Bing marketing

The September numbers released by ComScore last Wednesday show Google in the lead, after several months of slight decline. Bing follows with a slight incline and Yahoo, after months of increasing numbers, drops after its transition to Microsoft algorithms.

UBS, being the first to report this data, does not impute these numbers to the Yahoo alliance with Bing or Google Instant, and instead attributes Google’s boost to university students going back to school.

Google is gaining share, a 0.7 point increase from August, accounting for 66.1 percent of the market. Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, rose 0.7 point to 11.2 percent of “explicit core” searches.

September 2010 Search Share

• Google: 66.1% (up 0.7 from 65.4%)
• Yahoo: 16.7% (down 0.7 from 17.4%)
• Bing: 11.2% (up 0.1 from 11.1%)
• Ask: 3.7% (up 0.1 from 3.8%)
• AOL: 2.3% (no change)

The search data is comprised of “explicit core” searches, or search keywords entered manually by users on a Web page. ComScore takes into account all of a search engine’s domains. For example, Google’s data includes search results from YouTube, Google News, Google Images etc.

Google Instant Search

The Google Instant Search hits are not included in the report, according to ComScore. Instant Search, launched earlier this month, displays search results in the Search Engine Results Pages before a user hits the enter key. Matching results appear while a search keyword is being typed.

Instant Search addresses Google’s key insight in Internet user behavior. People type slowly and read quickly. Meaning: users scan a results page while typing.

The biggest change is that users don’t have to finish typing their keyword terms, or press the “search” button, as the right content comes up much faster. The search can be changed as the user types, to match what he or she is looking for.

ComScore only counts the end result of the Instant Search: “To account for Google Instant, comScore has again changed methodology. “Explicit core search” essentially backs out Instant and only records a search when the user clicks a link or presses the enter button. “Core search” also records a search when users pause for 3 seconds to contemplate suggested Instant results.”

Yahoo – Bing Alliance

The search deal between Yahoo and Bing, presented in February this year, has been completed recently. ComScore accounts for searches on Yahoo performed by the Bing search engine. The alliance encompasses Yahoo’s transition to Bing’s search algorithms and “powered by” searches. ComScore also counteracts attempts by Microsoft and Yahoo to treat slideshows as search hits.

Search Data Questioned

Yahoo argues that Google’s relatively steep increase in market share is due to Instant Search. Shashi Seth, Sr. VP of Search & Marketplace at Yahoo mentions in his blog post: “Looking at comScore’s report, it appears to me that a majority of Google’s query growth in September (a month in which Google Instant was live for 20 days) came from precisely these kinds of interactions.”

Google claims that users scan a page in approximately users typically take 300 milliseconds between keystrokes to type, but only 30 milliseconds to glance at the results of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). If comScore counts search results after a 3 second pause, that means a user could have scanned a results page 10 times before making up his or her mind about which link to click on.

The importance of organic search engine optimization (SEO) remains. Whether it be local SEO, regional or international, SEO as a practice is not directly affected by the latest changes in search.

The classic cry of the binge marketer is “Oops… business is slow. I guess I’d better do some marketing and send out a mailing.” If you find yourself in the middle of a quiet spell, thinking that a few actions, a couple of phone calls and a mailing here and there will get things moving again, you need to rethink your strategy.

Reactive or Proactive?

The most successful planned giving programs maintain a consistent marketing approach. Those who try “a little bit of this, a little bit of that” do get results, but they’re essentially creating a reactive campaign that’s unorganized and difficult to maintain. Result? Sure, you’ll close gifts, but you’re jeopardizing the inherent goal of maintaining a steady stream of planned gift closings, thus missing out on the long-term benefits of a smooth, strategic and stable planned giving program.

Binge marketing describes a behavior we see often, particularly in the small to medium size shop. Even some larger non-profits are guilty of it. Effective planned giving marketing is not an activity to do in fits and starts when you have time – it should be ongoing. Think of marketing as an engine – it needs to be ticking over steadily at all times. A quiet spell now frequently indicates a lack of marketing a year ago. It’s amazing how often we hear “I wish we had pursued bequests more aggressively a few years ago. Our endowment would be much larger.”

