In today’s world, it’s not uncommon to hear someone say they “Googled” something.  Or more commonly, just “Google” it.

But just because “Google” has become synonymous with “search” on the internet, does that mean it’s the only game in town?  You might think so, but users and our analytics dashboard traffic reports show otherwise.  The most recent studies indicate that roughly 71.6% of search engine users use Google, but that leaves almost 30% using other sources.

While the use of their search engine has turned Google into a verb in today’s internet lexicon, some individuals prefer not to use the industry leader because of concerns over how their personal information is protected, among other reasons.  There are several alternatives out there from paid to open access. Some are better than others, so finding the best search engines besides Google, can be trial and error.

Yahoo to the rescue

For sheer name recognition, Yahoo holds strong as the number two search engine option. Once an industry leader, Yahoo is the #2 choice for the best search engines besides Google with roughly 14.3% of search engine traffic.

A few reasons people continue to love Yahoo include:

• When you open up the Yahoo search engine main page you find an easy to navigate site with loads of information available.
• The day’s top news is placed at the top center position of the main page and cycles through more than 40 stories that are currently trending.
• Trending topic keywords are displayed in the top right position.
• The left-hand side of the main page provides links to Yahoo services and information such as weather, email, games and job searches.
• Putting a keyword in the search engine quickly produces your classic list of related sites that relate to the topic.
• The right side of the page displays text advertisements with hyperlinks.
• The left side offers filtered search options based on the main search topic.

Many people stayed with Yahoo after they fell to number two because of the ease of use and accuracy of their searches.

bing a happy song

bing has been steadily on the rise as an option when looking for the best search engines besides Google since their debut in 2009. A Microsoft product, bing is marketed as a “decision engine”, and was known previously as Live Search, Windows Live Search and MSN Search. bing’s increasing popularity and aggressive marketing is quickly closing the gap between them and Yahoo, as they have roughly 9.9% of search engine usage.

A few things that bing users love include:

• The main page contains a huge interactive graphic that changes regularly and is based on varied topics that tie in to current events related to the topic.
• Across the top of the main page you will find several tabs to various types of searchable information such as images, shopping, news, etc.
• One key tab that sets bing apart from other search engines is the Search History tab. This tab does just what it sounds like it does and is a more useful tool tan you might think.
• Across the bottom of the home page you have the option to enable what is called Stay in the loop with bing. Clicking on this link takes you to a page where you can sign up to receive trending information in your email.
• Bing Trends is another bottom of the page link that will take you to a page that uses graphics and keywords to show the topics trending the highest on bing. The page will displays six days worth of topics.
• The popular now links are simply the top four trending topics of the moment that you can link to directly without having to go to the Bing Trends page.
• A search on bing takes you to the standard list of results, but provides additional information about the topic in an interactive pop-out window.

The best of the rest

There are several other options when searching for the best search engines besides Google, but when it comes right down to it, it is a personal choice. Yes AOL, Ask and Dogpile are still out there, but their percentage of search traffic is growing smaller and smaller over time.  Probably one of the main reasons is that many of these search engines don’t actually give their own results, many are part of the Google network meaning they show you Google search results from their own search portal.

Our best advice is to step outside the Google box and try a few others before settling on the one you’ll call your own.  Our guess is you’ll come to one of 2 conclusions – either a renewed sense of awe for why Google is so highly regarded, or you’ll begin to appreciate the finer points of why some other search engines manage to hold on.

Google Market Finder is a terrific free tool designed by Google which allows users to take a look at local monthly search volumes for specific locations. It also includes the costs of targeting particular keywords in every market, including foreign ones. This has been very beneficial in terms of growing our business on a world-wide basis.

Find New Markets

The free Google Market Finder tool uses world-wide Internet search data to reveal the number of times that keywords are searched for, in 56 different languages. We use the tool to see where consumers search for our products and services. Then we evaluate the new potential markets by comparing the local search volume, estimated keyword price and the competition for each keyword in all markets. This is really helpful in planning our marketing budget for the best results.

Here is an example of how it works:

Let’s say your company manufactures a cool line of sunglasses and you are interested in selling them outside of the US.  And let’s say (just for example) that you had several Spanish speaking employees and could support new business from Latin America.

You could use the Google Market Finder tool to search this type of query, and the results would look something like this:

Translate Key Words

Now that you have identified the countries that had the highest search volume for the phrase “sunglasses” you could use the free Global Market Finder tool to automatically translate our keywords into the language of our choosing (in this case Spanish), for all of our new potential customers. Using the tool, we can also see where people are searching for our products and services. Then we can narrow it down to specific locations to target in our online marketing plan. For this reason alone, it is an invaluable service, since we are not fluent in other languages. We would actually need to hire someone to do these translations, which would be quite costly. By knowing where our target audience is, we can best take advantage of the world-wide marketplace to expand our business and take it to the next level.

