changes to search with max thomas | san diego sem meetup recap

www.ThunderSEO.com Follow @ThunderMax

WHAT’S CHANGING OVER AT GOOGLE

Presented by Max Thomas | October 29, 2013

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thunderseo.com/blog

@thundermax

FIRST OFF – Who am I?

gplus.to/maxthomas

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Max Thomas CEO / Founder


GOOGLE SERP

CHANGES 1


NOT TOO LONG AGO …

ORGANIC RANKINGS

ADWORDS


NOT TOO LONG AGO …

7 PACK MAP

NAME – WEBSITE – PHONE -‐ REVIEWS


WATCH OUT!


LOCAL CAROUSEL

Carousel


BUSINESS GOOGLE+ / PLACES

Google+ Places LisFng


BAND PANEL

Band Box


SONGS

Song Index

YouTube Videos


SONG FEATURE

Song Index

YouTube Video


INFORMATION PANEL

Song Index

NutriFon Facts & Wiki


ANSWER BOX

Song Index

With Dropdown!


COMPARISON BOX

Song Index

All Facts No Links


COMPARISON BOX

Song Index

Personal Faves


NEWS

Song Index

Within 24 Hours

Within 5 Days


INDEPTH ARTICLES

Song Index

Older ArFcles / Posts


INFORMATION PANEL

Song Index

DefiniFon PronunciaFon Etymology TranslaFon

Usage


VIDEO RESULT

DicFonary Etymology TranslaFon

Usage

Not always YouTube


AUTHORSHIP


Usage

Author’s Google+


IMAGES


Usage

Pulls from website – not Google Images


SHOPPING

Song Index

Sponsored Results


BRAND PANEL

Google Not Sure…

Google+ & Other Sources


DISAMBIGUATION BOX

Song Index Just in case…


RATINGS & REVIEWS

Song Index

Star RaFngs, Reviews, Info


MEGA IMAGE BOX

Song Index

Pulls From Google Images


MEGA IMAGE BOX

Song Index

YouTube Videos


WANT MORE?

Song Index

YouTube Videos

http://moz.com/blog/mega-serp-a-visual-guide-to-google


WHAT’S HAPPENING 2


KEEPS USER ON GOOGLE

I mean…why should I leave…

everything I want is here, right?


”You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave."


the answer to everything


WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

3


“not just random strings of characters” “those words are talking about those real world things”

“we could do a better job of giving you just the content you want off the web”

1ST KNOWLEDGE GRAPH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmQl6VGvX-c#t=19


STRINGS: “random strings of characters”

Search query (keyword) focused

For example, search for “eiffel tower”

STRINGS TO THINGS


For example, search for “chinese silk”


THINGS: “words talking about real world things”

Intention (semantic) focused search

For example, search for “miniature eiffel tower gift”

STRINGS TO THINGS


Amit Singhal, Snr VP of Search at Google, introduces new “Hummingbird” search algorithm at Google’s 15th anniversary on Sept. 26, 2013

2ND HUMMINGBIRD


•  Search Algorithm: Like Google’s engine •  Goal: To return better search results •  Why “Hummingbird”?: It’s fast and precise •  What About Panda, Penguin, etc.?: Those updated “parts”

of the Google engine •  Launch Date: Late August, announced 9/26/13; will affect

90% of all search results •  Biggest Impact: Conversational search to all Google search

results •  More Details: http://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816

HUMMINGBIRD TOPLINE


1.  Completely new algorithm 2.  Changes the way Google processes search queries

(“conversational search”) 3.  Foundation for Google’s shift toward AI 4.  Coupled with KG, changes search experience for user 5.  Potential to show fewer web site results (stay tuned)

WHY IS IT SUCH A BIG DEAL


“But 15 years on, we’re just

getting started.”

Amit Singhal, Google

RELAX…MORE TO COME


http://insidesearch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/fifteen-years-onand-were-just-getting.html

RELAX…MORE TO COME


GOOGLE SEARCH TODAY & FUTURE

4


Source: 2013 Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study by Telmetrics and xAd http://www.mobilepathtopurchase.com/

1st Mobile Search


Source: Google/Nielsen Life360 Mobile Search Moments Q4 2012 http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/creating-moments-that-matter_research-studies.pdf


Source: Google/Nielsen Life360 Mobile Search Moments Q4 2012 http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/creating-moments-that-matter_research-studies.pdf

1st Mobile Search


2nd MulX-‐Screen Usage

http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-new-multi-screen-world-study_research-studies.pdf


2nd MulX-‐Screen Usage


3rd Voice Search


SAY TO GOOGLE…

Knowledge Graph

“Hotwording” activates: • Google Now • Google search results (vs KG) • Google Glass

“Tell me about…” “Neil Armstrong”

“Okay, Google…”


GOOGLE GLASS


4th GOOGLE CONVERSATIONS


“OK Google. Remind me to buy olive oil at Safeway,” when you walk into the store with your iPhone, you’ll get a reminder.”

Amit Singhal, Google


ADAPT OR EMBRACE?


WHAT ABOUT THESE FOLKS?


