Rise of Mobile Browsing

The driving force behind the rise will be the rapid expansion of mobile internet access, it is assumes that in four years time 3 billion people or half of the world’s population will be using the internet. Currently around 200 million per year are using the internet for the first time.

As expected with the rise in mobile web browsing traditional ways of accessing the internet via a copper wire and a desktop PC will reduce and fade significantly.

The study speaks of a “new internet” emerging where around 80% of total internet use will be through a mobile device, web access will no longer be a luxury and the internet will become more social allowing for greater interactions between customers and companies.

If you currently don’t have a mobile e-Commerce site then this study should go some way to convincing you that now is the time to take the plunge before you get left behind!

What does this mean for local businesses then? To start with, let’s turn to Google themselves for an explanation: “…a new kind of local search result that organises the world’s information around places. We’ve clustered search results around specific locations so you can more easily make comparisons and decide where to go.” (Source: Google).

“A faster, easier way to find local information”
Instead of the traditional search box users are accustomed to, the new approach uses a combination of local and organic results to provide a more refined search experience. How? Ask Google and they’ll simply tell you they have developed “technology to better understand places”.

Basically, this involves collecting websites that refer to physical locations in the ‘real world’ (over 50 million to be precise) and connecting them. Google claim this will make it easier to create a comprehensive picture of any given location, including a greater volume of links relevant to that particular place. They also claim this will save users on average two seconds per local search.

Adapt to Survive
The word on the street is that, unfortunately, businesses are going to have to actively manage their local placing(s). That means it’s no longer a case of simply entering your business details via Google Maps and leaving them to do the rest; now users are required to actively participate in the process. In other words, you get out what you put in.

Thankfully though, this is a relatively simple process. Here are a few tips for making the most of your entry:

• Refine your listing by ensuring you’re listed in the correct categories. Add media such as images and video support your listing, and don’t forget to use custom fields.
• Use second-tier directories – there are plenty of sites offering universal listings across all major search engines and directories. The service is not free of course, but it will strengthen your brand immeasurably.
• Solicit reviews from past/present clients. Website testimonials are one thing, but reviews on your Google Places page and other key sites will boost your local ranking as well as adding credibility to your business.
• Use the Places Posting feature to update your entry with fresh content – a tried-and-tested SEO method.
• It’s worth checking out Google Tags as a supplementary tool to back up your efforts. This is free at the moment, but for a limited time only according to Google.

We briefly mentioned Facebook Places and Foursquare at the beginning of this article. Both of these applications are changing the way users interact with their immediate environment – bringing local searches to the forefront of social media in the process. Google Places is, clearly, a response to this (at least in part). Don’t leave it to chance – get on it and get seen.

Google Places Marks the Future for Local Search

Just when we were all getting comfortable with local search, Google decided to turn it all upside down with the launch of their Places Search feature. This new kind of local search organizes information around specific locations making it easier for users to compare places and decide where to go.

If you have looked for a company using Google local search within the last week or so, you may have noticed a number of changes to the results page, including the following:

Google Places Key Advice Points

• The 7-Pack Google Map listing has been replaced.
• The ranking of best results has changed.
• Notice that Google places page is now visible.
• 3rd party reviews are shown underneath the listings.
• The listing information is grouped together to make it easier for the user to compare other listings.
• New ‘Places’ in the left hand side bar in Google search, so users can switch to which ever category they would like to easily.
• Google map now on the right side above the paid search listings, which scrolls as you scroll down the page

Google Places is building in web intelligence!

A Google Place Search result will begin appearing automatically on Google when they predict you’re looking for local information. Their goal is make it faster and easier for searchers to find the local information they are looking for that will ultimately help them decide where they want to go.

Google Advice From The Internet Experts

How are  changes to Google Places going to affect your Business?

Online reviews and ratings also have more prominence on the page (appearing alongside the listing). This makes online brand credibility and brand reputation management critical for businesses that appear in a local search result.

Early testing indicates that listings from third party directories are also being pushed further down in Google’s results pages, by listings of companies who have combined a solid web page, with their Places listing and customer reviews.

Attend Our Google Places Webinar

These new adjustments are a real game changer as far as local search is concerned. We invite you to learn more and get answers to your questions by attending WSI’s special webinar on November 23.

Register now. 23rd November 4pm

You will need to enter your time zone when signing up for the webinar.

What Can You, As a Business Do To Stay Competitive?

Google Places Advice on The Latest Changes

It is now more important than ever for businesses to claim their Google Place, complete their company profile to 100% and ensure they have a well-optimised site with relevant, localised content to ensure strong visibility. Here are 10 things you can do to optimise your ‘Google Place’ listing.

Google Places 10 Point Advice Plan

Step 1. Make sure you select relevant Place categories
Step 2. Use long and short tail keywords and avoid duplication
Step 3. Create customised fields and complete business descriptions using relevant keywords
Step 4. Integrate photos and videos into your listing
Step 5. Fill out every applicable field possible, including hours of operation, payment methods and your service area
Step 6. Use Google Places Posts to keep information current
Step 7. Encourage online customer reviews
Step 8. Respond to reviews through Google Places
Step 9. Make sure your Google Places flag is in the correct spot on the map
Step 10. Add coupons and experiment with Google Tags

WSI is hosting a special webinar on November 23^rd where our Internet marketing experts will discuss what you need to do to ensure your local listing is optimised effectively. Register now. When signing up you will need to enter your own time zone.

View Our Other Forthcoming Webinars

Contact Our Experts Today for advice on Google Places.

