Jeff Woelker : Chicago SEO, SEM, and Social Media Consultant

So I recently had some difficulty describing two types of paid search techniques. The first was in regards to a set of keyword terms which include a geographic location such as “Chicago dentist” or “New York plumber”. The second set of keywords I was trying to describe was a paid search campaign which used generic keywords “plumber” or “dentist”, but only showed those ads within a specific geographic area, such as Chicago or New York. Well, after some discussion with our head of media, he let me on two terms to describe both.

Geo-targeted: Which I was able to describe prior to this discussion. This is my latter example where a user enters a generic term and you show only the paid advertising for the geographic region they live in. For example, I’m searching in Chicago and I search for “pizza” or “dentist” and the mere fact that I reside within the targeted geographic area means the ad will display for me.

Geo-modified: Which I understood the technique, but just didn’t have the vocabulary to describe. This is the former technique whereby a user is explicit and says “Chicago dentist” or “New York plumber” and it doesn’t matter whether I am in Chicago or Denver. If I search for “Chicago dentist”, the geo-modified keyword phrase will cause that ad to be displayed.

And in case you missed it, Google decided to liven up the whole mix over the last few days by releasing geo-targeted results for natural search queries. So when a user queries things like “pizza” or “dentist”, Google returns the natural results, but also includes “relevant” local results. This is still to be determined as to how accurate these results are, but at least it’s a start. I’ve included a screen shot of what this looks like below:

I’m kind of against this technique as it trains users away from using longer queries to get more detailed information. I understand the logic that many of the queries they are using are localized queries: pizza, dry cleaning, chinese food, etc. however, I’m not 100% sure users will understand that when they need local information, they can just type in a one or two word query with no modifier. I think this might confuse Google’s experience a bit for any cases where Google either provides too much or too little information. If a user enters “Chinese restaurants“, they receive information about those restaurants, along with localized listings. If they use the phrase “traditional Chinese restaurants“, they do not receive any local listings. I know I’m giving Google a hard time about semantics and they will get better over time, but it’s the behavior they are reinforcing that I have an issue with. It should be “local modifier + term” yields local results - every time. If no local modifer is specified, it should yield non-local results - every time. By creating this muddy situation, they are diluting from the user experience, ever so slightly.

Any other cool targeting terms of features I should know about? Let me know if the comments.

Photo courtesy of timsnell.

Earlier today, I had the privilege to speak at the Yarn Market News conference in a session entitled “Optimize your website for big results”. Thanks to everyone who attended. I thought it was really interesting to learn about your businesses and I hope I was able to provide some insights into your online and search marketing. In case you were interested in viewing the presentation again, I’ve provided it below.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime.

I’ve read a few articles recently about “optimizing your website for mobile SEO”. I know it’s the big focus of many conferences in 2008, but frankly, I think this is kind of a waste of time. Mobile SEO - SEO - it will all be the same very soon. As more and more mobile devices become more of an internet gateway than just a mobile device, search engines are going to have to catch up. People will no longer think “I’m on a mobile device, I want mobile results”. They will move to think more along the lines of, I know I get these results on my laptop, so I would expect a similar result set on my mobile device. Just because I’m on a mobile device should not change the results.

PPC/SEM
I think for the short term, at least until search engines combine results, running mobile search campaigns is still worthwhile. However, for the longer term, PPC/SEM will follow suit soon after people begin to expect more from their mobile results.

Design
I do however think designing and thinking about mobile is still a key issue when designing for mobile devices and something that should be kept in mind. Just because you are designing for the web, doesn’t mean that users will not access the site using a mobile device. There are a number of websites which can address the minor technical issues associated with developing a mobile stylesheet. Here are just a few:

• Mobile CSS First Steps
• Mobile CSS is a reality
• Make your site mobile friendly

Now as for local search optimization, I think this is one of the key segments where search optimization can make a big difference, but that’s for a later post. What do you think? Is mobile seo worth your time, or just another piece of hype to keep many SEO’ers busy for 2008/09?

With the increasing emphasis on geo-aware applications and the rise in local search, it seems like local business optimization will be a hot market for 2008 and 2009. Here’s 9 quick tips that any local business can use to get a leg up on their neighbors.

