Search & Social focuses on how search engines are weighting social media influences, share signals and user rating data to provide users with a more ‘personalized’ set of results. In addition to exploring the growing intersection of search and social networks, columnists provide insight on how to integrate search marketing and social activities for optimal results and more targeted traffic from these channels working together.

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Using Social Ad Metrics & Messaging To Shape Your Local Content Strategy

Sep 18, 2012 at 9:22am ET by Selena Narayanasamy

Understanding how your message resonates on social media can be one of the key factors in making sure your content resonates with the community you’re targeting. When you integrate local targeting and messaging into the mix, it can make for a strong content campaign that gives you plenty of metrics and data to review, tweak and adjust while tracking organic movement.. While this strategy style is very calculating, with tremendous ability for link generation, it's not something that is scalable for movement if you're a one person team. To demonstrate this, we'll primarily review integra [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

7 Important Digital Assets To Optimize Brand Exposure

Sep 11, 2012 at 1:17pm ET by Aaron Friedman

It’s no secret that personal branding is important. So is branding your Brand. Basically, what I am trying to say is, we all want to get found online. Well, in some cases, people don’t. But generally speaking, the goal is to get more exposure. Which is why, it boggles the mind as to why some people only focus on the standard "SEO signals" but ignore other important optimization opportunities. A couple things recently happened which caused me to do a digital self evaluation: My Meta descriptions on my blog weren't showing correctly (apparently Yoast and Thesis don’t play so nicely [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

The Hidden Cost Of Cheap SEO & Social Media Labor

Sep 4, 2012 at 12:56pm ET by Jordan Kasteler

Fact: All businesses, large or small, want to save money wherever they can. I understand this. I sympathize with this. What I don’t understand, however, is why so many businesses try to take the cheap route and cut corners in their online strategy— and then are dumbfounded when they get scammed/receive terrible results/get blocked by Google. I know how devastatingly costly it can be to launch, maintain, and grow a business. But there are certain aspects of building a business where it’s never okay to cut corners. You wouldn’t hire an inexperienced, too-cheap contractor to build t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Google Search Results Show Some Facebook User Posts Leaking Out Of Walled Garden

Aug 22, 2012 at 9:34am ET by Sean Carlos

[caption id="attachment_130897" align="alignright" width="192" caption="Walled garden"][/caption] Facebook has earned its reputation as an AOL-like walled garden by keeping most of the content generated within Facebook hidden from those who haven't logged in. Not only does a login screen stop general Internet users from viewing Facebook content without logging in, it also impedes search engine indexing. Currently, Google can index: a limited view of Facebook user profiles "Fan" Pages, including user posts Facebook comments left on third-party sites At one point in time, sea [...]

Helping Or Hurting: The Debate Over Google+ Local

Jul 31, 2012 at 1:27pm ET by Jordan Kasteler

It’s been two months now since Google replaced Google Places with Google+ Local. The reactions thus far have been mixed: SEOs hailed it as a revelation for small businesses, while consumers were left scratching their heads over the new Zagat system. Google+ Local has the potential to be everything this column is about: the intersection of search (indexed local search listings) and social (integrated Google+ business pages). It’s a major update from the number-one player in the local search game: 97% of consumers say they research local businesses before making a decision, and Google [...]

Lessons From The Auto Industry: Leveraging Social For Organic Traction

Jul 24, 2012 at 9:20am ET by Selena Narayanasamy

Links are not often thought of as a by-product of a great social campaign. Often the goals of those working on social profiles for a brand revolve around a simple goal: Getting more followers and building an audience. This is a strong goal that makes sense, but rather short sighted. There's more to social than simply having a sounding board. If you leverage your fans and followers correctly, they'll be your key to naturally generating links and mentions around your brand. The big question is: I've built up these social channels. Now, how do we take advantage of successful social media p [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Free Things & Stupid People Help Us Win The Internet

