Google AdWords has begun a major update/upgrade known as Enhanced Campaigns. These new campaigns are being promoted to simplify and reduce the number of campaigns within an AdWords account. The changes within the new Enhanced Campaigns are in response to new reality that many people are connected to the Internet, wherever they go, via multiple devices (smart phone, tablet, or laptop/desktop). Along with this change, one can argue that the line between "online" and "offline" activity is blurring.

Marketing in a Constantly Connected World

Billions of searches are being conducted on all devices, these searches indicate when people are searching for location, general information, or a way to find the solution to a need or problem. Google indicates that mobile searches often provide advertisers the opportunity to better understand the context and intent of the user. In addition, multi-screen users often begin a search on mobile or tablet, and then follow up later on a PC.

Given the wide variety of devices and campaign strategies to target various devices and locations as separate campaigns, a business running large and extensive PPC advertising program could end up creating dozens of campaigns target devices and people differently in the current AdWords system.

The Benefits of Enhanced Campaigns

Powerful Bidding: improvements that allow one to manage bids seamlessly across locations, times and device types. For example, a business could bid higher for searches that are conducted on a smartphone, nearby a store, during the times that the store is open.

Smarter Ads: that are optimized for varying user contexts. One can show the right ad, site link, app or extension based on user context and device capabilities. Example: Different sitelinks can be shown to highlight special offers during specific days or times, and according to device type. So perhaps a restaurant will show special offers for specific days to coincide with slow and/or busy times. 

Advanced Reporting Metrics: advertisers will immediately have access to detailed call reporting with free Google forwarding numbers and conversion metrics. New conversion types will include phone calls and digital downloads.

What will Change for PPC Advertisers?

Fewer Device Targeting Options: Desktops, laptops and tablets are being grouped together as one group and mobile devices will grouped together as another group/device segment. All devices within these different segments must be targeted, there will be no more targeting (or "opting out") by a specific device (i.e. iPad only campaigns) or device type (no way to opt-out of all tablets, for example). 

• Mobile devices will be targeted by default in the new Enhanced Campaigns. PPC managers can raise or lower bids based on the mobile device type. Apparently, one can also eliminate mobile device advertising by dropping the bid amount to -100%, but one cannot create a "Mobile Only" campaign. Tablets and PCs could be heavily de-emphasized by negative bids.
• Targeting by separate operating systems will no longer be available. 

Sitelinks at the AdGroup Level: The additional sitelinks that can be placed at the bottom of text ads will be set at the AdGroup level, with improved tracking and reporting features. Also, the sitelinks can be changed according to time of day or device type. 

More Bidding Options/Settings: Default bids will be set at the desktop/laptop/tablet level. PPC managers will be able to increase or lower bids based on device, location and time. The multitude of bidding options will be extensive for large campaigns.

Calls & Digital Downloads to be Counted as Conversions: Advertisers will be able to count generated calls from a campaign, over a certain duration, as a conversion. Digital downloads will also be available for goal/conversion tracking.

Increasing Mobile Adoption: The rollout of Enhanced Campaigns will push more advertisers to including mobile devices in their PPC campaigns (many may not realize that mobile can be heavily de-emphasized with lower bids or eliminated with "-100%" bids). More websites will likely be forced to adopt responsive or mobile sites to target more devices and people more effectively.

Timeline for Rollout: Advertisers are beginning to receive notifications that Enhanced Campaigns are available now, and all campaigns will be upgraded in June of this year. 

What do PPC Managers and SEM Experts Think?

The reaction has been mixed, with many pros and cons debated within the community. While the new campaigns may be easier to manage in the long-term, or simply reduce the number of campaigns, many people in the Search Engine Marketing community agree that the conversion will require a great deal of time and work. The lack of control over device targeting frustrates some managers and large advertisers, but many also feel that it will make campaign management easier for small and medium sized businesses.

Scott Thomas is the Search Marketing Manager at Apokrisis.

What is a Content-Centric SEO Strategy?

A content-centric SEO strategy involves making a business or organization's website the central core for inbound marketing and engaging with visitors. The website should be the primary location for creating new and engaging content through blogging, news pieces, articles, photos, videos, and so on. From this central core, the content can be shared via social media.

