What is Google Instant? – When you are on Google’s website and you start typing in a search term a drop-down menu is going to appear below the search field that shows you possible search terms that you may be wanting to type in.  Some of you (Kelly) might be saying “It already did that!”.  And you are right, but wrong too. Google already did this prior to Wednesday, but it is now doing it differently. Before the words that would appear were based solely on your own search history, website history and search behavior. It also showed words after you typed in a word of your own. Now, it shows words AS you type, not after the fact. And, the words it is showing you is based on the search history and search trends of the entire country, not just your computer.

Why is Google becoming Instant? – To provide a shorter/quicker search experience for their users. By providing users with suggested search terms that other people are using around the world most likely they are the same search term you are wanting to type in, and now you don’t have to. With a simple click, or a few punches of the down arrow key and the enter key you will have picked the search term that you want and have completed your search.

Why else is Google becoming Instant? – By providing their users with easy suggestions of words to use in their search users will probably find what they are looking for quicker and with less effort of performing multiple searches or having to go to the subsequent pages of the results.  Oh, and because people are performing fewer searches in a quicker manner – it reduces Google’s use of resources and helps their bottom line. Google is getting really good at making changes to their engine that provides their users a better experience, but at the same time helping them save money.

How does Google Instant affect SEO? – First, expect some fluctuation in traffic to your websites coming from Google’s organic ranking. There is no doubt that this change will produce results for searchers who typically would have searched for a different term or phrase all together. This is affect is really teaching users how to perform better searches and eventually frequent users of Google Instant will be better searchers. This also means that websites that have been getting good traffic from one keyword might not get so much traffic from that keyword any more if the keyword is not one suggested by Google Instant. With that said, the reverse may happen too. A keyword that a website was not getting a lot of traffic from in the past might all the sudden be a super-star because it is a keyword suggested by Google Instant.

Bottom line is that Google Instant is going to change the way people search. It is going to enable them to learn to search better the first time and also enable them to search deeper into a subject by grabbing ideas from Google Instant. What that says to me is that websites are actually going to benefit more from Google Instant when it comes to SEO, it will just be from different words in some cases.

For more information on Google Instant please visit Google’s website explaining Google Instant. You may also choose to read Matt Cutt’s explanation of Google Instant’s affect on SEO. Matt Cutts is head of Google’s Webspam team. He is also a regular blogger for Google and is an outspoken public voice to the SEO world from Google.

1. Upgrade that Table-based programmed website to a CSS layout. Ok, this one is a little technical so let me explain. When programming a website and designing your pages there is a programming technique called “tables.” Tables in HTML are the same thing as tables in Microsoft Word. Do you use tables in Microsoft Word to layout your documents with graphics, bodies of text and other content? No you don’t, so why would you when creating a website? Well, tables were a very highly used website programming technique used to layout website pages because it was, in some cases, the easiest way to control the spacing and margins of the content on your webpage. Well, this technique is very outdated and has been replaced with CSS-based layouts. CSS is just another technique that allows your website to be laid-out in a pleasing manner controlling fonts, sizes, margins, padding and general spacing.  So, why do you want to update your table-based layout to a “table-less” layout? There are lots of reasons, but the main reason is search engines.  Search engines don’t like tables for anything else then content that would be made for tables (think Excel.) So, if your website is utilizing a table layout, you should look into what it would take to reprogram your existing website using a CSS layout and continue to grab some positive attention from search engines.
2. Make sure your website can be used by as many different browsers as possible. Not everyone uses Explorer. Believe it or not, not everyone clicks on the infamous blue “e” icon on their desktop to access the Internet. Every year Microsoft Internet Explorer is losing market share to a handful of other internet browsers including Mozilla Firefox, Apple’s Safari, and the latest to hit the net – Google’s Chrome. What does this matter to you as the small-to-medium sized business owner? It means that you need to make sure that your website shows and functions in all 3 of the aforementioned browsers and in their previous versions that are still being used. Think of it like this – a Internet browser is like someone that translates a language. If you ask multiple people to translate the same text, they will most likely translate it slightly different then each other. Internet browsers will translate the programming of your website slightly different. Too many times, the translation between browsers will create errors, errors that could be costly to your business.  Here is a current chart that shows you how the browser market is broken up.
   

   This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. The description on its description page there is shown below. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. You can help.

