When reading my daily, sometimes weekly, search news, I appreciate the many bloggers who post great articles, updates, etc. to help me stay current. Usually I retweet these, but they deserve a longer shelf life.

Below are some of the links that should help businesses keep up-to-date on news in search. I added recaps and highlights for quick viewing. Topics include news on Google’s new freshness update, Google+ adding more features, including new business pages, a site to help military veterans find work, an article on the effectiveness of website’s daily deals and because traveling can be such a headache at times – travel tools for the tech-saavy.

I plan to make this an ongoing effort, so please let me know what type of information you are most interested in or found the most helpful.

Search News That Should Interest Businesses – Nov. 8, 2011:

Google Search Algorithm Change for Freshness To Impact 35% of Searches
- Search Engine Land

Quick recap and highlights:

• Larger than the Panda update which impacted 12% of the searches conducted.
• Areas most effected: Recent events or hot topics; regularly recurring events; frequent updates (i.e. best rated 2012 cars).

Notable quotes from article:

Google: Freshness is one component, but we also look at the content of the result, including topicality and quality. Postscript: Google now tells us [Search Engine Land] that one of the freshness factors — the way they determine if content is fresh or not — is the time when they first crawled a page. So if you publish a page, and then change that page, it doesn’t suddenly become “fresh.”

Up Close With Creating & Managing Google+ Pages - Search Engine Land

Recap: Step-by-step guide for building your business’ Google+ page.

Google Direct Connect Hooks Search and Google+ Pages Together- Mashable

Article highlight: Google’s Direct Connect will make it easy for users (translation – potential and current customers) to find brands on Google+ using Google Search. Type “+” in Google Search, followed by the brand or business they want to follow. It’s being tested currently with a small group of companies.

Google Creates Job Search Engine for US Military Veterans - ReadWriteWeb Land

Direct link for employers wishing to participate in program

Do Merchant Get New Customers From Daily Deals? - Forbes

Notable quotes from article:

About 47% of flash sale subscribers and 36% of daily deal subscribers have never bought one, Forrester [Research] found.

Another interesting fit about “breakage,” or deals that are not redeemed: About 43% of people who have purchased a daily deal have at least once not redeemed the deal before it expired.

11 Essential Tools for the Tech-Savvy Traveler
- Mashable

One of the first rules of online marketing and usability is “Know who your targeted customer is.” While you may believe everyone is your possible customer, there are certainly specific groups that are more likely to buy your product or service.

Calling all Mercedes-Benz Drivers

First let me state that I am not the owner of a Mercedes-Benz. I was however in the market for a B &B or country inn in the Napa Valley/Sonoma area. Per usual, I began searching on Trip Advisor, through Select Registry, etc. – some of my usual haunts.

I came across this site: Calistoga Ranch. It looked very, very nice. Perfect for an anniversary trip!

http://www.calistogaranch.com/accommodations.html

As I tend to do, I clicked on the Packages & Specials tab. (I’ve learned over the years that even the most expensive places often have last minute deals.)

Under Special Packages, I saw a special that made me realize that the people who own the inn, or their marketing team, KNEW who their customers were and/or knew who they wanted to attract.

http://www.calistogaranch.com/accom_specials.html

The line reads “Mercedes-Benz Owners”

http://www.calistogaranch.com/accom_specials.html#mercedes

The picture is a driveway lined with Mercedes. And the offer reads:

MERCEDES-BENZ OWNERS PACKAGE

Mercedes-Benz Owners can enjoy the following amenities with any length of stay at Calistoga Ranch:

• Complimentary $100 resort amenity credit
• A confirmed upgrade to the next room category (based on availability upon arrival)
• A special welcome amenity
• Prices listed are per night based on a two night stay or more and subject to availability; price does not include tax, gratuity, or alcohol. Offer valid for new reservations only and is not applicable to groups or any other packages. Subject to change, additional restrictions may apply.

While I applaud their online targeted marketing efforts and their knowledge of their customer, I don’t think I’d fit in at their inn. Huh? Could that be part of their strategy as well?

Pearl River, NY, October 11, 2011 – Search strategist and Certified Usability Analyst, Kathleen Fealy, President of KF Multimedia & Web, Inc., a search consultancy located in Pearl River, NY, will speak at two major search conferences: Internet Marketing Conference (IMC) in New York City and Search Engine Strategies Chicago (SES) in November.

