SEO Archives - Shane Patrick Jones

December 4, 2014 by Shane Jones

The Ultimate Guide to Marketing with Video Using AdWords & YouTube

Are you using Google AdWords for video yet? Whether you answered yes or no, be warned that the competition is only growing fiercer.

While the adoption rate of AdWords for video has definitely been more brisk lately, it remains a relatively underutilized tool for online marketers. Let’s not mince words here: online video content has the potential to unseat the TV spot as the dominant form of visual advertising.

In the meantime? Now is your chance to take advantage of this great toolset. And I’m here to show you how to do it.

Why Video?

In 2012, there were 208 billion mobile video views worldwide. It’s estimated that video traffic will make up more than half of all consumer Internet traffic worldwide by 2016.

Video communicates more than you could ever hope to get across with text-based content. While text is fairly one-dimensional, video allows people to hear you, and more importantly, to see you and your body language.

This extra dimension of communication makes videos as effective as TV for branding, with an average 20% increase in traffic to your site.

It also offers greater retention and recall – in fact, up to 5x greater than text alone.

Creating Your Video Ad

Video is a powerful tool for visually connecting with your audience. It allows you to place a physical representation of your brand on the sites they already use online.

Unfortunately, you can’t just go out and shoot a random video about whatever pops into your head. In order to perform well, your video has to be strategic, targeted to your audience, and branded for your company.

But how do you get started?

The answer: you find your big idea.

The Big Idea

There are tons of YouTube creators out there that post videos with seemingly instant success.

Their secret? The big idea.

That’s right. All successful video campaigners start with that great, impactful idea that’s powerful enough to affect the size and loyalty of their audiences. Brands then build out a long-term, repeatable series of videos that play off their big idea, which helps them build and sustain a loyal fan base.

But where do these magical, mysterious ideas come from?

Passion!

As a brand, what are you genuinely interested in? Maybe you sell a product with the goal of helping single mothers, or maybe you’re a non-profit organization that feeds the hungry overseas. Identify your calling, and then brainstorm ways you can use video to tell that story, with your passion as your plot and your brand as the main character.

Case Study: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” videos are a classic example of a successful big idea. In 2010, Old Spice decided that it needed to better target women in its advertisements, since women make the majority of purchasing decisions for male household members.

This brought Old Spice to a challenging marketing question: how do you market men’s body wash to women?

Their answer: market the product benefits as they appeal to women.

Thus, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” was born, featuring an attractive male model who is too good to be true; he’s good-looking, buys you diamonds, gets you tickets to “that thing you like,” and rides horseback on the beach.

The big idea of this video campaign is that, while your man can never act like this man, at least he can smell like him.

How? By using Old Spice.

This big idea instantly went viral. Since it initially debuted “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” Old Spice released numerous videos in a series using that same big idea, including “Boat” and “Scent Vacation.”

Basically, if it drives you and can be represented visually, it can be your big idea.

The Filming Process

After the big idea comes the filming process, where you actually shoot and edit your video.

No matter who you are or what you do, there’s a good chance that this step of the process is the one that gives you pause: you might be asking yourself if you have the time, the money, or the resources to see your vision through to completion.

I’m here to tell you that you do.

To be fair, there are a number of issues that you’ll need to address, many of which are unique to video production. These include:

Script development
Lighting
Direction
Audio and sound
Editing/post-production software

Yes, it does sound complicated. And that’s what will make the final result so much more satisfying. So how do you address all of these factors and make a winning video?

Let’s address the fact that plenty of videos have gone viral over the last few years that were made on a shoestring budget. They just happened to have the right message, or timing, or any one of a hundred other mysterious qualities that made it a hit.

For everyone else, it might just make sense to turn to the professionals for a bit of help. 50Grove is a great site for anyone who’s looking to make their YouTube debut: it’s a directory of professional video producers, all of whom are ready to put their resources and skills to work for you.

And then there’s the DIY solution. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can visit your local hardware store, spend about $100, and build your own lighting kit. The results will look anything but “budget-priced.”

Google AdWords for Video

So now that you’ve established a big idea and filmed your video, how do you show it to your target audience?

You could upload it to YouTube, and then desperately try to point your website and social media viewers to your channel.

Or you could sign up for a Google AdWords account, and bring the video to them.

