Why hasn't Matthew Lesko written a get rich with SEO book yet?

I’m a search marketing guy, have been since my first job out of college (if we are not counting that liquor store on Ponce I worked out for 2 weeks in the summer of ’06. You can’t beat a 30% discount…). Most people can’t grasp what I do or even understand why the company I work for exist (my mother thinks I’m everything from a telemarketer to an Internet panhandler) but it is what I do and love. Recently I have become increasingly more serious about being able to do my job better and become a more rounded internet guy (I mostly just hang out on the fringe of the internet with the /b/tards and tweeps heckling e-celebs for my own amusement). Now I feel I have to pour myself into learning new search marketing strategies in order to keep with the constant changes and competition.

Finding good information is not always easy for search marketers.

There are no continued learning programs for SEO backlinking strategies or creating compelling keyword rich content. So I decided to put together a list of my favorite internet marketing bloggers and explain why you should be reading them if you are serious about SEO.

#1) Matt Cutts is Better Than You

http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp

If you don’t know who Matt Cutts is and you are in Search Marketing, ctrl+alt+delete your resume. Best known as being the smilin’ enforcer of Google Webmaster Guidelines, Cutts provides guidance to search marketers through his Youtube videos and blog posts.

Why You Should Care: Matt Cutts is Google’s Prometheus.  He presents SEO guidance in several different formats (videos, blog posts, guest speaking, etc). Having so many different formats make the information he provides easier to digest. If you are like me, hitting the play button is a lot easier to do than reading three paragraphs of insights.

What Should You Stalk: While you can always follow his blog, I find his information most useful from the Youtube Channel – Google Webmaster Central Channel

#2) The eWhisper

@bgtheory on Twitter

bgTheory’s Brad Geddes is a world-class PPC Geek and Adwords affacionato. Besides being the Official Adwords seminar leader, he is also the author of Advanced Google Adwords.

Why You Should Care: If you want to know what you should be doing with your Adwords account, Geddes is the man to follow. He is a well of information and ideas about how you be better use your Adwords campaign for generating and sustaining ROI.

What Should You Stalk: His Twitter account – http://twitter.com/#!/bgtheory

#3) David and the Paid Goliath

@Szetela on Twitter

David Szetela – the occasional snarky owner of Clix Marketing, David Szetela is one of my go-to sources for PPC news and updates.

Why You Should Care: His knowledge of cross-platform paid search is extensive and an quick follow on Twitter will have your timeline full of information on tweets on paid search strategies and general SEO information.

What Should You Stalk: Like with Brad, David is most active on Twitter – http://twitter.com/#!/szetela

#4) Moz-el tov

http://www.seomoz.org/blog

SEOmoz  has some of the most informative blog post on SEO benefits, keyword mining, and PPC tips.

Why You Should Care: I’ve been faithfully reading SEOmoz’s blog for up-to-date information on SEO, PPC, and SMM from some of the best and brightest. If you are not following this blog, you are missing out.

What You Should Stalk: I highly suggest daily readings of the blog – http://www.seomoz.org/blog

#5) Mike Maps It All Out

http://blumenthals.com/blog/

A student of life, political economy & local search, Mike Blumenthal is a Google Maps and local search guru. He frequently authors articles at Search Engine Land and his blog Understanding Google Maps and Local Search.

Why You Should Care: Local search, local search, and local search. Oh and maps.

What You Should Stalk: : Mike’s blog is a warehouse of data points and Google Maps techniques – http://blumenthals.com/blog/

We have been watching some recent Google product changes over the last few months to monitor the effects on site traffic, and in November we see most websites moved along at a positive level with their organic search numbers.  Nothing startling.  Everything is on track.  But for a significant few websites, digging into the Google organic search data in November elicited responses of “Help!” or “what in the world!?!”