At Internet Marketing Conference NY on Wednesday, October 19^th, Fealy will speak on improving online customer experiences through good site navigation, testing of designs and user observation on websites and mobile devices. The session will concentrate on usability and customer-centric design, methods and tools. The overall message: knowing your customers, their needs and desires, increases your online marketing conversions and sales. IMC NY will be held at the Hilton New York and focuses on content management, ecommerce and online communications.

“It’s exciting to see people focusing on their customers needs. We’ve all visited sites where we became frustrated after not finding what we needed. In today’s economy, the connection with your online customer is more important than ever. Companies that recognize the connection between SEO and usability in their online strategies can improve their site traffic, customers’ experience and sales” said Fealy. “It’s a process. Even small changes can make a difference.”

During Search Engine Strategies Chicago, in November, Kathleen Fealy will speak during the “SEO 2.0 – Less Is More” session. She’ll discuss a site, examining the balance of search engine optimization (SEO) which brings in site traffic to usability strategies which influence customer experience. SES Chicago, held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago November 15-17, offers sessions on organic search, search engine optimization, online advertising, social media and mobile.

Both search conferences are major industry events that focus on various aspects of online marketing. Want to attend IMC NY? Receive a 15% discount on a conference pass by using code SPEAKIMCNYC11.

For further information about improving online customer experiences, website strategy and SEO, contact Kathleen Fealy at 845-735-1698 or visit KF Multimedia & Web, Inc.’s website, www.kfmultimedia.com

LinkedIn | Google+ | Facebook | The Website Strategist – blog
Twitter handle: @kfealy

About Kathleen Fealy and KF Multimedia & Web, Inc.:
Since 2001, KF Multimedia & Web, Inc. works with small and medium-sized businesses to improve search traffic and conversion rates by creating holistic web strategies that include user-centric design, search engine optimization, social media and usability. Kathleen Fealy offers consulting and training to in-house teams, traditional PR and marketing firms and PPC agencies. In addition to speaking at industry events, she has been published in industry magazines. She is Co-Chair of Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization’s (SEMPO) Education Committee and a Usability Professionals Association member. Prior to search, Fealy produced/directed videos for Fortune 500 companies and now uses those skills to help clients achieve their vision in the ever-changing web world. She holds a BA in Speech from Marquette University, a Certification in Multimedia Technology from NYU SCPS and is a Human Factors International Certified Usability Analyst.

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For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Kathleen Fealy, President, KF Multimedia & Web, Inc.
845-735-1698

It was a bit of a shock to me this week when I logged into WordPress to create a blog post. Could it really have been that long since I wrote an article, post, realization?

I tell my clients that if they undertake a blog, they need to commit to it. They must make time to write short pieces that can be of interest to their prospects and/or clients. They should have a calendar, if possible, noting the different upcoming events for their store or service so that they can produce relevant, quality content and if inspiration hits them on occasion, write some short posts to keep “in the can” for the inevitable writer’s block.

So for all of the people that I have given this advice to, I repeat what my mom used to tell me; her words of wisdom. “Do as I say, not as I do.” It worked for her, at least sometimes.

Note: Don’t see a video on the right side of this post? Click here.

When given the opportunity, people will take the easiest path.

But what if you want someone to do something that they don’t want to do? How do you change that behavior?

Motivation and Persuading Factors

Some of you may have seen the video featured on this page, but I think the lesson from it can be applied to every aspect of life and business. People can become complacent and providing stimulus can promote change. More importantly, figuring out what would motivate people visually and behaviorally is key.

In this instance, they used a familiar visual cue which provided the expected response and most importantly, they provided the motivating force – Fun. In the process, they created something people would talk about and want to share.

How does this apply to my website strategy?

Don’t be afraid to try new ideas that might motivate your targeted customers to take action and at the same time share what you’ve done. Think about their overall customer experience. Is there something you can do that might WOW them or at least make them say “this company understands me”? With a bit of planning, the results could be amazing.

What examples can you share? Leave comments below.

I was at Search Engine Strategies New York last week and, as always, I come away with new ideas, another slant on a concept, or tools that will make my work more efficient. One idea I heard is remarkably simple, yet I’m certain that many, including me, don’t do it on a regular basis. A tool to implement the strategy, Hootsuite.

Create Social Media Calendar

The social media calendar is literally a calendar with dates of blog posts, email marketing campaigns, Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn status updates, YouTube videos, etc., planned out ahead of time to either correspond with seasonal events for your business or service or as a planned approach to make sure interaction occurs on a regular basis.

Obviously, spontaneous status updates and Tweets are encouraged, but the calendar makes sense, especially if you need approvals for your business communications or if you experience periods of being extremely busy to the point that your social interactions are sparse at best.

