Google has started 2012 with the launch of its “Search Plus Your World”, their most radical transformation to date.

Essentially, when signed in with Google+, you’ll find personal results and profiles of people you know or follow across various social platforms. To quote from the official Google Blog:

“We’re transforming Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships. We began this transformation with Social Search, and today we’re taking another big step in this direction by introducing three new features:

1. Personal Results, which enable you to find information just for you, such as Google+ photos and posts—both your own and those shared specifically with you, that only you will be able to see on your results page;
2. Profiles in Search, both in autocomplete and results, which enable you to immediately find people you’re close to or might be interested in following; and,
3. People and Pages, which help you find people profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and enable you to follow them with just a few clicks. Because behind most every query is a community.

Our SEO analysts had a look at how search engine results have changed since the launch:

1. The Personal Results are selected from people in your social groups or Google Circles. These occupy a very small real estate onscreen.
   
2. They are added to organic search results, but they are pointed out with an icon. The inclusion of these in the SERP’s does not affect the organic results.
   In some of the searches we did, people that have been communicated with on G-mail were included. This is indicative that Google is using your emails as a factor to display results.
3. The People & Circles results on the right generally only show up for broad category terms like Photography, Cars, Chef, SEO etc.  There are either 2 or 3 results displayed here. This is dependent on the number of results Google has associated with the search term.

   Longer search queries (long tail) terms do not show results.
   

Not everyone is open to these changes to Google’s results. You can read more about this here.

Whatever the outcome of the privacy debate is, marketers are already looking at ways to manipulate these results. Ultimately your content, be in on your website or in the online social sphere needs to be worth sharing!

South Africans are welcoming social media as a core pillar of internet activity, along with email, news and banking. MXit albeit with a very specific section of the market utilizing it remains the most popular social network in South Africa. If we look at trends of social media growth in South Africa there is a direct correlation to that of the last couple of years in Western countries. This translating to a similar ‘teething’ process involving some of the same key social platforms. South Africa’s most popular social arenas that have seen the greatest increase in growth and popularity are MXit, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Now whilst MXit has settled in and grown roots with the younger generation, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are seeing similar patterns to that of Western Countries not so long ago. Does this mean we can expect similar results in time to come? Is social media going to grow to a level where it becomes not only a strong part of, but essential to the success of, almost any marketing/communications campaign?

As business owners, social media strategists and entrepreneurs to mention but a few, we are right now at this very moment faced with an opportunity. We are globally, not just in South Africa, on the cusp of something very exciting and it is going to be an industry shaping journey.

A look at the Platforms

MXit has over 10 million South African users of which no less than 76% are male and 73% of female users are aged 18 or over. Facebook with 4.1 million is up front with MXit when it comes to popularity and user numbers. However, Twitter has seen the most dramatic growth in social networking this last year.

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) was the fastest growing network in the second half of 2011 and continues to be a massive growth channel as a form of communication today in South Africa. These are among the key findings of a study released by Fuseware and World Wide Worx, entitled South African Social Media Landscape 2011.

Facebook has 4.1 million South African profiles registered, of this number 2.6 million access purely through their mobile phones. With 2.5 million active users every month there is a mind-blowing average of 310 years spent on the platform each and every day.

A surprising finding emerged from analysis of Facebook data. Of about 4.1 million Facebook users in South Africa by August 2011, only 3.2 million had visited the site in the year-to-date. This could be due to a mixture of dummy accounts and low end users. “This is partly a factor of many users moving on once the novelty of the site had worn off, as well as a result of the fickle nature of the youth market,” Wronski said. “Once BBM picked up significant traction in private schools, for example, many teenagers who had previously flocked to Facebook, opted for BBM’s greater immediacy.”