Invest in Your Brand: Dont' Chase the Algos

Search engines are becoming very sophisticated and are rewarding websites that are working to build up their brand. Attempting to chase the latest tricks or means to game the system are not worth the risks and are counter-productive. As mentioned by Google reps in Congressional hearings, Google made 516 updates in 2010, and over 13,000 updates were tested. Given Google's constant testing and updating cycle, trying to chase the latest algorithmic change is fruitless and risky. A social media or link building scheme that a competitor is using may be working today, but it's likely that eventually, the effectiveness of such schemes will fail.

Share and Engage via Social Media, but your Website is the Foundation

We believe the foundation to you online success is building and owning your content. Engaging your fans, site visitors, and customers through social media is important, but don't expend all your time and energy where your content is not truly yours. Are you sending people to your website or blog or only referring to your presence on Facebook or another social media site? Engagement via social media can be extremely useful, but don't forget to encourage people to visit your website, and consider what you have to offer. Trying to use social media as an acquisition source of new customers is impractical for many small businesses. We encourage our clients to work on their foundation first - their website - and then as resources allow, engage with the social media channels that make sense for them.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Our experience with SEO and inbound marketing indicates that a long-term investment in developing your brand and quality content is the most sustainable approach. Plan for a five year return on you investment in your online marketing efforts; build your brand and don't be blinded by today's rankings or the latest get-to-the-top-quick schemes that may come along.

Scott Thomas is the Search Marketing Manager at Apokrisis.

Nearly a month ago, on April 24, Google announced that they were updating their results with a new algorithm specifically targeting webspam. Typically, when it’s a large algorithmic change, the update is given a name, and this one has been dubbed Penguin. In particular, the Penguin update targets and penalizes sites that are violating their quality guidelines. While Google won’t divulge the particular factors that may cause a site to be penalized, there are some clear trends:

• Some sites targeted by Penguin received warnings through Google Webmaster Tools.
• This update penalizes sites that appear to be engaged in link spam. In short, purchasing or exchanging links for the purposes of ranking better/higher in the search engine results. In the past, Google was discounting the value of the links and penalized the sites that sold links.
• If a site has a high percentage of links that use a small number of anchor text links that focus on a commercial product or service, such as 'Alaska cruise', then it’s likely the site will be hit by the Penguin penalty.
• If a site drops out of the top ten results when one searches for the brand name, then it’s likely the site has been penalized.

If you have a site that has survived the Penguin update and other recent algorithm changes, such as the likely discounting of links from low-quality free directories, you are not out of the woods just yet. Link schemes of any type and unnatural 'over-optimization' are in the cross hairs of the Google webspam team. If you have participated in link building schemes, it's your site's best interest to actively remove these obviously unnatural links.

As white hat SEO practitioners, we support Google’s efforts to penalize and/or remove sites that participate in link building schemes. In the long run, high quality, genuine content will produce more satisfied website visitors than chasing the latest way to game the search algorithms.

Resources:

• Google's Blog Post on Rewarding High Quality Sites
• The Google Algorithm Change History from SEOMoz
• Search Engine Land: Google Penguin Update

One of the biggest challenges some of our clients face is resizing photos and optimizing them for their website. When there is not a Photoshop jockey on staff, this can to some be a daunting task. At the same time, adding freshness to your site with new photos is a critical way to keep your site active and alive.

We have not used all of them, but here is a list of tools that we have been looking at:

1. PIXresizer
2. Pixlr.com
3. FastStone (Windows only)
4. ImageOptimizer

Here is another great article on services that resize and compress images - the two critical tasks for making images web ready.

Has anyone used some of these? Thoughts? Reviews? Let us know!

Apokrisis is growing! We are seeking a freelance SEO Specialist who is willing to dig in and help grow our clients' online businesses. See our full job posting here on our employment page. 

A newly redesigned website was launched this week for the Quilted Raven - a quilt shop featuring fabrics with Alaska themes or made by Alaska artists. The site features the Business Catalyst Content Management System (CMS), e-commerce shop, secure extranets and an email marketing system.

Businesses and organizations can now create their own Google+ pages on the Google+ social network. To get started, make sure you have a Google+ personal account first, and then visit the Google+ create a page. Note that if you are a Google Apps user, your admin will have to enable the use of Google+ first. Once you are logged into your Google+ personal account and start the create a new page, you will have the option of creating a page in one of the five categories:

• Local Business or Place (this includes special options, including the ability to add a phone number)
• Product or Brand
• Company, Institution or Organization
• Arts, Entertainment or Sports
• Other

One major difference from personal Google+ accounts: a business can have multiple+ pages. You can separate out divisions within your organization or create pages for different products, if desired.

