1. Seeing Google’s big picture when it comes to algorithm changes.
2. How Google’s recent changes reflect a new attitude towards SEO’s.
3. What mechanism Google uses to disqualify duplicate content and how you can protect yourself.

It never stops changing, folks.  Google’s algorithm is the Bugs Bunny to an SEO world filled with Elmer Fudds.  Unless you’re going for some kind of a world record for BS-ing while scratching your head, you probably need a swift change of perspective that will keep you “in tune” with your white whale at all times.

Google’s algorithm will continue to be adjusted over time to fit one simple goal:  return the most relevant, helpful pages for any particular search.  To that end, there has been a dynamic shift in Google’s ability to attain this goal, changing from being a very reactive entity to one that is proactive.  Since there was such a low historical penetration within the internet space of proper SEO practices and a high prevalence of SEO trickery (or SEO mockery from Google’s perspective – note:  geeks hate mockery), Google’s major changes of the yester-year were laden with defense tactics, penalties and black/white thinking.

But what formerly seemed like a very emo view of the world has changed to one that is much more in-line with the hyperbolic hopefulness of generation-Obama.  Google is starting to see that SEO is not an island, but rather a part of a much larger organism of the internet.  This mentality is reflected in a few changes that I’ve seen recently:

Part I: Content is more important than ever before.

Google will always believe that people searching on the internet are, by majority, seeking knowledge and information.  Do you agree?  I personally do still, but also think it’s starting to change towards entertainment and shopping.  I think that regardless of what a person is looking for, they are bound to at least peruse content on a page.  Having unique content (150+ words) is more important now that I can ever remember.  Keeping up is akin to allowing your page to face search users.

Your Next Step: Write content for pages that deserve more face-time on the search engines.

Part II: Duplicate content is undervalued more heartlessly than it was in the past.

It’s simply a matter of keeping up with inflation, that’s all!  Google chooses 10 results for the first page SERP and they’re not going to stop. After that, results only really matter till we hit the 100th result mark. So when your google SERP says “Results 1-10 of about 1,000,000″ or even “… of about 1,000,000,000″ – to Google, everything past the first 100 or so is just a waste of space. They can’t control how much content is being places on sites, but they do have the freedom to control how many of those page are pulled into the index – specifically, how much duplicate content is allowed within the index. I call their control mechanism the “duplicate content threshold” because it makes sense to call it that. Here’s how I believe it work: in the example below, 675 pages are all constructed based on one original piece of information.  Of those pages, 500 are directly copied.  At the other extreme, only 5 pages truly wrote that content from scratch, with just the original idea in mind.  The duplicates are 100% identical to the original content, when the “from scratch” pages are only 40% similar.

So if your re-writes once passed the test by being less than 90% similar to the content you nearly plagiarized in the past, now the cut off may be something more like 80%.  It’s a very easy mechanism for Google to seek high quality in an inflating pool of options.  It’s just a matter of Google adjusting a setting on their duplicate content threshold and all of a sudden, they no longer need to house tons of duplicate content. Below, we see that by changing the threshold from 95% to 80%, they only need to serve up 6 of the 675 pages that were all based on the original content.

Your Next Step: Write that new content from scratch and don’t cut corners now, just to get penalized later.

Part III: Do No Evil.  Just Do The Work.

Obviously there’s more to the store, but this is what matters on the content side and it should give you an idea of how you can prepare for the future.  Think like Google and she will like you – build your relationship on trust and understanding and she’ll be yours forever.

Your Next Step: Embrace the good and do no evil.

From my own experience I have noticed that trying to get into Google’s coveted local map results is quite a different animal compared to traditional SEO. For example, Exclusive Concepts has been working with a law office that ranks for many competitive terms in their niche. A few months ago this attorney made it a priority for us to get him listed in the Google maps results for his key term/city. No problem, right?

