Even with the public testing and feedback there is still some mystery surrounding how far this new indexing system will go- will it be limited to search, or will it be applied across all of the Google online structure? For, now we don’t have those answers but we do know what Caffeine is and how it will change (or not change) your search results. 

Google has stressed the fact that most users (i.e regular users) won’t notice any major differences- even though these changes are major (MAJOR). In fact, Caffeine basically is  a complete and total re-write of Google’s indexing system. The motivation behind these changes is to give the searcher, — power or regular, —  a much better overall search experience. Caffeine will give you faster, more accurate, and more comprehensive results- at least those are the goals. 

If you go to www2.sandbox.google.com and give Caffeine a spin (like I did)  you will notice some of these goals have already been met. I entered “Nehmedia” (of course) as my search term and my results returned within .05 seconds- I also tested this on Decaf Google (aka www.google.com) and my results were returned in .08 seconds. I also tried a more frequently searched term “Shoes;” Caffeine returned the results in .18 seconds and Decaf Google returned my results in .23. Conclusion: Caffeine is faster than the Google we use today. 

Another interesting aspect of Google Caffeine is that this new indexing system is going to make your time from launch to index much quicker,.Meaning: the time between when you submit a document to be indexed and the time it is made searchable should be much shorter- which is pretty fantastic for those of us in SEO.

Also very important to note from the SEO standpoint is that it seems (to me at least) that a lot more emphasis is going to be put on keywords. The top results have the exact words you searched for and in the order you searched them in.

More emphasis is also put on recent activity and content. When I searched my name on Caffeine, the Facebook results were at the top. In Decaf Google, the top results were a mix of articles containing my name. I can only deduce from this that websites with more recent activity are pushed to the top of the results. This could have a huge impact on SEO; if we want our clients websites to be highly ranked we are going to need to regularly add content or make changes to the site. Caffeine will also return more search results than normal Google so your search becomes more comprehensive- they are making it very hard not to find what you are looking for. News is changing as well. Caffeine focuses on real-time updates and has set in place an algorithm to make sure that as news is updated, so are you. 

Many people have been wondering what set Caffeine into motion and a lot of whispers (and yells in some cases) have been speculating that it was the recent Yahoo-Microsoft merger. Not so, says Matt Cutts (and he would know). In fact, according to Cutts, Caffeine has been in the works for months and the timing is coincidence.

I believe him. It would have been nothing short of a miracle for engineers and technologists to have created this as a reaction to BingHoo (or whatever you want to call it) and have it up and ready for testing so quickly. Pretty impossible, even for Google. Nevertheless, it is competition- and fierce competition at that. Even if it wasn’t meant as an answer to the merger, it is an answer to it. 

For regular searchers, Caffeine won’t mean too much of a difference in results. As Cutts said, the changes are “primarily under the hood”.  Google will still return relevant results- just faster and more comprehensive results. Power searchers and those in the “know” will notice some significant changes though, and SEO needs to take note of them because it will effect our methods and strategies.

Matt Cutts blog: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/

Millions and millions of people are connected worldwide through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, and LinkedIn (to name only a few.) In fact, the first thing most people do in the morning is check their profiles, tweets, and status updates. What better way to reach all of these millions and millions of people than through social media sites?

The power and allure of these sites is that they aren’t just a space for you to tell the world about yourself or upload your photos. Rather, they are communities. Communities that have an on-going dialogue with one another about politics, religion, hobbies, music, and just about anything else you can think of. The SEO world has begun to take notice and use these social media sites to reach out. Social media is quickly becoming one of SEO’s favorite suggestions to websites with low-budgets. It’s free to join most of these sites and when used to their full potential have many benefits for websites.  Let me elaborate…

* Link building- Social media sites are an excellent way to reach out to others in your industry. Links are an important aspect of website optimization and connecting on social media sites is a low-hassle way to build them. “Friending” or “following” companies you respect and making insightful comments on their profile/wall/twitter are great ways to connect your websites. Of course, remember to attach a link to your comment- this might not work 100% of the time but it doesn’t take very long and is completely free, so what do you have to lose?

Posts are another way to get the attention of someone you would like to link to your website. Keep in mind that links coming from relevant, high-quality sites are rated higher by search engines than those coming from low-quality non-related sites. There is literally no limit to how many people you can “friend” or “follow” so don’t hesitate to get your name out there and start building a reputation. 

* Speaking of reputation… social media sites can be incredibly helpful in keeping yours impeccable. They are quickly taking the place of traditional customer service. Social media allows you to have a dialogue with your customers and ensure that they approve of your site/service/product (whatever the case may be). Consider this: one of your customers is very unhappy with the service you have given them and they tweet or write a status update about it. Because you are plugged in to social media,  you can immediately address the issue and try to resolve it. You might have just saved your site from a potential loss of customer while at the same time establishing a positive reputation. And remember you just did all of that for free!

