In Today's Issue
Search Engine Marketing
---> Top AdWords Positions With Top Organic Positions
---> URLs With Hashtags
---> Content Being Copied
---> Optimized for Mobile
---> Rankings Disappear
---> Bidding on Competitors' Brand Words in Paid Search
High Rankings Happenings
---> Need SEO Training For Your In-house Team?
---> Having Trouble Getting Targeted Search Engine Visitors?
Twitter Question of the Week
---> Bidding on Competitors' Brand Terms
Advanced SEO Forum Thread of the Week
---> Registrations From PPC Campaign Stopped
Advisor Wrap-up
---> AMSA Valedictorian! Introduction
Hey everyone!
I've answered a lot of search marketing questions by email over the past few weeks, so I thought it was time for another Q&A email bonanza issue of the HRA newsletter.
As always, please submit your own questions here.
Search Engine Marketing Issues
++Top AdWords Positions With Top Organic Positions++
Hi Jill,
Been a long time since I asked you a question – how about this one?
Google (not surprisingly) claims that having a top-3 pay-per-click (PPC) position in  combination with high rankings (also top-3) in the organic results yields better results than the two positions viewed separately. We have top organic rankings for the most important keywords, so should we really go for the expensive PPC positions above the organic results? Is it true that 1+1=3 or is Google merely hoping to improve their earning?
Best wishes from Denmark,
Henrik Ranch
++Jill's Response++
Hi Henrik,
I'd be interested in seeing where Google has made that claim! That said, I actually had a very similar conversation with our paid search partner, Pauline Jakober from Group Twenty Seven, regarding a company's site that I was recently reviewing. They had both top organic rankings for some keyword phrases as well as top AdWords spots for those phrases. My first inclination was to think that it was a waste, which is why I consulted with Pauline.
She told me that every site is different and you really have to test these things to know for sure. Still, when she has removed the top ads in the past from sites in this situation, the clicks on the organic links alone did not make up all the visitor traffic that the combination of both paid and organic links had. Making the 1+1=3 formula seem to have some truth to it!
But again, as the car advertisements say, your mileage may vary, and there's no way to know without trying it for yourself.
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here.
++URLs With Hashtags++
Hi Jill,
I’m a bit of a nit-picker when it comes to tidy URLs and end up in endless debates with the development team of functionality over form!
We start with a URL like this:
www.example.com/hotels
But one of the new pieces of functionality on our site means that the URL now looks like this (hashtag content added after the page is launched):
www.example.com/hotels#ProductList
Do you think the hashtag content affects the site's SEO or link building in any way now, or is it ignored by search engines, hence no duplicate content or indexing issues? So, aside from looking ugly to the user and potential linker, are there any downsides to this?
Thanks in advance.
Charlotte
++Jill's Response++
Hi Charlotte,
Traditionally, the search engines ignore everything after the hashtag because it's usually content contained on the same page or URL. Therefore, those additional URLs should not get indexed (only the part before the hashtag should).
I'd do a site:command at Google to make sure of this, however.
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here.
++Content Being Copied++
Hi Jill,
I'm an avid reader of your newsletter, even though some of it is more technical than I keep up with. Thank you for demanding integrity of everyone in the online community. You're making a difference for sure.
I never go searching the web for competitors because we have enough connections with others who do that without our asking, and we focus on improving our marketing. But one of our connections came across a horrible website that copied our homepage and used it for their "About Us" page.
Our site is copyrighted and I have a few choices:
1. Send them a letter asking them to remove this page and to write their own website.
2. Paying an attorney $300+ to write them a serious "cease and desist" letter.
3. Report them to Google for falsely loading keywords into their homepage.
What would you do in this case?
Thank you.
Michael
++Jill's Response++
Hi Michael,
You can certainly do all of those things, but the easiest and perhaps fastest route would be to file a DMCA complaint to have the content removed from Google.
Glad you enjoy the newsletter, and thank you for letting me know. Good luck getting your stolen content removed. Please let me know if the DMCA complaint works!
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here.
++Optimized for Mobile++
Hi Jill,
I have a quick question for you regarding optimization. I've e-mailed you a few times before and you've been most helpful to me and my partner.  Our clients are telling us to optimize their sites for mobile devices. Is there really a way to "optimize" for mobile devices? Or do you "optimize" for search engines regardless of whether it's made from a computer or a mobile device? I just wanted your opinion.
Thanks so much for your help once again!
Natalie
++Jill's Response++
Hi Natalie,
It sounds to me that this is likely some sort of misunderstanding. When you hear about sites that are "optimized for mobile," it usually means that the site looks good and renders quickly in a mobile browser. Many sites will use a trimmed-down version for mobile that is quicker, has fewer graphics, shows up in one screen, etc., which is what makes them optimized for mobile.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here.
