The big change will be how the Facebook page looks. Gone are the tabs, and at the top of the page in place of them will be photos – only photos posted by the business. And if there are photos you would rather not have there, you can ‘X’ them away. So where did all your fantastic tabs go? Over to the left nav. People can now navigate to your information using a left nav, just like they do for most other sites out there.

Something else you’ll notice as new to the left nav area is that unless you are an admin of a page, you cannot see who is a fan of a page any more (or see their profile picture). All you will see is a number – here it seems Facebook has given the nod to a bit of privacy. Nice. But what you will see is a list of other Business Pages that a business likes (yep, businesses can now Like other Businesses). So you can show your fans what other businesses you recommend, are friendly with or use yourself (and of course, get your Facebook Page on their pages as well).

The new format will provide notification when fans interact with your page or posts. Hopefully this is pretty robust, as I have heard many people asking to be notified of everything and anything when it comes to interactions on their Business Page. This may help with monitoring the page for unruly posts and requests that need immediate attention.

The new format also makes it easier to go through Facebook as a person or as your business – there’s a link on the right (“Use Facebook as…”), so you can be sure if you are posting as yourself or as your business on other pages. Less confusion is better we think.

What are your thoughts about these upcoming changes to Facebook? Do you think this change will stick, or will Facebook feel pressured to revert back to the older version like some other times in the past? Let us know what you think.

So what is Google HotPot? It’s an extension of Google Places, a Google Product where you can promote your business and business location. We’ve talked about it at length in the past, and you can read up on it here.

Now, you may be saying, “Not another tool we need to spend a ton of time on!” If you are, don’t worry. Google HotPot could be very instrumental in directing traffic to your business, but if you have been keeping up with recent online trends this shouldn’t add much more, if any, work to your plate.

An extension of Google Places? Well what does that mean? Google HotPot is the revamp section of Places where local business ratings and recommendations are entered and displayed. Google has rebranded it and updated it in the hopes that by making it easier to access more and more Internet users will come to HotPot to not only write reviews, but to also go to find reviews and recommendations to make a purchasing decision.

From a customer perspective, HotPot is truly easy to use. If you have a Google account you can update and access HotPot through a number of entryways:

• Google Maps for Android
• On Google Places Listings
• Google HotPot itself

And when you access HotPot, you can search for what you are looking for (like where to each lunch, buy a gift or stay for the night).  For each business listing you get an aggregate rating and a list of all the reviews. And if a user has used a business, they can rate and review the business as well.  After using HotPot for a bit, it will offer up recommendations based on your friends and your own reviews and ratings.

So…why do businesses need to know about this? If even more people will be using Places and HotPot to find a business, you need to make sure that you have claimed your Places listing, and filled it out as best you can. As you see with the below search results page, not having an image will really dull down results in HotPot, while having the image can make it stand out.

Also, you definitely want to ask customers to head to HotPot to rate their experience and write a review.  Every once in a while peek in on the ratings and recommendations for your business to make sure they are true, or need responding to.

And right now Google is offering Portland, Oregon businesses a free promotional kit to help get clients to review your business on HotPot. If they expand this offer you can be sure we will let you know.

See, HotSpot isn’t causing you too much more work, but you do see how it could have a big roll in bringing in new business, right? Have you used HotSpot or have had a customer say they found you there? Let us know.

So what is Google Instant Preview? It’s a feature that shows a screen capture of the web page being referenced in the results. Over the past month you may have seen a little magnifying glass next to the blue text on SERPs. That’s the Instant Preview icon. When you click on one you’ll get an image that shows the page where you would land if you clicked on the link. This is supposed to the searcher a better idea of whether or not the page relates to what they are actually searching for.

What does it mean for searchers?

• If you are looking to get back to a site but don’t know the name of it, you don’t have to go clicking all the links. By just hovering over the magnifying glass you should be able to tell if one of the results is the site you are looking for.
• Although not all text is readable, you may be able to tell by the screen capture if the result is a site that pertains to what you are looking for.

