SEO Werkt!

Yesterday, I wrote about the two topics that are buzzing around the catalog vendor community this week (click here to read the blog post).

It is time for the monthly Google Webmaster report where we share all the latest Google SEO related topics of the past month and recap you on anything particularly new going on in the search results.

The ongoing WebmasterWorld thread has chatter about the PageRank update and then some discussion around weird messages about blocked pages in Google Webmaster Tools, and finally the normal ranking fluctuation chatter. Outside of that, the start of the month has been pretty quiet.

In terms of the most important Google SEO related topics, here they are in some order:

Updates:

• Official: Google Panda 3.9 Refresh
• Korea & Japan Get Google’s Panda Algorithm
• Google PageRank Update: August 2012

Link Notification Debacle:

• Google’s Cutts Explains Untrusted Link Notifications
• Google Sends Out Notifications For Links They Ignore
• Google Sends Out New Batch Of Unnatural Link Notifications
• Want Me To Remove That Link? Pay Me $500!

Google SEO Advice:

• Google’s Cutts: Links Still More Powerful Than Social Signals
• Google: Infographic Links To Be Discounted
• Want To Disavow Links In Google Now? 404 The Target Page
• Google: Ignored Links Can Confuse Google’s Algorithms
• Google On JavaScript & Responsive Web Design
• Google: Don’t Wait For Your Penalty To Expire
• Google: Wouldn’t It Be Annoying If USPS Did Multiple Sites?
• Google: Aggregated Statistics Is Not Great Content
• Google: 2-3 Sentences Of Unique Content Is Enough
• Google: We Show Better Titles Than Your Title Tags

Google Webmaster Tools:

• Structured Data Dashboard On Google Webmaster Tools
• Google’s New Advanced Index Status Report
• Author Stats Returns To Google Webmaster Tools
• See Your Newest Links In Google Webmaster Tools
• Google Previews Added To Google Webmaster Tools Crawl Errors
• Google Webmaster Tools Now Adds Crawl Error Alerts

For the past month’s report, see the July 2012 Google webmaster report.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

Fun week in search, led off by Google’s 20th employee after 13 years leaving Google to become the CEO of Yahoo, oh, she is also expecting her first child in a few months. Google released Panda for Japanese and Korean languages. SEOs cite Penguin as the reason for Google’s earnings being so high. There are web sites charging fees to remove links they have pointing to your web site. Google sent out a batch of unnatural link notifications the past day or so. Google added a download the latest links feature in Webmaster Tools. Google said, if they ignore links, it can confuse Google. Google also said, don’t make multiple sites for regions you operate in – put it all in one site. Bing added Foursquare to the Bing social bar. Google brought back author stats to Google Webmaster Tools. Google added previews to Google Webmaster Tools links. Google finally added a way to safely share access to your Google AdSense account. Firefox 14 launched with Google SSL on by default, get ready for more [not provided] in your stats. Finally, Google sunset the old Google Analytics user interface finally. That was this past week on search at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:

For the original iTunes version, click here.

Search Topics of Discussion:

• Why Did Marissa Mayer Leave Google To Be The CEO Of Yahoo?
• Korea & Japan Get Google’s Panda Algorithm
• SEOs: Google Penguin Leads To 42% Increase In Paid Clicks
• Want Me To Remove That Link? Pay Me $500!
• Google Sends Out New Batch Of Unnatural Link Notifications
• See Your Newest Links In Google Webmaster Tools
• Google: Ignored Links Can Confuse Google’s Algorithms
• Google: Wouldn’t It Be Annoying If USPS Did Multiple Sites?
• Bing Adds Foursquare Reviews To Social Bar
• Author Stats Returns To Google Webmaster Tools
• Google Previews Added To Google Webmaster Tools Crawl Errors
• Safely Give Others Access To Your Google AdSense Account
• Firefox 14 Launches: Expect Increase In [Not Provided]
• Google 404s The Old Google Analytics

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Author Stats Returns To Google Webmaster Tools
  After a three month hiatus, Google has brought back Author Stats to Google Webmaster Tools.
  I personally noticed it yesterday when I was playing around with my Google Webmaster Tools account.
• Google: Wouldn’t It Be Annoying If USPS Did Multiple Sites?
  One of the most common questions I get is, should I build a web site for each location I have a presence in?

  If I run a barber chain and I want to rank for barber in each city, should I just make a web site barber-cityname…

• Safely Give Others Access To Your Google AdSense Account
  Finally, after years and years of requests from Google AdSense publishers, Google announced you can now control user access to Google AdSense…
• Google+ “Share” Link Added To Google Search Results
  Now when you search in Google and you are logged in, you should see a “share” link when you mouse over Google search results. Here is a picture:
• Google 404s The Old Google Analytics
  Google Analytics announced they have finally completely sunsetted the old version of Google Analytics.

