The Other Kind of ‘Search’ SEO Resellers Can Help Clients With: Internal Site Search Optimization

Part of being a white label SEO reseller consultant is staying up to date with what’s happening in the online marketing industry and knowing what services will be popular in the coming year. Being knowledgeable in these areas ensures you are able to provide the best business advice to your clients. If you’re this kind of reseller, you should read on about internal site search. It’s a different kind of search that not only improves your client website’s usability, but also integrates well on their marketing plan.

Apparently, some marketers have already started using their website’s search box or search feature to make more leads and sales. Are you up to date with this? Are your clients using this site feature as well? If a recent research is any indication, there’s a bigger chance that you have yet to capitalize on this opportunity.

Majority of Retailers Ignore Site Search Data

Nearly 57% don’t use site search data (Image: ELI Systems)

Internal site search can provide insightful data and perhaps be integrated into a business’s marketing plan. Unfortunately, most of the respondents do not use this data, ELI Systems’ Globale-Commerce Site Search Survey found. The company asked retail brands how they used site search when it comes to improving user experience. White label SEO resellers need to read this report.

In summary, this is how researchers put their main findings: “Site Search is among retailers’ top three priorities for 2014 yet many e-commerce marketers lack resources and know-how to use search to significantly enhance their marketing campaigns.”

(Image: ELI Systems)

When asked how they use site search data for their marketing programs, a majority 56.9% of respondents said they currently do not use this data. It’s quite unfortunate as data from the search box is rich in information that can help your retail clients sell more. For instance, what items are visitors searching for the most on the site? Do they call popular products by a different name?

The bright side is nearly 27% use it to create SEO landing pages populated with site search results. Another 24% integrate data into their email marketing campaigns. Marketers also confirmed using site search data it for creating custom banners, retargeting ads, and other initiatives. The main reason why they do not use it is limited resources (50%).

Site Search Optimization Plans for 2014

While nearly 57% of retailers currently do not use site search data to improve their online marketing, some 47% plan to do so in 2014. This presents various opportunities for whitelabel SEO resellers and consultants, web designers and programmers, and other experts in the Internet marketing field. The Global eCommerce Site Search Survey also asked retailers what their priorities will be in this area and here are their answers:

Site search features retailers want for 2014 (Image: ELI Systems)

Retailers are looking to implement A/B testing more than anything next year, with 28.8% of respondents saying they will add this feature in 2014. Quick view windows (25%), personalized search history (20%), and refinements (19.6%) are some of the other features marketers will add in 2014. By helping your retail clients connect with programmers and designers who can implement these site search functionalities, you’ll be able to help them improve their business.

What’s certain is that you will need more SEO-optimized content when you start implementing search site functionalities. For instance, in A/B testing, the traffic coming from site search query is split into two. Instead of using only one landing page, you will need another one. This means more product descriptions and articles need to be written. More images need to be sourced, edited, and uploaded. So before you seek help from developers and programmers, make sure first that your trusted outsource SEO provider can handle the increase in demand for more content, images, and pages. Without a scalable backend, it will be difficult to implement site search changes.

The Main ‘Search’ Clients Need Help With

Retailers or not, your white label SEO reseller clients will need help from you when it comes to search engine optimization. Some clients are starting to see the positive effects of SEO on their business and are planning to spend more on it. However, SEO’s growing complication is convincing owners to simply outsource the initiative instead; it’s easier to outsource it than learning and experimenting. 

63% of marketers will spend more for content in 2014 (Image: Webmarketing123)

A separate study by Webmarketing123 found that the number of marketers relying on agencies for SEO and search engine marketing has risen 50%. And in the same way as helping clients in site search efforts, helping clients in SEO also means being able to generate sufficient content to fuel their online strategy. It means having a reliable backend provider with sufficient writers, graphic designers, and video editors to provide your client with all the content they will need. Content is a huge opportunity for resellers and providers as 63% of marketers from B2B and B2C sectors are looking to increase their spending on content in 2014. 

Whether internal site search or search engine optimization, you need to help clients in these two “searches.” You can look for credible programmers and developers to assist with implementation of site search features but before you do, make sure you have a reliable white label SEO reseller program provider that can supply the content needed to implement these changes. 

For Private Label SEO Agencies: New Accenture Survey Shows Marketing & IT Disconnect (Download Link Inside)

Private label SEO agencies differ from most solo entrepreneurs in a way that their company is usually bigger. While a “solo-preneur” operates by himself and does everything on his own, an agency often has separate marketing and IT teams. Or at least, in many cases, there’s an employee assigned to take care of IT and there’s someone assigned to look after marketing. But regardless of the size, reseller agencies often struggle with making the two departments work together.

