After 8 months away from the microphone, Bruce Clay, Inc. is excited to be back on WebmasterRadio.fm with our weekly broadcast and podcast. In the time the show has been on hiatus, Bruce Clay, Inc. has remained an active member of the Internet marketing industry, servicing clients, attending conferences, and providing training around the world as interest and understanding of SEO continues to grow. Still, much has changed since SEM Synergy last rode the airwaves, and to start the show, Bruce examines recent news stories effecting the industry, including ICANN opening generic top level domains to all options.

For our first special guest of the show we welcome Bryan Eisenberg, conversion optimization thought leader, technology and marketing analyst, conference speaker and best-selling author. Bryan and Virginia discuss a framework for thinking about CRO that Bryan calls the conversion trinity. By optimizing relevance, value and call to action, a marketer can increase the rate of conversions. A characteristic all three concepts have in common and a common theme in marketing today, Bryan says, is the focus on the users’ interests, desires and needs. Users are in charge and their needs should lead your decisions as a marketer — not your competition’s and not your own. Google seems to have hit upon this strategy in developing Google+, it’s first seemingly successful social network. Bryan believes that Google+ will find popularity because it allows users to share and gather social content in a way that they understand intuitively. He likens Facebook to AOL in an illustrative and illuminating analogy that speaks to privacy and openness demands online.

Then, Aaron, Virginia and Susan (in one of her final appearances on the show) further discuss the evolving expectation of privacy online. With Google requiring all Google+ profiles to include publicly viewable information, have we reached an age where consumers should abandon the hope for privacy on the Web? Over time there has been a gradual move toward openness on the Internet, and today the majority of users are comfortable sharing contact information and personal details in public spaces. Those who embrace the public nature of social media can build a powerful and positive online persona.

In this week’s SEM Synergy, we’re joined by Crosby Noricks, senior social media strategist for Red Door Interactive and creator of the award-winning blog, PR Couture. Bruce also talks about the new changes rolling out on Google with its Place Search, which could severely rock the search industry. In the final segment, Susan and Jessica sit down to talk about some of the things that have helped make the Bruce Clay, Inc. blog successful over the years.

In the first segment, Bruce, Susan and Jessica talk about the recent changes that are slowly rolling out by Google in the way of Google Place Search. While Google’s intent continues to be to make the SERPs more relevant for users, this update could mean big changes for search marketers, as organic listings are pushed down past the fold and replaced by local listings. What’s more, PPC ads are also being pushed down in favor of the local results map that’s typically found in the middle area of the SERP.

The guest segment welcomes Crosby Noricks of PR Couture/Red Door Interactive. Red Door Interactive is an Internet presence management firm that offers strategy for all aspects of Web marketing. PR Couture is an award-winning blog launched by Crosby in 2006 after she identified a niche that was lacking online while putting together her master’s thesis centered on public relations for the fashion industry. Crosby talks about some of the things that have contributed to the blog’s success, including social media and offline factors. She wraps up with closing remarks on what’s next once a blog has reached a certain level of success.

The last segment piggybacks off the blogging conversation with Crosby, as Susan and Jessica discuss how the Bruce Clay, Inc. blog has developed over the years and what tactics have and have not worked in making it an effective voice to be heard.

In this week’s SEM Synergy, we’re joined by Mark Knowles, president and CEO of Pixelsilk, a company providing an SEO-friendly content management system for websites. Bruce talks about the conference mayhem this time of year in the first segment, and then we sit down with some Bruce Clay, Inc. analysts to talk about recent changes to the Google AdWords keyword tool, and what that means for search marketers.

In the first segment, Bruce talk about his recent appearances at some of the more popular conferences this time of year: SMX East and SES Chicago, and his upcoming trips to ad:tech NY and PubCon. Jessica and Bruce chat about all the great feedback Bruce Clay, Inc. has been receiving on its one-day SEO training at the conferences, and then they wrap up with some special discount codes for listeners.