Use With Google AdWords

Google Market Finder is particularly effective when combined with Google AdWords. The free Google Market Finder tool showcases all of the estimates of a suggested keyword bid, as well as the competition for each Google translation for that specific target market keyword. In this way, since we are already using a Google Adwords campaign, we can use the Google Market Finder to choose a precise location and language with which to display our ads.

Access to All Marketing Media

The Google Market Finder can be used as a powerful marketing tool to help reach our potential customers on a worldwide level. Used with ad formats such as search engines, mobile devices, video and TV, this tool is extremely helpful in targeting exact marketing locations to find the best audience for our business products and services.

Being in internet marketing, it’s fairly common to run into businesses that tell me they are doing just fine without putting a lot of effort into the internet or social media.  The discussion usually centers around the fact that their business has been around for awhile and their customers don’t really rely on the web or social media to find them.

This certainly sounds like a convincing argument on the surface, but the hard truth is that EVERYONE these days is becoming a consumer of digital media.  And there is no better proof than when this year two of the oldest organizations in the world, the British Monarchy and the Vatican, have taken the plunge and moved their organizations full force into social media.

The Pope learning to Tweet

Papal Tweets & Vatican You Tube Channel?  Really?

The Vatican has done a great job of creating a well conceived plan to utilize digital marketing technology.  Their internet and social media properties now include:

• The Vatican Main Website – While this website has been running for some time, it is very well done with a great deal of information.
• The Vatican News Portal – This news portal is brand new and features a rich media experience including the most recent news, videos, and yes even Tweets!
• The Vatican You Tube Channel – Includes over 1,100 videos on various topics
• The Vatican Twitter Account – The new Twitter account tweets news & events happening within the Church
• Vatican News Facebook – Yes you can now officially “Like” the Vatican.
• Vatican Flickr Page – Includes more than 800 photos of Papal activities
• The Vatican Radio Channel – Publishes podcasts and radio broadcasts around the world.

Weighing the risk / reward of social media

You would be hard pressed to find a more surprising organization that is embracing social media than the Catholic Church.  Opening up to the world of social media certainly seems like a big risk for an organization steeped in tradition and always cautious about what they say publicly, especially given the scandals and controversy in recent years surrounding a number of topics.

But in this case clearly the risks are worth the reward.

And what is the reward?  Simply put, social media is allowing the Church to communicate with its followers all over the world in ways they’ve never done before.  In fact, earlier this year the Church launched its “Catholics Come Home” campaign geared at reaching those who have left the Church and inviting them to come back.  So the reward for the Church is helping Catholics re-enforce their faith by providing information in ways they want to consume them and, I dare say, making it a little more fun to be Catholic.

Apparently internet marketers like us aren’t the only ones who wonder why you still get a new yellow pages book every year even if you don’t ask for it.  In San Francisco, a town often noted for being the first place to pass interesting legislation, the Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 in May to prohibit the distribution of yellow pages except to residents or businesses that want them and have “opted-in.”

Did California get it right this time?

Let’s be honest, it’s 2011 and with the strain on our global resources doesn’t it make sense to limit the unnecessary use of large quantities of materials unless they are really needed?  So while California takes their “green” living a little more seriously than a lot of areas, we have to at least applaud the effort to curtail businesses from handing out huge books that a lot of people don’t want or need anymore.

NEED is probably the operative word in this movement.  I remember a few years ago having a smaller yellow pages book in my truck and thinking it was a cool idea to make the book portable so I could find something while on the road.  But after the last 2 years who DOESN’T have a mobile friendly phone with the ability to “Google” anything you want from the intersection of your choosing (hopefully while at a stop light)?

Marketing implications

This trend toward being digitally mobile will have greater effects than just limiting the distribution of the yellow pages.  But the reality is many businesses will have to face what they’ve probably known for years – that relying on advertising in print publications isn’t going to be enough to effectively market their businesses.

The yellow pages have historically been a tool for driving local marketing efforts.  So what can businesses do to replace that type of exposure?  Here are a few tips for the digital age:

• Claim your “local” business listings on Google, Yahoo & Bing
• Participate in other local directories such as Merchant Circle or Insider Pages
• List your business on review sites like Yelp or Angie’s List
• Optimize your website for local areas and phrases
• Invest in a mobile friendly website
• Learn about new trends in text message marketing

Is the newspaper next?