In order for a business to be added to a circle, visitors will have to select the "Add to Circles" button, the +1 buttons will not cause a business page to be followed with Google Plus. New badges and verifications are being rolled for businesses to use on their websites as well (allowing badges to be created that links to your Google+ page). 

Currently, only one person can manage or own a Google+ page, so there is the potential for others outside of your organization to make "your" page. Verification is available for big brands, and the Google+ page must be connected to a website before the new badges can be used. Additional verification and administrative options will likely be introduced in the future.

Some key features of how the Google+ pages work include:

1. A user can +1 a Google+ Page or add the page to their circle. 
2. No Google+ page can follow you until you follow them. 
3. Google+ pages cannot mention you unless you are connected (to help prevent mention spam).
4. Google+ pages unfollow users if they unfollow the page. The user is in control here.
5. Google+ pages can be found in Google search. A new feature called Direct Connect, allows searches by typing the + first, followed by the brand name.

Google+ has launched a new online guide for sharing, promoting, and measuring the impact of your new Google+ page(s). The option for face to face video chats could be particularly valuable for businesses.

A newly redesigned website was launched this week for Alaska Mill and Feed and Garden Center. The site features the Business Catalyst Content Management System (CMS) and continues to use their existing mail order/online store.

Google has enabled Google Apps users to begin using Google+. This should increase the number of Google+ users, and make it easier for Apps users to participate in Google +. Check out the official blog post noted above and review the requirements and precautions within your organization's Google Apps account (Google+ requires Picasa Web Albums and Google Talk to be enabled for the organization).

Be aware that Google+ profiles fall under the control of the business or organization. One change for Google Apps users is that you will have the option to share with everyone in your organization, even if you haven't added all of those people to a circle.

For people who started using Google+ with a personal Google account, and would prefer to use a Google Apps account, there will be a migration tool released in the near future (reportedly in a few weeks). Hopefully, the migration tool will work in the opposite way as well. If one leaves an organization, it would ideal to move your Google+ profile to your personal account.

At the recent 2011 F8 Facebook developer's conference, Facebook announced significant changes to the design and scaled up the information that it tracks about it's users. There are many summaries of the changes from a user's perspective, but let's focus on what the changes may mean for businesses.

News Feed

The News Feed will be split into two: the Feed and Ticker. The goal with this split is to remove a user's fear of over-sharing. The Ticker will show a stream of updates, similar to Twitter, while the News Feed will be for stickier content (things that Facebook determines will be of interest at a later time).

Facebook Messages

As of September 30th, page owners will no longer able to send updates to fans using Facebook Messages. Page owners are encouraged by Facebook to interact with their fans through their Wall, so people see updates in their news feeds.

Facebook Pages

For businesses and organizations, it's important to note that users no longer have to "like" a Facebook Page in order to leave a comment.

The Open Graph

Last year, Facebook introduced the Facebook Open Graph - a combination of publisher plugins, semantic markup and a developer API. This year's changes will allow applications to tell Facebook if a user has watched a video, read an article, etc. From a business perspective, expect that much more information about Facebook users will become available for targeting.

Implications

A business can no longer simply have a Facebook page in order to engage with their fans and recruit other Facebook users. To truly engage and market to Facebook users, your business will have to participate in the Open Graph. Focus on your customer's experiences, and how those actions can be integrated and shared.

Essentially, think of Facebook as a targeting tool. You can analyze your audience to learn how stories are shared and created about your business. Paid advertising campaigns will likely play a central role in your brand's presence on Facebook - sponsoring products or services that Facebook users share will be important.

With the increased level of sharing of activities, friends and "friends-of-friends" may become inspired or interested in a product or service. For those in the Alaska travel industry, this could be particularly useful. Imagine a Facebook user seeing "John booked a Alaska Vacation Package with Company X for July 2012" and thinking, "Hey, I always wanted to go to Alaska, maybe this is the time."

Cautions and Areas of Concern

Users may become very cautious in allowing apps to share with others and restrict them to the "only me" setting. But the majority of people will likely trade privacy for increased personalization.

Noise and Information Overload

The split of the news feed into a Feed (sticky content) and Ticker (steam) will increase the information being displayed to users. Will users look for ways to filter out the noise? Is Facebook betting that the volume of information may cause users to have less time for other social media apps? Businesses will have to find a balance of being timely and fresh in people's minds vs. the appearance of being "spammy."