Jul 17, 2012 at 11:56am ET by Aaron Friedman

I read a lot. If you ever happen to see me riding the train to work, or waiting for something, you can be sure that I will have my head down, staring at my phone and scrolling through my reader to get the latest information and changes in the digital world. This is usually where ideas come to me. I often read posts from others giving tips on social media success and ways to better connect with our audience. Usually, these great tips include giving something away for free, or some kind of promotion. And for good reason, because when done properly, it really works. In my recent intervie [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

It’s Not WHAT You Need to Go Viral – It’s WHO

Jul 10, 2012 at 2:10pm ET by Jordan Kasteler

Everyone dreams of going viral. Think of the traffic! The links! The search signal boosts, the audience growth, the brand awareness! It’s true: going viral does wonders for both search and social. I’ve already written about what makes content go viral, but we too rarely consider the who - the users who make content go viral in the first place. Every Virus Needs A Host Just like a physical virus, viral content requires vectors: people who pass the viral content along and "infect" others. Yet even though the audience is essential for virality, we too often focus on just the content it [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

How Social Signals Could Potentially Influence Local Search Results

Jun 26, 2012 at 3:42pm ET by Selena Narayanasamy

For a local business, localized search results are lifeblood to them. Focusing on a local SEO strategy can often have a bigger impact on their business model than focusing on the full organic results. A lot of smaller local businesses aren’t blessed with an extremely large marketing budget and could have potentially resorted to tactics that caught them up in the Penguin filter. There are ways to take advantage of the local space without spending an extraordinary amount of money, while leveraging your social community at the same time. When Google+ integrated local places in May and sta [...]

Combining Entity Search & Social: A Chat With Bing’s Duane Forrester

Jun 19, 2012 at 2:27pm ET by Aaron Friedman

In the past month, Bing has made some significant changes to their layout, integrating with Facebook and other social platforms, drastically adding value to their product. The question I wondered out loud was, how do we as marketers leverage this new social visibility. How do we become one of the influencers that show up in a given search? Take a look at this image below. This section is independent from your connections. Somehow, Bing has begun using social data, to determine who is an authority and worth listening too. This is a tremendous opportunity from a personal branding perspe [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Is Presentation More Important Than Content Itself?

Jun 12, 2012 at 11:41am ET by Jordan Kasteler

Is content presentation more important than content itself? In a word: Absolutely. Yes, you’ve heard the "(Quality) Content is King" argument for years, and I’d never deny that that having quality, original, must-read content is essential to any content strategy. But the visual presentation is your first impression with the Web visitor: it’s what makes the visitor decide whether or not to consume the content in the first place. If your content looks boring, time-consuming, salesy, or unprofessional, your visitor will click out of your content before reading the first paragrap [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

How To Tweet What You Want, Because Content Matters

May 22, 2012 at 12:27pm ET by Aaron Friedman

With the trends that we are seeing in the search engines as they become more and more social, I think it is fair to assume that social sharing will be a major part (or at the very least, be a piece) of consideration in any future updates. This is exactly why it’s more important than ever for marketers to understand what aspects of Social Media and which social signals actually help us and our clients get maximum visibility in the search engines. To be clear, I have always been, and (unless proven other wise) will continue to be a proponent of quality. Having said that, I did at one poi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

The Social Funnel: What You Lose When You Ignore It

May 15, 2012 at 1:06pm ET by Jordan Kasteler

I’ve written often about the dangers of ignoring social media in SEO (and vice versa), but I’m here today to write about another danger: ignoring social benefits in the traditional sales funnel. It’s frustrating that people continue to treat social media as an individual entity, a separate department, instead of a versatile tool. We shutter up our Social Media teams in their own rooms and leave them to their tweets and Instagram photos while the marketing pros hunker down on the big guns: conversions. Landing Pages. Leads, Costs, ROI. Sure, most pros acknowledge the power of soc [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

How To Prioritize The Long Tail With Twitter

Apr 24, 2012 at 9:45am ET by Aaron Friedman

Lately, Twitter has been on my mind. Not only because I am speaking about it at SMX Toronto, but also because I have been trying to come up with new strategic ways to use it for clients in order to enhance their SEO efforts. For me, and I suspect for others as well, one of the biggest challenges with Twitter has always been "all the noise". Sure, Twitter is great for connecting with people, brands monitoring their competition and sharing information in spurts, but what about systematically layering information from Twitter with other data sets to better understand your audience and create u [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Social Search: Dead On Arrival? Or On Life Support?