Binge Marketing is Like the American Diet.

Binge marketing can work, but often it does not, or leads to downturns and quiet spells. Regular planned giving marketing may not make you totally immune to an occasional lull – there are other explanations for a quiet spell or two – but it will certainly increase your flow of business opportunities today and in the future.

That’s not to say there won’t be occasions where a particular marketing activity needs to take center stage. Perhaps you’ll want to launch a special direct marketing campaign to spotlight a particular planned gift opportunity, or use a series of advertisements to target a particular part of your audience – but these are tactical actions, not a strategy.

It’s Not Rocket Science.

Let’s be really clear about this: basic marketing really is simple and anyone can do it (and yes, that includes you). But good marketing takes time, and it takes time to work. Frenetic actions done in a hurry usually come across that way, looking like an organization in panic. What’s worse is that you may think that the tumult is hidden under the surface, but a lack of composure can easily reveal itself in your prospect’s mind in more ways than one. Most people get tired of donating to organizations in crisis, and your appeal will simply not be attractive, not to mention be heard.

So unless you’re a disaster relief agency and there’s a hurricane on the horizon, work on developing a steady marketing effort. If you devise a program of consistent marketing actions and stick with it, cultivate it, you will reap a strong, regular and growing harvest of planned gifts.

Next time you find yourself confronting a lull, and contemplating a binge, try instead to translate your actions into a regular program of activity. Or, if you already have a regular program, consider how you might get the engine ticking over a little faster.

Viken Mikaelian is the Founder and President of http://www.PlannedGiving.Com, LLC and http://www.VirtualGiving.Com, Inc. VirtualGiving delivers cutting edge planned giving websites whereas PlannedGiving hosts planned giving documents such as solicitation letters for fundraisers to download. Clients include Yale, Caltech, Berkeley, Penn, Wharton, St. Jude’s (Memphis, TN), Yellowstone, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Red Cross National, and 450 others.

I think it’s about time for a Bing update. It’s now a year since Microsoft’s ‘decision engine’ was launched, and the last few months have seen a huge marketing push.

The chances are you’ve seen one of the TV ads, which focus on reducing the information overload users can experience at the hands of other search engines. Which is all very well, but can Bing deliver on its promises, and what are the consequences of this latest push for an online marketing agency like us?

The obvious outcome is that the cost of search engine marketing could potentially come down. As Bing fights to eat into Google’s market share, the increased competition between Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter is good news for search engine marketers.

One would also expect this battle for search dominance to drive improvements and innovation across the board, which can only benefit online marketing agencies and users alike. Recent Google innovations include placing more importance on the load speed when ranking pages, and the ongoing Google Squared project – intended to organise information related to the search term logically and quickly.

I’ve also noticed several changes to the Google interface over the last couple of weeks including going (even more) minimalistic for a while by removing the links across the top of the page including Gmail, shopping and news. These changes, both large and small, are a clear indication that the market leader is not going to let Bing’s advance go unnoticed.

Bing’s market share continues to creep up

The polls show Bing’s market share is growing; ComScore’s most recent survey gives Bing a market share of 11.5% compared to Google’s 65.5%. But can this growth be sustained? I used Bing frequently back when it was launched, and have had another look recently after seeing the TV ads, but this was out of curiosity rather than because I’ve decided it’s the best search engine. If I used it out of curiosity then surely others did too and, like me, may revert to the comfort of Google.

It’s been said, but for me it comes down to familiarity and speed and, as I’m familiar with Google’s offering, I get what I’m looking for more quickly. To break this cycle, Bing must strive to exceed Google’s engine rather than just match it.

Search on the move – the latest battleground

The forthcoming launch of the Windows Phone 7, with its dedicated Bing search button, can only bolster Bing’s growth. However, the popularity of the Windows phone is unlikely to rival that of the iPhone (which uses Google as its default search engine), particularly with the hype already surrounding the launch of the iPhone 4G. Add to this the fact that Google is the standard engine on the iPad, and it’s evident that gaining the upper hand in mobile search is going to be tricky.