From a commercial perspective Facebook is one the toughest platform to establish a quality community of Fans. Facebook can be described as a comfortable space where individuals post their personal pictures, interests and stories. They are less impulsive and more ‘choosy’ about who they Like and spend their time with. Social takes time to establish, but once a qualified community is built it is a powerful tool for any brand to have in their arsenal.

via: http://ow.ly/8KHR

An analysis of Fuseware’s extensive database of Twitter usage, in conjunction with World Wide Worx’s consumer market research, shows that there were 1.1 million users in South Africa in mid-2011. This is a twentyfold increase in a little more than a year.

Over 80% of the population that are online use Twitter, of that number 40% are ‘active tweeters’, with an estimated 40% just observing.

With the increase of availability of internet accessing phones the popularity and usage of social networks is expected to continue growing exponentially. Whilst South Africa’s internet penetration rate is comparatively low the social media usage is extremely high, so high in fact that it is the second most ‘social’ country in the world, just after Indonesia.

While LinkedIn, aimed at professional users, also reached the 1.1 million mark, it came off a far higher base – but still saw 83% growth of South African users from 2010 to 2011. Of these, 112,000 are business owners.

With over 2 million active monthly users in South Africa alone the consumption of media on this platform is substantial. Whether for simply sharing funny and family videos or as part of a commercial campaign YouTube is without a doubt an arena that is embraced for creative media consumption. For commercial purposes it can be a powerful part of any campaign encouraging engagement and driving traffic with ‘juicy’ content that can easily go viral.

A social future for South Africa?

Consumer research analysed in the Fuseware report revealed that future intention of usage of most social networks is strongly related to age. The younger the user, the greater the intention of usage. “This is only one of many micro-trends shaping social networking,” Goldstuck said. “MXit, Facebook and BBM statistics illustrate, for example, that as social networks become more mainstream, their penetration within all age ranges deepens.’

“This, in turn, will result in the continual flattening of the age curve as social networks mature.”

Users who are now seasoned at interacting with social networks will start to use fewer channels and less often. From a commercial perspective it is becoming increasingly important for brands to understand the effectiveness of specific platforms and how to engage with communities correctly. Brands must interact in an open and implicit manor posting relevant and useful content in order to sustain engagement.

As social media matures and online brand management becomes more sophisticated, there will be a surge in the development of local skills. Advertising and PR graduates will be expected to understand how to effectively use social networks.

There is no question in my mind that the popularity and use of social media platforms is only going to increase. Business in South Africa is beginning to embrace and utilize these platforms for amplification of their messages, products and services.

I watch with hungry eyes and eager fingers hovering excitedly over my keyboard as we move forward into this new and exciting time. Social media has aquired its visa, we have welcomed it in and given it living space on our computers. It is here to stay and will enhance our online experience in both private and commercial sectors substantially.

Let’s be part of the avant guard folks. Social media is going places and I want you to come with me. Grab on and let’s all have a hand in shaping the future.

What an exciting adventure….!

What is your experience of social media? Where do you see it going? If you have and comments or queries I could love to hear from you!

The pope himself endorsed social media in January of this year, read all about it right here.

On Thursday, 19 January 2012 between 9:00am – 11:00am Clickthinking/iProspect, in association with Aegis Media, will drive a thought provoking, live on air debate as part of their Thought Leadership Digibates.

About the Series
The Thought Leadership Digibates see Aegis Media partnering with Bizcommunity.com to host a series of monthly marketing/media debates that are broadcast live via streaming audio, and with a live audience, via Cape-Town-based online radio station thetaxi.co.za. These hot and often controversial conversations and strategic insights are then turned into podcasts available online.

Topics: Search Based Marketing in Africa
The discussion topics that will be covered in the session on Thursday, 19 January 2012 between 9:00am – 11:00am are:
-    Search origins – how it all began
-    Google’s dominance – how did it happen?
-    Components of a search strategy – what makes it work
-    Common search misconceptions
-    Search from a digital business perspective
-    Mobile marketing and search – the new frontier
-    Looking ahead – what can we expect from Search in 2012?