With drops in Google organic traffic in the double digits, some at 13% decrease, some at 20%, and some with a 32% nose dive, something clearly is going on for these few sites. Of course, my first thoughts turn straight to the two different Google product rollouts over the last 2 months and how they must be changing search behavior and traffic percentages.

Trying to find an answer or at minimum, a clue, I am paying attention to three specific areas of organic decreases:

1) geo specific searches

2) branded searches

3) photo organic search

For an example, Google organic search for 1 website for November dropped 17% or 57 visits, of which 27 were geo specific related phrases.  His organic rankings are super strong so that’s not the cause. He is in the SERPs in some great spots, so where is the traffic going?

I have another website in a different industry which lost 156 Google organic searches in November – 74 of these were geo specific.

I believe these losses are largely a consequence of Google Instant where the results differ with each letter typed in search.  I believe Instant is pulling searchers away from their intended search when these alternatives are dynamically generating as they type.  I know when Instant first rolled live, some SEO experts opined that Instant was going to be a non-event.   I can’t agree.

As I type “dentist Las Vegas” Google Instant offers several options to divert my search.  Well, I didn’t think about searching by zip code, but maybe I live in 89113, and that alternative search might be better than the one I was going to type.

Instant is offering some pretty specific options that may mean a wider keyword universe for SEO.  The “best dentist?”  Well, I would like to see who is best…

Branded search is not safe from these Google product changes either.  From my first example site, of the 57 dropped searches, 30 were branded search related (the doctor’s name).

For the branded search drops, I wondered if people were clicking on his 1 box instead of his website with his name search.

Or maybe searchers were finding a different results set for his name and were clicking on his profile or other directory listings, but I don’t see ANY increase in directory referrals.  Frankly, I’m a little stumped.

A third trend I found his month is more specific to the plastic surgery industry.  Each month there is a lot of organic search around “photos,” “pictures,” or “before and after.”  These are not search in Google Images.  I have 1 surgeon based on the West coast, who lost 37 visits from lost “photos” searching.  And 1 practice on the East coast, which lost 134 visits – dropped in half!, and I filtered out all other factors that would affect it.

I attribute these traffic losses to both Google Instant – I can see where searches can get distracted from their intent –

And to SERPs.  I’m pretty sure that where our docs once ranked for those non-localized phrases have been given over to directories.  Unfortunately, I don’t have historical data on where they once ranked for non-geo phrases in location based search and where they rank today.  Bummer.  That would have been cool to know.

I haven’t figured it all out yet.  Surely, I am missing something in the data even though I have been combing through Analytics, probably something right in front of my face. Someone may be kind enough to point it out to me, forcing me to say “doh!”

Thanks to cytoon for the great nose dive image http://www.flickr.com/photos/cytoon/

Thanks to LuChOeDu for the iconic Homer http://www.flickr.com/photos/luchoedu/

Sadly, that is not going to happen. Yahoo plans to maintain control of the search experience, and it includes Yahoo Local as a part of that. As Yahoo quotes here, it will be “Providing you with rich results that display the most relevant information from Yahoo!’s rich content properties, as well as other great product, local, entertainment, reference, social and tech sites.”

Look at the picture above and you will see boxes around the organic and paid search results—these will be provided by Bing, the rest will be provided by Yahoo, including local listings.

If you are a local business owner this might not mean much to you, but if you’re an SEO that cares about local listings you won’t get any of the relief you might have anticipated and will still need to claim your listings on all 3 search engines.

So, being that I’ve spent countless hours digging in the sofa cushions for lost pieces of the puzzle, so to speak, and still haven’t gotten them all laid out on the table, I can imagine small business owners often have the same issues.

Here’s a rundown of some of our latest challenges of Google Maps:

1. Disappearing Citations

Disappearing citations = drop in rankings. While citations aren’t essential to beating our your competitors in some markets, in others it can make or break you. When a client came to us for help with Maps rankings on particular search phrases, he was ranking for a number of “money phrases,” despite the listing breaking numerous quality guidelines. We rapidly cleaned everything up on our quest to come out in the end with a clean, strong listing. Then, numerous citations were disassociated with the listing – what! We followed the rules and the listing was ultimately penalized.

