I remember when Plurk first came out.  At first glance its user interface was different but once you got to spending some time on the site, it was pretty cool.  As luck would have it, Plurk also came around when Twitter was having some of its worst downtime in history.  Take that, and some nifty enhanced features (conversations on one page, ability to share images and video, dancing bananas and it seemed as though Plurk really could have taken over the microblogging space.

But it didn’t.

Why? I would offer that Plurk ultimately didn’t listen to its community.  Perhaps the dealbreaker for me and others was the fact about not making karma optional.  The nature of many on the social web is to be competitive, and Plurk gave us a forum for this.  The more active you are, the more karma you received.  However, if there was a period of time that you were inactive (say, you had a holiday, a weekend, religious reasons, etc) you would actually lose karma.  A number of people brought this up, but Plurk stood firm, saying that if you didn’t want to see karma on your profile, you could just hide it out with a different page design.  That’s a band-aid to the problem.

I was thinking about keeping quiet over this situation, that is, until I received an email from Plurk last week talking about the Plurk activity I’ve missed for the week.  After seeing this, I chatted with Teeg, a friend of mine and still staunch supporter of Plurk.  She said that she didn’t get the email! This is a community fail on the part of Plurk to target the Plurkers that are not participating, rather than the ones that are.

So Plurk, I didn’t want to say it, but you’re doing it wrong:

As Facebook comes in to become one of the largest population groups in the world, it still finds its own flaws. Thanks to what can easily be assumed to be the influence of other social media sites, such as Twitter and Digg, the folks at Facebook have added yet another new feature.

Facebook Share allows a member to post a link/video/image to their wall that they find interesting or useful. Beyond spreading the content around to a broader audience, Facebook Share keeps track of the exact number of times a link has been “shared.” Depending upon the amount of friends that are active on Facebook that the sharer has, the more likely that your content is to be seen by a good amount of people.

Chris Hughes, writing for the Facebook blog, romanticizes the concept of sharing links with your friends. He mentions the ‘old-school’ methods of sending urls to those on your friends lists and even via e-mail… but only for the sake of sharing something really cool that your friend’s coworker just has to see. While it is nice to have an outlook on the digital age as being one of purely good, not-for-profit, motives, let’s be realistic here: The goal is to bring as much traffic as possible to whatever it is you have your hand in – and that’s a good thing.

Mark Kinsey, a Facebook product manager, reiterates in a more recent post that “the Share button enables you to take content from across the Web and share it with your friends on Facebook, where it can be re-shared over and over so the best and most interesting items get noticed by the people you care about.” But will the results really be so substantial for only moderately trafficked sites? Time, along with Analytics, will reveal the true number difference the Facebook Share widget makes; but from inquiring into the traffic as it stands now, most websites are not seeing a significant jump in numbers.

Website administrators and blog owners that wish to add Facebook Share can easily do so by heading to Facebook’s Share widget area. There you’ll be able to optimize the widget to best fit your site. Choose between a nice looking button widget, or just a link. If you choose the button option, there is also the ability to have a counter alongside it, which will display the most recent count of the amount of times that the link has been shared. What is great is that this widget is available to everyone for use, and will make your interface just that much more user-friendly.

So, is this the solution to reaching an unprecedented number of unique views? Likely not, but it will help get the message out there in a more organic fashion… which, ironically enough, is great for almost all social media marketers. Don’t forget to check out all of the other Facebook features and widgets that can help out your blog – or at least make your social life online just a little easier.

While visiting Austin, Texas, I came across this ingenious sign being utilized by a homeless man. Judging by the fact he had set this sign down and was instead using a second sign he’d fashioned, the one pictured here may just have been too snarky for the passersby.

The Twitter Translation Community project is up and running! Now, thanks to your fellow Tweeple, you will soon be able to have Twitter in French, German, Italian, and Spanish, which are in addition to the currently implemented Japanese and English. The announcement for this project was made earlier this month on the Twitter blog.

Since this is a community deal, Twitter needs you to chip in and do your part. If you can fluently read and write in a second (or third or fourth) language, Twitter Wants You! It looks like the FIGS are taken, but there are definitely more tongues in the world than what they’re working on. To get involved for your language, let Twitter know you’re interested by filling out this language request/translator signup form. It’ll go into the project manager’s Google Doc of all the Tweeps signed up and they’ll let you know when they’re ready for you to join the game.