What does it mean for website owners?

• It is even more important now to have a website that looks good at a glance. If someone hovers over the Instant Preview and doesn’t like what they see they can quickly go to the next result (a lot easier than clicking on your results to have a peek and then clicking back). Check out how your pages look in the preview and see if the image would entice you to click. If not, it may be time for a website redesign.
• Although not all text is readable, you may want to have important info and headers in a large, clear font that can quickly get the message to people taking a look at the Instant Preview.
• Flash doesn’t seem to show up in the Instant Previews at this point. Google is looking into alternatives, but for the time being it could deter traffic if all they see is a big blank spot on the preview or a plug in icon. If you have seen traffic drop recently you may want to look into alternatives to you Flash for now until Google addresses this.

Have you used Google Instant Preview in your searches, and has it influenced your click throughs? Or have you seen traffic patterns to your website change recently and think it may be Google Instant Preview? Share with us.

That is what the two authors of Whoogles have encountered. They started compiling screenshots of Google search suggestions as of January 2010, and not even a year later they have a few thousand compiled in both blog and book. And this is not their main focus, either – they are not internet gurus or social media pros nor do they work in search engine optimization – most of these  Google searches were simply found by chance, while doing research for their day jobs. It started when Tess Hottenroth was searching for an article about why tax day was on April 15, and “why is t…” came up with the a Google suggestion as appalling as it was surprising and laughable.

Definitely a confused moment, to say the least.

But from that first exposure, Tess Hotttenroth and Kendall Almerico have been keeping track of these Google suggestions. They bring a smile to your face, these ridiculous ‘Whoogles’ as Tess and Kendall have dubbed them, as in, “Who would Google that?” Typing in a serious query, people are likely to get something out of the blue – one of the suggestions for “Can I get…” has been “Can I get herpes from my cat?”

It says something about how far the internet has come that people are asking Google questions they would not rightly ask their mother, that in some ways the internet is becoming a more intimate compatriot and partner in crime than even your best college buddy. ‘Google’ is a verb in the dictionary now.

People have searched in Google if Google can hear them. Yes, really. “Google is a great thing,” the authors say, “It has brought knowledge to the masses at their fingertips. But it has also brought stupidity to the forefront.” A double edged sword, indeed – but true enough, “you can’t make up things this funny.”

So keep an eye out yourself for these Whoogles for a good laugh, or head over to their blog or check out their book for even more. And in closing – Kendall and Tess have said that they “expect a Christmas gift from Google for driving more traffic to them.” Well, good luck, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kwanzaa, whatever you may celebrate, bah humbug and keep everyone in stitches with these Whoogles – I know I will still be keeping tabs.

The workshop was slated to end at around 5:30 pm. My train was scheduled to leave at 7:15, but I called to see if I could get an earlier one in case the workshop turned out to be what I figured – an over-produced advertising opportunity for a self-proclaimed ‘SEO Rock Star’ to give us the same information we’ve been getting forever and try to nickel and dime the attendees to buy everything from his SEO tools to Bruce Clay t-shirts.

From the moment this workshop started until the end, Bruce Clay shared his experience, insights, and knowledge of SEO from the most basic SEO strategies to the most complex details of what the Google algorithms are all about. The materials provided were expertly designed, he gave everyone copies of his book, “Search Engine Optimization for Dummies”, and access to his comprehensive SEO tools. He taught, discussed, answered questions, and prodded the attendees to THINK during this entire workshop.

 Conclusion? In a word, awesome. I learned more during this 8-hour small-group session than I have at any conference I’ve been to. Make no mistake, this individual lives and breathes SEO. He is indeed a direct and valuable conduit between the industry (the ‘users’, if you will) to the gurus considered ‘masters of the universe’ who make decisions in the world of search engines.