Panel: Search Based Marketing in Africa
The panel of industry experts leading and participating in this digibate are:
-    Peter Stewart – Managing Director of Clickthinking, an iProspect Company
-    Etienne Beneke – Head of SEO at Clickthinking, an iProspect Company
-    Kerri Smith – Senior Innovation Lead, Mobile at iProspect US
-    Paul Galatis – Founder of Yuppiechef
-    Jon Ratcliffe – Google, South Africa

Be a part of the conversation
Being a part of the audience for this digibate promises to be insightful and exciting, so don’t miss out! If you’d like to join the audience, live at the Crystal Towers Hotel in Century City, CapeTown, please email Lana vd Walt to reserve your seat – seats are limited, so don’t delay!

If you’d like to listen in you can join the live webstream on www.bizradio.co.za. If you’re unable to make the event don’t despair! The event podcast(s) will be uploaded on the Aegis Media Digibate Special section on the BizCommunity Page post the event: http://www.bizradio.co.za/digibate-the-search-continues/

More information on the Digibate Series
You can find out more about the Digibate series and listen to past event podcasts by visiting the Aegis Media Digibate Special section on the BizCommunity Page: http://www.bizcommunity.com/AegisThoughtLeadership

If you’d like to subscribe to our RSS Feed to be the first to receive updates around this and other industry-leading news and articles, you can subscribe here.

If you’d like to learn more about our offering, please don’t hesitate to contact us through our website. We’d love to hear from you!

Until next time!

In May 2011 I was asked to contribute to ClickTale’s Marketing Madness Blog series, a month-long tribute and daily guide to the world of online marketing. I highlighted some points worth repeating as we begin 2012:

After working within the digital industry for more than 8 years, 2 major points continuously stand out:

1.    Digital is still not yet recognized and appreciated in all its glory as an established and integrated marketing channel.
2.    Corporate Identity guidelines often clash with usability best practice.

What do we at Clickthinking recommend in order to achieve the best conversions from your corporate platform?  Keep it consistent, but freshen it up. Read more in the published article:

http://blog.clicktale.com/2011/05/12/corporate-identities-keep-it-consistent-know-yourself/

Until next time, Conversion matters!

Anne

In 1971 Ray Tomlinson was the first person to use an @ sign/symbol to send an electronic message to a person rather than a computer. Since then, email marketing as a business practice has evolved in leaps and bounds, but often the perception of this highly adaptable and extremely effective one-to-one channel still lies back in the mid-1990s as “out-dated” and “ineffective”.

In reality though, we’ve gone from a mass-market static communication tactic, where a sender would deploy to as many “sourced” email addresses as possible, to today’s email marketing model which possesses the capabilities to deliver highly relevant and uniquely dynamic content to each and every opted-in subscriber. The effectiveness of the channel is easily tracked via a wide range of metrics and the return on investment (ROI) is extremely measurable. And all the while, email marketing is able to easily integrate into a myriad of other marketing channels such as Search; Analytics; and Social.

So how far have we come? Take a walk with us as we review a snapshot of the then of email marketing, and the now:

If you’d like to subscribe to our RSS Feed to be the first to receive new articles and updates, you can subscribe here.

If you’d like to learn more about our Performance Email offering, please don’t hesitate to contact us at emailmarketing@clickthinking.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Until next time, stay engaged!

In October Google announced that they would be encrypting searches if the user was logged into Google when searching on Google.com. What this means for your website is that in Analytics data you will see in the organic keyword list (not provided) as a keyword.  While the percentage of searchers that are signed into Google might be quite low it can affect your reporting in a number of ways.

I like to report on the split between branded keywords and non-branded keywords to show how SEO efforts are increasing traffic to the website, month on month or year on year. However the data is now skewed because of secure search and the (not-provided) keyword. In Analytics you would usually exclude keywords that contain the brand name and work out what percentage of the keywords is branded and what percentage of keywords are non-branded. As the keyword (not-provided) does not contain the brand name it will be included in non-branded keywords which means non-branded traffic will therefore be inflated. So how do we get a more accurate number?