With Google AdWords for Video, viewers see your ad while they’re watching or searching for YouTube videos or while they browse related web content. This allows you to send a highly targeted message to specific, interested users.

The greatest feature of Google Adwords is that it allows you to promote your video ad in a TrueView system, which means that you only pay when a viewer chooses to watch your ad (as opposed to paying once the impression is served).

This setup allows you to:

Reach targeted viewers (targeted by demographics or by relevant search terms)
Pay only for viewers who choose to watch your ad (so you’re not wasting money advertising to people who aren’t interested in your offer)
Manage your campaign with ease

Essentially, everyone wins: viewers choose ads relevant to them, and you only pay to reach people who are interested in your message (and most likely to convert on it). It also grants you a valuable boost in YouTube views, which increases your virality and sharability.

Google AdWords for YouTube

Obviously, when anyone thinks about online videos, the first thing they think of is YouTube. And with over 4 billion views a day, it certainly has earned that right.

It’s also earned the right to be the center of your video advertising campaign. Through AdWords, YouTube offers various advertising formats to help get your message in front of YouTubers when they’re searching for or watching a video.

YouTube Advertising Formats

YouTube offers three basic advertising formats for video: in-stream, in-search and in-display ads. Here’s a basic breakdown of what each format looks like, how each one functions, and the pros and cons of each.

In-Stream Ads

In-stream ads display in the area where normal YouTube videos run. They play like a TV-style ad before, during or after a user sees a YouTube video.

Viewers see five seconds of your ad and then can keep watching, or they can choose to skip. However, you only pay if they watch for at least 30 seconds or to the end of the video (if your video is less than 30 seconds).

You can change your settings to make your video mandatory (that is, viewers must watch the full length of your ad before they can view their content).

Live Example

For example, let’s say that we were to do a search on YouTube for the famous “Charlie Bit My Finger” viral video. When we get to the page to watch the video, we might see an ad play before “Charlie Bit My Finger” starts. On that ad, we’d see a pop-up that counts down 5 seconds for us, at which time we can click to skip the ad or we can continue watching.

Upside: This type of ad allows you to advertise to a captive viewer. An in-stream ad grants you the opportunity to introduce yourself to potential customers, who may not be familiar with you, and to maintain relationships with your current ones.

Downside: It’s only for a guaranteed 5 seconds. And even though those 5 seconds seem trivial, viewers may grow agitated that they are forced to watch your video at all. They may mute your ad, ignore it altogether, and skip it as soon as possible.

You can either use that 5 seconds to make a case as to why the viewer should continue to watch your ad, or you can use that 5 seconds to do some down and dirty advertising while you have the screen time.

In-Search Ads

While in-stream ads play automatically once a user lands on the page, in-search ads do not play unless they are clicked on.

In-search ads appear in a special promoted section at the top of the video search results page on YouTube and Google video results.

Live Example

Let’s go back to “Charlie Bit My Finger.” On the search results page, we might see that the first two videos displayed are actually video ads. If they interest us, we can choose view them before we proceed to watch “Charlie Bit My Finger.” If not, we skip over them entirely and go directly to our feature video.

Upside: Since people can choose whether or not to play your video, they aren’t as likely to be irritated by it.

Downside: You only gain viewers who are already interested in your brand, which can improve your customer loyalty but really limit your potential for consumer growth.

In-Display Ads

The third format, in-display ads, places your video alongside other YouTube videos on actual video pages.

Live Example

Once we’re done watching “Charlie Bit My Finger,” we might look down the right-hand column of related videos to choose another. At the top of the list, we would see one or two video ads, formatted exactly like regular videos that we could click on to watch.

Upside: Your video is placed right alongside other videos and looks just like them, increasing the chances that viewers may click on it and view it.

Downside: Again, viewers may be irritated once they realize they clicked on an ad and immediately close it.

Google AdWords for Google Display Network

YouTube is definitely an excellent command center for video marketing, but it doesn’t have to be the venue of your entire online presence. There’s another online video experience that can pack a punch as well.

And we’ve almost all been through it: you’re on a website, browsing through products, before you go to another website and see – gasp! – an ad for the site you were just on – possibly even for the specific product you were just looking at.