When I heard this idea, the first thought that went through my head was how organized this concept seems; it reminded me of an acquaintance who wrote her Christmas cards for the following year as soon as she received the current year’s card. I also thought that this would take a lot of time to do, but I’m beginning to see how this could really work and how it’s actually helping me to overcome writer’s block.

Scheduling Your Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn Status Updates – Automating the Process

This week I found five great articles I want to share with my clients on a particular subject. Instead of copying those links into a calendar and then re-pasting them into Twitter, etc., I can schedule them using Hootsuite, which offers a free account or a Pro account for $5.99/month. It will allow me to track and schedule messages more easily and monitor mentions – automating the process and providing me with a more streamlined approach.

Hootsuite also can be linked to WordPress.com blogs, but not yet to WordPress.org, though they say it’s coming. You also will still have to do your own scheduling of email newsletters and videos, etc., but having a tool to help with some of the work makes life easier.

Benefits of a Social Media Calendar

What I like most about planning out my social media is that I can get better at interacting with my clients and prospective clients. Everyone is busy, and finding the time to participate in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, etc., is sometimes overwhelming. Many of my clients say it’s one of their greatest challenges. Planning your social media can help you stay on top of it. I’m not saying that there won’t be a few bumps in the road, but, it should help my social media strategy which involves – wait for it – interaction (I’m watching too much of “How I Met Your Mother”).

If you have some ideas on handling the various social media interactions, please comment below.

Choices are a good thing. People like choices. As individuals, we value being able to choose what we want to use, look at or buy. When choice is limited, it’s human nature to feel gypped. There’s a movie theatre in the small town my brother lives in and every Thursday, the owner changes the one movie that is shown at that theatre. There’s a multiplex in the next town so that’s where he often heads.

Too many choices?

However, choice can sometimes be overwhelming. I was in a bookstore at the airport and needed something to read on the plane (this was before my Kindle). The goal, a fun read that had nothing to do with web sites, usability or search engines. After fifteen minutes, I came out of the store with nothing. My husband asked why. Surprisingly, there were too many choices. I couldn’t make up my mind. Did I want a mystery, a novel, a “beach” book? I just didn’t know what to choose. Now I’m usually decisive, but the number of choices was overwhelming. Eventually, I did find a book, but it took much more time than it should have.

After this experience, it got me thinking and I thought of many of the usability principles that I discuss with clients.

Choice and the User Experience

Give people a lot of choices and it turns out that many won’t choose at all. I hate to say it but research shows that people aren’t as logical as they believe they are. They will say they want choices, but in various tests, the more choices, the less action. What then helps people make a decision?

Let’s go back to the bookstore example.

There are different strategies to getting people to make decisions.

Limit the choices – This option is pretty self-explanatory. If people only have a few choices to make or can interact with someone (either in person or via a web chat) who can offer options, a decision usually occurs.

Scarcity – At the bookstore, there was several displays. Many showed the spine of the book. There were a few places in this section where books faced out, one behind the other, up to 5 deep. Among these forward facing books, there was one selection that only had one book left. Did this mean that this book was so good that all the other books had already been taken? It certainly made that book look tempting. Why? Scarcity coupled with validation. When people believe there are only a few left, they want to possess the item and if they think others wanted it, they also believe it to be a good choice.

Peer Pressure and Validation - Among the books were two sections I noticed; New York Times Bestsellers and Our Customers Favorites. What did these two sections have in common? There was a sense of comfort knowing that others liked these books. If many people liked these, then surely, I would like one of these ten books. I was presented with a limited selection of books and was being told that these were liked by others.

What did I learn and what can you learn from my experience?

No matter how much we believe logic influences our decisions, there are multiple other factors that work on an unconscious level. I’ve studied usability and have designed sites for years, and yet, I found myself being unable to make decisions based on my original thought of buying a book for entertainment. Ultimately, I was influenced by the masses – the so many people like this concept.

Unfortunately, the book I chose, wasn’t a favorite. But I look forward to my next bookstore or Kindle store adventure. The possibilities are endless. (Oh wait…)

A few months ago I visited Paramount Studios. I’ve always loved tv and film and touring a movie lot, especially one so steeped in history, was a dream come true. RKO and Desilu Studios eventually became part of the Paramount Studios of today, so on a tour, you get a glimpse of old Hollywood as well as today’s working studio.