HOW DO LOCAL BIZ COMPETE 5


INTRODUCING

Structured Data Markup (a.k.a., Rich Snippets, Microdata)

1.  Schema.org 2.  Facebook OpenGraph 3.  RDFa (Yahoo! SearchMonkey)


AUTHOR HEADSHOT

Author’s Google+


VIDEO THUMBNAIL

Not always YouTube


STARS & RATINGS

RaFngs Reviews Votes


BREADCRUMBS


RICH SNIPPETS INCREASE

1.  Presence of your website (mark-up data on your website)

2.  Control of how your website shows up in Google searches

3.  Clickthroughs on Google listings 4.  Clicks to more pages on your website


AUTHORSHIP – STEP 1

Link your content to your Google+ profile using a verified email address

REQUIRED: • Email must be in same domain as website where content is hosted:

•  Domain: thunderseo.com

•  Email: [email protected]

• Each article/post must include a byline that lists your name:

•  Article: A Marketer’s Inside Look At Yelp Events

•  Byline: By Max Thomas


AUTHORSHIP – STEP 1

https://plus.google.com/authorship


AUTHORSHIP – STEP 2 List Your Content On Your Google+ Profile

Click Edit


Use Bio URL if more than one author.

Homepage okay if you’re the only author.

OpFon for past contributor


AUTHORSHIP – STEP 3 Test via Webmaster Tool’s Structured Data Testing Tool


AUTHORSHIP – OPTIONAL Add A Link From Your Content Page To Google+ Profile

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2539557?hl=en


VIDEO THUMBNAIL– STEP 1

Decide On Format For On-Page Mark-Up: Schema.org/VideoObject

Facebook Share RDFa (Yahoo! SearchMonkey)

I’m going to show example using Schema.org


SCHEMA.ORG

http://schema.org/VideoObject


VIDEO THUMBNAIL– STEP 2 Add VideoObject Schema Markup To Page

<div itemprop=”video” itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/VideoObject”> <h2>Video: <span itemprop=”name”>We Do Medical Detox</span></h2> <p><span itemprop=”description”>Interview with Katy Alexander, Intake Coordinator at Pat Moore Foundation, in which she talks about medical detox and the importance of doing drug detox in a supportive environment.</span><br /> <meta itemprop=”duration” content=”T1M11S” /><br /> <meta itemprop=”thumbnail” content=”http://www.patmoorefoundation.com/we-do-medical-detox-thumb.jpg” /><br /> <meta itemprop=”contentLocation” content=”Costa Mesa, CA” /><br /> <meta itemprop=”embedURL” content=”http://fast.wistia.com/embed/iframe/043f7285b8?videoWidth=480&videoHeight=270&controlsVisibleOnLoad=true” /> <br /></p> <object…embed player…> </object> </div>

http://www.thunderseo.com/blog/using-hosted-video-seo-to-rank-in-google-infographic/


VIDEO THUMBNAIL– STEP 3 Test via Webmaster Tool’s Structured Data Testing Tool


VIDEO THUMBNAIL– STEP 4 Submit Video Sitemap To Google

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/80472?hl=en&ref_topic=10079


OR BE EASY ON YOURSELF Wistia Builds & Maintains Video Sitemap For You

http://www.wistia.com


VIDEO THUMBNAIL– RESULT


HELP FROM GOOGLE

https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/


SCHEMA DEEP-‐DIVE

http://www.slideshare.net/SearchMarketingExpo/stephen-spencer-smx-advanced-rich-snippets-schema-microformats


FACEBOOK OPEN GRAPH

http://ogp.me/


FACEBOOK OPEN GRAPH


FACEBOOK OPEN GRAPH

http://searchengineland.com/seo-for-facebook-open-graph-search-150772


THE DARK SIDE 6


OBSERVATION #1

Hummingbird “consolidates” long-tail queries with shorter “semantic” versions, resulting in less query diversity which means fewer opportunities for niche sites to rank and more for large websites.


FURTHER READING

http://www.isoosi.com/blog/hummingbird-the-opposite-of-long-tail-search.html


OBSERVATION #2

Google is moving from database structure (e.g., “strings”) to Artificial Intelligence as it shifts to semantic search results (e.g., “things”), voice search and Google Now. Rise of “not provided” reflects Google’s intent to move past keyword queries.


FURTHER READING

http://www.seobythesea.com/2013/09/google-hummingbird-patent/


BACKGROUND

88% Visitors (not provided)


OBSERVATION #3

Schema Markup fuels growth of semantic search by informing Google of content specificity, resulting in less variation among websites showing in search results and increasing Knowledge Graph results.


FURTHER READING

http://www.thogenhaven.com/the-rich-snippet-and-the-prisoners-dilemma


OBSERVATION #4

Hummingbird results in richer and more varied keyword queries via semantic search thus increasing longtail search opportunities and niche site rankings.


FURTHER READING

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/10350564/Google-Hummingbird-algorithm-to-elevate-niche-websites.html


FURTHER READING

http://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2013/10/07/google-hummingbird-ecommerce/


FURTHER READING

http://socialmediatoday.com/david-amerland/1772086/what-google-s-hummingbird-update-semantic-search


WHAT DO YOU THINK?


GOING FORWARD 7


CLOSING THOUGHTS

•  Watch your Analytics closely: Is organic search traffic shifting significantly?

•  Monitor your site in Webmaster Tools: Pay close attention to Index Content, Crawl Rate and Site Errors

•  Check keyword-specific rankings and page relevancy via Search Traffic > Search Queries


CLOSING THOUGHTS

•  Keep building content, outreach and social shares •  Leverage Google+ Local and Social •  Pay attention to Google announcements,

particularly on Webmaster Blog & Youtube •  Diversify traffic channels and overall online

presence so you’re not overly reliant on search


CLOSING THOUGHTS

•  Mobile: Define a mobile strategy that includes your website, mobile search and mobile-based referrers

•  Ultimate goal: Make your website so extraordinary that users want to visit

•  Have fun with this J


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MAX THOMAS

Founder & CEO Thunder SEO

thunderseo.com/blog

Q & A

@thundermax

[email protected]

@ThunderSEO

changes to search with max thomas | san diego sem meetup recap

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