Thoughts from the frontline

A new ripple of change in the world of search marketing came in the form of a Google algorithm update recently; code name Penguin.

Other than trying to work out why Google is targeting my favourite creatures, the recurring question on marketers’ lips is ‘what’s changed’? ... read more

2011 in search marketing was a busy year.  Google+ in beta was introduced in June and opened up to the public in September that year.  June was also the month when the support of the “authorship markup” was announced on the Google blog.

It was introduced as a way to connect authors with their content on the web.  Now it has developed into a way of ranking content by the authority of the author instead of the quality of the domain the content is hosted on.  Google keep changing the goalposts and everyone has to keep up with the changes to avoid being penalised and get good rankings in the search engine result pages (SERPs). ... read more

It always surprises me how many marketers don’t have a strategy for mobile marketing.

We’re all trying to speak to the right person, right place, right time. So I think it’s crazy that so many marketers are overlooking the opportunity to run mobile-targeted PPC campaigns to users that they know are the right person,  in buy-mode, who are actively searching for a supplier like you. ... read more

The term ‘content marketing’ is a relatively new one, but one that is rapidly gaining traction in B2B marketing. The term itself is a bit of an odd one, and you could be forgiven for being quite cynical about its relevance and pertinence.

Why? Well, because from print ads to SEO, all marketing inherently involves words and pictures – in other words, content – and always has. ... read more

No one likes to be omitted from a conversation ... read more

January has been busy all round with Google releasing some game-changing algorithm updates so far. The most significant is ‘Search + your world’ which brings personalisation to the forefront of SERPS.

This brings your personal world into your search results, which according to Google, makes them far more relevant to you. ... read more

If you’re wondering how you’re going to make social media work for your business in 2012, stop!

Right now, if you need to drive significant levels of new inbound leads, you’ve got no choice – you must have a content strategy. Without compelling content, social media doesn’t ‘ripple’, and without social media, you’re just missing out – even (especially) you B2B marketers out there. … read more

SEO is a constantly changing and evolving industry. The trends and tactics used to stay ahead and ensure ranking success, change with search engine algorithm updates. SEO before the Google’s ‘Florida’ update looked quite different to SEO afterward, and  the same applies to other major algorithm changes like Panda.

So what will search, in general, look like in the future and what will be the impact upon SEO? ... read more

What you need to know about encrypted search.

Searchers using an unsecured network (like a public WiFi, for example) could be at risk of their search data being unsecure. Now, if you’re one of the odd 8% of people who search when logged in to Google’s search engine , your keyword search data will be encrypted. It won’t be shared with other sites – or stored. The 8% will vary from location to location, sector to sector and website to website. ... read more

Back in 2008, Google relaxed previous rules and announced that companies using Adwords could bid on competitor keywords. For example, M&S could bid on Interflora searches. And they did!

Many companies – Interflora included – weren’t very happy about this and decided to take legal action. ... read more