2. The Importance of a Clean Listing – your listing as well as your competitors’

It is true, the success of your listing can be dependant upon the cooperation of your competitors. In particularly competitive markets, we see a lot of keyword stuffing in titles and all throughout the listing. We’ve learned that the more muddled up the market gets, the less Google trusts the information businesses are including in their listings, and in some cases, penalizes the whole market by removing the map results from the SERPs.

Let’s use the market of hair salons, Frisco, TX:

About a month ago, this is the map that was being pulled by the search “Frisco hair salons”

and now, about a month later:

As you can see, there’s been quite the mix up of whose listings Google is favoring.  Your best bet is to stick with correct information and avoid anything spammy in order to maintain a strong listing.

3. Duplicate Listings

While the recommended strategies have changed over time, one thing is clear: duplicates are bad!  It’s likely that when you search your business’s phone number, you see more than one listing –  they may or may not have correct information, and in either case, you should address the extra listings in order to reinforce your own. For this issue, Google has handed us a couple of pieces to the puzzle, and let us on to the best way to deal with it. First, only claim your main listing. For all others, you should “report a problem” and tell Google that “This Place has another listing.” While it won’t be instant, this should help clean up your market’s cluster of listings AND help your customers find you and your real information more easily.

So, whether you are a single location of a business that’s moved a few times, or Matt Dillard Hair Salons, Frisco, TX, Google Places could be your best friend, or it could make you crazy trying to put together all the pieces of the puzzle.

Thanks to plasticrevolver for the great kitty image!

We all knew it was a matter of time before Facebook started expanding into web search and they’ve finally done it by unveiling their own Facebook local search option: Open Graph search engine. What is Open Graph, you might ask, here’s what Facebook reps are saying, according to an allfacebook.com story:

“all Open Graph enabled web pages will show up in search when a user likes them”

Why is this important? Imagine a more personalized web experience where community feedback drives interaction and search position. You can search for a cosmetic surgeon or dentist and immediately be able to contact his patients for real feedback. This is huge! No longer will you type in “Atlanta dentist” and dozens of sleek websites – you’ll be able to find information on the dentist, his office location, and talk with his clients. As Facebook continues to develop this open graph search, you will see Facebook profiles and page results as well as websites being ranked by user feedback from REAL people.

If this catches on, not only will the face of SEO change, how people think about searching will change as well. It’s like Facebook is developing Deathstars and photon rifles, while Google is reloading the Spaniard cannons.

Do I think this is the end of Google local search? No, but I do think that Facebook is moving in the right direction. Users having control over results and ranking seems like a no-brain. My only concern is potential spammers hindering the evolution of search.

Over the next 2 weeks, leading up to SMX Advanced, we will be polling businesses using Foursquares promotions tools to get the word out about their businesses.

If you are one of the advertisers we’ve contacted, please be assured we are very interested in your feedback and are excited to share the data we compile.

Foursquare is an exciting new media type bringing together local search, couponing and loyalty / retention programs around a game -based location-centric service.

Our partners in this project are:

Dream Systems Media

Dream Systems Media, “DSM”, is a trend setting, full service Internet marketing firm, with locations in Utah and Arizona, and was born when three successful Internet business entrepreneurs decided to join forces to do for others what they had previously done only for themselves.

rYnoweb

rYnoweb provides business website services, specializing in WordPress
development and implementation, local search marketing, and on-site
search engine optimization (SEO). rYnoweb serves clients nationwide
and is run by freelance Web Strategist, Chuck Reynolds out of Phoenix,
Arizona.

