As everyone else that chooses to spend long hours bolted to their computers, I have to admit it feels great just planning to do something else. In 24 hours, I will be much closer to being chased by a bear than any Internet connection. As a result, I won’t be responding emails, phone calls or any request about Search Marketing. I should be back in the office at some point next week. In an emergency, please try the phone 778-371-9988 but I don’t guarantee anything.

Enjoy the summer!

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It is summer time and everybody is on vacation (or almost). Here is something that will chill your competitors. A few weeks ago, I was browsing around in You-Tube and I found this SEO tool video which presents a very helpful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tool that can help you spy on your competitors and get a better idea of their traffic level and daily Search Marketing (PPC) budget. 

Because understanding your competitors’ traffic, keywords and Pay Per Click (PPC) budget has always been key to benchmark your own Search Marketing successes & goals against your competitors, any tool that can help get the job done is welcome. As such, take a minute to check this video on how to use Spyfu:

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I have been talking about it for a long time. Here it is. It is live. It is Adhack!

Chief Punk James Sherrett from adhack.com has finally been able to put the first pieces together and just launched the alpha version of its Do it yourself advertising community called AdHack. I love the idea from the start. For those who are unaware of the project, here is my explanation:

We all do it. If I am looking for something to buy, I ask around for pointers. There is most likely a friend somewhere that has just been through the process of buying the same thing I am about to purchase. His/her story has more relevance in the purchase cycle than the ad I am going to see on the TV, Radio, Print and so on. Authentic stories are the new commodities. We love to share and we share faster. If there is no friend in my network with a real experience that can influence the purchase process, then there might be someone in the far corner of the web that can assist. Millions of customers, millions of products, stories & experiences and we all influence one another on a peer to peer basis. That’s AdHack. We go there and we talk about the stuff we are passionate about: branded, unbranded, well known or not, it does not matter. We are hacking the traditional advertising industry with a site that is good for us. Who knows, maybe the story will get noticed by the company you love (or hate) so much and you will get paid for it!

And then the official description. This is AdHack: A Do-It-Yourself Advertising Community.
AdHack is all about real people telling real stories about their real experiences. No focus groups, no research, no target audience, just the real deal.

It’s advertising, hacked. Advertising by the people, for the people. Do-it-yourself advertising. Anyone can see it, anyone can make it.

From huge international products like iPods, Hondas and Carnival Cruises to the cobbler around the corner, the butcher up the street or the boutique downtown, find our what people are saying. What people really feel. What they love and what they hate. Hack Advertising. Do it yourself.

In the spirit of the first wave of Alphanauts (these are the testers for the platform), John Ounpuu found a great AdHack story today for McDonald’s. The video shows 2 friends that were playing around with their camera in front of a McDonald’s and make up the music about McNuggets. It is in fact a good example as the ad got commissioned and the guys were paid for doing it. I am sure they are loving it. 

If you want to be part of Wave 2 of Alphanauts and share your stories, please contact AdHack.

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I hate it when it happens. A question arises in a discussion or worse, in an article that needs to be written in no time, and yet, I don’t know the answer. I either shut up or research the topic enough to answer the question. What’s worse than barely understanding a question? It seems like a lot of people are quite comfortable with the concept, and talk freely about anything they don’t know, but I am not. So I turned to a few friends for help.

The question was: I heard someone say recently that search is out and tagging (folksonomies) are in .. What do you think about that?

Being a search expert, I needed to put tagging 101 in perspective with search. Not knowing enough about tagging, it was quite difficult to answer it. So I turn to my top geek friends Monique Trottier & James Sherrett from Work Industries for some help in the article I am about to write. The article is actually an interview about SEMPO Canada‘s role (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization in Canada) and how it contributes to the growth of Search Marketing, coast to coast.

So first of, Monique put the definitions down:
Tagging: tagging systems have, over the past couple of years, been increasingly more popular. Tagging is basically a way to enable users to add keywords (or tags) to their blog posts, webpages, images, videos. The thing about tags is, I as a user gets to decide how to tag my post. It’s not dependent on me selecting from a list of categories that someone else has provided.

