SEO Werkt!

For the first time ever, Apple will be presenting at the Black Hat security conference this week, highlighting key security technologies in the iOS mobile operating system.

I signed up with Timehop Abe, which shows me pictures from a year ago each morning (I hope you can parse that).

This morning I actually glanced at the email for 6 April 2011, where I was speaking at the WeMedia event in NYC. The funny thing is that I am wearing the same outfit today — the same pants and black t-shirt. I would be wearing the same hat but I left that one on a train, and now wear a replacement that is almost the same. Hilarious.

I have a clothing theory: dress like you are going on a camping trip immediately after whatever is scheduled for you today.

iPhone users are “more profitable than the average smartphone customer,” which is why Sprint was willing to sink $15.5 billion into offering the iPhone to its subscribers last year. That’s according to Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, who defended the carrier’s decision to bring on the iPhone in an interview with Mobile World Live (hat tip to BGR) on Wednesday. Hesse not only said that iPhone users are more profitable, they’re also more loyal to the carrier and use less data than some other smartphone users.

“Subsidises are heavy for the iPhone,” Hesse explained as part of why a large number of new subscribers made such a huge difference to Sprint in the fourth quarter of 2011. “Four out of every 10 iPhones we sold are for new customers. That’s roughly double the rate of either of our competitors, so we’re pulling a lot of customers from our competitors.”

As for why Sprint wants all those iPhone users anyway, it’s apparently because they’re more loyal than other subscribers and don’t gobble as much data. “iPhone customers have a lower level of churn and they actually use less data on average than a high-end 4G Android device. So from a cost point of view and a customer lifetime value perspective. They’re more profitable than the average smartphone customer,” Hesse said.

It’s may be surprising to think that iPhone users use less data than others, but Hesse’s statement isn’t the first of its kind. Another report from late 2010 claimed that Verizon’s non-Blackberry smartphone users gobbled more data per month than AT&T’s iPhone users (this was before Verizon started carrying the iPhone in early 2011). 

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You might notice a sudden surge of inexplicable tweets from the digerati over the next few days, as the hippest kids in hipsterdom descend upon Austin, Texas for the annual nerd-fest known as South by Southwest, SXSW, or just “South-By” if you’re really cool.

It’s a festival of parties, schmoozing, drinking, looking for good barbecue, eating breakfast tacos, and, of course, searching for the next big thing, the way Twitter was at SXSW in 2007 and AT&T most definitely wasn’t in 2008. Somewhere in there everyone finds time to go to a hugely packed schedule full of panel discussions on social marketing, entrepreneurship, music, social networking, whether Twitter is burned out, or not. Along the way, everyone will be trying out otherwise-useless apps like Highlight, Nomenclature, and a host of other “stalker” apps.

Feel like you’re missing out? Here are some things you might consider doing for the next few days instead (with a hat tip to Alexis Madrigal).

1. Throw your own party. Tequilas and tacos seem like a good bet. Invite everyone you can think of who has cool eyeglasses or ironic T-shirts.
2. Go for bike rides. If you live in a tech-heavy town like San Francisco or Brooklyn, there’s bound to be less traffic than usual in the bike lane.
3. Start a band.
4. Catch up on your Netflix queue.
5. Help hunt down Joseph Kony.
6. Order a new iPad. (Warning: It might take awhile to arrive.)
7. Play Magic: The Gathering with your friends.
8. Start a company to tackle a terrifyingly ambitious idea.
9. Go hang out in some douchy hipster bar and tweet about it. (Hat tip: Charlie Sorrel)
10. Learn to fly.
11. Take up the ukulele.
12. Enjoy the sunshine. You won’t need a poncho.
13. Follow #notatsxsw and tweet about what you’re not doing.

Photo: Brooke Hammerling

Filed under: VentureBeat

Posted by Erica McGillivray

Google+ has crept into SERPs near you. From getting hyper-personalized results popping up everywhere to recommending people to follow or showing you results you've +1'd or posts you've made, Google+ isn't giving you the choice to ignore it. (Unless you use Bing, Yahoo!, or another search service entirely.) Sure, there are ways to depersonalize it; but who has the time for another click, unless you're really getting results you aren't happy with or being an SEO super-sleuth. From author spotlights or highlights from those you've circled, it seems the closer you are to a keyword and its SERPs, the more intense the personalization gets.