Read about: Local Search Marketing using Foursquare

Sterling Market Intelligence

Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on the Internet’s influence on offline consumer purchase behavior. He also is a Senior Analyst for Internet2Go, an advisory service from Opus Research tracking the evolution of the mobile Internet.

http://screenwerk.com/

—

We were surprised to learn, in our investigation, how few in our industry were aware of this great free (for now) advertising medium.

We’re excited to begin collecting data so we may learn better how effectively this medium is being used.

Once done, we will be publishing these data on the rYnoweb blog and presenting our findings at SMX Advanced (sure to be the must see session of the show).

Some related posts from the Search Influence Blog:

• Local Business Marketing on Foursquare
• Buying Yelp Reviews Is Bad for Business

In a previous post, we discussed how a pro-active approach to customer service and feedback can boost your business reputation online. Positive reviews are a sign of trust, and that carries a great deal of weight in search rankings. Happy customers are an excellent source of positive feedback and reviews.

For businesses trying to boost their visibility in local search, online customer reviews on Google Maps pages and third-party review sites are crucial to higher rankings. Although negative reviews can hurt your overall business reputation, they don’t adversely impact your search rankings.

If you’re worried about negative reviews, take comfort in the knowledge that search engines don’t really differentiate between positive and negative reviews. As local search expert, Matt McGee, points out, “There’s no such thing as a negative rating. There are only degrees of positivity.”

So, how do you go about getting your customers to post reviews on Google? Yes, you could outsource that to a company that handles SEO and reputation-management for its clients. But as local search expert, Mary Bowling notes, “It helps with trust that the review is legitimate and not gamed.”

Here are six tips on getting more customer reviews than you can handle and leveraging the ones you have to boost your local search rankings.

1. Ask and You Shall Receive

Taking a pro-active stance is the best approach where customer reviews are concerned. When a client or customer offers praise or positive verbal feedback, ask whether they would be willing to be quoted online and email them a link where they can post a review. You’d be surprised how many of them are happy to recommend a product or service they really like.

2. Offer Incentives – Not Bribes

For those customers who get a little lazy with filling out forms online, a little incentive could give them the push they need to get that review posted. Ethically, this must be approached carefully. You can offer coupons, discounts or freebies to those customers who post a review online. It should not be stipulated that it must be a positive review. If worded “leave us a great review, and you can get 20% off your next purchase,” it’s a bribe.

You could even have a monthly draw for customer review/feedback. Mike Blumenthal offers tips on using Leavefeedback.org, a site created by Michael Jensen of SoloSEO that facilitates review creation.

3. Complete The Sentence…

One trick that many companies use to get customers to write a review is to give them a feedback form on the way out. One section of the form is usually devoted to asking for comments. Customers who have trouble filling that section in, are more likely to do it if you use a “complete the sentence” format in that area.

For instance, “I love (Your Business Name) because ____________”. If this form is available on your website, you could email them and ask for feedback anytime while offering incentives for those who do give it. Always ask your customer for permission to post their comments on your website and on review sites online, along with their name (or initials) and location.

4. Use Social Proof

When you first create your local business listing on yellow pages, review sites and business listing sites, a blank review page could keep many potential reviews away. People are more likely to post reviews for a business that already has a number of reviews online.

As long as they’re legitimate and you create a separate profile for each review, you can use customer reviews from your website and feedback forms to populate these sites and provide social proof for the hesitant ones.

5. Cut Down On Negativity

Companies have little control over what is posted about them online, but by engaging directly with your public, you can respond to negative reviews quickly and minimize their impact.

Almost every business creates a couple of dissatisfied customers, and the more malicious ones could post negative reviews that harm your business reputation. The best way to minimize their impact is to get many more positive reviews than negative ones.

6. Engage With Your Audience

Don’t let the conversation online go unanswered. Respond to feedback promptly and appropriately and thank users for positive reviews posted. Contact reviewers who post negative comments with an incentive to change their review. Offer them a coupon for your products or special service that will help them change their opinion about your company.

Feel free to use these tips to get more customer reviews. It’s a great way to improve your visibility and rankings in the local search results.