What are the benefits for the translators, you ask? The Glory! As an official Twitter translator, you will receive a fabulous badge of recognition on your public Twitter page and a level ranking. The rank you earn is based upon the amount of translations completed. The more challenges (translations) completed, the higher you will go – so soon, you, too, can pwn all of the Twitter world as a level 10! Each of the languages have a “Leading Translators” page, which displays the highest rank Twitter Translators for them.

Wait… hold the presses! What is this? Twitter says you can get ranked up to a Level 10, but we’re now seeing a bonus Level 11. Could this possibly be a pop culture reference to Spinal Tap’s Level 11? (see video below)

Thanks,  Twitter, for this cool addition. Just don’t forget to add my languages!

The New Community Rules is one of the latest social media books out there, written by Tamar Weinberg.  Tamar and I are friends and enjoy debating the finer points of social media.  While we don’t always agree she has outdone herself in this book.

New and experienced marketers alike are sure to gain some bits of new knowledge,  and this book can be used as a reference manual in approaching new social networks  for the first time.

One of my major criticisms of most social media marketers is that even when they are not just full of hot air, they tend to be one-trick ponies.  Meaning that they may be good at Digg or one specific aspect, but be either amateur at or outright oblivious to different alternatives that are born every day.

Most people lack a cohesive strategy when it comes to social media marketing.  Social media is not a silver bullet and requires the proper planning as would any successful marketing strategy.  I think that this book will be helpful to readers, as it comes from a “been there, done that” perspective while not talking down to you.  Tamar does a great job here keeping you grounded, if not outright taking you to school on sites you didn’t even know existed.  Not just fancy talkin’ either

Tamar goes to great lengths to provide real life case studies performed by her and other respected members of these communities.  In real life, she is also an approchable person, and it’s good to see her book come off the same way.  So don’t take my word for it, pick one up today! (cue the Reading Rainbow music

Related posts:

• The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg (sylwiapresley.wordpress.com)
• The Authoritative Book On Social Media Finally Published (socialmediatoday.com)
• The Importance of Networking on the Internet (techipedia.com)

If you’ve signed into Reddit recently, you may have noticed a new feature in your sidebar. Perhaps taking a note from Mixx, Redditors are now capable of being rewarded for their contributions to the community. Reddit’s version of the reward system is much more streamlined than that of Mixx and are calculated daily, with the winners being listed on what Reddit has deemed the Honor Roll. You’ll find a screen-shot of the available rewards below.

The customer is always right.

This a phrase that anyone working in customer service should be fully familiar with.  While frequently known, albeit infrequently implemented in the “real world,” the saying has taken on a new meaning with the dawn of a new era on the Internet.

Social media has give a voice to the masses; a refuge the customer dealing with bouts of anxiety due to lack of true service. That scares many companies, large and small, and for good reason.  The public, and very likely their target audience, now has access to uncensored reviews, testimonials, and all of the “good, bad, and the ugly” about all sorts of products and services.

Recently, I’ve been shopping around for Internet connection services.  Always one to be a picky shopper, I chatted with at least three members of Comcast’s online sales crew (based in the Philippines).  Incidentally, I also received three different quotes and related information regarding service packages. I had also spoken with (on the phone) AT&T – both their technical support and their customer service department.  The tech support was fantastic and solved the issue I was experiencing.  Their customer service department, however, only led in two frustrated hang-ups, after being transferred around between four phone representatives – without even being notified of it beforehand.

Twitter became the place I turned to in the midst of my frustration with online and phone customer service/sales with both AT&T and Comcast. Being on the Pacific coast, I mentioned @attjason in my Tweets twice and even asked a friend to do so, which she also did twice.  Between these four tweets mentioning the AT&T Twitter representative for the West Coast, one reply was received, one private message was sent, but nothing to really solve the problem.  The other AT&T  customer service folks on Twitter are @attcustomercare (Molly for the East Coast),  @attjohnathon (Johnathon for the Central USA), @attnatasha (Natasha for the Central USA), and @attsusan (Susan for the East Coast), for which I have no personal experience in dealing with.

