Bretts Marketing Bytes

Google is rolling out a new “under-the-hood” search technology, codenamed “Caffeine,” that could change how your company ranks in its search results.

Matt Cutts of Google says Caffeine is not intended to combat spammers like previous updates, but simply to update the foundation of the Google search infrastructure. He also notes that this update will not make Google look any different; however it may affect search engine rankings in a minor way. Unlike other algorithm updates, Google is actually giving us a preview of what our search results will look like if affected by the update.

To find out how your search rankings will be affected by cafeine click here to see the Google sandbox.

Here is what Google says

“For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google’s web search,” two engineers wrote in the company’s official blog.

“It’s the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions. The new infrastructure sits ‘under the hood’ of Google’s search engine, which means that most users won’t notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we’re opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback.”

You will begin to see these changes take place over the next few weeks or months.

The last article I wrote was How to feed your blog into your Facebook page. This post will show you how to feed your blog into your Twitter account.

There are several applications that will work to complete this task, but the one that I like best is Twitter Feed. Twitter Feed takes about 3 seconds to set everything up and best of all, it is very straight forward.

Here is how to set it up.

1. Sign up for Twitter Feed.
2. Login to your new account.
3. Click on the “New Feed Button”
4. Name your new feed.  Example : A blog about adobe training would be something like -  Adobe Training Buffalo
5. Copy and paste your RSS feed from your blog to Twitter Feed.
6. Click on “Advanced settings” and set your Update frequency and other options.
7. Click the “Create Feed” button and you’re done.

I use a post prefix of  “Blog Post-”, so that my Twitter followers know that it is a blog article. Hope this helps.  Good Luck.

So you want to have your blog feed into your FaceBook Business page? Thank god for RSS feeds.

This task is pretty easy if you know the right Facebook application to use. I find that RSS Social (Formally known as RSS Connect) seems to work the best. It is easy to setup and works like a charm. Follow the steps below.

1. Make sure you are logged in to your Facebook page.
2. Click on this link
3. Click the  “add to page” button
4. Another page will appear. Along the bottom you will fill out the information. In the URL area, you will paste your XML feed from your blog.
5. Click on the News feed tab, and choose “yes” for news feeds. This will automatically post it to your business page wall.
6. Click update
7. Your done.

Wait a few hours and you will start seeing your blog post on your wall.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments section below. My next blog post will be how to automatically have your blog feed into Twitter.

What is the difference between being ranked number 1 and number 2 on Google?

I often get this question when I am out on meetings talking with customers. So I decided to write a post about it. All of the data below is based on a leaked document from AOL that was posted a few years back.  Even though it is from AOL, it should reflect all of the other search engines including Google.

To figure out the difference between a number 1 listing and a number 2 listing, you have to think in click-through rates. A click-through rate is the amount of times a searcher will click on your listing from a Google search.

The information below will help you understand how much traffic you may be losing out on. Remember…Traffic = Sales.

• Ranking Number 1 receives 42.1 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 2 receives 11.9 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 3 receives 8.5 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 4 receives 6.1 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 5 receives 4.9 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 6 receives 4.1 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 7 receives 3.4 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 8 receives 3.0 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 9 receives 2.8 percent of clicks
• Ranking Number 10 receives 3.0 percent of click s

This means if you rank number 1 on Google for the term ” Niagara Falls Hotels “  and that term gets searched 100,000 times per month, you should expect roughly 42,100 clicks.

If you rank number 2 on Google for the same term, you can expect to get 11,900 clicks.

I know what you are thinking. Who cares about clicks? Well… you can’t sell to someone who isn’t clicking on your site. That just means they are not finding you at all. Imagine if you were on page 2 or even worse… page 10? You would be out of business if you were an online retailer.

Search engines are one of the first places that consumers go to when they are looking for products or services. Your company should be there. If it is not, you are losing out on making money. To find out if you are listed on page 1 of Google just type in your products or services in Google and view the results.

I help companies everyday accomplish the task of ranking on page 1 of the major search engines. If your company is not listed and you need help, contact me to set up a free one on one consultation with you or your company.

Good Luck!

The fact that I am writing this post on my iPhone is probably a clue to what I think is the best Internet marking mobile device.

All of my favorite tools can be used either on the iPhone browser or via an app. For example, right now I am using the wordpress app to connect to my blog and write this post. I also use another app called JAM to make extensive updates on my Joomla websites. Social networking is also a breeze.

The Facebook app for iPhone makes it easy to post status updates, pictures and interact with friends. I also use a LinkedIn app that allows me to easily accept requests, look people up and send “inMail” items to my network. Let’s not forget about Twitter. The Twitter apps are endless. Tweetdeck for iPhone and twitterfon are just a few that are excellent and free. Because of the camera on the iPhone it also makes uploading pictures to Flickr extremely easy. It doesn’t stop at social networking though. Search Marketing research can be done via this device as well.

