News
Google now personalizes all search results based on search history and other factors. As a result, many are wondering if rankings still matter. Is this the death knell for SEO? Before complete surrender, it's important to understand exactly what personalized search is, then we can figure out what it means to SEO.
Google announced "personalized search for everyone" on its blog, with a video explaining how it works.
Danny Sullivan posted an in-depth analysis on Search Engine Land that is a must-read.
A strong sign that the SEO sky isn't falling is the low key nature of Google's announcement and the almost ho-hum response from the industry. Danny Sullivan reported a few days after the announcement that less than 50 news articles and blog posts were written about it according to Google News. In contrast, nearly 1,000 articles were written about a relatively minor change to Google’s First Click Free program.
It's been more than a month now, and it appears that SEO, rankings, traffic, and conversions have not been seriously affected by the change.
David Harry at SEO Dojo blogged on the change. His team ran tests on personalization:
"For starters it is worth noting that we looked at a small set of related informational queries; there is more testing to be done. That being said, here are a few initial findings:
- No two SERPs the same; of interest is that there was a constant state of flux and regardless of the searchers location (within the US) each set of results were unique.
- No SERP unrest; with the above in mind, there wasn’t massive movement. It was often more re-ranking of the top 10 results than having totally different sets of URLs in each.
- Top dogs; while there was movement, the top 3-4 results were often very consistent with minor re-rankings. The 5-10 positions were far more likely to have larger re-ranking anomalies.
- Personalization is a kitten; not a dragon. Another interesting finding is that personalization wasn’t having as much of an affect as many have felt it would. Yes, there was evidence of high levels of re-ranking, but the re-rankings with PS off weren’t greatly different from those with it turned on.
The important take-way here is that this is NOT a wholesale change of SERP results from one user to another. This will obviously vary on different query types, but from what we saw, it wasn’t the SEO killer that some have feared. It is a far more subtle change and we should not start professing that the game has changed."
Let us remember, [Google is] not saying that the way they calculate personalization has changed, merely the presentation (i.e., logged in/out makes no difference).
Even with "everyone" personalization, there will still be many searches where two or more people get identical results. As Danny Sullivan said, "Personalization isn’t so dramatic that everyone will see radically different stuff. Google doesn’t envision a future where [for instance] someone who’s conservative would get only conservative results while someone who’s liberal will get only liberal ones."
“We want diversity of results,” said Google product manager Johanna Wright. “This is something we talk about a lot internally and believe in. We want there to be variety of sources and opinions in the Google results. We want them in personalized search to be skewed to the user, but we don’t want that to mean the rest of the web is unavailable to them.”
In this new age of personalized search results, organic SEO remains the foundation for all online marketing, as Google's core index is still the foundation for all search results. Monitoring rankings has never been an exact science, but it has always presented a reasonable and valuable baseline for your online brand.
SEOmoz has an excellent post on the impact of this change on search results and SEO practices. We agree with their conclusion: established SEO best practices will still yield the best results. These include:
- Make pages accessible
- Focus on search keywords that your target visitors use
- Write fresh and valuable content for your target visitors
- Develop links with good sources
The fact that Google has implemented personalized search for everyone proves that rankings are as important as ever. Users are demanding a higher level of relevance and integrity in search results, which has in part fueled interest in Bing. Bottom line: If you have real value to deliver, optimizing your website for organic search is as important as ever.
HRmarketer.com Unveils New "SEO Center" for Human Resource Suppliers
HRmarketer partners with ZoomRank, a web-based service that monitors search engine rankings; service will help suppliers track rankings and optimize visibility campaigns.
Capitola, Calif. (PRWEB) April 6, 2009 -- As more and more human capital decision-makers turn to the Internet to locate technology and services, HRmarketer.com has launched a new "SEO Center" that will help clients improve their SEO and track their keyword rankings on Google, Yahoo, and MSN - plus monitor the impact of web site content changes on their search rankings.
Search engine optimization (SEO) technology is increasingly critical for vendors trying to reach HR professionals, according to a recent survey by HRmarketer.com, the industry's top marketing firm. The company has partnered with ZoomRank (www.zoomrank.com), a web-based service that monitors search engine rankings, to deliver the powerful new SEO analytical measure. All active HRmarketer.com members will gain access at no additional charge to the enterprise version of ZoomRank’s keyword ranking technology tool.
The technology allows HR vendors to:
- Track their keyword rankings on Google, Yahoo, and MSN with automatic average daily rankings displayed on their HRmarketer.com dashboard and via email reports.
- Monitor the impact of content changes on their web site and inbound links on search engine rankings.
- Optimize organic SEO campaigns and improve their rankings over time.
The center will also offer "SEO One on One" - free 30-minute appointments for HRmarketer.com members to speak with an SEO expert who can assist them with keyword research, META tags, web site design, inbound links and more. Members can schedule as many free sessions as they choose. HRmarketer.com has also assembled a library of articles and tools to help HR vendors with keyword selection - the most important aspect of SEO - and search engine optimization.
"Our customers understand that that when used properly, HRmarketer.com’s tools and resources will increase a company’s web site visibility and search engine rankings," said Kevin Grossman, president of HRmarketer.com. "Our new SEO Center gives them the opportunity to accurately measure their success, in addition to providing personalized SEO consulting and education."