This all too familiar (and creepy) experience has a name: Google Display Network. It’s an AdWords program designed to promote ads on websites, with the goal of directing interested customers back to your site. And it reaches 89% of all online viewers.

With Google Display Network, you can harness the power of video to create an appealing ad, which you can place on sites that are relevant to what you’re selling. You can also target the people who have previously visited your site, keeping your brand top-of-mind and helping them commit to a purchase.

By showing your video ad to the people who already displayed interest in your site, your advertising dollars go directly to the people who are most likely to convert with you.

Google Display Network Advertising Format

A video on Google Display Network will appear on the side of a webpage (usually to the right) and will often play automatically once a person lands on the page.

Live Example

The screenshot below was taken on Forbes. It was an article about Google ads, and many of the advertisements on the right-hand side of the screen were about – you guessed it – online advertising.

Upside: The upside is fairly evident. Your content will be served to people who are already very likely to be interested in what you’re selling. These tend to be the people who were perhaps exploring the alternatives and will now benefit from a reminder.

Downside: The downside is more-or-less the same as with any other online advertising medium: there’s already a rather limited pool of good will among Internet users, and displaying ads of any kind usually doesn’t help any. Even so, relevant ads are better than ones that are completely off-topic.

Google AdWords Policies

Google has provided some basic advertising principles that drive their AdWords policies. According to the support.google.com website, all advertising should:

Provide a positive user experience
Be safe for all users
Be accurate and honest
Maintain user trust and privacy
Comply with all laws and regulations
Be compatible with Google’s brand

Here’s a general breakdown of two really important advertising policies for your video marketing campaign: the YouTube ad policy and the policy for advertising based on interests and location.

YouTube Ad Policy

Since it’s such a widely used site, YouTube has the responsibility to ensure that its videos are appropriate and respectful of the general community.

Therefore, YouTube has set some community guidelines so that the site is not abused.

If you are posting your video to YouTube, you must:

Respect copyright laws
Not cross the line
- No sexually explicit content
- No illegal content (such as animal abuse or underage drinking)
- No graphic violence
- No shocking content (such as dead bodies or accidents intended to disgust)
Not use hate speech
Not use misleading descriptions, tags, titles or thumbnails in order to gain views

Any content that violates these guidelines can be flagged for review 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Videos deemed inappropriate will be removed, and the responsible account will be penalized or even terminated.

Your ultimate goal is to appeal to users, not to offend them. Therefore, it most likely wouldn’t be good practice to incorporate any of that content anyway. However, you should still keep these guidelines in mind, so your video can enjoy a long lifespan online.

Policy for Advertising Based on Interests and Location

If you are going to display your video to people based on specific demographics (i.e. your video only plays for people in Boston), you need to follow Google’s policy for advertising based on interests and location.

In summary, this policy states that:

Your Privacy Policy must state any information on use of AdWords features that target by demographic
You can’t use your video to collect or share personally identifiable information, such as email addresses or credit card numbers
You can’t modify or obscure Google’s in-ads notices to disclose interest-based advertising

Basically, if you’re going to target specific groups of people (which can be a smart marketing move), make sure you don’t do anything shady with people’s personal information. Otherwise, Google will pull your ad and your trustworthiness will be compromised.

Measuring for Performance

You can closely monitor your ads’ performance on both YouTube and other Google Display Network sites from the Ads, Videos and Targets tabs of your AdWords account. On these tabs, you’ll be able to view information regarding the following metrics:

Number and rate of views, sharing and endorsements
Quartiles (or percent completion of views)
Earned actions, including earned views, comments, likes, etc.

The Ads Tab – View Your Videos

The Ads tab allows you to do three things with your videos:

Review your video’s performance based on format (in-display and in-stream).
1. Status, impressions, views, and total cost
View your video in all four available ad formats.
View your ad as though you were a general user.

The Videos Tab – Compare Your Videos

The Videos tab shows your video ad performance across different variations in graph format (i.e. comparing your in-display ad performance to your in-stream ad performance for the same video).

The graph is clickable, so you can review particular data segmentation for every video and every format.

The Targets Tab – Assess Your Videos

The Targets tab also shows your video ad performance by demographic. It also allows you to gather statistics related to retention and engagement rates.

