Search Engine Optimization

LookSmart's New PPC Look -- And Why I Don't Like It

The first moves are being made in the divorce of LookSmart from MSN, and LookSmart's quest for their new PPC future.

Anyone who has submitted to LookSmart over the past month has watched the submission process slowly but continuously evolving. Yesterday, I saw that the final pieces are in place to make LookSmart a purely PPC search engine.

A LookSmart submission now follows much the same process initially, but there are a few notable differences:

1. Keywords. LookSmart used to allow you to enter 10 keywords/phrases that you wished to target. Now they just give a text area, and tell you to enter each keyword/phrase on a different line. No limit is specified.

2. Cost per click. LookSmart used to have a flat fee cost of $0.15 CPC for any and all keywords. This is no longer true. LookSmart now defaults your bid to $0.20 CPC, however, some keywords are given a higher bid. Based on your bid, LookSmart will let you know what your expected ranking will be for the keywords you are given, and will let you know which terms will require a higher bid in order for you to be ranked at all.

3. Monthly budget. When LookSmart first initiated the flat fee CPC, they gave a default minimum monthly budget of $15.00. A few months ago, they removed the default, but allowed you to keep that $15.00 as your budget if you wished. Now, although this is technically still true, LookSmart will raise that minimum depending on how many listings you request and how valuable those keywords are.

Why I don't like the new LookSmart system:

1. Those keywords! Although LookSmart sets no limit on how many keywords you can enter, they truncate it back down to 10 total. I've tried entering just 2 or 3, I've tried entering 20. They return 2 or 3, or 10 -- and those are selected apparently at random. LookSmart returns a list that doesn't always include my top keywords (listed first), and breaks up some phrases into individual terms. For example "internet marketing" was broken into "internet" and "marketing", giving me listings for 2 untargeted and virtually useless keywords instead of the single target phrase. They gave me one keyword (promotion) that I hadn't even listed! In SEO everyone knows that you "suggest" keywords and hope for the best; the whole point of PPC is that you get the listings you pay for, under the search terms you specify. This new LookSmart system is the worst of both worlds.

2. The bidding. They set a default of $0.20 CPC, THEN tell you that you must bid more for some of your terms, and let you know what the minimum bid is. This adds a step, and it's annoying. Ydon't know, until after you've entered your minimum bid, what position you will get for that price. To rank #1, you might have to bid higher, adding yet another step. Although they claim that rank and cost are based on click-throughs, there is no way to find out what they are actually showing for click-throughs. You have to trust them. Overture's system is vastly superior, allowing you to see exactly what the top bids are for your chosen search terms, and allowing you to find out how many people searched for that term in the past month. This is a much sounder basis for budgeting.

3. The monthly budget. I have not yet succeeded in getting a monthly budget below $100.00 for any terms worth having, even when I lowballed and only asked for 2 keywords. LookSmart won't even let you create the account unless you guarantee to keep at least their minimum budget in it (the lowest I've gotten so far is $115.00) each month. They do not specify what they will do if you don't spend that much, but the implication is that they will give you the clicks to burn the budget, whether you want them or not -- I base this on the random selection of keywords and CPC's above. Overture, by contrast, charges an initial set-up fee, after which you're on your own. Put in $2.00, put in $2000.00, they don't care, they'll send you traffic to your chosen terms, until your money runs out, and then it stops. Clear, simple, reasonable.

As far as I can see, there is little or no incentive to use LookSmart in its current incarnation. You are paying a randomly determined amount, for randomly determined keywords, to get uncertain listings on lower-tier search engines. The submission process is uninformative and frustrating. I can hardly believe that just a couple of years ago, LookSmart was one of the best bargains in SEO, and one of the smartest advertising moves you could make. A one-time fee got you listed for appropriate keywords on search engines that included MSN. How did they take something so good, and turn it into something so bad?

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

What is MSN's new search strategy?