While on an escorted tour, a Paramount Page took us to the part of the lot that was Desilu Studios. She stopped to show us a pretty little park with some buildings in the background that had various facades. As the page began her story on the history of the park, I realized that although its generally acknowledged that Lucille Ball was a very good business woman, her strategy to deal with fan expectations was brilliant.

First. some background. Lucille Ball was the first woman to head a major Hollywood studio. It was 1962. The public was supportive of Lucy as an actress, yet they weren’t so keen on her being the head of a major studio. It wasn’t a question of her ability as much as a question of the times. She was a mother of two children and while acting was a job, it wasn’t  considered the same as running a studio.

Lucille Ball had been in show business for years and she knew that public opinion was key to her success as an actress and ultimately her success as a studio head since she would want the public’s support.

Lucy Park, originally at Desilu Studios, now Paramount Studios, was designed to resemble areas in Lucy's private life

According to the Page, Lucy had Lucy Park created outside her office at Desilu Studios. The grassy area and landscape was an exact duplicate of her Hollywood home’s backyard. To the side of the park, there is a building facade, where it matches her parents’ home in Jamestown, NY.

Why? Because she knew the public and her fans wanted her to be the mother and not the corporate executive. She understood that they wanted to see her with her children, having picnics or playing with them. They wanted to see her taking them to visit their grandparents.

Back before there were blogs and 24 hour news sources, the press kept secrets, especially if given access to stories. On numerous occasions, Lucy would have the press come to Desilu Studios to take pictures of her and the kids on a picnic or playing in the yard. She would use the facade of her parent’s home the same way and have pictures taken of her just outside her parent’s house. These pictures ran in magazines and papers with captions like “Lucy at playing with her children at home” and “Lucy in Jamestown.” The public loved the pictures and felt reassured that her priorities were in the proper order.

Lucy understood strategy and she understood her audience. She knew what they wanted from her and she created a strategy to meet their needs as well as her own. Various strategies are needed in a business and knowing your customers’ expectations is part of any business strategy.

Lucy understood the importance of strategy and it enabled her to successfully run Desilu Studios until she left Desilu in 1967. During her tenure at Desilu Studios, she approved the production of Star Trek, Mannix and Mission: Impossible.

In August’s, SES Magazine, I wrote an article “It’s time to redefine SEO.”

The primary emphasis of the article is how businesses still view SEO, search engine optimization, as optimizing a website and only a website. This is understandable since that is a traditional definition of SEO. A few years ago, websites were the primary marketing tool on the Internet and optimizing a site allowed it to be more visible to the search engines and hopefully rank better.

The secondary theme of the article addresses businesses’ perception of search engine optimization as complicated, overly technical or constantly changing due to search algorithms. Granted, there are technical aspects to search engine optimization but let’s remove some of the mystery.

SEO is marketing and the search engines want to provide relevant results to searchers queries. One key component is content. Provide quality, relevant content, presented in a meaningful, understandable and appealing manner in your website, blog posts and online articles. No technology required, just skill.

Search Results – Then and Now

Search engines no longer deliver just ten results on their search engine result pages (SERPs). They pull from various databases, including news, video, real-time, image, local search engines, shopping engines, blogs, etc. utilizing a process referred to as Universal Search. SEO needs to reflect the times. Thus, the need for SEO’s new definition.

Search engine optimization should be just that, search engine optimization. SEO should apply to the entire realm of organic or natural search which is the majority of the left side of the search engine result pages. You’ve invested in your business’ online marketing assets - websites, social media interactions, videos, press releases, images or shopping feeds. Can they be found in the search engines?

Key Component to Marketing Is Visibility

All marketing is specially crafted to enhance visibility; SEO is another way of making your online assets and interactions as visible as possible to your targeted customers. If your product or service is seen in more than one place, you will be more easily found. Online marketing now involves many entities, such as YouTube, blogs, social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. Your businesses’ participation in them can lead to more opportunities for being found in the search engines by your targeted customers.  In fact, by participating in these various entities, links are created which can become the base-level of a link-building strategy.

SEO is part of any strong marketing effort. It should be approached holistically, involving all of your online marketing opportunities. While technical aspects exist, there are many strategies that can be implemented. Search engine optimization just makes it easier for your targeted customers to find you. It’s marketing.

Note: The article, “It’s Time to Redefine SEO” was printed originally in SES Magazine, August 2010.

My clients often say they don’t have enough time to do the marketing they wish to do themselves.

I agree. I’ve now set aside the time needed to update this blog. The new files are being loaded onto the server, the new theme is being implemented and the new look should be up shortly.

Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to your comments.