How Social Signals Impact Search Behavior

22 Feb
Screen shot 2014-02-22 at 9.55.07 AM

Image From the Study shows eye-tracking data where one subject skipped the first two non-annotated results, focused on the socially-annotated results, and then clicked on them.

I came across a recent Google study about how social annotations impact users’ interactions with a SERP.

The full text of the study, “Perception and Understanding of Social Annotations in Web Search” is available online.

Here’s an excerpt from the study’s conclusion. To me, this language indicates that, based on searchers’ behavior, social signals will become even more important in the future:

“As the web becomes increasingly social, more and more information signals come from social sources. Users expect and demand to be able to search for socially-sourced information. Appropriately making use of social annotations to explain these social search results, therefore, becomes a necessity. While much work has gone into using social signals for search, much less is known about how users can and will make use of social annotations to make decisions during search sessions….

As web users become more social, they bring their social context to search and they expect and demand search engines to make use of this social context. Our research is a step toward this direction by investigating how social annotations affect user search behavior.”

The Takeaway?

This study shows that users are gravitating toward search results with social data and authorship snippets. To stay ahead of the curve, keep building influence across social networks and get your Google+ profile, pages, and authorship set up. Search will only become more social in years to come.

 

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35 Top Tools for SEO, Social Media & Content Marketing

3 Feb

moz robotHave you seen the Moz 2014 Industry Survey yet? The survey polls 3,700 SEO and marketing professionals about their behavior and outlook for the year.

Content Marketing Will Be Big in 2014

One takeaway from the survey is that content marketing will be a big initiative in 2014. Content creation was named as a top five priority across the in-house, agency, and independent marketers surveyed. Moz also reveals that the demand for content marketing has increased 71% year-over-year.

In addition to industry insights, the Moz survey shares the top tools used for SEO, social media marketing, and content creation. Below are the results for each category (plus five picks of my own) with links to the tools for  you to explore!

 Top 10 SEO Tools

  1. Google Webmaster Tools
  2. Moz
  3. Open Site Explorer
  4. Majestic SEO
  5. Screaming Frog
  6. Bing Webmaster
  7. Yoast
  8. SEMrush
  9. ahrefs
  10. Firebug

Top 10 Social Media Tools

  1. Facebook Insights
  2. HootSuite
  3. Moz
  4. Bitly
  5. Followerwonk
  6. TweetDeck
  7. Klout
  8. Buffer
  9. Twitter
  10. Topsy

Top 10 Content Marketing Tools

  1. Google Trends
  2. Google Alerts
  3. Google Insights for Search  (now merged with Google Trends)
  4. G+ Trending
  5. Reddit
  6. Haro
  7. Moz Fresh Web Explorer
  8. DISQUS
  9. MyBlogGuest
  10. Topsy

Britt’s Additional Picks for Content Marketing Tools

  1. Hubspot
  2. Curata
  3. Outbrain
  4. Feedly
  5. Raventools

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Links to Recent Guest Posts

29 Jan

Why Content Marketers Need Better Statistics over at Jay Baer’s Convince and Convert blog.

The Ultimate Guide to Acing The Google Analytics IQ Test and Digital Marketers and Analytics Folks To Follow on Twitter both on Measureful’s blog.

If you haven’t already, check out Measureful’s free trial for automated marketing reporting software. It’s super user-friendly and the reports are gorgeous.

Cloudy With A Chance of White Papers

30 Sep

cloud softwareI remember when Salesforce launched at the turn of the century. Okay, it was the early 2000s, but saying “turn of the century” makes it sound a lot cooler.

A publishing business I was working for at the time adopted Salesforce as its new CRM. We had a really young MBA for a CEO and he was always willing to try new things.

Salesforce was one of the earliest SaaS success stories. I recall that switching to Salesforce from our old, custom-built database required a steep learning curve for many of the sales personnel. This was back in the day before clean, user-friendly, WYSIWYG-packed applications were the norm. Workers were not yet hard-wired to navigate a cloud interface.

Switching to a new CRM also likely involved a lengthy contract obligation and manually migrating information from our outdated system. At the time, I’ll bet our CEO read quite a few Salesforce white papers and technical backgrounders to determine if the CRM would be a good fit.

Now My Head Is In the Clouds

Fast forward to 2013.  How many new cloud-based services do you sign up for each month? How many free SaaS demos do you try? As an online marketer involved in SEO, paid advertising, and social media, I’d estimate that I create about five new accounts monthly. Last week alone, I signed up for Trello, Triberr, and a silly wedding planning app that shall remain nameless (I am getting hitched in a few months!)

The SaaS model is now ubiquitous. Anyone can demo a complex software solution in minutes for free and with very little risk.  User-friendly dashboards and universal design best practices make it quick and easy to learn how to use new software. In addition, many APIs play nicely with one another. This makes it easy for a Salesforce user to integrate other favorite tools like MailChimp or Google Apps.

