Social Media & SEO Summary January 2012

Posted by Hayden Allen-Vercoe on February 02 2012
Filed in Blog Network News, Online Marketing Tips and Advice, Online PR, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Research, Social Networking

What a month! Dominated by the launch of Google ‘Search plus your world’ (and the other Social Network’s discontent of this Google – centric search), and the SOPA Blackout, with the big guns in full support.

Here’s what happened in January 2012 in the world of Social Media and SEO.

SEO Summary January 2012

* Google’s social search, incorporating G+ in its search results, are discussed by Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land.

* Mashable’s Sarah Kessler comments it is too much, too soon – I agree.

* Erin Everhart, also from Mashable, comments on the SEO perspective of this new Social based search

This could all kick off - The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), has called for the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to investigate the recent search changes. There are concerns that the new features favour Google’s own services over those of competitors.

CNN Money even reported that Google may be sued for the new ‘Search plus your world’.

We need to remember that, according to Google, facebook & Twitter did not want Google to crawl their content, if this had been agreed search plus your world would have been so much more relevant.

And as far as SEO goes, I think it is important to highlight these personalised results are only visible if you are logged into Google. With G+ gaining more ground daily (see below!), more people are likely to be logged in to Google – which may become an SEO issue for the future.

But….Google said facebook and Twitter did not allow access to their social graphs and that’s why Search plus your world results are steered towards purely Google listings.

By the looks of it, not true. Engineers at Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have got together and produced a tool that shows clearly that Google’s new search could have been more driven to the user and not to Google. The new bookmarklet tool, ‘Don’t Be Evil’ goes beyond G+ search results. Search Engine Land have a full write up and install instructions.

Social Search as it should have been?

Meanwhile….

* WebProNews led with Google’s stunning announcement Larry Page claimed whilst discussing their results for the 2011 fiscal year; “Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year. Full year revenue was up 29%, and our quarterly revenue blew past the $10 billion mark for the first time. I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally – well over double what I announced just three months ago.”

This was posted by WebProNews on 19th Jan. To really see how fast this Social Network is growing, the same site also revealed that G+ users have now reached an estimated 100 million users. That’s an extra 10% growth in less than 2 weeks. Is Mr Zuckerberg concerned? I know I would be, G+ now looks to be a really viable contender to facebook.

* It’s not all good for Google though. Concerns over the new privacy settings may seem searchers adopt a new approach. Microsoft capitalized on this with a blog post ‘Google doesn’t put people first’. Google responded to these claims in their own blog post.

* The huge internet campaign led by the big players saw sites blacking out sections of their pages (or even complete sites) in support of anti SOPA. Examples of Google, Wikipedia and others during the ‘SOPA Blackout’ can be found here.

Not sure what all the fuss is about? You need to know – it affects each and every one of us. Mashable cover why SOPA is dangerous very effectively. Scary reading.

But, the blackouts seem to have worked! (For now). Mashable report on Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA, pulling the bill. SOPA is dead.

Social Media Summary January 2012

* Social Media Examiner mentions Google’s new social integration, as well as highlighting Twitters new embeddable tweets and a really interesting, useful and free email tool for Gmail users – Brand My Mail, where you can add blog posts, Twitter or facebook updates and much more to your emails.

* Hubspot’s Pamela Vaughan also talks about Google’s “biggest social search update yet”.

* Bharati Ahuja discusses Google+ “as a complete blogging platform” at WebPro Tech.

* Brian Solis shares 10 social media strategies for defining a successful 2012 at his blog.

* Pinterest continues to grow, with Etsy being the latest to add a pin it button.

* More social growth? Danny Goodwin of Search Engine Watch  reports that YouTube is now serving 4 billion videos a day. If you are a stat freak, click the link, there are some more YouTube related stats there!

* Pen.io continues to grow as the fastest online content publisher. Although basic, it is also very effective at publishing a web page online quickly. We like.

* Too many Social Networks to handle?!! Macworld report that Twitter have acquired social media feed condenser Summify. Summify summarizes Social content in people’s Google, Facebook and Twitter social media feeds and delivers a daily summarized version via email, a website or an iPhone.

* Google were not the only ones to reveal good financial results for 2011. Facebook has just filed its IPO for 2011 with a figure of $3.71 Billion.

So in the first month of 2012, although Google has reported huge success, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft have all expressed some negative views. This year is going to be interesting, with a few more scraps to come.

I cannot wait!

Prediction. Google+ WILL be bigger than Facebook

Posted by Hayden Allen-Vercoe on July 04 2011
Filed in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Marketing Events, Social Media Research, Social Networking

Google+, the new social network from Google is on its way. The question here may be what is the point of Google+? Surely we have enough social networks already?

Maybe it’s worth thinking back to Google’s failed social projects to date – Google Wave and Google Buzz – so why are Google bothering? Do they not know when they have been beat?

Facebook is a monster, a big monster. 600 million users worldwide and growing, the most popular of all social networks. My first impressions were Google should concentrate on maintaining their daily one billion search requests and I don’t think I’d be alone here…

Or maybe not.

A friend of mine recently bought up the fact that Sony had the monopoly on portable music devices just 11 years ago. Who’s shifting more these days – Sony or Apple?

Do not be too quick to dismiss Google+, this is Google coming out with all guns blazing…This is all out ‘social war’.

Early screenshots show a remarkable resemblance to Facebook. I’m sure this is deliberate. This is Google’s Facebook. With benefits.

The same as Apple’s iPod, this new social network promises some really nifty user friendly features.

