In our blogosphere recap we examine four blog posts from last week that covered six steps to surviving search engine updates, Google maps are coming indoors, Google changes its search bar, and social media is popular among B2B marketers. Below are some of the highlights from these articles:
- This year businesses have been modifying their sites to keep up with Google’s Panda updates.
- Google Maps is going to start showing interior maps of airports, select malls and retail stores.
- Google has replaced its ubiquitous black bar with a Google search bar.
- Twitter is the most popular platform for B2B social media marketing campaigns.
A Six-Step Survival Guide for Search Engine Updates
Entrepreneur | AJ Kumar | 11-29-11
This year alone, business owners have been scrambling to modify their sites following Google’s Panda update and a more recent change that aims to provide users with “the most up-to-date results.” Instead of struggling to restore traffic after algorithm updates, you stayed ahead of the game and effectively bulletproofed your site against an unexpected plunge in visitor traffic?
Six Tips for Search Engine Updates:
- Focus on quality, authoritative content. What search engines value most is providing high-quality results for their users.
- Avoid “bad” backlinks. A backlink is any link to your website from another website. It can be tempting to resort to easy-to-implement but low quality backlinks that drive traffic. But be aware that search engines are on the lookout for schemes such as the “10,000 backlinks for $10″ packages you’ll see advertised across the Internet.
- Invest in your social presence. Last year, Google spokesman Matt Cutts confirmed that the search giant is using social signals, including links from Twitter and Facebook “shares,” as a ranking factor influencing where sites fall on its results pages.
- Be mindful of site structure and navigation. Whether you’re building a new site or improving an existing one, maintain a “shallow” navigation structure so all pages can be accessed in three or fewer clicks.
- Diversify web traffic sources. If the bulk of your traffic comes from search engines, you’re in a precarious position if algorithms change in a way that lowers your rankings. You can protect your business website from this by diversifying traffic sources.
- Stay current on SEO-related news. Consider following search engine optimization experts on social media sites.
Google Maps the Great Indoors (Android Only)
Search Engine Land | Greg Sterling | 11-29-11
Google is bringing the blue dot indoors. Google Maps for Android 6.0 is going to start showing interior maps of airports, select malls and retail stores in the US and Japan. In Japan transit stations are also mapped. Bing has offered similar content online and on Bing Maps for mobile since August. However Bing venue maps don’t dynamically locate you inside buildings or provide floor detection. Unlike Bing, however, Google is not making the floor plan maps available online at this point. We can assume they will eventually.
Key Takeaways:
- Google is essentially using the same techniques (WiFi and cell tower triangulation) to locate people indoors that it uses outside.
- Google has apparently made some modifications of its approach to render interior location very precisely but it’s not using sensors or any new technology.
- A number of other companies are also creating interior and mall maps, but Google is not working with any other companies at this time.
Google Ditches the Black Bar, Puts Search Atop All Pages
ReadWriteWeb / Jon Mitchell / 11-29-11
Google has replaced that ubiquitous black bar with a Google search bar that more closely matches the gray, red and blue design scheme that has rolled out across so many of its Web properties this year. Instead of text links to the various Google services across the bar, they now appear in a drop-down menu under the Google logo. There’s also a search box right in the toolbar now, restoring Google’s core product to the very top of all its pages.
Key Takeaways:
- The bar lets you search whatever Google service you’re currently using, offering voice search when available.
- Though there are some functionality problems with Google’s new design on its more involved interfaces, these changes to the navigation bar are for the better.
- It’s more consistent with other Google products, such as Chrome’s New Tab page and the new Google iPad app.
Twitter, LinkedIn Popular Among B2B Marketers
Brafton News | Staff | 12-1-11
In terms of total use, Twitter is the most popular platform for B2B social media marketing campaigns. However, LinkedIn is reportedly more effective in terms of generating leads with 32 percent of businesses ranking it as their primary source of web leads through social. LinkedIn results in more qualified lead generation, which many businesses find most appealing. Moreover, blog content marketing is an effective platform for identifying new prospects, the study showed
Key Takeaways:
- Only 15% said Twitter is their most successful platform for finding new prospects.
- 10% said Facebook is their most effective lead generator.
- Brafton reported that 41% of businesses plan to increase their investment in social media marketing in 2012.