"The partnership between HRmarketer.com and ZoomRank provides the foundation for the human capital industry to quickly move to the front of the line in SEO and online marketing", said Scott Johnson, president of ZoomRank. "I became an early user of HRmarketer.com in 2001 - they helped my company build a first-rate marketing program. When I began working with ZoomRank, it was only natural that I would partner with HRmarketer.com to deliver our service to the HR industry. Their commitment to providing high-ROI marketing tools and services to HR vendors is perfectly consistent with ZoomRank’s mission."
About Fisher Vista, LLC
Fisher Vista, LLC (www.fishervista.com) is a marketing and information services firm focusing on the senior care and human capital industries. The company's flagship product is HRmarketer.com, the No. 1 online marketing and PR service in the human resources industry, and Senior Care Marketer (www.SeniorCareMarketer.com). Both help service providers get noticed and get sales leads through increased publicity, website traffic and improved search engine rankings.
About ZoomRank
ZoomRank (www.zoomrank.com) is a web-based service that automatically tracks search engine rankings for critical keywords. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important part of any effective marketing strategy today. ZoomRank affordably automates SEO monitoring for corporations, small and medium businesses, and SEO agencies.
###
Fisher Vista, LLC
Elrond Lawrence
831-757-9100
ClearGauge Partners with ZoomRank to Deliver Next Generation Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Analytics
ClearGauge, ZoomRank Partnership Provides Powerful New SEO Analytical Measure
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) November 11, 2008 -- ClearGauge (www.cleargauge.com), an established leader in online marketing, web analytics, web renovation/design, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consulting services, has partnered with ZoomRank (www.zoomrank.com), a web-based service that monitors search engine rankings, to deliver a powerful new standard SEO analytical measure. The "average ranking" is a more stable and reliable measure of search engine rankings that allows marketers to more accurately evaluate and maximize returns on their SEO initiatives.
The standard method of measuring search engine rankings is to compare two static points in time, for instance, on the first day of each month. The problem with this is that search engine rankings can fluctuate greatly on any given day, which can result in flawed information. Using an average ranking, however, provides a much more reliable measure of search engine rankings over the course of the month. ClearGauge had used average rankings to evaluate SEO initiatives in the past, but it required careful management of daily rank monitoring and manual calculations. ZoomRank automatically monitors search engine rankings daily and worked with ClearGauge to develop an Average Rankings Report that can be scheduled to run automatically.
"Analyzing search engine keyword rankings as an average over time gives me a much more stable and reliable measurement of keyword performance and improves my ability to deliver to my clients. Now that this feature is automated in ZoomRank, I can shave hours off of my workload per client and instead invest that time in improving their search engine rankings", says Trevor Peters, Director of Client Solutions, SEO & Analytics for ClearGauge.
SEO consists of identifying important keywords and phrases that companies want to rank high for on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Having a website rank in the top 10 organic (non-paid) results on the search engines can significantly increase the quantity and quality of leads and sales. Optimizing content, developing inbound links and ensuring search engine friendly website design are all methods for improving search engine rankings. What sets ClearGauge apart from other SEO consulting and services firms is their customization of web analytics tools such as Omniture, WebTrends and Google Analytics by focusing on goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in support of continuous improvement.
Peters recalls discussing average rankings with Scott Johnson, President of ZoomRank, earlier this year. ZoomRank enthusiastically accepted the challenge, worked with ClearGauge in the design and testing, and delivered it in 30 days. "For years, I requested this feature of many companies with desktop ranking software. They all agreed it was a great idea, but that is as far as it went", says Peters. "ZoomRank was the first company that actually responded to our needs and I’m glad I got to be a part of developing something that is really cool and truly valuable. Automating this analytical measure will allow ClearGauge to be more efficient and provide even better results to our SEO clients."
SEO Analysts will tell you that search engine rank monitoring is a time consuming process that is prone to errors. Desktop software automates it to a certain degree, but must be carefully monitored due to frequent errors. It also requires a dedicated computer and Internet connection bandwidth, which leaves the user open to detection, blocking, and even blacklisting by the search engines.
ZoomRank is a 100% web-based service that requires no software to be installed and automatically monitors search engine rankings daily from its dedicated servers. Johnson and Noel Geren, CTO of ZoomRank, have been in the web-based software business for many years. "Building a successful web-based service requires working closely with clients and prospects to listen to them and address their needs," Geren says, "When Trevor Peters from ClearGauge approached us with the average rankings report, it was a no-brainer as we saw that it would add significant value for all of our clients."
Peters concludes; "We have a few more ideas mixing in the laboratory, so look for some major announcements from ClearGauge and ZoomRank in the near future."
About ClearGauge
ClearGauge (www.cleargauge.com) is a B2B online marketing services and consulting firm that has experienced mutual success with many Fortune 500 companies to generate a higher quantity and quality of sales leads through their website. Lead generation solutions include a blend of website analytics, website renovation & design, search engine optimization (SEO), and paid search. ClearGauge also provides strategic sessions and educational workshops for those who want to assess their performance or needs, and/or learn more.
About ZoomRank
ZoomRank (www.zoomrank.com) is a web-based service that automatically tracks the ranking of websites by keyword on the major search engines. No longer do companies have to manually check their rankings on Google, Yahoo, or MSN, they can now actively monitor their search engine optimization (SEO) programs for maximum returns. Users can initiate a rank anytime and see immediate status, view daily rankings in automatic emails, or run and schedule reports. Monitoring search engine positioning has never been so easy.
###
ClearGauge
Renee Gould
312-423-7625