For Comcast, I had mentioned @comcastcares (operated by Frank Eliason) twice.  I only received one reply from @comcastcares specifically, which had asked me to e-mail them … and I hate e-mailing.  I did receive one response from @comcastmelissa, whom also inquired into how she could help.

By this point, I was really frustrated with trying out all different avenues of contact both companies to get service.  Again, AT&T had great technical support (which I suspect is in Israel, based upon accent and the name of the young man that helped me), but just lost customer support on the phone. @Attjason did send me a DM (private message) apologizing for my poor experience and did offer to do what he could, which was considerate, as I’m admittedly not an easy customer to deal with (I expect working service, knowledgeable employees, and real discounts).

What I ended up doing was calling Comcast for once and for all.  It didn’t work out with the first person I spoke to, but I needed service.  So, I took a deep breath, called back, and got an undoubtedly American young man that was one smooth operator.  Within 5 minutes I had an appointment for next day installation, no deposit necessary, exactly what I wanted and nothing else.  Of course, the time slot for the appointment was coming to a close, so I was irritated.  @Comcastbonnie was really a trooper in dealing with me and my tweets.  She never lost her cool and quickly pinpointed the reason for the delay, solved it, and the Comcast technician arrived within about 20 minutes of her informing me that he was on his way. He was perfectly friendly, efficient, and, hey, my stuff is working so far.  That’s always good.

I am still a customer of both companies, albeit for different services.  The customer representatives on Twitter really have made a difference in my experience … I think I’ll contact them first the next time I want to order anything.  Why are they different, and better, than the majority of the e-chat and phone reps? Because this stuff is public.  If a customer is upset, they’re not afraid to let their friends/followers know about it – and oftentimes their followers will share their frustrations and retweet it.

While incidents of good customer service rarely make it on Twitter, and are even more sparsely re-tweeted, if a high standard is implemented and maintained, there will at least be a subliminal positive message floating around … and a positive corporate image never hurt anybody. Kudos to the companies savvy enough to put smart, efficient, and friendly customer support representatives on social networks.

Related posts:

• Social Support: Are Companies Teaching Customers To Yell At Their Friends? (web-strategist.com)
• Customer service in the age of the retweet (nevillehobson.com)
• Comcast joins the Conversation (movabletype.com)
• ComcastCares’s Eliason Shares Twitter Tips (blogs.wsj.com)
• Three Top Ways to Damage Your Brand With Social Media (socialmediatoday.com)

You may or may not be aware, but in New York City this week is a little convention called SMX East.  This is one of the famous conferences put on by Danny Sullivan and team.  SMX East usually draws a big agency crowd, but as with so many conferences, is a great place for companies to make announcements and try to one-up each other.

So far, Yahoo I think has the biggest news.  In a blog post it announced a ton of big updates, include Rich ads in search, Network Distribution reporting (to show which websites are actually serving your ads), and my favorite, the Yahoo Desktop Publishing tool.  FINALLY!

Y! Desktop Publisher

I’ve been part of the beta for quite some time, and it’s been killing me not to talk about it due to NDAs, but now that it has been made public, I can go into a little detail.  It runs on the Adobe Air platform, which makes it look really pretty, but runs fairly slow.  Yahoo makes great use of the real estate with expandable tabs for research and side windows to display secondary–yet still important–data about the campaigns and ad groups.  It’s almost too busy with as much data displayed as possible, but I see that as a feature more than a bug.  In fact, there is so much data being displayed I couldn’t even show screenshots without making it look like a declassified government document that’s been blacked out that it’s virtually useless.  The downside is it’s slow, and still acts more like a Yahoo bulk sheet instead of Adwords Editor.  It’s still a huge improvement over having nothing, but my main warning is to check the error sheet in the upload section of your Yahoo account, because I occasionally find stuff that doesn’t pop up as an error in the Desktop Publisher.  Oh well, it’s still in private beta.