Folksonomy vs Taxonomy: in folksonomies--regular humans get to pick keywords that make sense to them, instead of taxonomies--where scientists or experts decide on a hierarchy and set of terms and we are forced to use those terms.

To see examples of tags, we can look at Darren Barefoot’s flickr page:
http://flickr.com/photos/dbarefoot/817524718/
You’ll see in the right hand column a heading: Tags. He’s added in these keywords that help describe what the image is: raw, maple syrup, etc.

Here is another example:
You can see on Kate’s blog posts another example of tags:
http://www.mynameiskate.ca/2007/07/links-for-20-10.html
She’s got (tags: vancouver microsoft)

Blog search engines like Technorati use tags to improve search results. You can read more about tags here:
http://support.technorati.com/support/siteguide/tags

And then some explanation:
According to Monique Trottier, tagging systems have improved search, and in many cases, like on Flickr, I can add other tags to Darren’s tag list. So if I think the photo is also about “glass bottle”, I could add that tag. Then if I’m searching Flickr for “glass bottles”, Darren’s photo will show up in the search results. Tagging and search are thus highly related. In many ways, tagging helps increasing relevance in search results, which is what search is all about. So to respond to search is out and tagging is in: well, tagging is in because search is even more in. We can see from our webstats that 60-80% of the traffic comes from search engines. Tags allows us yet another way to optimize our blog posts, videos, images, etc.

The challenge is that although the tags are about folksonomies there are still standards about the correct way to use tags in order to reap the benefits of improved search. It works in places like Flickr where you enter tags and the tags are built into the search mechanism of that site. It’s more difficult in your own blog where you have to know the correct way to insert your tags.

I would say that tags are yet another way to optimize for search.

According to James Sherrett, President of Work Industries, the question of optimizing a website or webpage for search or tagging is setting up a false opposition. James would never recommend to someone that they optimize for search or for tagging or for voting on Digg, or for video indexing, if that ever arrives. Rather, he recommends that you build a strong website for people. That website should also cater to search engine bots and tagging systems, and anything that might come along. The point to remember is that in prioritizing all those different considerations, people have to come first.

Tagging is in fact very complimentary to search. It’s another way any one of us can enrich the information available about a website or webpage. That’s good for people and good for search bots. On the websites I see and manage, the new traffic continues to come from search. Tags can augment that traffic, but people love to search. And within search, people love to use Google.

For more on tagging, here is a really academic paper on tagging if you want more info.

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It is that time of the month once again. In June 2007, people in the USA performed 8.0 billion searches, which was up 6 percent versus May of 2007 and up 26 percent versus June 2006.

Google web sites had a total of 4.0 billion search queries, Yahoo! had 2.0 billion, and Microsoft had 1.1 billion searches performed during June of 2007. The Ask Network had 403 million searches, and Time Warner Network had 341 million searches performed. That is quite a lot of searches every month! Whoever is not doing search marketing in Canada should seriously start considering it. These billions of searches every month represent an impressive database of intentions to buy products and services.

Other notable information is that Microsoft web sites experienced a significant increase in search query volume, which was up 36 percent and search market share, which was up 2.9 share points in June 2007, mainly due in part to the Live Search Club, a program launched by Microsoft in late May 2007 to engage and reward users of Microsoft Live Search.

Here is the full press release from comScore.

Here is the summary:

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It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce that my plan to start teaching Search Engine Marketing locally is progressing. Recently, YMCA Downtown Vancouver has decided to include Search Marketing as part of the seminar series to teach their students the ABC of online marketing.

They accepted my offer to host a 3 hour session where I will present the steps to choose a good domain name, how to install & understand Google Analytics and how to spy on your competitors online using all the free SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools available. As I am very keen to have them start on the right foot, I think this is a great opportunity for everyone involved. The first Search Marketing session at YMCA Vancouver Downtown will be on August 30. If you want to know more about YMCA Downtown Vancouver start you own business programs, please communicate with Cheryl McNicol at Cheryl.McNicol{at}vanymca{dot}org

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SEMPO Canada Working Group which I am a proud Co-Founder is pleased to announce a new member on the team. Ezra Silverton from 9th sphere based in Toronto (ON) is joining the Canadian Search Marketing group of experts and we believe his extensive experience in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) along with his leadership skills will help us grow the Search Marketing industry in Canada. Here is some more info on Ezra as you may also find in the SEMPO Canada Members area.