 Needless to say, I took the late train. This was hands down the best SEO training experience I’ve ever had.  Sometimes it pays to suspend judgment pending further investigation!  Kudos to Bruce Clay, Inc. … I’m delighted to be able to share what I learned with my SEO clients!

Paid Search Marketing can be summed up as bidding to have ads for your business show up in search engines when phrases related to your product, service or business are typed into the search box. If your ad is clicked on, you pay a fee to the search engine. If it isn’t clicked on, you pay nothing. [This is a very simplistic explanation of PPC - there are some other variables used, and there are options to set up your ad in a Pay Per Impression model, but for the most part this explanation works.]

Anywhere from 15% to 30% of clicks on a search engine results page are on the paid ads. It will vary by industry and product, as well as intent of the user (informational searches vs transactional searches), but there is definitely traffic to be captured within Paid Search Marketing.

So what are the benefits of Paid Search?

• Immediacy: You can get your ad to show up towards the top of the search engines within minutes.
• Works for small or large budgets: Since you control bids and budgets you can always plan ahead.
• Return on investment: You can set up the campaign so that you make sure you are getting a positive ROI. And if you find that it is not working for you, the option to pause the campaign is always there. No long term commitment.
• Measurements: As a marketer finding good analytics for marketing campaigns is always tough. PPC campaigns offer some of the most in depth measurements you will find, so you will know if a campaign is working.
• Reach: You can have your ad show up for users on both computers and those surfing the web on mobile devices.
• Variety of ad types: As you experiment with different paid search options, you’ll find that you can expand beyond text ads into image ads and even multimedia ads.
• No website, no problem: If you don’t have a website, having your business come up for within organic search is almost impossible. But with a PPC campaign you can develop ads and link them to listings you may have on directory websites.
• Geo Targeting: You can target your ads to specific cities, zip codes, states or countries that you serve. That way you are not spending money for clicks from users who are outside your service area.

So when would a PPC program be something to look into for your business? I would argue that you should test a PPC program out for your business:

• if you have not done so before – start with a small budget to see if you can capture a positive ROI
• if you have a new product or service – while waiting for your SEO to kick in, invest in some PPC to get some immediate traffic
• if you only need to target a specific region – geo taregting allows you to spend resources in just the markets you want to advertise in
• if you are in a highly competitive market and going after high organic rankings may take time, money and resources that you don’t have
• if you are running a time sensitive special or promotion where the results of organic SEO would come after the deadline

Since you control the cost of the bids and can cap your budget, you can always test an ad campaign out to see if it increases business and the ROI is worth it, or tweak the campaign to improve it. And of course, if you need any help setting up a campaign or maintaining one, Mannix Marketing will be happy to offer assistance.

Have you had any experiences with PPC campaigns? Are you willing to give it another try? Why or why not? Let us know.

Please use the following check list to ensure that your listings are set up the way you want:

• LOCATION – Is my business listed properly in all the subcategories where my business belongs? LakeGeorge.com is set up in five main “channels”Lodging |  Dining |  Things to Do |  Real Estate and Home |  Business Services
  • Are you listed under the correct location?
  • Lodging clients, should you be under Budget Accommodations? (rooms under $100 in August)
  • Should you be under Luxury Lodging? (your rooms cost a minimum of $350/night and offer Lake George water views)
  • Should you be listed as On the Lake?
  • Should you be listed as Pet-Friendly?
  • All other services on your lodging property – on-site restaurants, boat rentals, etc – are treated as a separate business. Do you have a listing set up for them in the appropriate channel?
  • House Rentals are also now a separate purchase – we have it set up this way as motels and hotels being listed under house rentals were confusing to the visitor. If you were a Hotel or Motel with an existing House Rental Listing on LakeGeorge.com, your listing has already been created. If you would like to add a house, cottage or cabin rental that is separate from your hotel or motel and you would like to market it as such, contact us so we can set you up with a separate listing and description for the specific house rental.
  • A word to ALL advertisers: Please check to make sure your business is where it should be!
• DESCRIPTION – Do your descriptions accurately describe your business? Could it be better? Simply send us replacement text, and we’ll update your information for you OR log in to your account to make updates at your convenience, free of charge! Access your account at LakeGeorge.com/account
• PHOTOS – Are there photos on your micro-site listing? Do you have better photos? If so, send replacements, or add them yourself. Access your account at LakeGeorge.com/account
• MAP – Is your Google map location correct?
• EMAIL – Do you have a “contact us form” on your micro-site? If so, please test it to make sure you are receiving emails from leads. If it does not work, let us know!
• SPECIALS – Do you want to have specials listed? Add them through your account login at LakeGeorge.com/account
• REVIEWS -  Have you asked patrons and your customers to review your establishment online?  If not, we highly recommend that you encourage your happy clients to review your business online at LakeGeorge.com! More on this…
  