Every Thursday the local newspaper throws a “freebie” paper in my driveway even though I’m not a paying customer.  I guess they are hoping that I’ll see it, flip through it and maybe become convinced enough to become a subscriber.  They had better not do this in San Francisco or the newspaper might be next on the list!

Over the weekend, I had an interesting discussion with my 53 year old neighbor who still “takes the paper.”  The topic was the newspaper, and how long we thought newspapers would still be tossed in driveways across America.  Watching what’s happening with the internet and mobile devices, it’s hard to imagine that newspapers in their current form last more than another 20 years or so.

And while I have no doubt that the news organizations behind them will last longer than that and serve a critical role in each local community, I’m convinced that the process of delivering their news via paper, trucks and people will evolve sooner rather than later.

We’ll just keep an eye on San Francisco to see when they make newspapers illegal next!

Lately I have been doing a lot of training on social media, and I find it interesting that while so many people are aware of the increasing adoption of social media – not everyone is sold on whether or not it is of value to them. Now I know we live in Southern Louisiana which is not exactly a technological hotbed, but the shift towards social communication seems like a major deal to me that has transformed our personal lives so why wouldn’t it have a big impact on business?

So what does social media have to do real business anyway?

The short answer is EVERYTHING. There is a fundamental shift that is going on in our world in the way we “consume” information. And if you own a business or are in sales, that means a fundamental shift in just about every facet of your business world.

Think about how technology has changed the 3 primary aspects of any business:

• Customer acquisition - customers often find us first from a website. In fact, in a Nielson Online study, 82% of consumers cited a search engine as the most commonly used search tool. And even when they hear of us in some other method, they often go to our website first to check us out.
• Sales – Unless you live under a rock, chances are you’ve bought something or at least researched it first via the internet. Today, just about everyone has the ability to sign up or pay for something online, allowing us to transact business sometimes without ever meeting our customers.
• Customer retention – Email is the first choice of many businesses, but there are many great digital tools available to us today to keep customers engaged.

Without a doubt, if you’re in sales then the digital revolution is changing your world. For some it may come faster than others, but there is no denying that social technology is changing the sales cycle.

The real question is what are you going to do about it?

Digital communication milestone reached

Its official, the internet has now passed traditional newspapers in terms of advertising dollars!  While this may not come as much of a surprise to some, it serves as something of a validation of the shift from the traditional consumption of media to the desire for digital media.

The new study was just released by eMarketer shows that for the first time ever, businesses will spend slightly more on online ads than with newspapers.  The trend is projected to continue into 2011 and begin to widen as the desire for digital media continues.

Is online marketing recession proof?

One of the most interesting facts revealed by the study is that in spite of the tough economic times, businesses are continuing to INCREASE their budgets for online marketing.  The report also shows that among those businesses who advertised with newspapers, a greater portion of their budgets were allocated toward the online ads as opposed to the traditional print versions.

What is fueling this trend?

With all disclaimers in force (as we sell internet marketing), I believe there are certain factors which are pushing businesses toward online marketing even in a tough economy:

1.      Online marketing can be tracked.  When you run ads on Google or invest money on search engine optimization, today’s tools allow for clear tracking of results to develop a tangible ROI.  Oftentimes with print advertising, it can be difficult to track direct results.

2.      Growth of mobile. Just about everyone has a web friendly mobile device these days, and they aren’t using them to read the paper.  Advertisers know that as mobile usage increases, it is becoming more important to reach digital consumers.

Need help in 2011?

If you would like to learn more about how you can use internet advertising in your business, contact us today for a free initial consultation.

Why 3 listings of course!

In today’s world, talking about being first on Google for something is starting to get complicated. With the introduction of “personalization” of search, the items you see for a particular phrase will vary greatly from what I see when I search.

The good news though is that with the introduction of varied results, there are now more chances than ever for you to have MULTIPLE listings on Page 1 of Google for a certain phrase. So today, the real goal in the search engine marketing profession is to gain multiple listings instead of just focusing on one.

Go for #1 spots in all 3 areas

With Google, you have 3 possible spots that you could appear “#1” for a various phrase:

1. Natural, organic results – these are the regular, non-paid results that everyone knows and trusts.
2. Paid search ads – these paid placements appear at the top and to the side of relevant search phrases.
3. Local listings – in certain cases, Google is now displaying a set of local listings which are near to the locality of the place you have searched.

That’s not all – claim more spots with “Universal Results”

Have you noticed that when you search for something you get results that include news, videos and articles about the phrase in addition to regular search results? These are called “universal results” which are designed to give you a well rounded sample to choose from.