I love the story about Apple. A man purchased a MacBook computer and within a few months it was no longer functioning. He took it to the Apple store and they wouldn’t honor his warranty because they believed he had spilled water on it. After repeated complaints to customer service and innumerable assurances he had, in fact, not spilled any type of beverage on his computer, he had still not gotten anywhere with Apple and still had a non-functioning laptop. In his frustration he filmed a YouTube video where he smashed his worthless computer to bits. It got millions of hits and garnered the attention of none other than Steve Jobs himself. Within weeks the once un-happy customer was typing away on his brand new (free) MacBook. Another victory for social media! 

*Keeping an eye on your competitors- so often it seems that there is an all out war between competing companies. It doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, you are competing, and yes, you do want to be the top dog in your respective industry, but no, it doesn’t have to be a bloodbath. In fact, you can learn quite a bit from your competitors. As I mentioned before, social media is community forming- and it is always nice to be part of a community. Join your competitors in open discussion forums, comment (positively, remember your reputation…) on their blogs, friend them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter. These are all excellent opportunities for gaining respect in your industry and keeping up with all the latest developments. And, if you are completely set on war, then it is also a great way to keep an eye out. 

• Let’s talk brand awareness- if you are new to the game (whatever your game is), then taking advantage of social media is a great way to get your name out there. You can create quite a lot of buzz by establishing your website or company on different social media sites. Quick note, I would recommend using several sites in conjunction. Most people are only members of one or two, so you want to make sure you are reaching out to as many people as possible (i.e. don’t put all your website eggs into one social media basket.) Even if your site isn’t ready to be launched or your product isn’t quite ready for the masses, go ahead and start marketing it: sometimes all you need is a little buzz and anticipation to make your site or product a success. If you are simply trying to earn some brand recognition then friend or follow as many people as you want, post comments on blogs, and make interesting videos. All of these things help make your brand recognizable to the public. Did I mention this is free???? T.V. ads cost a lot, PPC ads can cost a lot; Facebook (which does offer advetising that isn’t free- but you don’t need to pay to use it effectively) and Twitter are free. 

I’m not guaranteeing that social media is the holy grail of promotion (yet), nor am I saying this is all you have to do to be successful online. What I am saying is that social media is an effective low-cost first step to marketing your site, creating brand awareness, earning a positive reputation, finding new customers, and keeping them satisfied. So start requesting friends, following tweets, and building links – I’ll meet you there.

As search engine algorithms become more advanced and people are less and less able to function without an internet connection, SEO has to become more sophisticated. We can’t completely rely on the “old faithful” strategies. Of course, optimized keywords, valuable content, PPC (Pay-Per-Click), and linking are all still vital for a successful website- but they aren’t alone anymore. A focused marketing strategy is quickly becoming one of the most crucial aspects of creating and launching a successful website.

Hence, SEOM- Search Engine Optimization Marketing. What I mean to say by this is that using traditional methods of SEO are no longer enough. These days a strategic marketing plan is going to be the difference between a site some people visit and a site that is well-known. A couple things to keep in mind when formulating a marketing plan for a website…

* Audience- What is the audience you are trying to attract? What type of keywords does that audience respond to? This is where your SEO keyword tools come into play. They will help you decide on keywords and give you the statistics on those keywords including the all-important search volume information (if there is no search volume, there are no searchers, and you need a new idea for a website). It is vital to think about your audience, if you create a site without keeping them in mind then you might as well have not created a site at all. Remember, even if you rank number one on a search engine doesn’t mean that searchers will like your site, and if they don’t, they will move on to whomever is number two.

• Testing- if you think you have an amazing idea for a website but aren’t sure if it will be popular then test it out. This is where PPC (Pay-Per-Click) can come in handy- if you have the funds. Create a few PPC ads describing your potential site and launch them. If you find your ads are getting loads of clicks, then chances are your potential website will be popular as well. If not, then maybe re-think your idea. 
• PPC can be a really great way of finding out what types of sites people are interested in visiting and what sites they aren’t. Try a couple different ads to see which earns the most clicks. A note of warning: yes,PPC is awesome and helpful, but it is also expensive. So keep an eye on your daily budgets and when you have enough data to draw a conclusion, consider trying for organic optimization on the keywords that are working for you. 
•  Competitive Analysis- Who else is occupying the space you want? How well do they do it? Are you trying to push your way into a space where there isn’t any room? For example, maybe you have a brilliant idea for a new search engine… well, that’s gonna be an uphill climb! Google owns (I mean OWNS) that space, and if something cataclysmic happened and they no longer ruled then Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com, and many others are queued up to take the top spot.
• You absolutely have to consider your competitors. If you want to compete in a space that already has a household name, then you might want to consider another idea. On the other hand, if you have a creative or niche idea for a site then it is probably worth proceeding. You just need to have put in the research and analysis into your competitor sites so your website can beat them not only at the ranking but also at popularity. Any decent marketer worth his pricey suit would tell you that in order to compete you have to know the market inside and out- and the same is true online. 