WSI Yorkshire’s Consultants are here to help

WSI is Based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and specialises in Digital Marketing and Internet Consultancy

Web Analytics Highlights:

• Hits= How Idiots Measure Success
• Better focussing on behavioural metrics e.g. Bounce Rate, Loyalty etc
• Landing Page is absolutely crucial you have 2-3 seconds to impress
• Websites should be about your customers not yourself
• Make Content dynamic to who the users are, and how they behave.
• Be Active online, get info to your customers
• You cannot improve 1000%, but you can improve 1,000 things by 1%
• Measure Visitor loyalty focus on those that visit multiple times. (Problems with Analytics, as same visitor may visit through different sources.
• If enough people visit your site every day, provide new content everyday.
• Use of tracking codes for promotions, on-line & off-line promotions, e-mail campaigns etc
• Use advanced reports
• Segment data to get behind the behaviour and discover opportunities for our clients
• Find out why people come to your website, what they like and don’t like and what are you going to do about it!
• Learn how to fail faster (use stats to learn your mistakes early)
• Test variations on pages and campaigns to see what works well and what “sucks” !
• Why not improve already great pages, results from small improvements go straight to your bottom line
• Focus on the Metrics that are important to you
  • What are the specifics things that your are doing today to drive your metrics?

Steve Harvey-Franklin asks follow up question to Avinash Kaushnik

SHF> Loyalty analytics e.g. number of visits froma unique user is important but, people come to teh site from many different sources e.g. iphone, pc, lap top , home work, each of these can measure as 4-5 people visiting once. rather than 1 person visiting 5 times, Do you use anything to counter this

Avinash Kaushnik >> The key is to get users to sign in to the site as early as possible, bu offering incentives, enhanced content etc, then you can track the visitors across all media

WSI Yorkshire are attending the WSI Global Excellence and Innovation Conference in Miami.

WSI are Internet Consultants and Digital Marketers specialising in Web Analytics

So what does this mean for businesses eager to tap into this new found mobile demographic? Whilst many devices feature full internet browser capability, the rush to create ‘mobile-only’ versions of popular websites has seen the development of a new and hugely popular market – the mobile website.

Mobile Websites for Business
For many users, smart-phones have become a part of everyday life – accessing train times, cinema listings, the latest football scores and of course GPS (most devices now feature Google Maps or similar application).

Designed specifically to match a smart-phone interface, the emphasis here is on usability, simplicity and efficiency. In this article we’ll take a look at some key reasons why creating a mobile website could be beneficial for your business.

Reaching New Customers
According to technology research company Gartner Inc. (www.gartner.com), smart phone use is on the rise – and fast. During the first quarter of 2010 worldwide sales jumped 49% from a year earlier to 54.3 million units. By 2011, industry experts believe the number of smart mobile devices will exceed traditional desktop PCs. With over 50 million iPhones already in the hands of content-hungry consumers – the potential of this market is huge.

Enhance Usability
Most ‘full-size’ websites aren’t designed with tiny screens in mind. From flash issues to font size, assuming your website will cater to mobile devices could be a costly mistake. Mobile sites are developed specifically for the platform. That means ease of use, seamless navigation and a great user experience. It is also a simple way of expanding your brand cross-platform.

Stay Ahead of the Pack
The mobile revolution is still young – adopting the platform at this early stage could pay dividends further down the line. Chances are your main competitor has yet to launch a mobile site, giving you access to a virtually untapped resource of potential clients.

Google Instant Impacts On SEO and PPC Results

First of all how do you know if you’ve got Google Instant working, it is optional.

Google Instant may be switched on and off from the link next to the search box (above the safe search link)

Google instant gives changing live search results as you type, not only  showing auto complete suggestions, but also changing the results, some results may be a little divers at the early part of typing. The full impact will not be realised for a few months yet as data is analysed and as users become familiar with the interface.

In the search above PPC Management, initial suggestions and results  are around PPRune PPL PPS PPA etc, simply adding a space changes the suggestions to PPCWAREZ, PPC NHS, PPC Supplies etc

Don’t worry there is a filter so that results are not too bad when half  typing “Analysis”

My main concern with Google is the fact that the suggested phrases drop down is pushing the results down the page leaving practically the top 3 PPC results even more prominent and pushing organic results well below the fold.

This will make the top 2-3 organic spots even more sought after and push up the click thrus (not click thru ratio) of the top PPC results. This will increase pressure on budgets for the top 3 PPC positions.  It will be therefore even more important to take the top half of the organic results.

So Google is essentially taking over more of the visible real estate with PPC.

Another concern is that results become skewed to what Google suggests, even if Google suggests based on user activity, it actually becomes self limiting if people rarely get to the end of their own search string.

That said, Google’s proved they are masters of speed once more with their economic programming and pure processing power.

The implications for Search campaigns is probably going to be that:

• Words clicked on could become fewer
• Apparent Impressions will increase giving the impression that there are more searches bing mad than there actually are, since an impression could register after each keystroke. This may make click thru rations lower.
• PPC Management companies like ours will have to consider trends that emerge in changing frequency of words and click thru ratios, and therefore attension to converting successful PPC keyword to high entries on the organic results will become more and more competitive.

For anyone wanting to find out more about Google, Google Instant, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Google Adwords (PPC Management). Please call our Huddersfield Office based in Holmfirth West Yorkshire.

WSI Yorkshire is an internet consultancy offering Web Design with Conversion  Architecture and SEO built in; offering Digital Marketing and Social Media packages to our customers.

WSI serves the Yorkshire and Northern Region, particularly Huddersfield, Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield areas.