The good news is that companies can now shoot for multiple listings there as well with highly ranked videos, news items and articles or even social results from sites like Facebook and Twitter.

If you can’t beat them, join them

It seems simple – become the most relevant and Google will put your company on the first page. However, in order to know how to make Google recognize your website as the most relevant one, you would have to know the algorithm that Google uses to rank websites. That algorithm is a closely guarded secret, which is why there is no single recipe to the right mix of SEO, PPC, and keyword placement to get onto page one.

Our suggestion, go after multiple results on the first page so when you can’t win for one, maybe you’ll win for another!

The one digital marketing acronym everyone should know

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. When you type a phrase into Google or any other search engine, the results for that search appear on a new page in your browser. This is the SERP, and for businesses concerned with online marketing, being on the first SERP is one of the top priorities.

Why it matters to businesses

Let’s face it, who looks past page 1 for anything on Google? If a customer has to go to the second page of results to find your website, they are far less likely to find you or to conduct their business on your site.

What a typical SERP looks like

On the SERP, you will see three types of results.

• On the left side of the page is where one can find natural or organic listings, those which are placed there because the search engine finds them to be the most relevant to your search terms.
• Above those are the sponsored links. Companies pay the search engine to be placed in these positions.
• On the right side of the page are the paid advertisements, the PPC ads.

Which is the best place for my business on SERP?

Everybody wants to be #1 on Google for their dream phrase, but sadly everyone can’t be first. Even so, there are strategies for placement on search results pages that may benefit you such as occupying multiple positions on the page. Today we look at sponsored results, regular organic results and local results as 3 opportunities to show up on the page. Stay tuned to future blog posts to learn more about this.

The importance of ongoing learning

People who are good at something make it look easy.  For instance, when Tiger Woods was at his peak, it sure looked like no big deal to shoot a 65 at the Masters.  But fast forward to 2010 and we see the same person but struggling with his game – clearly suffering from not putting in the time to be the best.

What we don’t see with people who make things look easy is the extraordinary time they put into their trade when no one is looking.  The extra time spent reading, studying, practicing and generally becoming better prepared for whatever they are doing.

WSI 2010 Annual Conference – Lessons Learned

This year, our WSI Annual Conference centered on the theme of “social media.”  Most speakers focused on some aspect of how all the digital and social technology is changing our lives and fostering new behavior both on an economic and personal level.

But to me, the real lesson was that the people who are committed to ongoing learning will never have a bigger advantage than they will in coming years.

Think about it – over the last few years the pace of technological change in our daily lives has been dizzying (to say the least).  7 year olds are now walking around with mobile phones and texting their friends while surfing the internet!

But for business people, this means that their customers are shopping, buying and doing business in a whole new process that involves digital media and social technology.  And the successful businesses will be the ones who learn, adapt and change the fastest.

What should you be doing?

At the conference, one of the speakers suggested spending at least 30 minutes daily taking in a “river of knowledge” using all of the digital and social technology available to us today.  As such, the only way to keep up is by taking part in changes as they happen, and spending the time daily to “work on our games.”

And that’s the power of WSI as an organization – constantly feeding that information out to our 1,200 consultants worldwide sharing best practices and success stories.  And in turn, sharing that information with our clients.  Working daily on “our games” is our plan to stay ahead of the curve!

In a move that should please those who love ironic situations and watching others “eat crow”, the New York Times is successfully using online ad sales to gain a better financial footing.

For years the newspapers have been trying to figure out how to deal with the change in our appetite for media consumption.  As more and more people get their news in some digital fashion, newspaper circulations have declined along with ad revenues.  This trend has led many of these organizations to the brink of failure as the new mediums pushed their way through.

In a nutshell, these organizations have tried to fight the trend toward digitization rather than embracing it and they have paid a heavy price.

Finally, A Shift to Digital

It’s no secret the New York Times has been struggling financially over the last few years.  However they finally have a bit of good news.  In their 2^nd quarter results which were announced this week, showed a 21% jump in digital ad sales to accompany their 6% decline in print ad sales.  Overall they showed a net gain of 1% and this was the company’s first revenue gain since 2007.

What’s to Come in the Future?

The news this week marks a rare success story for traditional newspapers trying to survive in today’s web-oriented world.   And as much as those of us in the web world would like to see our competition fall away – the world is undoubtedly a better place with organizations like the Times contributing at full capacity.

However, with that said, the struggle that the newspapers have gone through is a telling one.  The lesson to be learned here is that the digital age is NOT going away.  And instead of fighting the trends, look for ways to embrace them and make internet marketing a part of your business.