1. Put your address on your website - It seems like an obvious thing, but many businesses either assume customers will know where they are (I mean, they have a huge sign out front) or that search engines will be able to read the image on their website that says “123 Main Street”. The fact is, search engines are not that smart…yet. So make it easy for them and put it in straight forward, obvious text. Users and search engines alike will appreciate it.
2. Microformats - If you want to get really sophisticated, you could put your address on your website using an hCard. An hCard indicates to search engines and other spiders as to the exact format of your address. Instead of “123 Main Street, Chicago, IL” you tell the search engine the exact syntax as to what is the street address, the city, the state and any other information you want to provide. You can create your own at the hCard creator.
3. Google and Yahoo business submissions - Even though you’ve now put your address on your website, with or without an hCard, you should also submit it to Google and Yahoo’s local business listings. Although they will most likely find your business eventually, they may list it incorrectly or not as optimally as you want. So be proactive and structure the listing as you’d like.
   
4. Yelp it up - Yelp is a fantastic local business listing website with a truly passionate following. One of my friends recent away messages said “Yelp is the best website ever”. I know there are certainly days I feel like that. Along with business listings, you can, again, reach out to the community and promote your business listing as well as your products and services. I recently posted on Yelp, “I need a sexy restaurant to go on Friday night.” Now what if you’re the owner or manager of a restaurant in Chicago. Don’t you want to jump in on that conversation and say “Hey, come on by tonight and we’ll give you a free appetizer or something?” You’d be hitting me along with anyone else who reads that conversation, right at the point of interest and most likely purchase.
5. Optimize your website for a few keywords - Although this is becoming more difficult as local markets get competitive for limited search terms, it’s still worth the effort and will benefit your local website listing. Here’s a great list of free keyword research tools.
6. Find local bloggers - It’s always good to get to know your neighbors and beyond a basic Google search, there are now geotargeted blog listings, where you can discover local bloggers and reach out to them to promote your business. There are some niche market blog listings like NYC Bloggers and Chicago Bloggers, but there is also a global listing called Globe of Blogs for a little more exploration.
   Update: And now Best of the Web has a local component.
7. Keep an eye on your competitors - There’s a great website called EveryBlock (previously ChicagoCrime.org), which details local happenings. A quick look lets you see who’s applying for liquor licenses or who passed their last restaurant inspection. It also shows a listing of local crimes, which is obviously beneficial to know prior to moving into an area.
8. Get involved - Beyond business listings, you should also allow people to interact with your business through other avenues, specifically social media. If you’re an art studio, set up a Flickr page with your latest exhibits. If you’re a restaurant, set up a Twitter account with your latest restaurant specials and make it timely so people have a sense of urgency. “For the next 30 minutes, appetizers are free with the purchase of an entree” or whatever. Or get people to sign up for a newsletter just to stay on top of what you’re doing. I subscribe to a local organic grocery store’s newsletter for many reasons, one of which is that I really like the owner as well as their emphasis on community involvement. Just make sure to follow the social graces of each online community before jumping in too deep.
9. Keep in touch - Once you establish these relationships, make sure to follow up and say Thanks! If a blogger features you on their website, say thanks and offer them something in return. If someone comments on your Flickr photo, let them know it’s appreciated. These relationships once established, don’t last very long if they are not nurtured or appreciated.

Anything I’m missing or glossed over, let me know if the comments. The photo above is of one of my favorite sushi places in Chicago.

That’s the title of the CADM (Chicago Association of Direct Marketers) Lunch & Learn on November 14th, at which I will be presenting and auditing web sites submitted by CADM members. In this session, several members will be providing their website along with several keywords they want to optimize well against. I’m really looking forward to it, and if you’re a CADM member and interested, you should check it out.
Here’s a few links from previous “quick tips” I’ve done, to quench your SEO thirst:

• Beginners Guide to SEO ~ 25 Quick Tips to keep in your back pocket
• SEO as Usability ~ Title Tag Overload
• SEO Tip: Write content to answer your users questions
• Search Engine Friendly URL’s

And here’s a previous presentation I gave at the Chicago Arts and Business Council on blogging.