Ezra Silverton works with small to multi-national companies making use of Internet marketing solutions to achieve client objectives. In 1997, he co-founded 9th sphere, now an award winning website solutions company in Toronto. Ezra has a degree in Business Commerce with a focus in marketing, a Qualified Google Advertising Professional and a Yahoo Ambassador. He also writes articles around Canadian website best practices on 9th sphere’s blog.

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Here is a little video that I found on Google Universal Search when it was introduced last month during Google Searchology event in California. It presents Google Universal Search, Google Experimental and Interface Enhancements to its search results interface. Jim Louderback spent the day with Google and has the deets!

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This is one of the new Google changes you have to be aware of: it is called “Universal search” and it will have a dramatic impact on your current organic positions (hint: on the way down). For those who have not heard about Google Universal Search yet, the concept is very simple. From now on, instead of having the regular search results you are familiar with, we could see any of the following on any given page of a Google SERPs (Search Engine Result pages):

* images
* video
* news
* maps / local results
* blogs
* books
* products
* groups
* patents
* scholarly works

Because of these new entrants, the concept of having “top search engine rankings” changes dramatically. On one hand a first page ranking is much more difficult to achieve, and on the other, there are now more ways in which to achieve a first page ranking. The end result is obvious. It will be an even more crowded space and it gets even more difficult for any search marketer to promise a page 1 in SERPs. Yahoo!

So what are the consequences of this major change in search results? I don’t know if you are like me and found that there are already too many websites to compete against in search results. Like I said a long time ago when I was envisioning the search road for the future: some form of coopetition between similar organizations targeting the same customers might be needed anytime soon. This is so simply because traffic matters and there are only a handful amount of positions in SERPs that actually get the job done. This is one of the potential solutions to overcome this challenge. It is either that, or you invest more in your Search Marketing plan. Over the years, it has become a common understanding that any market creates a lot of losers in organic search rankings who end up in the invisible web (page 2 and beyond). This latest change is no different than what Google has always been doing to increase relevancy in search results and thus make it harder for any company (and search marketer) to reach the top. Making it hard(er) every year to reach the top has always been around. This is one step further in the same direction and it was expected. More is coming. Depending on how long you have been doing search marketing and your level of awareness of you own search marketing strategy and the one of your competitors, this means you will not only have to work harder to reach a top 5 position, you will have to keep working very hard in order to stay there. Everybody wants to be in the top 5 and there are 100 other companies that want the same thing you do.

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And here comes another research that proves that consumers who research their purchase through search are spending more than those who don’t. Here are the results of the study.

According to new research from Yahoo! and ChannelForce, consumers who search online for televisions and digital cameras spend ten percent more when making their purchase in-store than those who did not use a search engine. The survey also found that a vast majority research products online prior to making in-store purchases, and that online research is helping consumers make key purchasing decisions before they enter a store.

Key findings include:

-Seventy five percent who researched their purchases before visiting a retail location used the Internet as their primary source of information. The leading online resources were retail Web sites (73 percent), manufacturer websites (68 percent) and search engines (49 percent).
-Those who search spend an average of $31 more on digital cameras and $46 more on digital camera packages; and an average of $139 more on TVs and $190 on TV packages.
-More than 80 percent of consumers who research before making a purchase end up buying a brand from their original consideration set.  The remaining 20 percent said the in-store sales person was highly influential in their decision.
-About 75 percent of people did not know the model they wanted when they walked into a retail store.

David Rubinstein, senior director, Yahoo! Search Marketing, says “This study confirms and quantifies that a more informed consumer is a more valuable consumer… “

Kurt Higgins, president, ChannelForce, noted “… the brand experience begins well before the shopper walks into the store, and this study confirms how critical the in-store experience is to the consumer’s decision...”

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Here is a slide that was taken from the Canadian Search Marketing Landscape presentation during Search Engine Strategies Toronto in June 2007.