3. If you want to use music on your website make sure there is an option for the user to turn it off. Ok, so you want to set the mood and create an atmosphere for your website’s users so you placed music on your year 2000 website. Well, these days people don’t want music or sounds blaring from their speakers when they just clicked on your website. Users want to control their computer themselves and do not want music to play unless they chose for it to play. So, if you want to put music on your website, then do so, but allow your users to choose whether they want to hear it or not.
4. Create engagement and give your users something to do. Think about your own habits and the way you interact with websites you go to. Are you a reader, or are you always looking for your next click? Well, if you are like most you are looking for something to do on a website, something to click and something to interact with, and not paragraphs of text to read. Knowing this, look at your business website and come up with some unique ways to give your website users something to do. Photo galleries for people to flip through, estimation calculators and product preview tools are just a few examples of ways you can get your users engaging with your website, your brand and your products/services.
5. Update your content frequently so users will know your website is active. It’s not the “if you build it, they will come” era of websites any more. Users have choices on the Internet, 206,956,723 sites in fact according to this June 2010 Netcraft Survey. With all of this selection and the fact that Internet users are more educated and experienced means that you need to make sure that your website outperforms its competitors. One way to do this is to show your commitment to your website and make sure that you are keeping it up-to-date with fresh content that will keep them coming back. Plus, search engines will love you for it! Search engines want to provide its searchers with the best selection of websites to meet their search. A website that hasn’t been updated since the early 2000’s typically is not the best option. One of the easiest ways to keep your site up-to-date with fresh content is through a Blog. A blog gives you the opportunity to easily update your website with fresh and relevant content without having to know html programming, nor incur any ongoing charges from your website design company.

1. Keywords: Include keywords on your website that your customers would use to find your business. This sometimes will not be the same words that you would use. Put your self in the shoes of your customer. Generally, if users are searching for a local business, they will typically use a geographic indicator in their search. For example, if they are looking for a local pizza restaurant, they might search for “pizza restaurant in Brentwood, TN”.
2. If your business services a certain geographic area, make sure to fully describe and list out your service area throughout your website, and on your locations or contact page. List city names, regions, etc. that your users will recognize and also use in their searches.
3. Get Links from local websites. We all know that the more GOOD links you have the better. When you are trying to increase your local SEO, local links will do the trick. Start with your chamber of commerce’s business directory online, then look at your local industry associations, local suppliers, local schools, etc. Remember, .edu, .gov and .org website links are typically better then .com or .net (but don’t discount these either!).
4. Create Listings on Local Websites. So you know to claim your business on Google Local, but do you know that you should do the same at as many local directories as you can? Include all the major search engines, yellow page websites, niche directory sites, etc. At the bottom of this post is a list of 18 local sites to create a directory listing at.
5. Encourage customers to review your business on local websites. Embrace online reviews, don’t be scared of them. The more reviews and the more good reviews you get the better your local SEO will be. Encourage and ask your customers to go to local websites and major search engines to review your business. Even provide them with the links to do so to make it easy for them.

Local Search Engine Directories

Google Business Directory – http://www.google.com/local/add

Yahoo Local Directory – http://listings.local.yahoo.com

FindItNow.com – http://www.finditnownashville.com

Yellowbook – http://corporate.yellowbook.com/products/internet-free-listing/

Yellowpages – http://listings.yellowpages.com/

Switchboard – http://advertising.superpages.com/spportal/landingpages.do?splash=50&campaignId=swbd_addedit&SRC=switchboard&tsrc=SWBD

Superpages – Same as switchboard above.

Local.com – http://advertise.local.com/

Judy’s book – http://www.judysbook.com/merchant

Insiderpages – http://insiderpages.com/advertiser

MSN/Bing – http://help.live.com/help.aspx?project=Local_Listing_Center&market=en-us&querytype=keyword&query=dda_CLL

Citysearch – http://myaccount.citysearch.com

Yelp.com – http://www.yelp.com/business

Best Of The Web – http://local.botw.org/helpcenter/jumpstartproduct.aspx

ZoomInfo – http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/AddNewCompany.aspx

Infousa411.com – http://list.infousa.com/dbupdate.htm?Vendor=099842

Ask.com City – Same and InfoUSA411.com above.

msn411 – http://www.discoverbing.com/mobile/411/faq/

Student Winners from the Nashville area are:

• Adam Baker, Nossi
• Adam Jeremy Agee, Watkins
• Ali Hilton, Art Institute
• Amanda Smith, O’More
• Amy Davidson, O’More
• Andy Gregg, Watkins
• Andy Young, Watkins
• Barbara Ferguson, Art Institute
• Christina Cooper, Art Institute
• Daniel McClain, MTSU
• Danny Summers, O’More
• Evan Britt, MTSU
• Gerald Seiberling, Nossi
• Stephen Jones, Watkins
• Holly Matthews, Watkins
• Jaana Huusko, O’More
• Jacob Rhoades, Nossi
• Jaron Jackson, Art Institute
• Jason Dodson, Nossi
• Jennifer McClarney, Art Institute
• Jessica Appel, Nossi
• Jimi Button, Nossi
• Joanna Arnold, O’More
• Josh Shearon, MTSU
• Kayce Singleton, O’More
• Kristy Buchanan, Nossi
• Ligia Teodosiu, Watkins
• Michael Bromley Jr., Nossi
• Michael Curran, Nossi
• Michael Korfhage, Watkins
• Natalie Martin, Nossi
• Parker Bowab
• Ryon Nishimori
• Scott Reeves
• Tracie Stansbury
• Valerie Hammond

 But what really facilitated the ability for this system of donations to work? In fact, it was the business relationships that the mobile carriers have with their customers. With that established relationship in place, there was a mechanism to bill, collect and distribute the contributions. Without it, it’s just a bunch of texts drifting into the digital ether. This system can continue to work, but now the opportunity is also leading to a new start-up to facilitate payments through Twitter, a newer version of TwitPay.