 Method

This method is based on the assumption that signed-in searchers and other searchers behave in the same way.

Example:

Total Organic Search Traffic = 20,000 visits

Total Branded Keyword Traffic (excluding (not provided)) = 8,000 visits

Total Non-Branded Keyword Traffic (including (not-provided)) = 12,000 visits

(Not-Provided) Traffic = 2,000 visits

Step 1: Finding Total Non-Branded Traffic Excluding (not-provided) keyword.

Total Branded Keyword Traffic (including (not-provided)) – (Not-Provided) Traffic = Total Non-Branded Keyword Traffic (excluding (not-provided)).

12,000 visits – 2,000 visits = 10,000 visits

Step 2: Working out the percentage split between Branded and Non-Branded Traffic

Now you need to work out the percentage split between Branded and Non-Branded Traffic.

So Total Branded Keyword Traffic (excluding (not provided)) + Total Non-Branded Keyword Traffic (excluding (not-provided)) = Total Traffic (excluding (not-provided)

8,000 visits + 10,000 visits = 18,000 visits.

Branded Keyword Percentage  = (8,000/18000) * 100 = 44%

Non-Branded Keyword Percentage =  (10,000/18,000) *100 = 56%.

We now know that typically this website gets 44% Branded traffic and 56% Non-Branded traffic.

Step 3: Working out the Branded and Non-Branded Split of the (not-provided) Keywords

We can now take the (not-provided) keywords and split this number according to the split we have just calculated so;

(not-provided) branded traffic = 2,000 * 44% = 880 visits

(not-provided) non-branded traffic = 2,000 * 56% = 1120 visit.

Step 4: Work out actual Branded and Non-Branded Traffic Totals

Now we can work out a more accurate number of visits for branded and non-branded keywords.

Total Branded Keyword Traffic = 8,000 visits + 880 visits = 8880 visits.

Total Non-Branded Traffic = 10,000 + 1200 = 11200 visits.

We can now use these numbers to compare to last month or last year more accurately. This is obviously a quite simple solution to a small problem but as you dig deeper into your analytics data much bigger problems are bound to come up. How will we tackle these problems as natural search marketers? Will be become less keyword focussed and focus more on the keyword set as a whole?  I don’t know the answers to these questions but time will tell and because Google is the dominant search force it is up to us to adapt to the changes they make, whether this is an algorithm or keyword data change.

Have you found any challenges in reporting since Google started protecting its users’ searches? Let us know.

Some of the biggest web design trends to come out of 2011 are HTML5 and CSS3, both of these technologies make websites easier to build and link with social tools.
Importantly, HTML5 is a major revision to how the web is put together: those who use it will have better support across modern desktop and mobile browsers.

HTML5

This latest version of the HTML enables the designer and developer to create more readable code and build layouts that have simplified structures and less HTML code with meaningful semantic tags. Other positive features are

·         APIs
·         Drawing graphics on-screen
·         Dragging
·         Canvas
·         Output
·         Progress
·         Local storage

But by far, one of the most anticipated HTML5 features that developers and designers are looking forward to is the audio-visual support – 3rd party plugins won’t be required to stream audio and video on websites!

CSS3

This latest module of CSS carries a much more advanced feature set, making this new version the tool of the future. With the increasing demand for clean and well-structured websites, the additional features within CSS3 are being welcomed by designers and developers. Some distinctive aspects of CSS3 are features like

·         Border radius
·         Box shadow
·         Multiple background images
·         Text shadow
·         Multi-Column Layout
·         Opacity

CSS3 also makes animations easy and lightweight. Ultimately, by combining the use of CSS3 and HTML5 it will become far easier to create websites that leave visitors feeling satisfied with their online
experience.