As the calendar year of 2003 draws to a close, a few major shake-ups took place in the search engine world. Most notable was Google's radical re-indexing a month ago, which resulted in howls of dismay across many industries.

However, another major change is in the works, and although it has been overshadowed by the new Google ranking algorithm, this change will affect the fortunes of many internet businesses. For anyone who gets good MSN search traffic (more reliable for site owners than Google, being a paid submission through LookSmart which you have more control over), the future of MSN search is a source of much anxiety. And the future of this popular search seems to me to be up in the air on almost every level.

1. MSN chose not to renew their contract with LookSmart, and therefore, MSN will no longer be using LookSmart directory results for their primary search results after the first of the year.

Although early speculation was rampant, there has been little or no information beyond the initial comments that MSN was developing their own search function, and would be implementing it beginning in 2004. There is no hint of a change to come... except at the bottom of the search results page, where I found the following link:

MSN Search is hiring! Learn about job opportunities.

This link contains high-level programming and project management jobs, all related to search engine algorithms, testing, etc. I have no idea how long that link has been present; it would seem pretty late in the day to be looking for programmers! MSN has already discontinued using LookSmart on their UK site, and rumor has it their new algorithm is through beta testing. This would be reassuring except that absolutely no hints have leaked out about the new algorithm, how it will function or when it will be done, at least not that I've been able to track down. If the new algorithm is supposed to debut within days, I would have expected more buzz by now. Hopefully the new algorithm will be ready when needed, and will return the kind of relevant results that have made MSN one of the most popular search engines. Otherwise, what will MSN do? Work out some sort of temporary arrangement with LookSmart? Default to web pages results? Pull in another set of search results?

2. MSN currently uses sponsored listings from Overture, owned by its two major competitors, Yahoo! and Google.

Overture indisputably rules the PPC world at this point, so there is good motivation to keep using them, at least for now. But if MSN doesn't flinch from creating a program that will be "indexing the entire internet and returning best-of-class results to search queries", then they might have their own PPC search engine in mind for the future as well. And it doesn't make good business sense to keep paying your competitors if you can do it yourself.

3. MSN has used Inktomi for their web pages results, after the directory listings.

Although results still appear, "Inktomi" is not listed explicitly as the provider. Inktomi was recently purchased by Yahoo!, so the same arguments apply here as above.

FINAL ANALYSIS: MSN is playing this one pretty close to the chest. However, they are definitely creating their own new search algorithm, which is planned to be highly automated. If the new algorithm works as planned, and MSN is able to hold onto their share of the internet search market, then I think it cannot be long before their other partnerships are also re-examined.

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

More Google, more panic

To tell the truth, I'm getting a little tired of re-hashing the Google situation in every blog post, but it seems there's no way to escape. Every newsletter I get, every discussion forum I visit, Google is the big topic of conversation. What exactly did Google do on their new ranking algorithm, why did they do it, what will they do next, and how can I make it all work to my advantage?

Search engines re-index all the time, but usually don't merit this degree of obsession. Yahoo! Directory re-indexed some time ago, and a few sites I know of got bumped from great rankings to being cellar-dwellers. Yet, I hear nothing of this in the industry buzz.

So why Google, and why on this change to their ranking algorithm? Simple. Google has become the most widely-used search engine in the world. This means that major changes are noticeable to a much wider range of people. It also means that major changes can affect the e-commerce fortunes of many businesses, at a very critical shopping season. I understand all this, which is why I am diligently perusing all this industry news for any new item of information. To date, I haven't seen anything new or exciting since the first few days.

The latest panic started by a brief comment at the WebPro World Forums, by Marissa Mayer of Google. She commented that if your site has lost rankings, one thing you can do is look at your link partners. If they've used spamming, then odds are, your ranking has dropped because of it. Many people interpreted this to mean that you could be punished by having a link to your site from a spammer or a link farm, and panic set in because you can't control who links to your site. It would be a great way to destroy a competitor's ranking, wouldn't it? Put a link to their website on a bunch of junky link farms, and get their ranking wiped out?