According to the official Yelp blog, any photos that reviewers upload to Yelp.com will also be included when sharing reviews for that business via Facebook Connect. Users also have control over which reviews they want shared and which ones they don’t.

So if your local search visibility matters, let your customers know how they can share their feedback of your business with all their Twitter and Facebook friends with a one-time signup at Yelp and watch your rankings rise.

We had a great crowd and I enjoyed the heck out of putting this slide show together. I was trying to position some real tactics in using Twitter for local business.

I’m hopeful that it was tactical versus theoretical and I look forward to your feedback.

Please, please, please ask questions and let me know what more you’d like to know.

At the suggestion of Terri Troncale I want to invite submissions for non-profits as well. Please, please – fans, recommend your favorites! I’m really happy to have the businesses self-submit but I want to get rid of these iTunes cards

Also, my original limitation on location was because of driving distance to http://socialsouth.org. Please submit anyone, anywhere using Social Media to drive sales, membership, contributions, or any trackable outcome.

—

Twitter Bird - Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

Let’s get one thing straight right here: I’m not above buying your love. (Just ask David)

I’m going to be taking part in a couple presentations at Social South in a few weeks and in preparation I’ve been asking: who’s doing it?

The “who” I’m talking about: Small businesses in the Southeast United States (hopefully within a day’s drive of B-Ham (that’s Birmingham Alabama, you dig) and non-profits?

The “it” is – using Social Media to promote their business or organization.

So in other words, do you know a small business or non-profit in your area who is trying to use Twitter for business (or Facebook, or LinkedIn, or Orkut, or YouTube, or Blogging)?

Now, a couple caveats:

• I would prefer local businesses/non-profits: plumbers, lawn guys, doctors, spas, hair salons and organizations trying to promote local causes
• I may feature home-based businesses but I’d rather they have a product sales or membership action component

Cash Register goes Cha Ching

What’s in it for the small businesses? First, I will do an email interview and a follow-up phone call which will be featured as a blog post on the Search Influence blog. Those which represent the best case studies will also be featured on Local Search News (and may appear on Search Engine Land).

And, I will do a half-hour interview follow-up in which I’ll make recommendations and offer ideas for other promotional opportunities. And hopefully we’ll all learn better how to use Twitter for business (and other social platforms).

And, finally, a select few will get an opportunity to join me on-stage at Social South to talk about their experiences.

What’s in it for you? (I know, I know, it’s all about you) I’ve got a stack of $10.00 iTunes cards burning a hole in my pocket, y’hear. I will give a $10.00 iTunes cards to 10 randomly selected participants – in other words, comment below including a link to the business in question and their Twitter account page (e.g. Nancy’s Corner, New Orleans Gift Baskets, Nancy’s Corner on Twitter).

[Ginsu Style] But wait, there’s more – 1 lucky entry will win a $150.00 gift card / certificate to the business of their choice from the entrants listed (small print – I need a minimum of 20 entries to execute on the $150.00).

So, please, let me buy your love – help me find participants for this great panel at Social South, I’ll help you get a little more enjoyment out of life with the gift of music and we’ll both help a local business get a little more exposure online and learn about how to use Twitter for business.

All you have to do to enter is comment below with a link to the business (home page or online profile page is fine) and a link to their Twitter, Facebook, or other social media profile.

Oh, and you should definitely Tweet about it – here’s a good example: RT @w2scott: Know a small biz or non-profit using Social Media? Promote ‘em 2 win great prizes – details: http://bit.ly/vQqTA Please RT

Don’t want to copy and paste, if you’re logged in to twitter just click here to automagically retweet (may not work while Twitter is having issues).

Look, this is serious, I’m trying to help others understand how to use Twitter for business (and Facebook and LinkedIn and the others) and you can help a local small business get a little further down the road with this internet stuff. And, like I said, I am willing to buy your love.

Thanks in advance for your help!