Search Engine Optimization

The SEO community is currently up in arms because Google recently announced that it would no longer share referral data from logged-in users. That means website owners can no longer find out what keywords visitors logged into their Google accounts are using to reach their sites. In the past, webmasters could see it in their analytics programs if visitors typed in phrases like, “black dress” or “Los Angeles plumber,” to reach their sites. Now, all they can see is “(not provided).”

This is a huge blow for SEO professionals and webmasters because it makes it all the more difficult for them to determine what keywords to focus on in their SEO campaigns. How are we to know which keywords have the highest ROI and whether we’re maximizing the effectiveness of our SEO campaigns if we don’t have access to information about user intent?

Google’s So-Called Privacy Concerns

Google claims that it made SSL Search the default encryption protocol because it wants to protect the privacy of its users. However, Google is still providing query data for paid search listings. So, basically, Google is only giving referral data to advertisers. Some folks in the SEO community take this to mean that Google doesn’t actually care about their users’ privacy and just wants to force more companies to use AdWords.

Another reason why Google’s recent move has upset SEO pros and webmasters is that many of them rely on search intent data to customize their sites’ content. If Google wants webmasters to improve the user experience that their websites offer, they need to continue providing them with search referral data for logged-in users. Many marketers rely on search intent data to customize their sites’ content.

If Google truly cared about user privacy, it wouldn’t offer query data to advertisers, either! But hiding query data from advertisers would clearly be bad for business because it would make it impossible for advertisers to measure the ROI of their PPC campaigns.

What Comes Next?

There’s no denying that losing referral data is a huge setback, but it doesn’t mean that your SEO campaign will crumble. There are a few things you should do. First of all, track the quantity and percentage of lost keyword data. Google has said that they expect the percentage of lost keyword data to be less than 10% for most websites. It’s important to keep track of that information, so you can determine whether the figure increases or decreases over time.

Meanwhile, you can continue relying on the keyword data provided by Bing and Yahoo, which probably account for around 10-20% of your organic search referrals. You can also access existing Google data from users not logged into their Google accounts and users clicking on your paid search ads, if you’re an AdWords customer. Although it’s not complete, such data will prove invaluable when you’re deciding which keywords to target and figuring out how to optimize your site’s conversion rates.

The popularity of the mobile web is exploding. In fact, it has been estimated that there will be more than 1.7 billion mobile web users by 2013. Don’t want to be left behind and miss out on sales? Then building a mobile-friendly version of your site is an absolute must.

Google has a separate index for mobile content and it is far smaller than Google’s index for standard websites. Therefore, competition in mobile SEO is minimal right now, but that’s sure to change once more people build mobile versions of their websites. To get your mobile website to rank well in Google’s mobile index while it’s still easy to do so, start building a presence on the mobile web right away. Below are some tips for optimizing your website for mobile users.

Simplify

Mobile devices have a restricted amount of screen space, so it’s essential to prioritize content. Eliminate all non-essential content and make it easy for your site visitors to find their way around. Remember: mobile users have even shorter attention spans than desktop users because they’re typically on the move when they access the web. With that in mind, design a simple website that focuses on just a few key areas of your standard site that would be of interest to mobile users, such as your contact page and a site search feature.

Resize Images

Avoid using heavy, desktop-sized images on your mobile website. Small images are appropriate for the small screens of mobile devices. Resize images on the web server, so they take less time to load on mobile devices.

Use Automatic Mobile Device Detection

Rather than communicating to users that you have a separate mobile website and asking them to visit that site, use automatic mobile device detection so that the mobile version of you website is automatically triggered when people access it from a mobile device. One of the most reliable automatic mobile device detection tools is User Agent detection.

Make It Easy for Users to Visit the Standard Version of Your Website

While it’s a good idea to take mobile users directly to the mobile version of your website, make it easy for them to visit the standard version of your site because they might not find all of the information or features they’re looking for on the mobile version of your site. You can put a footer link on every page of your website that leads to your “Full Site,” so users can easily go there when they need to.

Incorporate Brand Elements of Your Standard Website

Although your mobile website should be far simpler than your standard website, it’s still important to incorporate brand elements of your standard website to create a consistent, familiar user experience. For example, you can use the same color palette and iconography on your mobile website that you use on your standard website.

Don’t Use Flash or Java

Many phones do not support Java and Apple products do not support Flash, so avoid using Flash or Java on your site. Otherwise, a good portion of smartphone users will be unable to access your site’s content.

The mobile web is new to many website owners, so the process of designing a mobile compatible website might seem overwhelming at first. But if you follow the simple rules outlined above and keep mobile users’ needs at the forefront of your mind, you’re sure to succeed in building a user-friendly mobile website that maximizes traffic and sales.

If you’re investing in online ads of any kind, including pay-per-click ads and banner ads, it’s essential to use split testing to measure the effectiveness of your landing pages. Landing pages are the pages where visitors land when first visiting your site after clicking on your ad or link. With the help of split testing data, you can tweak your landing pages and improve their conversion rates, ultimately padding your bottom line and lowering advertising expenses.

It also makes sense to use split testing for landing pages that receive a steady amount of organic search engine traffic because it can help you improve your website’s overall conversion rates. It’s a good idea to promote the landing page heavily with advertising during the testing period, however, to ensure that the amount of traffic your landing page receives is statistically significant.

How It Works

Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is the process of comparing one variation of a landing page to another. Some elements of a landing page that you can test include the following:

• Font styles and colors
• Price changes
• Effectiveness of discounts
• Prices shown with or without tax
• Headlines, body copy, and call-to-action
• Photo and graphic usage
• Background color
• Location of opt-in box
• Badges from credible organizations, such as the Better Business Bureau
• Testimonials

Poorly designed landing pages are the leading cause of lost conversions for business websites. Your landing pages must be relevant, build trust, and make an offer your prospects can’t refuse in order to be successful. Moreover, your landing pages should have a clear call-to-action so that visitors can figure out what they are supposed to do next in a matter of seconds. If your landing page is unclear and hard to decipher, visitors will inevitably click away and head to one of your competitor’s websites instead.

Tips for Effective Split Testing

You can create two different versions of a landing page on your site, directing one half of the visitors to one page and the other half of visitors to the other page. Once you determine which landing page has the highest conversion rate, you can perform multivariate testing, or in other words, test multiple element changes against one another. The elements with the highest click-through rates should make it onto your final landing page.

Split testing is a time-consuming process, but it is well worth the effort. The more time you spend tweaking your landing page, the more money your website will make. There are several free and paid split testing programs to choose from. For example, if you use WordPress as your website’s content management system, there are plug-ins available that allow you to perform split testing with ease. Google also offers a free split testing program called Website Optimizer.

Never assume that your website doesn’t need split testing because it has a great design and compelling copy. All websites can use some improvement. Be willing to test various elements of your website’s landing pages in order to maximize conversions and sales.