The voice of reason countered that today, by pointing out that this is so visibly open to malicious exploit that Google would surely never do it. On the other hand, Google has been pretty open about the fact that they intend to destroy the VALUE of such links -- not the sites that are linked there, but how much those links are worth. So, if your ranking depended on link popularity from a number of questionable link sites, then your ranking will almost certainly go down, because that link popularity factor has been modified.

This makes sense to me. They are trying to give good ranking to quality sites that deserve it. Any form of spamming or exploiting is probably going to be punished. Hidden text, spammed keywords, and other blatant ways to try to manipulate rankings have already been pretty much nullified. Link farms were the next big exploit, so it makes perfect sense that they were next on the chopping block.

We do very little cross-linking as a rule, and restrict it to sites that are obviously relevant and don't have link farms set up. Our sites, on the whole, have not been adversely affected by the shake-up. All I can say is that it pays to play clean!

No one knows what will happen on the next Google dance. Take a deep breath, count to ten, and WAIT. We'll know a lot more about what to do next, when we see how Google has reacted to the current situation.

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

The Google Ranking Panic Attacks!

It's a crazy time in the SEO world, as news of Google's new ranking algorithm trickles beyond the SEO community and starts hitting the webmasters and site owners. Panicked phone calls and emails have ensued, as many site owners see their cherished Google listings disappearing right at the peak of holiday season. They want it fixed, they want it now!

This confirms Google's reputation, and status, as probably the most-used search engine out there today, which gives them an awful lot of power. This has people worried, because in order to get the highest web traffic without pay-per-click, you need to keep Google happy. But Google doesn't really tell you what the rules of the game are, outside of general guidelines, and they change the rules periodically. How then is the honest webmaster to attain and maintain that coveted Google ranking?

The first thing I would advise against is wholesale site changes done in panic mode. Don't make major changes every time you see your Google ranking bounce around a little bit; any SEO professional can tell you that this is completely normal. If a good ranking drops dramatically, or your site is dropped entirely, then feel free to panic -- it's probably time for drastic action!

The second thing I would advise against is jumping on every new "hot idea" in SEO which supposedly cracks Google's ranking algorithm and guarantees you top rankings. If it's not pure hype, then Google is sure to catch on to the exploit and try to find a way to close the gap.

The third thing I recommend is being conservative in your application of optimization. Even if it's a solid idea, you can destroy it by overkill. Back links are good; link farms with dozens of irrelevant links are not. Keyword optimized text is good; text that is stuffed so full of keywords it makes no sense is not. Exercise some restraint!

Finally, going back to the issue of keeping a given ranking over time, remember that some fluctuation is totally normal. Keep your site updated for content, but don't keep changing it constantly to try to keep one step ahead of the search engines. Try some good ideas, then leave them alone for awhile, and give the spiders a chance to see them. If you change your site three times in one month, you have no idea which changes were effective and which were not.

The most recent ranking changes aren't unprecedented; Google tweaks their algorithm all the time. This was just the most major and most noticeable change in quite a while. Although many sites, in many prominent online industries, did indeed suffer huge ranking losses, many other sites maintained or gained ground (they're just keeping quiet about it, probably to avoid drawing attention to themselves!). Unless you were using a lot of SEO tricks that are widely believed to be a problem now, such as link farms, then your site probably isn't going to find itself banished to page 257 of the search results. If you had a site solidly optimized, leaning a bit toward the conservative in terms of keyword density, cross-links, etc., then it's still a solid site. Don't turn it inside out and upside down, especially when another major index should be happening soon. For all we know, Google might reinstate their old algorithm on this one, and then where would you be?

Don't join the stampede!

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

Good news for our Google clients!

The early results are in! A review of ranking reports for the past couple of weeks on SharpNET clients has nothing but good Google news in it. Our sites in general are among the handful of SEO-marketed sites that were not decimated by Google's much-hyped changes to their ranking algorithm. Many rankings remained stable, some rankings for some very targeted keywords jumped up, and so far, nobody has shown any disastrous crashes for their prime market keywords.