Apr 17, 2012 at 1:54pm ET by Trond Lyngbø

It's the uber-powerful search marketing signal... and marketers sabotaging it even before it's had a chance to find a toe-hold. I'm talking about 'Social Search', the rising trend of social media-driven local search signals and the callous, narrow-minded and (in some eyes) borderline unethical way in which this potentially useful tool is being perverted by unknowing and uncaring people who spam the signal with noise in the name of "effective SEO". Before explaining further, let me ask you a few quick questions: Have you ever bought '+1s' on Google for your (client's) content? Hav [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Why Pinterest Is NOT Your SEO Miracle Worker

Apr 10, 2012 at 9:20am ET by Jordan Kasteler

If you caught yourself groaning when you saw this was yet another Pinterest post, I don’t blame you. The Web’s latest social media darling has taken both the Internet and the industry blogosphere by storm, and the network’s popularity shows no sign of slowing: the site is now the third most popular social network in the United States (according to Mashable). As a result, our RSS feeds have been absolutely bombarded with Pinterest guides, praise, and how-to’s -- including about eighty variations on using Pinterest for SEO. Get links! Increase your site traffic! Boost your social si [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

The Double-Edged Sword Of Social Media

Mar 27, 2012 at 3:02pm ET by Rick DeJarnette

As an Internet marketing professional, I love the power, influence, and reach that social media has to offer. Online venues such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ enable a level of instant human outreach that is unparalleled in history. For example, if you are a fan of a TV, movie, music or sports celebrity, your ability to interact with that person (or at least see them outside of their normal context) is fascinating. Social media enables us to easily find long lost friends, old flames, and remote cousins you never knew you had through the Internet, and renew relationships with these people. [...]

The Social Search Revolution: 8 Social SEO Strategies To Start Using Right Now

Mar 20, 2012 at 9:14am ET by Jordan Kasteler

Google’s searchbots have long relied on humans to endorse relevant and useful links. Recently, however, Google upped the human ante by introducing Google Social Search. Google recognizes that one personal endorsement from someone we know easily outranks endorsements from 10,000 strangers. The same applies for a trusted authority: a blogging link shared by Darren Rowse or Brian Clark carries more weight than something a casual user shares. So as a result, we have Google Social Search: meaning a site can jump from #30 to #3 in the SERPs just because someone in your Google+ circles shared [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

UGC + Search Collide: Jesus, Jelly & Susan G. Komen

Mar 7, 2012 at 1:44pm ET by Conrad Saam

The first rule of social media marketing is to have a great product. File that rule away while you read on . . . Companies are increasingly integrating user generated content, reviews and social media into their overall marketing initiatives. In principle, this seems like a good idea. In practice, it can falter. I'm going to review the search implications to proactively (or not) incorporating user generated content into marketing efforts using three unlikely examples: KY Jelly, Susan Komen and Jesus. Intense Effect - KY From Johnson & Johnson In recent years, KY brand, owned by J [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

Why Entity Search Will Be Controlled By Social Media

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:09am ET by Aaron Friedman

It seems as though everyone has written an article about Pinterest. No, this is not really a Pinterest article, but I too, have written an internal POV for clients of Resolution Media as well as collaborated on a tool for brands to effectively capture their audiences on Pinterest. What fascinates me about Pinterest isn’t the platform. Really, it’s the new level of data that may emerge from it and the direction social search may be headed. Entity Search Is The Future Of Search First, let’s review an important breakout area of search called Entity Search. I suggest watching Dan Shure [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Search & Social

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