This data can help you better understand how many of your users watched and understood your video. It can also relay valuable information on how your videos drive traffic to your YouTube channel.

Success Stories

Here are two stories of companies who used Google AdWords videos to generate brand awareness and increase sales.

Generating Awareness – ResortQuest

ResortQuest manages almost 10,000 vacation rental properties in the US. You might think that a company that size wouldn’t need a lot of help with publicity, but I’ll let John Ellis, their senior online marketing manager, explain it in his own words:

“In a harsh economic climate like the one we have today… it’s essential you’re able to scale back and refocus your dollars on the highest-conversion placements.”

In other words, ResortQuest turned to AdWords to increase awareness of their brand among those who were most likely to take a serious interest in what they offer.

Increasing Sales – Julian Bakery

Located in La Jolla, California, Julian Bakery has a vested interest in appealing to a local audience. They began advertising with Google AdWords because, as they put it, they’re “always looking for new ways to reach more customers.”

And it worked. Julian Bakery has been advertising with AdWords for more than three years now, and they’ve seen their workforce more than triple in size in that time. Their conversions have leapt by 35%, and their vendors frequently tell them “whatever you’re doing, it’s working.”

Conclusion

Online video ads are the new TV spot, or soon will be. Business owners everywhere are waking up to that fact and creating rich online content that complements – rather than distracts or detracts from – the online experience of their target market.

One of the key takeaways here is that – for the time being – there’s less competition in the online marketing realm than in the television realm. The audience is huge, but the idea that producing online video content is prohibitively expensive or difficult has been holding companies back from investing in it on a larger scale.

Which means that this is your chance to make a big impression. Have you used AdWords in your video marketing efforts? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

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December 20, 2012 by Shane Jones

Social Media Takes on The 2012 Election

Picture courtesy of the Whitehouse.

I know this post is a little late to the game, but I figured I’d still share my thoughts on the matter, because President Obama continues to make many of the write decisions with his digital campaign.

Many experts felt that Obama won the 2008 presidential election by winning the youth vote. He facilitated a highly effective grass-roots campaign strategy by which he was able to reach thousands.

Popular social media platforms were the virtual conversion sites where Obama’s digital team advertised a plan for America to undecided voters. Appealing video speeches and Web tidbits advocating Obama’s plan for America helped to style the soon-to-be President as a political icon.

As with any campaign, it’s a numbers game; and with the 2012 Presidential election, nowhere is this more the case than in the social media universe. Long gone are the days when users logged on to the Web just to check inboxes, submit federal resumes to prospective employers or deliver e-greetings during the holidays. Today, people look to the Internet to inform more life-altering decisions, including who will become the next President of the United States.

President Obama participating on the Reddit Community – Ask Me Anything. From his Twitter Account.

Sounding Off The Social Media Way

Social Web accounts are soundboards through which users broadcast their boisterous opinions, sometimes with unwanted effects; the plethora of political rants are creating an “unfriending” epidemic. Nevertheless, political rants often introduce new or formerly disengaged voters to the candidates and their issues at large.

Passionate political pundits, who are commonly suspicious of big news establishments, collaborate with online friends and associates to scrutinize statements and verify facts, hoping to change the political leanings of their friends and associates in the process.

Social Media Campaigning

It has become abundantly clear that effectively utilizing social media is no longer an option for today’s political campaigns; it’s a necessity. Having experienced tremendous success in this area, at the start of the 2012 campaign season Obama’s team swiftly moved to fortify their social media base with Web-specific content. On the other hand, Romney’s campaign has not been as engaged with social media tools, and his overall popularity numbers have suffered as a result.

Obama Spent More on Online Ads During the 2012 Election – Facts courtesy of Business Insider.

Obama Spent More Over Time. Images and Data courtesy of Business Insider

Win the Web, and You Win The War

The aftermath of the first 2012 presidential debate is proof that given enough social Web buzz, an unpopular campaign can turn around literally overnight. In spite of major media organizations attempting to declare an undecided winner, users took to social media platforms to voice an overwhelming consensus that Romney actually won the first debate. Conscientious observers took to fact checking, while thrill-seekers produced and devoured slapstick viral content that overwhelmingly showed a strong preference for Romney over Obama.