++Rankings Disappear++
Hi Jill,
I have noticed for a long time (but have never asked about it) that we have many keywords that we will rank fine for, but then one week they are not ranked at all and the following  week they will be back to around the original ranking. It seems to be a different set of words that this happens to on a weekly basis. Is this normal or is it an indicator that there is something amiss with our site?
Thanks for your insight. I hope you are doing well!
Katherine
++Jill's Response++
Hi Katherine,
Yes, that's normal because rankings always vary for a thousand different reasons. In this case, you're likely just seeing results from different databases.
This is why you really shouldn't be measuring rankings anyway, because they're potentially different for every user, browser, computer, etc. See my article on why rankings are a poor measure of success.
(You should also note that if you're checking rankings in some automated fashion and Google finds out, they may very well implement a penalty on the site.)
Do you find your site traffic for those keywords to vary as well? That's what I would want to look at by using analytics to measure your success.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here.
++Bidding on Competitors' Brand Words in Paid Search++
Hi Jill,
What is the protocol on using competitors' brand terms to drive traffic to our site for related services? Is it a no-no? And is it considered unethical to somehow start to cleverly use the terms in our copy (without actually mentioning the brand)?
Thanks!
Bernadette
++Jill's Response++
Hi Bernadette,
It's fine as long as you do it legally :)
Google AdWords lets you bid on competitors' brand keywords (usually), and many companies take advantage of doing this. I'm personally not a big fan of it, but it does seem to be legal and a good competitive technique.
I think that if the keyword can be used in your content the way you described – that is, in a generic way that makes sense -- it should be fine. You should consult with a trademark attorney to be sure, however, because the legality is more of a concern than the search engines!
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here.
 P.S. If anyone would like to republish any of the above Q&A articles, please email me your request and where they will reside, and I'll send you a short bio you can use for your site.
---
Jill Whalen is the CEO of High Rankings, an SEO Consulting company in the Boston, MA area since 1995. Follow her on Twitter @JillWhalen
Twitter Question of the WeekThis week I asked my Twitter followers:
++Do you recommend bidding on competitors' brand keywords in your paid search campaigns?++
Here's what they said:
Bradleyhunt: Nope. Those terms have strong navigational intent and I don't like getting into bidding wars over branded search terms.
domjbs: Totally up to the advertiser. Have seen it make $ and seen it waste tons of corporate time dealing with firestorms.
sambeamond: Yes, because you have the chance to pull customers from them, and secondly it helps drive up their search costs.
JamesMio: Yes, as long as the ads are targeting products or services that users are expecting to find at your competition, why not?
SEOMalc: Yes. Benefits outweigh the negatives in most cases. Only real issue can come from hyper-sensitive brands biting back.
sriarpit: Sometimes competitor brand keyword are of generic nature and are targeted, hence critical in that case that we should bid.
kevinjgallagher: No, as I'm sure the bounce rate would be higher if the searcher is looking for the brand. If it's Nike trainers then that's different.
benhuson: Commercially it makes sense to bid on competitor's brand. Ethically/legally could be seen as 'passing off.'
carolinarustica: Bidding on competitors' keywords is driven by ego not e-commerce. I'd like to see analytics showing otherwise, though.
GrpTwentySeven: I do, but depends on the client. Some opt for it and some think it's not a good idea. It has its benefits. Worth a test.
Want to participate in the Twitter Question of the Week?
Follow @jillwhalen on Twitter
Share your comments and thoughts here.
Advanced Forum Thread of the Week ++Registrations From PPC Campaign Stopped++
Forum member "HelpSEOBeginner" says that their new PPC campaign was getting registrations when it was started, but now the conversions seem to have dried up even though people are still clicking through to the website.
Share your comments or see what others have said here.
Advisor Wrap-up
That's all for today!
So now I just have to brag a little. I mentioned last time that my son Tim would be doing a speech for his upcoming high school graduation. He's part of the first graduating class at his school, the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, and also the valedictorian! There are quite a few highly intelligent kids in his class, so it was quite a feat. Needless to say, we're extremely proud of him. Here's the video I took of him accepting the valedictorian scholarship for anyone interested.
I'm hoping to get some good videos of the graduation as well!
Catch you in 2 weeks! – Jill
 Today's issue is also available online in the newsletter archives. If you prefer RSS/XML please feel free to use our newsfeed here. Feel free to forward this email in its entirety to anyone you feel might be interested in it. Paid sponsor ads are clearly marked as advertisements and neither High Rankings nor Jill Whalen take any responsibility for the claims made within these ads, nor the websites they point to. Paid ads do not constitute an endorsement for the products, services or companies advertising in the newsletter. Please visit our sponsors and use your own due diligence for any purchases you make on the Internet.
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