Universal Search will change the way people search as a whole, therefore impacting the existing business models of SEO and SEM firms, SEO expert Kalena Jordan says in this Pandia interview. Learn what’s important and what’s not in search engine marketing.

Kalena Jordan is one of the most respected search engine marketing experts online, and has had a particular focus on the competence needs of beginners. She has experience from the corporate sector “down under”, especially from advising PR and Internet companies throughout the Asia Pacific region. She is Director of Studies for Search Engine College and Chief Executive Officer of search engine marketing firm Jordan Consulting Group.

Personalized search

Pandia: We live in interesting times search engine wise, and the search engine innovation frenzy certainly makes it difficult for anyone to keep track of the consequences for search engine marketing. Google has now in earnest started using personal data in generating search engine results. This means that a page that ranks as No. 2 for John, may rank as No. 24 for Jill, given their different interests. Do traditional search engine techniques make sense anymore?

Kalena: I think increasing personalization is a good thing, actually a great thing, for the end user. It creates a far better search experience and will hopefully save time previously wasted trawling through search results to find the information we are actually seeking. But for SEO and SEM operators, these new strides forward in search engine innovation definitely present a challenge.

Google Universal Search

Pandia: Another important change is Google’s gradual implementation of “Universal Search”. This means that the company will try to blend search results from various “vertical search services” (like news, blog, video and image search) into regular web search results.

This will make it even harder to get into that first page of results, won’t it?

Kalena: Yes. Universal Search will change the way people search as a whole, therefore impacting the existing business models of SEO and SEM firms.

It will boost the importance of non-text content within web sites, so for example, image and video content will become major marketing channels in their own right, rather than tools to attract visitors to text content. Search marketing firms can no longer rely on the optimization of web pages to gain top SERP positions for clients.

Pandia: What can a Webmaster do to increase her chances of getting listed in the alternative Google search databases? Does she have to set up blogs, produce videos and serve news?

Kalena: The goal posts have shifted again and webmasters need to rethink their strategy, as do SEM firms. A holistic approach incorporating social media, product placement, PR, blog and viral marketing, video and image optimization as well as traditional SEO and SEM/PPC may be required, or a smaller combination of these channels. It really depends on what the site’s target market is searching for.

It may require some time to study searcher patterns on Google’s new Interface before you decide on an approach. On the positive side, Universal Search provides a tremendous opportunity to get the jump on competitors who are slower to implement these tactics.

Pandia: Is Google taking too much of a risk? May Universal Search undermine search quality? Or will the combination of personal and universal search finally kill off the search engine spammers?

Kalena: I don’t see Universal Search as undermining search quality – far from it. Like increasing personalization, it should make for a better user experience.

However, I don’t believe it will herald the end of the spammer. There will always be webmasters and SEOs trying to game the algorithms in their desperation to rank higher than their competitors. But perhaps now they will have to work a little harder.

What about Yahoo! and Windows Live?

Pandia: Everyone talks about Google. What is Microsoft and Yahoo! doing wrong? They seem to have a lot of advanced search features, but it doesn’t pay off publicity wise. What should they do to catch up with Google?

Kalena: It’s not so much Microsoft and Yahoo doing anything wrong. It’s just that Google did so much right, from the very start and the others are still playing catch up in terms of market share.

For a time, there were rumors that Microsoft and Yahoo were forming a partnership of some kind, but nothing has panned out there so far. I had kind of hoped that Microsoft and Yahoo would form a joint PPC service to rival AdWords, but both brands seem to be forging ahead with their own models now.

Pandia: So what will be the next big thing in search after personalized and universal search?

Kalena: Who knows? This industry never fails to surprise me, which is why I’m still in it, after 11 years. Perhaps there will be more consolidation between the big players. Perhaps LookSmart will surprise everyone and rise from the dead to take back some market share. Or not! (chuckle)

SEO Basics

Pandia: Your run online search engine marketing courses over at Search Engine College http://www.searchenginecollege.com/ . What are the three most important lessons you teach your SEO students?

Kalena: 1) It’s NOT about rankings and it’s NOT about Google.

Successful search engine marketing is about learning how to become visible to your target audience, across as many relevant channels as possible. For most sites, attracting traffic and increasing conversions is more about improving web site usability than any other factor.

2) Don’t stop tweaking. Whether it’s for PPC or SEO campaigns, keep testing, adding keywords, changing headlines, tweaking META tags to aim for better results, more traffic and more conversions each month.

3) Study your web stats with a magnifying glass. Your site metrics will tell you more about your site visitors than anyone or anything. Use the best analytics program you can find and learn what visitor metrics are important and why. Use the data to learn what needs tweaking on your site and tweak it!

PPC

Pandia: You also teach and practice pay-per-click text ad management. Many hesitate before starting using Google Adsense or Yahoo! Sponsored Search. Is it as hard as it looks like?

Kalena: I do think it’s hard for webmasters who have no prior experience with PPC advertising. There is a steep learning curve to get used to the particular idiosyncrasies of each program, as they are all so different and then there is usually a long period of monitoring, testing and tweaking required when you create a new campaign.

It’s extremely time-consuming, particularly for smaller businesses and the results for new advertisers are usually very poor because they don’t have the experience to understand why their campaigns are failing.

We recognized a need in the market for an inexpensive PPC course that takes webmasters by the hand and steps them through the key aspects of creating successful PPC campaigns and a follow up course that teaches them how to increase their conversion rates and ROI. Both courses are proving very popular.

On becoming an SEM expert

Pandia: You have argued quite convincingly for the idea of taking up an SEO career. Is there still room for more services in this area?

Kalena: Ah, I’m guessing your referring to my article 11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing?

Notice that my article refers to SEM, not SEO. I don’t believe you can work in the search industry and look at SEO in isolation anymore. To work in search, you need a broader set of skills than you used to. Experience in traditional SEO, PPC advertising, blog marketing, online reputation management, link building, podcasting and article writing will all come in handy to persons seeking a career in search engine marketing.

This is particularly true now with Universal Search about to have an impact. It will open up more career opportunities in search than ever before.

KT

Pandia: Take one CD with you to a desert island. Which one will it be, and why?

Kalena: That’s easy: Never For Ever by Kate Bush. It brings back great memories from my early teenage years and the lyrics are really powerful. The music still sounds fresh, even though the album’s 27 years old this year! I just love it.

Ask Kalena

If you want to ask Kalena about search engine marketing issues, you may send a mail to her Ask Kalena… blog. The blog contains answers to frequently asked questions regarding search engines and contains a lot of useful information for anyone interested in improving their search engine rankings.

Articles by Kalena on Pandia:

11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing
Ten steps to boost your AdSense commission
3 easy steps to make search engines happy
How to integrate keywords into your Web site copy
How to profit from your free reprint articles
How to improve your click through rate in Google AdWords
Log file analysis for search engine optimization

Disclosure: Pandia is a Search Engine College affiliate. The links in this article are not affiliate links.