Looking forward

Another exciting development is that JavaScripts and plugins will no longer be necessary in order to format or handle images placed in the website. And whilst not all browsers are currently accepting all of the complex features of HTML5 and CSS3, developers are working furiously to implement these features on all browsers as quickly as possible. With that said, there are a number of available elements that include a variety of great features available now!

If you’d like to learn more about how Clickthinking can enable you to stay ahead of the design curb going into 2012, contact us on design@clickthinking.com

Until next time, keep innovating!

“Contrary to what you may read, peppering your form with nice buttons, color and typography and plenty of jQuery plugins will not make it usable. Indeed, in doing so, you would be addressing (in an unstructured way) only one third of what constitutes form usability”

This is the opening line in a very informative article about form usability – An Extensive Guide To Web Form Usability (Justin Mifsud, November 2011, www.smashingmagazine.com).

In the article the author draws together research and insights from various fields – usability testing, field testing, website tracking, eye tracking, web analytics and actual complaints made to customer support personnel by unhappy users  – and leverages this to provide some clear guidelines for developers and solution architects to consider when designing forms.

He highlights the importance of usability on forms and defines the reason for the existence of the form for both the user and the business. The table below outlines that every form exists for one of three main reasons: commerce, community or productivity. The table translates each of these reasons into the user and business objectives that lie behind them.

Uses of forms, based on Luke Wroblewski’s Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks.

It is important to consider that forms can make a website usable or unusable, because they can stand in the way of the user achieving their goal or simplify the process for both the business and the user. Hence, forms need to be usable in order to help the user achieve that goal.

Justin tackles usability by addressing three aspects common in all forms. All these areas need to be planned and integrated to achieve a usable and successful form interface.

1. Relationship – Forms establish a relationship between the user and the organization.
2. Conversation - They establish a dialogue between the user and the organization.
3. Appearance – By the way they look, they establish a relationship and a conversation.

The guidelines provided in the article are a good starting point to embark on when designing forms for any website.

Justin’s research methods are similar to the process embarked on by the Conversion Services team at Clickthinking. We also use additional tools to perform detailed form analysis that is customised to specific forms on a website. These tools will indicate exactly where users drop off on forms, which fields are slowing the process down, or if users have difficulty understanding or submitting the form.  If you already have a form on your site and you are not sure if it is completely optimised to your user’s needs, then form analysis is recommended.Contact conversion@clickthinking.com for a more information about our services.

For the full article, see http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2011/11/08/extensive-guide-web-form-usability/.

The trick here is engaging your audience and getting them intrigued and interested in what can be achieved in the short, as well as the long term, by using proper Search Engine Optimisation techniques and explaining how this will benefit their online efforts.

I tend to explain SEO like this:

It’s about being visible online for both Search Engines and humans. A website built for humans with all the bells and whistles that ranks on page 17 means as much as a top ranking website that does not engage nor convert its visitors. Both are pointless. Imagine you need to hand out business cards to potential customers that contain the URL to your website because they can’t find it online?

A few important factors to note here are: Do you target the correct keywords for your given target market? Does your website contain pages built around these specific researched keywords? And lastly, is there sufficient search volume for these? It won’t count for much if you rank highly for a keyword that has virtually no search volume. What are your competitors doing online? Where are they ranking for in specific searches and very importantly, where do they rank in comparison to you?

I tend to think of SEO as something that basically consists out of 3 basic pillars:

(1) the technical aspect;
(2) quality content; and
(3) reputation with a pencilled-in Social Media module connected to it as some lateral support.

The Technical Aspect
This pillar of Search Engine Optimisation refers to how your website is constructed for optimal search engine crawl ability from a coding and tagging perspective. We build websites from the ground up, meaning the website is SEO compliant from the file structure blueprint right up to a content level. We don’t believe in quick fixes although a few smart amendments to your website could assist in your online visibility.Content is the easy part in my book but equally as important a part as the other two. Content should ideally engage users and ultimately convert them into buying, downloading,booking, paying or playing. Good content gives the impression of a great authoritative website which has been constructed professionally for smart people. Search Engines love this.