Perhaps now the “Grand Old Party” will get hip to social media’s powerful ability to change the political game completely. Competitors may fear Obama for his oratory skills and appeal to Web-conscious voters, but Romney has unleashed a barrage of whimsical political zingers upon which the social media masses feasted and made viral to his benefit.

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December 4, 2012 by Shane Jones

Exact Match Domains and Google

Exact match domains, or EMDs, are websites using a popular key phrase for a domain name. Simply by owning an EMD, a website owner has been guaranteed a high ranking in search engine results, even when other sites provide more valuable content.

EMDs have been a thorn in Google’s side for years, and with the company’s new EMD algorithm, it looks like the search engine giant has finally decided to pull the thorn. While not a huge change to Google’s search ranking system, the EMD algorithm renders a venerable SEO shortcut obsolete.

How EMDs (Used to) Work

Let’s presume you own a website offering certified translation services. Your onsite content is fantastic, and you’ve spent years building an organic and relevant link network. You have an established blog and social media presence, and you update both on a regular basis.

In spite of this, three or four document translation websites consistently outperform you on certain keywords, simply because their domain names match one of your important key phrases exactly.

In theory, an EMD website could back up its domain advantage with relevant content, but in practice such sites are often incredibly spammy and filled with affiliate links and ads. The intent isn’t to offer a service of value to readers, only to make quick money.

Google’s Solution

While it’s unclear exactly how the EMD algorithm judges websites with exact match domains, it probably factors in the three criteria that Google actively looks for: content, relevant links and social signals.

EMD sites are notorious for poorly written content with multiple misspellings and grammatical errors, and Google’s rapidly improving its ability to identify such warning signs. EMDs also tend to link out to spammy, low quality or suspect sites. In addition, a poor quality EMD tends to have little positive presence on social media sites.

Who’s Going to Get Hit?

If I had an EMD loaded with spammy links, I’d expect to see a significant drop in web traffic over the next few months. Other sites are unlikely to be affected. Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam team, estimates that the new algorithm will affect less than 0.6 percent of U.S. queries.

Exact match domains with good quality content shouldn’t see a drop in traffic. The EMD algorithm also factors in brand recognition, so if your company name is also your domain name, you won’t be dinged for making this logical decision.

Minimizing the EMD Algorithm’s Effects

Google announced it would only run the EMD algorithm periodically. This means domain names penalized by the algorithm won’t quickly filter out of the system, while providing windows of opportunity for sites to clean up their act and avoid further penalties.

Sites worried about the EMD algorithm have the same options open to all sites: add regular, relevant content to your site, improve your link network, and maintain a positive social media reputation.

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December 4, 2012 by Shane Jones

Tomorrow’s Inbound Marketing Strategy

Marketing is constantly evolving, but it’s possible to stay ahead of the game. We all know about social media, search engine optimization (SEO) and the importance of quality content. However, an inbound marketing strategy is made up of much more complex pieces that need to be aligned to work. Some people expect a focus on inbound marketing to be the next big thing.

As an SEO writer and creator of marketing materials, I know how tough it can be to evolve with the times. SEOMoz recently revealed the top items to consider when revamping your inbound marketing efforts. Breaking it down into sections makes it easier.

Remember Your Anatomy

Similar to a spine, inbound marketing also has five key pieces including owned and earned media, lead nurturing, sales interaction, landing pages and retention. I’ve been in charge of focusing on each of these concepts, and it’s no easy task. However, if inbound marketing is incorporated into your business plan, you’re halfway there.

It doesn’t matter if you sell a popular part washer or gardening tools. Your web presence creates your reputation. Let’s break these anatomy chunks into digestible portions. Your landing page(s), or pages that links lead to, should have original quality content. Don’t angle to fish for information here because you’ll lose customers.

Two Parts of the Puzzle

A great example of owned and earned media is blog posts. This content is 100% original, informative and engaging to your readers. Make sure you post regularly and only write about things that truly interest your readers. The purpose is to engage and build a loyal following so that your fanbase or customer base expands at a good rate.

Lead nurturing means customizing information and doing it at the right time. It’s great if you have a database of email addresses, but you’ll be automatically deleted if you don’t deliver quality content. If you send a long email during busy work hours, your customers don’t have time to read it. Timing and quality is everything.