Why is this, when so many suffered so badly? I have to go back to the earlier article in this blog,
Google's New Ranking Algorithm, where I discussed this issue initially. My concluding paragraph stated my belief that a good site, well put together and offering a valid product or service, should not come under the axe, and the change should ultimately even work out in their favor. We have built our SEO foundation around the concept of doing things in a straightforward fashion and not resorting to tricks. We try to make our clients' websites the most helpful and user-friendly that we can, and Google tries to reward sites that are helpful, informative, and user-friendly. It's not a perfect marriage but it's nice to see that a direct and honest approach to rankings does indeed get rewarded.

I believe this justifies all those hours I've spent arguing with webmasters, designers, and site owners!

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

Google and Scroogle

Last week, one of the industry newsletters published a nifty link to a website called Scroogle. Curious, I clicked through and it did exactly as promised: It compared the results from before and after the last Google indexing, to show you which sites have lost their top 100 rankings, for which keywords. The way it works is simple: You go to Scroogle and type in a search phrase, such as "internet marketing". Scroogle gives you a search result showing that 46 sites were dropped from the top 100 listings -- almost half! Then it lists the ones that were dropped, along with their former ranking.

I had some fun with Scroogle. I typed in some of the main keywords in industries I know to be competitive on the internet, and lo and behold, they showed attrition rates averaging 50%. The lowest of these "prime keywords" had lost 36 sites; the highest was a staggering 89 out of the top 100. 89% of websites formerly listed in the top 100 for that keyword had been dropped.

Beneath the list of dropped sites, Scroogle also shows the current Google listings, giving you an immediate side-by-side comparison of before and after. In some cases the new top listings were very sound, but in others, I was extremely unimpressed by what I saw. It was a quick and easy way to see for myself what people were screaming about, and evaluate how accurate the complaints were, across a broad range of internet categories. Once I was done with some of the major fields that our company has promoted, I went for a few weird and esoteric search listings, like "pink fuzzy bunny slippers" (my personal favorite example of a non-competitive search term) -- NONE of the top 100 listings are missing. Very interesting, very informative, and very much backs up the prevailing theory that certain key marketing phrases were targeted by Google's latest update, probably because those industries are the most likely to have hired internet marketers to try to manipulate their rankings.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: From the standpoint of an ordinary citizen searching for something on the internet, I'm all in favor of good quality, relevant search results. I'm not a big subscriber to the conspiracy theories that swirl around Google and their dominance of the search engine world. I still firmly believe that a high quality website, well-designed, informative, and easy to use, will always present itself well not only to users but also to search engines. I would like to believe that Google stands behind their changes and that they are truly acting in the best interests of the public who use their search engine in such huge numbers.

The only thing that concerns me right now is the fact that you couldn't search Scroogle Sunday and see for yourself. Any search term entered pulled up a page stating that the search had been blocked by Google. I have no idea what the reality is, but the search is back today, alive and kicking, so if anyone wants to get a great personal experience on just exactly how the new Google algorithm has affected your favorite search terms, I strongly suggest you pay it a visit and see for yourself.

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

The True Value of Pay Per Click

Internet businesses today sometimes seem to be divided into two worlds: Those who PPC, and those who don't. Many of those who PPC religiously spend thousands of dollars each month to maintain the top listings for their keywords, while those who don't PPC have either never considered it, or consider it outrageously expensive when you can get search engine listings for free.

There is a middle ground, however, which might make the most sense for the most businesses. It is possible to do some PPC, on a more modest level and with a more modest budget, and still see a good return on your investment. In fact, sometimes selecting less pricey but still relevant keywords can really improve your ROI. For those who rely solely on good search engine listings, especially with the recent turbulence regarding Google rankings, they might find that their traffic is very hard to come by.