Google Mobile Search & Local Search

There has been a ton of announcements this week surrounding mobile search.  Adsense will allow website publishers to post mobile ads (Adwords has allowed iPhone/smartphone targeting for some time now in the campaign settings), and announced an Android deal with Verizon. This means that Verizon will be the largest American network to carry Google Mobile OS phones.   This also opens up the realms to much better location-based advertising.  However, for any of this to mean anything, Google’s location-based advertising needs to stop sucking.

Meta Keyword Tag is Dead

If you remember search in the 90s, relevancy was often no more than how often the keyword showed up on a page.  This led to someone trying to get to the top of a SERP for the term “shoes” to write a page that went something along the lines of “shoes, shoes, shoes.  We have lots of shoes. We have blue shoes, red shoes, old shoes, new shoes.”  Then they would stuff their meta keywords tag with all those same keywords so engines knew that’s what keywords you thought were important to the page.  Google was the first to stop using it, and even told people to stop sueing each other over it.  Well, during a SMX panel this week, Yahoo said that they stopped considering meta keyword tags for search rankings several months ago, which means none of the big 3 players use it.  What this means to you is if you have a limited time to do your own SEO and can’t afford a pro, don’t bother with the meta keywords tag.  It will literally be a waste of your time.

On a more humorous side, I got a kick out of this admittance from Google’s CEO about how sometimes Larry and Sergey buy companies and don’t tell him until after the fact. Apparently Sergey found Keyhole (now Google Earth) on the web, bought the company, then later walked into Eric’s office and mentioned it.  Eric’s response: “‘for how much, Sergey?’ And it turned out to be a few million.”

For more SMX coverage, you can check out Search Engine Land’s daily recaps for Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.

Quality scoring is a black box.  Everyone involved knows it’s important, but some people consider it important enough to optimize for it while others go on about their day and accept the score they get, come what may.  Regular readers of these posts may realize that I am one to fall in the latter of the two camps, because I focus on conversions and not click-throughs in almost all cases.  After all, the quality score is how qualified the engines think your keyword and ad is to make them money.

Regardless of the tips I present below, I firmly believe that last statement.  The quality score is there for the engine’s benefit and not ours as advertisers.  It’s the engines grading us on how profitable we are for them.  If we’re not profitable enough with a high CTR, they charge us more.  However, is the quality score graded on a scale or on a curve?  If it’s on a scale then you can do everything right and get an “A” and be happy with your high score.  If it’s graded on a curve then your final grade is dependent on the performance of others.  If you do better than they do, you score high.  If you do worse, you score low.  In other words, your ability to write better ads with higher relevance than your competitor impacts your quality score.

Consider this: You have a quality score of 5 and your competitor with identical keywords and bids has a quality score of 10.  Since the keywords are identical the relevancy to the raw search query should be the same, meaning the only difference is the ad copy.  They have an awesome ad and you don’t, so their quality score is higher.  Typically, this means that they can get a click at the same position as your ad for a lower cost per click.  If they can spend less money per click, they can afford to go after more traffic, which means they have more opportunity to score conversions.  More conversions means more cash to fuel future Adwords spending and continued sales growth.

Do I have your attention now?  Good.  Here’s how to optimize your ad groups for quality score:

Keep your keyword count in ad groups between 25-50.  This includes match type variations of the same term.  This isn’t a steadfast rule, but is a good rule-of-thumb.  If you have more, make sure that they are keywords that focus around a very tight central theme.

Don’t bid on broad match.  Keeping everything to phrase and exact match will limit how likely it is for Google to match your keywords to an irrelevant term.  Remember, Google’s definition of relevancy may not be the same as yours.  (If you really want broad match, put it in a different ad group).

Separate your misspells.  If you use the dynamic keyword insertion in your ads, misspells will show up in the headline.  This will hurt your quality score, not help it.  Keep them separate and use the correct spelling of the term in the ad copy.

Don’t use dynamic keyword insertion in ads.  Surprised?  Why?  If you keep the keyword counts low in the ad group, you can write the ad to include those keywords.  Having an exact match term as a keyword and in the ad text without Google injecting it shows maximum relevance.  Besides, with everyone and their mother using the DKI these days, it doesn’t have anywhere near the CTR boost that it used to.

