head, middle and long tail search. In addition, you must ensure that your site ads are also displayed while the user types. Adapt or die will be the phrase for future SEO. The king of the Internet – content, is certainly not dead. The SEO and SEM will just have to make sure that the user gets to see that content, and once at a landing page, the user must not have reason to leave without subscribing, coming back, recommending or buying.

Making the most of Google Instant is the focus of iLeadOnline. We welcome the initiatives of Google and closely monitor the influence of its features on search behaviour, and thus optimization, for paid ads and organic searches. Contact us today to help you get to the top five rankings.

As SEO (search engine optimization) specialists it is important that we are always abreast of all things online, especially when it comes to Google. Everyday innovative ideas come to the forefront, adding to the competitiveness of online advertisers. The advertising industry in itself is rapidly growing and evolving too, which is why Google is working with the various types of advertising agencies, such as SEMs to the more traditional agencies, to ensure the overall success of online advertising.

To ensure that the standards of Google’s advertisers within the online advertising world always remain as high as possible, they created the certification programme.  This rigorous training programme trains and tests online specialists’ proficiency in AdWords. Recently Google decided that it was time to raise the bar however, with their new Google AdWords Certification programme, which is taking the place of their well known Google Advertising Professionals (GAP) programme.

If you know anything about Google you’d know that they are all about constant development and innovative ideas, and by creating this new programme they are affording advertisers, like the iLead SEO team, with the opportunity to advance their skills greatly. In turn this will obviously benefit the advertisers’ AdWords campaigns. In order to achieve this, AdWords professionals are required to follow Google’s rather difficult training programme that includes the most up-to-date, all-inclusive, strategy-focused information and material one could hope for on the latest tools, as well as the various practices to manage an AdWords account.

SEO professional training is available by way of the webinar series, learning centre or Google’s on-site training facility. Through these various ways iLead’s SEOs are able to create a better understanding of the latest changes in the manner which search marketing and AdWords functionalities operate.

If you think for one moment that you will be able to take on the more challenging certification exams without studying, you are sadly mistaken. It is tough and with the bar set very high, it is impossible to pass any of these exams by merely going on what you think you know. To begin with, the pass rates for the fundamental exams are 85%, while the more advanced tests require a minimum of 80% in order to pass. Moreover the fundamental exams aren’t merely on your knowledge of the practical application of the various tools and functionalities, but will also encompass the best practices when working on AdWords campaigns. Only once you’ve passed these will you be able to move on to the advanced-level exams wherein the specialist’s competency in analysis, display, search and reporting will be put to the test.

The iLead team of AdWords specialists will be taking on this gruelling task of writing the advanced-level exams in the upcoming month of August, 2010. Once all have passed they will be able to add the newly redesigned Certified Partner badge to their profiles.  This will allow the iLead clients, more noticeably referred to as the AdWords advertisers, to simply click on the badge in order to verify the qualification. In light of this we wish our team the very best for what is sure to be the most difficult test they are about to undertake.