Why is Google scaring us with its monochrome animals?

We had Panda, we had Penguin and Zebra is just around the corner…

Panda and Penguin – quick summary 

Panda algorithm, released in February 2011, was designed to lower rankings of the low quality websites. Since then, Panda received 25 updates, the last on March 2013 and was announced soon to be integrated into the core algorithm.

Penguin algorithm, initially released last April, is a link quality filter that was designed to reduce web spam and also hit website that had link profiles that appeared unnatural (have low quality, irrelevant and paid external links)

The latest announcement 

Matt Cutts, who is  the head of webspam at Google, announced (warned?;)) that the new major Google algorithm update is coming. According to Matt, the newest update will aim to protect searchers by lowering the rankings of those using e-commerce (merchants! Suite-up!). Quoting Matt: ”We have a potential launch later this year, maybe a little bit sooner, looking at the quality of merchants and whether we can do a better job on that,”- he revealed at SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas earlier this month.

Merchant Quality Update

The update already has an unoficial name: the Merchant Quality Update, although some call it Zebra as Search Engine Journal dubbed it. There’s been a lot of speculation about the update and its effects. As it will be designed to clean the search engine results from bad quality online merchant websites, it is very likely that factors that will affect SERPs might be:

- how the site has been listing in Google Shopping

- Google seller rating

- the brands that are being sold (the more well-known brand – the higher ranking)

A few more clues that may shed a little light on preparing for the update could be found in Google’s Search Quality Rating Guidelines. According to the document, that was made public only recently, elements that will determine whether the site is a real merchant include:

- a “view your shopping cart” button that doesn’t redirect users to other websites, but stays on the site

- whether the shopping basket updates itself every time a new item is added

- a return policy and an actual address that allows customers to contact the company

-an ability to register/login

-working user’s forum

-an ability to postpone the purchase, such as a shopping or wish list

- clear information on shipping charges (shipping charge calculator)

The above lists present potential factors that may or may not affect the rankings, but keeping in mind “the slaughter” done by Panda and Penguin – it is better to get ready and be safe rather than sorry.

Having this all said we come to the final question: why does Google hate us that much that it regularly turns our online lives up-side-down?

Google loves you…

Let’s stop here for a moment, before mean words toward Google will be said.

Don’t you google movies reviews before booking the tickets to the cinema? Don’t you search for recipes for salmon pies/chocolate fudge brownies/ducks in oranges/sex on the beach or others? Don’t you try to diagnose yourself on the basis of dr Google’s advice? Don’t you order DVDs online, because it’s cheaper than buying it in the mall? Don’t you check in Google, who the hell was this guy Bulgakov that your colleagues were just talking about in the office? Don’t you google almost everyday?

Google does all it can to help us find the answers for our questions as easy and quickly as possible. Google needs us – it wouldn’t exist without its users – it cares about us, our comfort and our time. It removes all the low quality websites that were trying to get our attention using black hat tactics from our view. Google does it all for us. Because it loves us, it gave us these cute animals. Stop hating Google.

Content in context and Social Media

It all started with Panda, followed by the Page Layout algorithm in January 2012 and Penguin in April, completed by the Exact Match Domain algorithm update in September. 2012 severely changed online marketing, punishing those using “dirty” tricks to manipulate Google search results. Not all marketers have been using these techniques, but above updates affected the whole industry. Content became King, as marketing jargon puts it.

Content Marketing

The process of creating and distributing content is called content marketing. However, it is essential to create valuable, high quality content that results in meaningful engagement. Good quality content  placed in the right context is being reposted, quoted and shared on social media networks building credibility, trust and authority. It is also a straight way to the top of search engine rankings.

While there are loads of tricks (such as adding hyperlinks under the article leading to the author’s G+ account to boost SEO), it is essential to follow a simple set of rules:

1. Published content is more likely to be shared if it is written by experts, professionals or enthusiasts – anyone, who knows what they are writing about.

2. Interesting, relevant and useful articles and posts will encourage more readers to recommend it to their friends. Adding funny comments, guidelines or controversial facts and statements would all work in an author’s favor.

3. Grammatical and spelling mistakes will make content less readable or even annoying. It is important to double-check every post or even to ask someone to read an article before publishing it.

4. Adding pictures or charts will make content more searchable and easier to share on social media.

Context Marketing

As Deanna Brown, CEO of Federated Media Publishing, said: “Content, in the right context, is ultimately king.” Understanding the audience is crucial for creating content that should target and engage the right people. Content marketing is about presenting yourself as an expert that can provide relevant solutions, therefore knowing the audience is the natural foundation. According to the definition, context marketing is a process of “delivering the right content, to the right people, at the right time”. Knowing the audience means being aware of their favourite type of content, the channels of communication that they prefer or any other information that could help with the creation of highly targeted and personalised content.   