A new study by consulting and outsourcing company Accenture revealed that indeed these two silos have trust issues. Apparently, they are not most cooperative when it comes to working together. And SEO resellers, particularly bigger agencies, have a lot to learn from the research.

Trust Issue on Marketing Priorities

“CMOs and CIOs have an obvious trust issue,” the report says. The study asked chief marketing officers and chief information officers on what their priorities are. There was an obvious disconnect between the two camps’ answers.

CMOs think Marketing should work closely with IT. (Source: Accenture)

When it comes to technology adoption and usage, both sides believe that the CMO should prioritize two things: 1) gaining better customer insight, competitive intelligence, and market knowledge and 3) reaching and engaging with the market more efficiently and effectively. Private label SEO agencies perhaps can identify to these two priorities as companies are typically moving toward using data to better understand their markets. But the agreement ends there.

When it comes to where “marketing IT” stands on their priority list, 64% CMOs think it is at the bottom of the CIO’s list. On the contrary, 45% of CIOs says they have it as their top or near the top priority. For CMOs, tying website and digital engagement analytics to business outcomes and transactions is a low priority, making the list of only 33% of marketing executives as opposed to 45% of IT executives.

Some 45% of marketers consider lead generation as an important priority but only 33% of IT professionals share this view. Some 44% of marketing executives think improving their team’s productivity and performance is crucial but only 36% of CIOs think this should be a marketing priority.

Trust Issue on IT Priorities

On the opposite side of the fence, there’s also a disconnect on what should be IT’s priority. For marketers, the No. 1 priority should be priority is deploying better marketing execution and operational systems and platforms. This, however, ranks only sixth in the eyes of IT. What CIOs think should be their main goal is to advance platforms to aid in marketing measurement and campaign optimization. 

Where does this item stand on the marketing team’s list? Sixth place. Some 26% of IT executives think the introduction of a closed-loop campaign measurement and tracking should be a priority. Only 19% of their marketing counterparts feel the same.

Marketing teams are fourth on IT executives' list of organization they should work closely with. (Source: Accenture)

In essence, CIOs tend to focus on measurement and optimization. CMOs, on the other hand, are bent on generating leads and eventually sales. This leads to a problem, researchers said. “Because they are not marching to a common purpose, collaboration cannot occur.”

How to Align Marketing, IT Priorities

The Accenture study cited at least five ways to ensure that the two departments work hand in hand for the company. They are:

1. Identify the CMO as the chief experience officer (CXO).

2. Accept IT as a strategic partner with marketing, not just a platform provider.

3. Agree on key business levers for marketing and IT alignment, such as access to customer data vs. privacy and security

4. Change the skill mix to ensure that both organizations are marketing- and tech-savvy.

5. Develop trust by doing just that—trusting.

Researchers placed the emphasis on the last item, saying with trust existing between the two divisions, companies can provide better experiences to their customers.

What SEO Reseller Agencies Can Pick Up

Most private label SEO agencies do not need to worry much about the disparity between IT and marketing teams because in many cases, they do not have large teams to align. Being small in size does not equate to immunity from the IT-marketing disparity. Agencies should therefore reevaluate their teams to determine if they are indeed composed of a good mix of both technology and marketing people. For future growth, this disparity must be kept in mind so that it can be avoided or at least addressed if it has already begun in your organization.

The truth is, there’s one simple lesson here: marketing should be powered by technology, and vice-versa. It is only through IT that marketing can truly see a great view of its target market. It is only through marketing that IT can be maximized and recognized as a revenue-generating component of the company, rather than a platform provider. Today’s companies need a good mix of the two to be able to better understand customers. If you understand your customers’ plights and praises, you’ll be able to provide more relevant services, which will then translate to better books.

Top 5 Reasons to Use Press Releases to Promote Business Clients - Lessons for Private Label SEO Resellers

Private label SEO resellers are no strangers to press releases. They know that providers often resort to this type of content whenever they want a particular page or website to rank high on Google. In fact, if you examine the content creation packages of outsource SEO providers, you'll notice that they have press releases, along with other staples like articles and blog posts.

What is a Press Release?

Press releases are a type of content that lets the world know that there's something about your website or your business. In the case of SEO resellers, it's a product they offer to clients that need to get the word out about their new products or services. 

According to PRweb, a press release distribution site, a submission must at least be newsworthy, objective, and legally accurate. "The news announcement must be clearly stated in the headline. Not everything is news," states the site's editorial guidelines. 

The site, like other submission sites, also does not distribute advertisements, sexually explicit content, and of course, spam. Obviously, it also does not publish works of fiction! You can check out the full list of press release guidelines here.