Now, how about your website?

• Test your email links, test your contact us forms.  Did you receive your inquiries?
• Is everything on your site accurate?
• Do you have your new rates online?

How about your other listings?

• Check out your listings on other very important sites like: www.LakeGeorgeChamber.com, www.VisitLakeGeorge.com and www.LakeGeorgeNewYork.com

Are you listed in Google Local?

• Type your business name into Google with your street address, city, state and zipcode.
• Does a MAP appear?
• Is your business information and website link appearing beside the map?
• Is the information correct?
• If not, follow the instructions at Google to fix this listing or to ADD your business if it’s not there. Learn more about this

• Have you seen our email newsletters?
  View SAMPLE
• We send out e-newsletters at least once a month to over 13,000 visitors to the Lake George region. YOU can tap into this market!
• Do you want your special deal featured? Put your special on LakeGeorge.com AND contact us to reserve a coupon feature in the newsletter!
• Do you want to be a featured advertiser in the newsletter? Reserve your spot to get a “big box” display ad in our next LakeGeorge.com newsletter campaign!

We know that reviews are an important and featured piece of information, right? And we know that they can have a dramatic effect on conversion rates, right? Yes, we do and here’s how.

In July 2009, the Nielson company conducted a study of  25,000 consumers in 50 countries. Ninety percent of consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online.

70 percent is enough for me to highly recommend making customer reviews a priority in your marketing strategy.

In addition, I stand by my early suspicion that reviews play a roll in the Google Places algorithm. Although not formally confirmed by Google, I’ve seen reviews (or lack thereof) be one of the deciding factors.

So, how do you score a highly sought after customer review? Let’s hope it’s not by upsetting your client so badly that they vow to voice their dissatisfaction on every social networking site available.

Let me rephrase. How do you score a highly sought after, GLOWING customer review? Here are several possible motivators:

• Feedback Button on Website – Encourage customers/clients to give an evaluation of your service or product by having a Feedback Button right on your website.  This button can be named as “Suggestions”, “Praise”, “Reviews”, “Testimonials”, “Feedback” or any other appealing or descriptive label.  This enables you to gather possible testimonials for use on your site quickly and easily.

• Incentives – Many of my clients utilize this method in an effort to entice customers to write a review.  Consider offering coupons / discounts or entering the customer in a contest to win a prize.

• Email Invitation – Provide your customers with a post-purchase reminder to write about their experience. The easiest way to do this is with an automated e-mail that asks customers for a review.Make this part of the order process! First they get an order confirmation, then a shipping confirmation, then a review request. Or for travel related businesses, first they get a reservation confirmation, then upon their departure, they receive a “thank you” email that includes a review request.

So what about negative reviews? I’d say that for most of us, a negative review will occur at some point because “you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. My recommendation in this regard is to respond, and respond immediately. Ignoring a negative review would be foolish. Use the negative comment to locate problems and fix them. A little constructive criticism can go a long way in improving your product or service. I also think people respond well to honesty and humility. So, keep your responses humble and gracious and you will be forgiven quicker than if you respond in a defensive manner.