Social Media’s Role

According to a study mentioned by Matthew O’Brien in his article What’s Next for Social Media and Content Marketing in 2013? “65% of British consumers surveyed say that they would stop using a brand that upset or irritated them as a result of their social media behavior”. Therefore, it’s important to take care with the social media strategy. Aligning social media channels along with the whole content marketing strategy would help to create or maintain the desired image. After all, the same rules for content marketing apply to social media strategies. One personalised and interesting message, posted at the right time in the right place is worth more than 10 posts published one by one that might not only be ignored, but even irritate the audience.

However, content (or context) marketing and social media are not the same thing. Social media’s role in content marketing is to distribute links leading audiences to the content. Where content marketing educates people, social media builds relationships with them. They are just two parts of the same game.

If content is king, social media is its sceptre .

The psychology of Christmas advertising

What is so special about Christmas that makes people overjoyed? Marketers ask themselves this every winter and the best conclusions result with the top Christmas ads and campaigns.

It’s all about giving

Christmas is an emotional time – memories from childhood floating in our minds and a great desire to bring those moments to life once more.  We feel Christmas joy and we want to share it with others, to please those we love.  Yes – this is why all the Christmas decorations, fairy lights and glittery ornaments hang in shopping windows – to make you feel more emotional. This is what marketing does.

According to the research published by Science  journal, spending money on other people promotes happiness.Therefore, campaigns referring to giving and pleasing others, rather than receiving, have a better chance of success. This John Lewis ad broadcasted last year is an excellent example:

The fact that money will be spent is irrefutable. The real challenge is to convince customers to purchase one product over another. Shannon Webster in her article devoted to holiday shopping psychology claims that there are words that are particularly effective in motivating people to purchase when used in promotional materials around the festive period. Words that “generate sales include: sale, limited edition, hot, collectible, shortage, delayed, must-have, and in-demand”.

Santa, Rudolph and Christmas trees

William M. O’Barr in his article “Advertising and Christmas” claims that Christmas arouses nostalgia for traditional celebrations; the closer to Xmas, the more sentimental people become. Nothing fans those feelings better than an image of Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Christmas trees. Choose an object, add a little bit of snow falling from the sky, colorful Christmas lights and ornaments, a sound of jingling bells and a dash of humor – you’ve got the perfect ad. This Apple TV ad is an accurate example:

 

“All I want for Christmas is… you”

Afterall, the essence of Christmas is not something wrapped in red ribbon. Our family, friends, those we love – that is what really matters. We look forward to bonding with family and that fills us with hope and cheer. That is why family-focused advertisements evoke nostalgia in our hearts. At the end of the day, all we want for Christmas is them.

 

The deeper marketers get into our brains – learning about our needs, desires and habits – the better campaigns they create. Ads that get into our hearts – make us cry, laugh or give us goose bumps – are made by marketers who knows us best

aSmallWorld – social media for the elite

There was a time when everybody was equal on the internet, but this time is officially over. Don’t you believe? Have you ever heard of aSmallWorld? It’s just another website on the long list of social networks. It’s private, international and exclusive. aSmallWorld (ASW) was founded in 2004 by Swedish couple Erik and Louise Wachtmeister as an invitation-only network of affluent and influential people. If you don’t belong to the elite, are not wealthy or have no connections, it is very unlikely that you will ever become a member.

The purposes of the website do not differ a lot from other social media sites: connecting with old friends, meeting new people from your “class”, swapping advice, organising parties and flirting. There are, on the other hand, forbidden activities and behaviors which may lead to being exiled into  aBigWorld. The management decides to transfer from ASW- to aBigWorld those members who try to connect to too many people they don’t know, who try to promote and sell their products or services (too aggressively), or who simply do not fit in with the community. Being transfered to aBigWorld is a punishment that results in loosing access to ASW while all the person’s data remains there, visible for others.

ASW user profiles contain five elements: basic information (name, surname, date of birth) education and profession (academic level, employment status), portrait (a photo), clubs and interests (you can choose from the list or add it by yourself) and expertise (areas that you are specialist in). The picture below shows a user’s profile as other members see it.

As soon as you accept an invite and become a member, you can search for new connections by giving details (gender,name, industry, etc) of the people you are looking for. ASW allows all members to exchange emails even if they are not connected to each other, so you can send a message to a person who you would like to hire, create a partnership with or just ask a question. The easiest way to get in touch with other users is by forum, where you can start or join a conversation in more than 10 different categories such as business, fashion or sport. On the website, you can also buy or sell almost everything from a pair of shoes to a boat. A fascinating element of ASW is its regular events (exclusively for ASW members) that take place in the real (not virtual) world in fancy places all around the globe.

The idea of a social space on the net that isn’t open to everyone may not feel right. How can “class-system” – and that’s what critics say about ASW – be created even in a sphere so free of discrimination as the internet? It  might not be fair but the time for us has come to accept that the virtual world is no longer Utopian. It has started reflecting reality with all its good and bad sides.

A Pinteresting Display of Ads

Another major player joined the group of social networks in 2010  - Pinterest. Only two years after being created, Pinterest, with 11.7 million users, became the fastest-growing and the third-biggest social website right behind Facebook and Twitter.