Online marketing agencies require search engines to deliver lots of relevant traffic as cheaply as possible. Whether Bing will ever dethrone Google in this respect is yet to be seen, but the ongoing competition is good news for the world of search engine marketing, and we should take advantage of the benefits wherever possible.

Iain writes for atom42, an online marketing agency in London.

Bing’s impact in the ‘getting found’ factor will grow in importance as they continue to gain search share with their improvements and enhancements. Bing will challenge Google, although Facebook believes that they can eliminate email, Google, YouTube, Flickr and any other internet property in their quest for world dominance, it is still worth your time and effort to pay attention to Bing for search optimization.

When Bing first came out I enjoyed their airfare search results. I found the process for finding economical airfares on Bing much easier and robust than Google. They continue to introduce enhancements that will win over Internet surfers and searchers and will continue to grow in importance.

Bing is delivering Facebook search results and reportedly will soon be powering Yahoo searches. They are putting an emphasis on entertainment and recently rolled out nearly 100 games that you can play on line rather than risk downloading to your computer. They are adding song lyrics and streaming music along with much more in the entertainment sector. The point is, Bing is rolling out new features and enhancements as well as forging critical strategic alliances so that they will certainly take their place in the ‘it matters’ SEO world sooner than later.

That being said, it is a good time to begin some SEO with Bing. You don’t even have to hire an expert to take care of these simple steps.

The first step is make sure that Bing even knows that your website exists. You can submit your website for indexing at BingSubmit. Simple enough.

Next, submit your sitemap to Bing to get your site and all its pages indexed. Hopefully you have prepared (or had your web person prepare) an XML site map that you submitted to Google. Now submit that same XML site map to Bing. Just copy and paste the following entire URL into the address bar of your browser, edit the ‘yourwebaddress.com’ with your real web address and enter.

http:// www. bing.com/webmaster/ping.aspx?sitemap=www.YourWebAddress.com/sitemap.xml

As a follow up, mark your calendar for at least a week or more to go back and review the results. You can see what pages Bing has indexed by going to the Bing search bar and type site:yourwebaddress.com to see the results. Oh, do I have to mention again to change the ‘yourwebaddress’ to your actual web address? Nah, I didn’t think so but just in case.

You can use this same site: tool in Google’s search bar to explore what Google has indexed. It is a good idea to check on these results to ensure that you are continuing to be indexed and if you have dynamic pages such as those generated from a blog or library, you will want to check that these are getting picked up as well in the indexing. If they aren’t, look at your source code to see what the instructions are to the robots – and if that is completely Greek then call your web person to find out what is preventing these pages from getting indexed in a timely fashion.

There is no cost and so little time associated with these steps that there is simply no reason not to get started with Bing search. Even if I am wrong in my thinking that Bing’s market share will grow, what ever share it does have or will gain – ask yourself if it is better to be found on Bing than not?

Mardy Sitzer
Bumblebee Design & Marketing
http://www.bumblebeellc.com / 212-677-4050

The market position of Google, the biggest digital marketing search engine company is at stake with the emergence of new search consultancy of Microsoft, Bing. Initially it was though that the presence of Bing will pose some problems for relatively comparable company like Yahoo search engine. Though that expectation was fulfilled with a report drop in Yahoo’s market share; but now Bing is shaking the share of even bigger digital marketing agencies like Google. Microsoft has invested hard on the sustainability of Bing and has succeeded when in June comScore broke news of Bing search consultancy stealing market share of big competitor Google.

Bing market share has risen pace since the last one year. Since its entry into search marketing industry; from last June up till now in just a small span of time, its share has reached 88%. The present market share of Bing in U.S is 9.85% as compared to 5.25% share when Bing started its digital marketing search engine. Calculations by Hitwise show that Bing has disturbed its competitor’s digital market where percentage in Yahoo’s share has gone down by 11.24 whereas Google’s marketing has been affected by 3.2% during that time period.