The problem with the Google local listings is that it is still such a new technology that I am not sure even Google knows the best way to rank these sites. Plus, there is so much contradictory information on the web that I honestly did not know where to start. The good news is, we eventually got the client listed in the Google local map results and here is how we did it.

1. Luckily for us the Law Office has a location near center city. As there is a buzz going around the internet that Google weighs this factor heavily it was important to have this to start with.
2. Next, I began submitting the client to every possible yellow page directory on the web. It may seem tedious and repetitive but I believe this adds to what I call the echo effect.
3. After that, the most obvious step is to create an account in the Google local business center. It wouldn’t hurt to somehow acquire a few reviews as well once this profile has been created. You can do this by either asking your patrons or offering some sort of incentive for a review.
4. Next, we submitted the client to the yahoo local directory.
5. Finally, while performing a back link analysis on my client’s competitors I noticed that several of them were included in an industry directory for lawyers. Not only was this a PR5 law directory but it also gave several “followed” links back to the clients website. Within a couple weeks, our client’s law firm was listed in the local results. A celebration ensued.

It is hard to pinpoint which actions were effective and which were not as they were all done relatively at the same time. But one thing is for sure is that it worked and it was no easy task.

You don’t need to be a Hollywood producer to achieve great results. There are inexpensive cameras that produce high or HD quality video that are perfect for uploading to video platforms.

If you’re an e-Tailer, here are a few ideas for types of videos to create:

1. Product Videos
2. Instructional Videos
3. Interviews with an expert or consumer

Getting Started:

1. Keep the video short to keep the attention of the viewer. Short video will also minimize your production time and upload time. Depending on the situation, a product video could be 30 seconds to 1 minute, where instructional videos may be lengthier at 2-3 minutes.
2. Watermark your video
3. Brand with your logo on the video
4. If you don’t already have target keywords to optimize your video, research and gather a handful of terms to use in your description, title and tags. I’ve found that long-tail terms work great for optimizing video and achieving 1st page results in Google in a short amount of time.
5. Sign up for a video submission platform like TubeMogul.com or TrafficGeiser.com to manage your videos and save time. You’ll be able to keep track of analytics and after the first time, you’ll be able to upload your video once and the video submission platform will take care of the rest!

Besides creating, researching and optimizing the videos, the most time consuming portion of video syndication is creating sign-in credentials for all of the video platforms that TubeMogul or your favorite submission site will be syndicating to.

I have the camera and I’m ready to start filming. Now what?

1. Idea for product videos: Slide shows of photos of different angles of the product (you could set the photos to music if it enhances the user experience)
2. Idea for product videos: A “what’s in the box” video (click here for a great example)
3. Idea for instructional videos: How to put together the product (if it requires assembly)
4. Idea for instructional videos: Showcase ease-of-use
5. Idea for instructional videos: Highlight benefits of the product
6. Idea for Interviews with an expert or consumer: Utilize video testimonials
7. Idea for Interviews with an expert or consumer: Conduct interview style video with a known figure in the industry

Optimizing videos and gaining more traffic:

1. Name your files with keyword rich phrases
2. Use keyword rich titles, descriptions and tags – use transcripts and a unique synopsis of the video
3. Use a video site map (click here for an example and how to submit the site map) with under 1000 links
4. Piggy back on popular content: I found this tip that I thought was a great idea – Find a “Hot” video that is complimentary to yours. (I.E., use keywords that you would type in to find your video and find popular videos for your product or niche) Set your video as a video response to popular videos. If the YouTube user does not accept your video as a response, move down the list until someone does.
5. Submit videos to RSS feeds.
6. Embed your videos on your product pages for more views and better conversions – if you want to get tricky, you can program the video to play upon page entrance. Especially on popular product pages, this tactic will help rack up the video views.
7. Comments and ratings help with ranking the videos, so share with friends!
8. End the video with a call to action: visit the website, email to a friend, etc.
9. Test! What content is working well and why? Replicate these techniques.

