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Google Real time search update

April 29, 2011 By 1 Comment

Google Real Time Results
Google has been providing real time search results for a while now. These can be accessed by selecting the real time navigation option in the left hand bar which appears after performing a Google search. These real time results are also occasionally blended into the main Google search results in the same way they bring in images, video, new results etc. Obviously the exact mechanism which triggers these result being blended is part of Goggles Algorithm but there is an obvious link with popular events & topics that have lots of social media ‘noise’ associated with them.

 


google realtime search results image
google realtime search results

 

What’s changed with real time search results ?
Up until now these real time results have virtually all came from twitter mainly because of the deal struck between the two companies on data sharing. More recently Google made a significant change and is now bringing in real time results from other sources such as Quora, Gowalla, Facebook & several others. This brings a new dimension to real time results and makes this feature of search a bit more interesting for the end user

Real Time Search Results and Online marketing
So why is this important form an online marketing perspective ? . Initially it’s hard to see how this could have a direct influence on search engine optimization, being just a real-time random snapshot in time of tweets, mentions & comments etc.  However when you combine this functionality with Google’s social search which delivers personalized Google results based on your networks (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn etc) the possibilities for targeted online marketing become pretty interesting. As an example, consider promoting your own events using multiple social media channels and using the power of social search to deliver real time results to your own networks through Google.

Social Links in Search Engine Optimization
It’s also becoming clear that social media links are becoming a factor in SEO with facebook links, tweets etc all having some influence on search engine rankings. To what extent this is hard to quantify and while the biggest weapon in SEO is still the high authority back link, the weighting of social links is something that all internet marketing professionals should be monitoring very closely. The multi channel, blended approach to marketing on the internet is become increasingly important

Filed Under: Google, Google News, google social search, SEO, social media

Facebook Commerce

April 19, 2011 By 5 Comments

Last month Webtrends and Adgregate Markets published a white paper investigating “The Effect of Social Networks and the Mobile Web on Website Traffic and the Inevitable Rise of Facebook Commerce”.

The key findings and investigation undertaken to reach these findings made for an interesting read; and should encourage those with a website and a Facebook page to start analyzing traffic and behaviour on both to see which channel is engaging their visitors more effectively.

It would seem our online behaviour is changing. While user reviews within web stores, ‘independent’ blogs and forums etc. have had a big impact on e-commerce in recent years, it seems that Facebook may offer something more; the power of recommendation and trusted opinion from your friends and contacts. This is possibly more appealing as people begin to distrust (with good reason in many cases) the authenticity of product reviews scattered around the web.

What is clear based on the Webtrends & Adgregate data is that for non ecommerce sites, Facebook pages are definitely pulling traffic away from company websites. While there may be many reasons for this, I am sure the ability to interact with the business in the dynamic way Facebook enables, has a big part to play here.

 

KEY FINDINGS
  • Websites that do not engage in e-commerce are losing traffic to their Facebook pages at a startling rate
  • Facebook stores are very efficient at traffic acquisition acquiring visitors at no cost through wall posts and establishing a store monthly user base equal to 1-10% of the retailer’s fan base
  • Facebook commerce conversion rates ranging from 2% to 4% are on par with Commerce websites.

Webtrends-Adgregate_Social_Commerce_Whitepaper_03172011


When the figures were grouped into e-commerce and non e-commerce, the impact of Facebook on websites with an absence of e-commerce became more significant as the table below shows.

 

Image from Webtrends Mar 2011 on facebook effect on website trafficWebtrends-Adgregate_Social_Commerce_Whitepaper_03172011

Although this trend is not impacting as strongly on websites with an e-commerce presence; the whitepaper predicts that this will be short-lived if Facebook is able to offer a seamless e-commerce experience.

Already Facebook commerce conversion rates are in the same range as e-commerce websites and with retailers and brands joining up to this channel and the opportunities available; the negative impact on website traffic is likely to continue to grow.

Organizations can no longer ignore the social network in favour of their website. Online traffic should be monitored; in particular the behaviour of users on their websites and social media channels to ensure the appropriate content and opportunities to engage are used on every channel.

The white paper can be viewed here.

Filed Under: Facebook, social media, WebTrends

Google Analytics Update

April 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Google Analytics Update (Beta)
Always looking to push the boundaries, Google have released the latest version of Google Analytics and opened it up to a select few analytics accounts for beta testing. ( If you have not already been invited you can sign up to request early access via this link – Google Analytics beta ) Google say the new release will make it easier to find information and share data but also claim the release new will offer some new core functionality. Having had a look around the new interface I would say they have delivered on both fronts. A few of the highlights are explained below although we may create a more comprehensive walkthrough of the new interface at a later date.

Google Analytics new Interface
The subtle changes in navigation structure & language seem to be geared towards business owners as opposed to web analysts with comprehensive grouping of metrics and expandable menus enabling easier navigation between reports. The new dashboard options outlined below create potential for powerful business dashboards , aggregating key data of interest and presented within single screens

Google Analytics Dashboards Changes

Multiple Dashboards
The new Analytics dashboard is completely customizable and is based on widgets which can be added, deleted, edited and dragged around at will. Each user account will be able to create multiple dashboard (up to 20 per profile) as opposed to the single dashboard available in the current version.

Widgets Overview
You can add multiple widgets to your dashboards and there are 4 main types of widget. These are Metric, Pie Chart, Timeline, and Table.

Metric: Displays the numerical value of a metric over a period of time
Pie Chart: Can be used to display a metric and group this metric by dimension for example you could display ‘Visits by Country’
Timeline: Displays a metric of choice in graph format over time. New functionality allows you to compare two metrics in the same graph.
Table: You can display one dimension with two metrics and display data in a table (select number of rows – up to 10)

Graph Plotting Functionality
The analytics graph view gives such a useful picture highlighting peaks and trophs, trends and so on. While the current version of Google Analytics allows you to drill down and chart other areas such as traffic sources etc the ability to compare traffic sources on the same graph was previously not possible unless you used advanced segments. The new version of analytics allows you to quickly and easily compare different traffic sources on the same graph. So for example by selecting Google organic traffic and facebook referral traffic you can get a quick graphical view of how these 2 traffic sources contribute to your overall traffic view. This ability to select Plot Rows and graphically compare data should be possible in just about any report that has a data table.

Filed Under: Uncategorized