Top 5 Reasons Businesses Need Press Releases

1 Announce New Product/Service

Unlike bigger counterparts, local small businesses do not have the money to announce their new offerings via traditional media. Unlike massive brands, they cannot pay for TV or radio commercials. They cannot afford a spread on the local daily. Good thing online press releases can cover this job. Submission sites can pick up the story on your new product and service and announce it to the world. 

2 Educate Prospects

As a release is quite similar to a news story, it can also be used to educate people. Prospects who want more information about your products can refer to your press release. And with the latest algorithm updates by Google, it is now more advisable to have a press release with a decent length. Anything between 600 and 800 words is good. With this length, you can release more information about your new product, including details that you won't be able to insert in a limited classified ads space.

3 Pick Up Media Attention

If you think online press releases only work in the online world, you are mistaken. That's because media outlets are often subscribed to press release submission sites. They can therefore pick up your release and do a story about it, especially if they find it newsworthy. As a private label SEO reseller, you should ensure that your provider can write newsworthy press releases. Such quality will make it easier to attract the attention of media outlets.

4 Instant Credibility

Press releases are particularly helpful to new websites and businesses because they carry instant credibility. A prospect looking for more information about your client would want to see a third party site to verify your client's online reputation. Submission sites are perceived as authority sites and they can help establish your clients' credibility. 

3 Drive Targeted Traffic 

With Google's updating of their help page on link schemes, stuffing press releases with overly optimized anchor text is now considered a link scheme. That doesn't mean you can no longer insert a link on press releases. You can simply make them "no follow," which means they won't pass Page Rank. They can still drive traffic, and high quality traffic at that.

"Remember, press releases reach a community of influencers. Journalists and other bloggers from your niche could see your release and send you highly targeted traffic as a result," says PRWeb director of product management Jiyan Wei in a post at Problogger.

What About Press Release for SEO?

While they were the rage a few years back, today's online press releases are no longer as powerful when it comes to link building. In fact, Sarah Skerik, vice president for content marketing at PR Newswire says, "None of this has anything to do with link building and SEO."

"We believe the value press release distribution provides is in discovery, not links. Driving messages deep into audiences and generating authentic reads, clicks and visibility among relevant audiences and social shares - that's where press releases add value," she says in an interview with online marketing website Search Engine Watch.

So Press Releases Are Dead?

Today's leading private label SEO reseller providers no longer use press release submission sites to gather high quality back links. Much of this has to do with Google's recent statement that press release links should be "no follow."

As you look at the top 5 reasons above, you'll notice that press releases merely evolved from being link juice sources to quality traffic generators. They help your clients reach the right people--prospect buyers and influential media people or outlets.

Facebook, iPhone Justify Why Private Label SEO Org Recommends Social Media Optimization, Mobile Responsive Web Design

If your private label SEO reseller provider offers social media optimization (SMO) as well as mobile responsive web design, you must be thankful. That's because these two services, apart from search engine optimization, are hot commodities. Local businesses and professionals, AKA your clients, are looking for marketers and providers who can carry out these services for them.

What's our basis? First of all, this blog's owner is also a white label SEO reseller. For that reason, he is exposed to clients all time and when it comes to online marketing and web design programs, SMO and mobile responsive are most in demand. Business owners are starting to understand the importance of these particular services in growing their business.

The second basis is a social sharing study carried out by ShareThis, developers of the popular sharing platform.

Mobile Beats Desktop on Social Sharing

The June 2013 research was conducted by monitoring over 2.4 million websites that are part of the ShareThis network. According to the study, users were almost twice as likely to share content while using mobile devices, as opposed to when using desktop. Broken down by websites, Facebook is the most used social media network when it comes to sharing, topping both desktop and mobile sharing platforms. Some 56.5% of users share content via Facebook on their desktop but mobile users are a bit ahead with 60.3%. Pinterest was the second most used website for sharing in mobile, garnering 18.9%, enough to beat Twitter, which posted a 13.6% score. Private label SEO reseller partners should note that these three social media sites are the only ones that posted double-digit percentages.

Mobile dominates social sharing (Source: ShareThis)

On the desktop side, sharing via email remains popular at 9.6%. Twitter, Pinterest, reddit, and Tumblr were all under the 10% mark.

iPhone Leads Social Sharing Devices

We already know users are more likely to share social content using their mobile devices. Specifically, the iPhone emerged as the most popular sharing mobile device. Researchers said 12.4% of respondents share content via their iPhone. Meanwhile, Android came in at second place with 7% while BlackBerry ended up third with just 6.3% of shares.