Check out my entire page of personalized results when I search for "SEOmoz":

As anyone knows who's tried to do a little bit of personalization to customers, personalization is hard. There are zillions of factors and complex algorithms to work through. But we also know when it comes to conversions, personalization is a huge win-sparkle.

But Google has the employee bandwidth and some of the best minds of several generations working on making personalization happen. Despite their numerous products, search is Google's crown jewel; 80% of searches are done there because they generally deliver better results than their competitors. (Sorry, Bing and Yahoo!, but "Google" is a verb.) In the long-run, personalized results are going to be easier for Google and provide more relevant results for users, which will keep users coming back for more.

Google+ Worker of a You-Sourced Search Engine

Have you signed up for a Google product? Congratulations, you are now a Google volunteer. No, you don't get any benefits except one: using Google's (mostly) free products. Instead, as you surf the web, your movements will make your own crowd-sourced engine. Or as a crowd of one, you-sourced.

When you search for "angel," are you looking for a brooding vampire, not ethereal creatures or charity networks? Don't worry, Google already knows because you're subscribed to the Tumblr Angel Does Stuff and you wrote a blog post about how much you love Lilah Morgan. Not to mention, you've visited Angel's IMDB page while rewatching it with your sweetie and playing "who's that actor?"

Maybe you're new to a field, say it's "SEO." Go ahead and circle Rand Fishkin, Danny Sullivan, or Aaron Wall, SEO influencers as suggested by Google, and bam: their recommendations guide your results.

Note: Danny Sullivan, more circlers than Lady Gaga.

Got Authority? Yes, You Do.

A huge problem Google has right now is site authority and quality. Page rank and domain authority are attempts to inform rankings which sites have authority and quality content. But this doesn't always work. Spammers and black hats have had years of perfecting the dark force to beat Google.

Last year's Panda algorithm change was a direct assault on sites with duplicate and weak content that were squeezing into rankings. Panda didn't happen to cause SEOs to tear our hair out. No, it was a direct punch against snake oil SERP results and results that made all of us go "meh." You can argue that some sites didn't deserve the hit and got caught in the crossfire, but Panda tossed out a lot of junk. 

Now in combination with Panda's tweaks, Google+ creates the ultimate SERP authority: you. You are awesome, and no one knows what you want better than you. Google+ just isn't sending you SERPs based on your subtle hints and wish list anymore; now, it's going directly to you, the source. And if you don't know about it, perhaps your "circles" will.

I've told Google that I love Sherlock, the BBC series, and think way too much about it. Google serves me "Sherlock" SERPs completely filled with what I love. No mention of the books, other TV or film, or various businesses, services, or products using the Sherlock name. My personalized SERP kicks off 3 links that "normally" rank in the top 10. Including a pub chain in Texas, which I'm sure fought hard for that ranking.

Additionally, by giving bloggers the incentive of authority and our tiny photos in SERPs, hooking in your Google+ profile to your blogging platform creates a type of article authority Google hasn't had before. There's a reason Rand has a ridiculous number of Google+ followers; if he put out crap, they'd uncircle him. Now Google knows that Rand's articles are quality content — mostly likely around SEO, inbound marketing, and entrepreneurship — Rand's content becomes an extremely strong "safe" ranking factor to serve results on. And he gets his smiling face as a recommended follow for "SEO."

If you haven't started building your authority with the articles you're writing, it's time to jump in. You too can become a safe SERP in your field, interest, or hobby. Are you an authority on something? Is your brand an authority? It's time to start creating content, curating content, and building up your following. If you're considered an authority, your rankings may jump higher than they've ever gone before.