Now before you go off and redesigning your accounts to optimize for quality score, consider this: some of your terms will already have a high quality score.  If you have a couple terms in ad groups that score poorly (like 5-7) and some terms that score well (8-10), then simply remove those poorer terms and put them in their own ad group.  Copy your better converting ad from the original to include in the new ad group and bam!  You have a higher average quality score already.

Ad copy is a unique aspect of the search campaign because it is the only part that the visitor can interact with. Marketing Sherpa estimates say that a searcher will spend only 0.7 seconds on average reviewing an ad, yet in that small amount of time you must:

• Grab the searcher’s attention against 10 organic links and 9-11 other paid links
• Describe the product/service you provide in a manner relevant to the search query
• Have an enticing call-to-action that tells the searcher what is expected of them after they click on the ad.

The ads need to be attention-getting and relevant, but also describe who will benefit from the site after s/he clicks on the ad. As an example, imagine each ad being a closed door with a peephole. The relevance of the ad determines the size peephole to look through, and the quality of the ad is how many appropriate people will be enticed enough to walk through the door. If all these are being performed correctly, it should provide the optimum combination of clicks and conversions, which leads to cheaper CPAs, cheaper clicks, and lots of profit.

TIP: It is very rare to want as many people to click on an ad as possible. Writing copy that qualifies an ideal visitor will tell some people that the site is not for them.

There are several online marketing metrics that don’t have the same relevance in search that they do in other fields. For example, CTR is important to banner ads because the advertiser pays for each 1,000 impressions. CTR in search varies based on each client’s goals, and sometimes won’t play a large role in making decisions within an account. The primary reason to use CTR is if you don’t have conversion tracking enabled. If this is not the case the conversion rate and the Return Of Ad Spend (ROAS) should be your key performing indicators.

Character Limits

The engines are more similar than different when it comes to ad display requirements. Here is a basic list of each engine and their maximum requirements:

Writing Effective Ad Copy & Headlines with Calls to Action

Headlines are in a different color and will be the first part of the ad a person sees. Having this stand out will be ideal to get attention. The best method of standing out is to do something that the other advertisers aren’t doing. This may require using a keyword insert function, but it may also mean to not use a keyword insert when everyone else is. It may also simply be to use a unique style of writing that others aren’t incorporating, like asking a question or even being a little silly. Always keep in mind that it has to be copy that you won’t mind if the client sees while doing their own search, so keep it clean and inoffensive. You should also avoid the use of fragment ideas or concepts, because the short number of characters should be used to complete a full sales pitch.

The description line is the place to back up a claim made in the headline, and/or to give detail about the advertised product or service. It is also the ideal place to add exclusive language to ensure that only the quality traffic is coming to the site. For example, if a client is a networking company for large businesses, a lot of the keywords used by a large business will also be used by consumers and small businesses. By saying “Designed for businesses with 200+ employees” a consumer and the small business will instantly know the ad is not for them. At the same time it will make a searcher at a large business more interested since they know they are the targeted audience.

The display URL acts as a mini-branding function by telling the searcher where the ad will take them. It doesn’t have to be the same as the landing page URL (which will sometimes be very long) and gives some leeway into bending some of the editorial policy rules.

Exclamation points and capitalized words are not allowed in ads. Only one exclamation point can be used within the ad copy of an ad, and one shouldn’t use superlatives like “best”, “greatest”, “lowest”, or “cheapest” without the claim being backed up on the landing page of the ad. This can be worked around, since Google only actively monitors terms like “#1″, “Top”, and “Lowest”.

TIP: If you upload ad copy via AdWords Editor for Google, you can bypass some of the regulations for a limited amount of time. It will let you upload individual words as capital letters. So try saying “FREE” instead of “Free”, and see if it has any impact on your conversion rates.

Using KeyWord Insert Functions

All three engines allow the option to include the search term into a headline or ad automatically to increase relevancy. Studies by Google suggest that using keyword insert increases the click-through rate (CTR) for an ad by varying amounts. The search engines want a high CTR because that’s what they get paid on: clicks. Otherwise the ads take up valuable screen space and don’t generate revenue, which is why the engines typically penalize low CTRs.

