Archive for August, 2006

A free service allowing users to analyse search volume data has been launched by Google.

According to a post on the search giant’s Inside AdWords blog, the Google Insights for Search tool follows on from its Trends tool and provides detailed information on web users’ search habits.

Marketers can utilise the program to analyse search term trends over varying time periods and look up rising and related searches, as well as import data into a spreadsheet.

"[Google Insights for Search] provides more flexibility and functionality for advertisers and marketers to understand search behaviour, and adds some cool new features like a world heat map to graphically display search volume and regional interest," said Trevor Claiborne of Google on the Inside AdWords blog.

While the tool was initially developed with marketers in mind, it would be good to see others utilising Google Insights for Search, according to comments made by Google chief economist Hal Varian to the New York Times.

The hotel industry would do well to combine search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns as part of their online marketing efforts, according to Barbara Pezzi of Swissotel Hotels & Resorts.

Speaking in an Eyefortravel.com interview reported by m-travel.com, the marketing executive said that the different natures of the two channels can help to bring a more holistic approach to search engine marketing.

SEO requires marketers to take a long-term view, while PPC is flexible and able to use for specific, tactical marketing, Ms Pezzi explained.

"[PPC] should also be used to provide real time data and direction to maximise the SEO strategy," she remarked.

"Successful keywords and landing pages used during PPC campaigns should, for example, be incorporated in the SEO strategy and website optimisation."

Consumers are making more online hotel bookings from supplier websites than through travel agencies as they shift towards budget brands, according to research conducted by comScore earlier this year.

It is important to ensure the right keywords are picked when it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, it has been claimed.

According to a post on the Yahoo! Search Marketing blog, PPC marketers may benefit from using the same keywords as those already used on the website itself to ensure both marketing channels target the same audience.

Tailoring terms depending on whether the customer is preparing to buy or readying themselves for a purchase and making use of keyword suggestion tools could also be particularly helpful, the search engine said.

"Customers pass through three phases as they consider buying something: research, shopping and purchase," Yahoo! stated.

"Generally, the closer someone is to purchasing, the more specific your keywords should be."

According to Yahoo!’s Noah Belson, it is wise to consider a click-through rate as just one indicator of PPC performance, as conversion rates can also be important metrics.

Popular social bookmarking site Delicious has been subjected to an overhaul in recent days.

The service is now located at delicious.com as well as the original URL, del.icio.us, according to a post on the Delicious blog.

Other changes include the implementation of a new structure to help the site run faster as its user base surpasses the five million mark and a revamped search engine that allows for more social queries.

The user interface has also been updated for usability purposes, while new features include the ability to sort bookmarks alphabetically and selectable level details.

"Moving to delicious.com will make it easier for people to find the site and share it with their friends," the Delicious team said.

"Of course, the old del.icio.us domain and all its URLs will continue to work."

Delicious founder Joshua Schachter told Rands In Repose four years ago that he regretted the original del.icio.us name as it was hard to talk about it without feeling "silly".

Online retailers may be interested to read that a new study has highlighted the growing popularity of internet vouchers.

About 36 million US consumers will access online coupons this year, up from ten million in 2005, according to the survey by Simmons/Experian Research and Coupons Inc.

Retailers might also want to refine their search engine marketing strategies in light of another finding - 64 per cent of respondents said there is an increased likelihood of them clicking on a search listing if they know it leads to an online voucher.

"A new generation of shoppers is discovering coupons on the web and printing coupons is becoming a regular part of a consumer’s shopping routine," remarked Steven Boal, chief executive of Coupons Inc.

Last month, Sharon Baker, executive director of AOL-managed digital coupon distribution service Shortcuts, told the Associated Press that economic downturns tend to lead more consumers to search for retail offers.

Businesses setting up a new website should consider focusing on long tail and niche keywords to get a jumpstart when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO).

This is the opinion of SEO Book author Aaron Wall, who wrote in a post on the Search Engine Land blog that new sites may face an uphill struggle against competitors who have had time to work on their SEO strategy unless they concentrate on lesser-used keywords.

Such sites should look at keyword modifiers, non-commercial terms and variations on the most popular search queries to boost their initial search engine rankings, he said.

Other techniques such as paid traffic may also prove useful, Mr Wall commented, stating: "If you build high quality niche content and it does not rank as well as you would like it to then you need to actively market it.

"Mention it to a couple [of] popular bloggers in your space and ask them what they think of it."

According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organisation, brand awareness is one of the key objectives for companies when assessing their spending on internet marketing.

Google users can now see whether their search results have been customised by the search engine with the addition of a new feature to results pages.

A glance at the upper right corner of these pages will reveal a message stating that results for that particular search have been tailored depending on the user’s location, search history and previous website visits, according to the official Google blog.

Google said that it customises search results whenever it is relevant, with listings based on web history only enabled if the user wishes.

Rachel Garb, Google product manager, explained: "This new feature doesn’t change anything at all about how you search on Google and the results you get; it just gives you more of a behind-the-scenes look at how we customise your search experience."

The search engine recently announced that its service is now available in 40 languages from around the world.

Web users in the US navigating to the Live Search engine can now view a redesigned homepage for the service.

The new homepage makes use of a background image featuring "hotspots" that users can mouse over to find out more about that part of the picture via Live Search results, according to an official blog post by Chris Rayner and Zach Gutt of the Live Search User Experience team.

This picture will change on a regular basis and has so far received a positive response from users, the post indicated. Non-US countries will eventually be able to see the new page in the near future.

Mr Rayner and Mr Gutt said: "Our goal for the homepage is to find the best way to enhance users’ sense of discovery, surprise and delight while balancing engineering realities for a great user experience."

The news follows the recent announcement by Microsoft that it is to provide internet search and advertising services to popular social network Facebook in the US, in which it owns a stake.

Travel firms worried about the current economic downturn could benefit from implementing a flexible strategy when it comes to internet marketing, an expert has said at the recent Eye for Travel Sales and Marketing in Asia Pacific Conference.

Chris Dodd, chief executive of accommodation website Roamfree.com, said at the event that the ability to react quickly to market changes may become vital as fears over a recession continue, e-Travel Blackboard reports.

He said that travel companies would do well to make extensive use of search engine optimisation, as well as integrate online and offline operations and personalise the sales process to attract more consumers.

At the same conference, Mark Wong of Preferred Hotel Group revealed that branding remains the most important issue for travel suppliers, despite the prevalence of new website development technology.

He added that trust between businesses and customers is becoming more vital within the industry as a result of the use of the internet to express their thoughts and opinions on particular products and services, according to e-Travel Blackboard.

Implementing sound website architecture can do much to enhance business-to-business (B2B) search engine optimisation (SEO), according to one expert.

Galen De Young of Search Engine Land commented that many B2B sites still risk losing the benefits of SEO by failing to look at their website’s architecture, citing areas such as linking and keywords as particularly important.

He advised firms to carry out proper research into which keywords are the most likely to be used by potential customers looking for the goods or services they offer via a search engine and to make sure the site is as usable as possible by including relevant links on each page.

Mr De Young said: "Create a site that has sufficient landing pages for each of your desired search terms and your content will be organised into a logical, user-friendly architecture that responds well to organic search."

Web-based retailers see improving site usability as one of their top priorities, according to a poll carried out by SiteSpect last year.