The second segment welcomes Mark Knowles of Pixelsilk. Mark just wrapped up Bend WebCAM in Bend, Ore., which is another newer industry conference that he was very instrumental in putting together. Now in its second year, Bend WebCAM is already attracting VIP speakers and guests. Mark tells us some of the reasons why an SEO-ready CMS for websites is so important to use in conjunction with SEO efforts. He talks about the freedom that Pixelsilk offers in its design functionality, and who is best suited for this product. In the hilarious last couple minutes of the segment, Mark tells the story of being locked out of Pixelsilk’s Twitter account, and offers a $100 gift card to Apple or Amazon to anyone who can help!

The last segment features Bruce Clay staff Susan, Scott Fowles, SEO analyst, and Bradley Leese, senior SEO analyst, discussing recent changes to the Google keyword tool. Recent changes to the tool strips the traditional data available to search marketers. Scott, Susan and Bradley discuss the impact this might have on search marketers and what other options for keyword research exist.

Search marketers are always looking for new optimization opportunities, be it through keyword research or search trends or newly identified personas, and more. Google has started a video series called Google Beat where they explain the week’s trending searches, using data from Google Insights and Google Trends. These tools are available to the public and can be used at anytime to identify upcoming popular topics worth optimizing. The videos are also further evidence of the increasingly critical need for video content online.

Google’s also on the cutting edge of SERP speed with the release of Google Instant. A predictive search engine results experience that displays results based on each additional letter typed by a searcher, Google Instant has an effect on SEM. Search suggestions will cause new keyword optimization opportunities and PPC campaigns will gravitate away from the long-tail terms. Google Instant may also reduce ORM needs as negative suggestions seem to be censored in the search enhancement.

Then Paula, Susan and Virginia return to the topic of online video to discuss technical implementation from hosting to on-page optimization. YouTube is a powerful platform for getting your video in front of viewers, but YouTube has been blamed for cannibalizing a business’s site traffic by adding additional steps to the conversion process. Some tactics to make YouTube work for a business include making the URL for the company website copyable and including an easy to see link in the description as well as posting a shorter version of a video on YouTube in order to entice viewers to see more and then including the full-length video on the business site.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt shared his vision of the future of the Internet in a keynote address for the Guardian’s Activate Summit in June. In agreement with Schmidt, Bruce, Susan and Virginia launch the show by looking at the role of mobile devices and personally targeted search and advertising and how these technologies are shaping the Web. They also dissect Schmidt’s point that personalization may narrow readers’ social views by shaping the news delivered to them and biasing their information input.

Virginia then sits down with BCI senior SEO analyst Bradley Leese to talk about his research into the differences and correlations between Google’s algorithm update Mayday and infrastructure update Caffeine. As both hit the scene around the same time, the results of each are often considered together. Whatever recent indexing and ranking changes can be attributed to, the total effect is that performance, engagement and brand consistency across the Web are more important than ever before.

As search has evolved, engagement has become an increasingly powerful factor in ranking and SERP placement. Video is a highly engaging medium that can afford brands real estate in blended SERPs. E-commerce businesses have much to gain from videos as they instill confidence and credibility in products. Video has become the second-highest priority behind social media tools for online retailers, with more than 42 percent of respondents to a survey reporting plans to add video to their site over the next 12 months.

At the beginning of December, personalized search was rolled out to all Google users, not just those signed in to their Google accounts. Now Web history is being gleaned through an anonymous cookie, and search activity of non-signed in users will be stored for 180 days, thereby having an effect on search results. Bruce Clay, Susan Esparza and Virginia Nussey consider how personalized search results affect the job of an SEO and shape users’ expectations of search results. Bruce gives his recommendations for search engine optimization in a world of personalization and intent-based targeting.


David Harry, blogger and founder of the community forum and discussion hub, SEO Dojo, has performed three rounds of research to gather data on result ranking flux due to personalization. Dave shares his analysis of the latest round of testing, and among his observations he notes the difference of results for informational and transactional searches. He also explains how SEOs might go about optimization in light of personalization. Finally, Dave puts the personalized search piece of the puzzle into a broader point of view, including the way a more powerful infrastructure like Caffeine allows broad customization of search results to occur.

Then Susan, Virginia and Michael Terry look at another recent Google implementation — real-time search results. The question of spam and low-quality information is raised, as is the shift in information gathering and consumption. Some seasoned search marketers expect real-time search results to disappear from Google in the coming months, while others see real-time search as a valuable tool for mining data online.