This unfortunately correlates with other studies and research, especially the ones conducted by ComScore Media Metrix Canada, which clearly points out how Canada trumps U.S. in broadband use as well as how Canadians Are More active online searchers than their U.S. counterparts. With 70% of Canadians household connected to the web with broadband access, you no longer have excuses to avoid clueing into Search Marketing. 

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I just love this kind of story.

“The burglary at Bigg City, formerly Mr. Bigg’s Family Fun Center, turned into a comedy of errors early June 10. The burglars tried to disable a security camera by repeatedly spraying it with WD-40—it only cleaned the lens—and spent an hour and 15 minutes trying to open three safes—apparently unaware that some types require the dial to be turned two or three times around.”

They finally did a Google search for “how to open a safe” and “how to crack a safe” on a computer in the next room.

“They’re not professional safe people,” said Colorado Springs police detective Chuck Ackerman. “No, they’re not.”

On the other hand, the Google query apparently worked; they haven’t been caught, and they did get about $12,000. 

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En ce beau début d’été, les Productions Lenger-Talbot vous rappelle qu’il reste encore quelques billets disponibles pour le spectacle de Francis Cabrel à Vancouver.

Venez passer une soirée romantique inoubliable en compagnie de Francis Cabrel, dans l’intimité du Stanley Industrial Alliance Theater, le mercredi 11 juillet 2007, à 19:00.

Ne manquez pas cette occasion unique de voir sur scène Francis Cabrel à Vancouver, un des artistes incontournables des 30 dernières années!

Plusieurs billets sont encore disponibles sur ticketmaster.ca, au 604-280-4444 ou à tous les comptoirs Ticketmaster.

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As presented in an earlier post on the rant made by Gord Hotchkiss on why Ontario Tourism does not “get” Search Marketing, I want to present to you today what they should take a look at from time to time to measure up against other major provincial travel websites, such as Quebec and BC. During my days at a major ad agency, I was taking care of a important Paid Search Advertising budget for Tourism British Columbia - HelloBC.com - and one of the things I really liked to measure was my improvement on the Alexa ranking scale. Despite issues with accuracy that this tool has, since Alexa rankings are calculated based on the people who have installed the Alexa toolbar, it gives somewhat a good indication of the overall traffic to the site, compare to competitors. It is the proportion that we are interested in, not sheer numbers.  Alexa ranking is easy to track over time and this is what I am using this SEO tool for. The lower the Alexa ranking means the more heavily visited the site is. That being said, when I started working it, the Alexa ranking for HelloBC.com was near 90,000. Check where it is today, compare to Quebec and Ontario:

As you can see, BonjourQuebec.com (red) has the lead in terms of traffic, followed closely by HelloBC.com (blue). Ontario Tourism is not yet in the race according to this graph, which correlates with the comments made by Gord last week about how poorly constructed Ontario Tourism’s Search Marketing plan is. Also, as traffic goes up, your Alexa ranking goes down. In this case, HelloBC.com’s new Alexa Ranking is 69,038. In the same time period, Alexa Ranking for BonjourQuebec.com went from 65,000 to 57,144. Ontario Tourism is way behind at 187,583. Therefore, if you are actively involved in Paid Search Advertising (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), take a minute or 2 per month and check your Alexa Ranking. It is fascinating what you can find over time and how you can beat your competitors and bring more qualified customers your way.

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I am working on something these days for SEMPO Canada for different interview formats that are coming. As I was making research about it, I came across a very interesting blog post interview done by Manoj Jasra from Enquiro.com. He interviewed Dana Todd, Member of SEMPO Board of Directors on the new SEMPO Institute.

Massimo Burgio & Dana Todd from SEMPO

The SEMPO Institute is an online distance learning program that allow you to learn every aspect of Search Marketing. Manoj asked a few questions to Dana such as:

* The SEMPO Institutes’ Target Market
* The Grading Scale of Courses
* Benefits of the SEMPO Institute courses
* The Advanced curriculum offered in March
* The strategies behind keeping the course content up to date
* How SEMPO plans on working with post secondary institutions

Listen to the full interview here. 

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