  You can now only use the new UI (user interface) for Google Analytics. This is a really long time coming…

• Bing Adds Foursquare Reviews To Social Bar
  Yesterday Bing announced they have added Foursquare data to the Bing social bar.

  It works pretty well.

  You search for something local, be it movie theaters, places to eat, barber shops and so on and if someone has something to say about it on Foursquare, Bing may show it…

• Yahoo Gets Marissa Mayer A Baby Gift
  Just one day on the job and Marissa Mayer already got a baby gift for her baby, which she is expecting in October. Marissa left Googler earlier this week to take on the task of being the CEO at Yahoo

Other Great Search Forum Threads:

• YouTube Launches Face Blurring Tool, WebmasterWorld
• Bing Adds 215 TB of New Image Data To Birds Eye, WebmasterWorld
• Invision Power Board – Panda Trigger, WebmasterWorld
• More third party tools to help manage your Google+ page â¦, Eduardo Thuler – Google+
• New Google Tools input …, Stefan Keuchel – Google +
• Unbelievable – Site Got To Page 1 Of Google Within A Few Hours, HighRankings Forums
• Website Upgrade Gone Bad – Major Ranking Drop, WebmasterWorld

One of the most common questions I get is, should I build a web site for each location I have a presence in?

If I run a barber chain and I want to rank for barber in each city, should I just make a web site barber-cityname…

One of the most common questions I get is, should I build a web site for each location I have a presence in?

If I run a barber chain and I want to rank for barber in each city, should I just make a web site barber-cityname.com so I can rank well for each city? The answer is maybe, but Google would never tell you to go with that approach.

Google’s John Mueller gave one of the best reasons why you shouldn’t go with multiple domain names for each location. He said:

Focusing on a single website makes it much easier for our algorithms to understand your site, the services you’re providing, and the regions that you service. Splitting that into separate sites for each location that you ship to not only makes it harder for our algorithms, but also for users (imagine if the post office did that).

Yea, can you imagine if the post office did do that? It would be hard to find what you need and make it confusing for the user.

Google strongly recommends you stick with a single site with pages for each location, and a location finder tool.

If that is the approach you should take depends on your strategy.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

Founded on the premise of making it easier for independent creators to interact with their customers, Stitch Labs launched to offer a cloud-based solution for small businesses that wish to manage CRM, product orders, and inventory management. Now it’s taking that a step further by helping SMBs complete the full cycle of sales transactions through an integration with Austin-based startup ShipStation to handle shipping and order fulfillment for customers.

Stitch wants to be the connective tissue between multiple sales sites and platforms, giving independent designers, makers, and manufacturers the ability to reach customers and manage supply and demand regardless of where they sold their goods. Since most of those businesses sell across multiple channels, Stitch allows them to manage inventory across all of them. To do that, it has integrated with major sales platforms such as Etsy, Shopify, and BigCommerce, allowing customers to sell across multiple sites.

Now through its partnership with ShipStation, Stitch Labs will help SMBs close the loop with customers, taking them all the way through shipping and order fulfillment. While Stitch handles all the inventory management for its customers, ShipStation will ensure that products get to SMBs’ end-customers.

Shipping options through ShipStation include FedEx, UPS, and USPS, depending on how soon products are needed and how much customers want to pay for shipping. ShipStation will also handle stuff like order import and batch label creation, as well as customer communication around tracking numbers and the like.

Stitch Labs just raised a $1 million seed investment from True Ventures in February. It’s been using that money to grow headcount, which has increased (see below) from the four cofounders to six full-time employees, with another two interns. It also plans to add even more shopping cart and marketplace integrations as time goes on.

You probably already know that The Forum for Cross-Channel Merchants (click here) was recently cancelled.

Yesterday, CNNMoney published an article reporting on a new U.S. Postal Service campaign that has made some of us here at HubSpot a little queasy. Calling all inbound marketers: it’ll probably make your stomachs turn a bit, too.

In a nutshell, the campaign is a push to encourage small businesses to send more direct mail (AKA junk mail), in an attempt to boost the suffering U.S. Postal Service’s revenue stream by ‘hundreds of millions of dollars.’ More direct mail? As a marketer, this is the phrase that’s supposed to make you feel a little nauseous.

USPS’ ‘Every Door Direct Mail’ Campaign

The ailing U.S. Postal Service, which reported a $5.1 billion loss for the year ended September 30, has put a year-old online tool at the forefront of its new campaign, entitled ‘Every Door Direct Mail.’ The web tool supposedly helps small businesses micro-target direct mail by allowing companies to target customers by neighborhood or zip code — no names or addresses required!

The program, which has been around since April 2011, charges small businesses 14.5 cents per mail piece sent and generated $153 million in revenue through December 2011. The direct mail program is estimated to raise $750 to $800 million of revenue in 2012.