I hope this convinces you that customer reviews are necessary and helpful in any Internet Marketing strategy. Good luck!

• The earlier you start the better prepared you will be if other things pop up (which they inevitably do)
• You may find that some of your ideas may take time to come together (Do you have some research to do? Do you need other people to make things happen? How much time will they need to get their part done?)
• If you are optimizing for new products or services, it will take some time for your efforts to show up in the search engines
• If there are changes to your website or marketing message you’ll probably want to test a thing or two to make sure you are getting the most out of your efforts (and test it before the holiday rush of visitors hits your site)

Let’s take a look at each one of these points in a bit more detail.

Things Pop Up
When was the last time your business ran as smooth as you planned for an entire month, let alone an entire year? Probably never. Unexpected things happen that take up your valuable time – the time you may be planning on working on the holiday season. If you are able to map out a plan of attack for your holiday season right now, you will be more likely to stick by it and be able to complete it on time.

Most Online Initiative Take Some Time To Come Together
Some initiatives require other resources like designers and copywriters. The earlier they are involved the more apt they are to meet your deadlines. A PPC campaign is often a powerful revenue driver around the holiday season. And sure, you can pull one together over coffee one afternoon in late November. But to really get the most out of your investment you should start early so you can test different keywords, different ads and different landing pages. That way once the holiday traffic is searching for your product or service you are ready to take advantage of it.

Jumping Up The Search Engines Doesn’t Happen Overnight
As we all know, it takes time for solid SEO efforts to show results in the search engines. So if you start now, you may just be #1 for the terms you want by the time we’re all holiday shopping. But if you start in November there is virtually no shot at that.

It’s Better To Test With A Smaller Sample Size
If you’re testing a new marketing message with an email campaign and / or your website, why wait until the bulk of your customers are coming to buy your product to test it? It make sense to test it out when the stakes are not as high. Test a few landing page designs on a small sample (maybe only part of an email list, maybe a month when traffic to your site isn’t that high). That way you have the kinks out when it’s time for the holiday rush.

Are you still under the impression that it’s too earlier to start thinking about Christmas 2010? Or are you all ready starting to plan for the 2011 season? Let us know your thoughts.

Then we’d like to recommend that you take a look at the PDFs on your site to make sure that they are optimized. One of the items we find when looking at websites is that the PDFs have been completely ignored. Now to be fair, some of this is probably because up until a few years ago many people were told that PDFs couldn’t or shouldn’t be optimized; that any work done to them would not help the page’s or the website’s ranking. Let’s put this argument to bed right now:

PDFs can and should be optimized for search engines.

Search engines can read PDFs, assuming the text is not an image. So if they are optimized properly, the PDFs on your site can offer a new avenue to gain extra traffic from.

So what optimization tactics should you perform on your PDFs? Here are a few of the main ones:

• Whenever possible, optimize the text of the PDF just as you would any page of your site.
• Be sure to fill out the Document Properties: Title, Author, Subject and Keyword. Treat the Title field like the page title, the Subject field like the meta description and the Keyword field like the meta keyword field.
• Optimize the file name.
• Keep total file size down as low as possible. As with any page on your site, the larger the file size the slower it loads. This starts with any images you include with the original file, and continues through to when you convert the file to a PDF.
• When converting a file to a PDF, be sure to use a program that does not make it one image. For this, programs like Adobe Acrobat, Nitro PDF Professional and Bullzip work well. Photoshop and Illustrator do not.
• Link to the PDF. Make sure the search engines can find it. Use quality anchor text as link when possible.
• Link out from the PDF. Give the search engines a path out of the PDFs to continue to the rest of your site.
• Express the PDF file structure in tags.
• Optimize PDF for fast view web.

So the next time you’re looking for something that might give your website a boost in the search engines, take a look at your PDFs. It may be a hidden opportunity for you to increase traffic to your site.

Have you optimized PDFs and seen success? Still have questions about this topic? Comment and let us know.