At SES San Jose last week, Bruce, Virginia and Robert stayed busy in the expo hall and conference sessions. Opening the show, they recall the takeaways and stand-out moments of the event. Bruce explains some of what was discussed at the Advanced SEO Roundtable. Virginia considers some of the most popular live blog posts on the Bruce Clay blog, including The Death of Last Click Attribution.


Then Aaron Landerkin, Bruce Clay, Inc.’s IT Manager and lead developer of the SEOToolSet, talks to Virginia about the new SEOToolSet tools that were demonstrated at the show. The company has been in development of a new version of the SEOToolSet, and the first three tools — the Check Server Tool, the Ranking Monitor and the Single Page Analyzer — will soon be available for beta testing. Aaron and Virginia also talk about the intermingling of technology and people in the SEO profession, and how technophiles like Aaron maintain the balance.

Then Bruce, Robert and Virginia discuss Google Caffeine, one of the biggest stories coming out last week. They first look at the differences between the current Google engine and Caffeine. The hosts explain that they’re not surprised at the convenient timing of the announcement. They also consider why Google might be accepting and benefiting from developer feedback.

Real-time search is a buzzword that’s been getting a lot of action in the search industry lately. Bruce, Susan and Virginia discuss what real-time search is, how it can be used as a tool, and whether or not a real-time search optimization strategy exists. They also look at real-time search in the spectrum of search engines and whether or not Web search might be influenced by real-time search.

SEO and social media marketer Dana Lookadoo then talks to Virginia about how to use real-time search as a marketing advantage. She explains the value of real-time search for individual users as well as businesses and gives her tips on how to optimize content for real-time search. Dana has also written about the usefulness of lifestreams on her blog. In a similar way, a lifestream is a window into the interests of an audience and can also help businesses attract engagement.

Along with real-time search making the news of late, some other headlines have also made a search splash. The FTC is modifying its guidelines to require bloggers to disclose any payment received. Yahoo’s new product Search Pad lets users take notes, save and share searches. And the announcement that several Google Apps were coming out of beta was the source of a few chuckles.

A reputable marketing intelligence agency, Interpublic, has forecasted that search advertising will be the only major marketing channel to make gains in market size this year in its report MAGNA Media Advertising Forecast (pdf). Today’s show is about online advertising with a focus on pay per click (PPC). Bruce, Susan and Virginia start off the show with a look at some recently launched online ad opportunities, Google Affiliate Network Product Ads and Yahoo My Display Ads.

Heather Lutze is the author of The Findability Formula: The Easy, Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing. With the search advertising industry expected to grow, it’s helpful to have a plain-English resource that can help SEM students hit the ground running. Heather talks to Virginia about organizing campaigns to target consumers at various stages of the buying cycle, preparing for seasonal PPC campaigns, and some other lessons, rooted in more than a decade of experience, that Heather shares in The Findability Formula.

At Bruce Clay, Inc., SEM analyst Jim Stratton troubleshoots and manages PPC campaigns everyday. He sits down with Susan and Virginia to explain his strategy for theming keyword ad groups. By theming ad groups within campaigns, a marketer can better see the performance of individual ad groups and more easily identify areas for improvement. Siloing is a cornerstone of BCI’s SEO methodology, and a theme-aligned structure can also work for paid search campaigns.

In April 2009, search engine optimization professionals learned that a common tactic for directing link equity on a site had been more-or-less ineffective for more than a year. The technique, known as PageRank sculpting, relied on the rel=”nofollow” link element to keep PageRank value on pages targeted for SERP ranking. At SMX Advanced in Seattle, it became clear that the nofollow element had changed, no longer preserving PageRank on a page, but instead, causing PageRank to disappear.

There has been no shortage of coverage following Matt Cutts’s recommendations for nofollow use. At Bruce Clay, Inc., we have talked about it on the blog, in the newsletter, and now, on this week’s episode of SEM Synergy. Bruce sits down with Susan and Virginia for the whole show to give his input on what the new nofollow behavior means for SEO, siloing and search optimization practitioners. They discuss why SEOs and site managers should avoid overreacting, the remaining uses of the nofollow element, and alternate ways of directing PageRank flow.