It’s common knowledge that the “long tail” is where the bulk of searches lie. However, connecting with users searching across this diverse web of search phrases can be a challenge. Solutions exist in the form of user generated content, content management systems and more. This post discusses an approach that First Rate has used with success for its clients.

The “Hub & Spoke” Approach

When brainstorming new content ideas, it helps to use a structured approach. We call this the “hub and spoke” approach to content creation, which expands a root term into increasingly focused variations. If your target keyword is “mobile phone”, first order keyword variations may include “mobile phone stores” and “mobile phone comparison” for instance. In turn, you could expand each of these into second order variations, such as “mobile phone stores in Sydney” or “mobile phone stores in Melbourne” if relevant.

SEO Content – Do’s

• Create focused pages. Your pages can’t be all things to all people. Create unique pages with bespoke long-tail content for each of your target keywords. Build your target key phrase, and variations around this phrase into your content – these could include singular / plural variations, synonyms or related words.
• Build links. Build links from your relevant hub pages to your spoke pages and back. You could also create links between each of the spokes to support their rankings. The key here is to provide your spokes with importance and relevance in the eyes of the search engines. An SEO friendly Content Management System (CMS) can help automate the creation of internal links. Alternatively you can turn to your agency.
• Tailor your anchor text. Link anchor text helps search engines understand what a destination page is about. Tailor your anchor text to your landing page’s target keyword. It’s a good idea to vary your anchor text to keep your content and link profile natural.

SEO Content – Don’ts

• Keyword stuffing. Creating keyword-targeted content isn’t about keyword density – a popular misconception within the SEO community. Instead, use meta tags and HTML tags to help search engines understand the theme of your page. For instance, H1, H2 and H3 tags can be used to prioritize keywords on any given page.
• Thin content. It can be a challenge to find the right balance between too little and too much copy. Write too little and your page could capture too few variations around your target keyword. Write too much and your page could lose focus.
• Duplicate content. Google has filters in place to detect duplicate content and penalize pages it considers have little value. When Google detects pages on a site with duplicate content, it will choose one of them to list. Furthermore, your site could attract penalties if Google believes that duplicate content is shown with the intent to manipulate rankings. Search engines aside, duplicate content reflects poorly on your brand.

Results are fast to filter through

This will ultimately depend on the competitive landscape and the strength of your domain. If your site is authoritative and crawled on a regular basis, your keyword-targeted page could make it onto the first page of Google within days.

If your web page is ranking too low in your opinion, this may be an indication that your key phrase requires additional support in the form of external link building, and perhaps better optimised internal linking.

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Google rolled out their new Google Instant interface in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia around Thursday 9th September, stating:

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type. The most obvious change is that you get to the right content much faster than before because you don’t have to finish typing your full search term, or even press “search.”

So, “search speed” is clearly one of the main benefits touted by Google.

The best way to see this new interface, is to access Google via this link (google.com) – then start searching: You will see the natural and paid search results change as you type.

Google Instant is expected to be rolled out in New Zealand and Australia eventually. At this stage no date has been set as yet for an AU/NZ release, however, Google has confirmed that new domains and languages will be added “over the next several months”.

The Benefits of Google Instant

The Google Instant microsite lists the following 3 key benefits:

• Faster Searches: By predicting your search and showing results before you finish typing, Google Instant can save 2-5 seconds per search.
• Smarter Predictions: Even when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, predictions help guide your search. The top prediction is shown in grey text directly in the search box, so you can stop typing as soon as you see what you need.
• Instant Results: Start typing and results appear right before your eyes. Until now, you had to type a full search term, hit return, and hope for the right results. Now results appear instantly as you type, helping you see where you’re headed, every step of the way.

First Rate has investigated this new search functionality and we have pulled together some insights in this blog.

Implications for Pay per Click Marketing

This is clearly a big change to Google’s search interface. But given that it’s “early days”, at this stage it’s near-impossible to predict the full impact. Here is what we know about AdWords so far:

It will change the way AdWords impressions are counted. In the past, an impression was an impression. Now, an impression occurs when:

• the user presses “enter” to finalise a search, or
• the user pauses on the current results for 3 or more seconds, or
• the user clicks on a result (paid or natural).

This will change the number of impressions, likely increasing the number and so decreasing click through rate. Overall, Google predicts better traffic quality as a result of Google Instant.

At this early stage, one shouldn’t be too concerned about this as all advertisers will be affected exactly the same way – so we would expect the effect to even out. Obviously we’ll be watching this one carefully.

Implications for Search Engine Optimisation

Firstly, there is currently much debate whether Google Instant will increase, or indeed decrease, the focus on head terms – and whether it will reduce the diversity of the long tail.  Frankly there aren’t as yet any clear answers, what we do know is that when Google Suggest was launched, long tail searches increased.

One side of the argument suggests that this change is likely going to increase the already heavy focus on the top natural and paid listings. If people keep refining their search until they see a result they like, why would they ever scroll to the bottom of the page?  This makes SEO and a well-run Google AdWords campaign more important than ever.

But potentially Google Instant is good news for online marketers. We could speculate that overall an increase in search volumes will be observed, because:

• Search queries are now easier to trigger (no need to hit enter)
• By being instant, it will teach more users to modify their searches (i.e. to try multiple queries – searching more and clicking less)

The key question is: What effects will the increased search volumes have? One likely effect is increased discoverability (i.e. long tail search phrases) – users will more likely modify their searches to find exactly what they are looking for.

Secondly, there will be less need to target misspellings because Google’s “Did you know” feature is also happening on the fly now.

Thirdly, keyword selection will likely change a bit as well. For example, in the new interface, users are much more likely to type in “Sydney Hotels Reviews” than “Reviews Sydney Hotels”. We might see users’ orthographic typing behaviour change.

Before and After – Visits by Search Term Length

Nathan Safran’s analysis of 1 week of search traffic before and after Google Instant was switched on, shows that the distribution of traffic in terms of search term length is virtually identical.

The data is based on ten high traffic websites across multiple verticals for a total of 880,000 visits. Due to the sample size across different verticals, one can assume that any search behaviour observed is following a standard normal distribution.

Source: Conductor.com

So as far as search term length differences are concerned – it appears user behaviour has remained pretty much the same, at least for now. What this data obviously doesn’t show, is to what extent users will be modifying their search behaviour as they adapt to the new Google Instant search interface. We may well observe a difference in the search term length a couple of months from now.

Conclusion

At this time the best strategy is to “wait and see”.

Due to the fact that Google Instant has not yet been released in Australia and New Zealand, we are in a good position to continue observing overseas markets and adjust SEO and PPC tactics accordingly.

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Number One Shoes strives to provide their customers with “the right shoes at the best price and a huge range – and something new each week!” Fashion is their passion and their huge range caters for all desires, tastes and needs.

Since acquiring the Shubar chain in 2001, Number One Shoes has developed a format and offering unique to the local specialist New Zealand footwear market, doubling the average size of their stores to nearly 1,000m2 and extending locations nationwide to offer an average of 4,000 lines and colours.

One key aspect of any digital strategy is to focus on new customer acquisitions. The Number One Shoes VIP Club allows customers to hear about special offers, the latest trends and new season footwear. Growing this database provides Number One Shoes with an important, cost-effective sales channel.

First Rate was tasked to utilise any and all online channels to aggressively grow Number One Shoes’ VIP email database. Download the Performance Marketing Case Study to learn more!

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