Although an AdWords Search Query Report can give you some idea of what search queries are triggering broad and phrase match keywords much of the useful data is hidden under ‘….other unique queries’ entries.

This data is an absolute gold mine for identifying new keyterms and negative keywords.

So how do we find out what some of those hidden terms were?

By using Google Analytics thats how. By following the simple instructions shown at www.semvironment.com you can easily start to use this vital data.

Did you know it only takes 8 seconds for your website’s visitors to decide to leave your website?

First impressions really count in business and they can make the difference between your business’ success and failure.

Things that can make visitors hit the dreaded back button are:

• Slow loading speed (caused by big page sizes and bad hosting providers)
• Poor navigation
• Unprofessional design (made in your bedroom type designs)
• Background music (elevator music is not a good idea)
• Flash only sites (some people don’t have the applicable plug ins)
• Site is an obvious ad farm
• Not displaying correctly in all browsers (very common problem with websites)
• Excessive pop up or pop under adverts
• Poor spelling / grammar
• Hard to read text (too small or non standard colours of text or backgrounds)

Are you making any of the above mistakes? If so you know what to do, fix them!

It’s amazing with an industry such as Search Engine Marketing how many people know a lot about it but, for whatever reason, fail to implement the basics, even on their own site.

Just as interesting is how many web designers, in fact anyone who’s job involves using computers, seem to have gained an inside knowledge into the finer points of search engine optimisation or building effective pay per click campaigns without needing to do any form of study.

In his recent article, Don’t Hire a Butcher to do a Baker’s Job, Mark Jackson, has written an excellent piece explaining why you really shouldn’t trust your site’s search marketing success to someone who just happens to “know a bit”.

Before you let your web designer, IT support technician or Milkman loose on your site, check their credentials. Get evidence of success. Case studies? Testimonials? Anything!

Of course I’m going to suggest that if you’re a UK business you at least have a chat with us but, whatever you do, don’t just leave your site’s search marketing to chance. Getting it wrong could leave you more than just a bit disappointed; you could find yourself worse off than if you did nothing at all!

We are yet again, due to our continued expansion, recruiting. This time we are looking for a sales executive to join our proactive sales team.

Ideally we are looking for someone who has experience in the search engine marketing field but we would be prepared to train from the ground up if the right candidate presented them self.

If you are currently working in sales and and are looking for a new challenge then please send in a copy of your CV with a covering letter detailing why you would make a great asset to the team.

For more details please have a look at our search engine marketing jobs page.

Do you know how many people leave your site as soon as they arrive? Do you know where these visitors came from? If the answer is no, then you had better sign up for a Google Analytics account immediately.

The bounce rate can be found on the dashboard in Google Analytics and quickly provides you with a snapshot of the user’s first impression of your website.

If they found your site relevant to their search they will stay and explore your site further. This lets you know that the user found your site relevant and as a result your bounce rate will be low. However, if the page the visitor arrived at was not relevant and they left your site without visiting any other page, then you would expect to see a high bounce rate. Remember the landing page may not always be your homepage.

Your bounce rate has a relationship with your conversion rate so if you are able to lower your bounce rate and become more relevant to user’s searches then you could see in an increase in the number of sales and leads.

Use the reports within Google Analytics to identify individual pages which have a high bounce rate so you are able to improve landing pages and spot traffic sources which are delivering unqualified visitors.

Carehome Selection are a well established company who help patients and their families choose the right care home; the information they provide helps people to make an informed decision with regards to their choice of home.

We are delighted to announce we have been appointed as Carehome Selection’s professional search engine marketing partner; and we are very much looking forward to working with them on this project.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation announced yesterday that their social networking site, MySpace, will not hit its annual revenue target of $1 billion, falling short by some 10%.

Revenue in the third quarter fell from $233 million in the preceding 3 months to $210 million.

As discussed in this blog previously, there is certainly a place for marketing in the social networking sites but are they really the best place to find buyers desperate to buy your product or service?

Will Murdoch offload MySpace if it’s not the cash cow it first seemed? Now, who’s got money to burn?

“Phone call, Mr. Gates..”

Impact today welcomes new search engine marketing specialist Colin to the team.

Colin brings with him over 2 Years experience within the search engine marketing industry and will be specialising in creating and maintaining clients Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns across a number of different search platforms.

Colin previously worked with accessibility market leaders Nomensa so he brings a wealth of knowledge regarding the subject of website usability and accessibility.

Digg.com is a Social Media website that allows you to share articles, videos and images with others.

What most people don’t know is that Digg is also an excellent tool for getting your pages found quickly. Did you know that Digs submissions can be indexed and ranked by search engines within hours? This is ideal if you’re looking to get your site noticed straight away for topical related content or if you’re running a marketing campaign. You don’t even need your submission to have a high Digg rating. Most submissions can be indexed with simply one Digg and sometimes in hours.

Submitting your targeted page couldn’t be easier. Once you have opened your Digg account, simply “Submit New”, enter the URL of the page your wishing to drive visitors too, choose the media type, add a brief description and your done.

Being able to gain almost instant exposure for a subject you would otherwise have to wait to be ranked for opens up endless opportunities and could drive traffic to your site that you would have otherwise missed out on.

Omega Wire Limited are a wire manufacturer; with a modern manufacturing facility based in Dudley, West Midlands. They wish to raise the profile of the company website through the introduction of a professionally managed Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign; in order to increase to volume of relevant web based enquires they receive.

We  are delighted to announce that we have been appointed as Omega Wire Limited’s professional search marketing partner; and we are very much looking forward to working with them on this SEO project.