By adding the Keyword insert function into an ad, it usually guarantees a part of the ad will placed in bold, which often catches the eye of the searcher. However, as the practice has grown and is being used by less experienced advertisers, some use it as a shortcut for not creating tight ad groups and to still get parts of the ad placed in bold.

TIP: Creating a tightly knit ad group gives more reason to use keyword insert because it will make the rest of the copy more relevant to the keyword being included in the copy.

Keyword inserts don’t always work. One must always consider the character limits on the ad copy while considering using the keyword insert feature, since some search strings can go beyond the 25 or 35 character limits. The engines require a backup to display in case the search query is too long. He backup is the description after the colon mark within the brackets:

{KeyWord:Buy Black Shoes}

A space is not needed after the colon because that would tell Google to place a space before the word “Buy”, which will waste a character and will get chopped off anyway.

Google Ad Copy

Google requires two unique lines of text that can run up to 35 characters each. Previous experience shows that ads usually perform better when each line is an independent sentence instead of one sentence running across both lines. Typically the headline serves as a stand-out function that tries to separate it from the other ads. The goal is to be relevant to the search query and visible to the searcher. When an ad has the same keywords as the search query, Google puts those keywords in bold within the ad. This is often done by using a keyword insert function that takes the search query and inserts it into your ad and instantly making it bold. However, as everyone tries to stand out by using this function, they all begin to look the same. In order to truly stand out one can remove that common factor and be a successful ad without having anything in bold.

Yahoo Ad Copy

Yahoo currently allows 40 characters in the headline with 70 characters in the description line. There are two primary differences between Google and Yahoo copy:

1. Google breaks its 70 character limit up into 2 lines of 35 characters, where Yahoo has one line of 70 characters that automatically wraps to a second line as space requires.
2. Yahoo allows for alt text for dynamic headlines. These allow for more control over what appears with a keyword, if the search query exceeds the character limit.

TIP: Yahoo strongly recommends the use of keyword insert to all advertisers. If your conversion rate is starting to dip on otherwise strong copy, try replacing the dynamic headline with a static headline .

Try using the same ad copy on all three engines simultaneously. This will limit the amount of time needed to run statistically relevant ad copy tests due to the higher impression, click, and conversion data.

MSN Ad Copy

MSN took the basic concept of Google’s ad system like testing, geo-targeting, and keyword-insert, and expanded it. The character limits are the same as Google’s, but instead of two description lines of 35 characters MSN has one description line of 70 characters that will automatically wrap to the second line. Visually this makes all of the ads look left justified compared to Google’s which look force justified. Along with keyword insert, MSN allows for a new feature called dynamic text for each keyword. The premise is that one can change the standard order-level ad copy to better fit a specific keyword. This will typically benefit eCommerce sites with large volumes of product pages that want each product page as a landing page for a keyword.

MSN Dynamic Text Example

In the above example the name of the order group was put in the headline as a Parameter to emphasize a larger sale than one that would only benefit the searcher, and help the advertiser know what sale language caught the searcher’s attention. The keyword insert function was used early in the ad to draw attention and increase relevancy to the searcher, showing that the site has exactly what she is looking for. Finally, a third parameter of price was included so that the searcher knows exactly what she will find when getting to the site.

Using Price in Ad Copy

There is a debate of whether one should or shouldn’t include the price of an item in the ad copy. The argument against is that if the searcher has seen it for less somewhere else, regardless if it is not an exact item match, then she will ignore the site completely. This can be bad for both parties if there are additional rebates or other offers that the searcher wasn’t aware of before clicking on the ad. The argument for including cost is it tells the searcher up front what they’re expected to do and what it will cost them, which should increase the conversion rate. However, one would have to test different ad copies to see if the overall revenue generated with mentioning cost is greater or lower than not mentioning the cost. This will be shown in more detail later. Generally speaking, if the price is above certain psychological levels, or above the price of competitors in the same advertising space, don’t put the price in the copy. If the price is lower than competitors, and the average shopper knows that price is a good deal, then put it in the copy.

Whatever you write for your copy, keep in mind that the headline has to relate to the keyword, the copy has to relate to the headline and sell, and the landing page needs to relate to the copy to avoid a disconnect between you and the searcher. If you have suggestions beyond what is written here for successful copy, please feel free to share it via the discussion.