The Postal Service is reported to be releasing three new television commercials to promote its new direct mail campaign starting this week, airing on CNN, local news, CBS’ “60 Minutes,” and during certain sporting events. We’re told one even features a dancer dressed in a chicken costume.

Without even getting into the obvious environmental implications of USPS’ new campaign (we’ll leave that for the eco-centric blogs to criticize), let’s chat about why USPS’ campaign isn’t the most respectable move for the Postal Service.

Direct Mail Is No Longer the Most Efficient Marketing Tactic

Direct mail, a form of outbound marketing, doesn’t exactly have a great reputation these days. Consumers are continuing to ignore these interruptive communications, and much of the junk mail people receive ends up in their trash bins. The fact is, traditional marketing strategies that businesses have long adopted — including direct mail — are less effective now that the internet has changed the way people research and shop; it’s the other marketing tactics that adapt to these changing buyer behaviors that are gaining traction among marketers.

Just consider the less obtrusive, less expensive, and more effective marketing alternatives that have cropped up under the inbound marketing umbrella. We’re talking things like search engine optimization, content creation/business blogging, and social media marketing — these tactics all leverage the ways buyers naturally research and make purchasing decisions these days, rather than interrupting them with marketing they don’t want or need. HubSpot’s recently released 2012 State of Inbound Marketing Report, which analyzes the effectiveness of various marketing channels, highlights this very discrepancy.

When asked about the average cost per lead of both inbound and outbound marketing lead channels, only 34% of marketers surveyed indicated that direct mail generated a below average cost per lead, compared to inbound channels such as blogs (52%), social media (45%), and SEO (38%).

Furthermore, when survey participants were asked which sources of leads had become less important to them over the last six months, direct mail topped the list, with 51% of marketers indicating it had decreased in importance, followed closely by other outbound-based channels.

While we support an integrated marketing strategy that connects offline and online marketing, it’s hard to support a government organization in its attempt to coerce businesses into sending more and more junk mail, considering the fact that many smart marketers are understanding its inadequacy to help them effectively and cost-efficiently generate leads compared to other marketing alternatives.

Now, we get it — the postal service industry has obviously suffered greatly from the rise of the digital age. But surely there are better strategies to employ that adapt to the changing ways people and businesses are communicating rather than pushing adoption of an increasingly inefficient marketing method.

On the other hand, I don’t know about you, but I certainly can’t wait to find out what a dancing chicken has to do with USPS’ new direct mail campaign. While you’re using your DVR to fast-forward through the commercials between your favorite programming, be on the lookout this week.

What are your thoughts on the USPS’ direct mail push?

Connect with HubSpot:

On Monday, we talked about the future of cataloging.  Here’s my thoughts, once again, positioned via the “Judy / Jennifer / Jasmine” persona framework:

• In 2001, we made a decision.  Instead of allowing the online channel to grow and thrive as an independent entity, we elected to integrate it with our core business, and by doing so, we homogenized the experience, causing the online channel to reflect the core buyer we already possessed.
• Since 2001, we decided to embrace co-ops as our primary method for acquiring new customers.  The models employed by co-ops selected 55+ rural customers, as they should, given their job is to optimize response within catalogs, catalogs preferred by 55+ rural customers.
• This dynamic (catalog + website appeals to a 55+ rural customer … co-ops deliver 55+ rural customers that will shop online after receiving a catalog) fueled a feedback loop that, eleven years later, resulted in a customer file that is fundamentally disconnected from the average consumer in America (a person in her early 40s).
• Now that we are disconnected from the average customer, anything new and trendy we try, stuff appealing to a customer age 18-49, simply doesn’t work when marketed to a 55+ rural customer.  This fuels the feedback loop.
• Long-term, this feedback loop is unsustainable.
• Toss in USPS challenges, and short-term sustainability is questioned.
• The secret to sustainability, over the next decade, is for the catalog brand to follow an age band (50-59 year old customers) instead of following a cohort (59 year old customers that will become 69 year old customers).  This means that the catalog brand must become proficient at speaking to “Jennifer”, the current 43ish year old e-commerce / Google maven.
• As the catalog brand switches from Judy to Jennifer, there will be a consistent reduction in catalog advertising dollars, as Jennifer buys from you for reasons largely independent of catalog marketing.
• The catalog brand that tries to jump the bridge from Judy to Jasmine is likely to struggle.
• The catalog brand that sets up a separate, unique brand tailored to Jasmine might experience success.
• The catalog brand that rides Judy into the sunset may experience nice levels of profitability for a period of time, prior to an erosion of all business metrics.
• The transition from Judy to Jennifer won’t be without struggle.  Jennifer demands free shipping, and likes discounts.  In order to fund these activities, catalogers will have to cut back on catalog housefile marketing activities to Jennifer.
• It may be possible that the catalog brand can mail more catalogs to Judy.