SEOs: No Longer a Pain in Cutts' Butt

Google+ radically changes an SEO's game strategy towards rankings. Good luck getting another SERP into my results for "SEOmoz" the old-fashioned way. That said, the cries of "SEO's finally dead" still remain highly exaggerated. Sloppy SEO and some black hat tactics are certain staked in their tracks. Your keyword stuffed article isn't going to get my +1.

Now I don't expect Google+ to remain ungamed. There's a whole subset of the SEO industry who's made their way on gaming every change Google's made. But the amount of time and energy you'd have to put into gaming Google+ to convince me that you're not a bot…I think you got a little bleach on your hat there.

Ultimately, white hat tactics of quality, linkbait content will prevail in the world of Google+. Whether you're focusing on how-tos or selling jewelry, your content isn't going to get the love of the +1 if it doesn't appeal to the people.

Nowhere Near Perfect

Right now, Google's crowd-sourcing is nowhere near perfect. Not enough people are using Google+ on a regular basis to make a huge impact. Yes, Google says they have 90 million users (800 million on Facebook and 200 million on Twitter for comparison), but no one's sure just how many people are actually using it. 

I know my personal information stream seems a little bare with a few heavy-weight champions *cough*SEOs*cough* dominating my results. Not to mention, my own information comes up a lot. This is great when I share out a link, and I'm trying to find it again. This is not so great if I'm say looking for an image of Doctor Who as I still have those on my harddrive. Or if I'm searching for videos of adorable baby pandas (very likely) and Google serves me White Board Friday Videos posted on SEOmoz's Google+; no offense, SEOmoz teammates, but I'd much rather watch the bears with the giant heads.

Besides mass user adoption, the biggest hurdles left are of the philosophical nature: privacy and group-think.

Privacy, know our friend "not provided"? Know how Google Analytics went to court in Germany? Or how SOPA came about? When the non-web marketer sees their friends showing up in their SERPs, they're going to start freaking out. I have a feeling that zombies are on the way out and Skynet and killer robots are back as the villains reflected in our cultural subconscious. 

Subtle personalization has been happening for a long time. We like seeing ourselves reflected back in the mirror of advertising, and the best inbound marketing reflects what we need to see, not just what we want to see. 

"I'd rather make a show 100 people need to see than a show that 1,000 people want to see." — Joss Whedon, producer/writer of Buffy: the Vampire Slayer and Firefly

I love the above quote from Whedon because this is what personalization does at it's best. It gives us what we need, not just want we want. And in giving us what we need, we're less likely to call shenanigans on Google's privacy policy. (Just look at Facebook, who may have even better access to personalization data than Google, and a platform that people get lost on for hours.)

By giving us what we need, Google will also give us diversity of opinions and our feeds can avoid group-think. If my results are completely personalized based on my searches and my circles, they are unlikely to carry thoughts that aren't similar to my own. Seeing only results from other liberal-minded, web marketers who are giant geeks isn't what I need, even if that's the feed I may want to live in.

In order to be truly innovative and understand humanity on the whole, we need a variety of ideas. I need to know that people disagree with my opinions, whether political, personal, or otherwise. And our "circles" have an inherent selection bias in that we generally surround ourselves with people like ourselves. 

Not to mention, our circles aren't experts in everything. My coworker Jen Lopez found that her circles don't know anything about hotels in Madrid:

Google+ Personalization: Easy-as-Pie Win-Sparkle.

As Google+ builds and more people find value in adopting it as part of their social world, the SERPs will improve. And given that Google adjusts its search algorithm over 500 times in a year, I suspect there's already geniuses working on these problems. The more Google builds out Google+ for personalization and pushes its you-sourced engine, the better the results will get and the easier it will be for Google to serve each of us what we need.

As we head into a world of personalization, we SEOs are going to focus on the creation of content and distribution of content more than ever. We're investing in building our authority on subjects for our businesses and hobbies, and there's nothing better than getting in on the ground-floor.

Make Google+ personalization a win-sparkle for you and your customers. Embrace better content, build your own authority, and make the you-sourced search engine even cooler.