Further decline in Google marketing is witnessed by com Score, when it compares the present market share with that of previous. In February Google disclosed its share to be 65.5% which has now dropped to 63.7% in May, further down in June by 62.6%. Thus in a series of these four months, Google has lost some of its market to its small competitor.

Not all search engine focus on the use of numbers to get an estimation of their market share. Microsoft (Bing) and Yahoo marketing search engines rather stress upon context and content use. But both are beyond Google in either case. Imran Khan an analyst at JPMorgan presented his argument by saying that during the period between May and June, in contextual sense; Google share went down by 110bps while Yahoo and Microsoft are up by 60 bps. If take into consideration individual contextual ratings then Microsoft rose by 20 bps, and Yahoo at 10bps up; on the other hand Google suffered and came down by 20 bps.

Revenue at digital marketing search engines also comes from advertisement placement and click.com. Bing led in getting more revenue coming from both these sources when compared with Google and Microsoft.

The overall U.S industry in search engine sectors has shown an increase by 16.9% in June as compared to 11.2% in May. Bing is not imposing any negative influence rather use of online market has gone up from 11% first quarter to 14% in the second quarter. (ComScore)

CEO Search Ignite has reported that there is an increase willingness by marketers to invest in digital marketing to promote their products.

Asian market is an opportunity for Google to regain its lost revenue. After license and ICP approval from China, Google can return to its lost glory. But this news may not be good for Bing.

James is an experienced digital marketing strategist at Qudos Digital. He works for a leading digital marketing providing digital marketing consultancy to numerous businesses.

Internet was initially a luxury for people to access each other’s portfolio over the web and interact with unknown people in chat rooms. Search Engines started to create a awareness among people that whatever they are looking for it could be found with the help of search engines. In the beginning it was not so successful because of lack of understanding of people and human powered listings for searches, but over the time changes took place in the search engines algorithm and people started to rely on search engines for their day-to-day needs. Whatever people are looking for they just search for it in the search engines, so it has become a necessity for people to bank on internet for their asks.

Search Engines are making huge amount of money by all ways they can, the major players among these are Google, Yahoo and Bing. Google dominates majorly all over the world for internet searches, then comes yahoo which is even used for many purposes other than searches like exploring the site, for chatting with people across the world, for sending and receiving mails and much more but it doesn’t have a big share in the role play of a search engine, after yahoo comes Bing which used to be earlier known as “MSN Search” it is a combination of both human powered listings + Crawler based searching which is known as Hybrid search engine.

Bing has a Great Style and looks let’s see how much time it takes for Bing to capture the major part of the market, In Feb 2010 [Source - Searchengineland.com] United States of America Bing holds around 10% market share and it is continuously rising month by month with its pleasing looks and increasing search awareness, whereas Yahoo has a stable market share of around 15% which is not experiencing any changes, in case of Google the market share is around 70% the maximum amongst all search engines and has went through a minor loss of market share of around 1-2%, these figures include the web searches and not the other activities.

Bing’s Market Share is continuously creeping upwards, as per May 2010 in United States of America [Source techcrunch.com] Bing’s market share rose to around 13%, Yahoo to around 18% and Google has come down to around 63% which shows a significant change in people’s choice of using different search engines instead of Google. Google has seen a 7% decline in like four months which is a major change and is showing a drastic change in peoples’ choice. No doubt that Google has been leading the charts for years and has some mind blowing statistics, but Its high-time for Google to bring changes in its website and get some new looks in just like MSN Search did so that to attract people and to gain the market share that it has lost. Yahoo and Bing are continuously gaining in their market share and it might not be so strange that in a couple of years Google losing its domination in the market due to the increasing competition.

This article is provided by courtesy of Priyanka Gupta of 1 SEO Company a SEO Melbourne provider company. Contact us for more information on SEO Services

With the pending Bing/Yahoo search merger, it’s critical for search engine optimizers to understand the ins and outs of Bing’s algorithm. Fortunately, the search engine experts at Bing have been relatively forthcoming about what makes Bing tick.  Below are a few of the most valuable insights:

1.    If you’re looking for the Bing bot in your server logs, you won’t find it under Bing. The search giant is still using its former bot name, MSNBot.

