Key Learnings from Search Engine Strategies 2008 - New York
Posted by Dan
Key Learnings from Search Engine Strategies 2008
Overview:
The difference between SES and other conferences is the depth of information presented. SES does an excellent job of focusing only on the search industry, which means more time is spent focusing on the advanced optimization techniques, as opposed to SEO/PPC 101 sessions. The speakers of the sessions I attended were credible sources, including well known industry pro’s, top executives and employees of the major engines.
While last year I attended mostly advanced SEO and PPC sessions, this year I tried attending the social media track. Most of the sessions talked about optimizing images and video for the engines, as well as how to use social media and other web 2.0 tools as traffic generators.
Key Take away:
The biggest thing happening in search right now is the migration from a 10 blue links search results page, to a blended/Universal search results page which will include images, videos, blogs, wadgets, news snippets and other forms of media right on the page. These new media results will push the natural search engine results further down the page. This signifies a strategy change in driving traffic; we must adapt a multi-pronged approach to traffic generation which now includes the optimization of various media.
Key Tactical Learnings:
1) Generating traffic through image search.
According to Google, “image search is the fastest growing vertical”. This presents marketers with an opportunity to derive traffic from image searchers. Some key optimization techniques.
- Google, Yahoo and Ask heavily rely on Flicker for image use in their universal search results.
- High Quality/resolution images will rank better then lower quality.
- Image feeds can be submitted to search engines.
- Images should have a caption of text around them to help describe the image.
- Scene 7 uses URL’s that aren’t search engine friendly.
- Google’s close integration with Picaso web (Google Images) means they’ll begin pulling images from that platform.
2) Generating traffic through video search.
Search engines universal search now contains embedded videos.
- Google relies heavily on YouTube for video results.
- Search engines utilize MRSS feeds to help locate videos.
- Videos hosted on own website should have a video site map.
- Uploading your video to popular video sharing sites ensures maximum reach.
- Youtube, AOL video, Yahoo, Myspace, Metacafe, etc…
- Optimize meta-data, keywords, file names, etc, affects rankings.
- Social tagging, ratings, comments, linking, favorites, embedding, etc. affects rankings.
- Google has a beta program out for paid video ads.
- It’s wise to create new pages on web site around popular videos.
3) Wadgets
Wadgets is a new word meaning a web widget or gadget. Wadgets are small rectangles on a web page that users can interact with; much like espots, but with an interactive aspect. For example, webmasters could add a weather wadget to their web site. This espot would ask for the users zip code, then display the current weather conditions without leaving the page.
- Wadgets are rich and dynamic and will soon overtake standard advertising.
- Wadgets can be used as branding tools or direct response tools. They can’t be both.
- Wadgets make great advertising tools, because they offer viewers value, and are very engaging.
- Wadgets are great ways to provide users with fresh information.
- Wadgets can be social in nature, and can be promoted through social networking, corporate web sites, off-line advertising campaigns, etc.
Key Strategical Learnings:
Online shopping is becoming more and more dependent on social input. Reviews, ratings, recommendations and comments from social web sites like facebook, myspace, youTube, etc. both directly and indirectly effect what people buy. They directly affect purchases by inserting a trust factor into another one’s buying decisions. This is accomplished through social communities sharing shopping information with each other. Ie. Facebook now allows you to see what your friend has recently purchased online, and read their review. Social communities indirectly affects purchasing through that trust factor impacting the rankings of images and videos, which now appear in search results.
We should be taking advantage of the opportunity to create and share rich media like images and videos with social communities. For example, we should be creating time management videos, explaining how people can better manage their time using our products. If the videos are helpful, members will share and promote these videos through sites like YouTube, which will eventually make our video appear in Googles search results. Links from the video can drive direct sales, as well as help improve ones own search engine rankings through inbound link generation.
Tags: internet marketing, linking strategy, search engine strategies, SES, SES 08, SES NY