Broken down by websites, content from Facebook was most through the iPhone. Some 66.4% of users shared FB content via their Apple phone. Twitter was far away in second place at 15,8% while Pinterest completed the top three was at 14.2%. It's a different story when it comes the iPhone's bigger cousin, the Apple iPad. Pinterest beat both Facebook and Twitter when it comes to sharing content via the iPad. Digital marketing data provider eMarketer said that it has to do with Pinterest being an image-sharing site, and its content being "better viewed on larger-screen devices."

Social Media Optimization and Sharing

Private label SEO reseller providers often go beyond search engine optimization. The better ones also offer social media optimization. They understand the value of having visible and active accounts on social networks. With the survey results discussed above, you know that as a reseller, you need to educate your clients on the importance of social.

Internet users are logging into social networks and are sharing content. Sharing means more people will see your clients' content, will visit their website, and hopefully will buy something. People are using Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, among other networks, so you must have accounts at these three networks. The clicks your client can get from social media properties can result in leads and then sales. But it should not end there as the study says a lot more.

Mobile Responsive Web Design and Sharing

Facebook, Pinterest rule social sharing (Source: ShareThis)

As you can see, users are more likely to share content while using a mobile device such as a smartphone, laptop, and tablet. Imagine what they would do if they clicked a link from Facebook, ended up on your site, and saw that the website is a mess? Truth is many of today's websites are not properly configured to load properly on mobile devices. For this reason, users often see a misconfigured website that looks like it was hacked.

They will never trust such site and you can be sure that they will never share content from those kinds of sites. That means you not only waste the opportunity presented by sharing through social networks, you also waste the chance of getting leads by not making your website mobile ready. A business with a mobile responsive website on the other hand, is accommodating mobile visitors as usual and is ready for social sharing all the time.

White label SEO resellers like us need to anticipate news like this so that we can adjust our tactics for the good of our clients. The emergence of Facebook as the most used social sharing site, and iPhone as the top mobile device for sharing, should teach us a lesson or two about expanding our businesses beyond SEO. Search engine optimization is the meat and potatoes of today's SEO reseller business but when our clients need more, we should be open to providing more for them. They need SMO and mobile responsive websites.

The 8 Most Crucial Local Marketing Statistics for SEO Resellers in 2013

Private label SEO resellers should be the first when it comes to marketing trends and statistics. That's because our clients rely on us for their online optimization needs. We need to be there, constantly soaking ourselves into timely information about search engine optimization, local marketing, and other areas "we" specialize in. And by "we" it means us and our backend service providers. Providers do most of the technical work for us yes, but that doesn't mean we should be slacking-at least in learning what's good for our clients.

And if you've been reading, you already know that local marketing is exploding this year. Customizing SEO campaigns to suit local, brick and mortar businesses, and creating a "buzz" to improve their online presence, these are all part of local marketing. But while we can leave everything to our providers, we can do our share by being more informed about the services we provide. That's why you need to read SEO tools maker BrightLocal's "Local Consumer Review Survey 2013".

The study is quite extensive so we here at Private Label SEO Org decided to pick the 8 most crucial local marketing statistics for SEO resellers in 2013. You can start with No. 1 below.

The 8 Most Crucial Local Marketing Statistics for SEO Resellers in 2013

1. Only 5% of consumers did NOT use the Internet to find a local business

2. 85% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses

3. 73% of consumers said positive reviews make them trust a business

4. 67% of consumers read fewer than 6 reviews before they trust a business

5. 65% are more likely to use a local business with positive online reviews

6. 79% online reviews as much as personal recommendations

7. 37% of consumers have recommended a business on Facebook

8. 67% search for restaurants while 61% their read online reviews

Local SEO or Just Live Under a Rock

It may not come as a surprise, but yes, people are using the Internet to look for local business. This just proves the popular saying among local marketers that "consumers search online but buy locally. Today, as BrightLocal found, only 5% of consumers did NOT use the Internet to find a local business over the past 12 months. This is an improvement from last year, when 15% did not use the Internet to look for local businesses.

As private label SEO resellers, this is an opportunity to ramp up sales of SEO and social media services. You can help local business owners be more visible online. Optimize their social network accounts. Help their website rank higher in search results.

Online Reviews Dominate Local Marketing

If there's anything you can get from the survey, it is this: if you want to succeed locally, you need to dominate online reviews. Therefore, your clients 1) need to be visible online and 2) they need online reviews to boost their brand and credibility.