Photo courtesy of me

I read several usability and search blogs on a regular basis (Jeff Croft, A List Apart, 456 Berea Street, Matt Cutts, etc.), but UXMatters is consistently one of the best I read. And when worlds collide of search and usability, I’m especially interested. This article discusses using location and location based information as part of the information display, filtering, and user interaction processes. A great read, but it got me thinking about the future of mobile web and what it could mean for me walking down the street one day with my cell phone.

Very Near Future Me
As I’m strolling down the street, I walk by a restaurant and open my phone/mobile device to see a message from the restaurant itself (opt-in of course). After doing a quick lookup of my phone number it says “Hey Jeff, come on inside. Lunch special today: Roast Beef Sandwich, $4.99.” As excited as I am about a roast beef sandwich, I click on the name of the restaurant in the message to get their Yelp page, just to make sure it’s a decent restaurant. I like the reviews, why not give it a shot.

After lunch, I walk outside, take a quick picture of the restaurant, add it to Flickr with some tags for “delicious sandwich”, Yelp with a positive review, and my blog. Other folks, ready for lunch, see the posting on my blog and head out for the same lunch special. I hit “locate” on my phone and see where all my friends are instantly. Everybody’s busy so I head over to Borders to see if they have that DVD I was looking for. Once I get there, I take a picture of the UPC code and it instantly pulls back the price of the DVD and the price of 5 other retailers, online and nearby.

Soon enough

image courtesy of Sufjan Stevens

The other day, I read a great article about Microformats and the hCard. Although Microformats are not regulated by the WC3, it’s still a great middle ground to solve a number of location based problems on the web. Here’s some more info about microformats and their strengths and weaknesses:

• hCard on Wikipedia
• Microformats cheat sheet
• Practical Microformats with hCard

Here’s a quick overview, if you are unfamiliar with hCards. An hCard, similar to a vCard, uses XHTML to allow search engines and other bots to decipher between a random text passage on a website and an address, phone number, website, etc. by simply adding a few extra attributes to a websites XHTML.

I didn’t think much of it at first, but then started to look back at previous pages that I’ve coded and this is really a powerful technology. Since addresses appear all over the web without any unifying structure, this works to tie them all together with one consistent syntax. By using a consistent syntax, tools such as Google Maps’ API can pick up on these things much easier, while still providing useful markup that humans can read and understand easily.

Along with Google Maps, the article points out, Yahoo maps might start using the hCard format soon, but haven’t given any definitive time line.

So why should you start using the hCard format? Like most SEO best practices - for the limited amount of time needed to make the necessary changes and the possibility of future adaptation and acceptance, it can’t hurt.

To make your own hCard today, use the hCard creator. Make sure to note the warnings on the page as well.

There has been a lot happening in the local search spectrum lately: here, here, and here. It looks like some of the big players are really getting into local search, especially with the release of Google universal search (although I think Ask 3D is better), which mashes everything in the Google universe together in one data stream. So why all the hubbub about local search? Well, it appears that as Google acquires more knowledge, both from online streams and offline data, they are presenting more and more detail down to the neighborhood and street level so marketers are trying to continually jump in the mix as Google and other’s launch new features.

And as SEO rankings become ever more specialized and “the long tail” takes over, advertisers and marketers are looking for anyway they can get in front of the user with as few terms as possible. That’s where local search comes in. Here’s an example I’m quite fond of: chicago web development. As you’ll notice, those terms are pretty competitive with lots of optimization in both natural and paid search listings. Local search is the new backdoor to top SEO rankings. How did I acquire this listing? Well, it was as easy as creating a local business, entering my address in Chicago, and then selecting the categories for my business: web design, web development, etc. etc. Viola! I’m #1 with a HUGE piece of real estate at the top of the listings.

I’ve advised a few of my clients (and previous employers) on this and have seen it work wonders for them in highly competitive markets. In case you’re wondering how to get in on this, read over my previous post of how to set up a local business even if you don’t have a local business. So get on the local search bandwagon if you haven’t already.

It’s definitely worth the investment.

Image courtesy of ToastyToastyToasty