Don’t Skimp on These Sections

Sales interaction isn’t just between salespeople and customers. The marketing department needs to have a transparent, solid relationship with the sales team. The marketing department is in charge of creating materials to draw in customers so the sales team can do their job. If there’s a chasm, everyone suffers.

Don’t think that just because a sale is done that the job is over. The retention phase is often the most difficult. I know it can be tiresome to continue to create great content even when you’re very successful. However, customers aren’t as loyal as you think, and they’ll quickly move on if you don’t keep up with them.

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November 27, 2012 by Shane Jones

Food for Thought: Why People Instagram Their Meals

I’m already drooling.

Social media has made it possible to let everyone know what their friends and relatives are doing, reading and listening to. But it’s also had some strange consequences, including everyone seeing Instagram photos of what the people they know are eating.

No one knows how this trend started, but everyone seems to have strong feelings about it, as this open letter to Instagram users shows. However, it might be worth thinking about why the trend started. Why do people take pictures of their food and post them? Better yet, why do they think anyone wants to see them? No one knows for sure, but today’s culture may provide some clues.

Our Obsession with Food

You don’t have to know much to know that Americans love food. There are at least four food channels on TV. Chefs become celebrities overnight. Then there’s what many people see in the mirror. Instagram food photos are simply an extension of this food obsession.

Many people like to take photos of a good meal or pretty food presentation, either for themselves or their foodie friends. However, some photos have an additional function. Many people find that keeping a food journal helps them lose weight, and a visual diary is more effective than a written one. In a society ruled by food and social media, sharing photos of food is a logical next step.

A Permanent Record

Photos are a way to remember important milestones in our lives, from that week in Paris to a friend’s wedding. Every now and then, a meal can make that same impression, and a photo says much more than a written description ever could.

Some people want to remember that fantastic filet mignon from their anniversary dinner, while others love to photograph the wedding cake before the bride and groom but it. Still others like to take photos of the meals they prepare from scratch, especially the ones they’re trying out for the first time. In these instances, the photo isn’t about remembering the meal; it’s about remembering the circumstances surrounding the meal.

Self-Expression

Even the least artistic people like to express themselves. Shots like that are hard to capture, but a perfectly still food photo is much easier.

Not everyone is trying to take that classic photo, though; some people share their photos just to share. Have you ever talked to a friend about something that happened at work or home? It wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was a way to make conversation. A photo of that jumbo-size hamburger you ate for lunch is another way to share the day’s events with your friends and family.

Some people know why they photograph their food, and the reasons are varied and many. I suspect that most people photograph their meals for the same reason they watch a TV show or read a magazine – because it’s there.

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November 12, 2012 by Shane Jones

New YouTube Ranking System

YouTube is taking a stand against videos that scam into popularity. For years, the site has depended on popularity rankings that consider how many clicks a video gets. This made it easy for people to boost a video’s popularity by repeatedly clicking on it without watching it. However, that free for all came to a clear halt in mid-October.

The new YouTube algorithm ranks a video’s popularity based on the length of time viewers spend on the video. According to CNET, this increases fairness in the rankings. Changes have also been made to YouTube analytics so that video creators can see just how long people are spending watching their videos. Of course, this raises some big questions.

Quantity, Not Quality

If you type in keywords like “flex banner,” or “Movement Marketing” into YouTube you’ll get a slew of results. Some of these videos might be an hour long, while others are less than two minutes. Of course, in order to get a viewer to watch the entire video, it needs to be high quality (or insanely entertaining). Some critics are wondering how a short video can compete against a long one.

YouTube has thought of that. The real way the system works is by percentage of the video watched. For example, 98 percent of a one minute video is equal to 98 percent of a 45-minute video. The purpose is to lower rankings of videos that are almost instantly clicked off.

The Scramble to the Top

YouTube’s new ranking system is brand new and so far there hasn’t been a way around it. The benefits of the new system are created both for the viewers and for Google (the company behind YouTube). Google no longer has to pay for scammed-up poor videos, and viewers are encouraged to make the most of their time.

If you’re a YouTube fan, you’ll no longer have to dig through pages of fluff to find the best videos. The new ranking system will have them right at the top. More efficient use of your time is finally here and you’re a part of it. Many YouTube fans say it’s about time.

