Is Google Killing SEO?

Google changed SEO today with the announcement of Google Instant. In one stroke, Google increased their number of search queries by a factor of 20, made obsolete current ways of optimizing for SEO and changed how AdWords calculates clicks.

In essence Google Instant tries to predict what a user wants to find before they complete their search query. It is now the default option on the Google home page. At first sight it looks a bit like the old auto-complete suggestions feature, but it actually presents new search results in realtime as the query is typed. In the words of one Google executive, “this isn't ‘search as you type’, it's ‘search before you type.’”

Google’s key insight is that people can scan the screen faster than they can type, so if they can see new results with each keystroke, they’ll be able to personalize their results and save time. It transforms the static HTML SERPs page that we are used to into a dynamic, personalized page that modifies the results and the advertising presented to the user, on the fly, as they type their query. They can scan the results as they type and optimize as they go. And that has huge implications for SEO, advertisers and brand owners.

Users are now going to see, however briefly, many more search results and many more adverts. Google presented research at their press conference showing that an average query involves 9 seconds of typing and 15 seconds of selection, with only an additional 1.1 seconds of server/network time involved. This new technology will have the effect of extending the typing time because users will be optimizing their query as new results are served to them, and that will provide Google with even more time to present many new revised pages of predicted results.

Think of Google Instant as a stream of search results, optimized on the fly, and you’re getting close.

The technology behind Google Instant is essentially an AJAX application that refers back to the indexing servers each time multiple times per query, predicting each time what should be found in a matter of milliseconds. To give an idea of just how complex this is, take the fact that Google is currently serving 1 billion user searches a day. During the development process of Google Instant, engineers found that it would increase that volume to 20 billion queries a day. They’ve apparently optimized it some since, but it has still required a massive new investment in infrastructure on their part.

The important thing is what this does to SEO. First reactions include one from Steve Rubel, the SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, who said that because this introduces feedback into the search process, people’s actions will change. Nobody will see the same results page and so optimizing will be almost impossible.

That seems way too much to us. Even if searches change dynamically, it will still be the most relevant searches that rise to the top, and increasing relevance has alwys been the ultimate goal of good SEO. That won’t change.

The reality is that it’s probably too early to tell exactly how people’s behavior will change as they become used to the new interface. But we’re going to be talking a lot more about this over the next few months as Google has already teased the introduction of Google Instant for Mobile, which is apparently coming “later this Fall.”

Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Tips

Marketers with successful affiliate marketing programs know that the affiliate channel is a cost-effective way to drive incremental revenue. But as with any marketing strategy, if you don’t consistently apply best practices to your tactical efforts, you’re likely to have disappointing results. Here are ten things you should focus on to improve the performance of your affiliate marketing program:

1. Optimized Data Feed: The easiest way to get increased distribution is to have the most robust, complete, up to date product catalog possible. This makes your products immediately available to publishers and across comparison shopping engines. It’s also the thing we hear most often from publishers as being the most critical piece to working successfully with advertisers.

2. Effective Creative: Publishers, also known as affiliates, spend time and money promoting your products or services, so you need to make sure you provide effective creative to help them sell your products. Effective creative has consistent brand messaging and a consistent look and feel every place the consumer interacts with it in the buyor- try conversion funnel, from the banner on a publisher’s site to your landing page to your shopping cart or lead form. Effective creative also has a clear and highly visible call to action and a compelling offer (see #3 below).

3. Competitive Offers: Are your offers in line with your vertical or industry? Take a look at what your competitors are offering for similar products or services and evaluate whether or not your margins allow you to provide a comparable or better offer. The trend of offering free expedited shipping proved successful for online retailers during the 2009 holiday shopping season and is continuing to be popular with consumers in 2010.

4. Deep Linking: It’s well known that that deep linking (linking directly from your offer on a publisher’s site to the landing page where the product or service can be ordered) converts better than linking to your home page. The fewer pages a consumer has to click to before reaching the item, the more likely that shopper will complete the purchase. An easy way for online retailers to provide publishers with their complete and up-to-date product catalogs is through the use of data feeds, which a comprehensive affi liate marketing solutions provider can set you up with (see #1 above).

5. Optimized Landing Pages: Your publishers can drive quality traffic for you all day every day, but if your landing pages aren’t optimized, then your conversion rate will suffer. Make sure that there’s visual consistency between your ads and landing pages, that your copy resonates with your target audience and that you follow through on the promise of your ad by making it clear what shoppers need to do next to get the special offer.

6. Pay-Per-Click (PPC)/Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Search publishers in the affiliate channel can complement your existing investment in PPC by filling in the gaps in your current search strategy whether that is managed through in-house program or through a search agency. These specialized publishers are able to elevate your ranking on the search engine results page where you may be outranked by your competition. In addition, if you’re not using paid and/or natural search campaigns to test the effectiveness of your ad copy, you’re essentially just guessing at what works.

7. Simple Checkout Process: Streamline your checkout process to reduce the steps required to purchase a product. To prevent shopping cart abandonment, list shipping charges early in the checkout process and include thumbnail images of items next to their descriptions to provide a visual reminder for customers returning to their carts from previous visits.

8. Incentives: Top-performing publishers drive the majority of your revenue and expect to be compensated accordingly. So don’t let them down by offering the standard commission you give to all your publishers. By offering special incentives that you tie to a specific product or to a volume or time-based goal, you’re letting your best publishers know that you’ll reward them for achieving the results you need.

9. Communication: Lack of communication with your publishers is the cause of many failed relationships. Make it a priority to communicate frequently and clearly with your publishers using the methods they prefer. Many publishers rely on email or instant messaging, but there may be times when they’d appreciate it if you picked up the phone or visited in person — this especially applies to your top revenue-producing publishers.

10. Quality Online Presence: When was the last time you looked critically at your Web site? If it takes forever to load, has confusing navigation or amateurish graphic design, then consumers are likely to perceive your products and services negatively. Invest in a graphic designer or user interaction designer (or a talented intern) who is skilled at presenting information from a consumer’s point of view rather than from a corporate perspective.