Quality Content
The consistent addition of quality content not only keeps your site fresh, enticing visitors to come back and engaging people, but it also means your website is growing from the inside out and unwittingly turning your website into an authoritative hub of information.

Reputation
The third pillar of strength in the SEO cycle is Reputation. How many websites are linking to your website and where are they linking from? The more diverse the inbound link spread from quality websites to your site the better the chances for search engines to see your site as an authority on a specific topic (or many topics if that is the case). Search Engine algorithms take into consideration how your website is perceived by others – hence reputation. One can clearly see how quality content also ties in with reputation.
Google’s main goal (apart from making 33 Billion US Dollars per quarter) is to serve quality content that is relevant to a specific search query to its users;  and all three of these main SEO pillars contribute to a quality site almost evenly.
Proper SEO of your website right from the start, along with the on-going addition of monthly content, ensure longevity in the search engine results pages for your chosen  targeted keywords.
SEO will also cost you much less in the long run than running a fresh paid search campaign every month; although we recommend that these two methods be run concurrently in order to get maximum real estate coverage in the result pages.

At Clickthinking we have a specialist team of SEO’s (Search Engine Optimisers) with combined experience of around 50 years! Our SEO lifecycle and offering to clients consists of a number of important elements, namely:

- SEO Audits and Visibility Assessments
- Market Research
- Competitor Analysis
- Identifying Keyword Opportunities
- On-site Coding and Implementation
- SEO Copywriting and Implementation
- Site and Speed Performance
- Online Marketing and Link Acquisition, and
- Comprehensive Reporting that includes search engine ranking, content gap analysis, competitor analysis and baseline analysis using web analytics

If you’re interested in learning more about how Clickthinking can assist you in implementing the right SEO for your business, contact us at seo@clickthinking.com

Till next time, let’s keep the SEO real!

Etienne Beneke
Head of SEO

It’s with great excitement that I write this, my first blog article for Scent Optimisation, to introduce Performance Email as part of our Conversion offering at Clickthinking. A dedicated focus on one of the most powerful digital marketing channels, Email Marketing, brings Clickthinking’s Global Service Offering to new heights and is sure to enable our Clients to continue the on-going digital journey with all of their valued customers.

Let’s be honest, Email Marketing isn’t new. But as we’ve seen from continued growth across all Global markets (with stable focus on Email Marketing as one of the top 3 areas of online budget investment), it certainly isn’t dead. And with the increasing shift to mobile in both first-world and emerging markets, the 81% growth in mobile email viewership published by ReturnPath earlier in 2011 shows that people are now consuming email anywhere and everywhere.

But what about those who predicted the death of email as social stole the front page digital headlines? As the dust clears and those who zealously foretold the end of [Email’s] days recant their predictions, we now see that Email and Social have emerged as two fantastic engagement channels that not only get along, but when paired together are the life of the party that keeps people talking long after the night has ended. So, it makes absolute sense that with our proven expertise in Search; Design and Optimisation; and Conversion and Analytics, that Email Marketing is included in our [and ultimately our Clients’] digital armoury.

Keeping Updated

In line with the focus on our Performance Email offering we’ll be publishing a monthly newsletter to all of our valued Clients, Partners and Followers, starting end of November. Within this publication we’ll not only provide you with Email-related insights, but we’ll also feature articles from our Search; Design and Conversion Teams. In the coming weeks and months we’ll also be adding regular posts to the latest Industry Insights, Case Studies, and relevant articles to our Scent Optimisation blog – so stay tuned and in touch.  If you’d like to subscribe to our RSS Feed to be the first to receive new articles and updates, you can also subscribe here.

If you’d like to learn more about our Performance Email offering, please don’t hesitate to contact us at emailmarketing@clickthinking.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Until next time, stay engaged!