Keyword research, link building and website analysis can all be done while waiting at the doctor’s office or in the airport. I give the iPhone a thumbs up when it comes to Internet marketing.

I have had many other devices and none of them have lived up to the functionality of the iPhone.

Times are tough for many people. We are going through some of the worst economic times in 70 years and people are getting laid off left and right.

If you are afraid of losing your job or just want to create a future income for yourself, you should take advantage of one of the many opportunities to make money on the web.  You don’t have to be a webmaster, you simply have to be willing to learn.

So what can you do to make sure that you have an income in the event you lose your job? Start now, don’t wait until you have no income. Even if you only make a few hundred dollars at first, you can build on it over time.

Below  are some of the many opportunities to make money online.

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In the old days, say 2 or 3 years ago, blog commenting  used to be a great method to get links to your site. However, Google and other search engines have been telling us recently that these are really a waste of time for SEO’s due to the “no-follow” attribute tag that most blog commenting software utilizes these days.

So should you stop commenting on blogs? Well quite honestly, I still believe commenting on blogs is a great place to get links and network with other bloggers. When you build relationships with other bloggers, you increase the chances that they might link to you using the “do-follow” attribute in a future post.

Blog comments also get read by people and these people are who you want to visit your site, right? And of course, there is always the possibility that those people will click on your link, especially if it is relevant to what they are reading.

One thing that drives me crazy is comment spammers. They leave comments on my blog that don’t make any sense. Geez, at least act like you read my post and I might give you a chance. Don’t these people know that as the blog administrator, I approve these?
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Email Marketing is like dieting. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do but no one does it.

People spend hundreds of dollars per year on lose weight quick diet programs only to find that they didn’t get the results that they were hoping for, when the answer is right there in front of them. EAT WELL, and EXERCISE. It’s actually pretty simple, right?

So what does this have to do with email marketing? Email marketing is similar in the respect of how people treat their email lists. Companies have a hard time resisting the temptation of sending their messages out to everyone on the list, or as I will call it in this post, stuffing their face.  They will even continue to buy and rent lists just to try and make a buck.  Just like the lose weight quick ideas; they are disappointed when the results come back.

So if you are not going to send your email out to your entire list, what should you do? Here are a couple rules to follow.

• Don’t blast your message out to everyone on your list. Send it to people who you know want to hear about your message.

• Get personal with your list. Do surveys. Have a calling campaign to ensure that you have the right people receiving the right emails.

• Before adding someone you met at a networking event to your mailer. Call or email them and ask if they want to be a part of your list and what topics they would be interested in receiving. This creates a soft touch to that person and also gets you a more targeted email address.

• Remind people occasionally why they are receiving your email. People forget quickly and sometimes don’t remember giving you their information, so a quick reminder is often useful and it builds trust.
• Don’t be afraid of people opting-out of your list. This is good because it is making your list more targeted. If they don’t want your emails, who needs them?

So in summary, eat well (segment your list) don’t just stuff everything in your face, Exercise (manager your list) and you will both lose weight and have very successful email marketing campaigns.

Google Analytics is very robust and certainly one of the most affordable web analytical programs out there.  But sometimes we Web Marketers need additional information that is up to date to understand exactly what is happening when someone visits our website. Unfortunately Google Analytics doesn’t cut it by itself.

Because Google Analytics is about 3 hours behind in its data delivery, I suggest installing a real time analytics package to supplement your Google Analytics data. Real time analytics will give you live data that is up to the minute. It will allow you to see exactly what is going on when a visitor hits your website.

One of the best and most affordable real time analytics packages that I have found and use is Clicky Analytics.  Clicky Analytics is great for many reasons. First off, it is real time.  Second, it breaks down the data into an easy to understand format, and thirdly, it has a “SPY” feature that allows you to see who is on your website in real time.  The “SPY” feature is useful because it will give you insight on how visitors are using your site while they are actually doing it.  Once you know how visitors use your site, you can make positive changes to help convert them into customers.

Of course Clicky is not the end all be all. Google Analytics has many features that Clicky does not, but until Google Analytics becomes live, you should supplement it with a real time tracking package like Clicky Analytics.

Please comment if you are using either of these programs or if you know of any other great analytical programs that compare.

Don’t forget to checkout our Decoding Google Analytics online training course.

People spend too much time worrying about the look and feel of their email marketing campaigns, when in fact, the true results come from a simple formula that has nothing to do with design or layout. Watch this video to find out how this funny acronym will take your email marketing to the next level.

For more help with email marketing please take one of our online seminars by clicking here or reading email marketing tips.