So who should PPC?:

1. Businesses in highly competitive internet fields. If you are in mortgage, insurance, debt consolidation or any other highly competitive keyword, you are competing with too many other websites to have any guarantee of good rankings. Pick one or two terms, and invest a reasonable sum in them. Go for more targeted terms and less specific. For example, "mortgage" might cost a small fortune, but if you only do reverse mortgages, or balloon mortgages, you might be able to get a top 3 listing for much less.

2. Seasonal businesses. Do you get the majority of your business during a limited peak time of year? Then consider a short-term PPC to bump your traffic during that period. Good examples might be gift retailers (target for the holiday season), travel agents (target for Christmas and Spring Break).

3. New businesses. It can take up to 2 or 3 months for a new listing to get picked up by the automated search engines, and new sites typically don't rank all that well. Jump-start your new internet business by doing a targeted, short-term PPC campaign to get your site noticed and bookmarked!

Tips for proper PPC:

1. Choose your terms wisely. As noted above, you might pay through the nose for a term that won't give you as high of a conversion rate. Pick targeted terms, and not only will you probably pay less, but you'll probably get more out of it.

2. Monitor your account! Pay attention to what the bids are for your terms, check your listings regularly (I suggest daily), and make sure you haven't been outbid, or that you haven't run out of money and lost your listing.

3. Review your listings. At least once a month you should sit down and go over how much you spent on each term, how much response you got from each one, and what the conversion was. Eliminate terms that aren't giving you good business, and try a few different ones to maximize your ROI.

4. Try not to rely only on PPC. You might get in the habit of spending $10,000.00 per month for your prime listings, but some careful SEO work and other types of marketing might enable you to halve that figure without losing any business. Don't neglect your other options.

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing

Google's new ranking algorithm

The search engine world was shaken up a couple of weeks ago when sites that had been entrenched in the top listings for some of Google's prime search keywords suddenly fell from grace. Some of those who were bumped into oblivion had held those spots for months or even years, and cracking into the top rankings was next to impossible. Now it's a whole new SEO ballgame.

Of course, the exact reasoning behind Google's change is known only to Google, along with the specifics of the new algorithm. Despite this, SEO's worldwide were frantically trying to decipher the new system, and after a few days, a few conclusions seem clear:

1. Google was trying to "level the playing field"again. Google has prided itself on being a democratic search engine, the search engine of the people, by the people, and for the people. Therefore, one of their openly stated goals is to prevent SEO sites from taking over the top listings. They want Joe Normal's website to have an equal chance at a good ranking as long as it offers an equivalent product or service.

2. Certain heavily visited keywords seem to have been targeted, while other search terms were left alone.

Unfortunately, one other thing is very clear from looking at the results:

3. The new algorithm isn't working.

If Google's goal is to make sure that the top listings are quality sites offering quality results for the keywords in question, unaffected by SEO manipulation, then it's hard to argue from a user standpoint (from the standpoint of an SEO copywriter, of course, I don't necessarily agree!). However, some of the top rankings now in some of the hottest internet markets are going to sites which are, if you'll excuse the bluntness, garbage. Spammed domain names, worthless products/services. In other words, the new algorithm actually made things worse. In short, it backfired!

Of course, the big question now is, what will Google do next? It seems pretty obvious that they will try to fix their latest tweak, so that it works as intended. How well they can do it or how long it will take are very much up in the air.

Something else that seems obvious is that they will continue to try to come up with ways to circumvent the SEO's. There are a lot of theories floating around out there about what will be next on the chopping block: Meta tags? Alt tags? Link pages? All of the above?

Panic is spreading in some quarters, but I think perhaps it's premature. After all, again, what Google aims to do is provide the highest quality search results possible for its users. That means that a good website, with solid informative and relevant content, offering a valid product or service, is supposed to come out on top in the end. As long as you haven't resorted to any "SEO tricks", and have made the foundation of your search engine marketing the creation of a very solid website, then the change should ultimately work out in your favor.

SharpNET Solutions: Search Engine Marketing