Google+ offers everything that Facebook currently delivers, but it’s the little extras that will see if this really will compete.

The first feature of interest on Google+ has to be ‘Circles’. You can share conversations with different groups within your Google+ network. As Google say “The easiest way to share some things with college buddies, others with your parents and almost nothing with your boss”….I ‘Likey’.

‘Hangouts’ also brings more to the party, literally. “Let friends know that you’re free for a video hangout, any time, anywhere. Then catch up, watch YouTube or… just hangout”, Google+ cornering the teen market in one swoop. This could be the most important social feature for users tempted to switch.

‘Sparks’ brings out the best of Google search –

“A feed of only the things that you’re really into, so when you’re free, there’s always something waiting to be watched, read or shared”

. Stumble Upon should be worried too.

So we are looking at a fresh take on social networking, from a company that has failed in the past. Google’s huge online presence and it’s abilities to learn from its mistakes makes Google+ one to watch. Very closely.

Start watching those impressive Facebook stats dropping. Not everyone is happy with Facebook, the ever changing interface, not to mention privacy issues. Google+ promises a tighter security than its Nemesis.

Is Facebook concerned? You bet! Makes you wonder if this was the real reason behind their anti-Google campaign, conducted by PR company Burson-Marsteller, which Facebook paid for.
Currently Google+ has been made available to a select number for testing, I guess it doesn’t want a repeat of the mass rollout issues it had with Google Buzz.

Clearly, Google sees this as their big chance to take on Facebook and they want to get it perfect. When will Google+ be available to everyone? All Google are saying is “it won’t be long before the Google+ project is ready for everyone”.

In the meantime, you can register with Google+ here. https://plus.google.com

So back to my prediction, that essentially Google+ will have more than 600 million users. It’s a huge statement, but I believe Google have finally managed to create something to compete and conquer Facebook.

RIP Facebook? What’s your take?

10 social media facts that your business simply cannot ignore.

Posted by Paul Handley on March 18 2011
Filed in Blog Consultancy, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Research

Social Search and Social media applications are gaining more status in search rankings. By no means does this signal an end to SEO, but Google is not ignoring the leverage of Social Networks and neither should your company.

Here are some statistics that might make you focus more on your Social Media strategy

• Social Search has now been officially integrated by Google. When logged into their Google account, users will see search results with information from their social networks, such as Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.
Here’s Mike Cassidy, Google’s product management director; “With these changes, we want to help you find the most relevant information possible, personalised to your interests and the people you care about.”

• Social media accounts for 25% of all time spent online, and this is a growth trend.

• 25% of social media users are more likely to click on a brand advertising on social media and 15% of these users are more likely to purchase from social media advertisers

• The UK has 29 million active Facebook users and with everything social, this figure will increase.

• 149 million Americans now actively use Facebook, 70 percent of these active users in the U.S. log on daily. That’s over 100 million Americans on Facebook EVERY day.

• By 2012, half of the world’s Internet users, 1 billion people, will have a Facebook account – TIME magazine.

• 64% of Facebook users have liked a brand on Facebook. 84% of Facebook users check Facebook at least once per week and 68% of Facebook users check Facebook at least once per day.

• Real food for thought - Ford’s 2011 Explorer launch on Facebook generated a 200% greater return than a Super Bowl ad.  Source - The Big Book of Social Media: Case Studies, Stories, Perspectives

• A great ROI, 75% of Brand ‘Likes’ on Facebook come from Facebook advertisements.

• Not forgetting Twitter, 48% of Twitter users check their account at least once a day and 71% of Twitter users expect to receive marketing messages via the platform.

You cannot afford to get left behind, Social Media agency Orbital Media can help you plan and develop a successful Social media strategy.

6 emerging social media trends relevant to the luxury industry

Posted by Paul Handley on February 01 2011
Filed in Online Marketing Tips and Advice, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Research, Social Networking

2011 is set to see further dramatic changes within the social media sphere and how we communicate within it. Is the luxury industry prepared?

Here are Orbital Media’s top 6 social media predictions to look out for:

Trend 1 - Social commerce: Shopping is becoming more sociable. An increasing number of e-commerce sites are incorporating basic (but powerful) functionality that allows their customers to share purchases with their friends. For example, Facebook Connect leverages the power of Facebook’s social context in existing, third party websites.

Trend 2 - Group buying: In 2010 there was a frenzy of growth amongst group buying sites. These innovative platforms coalesce consumers together to leverage product economies of scale. Sites such as Groupon.com, LivingSocial, YouSwoop, BuyWithMe and ScoutMom, are set to drive this trend to further giddy heights in 2011.

Trend 3 – Social search engine optimisation (SEO): The Google and Bing search engines recently confirmed the increasing importance of social media buzz in relation to positioning within organic search results. This trend is set to further grow in importance throughout 2011.

We have listed below a range of factors which may increasingly affect the authority and trust of your social media links.

Read more…

Social SEO - The impact of social media on search

Posted by Paul Handley on January 31 2011
Filed in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Analytics, Social Media Research

SEO has changed.

No longer just on page / off page optimisation, keyword research and link building, SEO has got social.

Links for SEO have always been hugely important. Now, it’s fair to assume that links from Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc carry influence within the search engines. “Retweets” and “Likes” should now be part of any SEO campaign.

Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land provides an in depth look at Social Search and gives confirmation that Social media is being taken very seriously by Google and Bing.

We must do the same.

Creating compelling and unique content and frequently updating (blogging) has always been great for SEO. With social media having such a loud voice, it is also important to consider what content works in the social network environment.

Great content is good, great sociable content is better!

Read more…