The Victims in the Change

There are plenty of useless videos on YouTube that were shot to the top needlessly. However, there are bound to be a few YouTube video creators who will suffer. Some videos, like cooking tutorials, are naturally not always watched completely. If you provide tips and someone only needs to see a portion of your video, you’ll be booted to the bottom of YouTube.

There is often at least one loser when a massive change is made. The pros of the ranking system far outweighs the cons. Users are overall very happy with the change and confident of YouTube’s future.

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October 4, 2012 by Shane Jones

Take Advantage of the Right Niche like a Marketing Professional

Beginners and veterans in Internet marketing make niche research much harder than necessary. It doesn’t have to be difficult at all. Many marketers are stuck looking at numbers, trying to evaluate different keyword phrases and looking for that magic product or niche. This won’t help you, and there is a better way to create power generation when it comes to your niche research.

How to Find the Right Niche for your Needs

Your first step is to find a challenge that a group of people have. Your second step is to provide them with a solution to that challenge. This may seem difficult, but it doesn’t need to be. If you spend time in forums, on message boards, reading questions and looking at the answers to those questions, you will find a niche you can use to make money.

For example, if you are a member of an Internet marketing forum, and you keep seeing members asking about how they can use Facebook to make money, this could be your niche. For instance, you could create a downloadable guide that you can promote to this market. If a few people are asking the same question, chances are many people are asking it too.

The most time-consuming part of the process is identifying your audience and their need. Doing it, however, is better than not doing your homework at all. It’s much better than trying to guess and ultimately failing. Many niches may surprise you and can be very obscure or seem odd. You wouldn’t think someone could make a large income in a targeted niche, such as Caterpillar heavy equipment, but it’s possible.

What to do Once you Find a Need

Once you figure out what a group of people need, just match your solution to them. The best examples of this are found in the health niche. If you struggle with your energy level, want to lose weight, hear ringing in your ears or have another health issues, there’s probably a guide that will introduce you to natural remedies for your issue.

This works in any niche no matter how broad or targeted. Of course, the more targeted your niche is, the less competition you will usually encounter. This doesn’t mean you cannot enter into a larger niche and make money, as well. Sometimes you can enter a larger niche and target a small group within that niche.

Another way to make money within a larger niche is to find a new way to approach it. We see this in the weight loss niche all the time with the many fad diets. Some of the programs actually stick and they last much longer, but others will have a lifespan that’s much shorter. The key is to deliver a quality solution to a problem or challenge a group of people face. If you do this, you can easily make money from any niche.

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October 4, 2012 by Shane Jones

Page Rankings Taking a Blow? Maybe You Need to Move your Content

What if you created a site all about farm equipment, something happened and Google penalized it? Or maybe you just decided you wanted to move it to another domain? Is this safe? What will happen to any existing ranking? Will Google penalize you for moving the content? With all the Google updates, many webmasters are facing this decision because of bad linking strategies, DMCA penalties and other issues.

If you are facing issues that have caused your website to drop in rankings, and you know it’s not a content issue, moving your content might help. This could give you a fresh start without wasting the content you already have on the site.

Before you move your content from one site to another, you need to understand what to expect.

How Each Situation Will Differ

1. Bad Linking

If you were penalized by Google because of bad links —links that used to work for ranking before the update — and you cannot get them all removed, moving your content to a new domain name might help.

You can buy an aged domain or register a new domain to get a completely new start. You’ll eliminate the bad links because the new domain name won’t have any backlinks built.

You can expect this type of strategy to work well, but it will take a little time for Google to de-index the content from the original site and recognize it on the new site. Make sure you download all of the content and save it, delete if from the original site, and then schedule it all to go live on your new site over time.

2. DMCA Issues

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects website content from being stolen and used without authorization. If your site was penalized due to a DMCA issue, you may need to consider fixing your content before you move it. It may not be necessary to move the content if you can figure out which part is causing the penalty.

Find the original filer of the notice and see if you can get a copy of the complaint. This will lead you to the actual content that has been used from their site on yours and you can fix the issue. If the issues cannot be fixed, but you know it’s only a few pages or posts, you can move the rest of the content to a new site and gain ranking once again.

