Search Advisory

Tom Shivers from Capture Commerce recently interviewed me about how social media impacts search engine optimization.  This was prompted by last month's AiMA/SEMPO Atlanta event (our coverage here).  Listen to the podcast here<

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Topics I cover in about 10 minutes:

• How social media has changed the search landscape
• Google+ and what marketers think about its chance for success
• How businesses can improve the SEO value of their Facebook page
• How businesses can get more marketing value with their use of Twitter
• How Newell-Rubbermaid has pioneered product reviews to impact search rank, marketing, product development, retail shelf space and sales

I was interviewed last week by Tim Goleman on the topic of the top mistakes made in search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising.  You can listen to the podcast here: http://marketingelementsblog.com, and it’s also available on iTunes.

Here’s a brief rundown of the top mistakes I discussed:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Not doing comprehensive keyword research to determine which search terms to target.
• Not having a systematic process for continually building high quality links.
• Ignoring other digital assets which can also take up room in the search engine results pages, such as a blog, press releases, videos, images, local listings, articles, etc.
• Not paying enough attention to web analytics, including ensuring it’s installed correctly and tracking conversions…and that someone regularly looks at the data, knows how to interpret it, and acts on it.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

• Not setting up campaigns and ad groups to be very granular, with copy using the keywords and dedicated landing pages.
• Not paying enough attention to Quality Score, not trying everything to improve it, not pausing low-QS keywords or ad groups (since they’ll pull the performance of the entire campaign down).
• Not watching analytics closely enough – focus on the keywords and ad creatives that are performing for you!  Another example – if the content/display network is generating more leads at a lower cost per lead (which is possible with remarketing/retargeting), then maybe you should move all your budget to it instead of the search network.
• Limiting your results by having a limited budget.  In theory, as long as every dollar you put into PPC is generating a positive ROI, you should have an unlimited budget.

I was interviewed a few weeks ago for Gravity Free Radio by Todd Miechiels, who was filling in for the usual hosts because they were a

t SXSW. Now that they’re back, the interview is available. You may listen to it or download the podcast here: http://gravityfreeradio.com/archives/404

Here’s more about the content:

Stacy Being Interviewed on Gravity Free Radio

Todd Miechiels guest hosts Gravity Free Radio and talks search engine optimization with industry veteran Stacy Williams of Prominent Placement. They discuss how SEO has changed over the last several years, as well as what’s hot and important today. Then Tim Parker from the Bloom Group calls in to talk about what makes for compelling thought leadership content. Social media evangelist Jenni Hilton joins the discussion in a roundtable format as everyone brainstorms on how to tie it all together.

A complete transcript is also available here if you prefer reading over listening: http://businessradiox.com/producers-blog.