2.    To rank well in Bing, you must create an XML sitemap for your page (if you haven’t already done so). Then, submit the sitemap directly to Bing.

3.    Make your site content heavy. Each page should have a minimum of 350 words, excluding navigational and menu text.

4.    Incorporate anchor text link into your site’s body copy. Use keywords that describe the target page as the anchor text.

5.    Don’t be shy about linking to other sites (outbound linking). Bing’s algorithm places a great deal of value on sites that link to other valuable content on the web.  Be careful not to link to sites that engage in spam or other disreputable practices; however, as these links could hurt you.

6.    Use an older domain name (or buy an existing website) if you’re starting a site from scratch. Bing emphasizes the age of the domain name in its algorithm and looks favorably upon older domains. Whenever possible, avoid using a brand new domain name to launch your site.

7.    Remember that Bing is a new search engine and the rules are likely to evolve. However, good content, good links, and frequent updates will always be appreciated. 

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For self storage operators, online marketing plays a very big role in gaining company awareness and generating revenue. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the biggest part of online marketing, organically optimizing your site for search engine crawlers and potential tenants alike. Search engine marketing (SEM) allows you to pay for sponsored listings on search engines, bidding on how much you are willing to pay per click. Both are important parts of a successful online marketing strategy, and up until now there have been three major search engines that search marketing consultants would optimize your site for, known as “the big three”. These are Google, Yahoo, and MSN/Bing. Each one has been running on its own algorithm, which is what it uses to generate search results. That meant that online marketing funds had to be allocated to three separate entities for paid search advertising (PPC).

Recently however, Bing and Yahoo struck a deal to merge with one another in an effort to compete with Google, the dominating force on the internet with 65% of the market share. The merger will not be fully completed until 2012, but search results have already been affected with Yahoo basing 90% of its search results on data collected from Bing. If you perform a search on Yahoo, you will notice at the very bottom of the search results page a small print message that reads “Powered by Bing”. So what does this mean for your self storage company?

First off, you are only really optimizing your site for two search engines now, Google and Bing. Finding what works best for these two algorithms as far as SEO goes will be easier than trying to please all three like you have had to do in the past. These algorithms are still constantly changing however, so it is still very important for SEO consultants to stay up to date on any changes involving the way the engines determine which results to show for any given query. In addition, this merger can mean that your paid search advertising campaigns will no longer need to be spread out to three separate search engines. This will allow you to stretch your advertising dollars further and place higher bid amounts on your paid listings in order to achieve higher placement for those sponsored listings.

With Google being the dominating force on the internet with 65% of search engine users choosing Google to find what they are looking for, allocating more marketing funds to Google can result in increased click through rates and more traffic to your website. The Yahoo/Bing merger allowed them to capture a combined 29% of the market share, with 29% of searchers using those two sites. These statistics should be strongly considered when constructing an online marketing budget for pay-per-click advertising. Another statistic to consider is that 93% of all online traffic is generated from search engines. In an extremely competitive industry like self storage, maintaining constant online visibility in the search results is a crucial part of staying ahead of your competition. In the technology driven world that we live in today, attaining a high placement for the search terms relating to your self storage business is one of the most important parts of self storage marketing. Stay ahead of your competitors and keep facility occupancy levels high by implementing a proven method of marketing for self storage today with a SEO/SEM plan customized to meet your self storage company’s needs and your budget.

Storage Marketing Strategies is an online marketing/SEO company catering exclusively to the self storage industry. Accepting only one client per county, Storage Marketing Strategies ensures that our proven white-hat SEO methods will never be duplicated for your competitors. Whether you have 1 facility or 100, we have a self storage marketing plan to meet your needs – and your budget. Make marketing for self storage easy and contact Storage Marketing Strategies today! Services offered include:

• Content Writing and Blogging
• Paid Search Advertising (PPC)
• Website Design Optimization
• Brand Building
• Event Promotion