SEO works really well. SEO works better when paired with a focused marketing strategy. It isn’t all about rank (and it truly pains me to say that); it is also about what your audience likes and responds to. You might be the best-optimized site on the internet, but if searchers don’t like your site, they won’t visit and you will have a top ranked mess on your hands. At the end of the day, it’s about getting searchers to come and stay on your site, and that takes a solid marketing strategy.

A little known SEO fact: Many search engine optimizers operate under the idea that no one is ever going to read website content. Quite a shocking revelation considering how often we stress the importance of quality content. It might seem like we are battling windmills we believe to be giants by working so arduously to create meaningful, keyword-focused, valuable content that we don’t believe anyone will read, yet, there is a certain genius to it. Let me explain. Yes, content is extremely important- excellent content is vital because search engines read it and it is a significant aspect of ranking. When bots crawl your site they are looking for keywords and content- and you will be ranked accordingly. If you have no content on your site, you don’t have a hope of generating traffic. If anything, search engine optimizers aren’t being foolish, we are being realistic. We know that content is non-negotiable for search engines and even though we don’t always think people are reading it, quality content is vital for people as well. Even though most people rush through a wesbite, find what they need and rush out, it is still important to have plenty of valuable and informative content for those users who actually want to read it.  It can be so easy for an SEO copywriter to  write only for search engines- it is a habit we all fall into time and again, but we can’t forget that the Internet is for people, not search engines.  This is why your page structure is important, you need to balance the need for  quality content that some visitors want with other visitors need for fast navigation. Hence the use of bold type and large buttons amongst text. You can direct hurried visitors attention towards what it is they are most likely looking for without sacrificing what search engines (and some people) like- which is content.

These are just the realities of SEO, you need solid content but you can’t expect every bit of it to be read by anything other than a bot. Even with that reality to consider you also have to be mindful of who the Internet was created for- man not machine. Bascially what I’m trying to get across is that even though you might not expect anyone to read your content other than a search engine you should still be writing for people- because at the end of the day people are what drive the Internet, not search engines. Does it matter what color the L is in the Google logo? No, what matters is that Google provides valuable content that people find helpful and informative- don’t forget this (even if you forget their color scheme.)

Now that we have the issue of the necessity of images and graphics settled, let me advise you on how to use them to your SEO advantage. One of the most overlooked aspects of SEO is the optimization of images. A properly optimized image is one that has a relevant file name (i.e. if your image is a photograph of your grandmother it should be labeled gran.jpg not picture267.jpg). Search engines can read the uploaded file name so using something relevant or, if it makes sense, keyword specific lets them know exactly what the image is and how it relates to your site. Search engines aren’t actual human users, rather they are bots and can’t actually see your images. So, you have to read your images to them. Another way of doing this is by employing the alt tag. An alt tag is the way you label your image or graphic once it has been uploaded to your site. An example of an alt tag would look something like this: (if your image was a tulip) alt=”Red and White Tulip”/> .  It isn’t too complicated and by taking the time to label all your images with an alt tag you might generate an increase in your traffic.

 When labeling your images, keep in mind that not all searches are searches for content. Most search engines have an image search and labeling your images properly is a way to gain visibility there and increase the traffic to your site. Even if you aren’t looking to rank for the images themselves, optimizing them is part of getting a high rank for your website. Remember, search engines can read but they can’t see.

One of the biggest differences between SEM and SEO is the time involved. SEM is something that can be done in a relatively short amount of time with pretty quick results. Quick results- but costly. One of the largest components of SEM is PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, which can instantly make your site visible on search engines. PPC ads can be, however, incredibly expensive. Pay-Per-Click means exactly that- you pay every time someone clicks on your ad. So, while your website might be getting more and more views you are spending more and more money. Of course, you can avoid spending loads of money by employing smarter methods of PPC but uncovering the methods that will best suit your website can take time and end up falling more in the SEO category. 

SEO takes more time and effort than SEM. It involves optimizing your website to create a better environment for search engines and for users. This includes incorporating targeted keywords into your site’s content and properly utilizing your title tags and URLs among other things. In this metaphor SEO is the peanut butter- though it doesn’t give you the instant satisfaction of chocolate, it will nourish you and keep you energized over the long run. Search Engines will reward your efforts and users will visit your site again and again. 

While both SEM and SEO have advantages and disadvantages when used independently- when used in tandem they can make all the difference in the world to your website. Combined, your site can have the quick visibility of SEM with the long lasting results of SEO.

Once you have made those decisions its all just a matter of working it into the content of your site, right? Wrong.  You have to be careful here, using these keywords is incredibly important but incorporating them in a meaningful and logical way is essential. If a Search Engine (especially if that Search Engine is Google) believes that your site is “keyword stuffing” – meaning you are using keywords that are not relevant to your site or that you are using relevant keywords that are repeated too often in a nonsensical way throughout your site,then those Search Engines will take you completely off the grid and all that keyword research was for naught. There are many components that go into creating a successful and highly ranked website but choosing the right keywords can take you pretty far down the road. The lesson? Don’t listen to the words you’ve heard, listen to the words that rank.