What does this mean for the rest of us? For starters, consumer relationships are more than social connections. They are about financial transactions. Your relationship with your customer can begin, grow and be nurtured by social media. But at the core will be a transaction where value is exchanged for value, and where there will have to be a way to quantify and exchange that value. Social media – and really marketing of all kinds – is what we use to get to the transaction. Successful businesses can start by understanding what relationship they have with their customers now. What value do you provide and how are those transactions facilitated? Then you can apply marketing, media, PR and social strategies to further leverage those relationships, to expand services, increase purchase frequency, get referrals and build more loyal customers.

 Now comes social media, built not on entertainment, but on the connections between people. The kind of connection marketers really want to make. So instead of inserting advertising in the middle of entertainment-based programming, companies are hoping to get their messages intermingled with personal communication.

 In this environment, the challenge for companies is how to build a sincere relationship with customers so their communication is appropriate and accepted. But for media professionals, and more importantly journalists, the challenge is to be ethical and honest with their audience. Marketers want the benefit of the relationship that media has with their audience, but it can’t come at the expense of that relationship.

 Since the core product of the Tennessean Media Group remains The Tennessean, we deal with this directly. We’ve long had a church/state relationship between what we write about as news and what appears as advertising. Every week, more than 900,000 adults in Middle Tennessee rely on us for news and information they can trust. And that’s a relationship we value.

 That said, we have a lot of content that helps readers select the products and services they choose to buy. That role can naturally be combined with the help we provide local advertisers. But it’s our job to be sure we make those connections in a way that respects the relationship we have with our readers.

 Luckily, there are more opportunities to bring readers and advertisers together in a way that makes sense for both all the time. The evolution of technology has transformed not only marketing communication but the consumer. They are smart enough to know whether or not companies are being sincere, and they have the tools to filter what they want to let in. Meanwhile, companies are getting smarter about building their businesses on the true value they deliver and communicating it in a relevant way. If not, there is no celebrity, programming or third-party relationship that can help.

Sunday circulation was up 5,405 copies or 3%!

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/innovation/article/treat-referrals-like-a-sales-force-instead-of-a-happy-accident-ivana-taylor

This 2008 ExactTarget Customer Survey shows list growth tactics rated by customer popularity. Which tactic do you use? Is there a new tactic on the list that would make sense for your business?

It is no surprise that successful email marketers utilize more then one list growth tactic, but how many is right for you? According to this 2008 ExactTarget Customer Survey, 35% of respondents make use of 4-5 tactics to help grow their lists.

Look forward to more on Email Marketing and Social Networking in our next THRIVE Seminar Series presented by The Tennessean Media Group.

Here’s an example he cited:
“PepsiCo, which spends many millions of dollars on marketing every year, is just one example. During Internet Week in New York, I helped lead a project for which we hired nine “social communicators” (some of whom were traditional journalists) and built out a suite of blogs and social media tools, including a Twitter feed, a YouTube channel and a proprietary app, to cover the week’s events and, PepsiCo hoped, reach an audience of influential people in digital media and marketing. PepsiCo has done similar projects for the SXSW festival and said it is planning more in the future.”

The representative from Pepsi went on to say, “we are going to shift the mix of dollars from what might be a hundred percent paid advertising to something less traditional.”

The author gives a couple of other examples, and there is no doubt that he has spotted a growing trend. While he sees this trend as a threat to traditional media, I see it as an opportunity.

Later in the article he says, “I believe the trend will extend to local merchants, too. What happens, for example, when a local business that might have spent a few thousand dollars a month to attract customers via local circulars or news blogs instead decides to spend some or all of that money on its own digital media, attract its own audience, and glean all that data for itself?”

The problem with this is most small business owners we talk to have neither the expertise nor the time to pull this off. If they decide to go down this road they are going to need help from credible marketing services companies that can develop and optimize websites, create copy, provide social networking services, etc. That’s where we come in. We are doing these things for scores of customers as we speak and our client list continues to grow. And from a business model perspective, it gives our company access to “below the line” marketing dollars that we have never been able to vie for in the past.

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=174032