3. Changing Domain Name

Another common reason to move all the content from one site to another is if you decide to move from an “exact match domain” to a domain that can be branded. For example, if you have a site about heavy equipment called bestheavyequipment.com and you want to move all the content to a site that uses the domain name yourcompanyname.com, you can do so.

This isn’t a big deal and can be done quite easily. You will need to make sure you delete the content from your original site and you don’t just move it all at once. Schedule it over time to go live, so that it doesn’t look unnatural.

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September 11, 2012 by Shane Jones

Top 6 Reasons Why Your Site is Underperforming on Google

Search engine optimization is a complicated beast, especially with Google’s tweaking and updating of its algorithm. If your site isn’t appearing as highly as you would like in Google’s search results, you may have fallen victim of one of these common problems.

1. You have been caught using black hat techniques

There are certain tricks of the trade that Google frowns upon, and if you have been caught using these techniques then you can have your site penalized or even removed from Google results completely. While it can be tempting to use keyword stuffing and linkspamming for a temporary boost in your rankings you will almost certainly be found out sooner or later.

2. You missed Panda

If you found that the Panda update destroyed your rankings, you may have instituted some changes to your site and its content to repair your standing. The next day you search on Google but your site still hasn’t recovered! This is very common and is simply down to the fact that Panda is not an ‘always-on’ update – instead it runs every few weeks. You might just have to be patient.

3. Users don’t like your content

When users visit your website from Google and then immediately hit the back button that is taken into consideration for your ranking. It’s important to always provide useful information that those searching for a particular keyword would be interested in. There is no point targeting the keyword ‘investment in oil’ on a page that talks about olive oil in cooking! You may get visitors but they will quickly realize that your site is not what they are looking for.

4. You have neglected the fundamentals

Are your pages loading quickly? Have you designed a logical architecture for your site? Does each page have relevant text in the URL? Have you included the right metadata? These SEO techniques are absolute fundamentals, and if you have redesigned a site or added in new content without keeping them up to date you could be suffering in your Google rankings.

5. You don’t update enough

Your content may be good and relevant, but if you have not updated it in a few years, then that is going to harm your Google rankings. Consider giving your site a spring clean and updating your content so that it is fresh and regularly renewed.

6. Your keywords have high competition

Certain keywords are just more difficult to rank highly for than others due to increased competition from large well-established sites. If you can’t increase your SEO activities you might want to consider reoptimizing your pages to focus on less-competitive keywords in the same niche.

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August 30, 2012 by Shane Jones

Web Design — One-Time Fee or Ongoing Contract?

When it comes to web design, many people are happy with a simple WordPress template or one of the formulaic website options that can come with domain registration. However, for more complicated or customized website designs, or even to take advantage of many of the widgets and extras that sites like WordPress can offer, getting a professional can be easier.

When seeking out a web designer, one important factor you will need to consider is whether you simply want to pay for a single website design service or would prefer to enter a management and upkeep contract. Which is right for you?

The Two Options

A one-time fee is exactly what it sounds like – you pay your web designer a single fee for a single service, the design of your website. Your contractual relationship is then over, and neither of you owe each other anything.

By contrast, a management service is ongoing. You pay a regular fee to your web designer, and in return you can call upon them for extra services. In general, your monthly fee will include a certain amount of work, and should you require anything above that, you will need to pay extra.

One-Time Fees

The advantages of this option are clear – the cost of a website is set out at the start and that is what you pay. It can often be a good option for those who do not intend to make major changes to their website for some time.

However, should you require updates or new additions in the future, you may end up paying more than you think! In addition, the person who designed your website originally may not have room in their schedule to take you on, so you will have to find a whole new designer who will need to become familiar with your website’s inner workings – potentially adding to the bill!

Ongoing Contracts

With ongoing contracts, you have a monthly fee that is paid to your designer. While this can seem like an unnecessary expense, for those who are constantly working on or changing their websites, it can be very cost-effective.

When you realize your website is not loading quickly enough and you are losing customers who grow impatient, having your designer on call can be a great help. In addition, you may be able to pay a lower initial price for your website if you agree to an ongoing service contract. Plus, you get the benefit of having the same person working on your website, with no learning curve.

You should, however, be careful and make sure you know exactly how much work is covered with your monthly fee, or you could end up having to open up your wallet again!

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