Bottom Line:

Just like SEO, video optimization will take time. Video marketing will give your store a competitive edge in your space. Not only will you be investing your time in expanding search engine visibility and branding by optimizing videos, but you’ll be enhancing conversion rates by including helpful videos on the product pages and beyond.

NOTE: Don’t Forget To Read Part II of This Blog Post
and join me in my upcoming webinar

Perhaps the second biggest copy mistake made by online stores is not using their copy wisely.  Before writing copy for a client, I always dig and try to get a sense for their unique story.  There are millions of websites, and every niche has plenty of competition.  It doesn’t matter what your site does or what you sell – if you decide that content isn’t crucial for you, there will be ten (maybe hundreds) of other sites that decided differently, and they will get the visitors.

Online copy is such a great tool for your marketing efforts because – get this – it’s free.  Granted, you can hire a copywriter (I happen to know this one copywriter who produces some pretty amazing stuff…wink wink) because it certainly will cost you a lot of time, but if you’re looking to save money it’s completely doable.  Here are a couple tips to help you get started:

1. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU.  Before you begin writing, you need to pinpoint what sets your business apart.  Every site thinks they have great service, fast shipping is really more of a testament to UPS and “easy” returns doesn’t mean much unless you’re willing to cover the shipping costs (sites selling clothing or items people can try on – that may not fit correctly – are the exception to this rule).  Obviously “Low Price Guarantees” and “Free Shipping” and “Free Returns” are the best attention-grabbers, but I understand that not every site can provide these services.  If that’s the case, why should they buy from you instead of Competitor X?  What sets your service and your business apart?
2. Information should be placed in an easily accessible location. Once you decide what sets you apart from the pack, place the information on a page where you expect visitors to land from the search engines.  Oftentimes I find crucial information placed on the “About Us” pages, and even more frequently I have to Lewis-and-Clark my way through the entire site to find anything.  Keep the information on these pages, but always place the most important selling points on the home page.  Then, reiterate the best talking points on some of the interior pages to ensure that it isn’t overlooked.
3. Never underestimate the value of tone.  So you’re left scratching your head?  You know you have a great business, but perhaps the qualities that truly set you apart are elusive.  Don’t worry – with so many sites out there, most stores are in your position.  So how do you convince customers to buy from you?  You create a tone.  What kind of person would represent your store?  Is he / she funny?  An intellectual?  Laid-back?  Girly?  Manly?  Geeky?  You get the point.  The tone alone can set you apart, because a tangible voice forms a bond with visitors.

Examples are always useful.  We have one client (whose name and product have been changed to protect anonymity) who sells, uh, DVD players.  The prices are competitive, but not the lowest.  He offers free shipping, but customers have to spend about $200 before they can benefit from it.  He has a decent selection, but not comprehensive by any means.  He is committed to great service, but so is everyone else.  In a niche this extensive, those offers are not enough to stand on, so why shop here?

The whole premise of his site is that he helps you choose the best DVD players.  Unlike other electronics stores that present a huge selection (served up with absolutely no personality, rendering them a faceless entity selling expensive products), he has managed to create a tone across the entire site.  The product descriptions are completely honest in that they read like reviews, outlining good and bad qualities about each item.  He clearly defines the rating system for the reviews, and he makes it abundantly clear throughout the site that he doesn’t care about offering the biggest selection.  His goal is to test products and offer only the very best DVD players that people will love.  His reviews provide customers with advice to help them make an informative decision.  In turn, he has created the persona of an expert, and customers feel confident that they’re purchasing exactly what they want.  When people walk into a store, they interact with others.  When people shop online they do not have this opportunity, but by creating this voice you ensure that your site interacts with customers as well as, or better than, the salespeople in stores.

This information is intended to help you write copy geared toward your visitors.  For more information about optimized SEO copy, see my past blog posts or set up a meeting with one of our sensational Internet Marketing Strategists.

NOTE: Don’t Forget To Read Part II of This Blog Post
and join me in my upcoming webinar