The idea of Pinterest is very simple: to share pictures. Users create their own thematic boards in cathegories such as “Quotes”, “Tattoos”, “Weddings”, “Food and Drink”, “Architecture” or “Home Decor”  and pin to them pictures loaded from their own collection or re-pinned from other users’ boards and the internet. These topics may suggest that Pinterest is a female site and in fact, nearly 70% of users are women.  What isn’t surprising is the fact that half of the users are between the ages of 25-44.

None of the above sounds extraordinary, so what is so cool about Pinterest? Kary Delaria – a Pinterest user - explains that going through the website is “the equivalent of flipping through a magazine”. Mariam Shahab compared her visits on Pinterest to “window shopping”, while Drew Hawkins claims that the website is an amazing source of creative ideas that inspire him and help him with his job.

There is another thing about Pinterest that makes it different from other social networks. It is a space on the net far away from talking, chattering and questioning – you can simply relax, get ideas for the dinner party and then leave and not come back for the next few days without worrying about your profile’s appearance. There is no pressure on pinners to visit the website regularly, to update it, post news, take part in a discussion. It’s a calm and quite place, where users can simply enjoy their time.

One final interesting fact; Ben Silbermann - co-founder of Pinterest – before creating his online pinboard, was employed by Google to design products such as display ads. That naturally led to the conclusion that Pinterest is not only a social network, it is a collection of ads. Ads that users do not avoid or ignore, on the contrary – they search for them and treat as entertainment and inspiration.

Sex Sells

Nowadays sex appeal is being used to advertise almost everything: food, cigars, clothes, alcohol, fragrances and cosmetics. Sex appears even in social campaigns  such as those focused on proclaiming women’s rights. It isn’t a secret that provocative and ambiguous pictures catch the eye. Very often they draw people’s attention from other objects – it’s biological and instinctive.

Gender plays an important role when it comes to the effectiveness of an ad. Richard F. Taflinger in his article entitled Biological Basis of Sex Appeal claims that it is in male’s nature to try to impregnate as many women as possible to sustain the species. Women on the other hand look for a healthy and strong male in order to get the best type of genes and give birth to their offspring. Since male and female biological prerogatives differ, they are also receptive to different kinds of sexual ads. While men positively react to a sexual picture itself, women are more likely to respond to romantic connotations.

There are many types of sexual advertising content: nudity, sexual behaviour, physical attractiveness or sexual referents. All can be equally effective, no matter whether they advertise new perfumes, ketchup or a pair of jeans. They play with our deepest, subconscious instincts which push us to purchase. It’s just a case of ethics as to where the line should be drawn.

Psychological Tricks

Advertisements are everywhere – TV, magazines, the Internet, hanging outside the window, lying on the stairs. Companies spend millions on ads, counting on them to raise their income. “Advertisement don’t work on me” is still what most of us would say. Do companies waist their money?

There are a wide range of methods used in ads to encourage us to purchase goods. Positive and negative emotions, background, colours, music, language, size, length. Famous faces, children, animals, sex. Ads no longer provide us just with information, they appeal to our deepest dreams and greatest fears. Shampoo is not only a cosmetic – it’s something that will make you feel like a real woman – beautiful, happy, fulfilled. Credit cards mean more than easy access to your money – they protect you from having all your savings stolen. This little psychological trick is called “insight”. It gives advertisers an understanding of what really drives people to buy goods and services.

With that knowledge, advertisers can send consumers a message about the product through a visual dimension. Again implementing a few tricks. If there is a desert in the background of an ad you’re looking at, it is very likely you will associate it with freedom and a lack of boundaries, while the hustling and bustling of a city may cause you to feel tense. A sunny coast with sand and waves crashing on the beach promises happiness and relaxation. Colours play an equally important role – aggressive and energetic red (often used in gastronomy, agricultural and the automotive industry), prestigious and timeless black (successfully working in clothing and technology). Trust and safety are associated with blue – sophisticated violet, warm and motivating yellow, simple brown, pure white, money-grabbing green.

The audio part of the ad is no less effective than the visual. Music for instance, not only makes ads more appealing, but calls for more attention. It creates structure and tells a story while lyrical language aids memorisation. Certain words inspire emotional reactions and illustrate the desired impression of the product. The most successful and frequently used words include adjectives like; fresh, new, full, good, free, delicious, sure, special, clean, wonderful, big, great, extra, real, easy, bright, safe, rich, crisp, fine and verbs: like, choose, take, start, come, buy, get, give, make, look, need, love, see, keep, feel, use. Copywriters use interrogative sentences not to ask a question but to make a point. They’re quick and stimulating. Imperative sentences making direct commands are supposed to persuade consumers to purchase a product. Repetition, repetition, repetition makes consumers believe information is true, thus making the brand more credible.

There are plenty of techniques and different channels employed to ensure the information in ads goes directly to our brains – to our conscious and subconscious. Some may still believe we can defend ourselves from it by learning all about it. I do my best to learn… but at the end of the day I still use anti-wrinkle L’Oreal. Because I’m worth it.