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When you say the name Bruce Clay and you are someone who reads this blog, you know who I am talking about. Bruce Clay – that name – makes you think of an individual who provides outstanding SEO services, expensive SEO services, but all white hat, ethical, and someone who has a deep deep understanding of search that goes well beyond most others in the industry. You also look at him as one of the older, wiser and definitely more respected individuals in the industry.

So when the news came out that he and his company is somewhat behind a new “Local Paid Inclusion” program that is backed by Google, Yahoo and Bing – I was stunned, shocked and a bit worried for the industry and Bruce’s name.

The program launched under localpaidinclusion.com, which now redirects to the official statement from Bruce Clay, Inc. on this topic. It initially read:

Local Paid Inclusion is a Google, Yahoo and Bing contracted service and is offered as an approved official program in cooperation with those search engines.
Local Paid Inclusion promotes a local businessâ profile page, like those found in Google Places, Yahoo Local and Bing Local, into a top position on the search result page for up to 30 keywords per profile page.

This is a NEW program offered by Google, Yahoo!, Bing and 18 other major directories and indexes that places a business profile into a premium area above all other local profiles. Combine this with all of your other optimization programs to maximize your traffic.

What this means is local businesses that participate can essentially pay for the top local ranking position!

Both Google and Bing denied having any deal with a paid inclusion program with Bruce or his companies or anything like this with any other company.

Bruce Clay apologized but said they were mislead, while the company that mislead them denied any of this completely.

You can read the whole timeline at Search Engine Land. I won’t go through it all – I cover the industry and the industry doesn’t feel the same way about Bruce as they did.

I am sad to say I feel Bruce’s image has been hurt by this and I feel he has let down the industry with this program. In time, everything will heal but right now, this has to hurt.

Some are giving him credit, claiming this is just one big link bait tactic – but even Bruce wouldn’t exchange links for a tarnished name.

I asked my Twitter followers to let me know what they think about it and this is what they had to say:

@rustybrick Those who tout ethics all over their website and marketing are often the ones people need to worry about.

â” Jill Whalen (@jillwhalen) February 2, 2012

@rustybrick Bruce Clay is why Google updated privacy policies, he has an EXCLUSIVE agreement to sell your information-stalker paid inclusion

â” Phil Britton (@localsearchguy) February 2, 2012

@rustybrick what’s up with the whole we didn’t collect money, only pre registration information bit? As if that’s cool. #leadgengonewild

â” Aaron Putnam (@aaronputnam) February 2, 2012

@rustybrick“BCI has ceased to engage in Local Paid Inclusion while we dig into confusing and contradicting statements.” #needisaymore

â” gabriel (@gabs) February 2, 2012

@rustybrick “You keep saying Local Paid Inclusion but I don’t think you know what it means!”

â” Matt Keough (@MattKeough) February 2, 2012

@rustybrick When NJ SEO’s heard about Clay’s play they cried “Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!” confusing Springsteen fans everywhere.

â” Frank Reed (@frankreed) February 2, 2012

@rustybrick There used to be a TVC in Australia. The theme song: “one day, one day, one day you’re gunna get caught with your pants down”

â” Chris Dimmock (@Cogentis) February 2, 2012

Search fraud LOL RT @rustybrick I might do a post on the BruceClay thing — Give me a one liner tweet you want me to include in the post.

â” Ezhil Raja (@ezhil) February 2, 2012

@rustybrick Is BC really search marketing authority like @dannysullivan ?With the latest episode has he lost the credibility?

â” Arpit Srivastava(@arpitconsultant) February 2, 2012

Personally, this whole situation makes me very sad for Bruce and the industry.

Forum discussion – well, everywhere in the SEO community.

Searching for a new apartment can be fun. The thrill of finding listings, and choosing candidates based on photos, maps, and amenities can be enjoyable, and there are plenty of tools to make the search easy. The real trouble starts when it’s time to tour a prospective home, meet the landlord, and learn a little about the neighborhood. This is where you have to put on your detective’s hat and start asking questions. Here’s what you should find out before you sign a lease. More »

Below is live coverage of the Black Hat Tactics and Preventative Measures panel from the PubCon 2011 conference.

Disclaimer: The coverage is brought to you in real time…