So, let me get to the point and ask a few marketing questions:

Are traditional white papers still relevant marketing tools for selling SaaS products? Have free trials and monthly plans significantly lowered the risk of trying new cloud applications?  How have these changes impacted the B2B sales cycle?

White Papers vs. Ebooks and Numbered Lists

Gordon Graham, a.k.a. “That White Paper Guy,” recently authored “White Papers for Dummies,” a thorough guide to writing long form B2B content. In this book, Graham describes traditional white papers, such as technical backgrounders for CTOs or CIOs and Problem/Solution papers for executives. Along with these two white paper styles, Graham also recommends an ebook, or numbered list paper. This is a more informal document that reads like a magazine article or an extended blog post.

There are still many B2B situations where a white paper makes sense. However, I think that many SaaS providers today, especially smaller startups, may benefit from a numbered list or ebook more than a more traditional white paper.

Today you can demo a SaaS product, try it out for a month, and then cancel or sign up. In the digital marketing space, I see a ton of software startups with small teams and budgets selling services to other small and medium-sized organizations. In this space, the numbered list has several benefits:

      • User Friendly. Numbered lists are scannable and easy to read and contain actionable advice that will make the reader’s life easier. This will appeal to small business owners, who are pressed for time and always looking for ways to streamline and improve operations.
      • Engaging and Highly Sharable. The soft-sell approach of an ebook or numbered list advances the customers who are already in your sales pipeline. An ebook also works to attract new leads by addressing important industry questions or universal concerns. This is a big plus for startups who are trying to get their name out there and spread brand awareness.
      • A Softer Sell.  Unlike a white paper, an ebook is not an obvious sales tool.  This makes ebooks and numbered lists sharable and easy to promote on social media.  When you download a white paper, you know you’ll be getting a call from a sales person. A numbered list or ebook does not have that same “salesy” reputation (yet . . .).

What do you think about using ebooks and numbered list content in lieu of more formal white papers? Please share any thoughts or reactions in the comments below!

Photo credit: jojo nicdao

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Link Roundup: 2 Google+ Changes Affecting Local Search

12 Jul

Google is making a steady push to integrate Google+, its social networking platform, with all of its offerings including search, maps, email and more.  In doing so, Google appears to have two main goals:

  1. If you are signed into a Google account, then you will be counted as an active Google+ user.
  2. 2. If you are a business, it will be necessary to have a Google+ page to compete online.

Two recent changes will especially  impact business owners. One is the switch from Google Places to Google+ Local and the second is the addition of an image carousel to local search results. Below is a summary of each change and a roundup of expert posts for more detail.

Change #1 – Google Places is Becoming Google+ Local

With so many branded offerings – “Google+,” “Google Places,” “Google Reviews,” and “Google Local,” it’s no surprise that business owners may be confused about using Google+ for marketing.  Soon all of these products will be combined under the Google+ Local umbrella with a fancy new dashboard and capabilities. Here’s some background information about switch from Google Places to Google+ Local.

  • Google+ Local Replaces Google Places: What Local Businesses Should Know: The folks at Hubspot give an overview of the change from Places to Local. This is a good place to start.
  • Google Local Plus “101″ Primer: This post points out why many business owners are feeling confused about how to transition from Places to Local.
  • What Happened to Google Places:  An answer to this question straight from the Google Help Center (which is also totally redesigned!)
  • Helping People Discover and Share Local Businesses with Google+: This post on the Google and Your Business Blog walks through some of the improvements that Google+ Local will offer and shares links to a few beta business profiles already running the new Local features.

 

Google+ Local for Business

This images shows a restaurant with the new Google+ Local layout and features.

Change # 2 – Google Adds Carousel to Local Search Results

A part of Google’s larger Knowledge Graph initiative, the carousel feature was introduced for tablets about a year ago and now Google is rolling it out to desktop users. When you do a local search such as “Coffee Shops Philadelphia,” an eye-catching image carousel dominates the top of the SERP and a map pops up on the right. The data and images in the carousel and map are pulled from … you guessed it, Google+.  This design and functionality will drastically change the landscape of local SEO. Read more about Google’s search carousel and its impact on local SEO:

  • About Google Knowledge Graph: The carousel is part of Google’s Knowledge Graph, a new  technology that Google is touting as the future of search. Learn more about Knowledge Gra
  • Search Engine Land Posts: Check out these two Search Engine Land posts. The first one announces the official launch of the carousel and the second shows the alarming results of a heat map study where the carousel results received 48% of  all clicks. 
  • Stay Tuned: Since this change is so new and limited to only a small percentage of searches there aren’t many definitive blog posts addressing the impact. Stay tuned to blogs like Moz, Search Engine Land, and Search Engine Journal for more updates on how the carousel is impacting results and user behavior.

google carousel for search

What are your thoughts about Google’s recent changes? Please share your insights in the comments below.

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