Six reviews or less: that's what it takes to earn your customers' trust. (BrightLocal)

The percentage of consumers reading online reviews shot up to 85% this year from only 76% in 2012. What's more, 67% of today's consumers read 6 reviews or fewer before they trust a business. This percentage is up from 53% last year. However, they seem to be losing patience as the percentage reading seven or more reviews has steadily declined over the past three years. Moral of the story: You need to establish your credibility in six reviews of fewer, which brings us to the next point.

Get Positive Reviews

Your clients need positive reviews and these reviews need to be the first ones they find online. We already know customers search local businesses on the Internet and that they only need six or fewer reviews to trust a business. Let's say you have a total of 100 online reviews from various sites, 94 of which are positive and six are negative. What if the six negative reviews are all on the first page of Google while all positive reviews are in Page 2 and lower? 

This is an opportunity for you to offer private label Online Reputation Management to clients, assuming of course your provider has that under its service menu. One of the many techniques used by private label SEO reseller providers is called reverse SEO. This is basically "pushing down" pages or websites down on search rankings (as opposed to SEO, which is pushing up) so that users see more favorable pages first. This is an attractive service for local businesses especially because now, positive reviews make 73% of consumers trust a business and make 65% use a local business.

The 2 Other Big R's: Recommendations, Restaurants

Restaurant reviews are most read. (Source: BrightLocal)

Apart from Reviews, remember that local marketing has to do with Recommendations and Restaurants. Today, 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations! This percentage is up from only 72% in 2012. So again, you need online reviews. Do they have to be from review sites? Not necessarily. Some 37% of consumers have recommended a business on Facebook, up from only 32% in 2012.

Now, if you are an SEO reseller with local restaurants as clients, read carefully. The Local Consumer survey also found that 67% of consumers search for restaurants online. This is up from only 57% in 2012. Restaurants are the most searched local businesses followed by doctor/dentist (35%), general shop (35%), hotel/breakfast and bed/guest house (30%), and clothes shop (28%).

Restaurants are also worth noting because 61% their read online reviews about them. Restaurant reviews are the most read online reviews! And in line with the top two most-searched local businesses, reviews for doctor/dentist (32%) are also wide read. Hotel/breakfast and bed/guest house (27%), general shop (18%), and hair/beauty salon (17%) complete the top five.

Does Your Private Label SEO Provider Have Dashboard Reporting? (Plus the Corporate States of America)

 

The other day, while at the pub, a friend of mine asked if he would count as a private label SEO reseller. He is essentially an SEO who works at home and he has some clients who are demanding. To his knowledge, he is a reseller because when he can't handle the demand, he simply outsources the work to some of his freelancer friends. He outsources the work and he gets a cut from the deal. Pretty much a reseller, right? I told him, "No, you are not an SEO reseller."

The Reseller Model is Simple

The business model involving a reseller is pretty simple, I explained to him. There's a provider who does all the technical work. Then there's the client who needs all the technical work. Then there's the reseller who looks for clients and then outsources the work requirements to the provider. Pretty simple right? And based on this simple premise, my freelance SEO friend could have easily counted as a reseller. So why did I break his heart and told him the truth that he is not one?

 It makes a lot of difference if you answered "Yes" to her question.

There are two sides to my argument. The first one is the flawed business model he believes in and second is the technology/software side, which I will discuss in a bit. First, a private label SEO reseller is someone who looks for clients and outsources work to providers. However, and this should really be noted to clear confusion, that reseller should outsource to an "exclusive" provider. What do I mean?

By exclusive, I mean the provider should only serve resellers, not retail clients. That's what I meant with the "flawed" business model. Sure my freelancer friend was "reselling" services but it does not count as strictly private label because the provider was servicing retail clients and not resellers. My friend's friend is a freelance SEO too and essentially, he is a competitor with my friend. While the two of them are good friends, and chances are they will not work with each other's clients directly, that setup still violates the reseller business model.

Caveat: there ARE businesses that cater to both retail and reseller clients. However, private label SEO should not count as one of them as the whole business model depends on the trust between the reseller and the provider. That's hard to achieve when you know your provider can snatch the client from your anytime.

The Dashboard Difference

The other side to my argument, which my friend considered an eye-opener, is that dashboard technologies set excellent providers apart from the rest. Case in point: my personal provider, Endlessrise. My private label SEO reseller partner has its own dashboard technology that has several functions like project reporting and proposal sending. What makes this dashboard stand out though is the "brandability." I am able to customize the software and put my own brand on it. That way it appears to my client that I own that software because it bears my logo. To me, that alone is a huge advantage over going with other providers, be them white label companies or individual freelancers.

Here are some other features of the dashboard that I really find helpful in my own private label SEO business. The first is the access to reporting tools like keyword research, audit reports, and competition analysis. Another would be the proposal tracking. Finally, I find the access to billing and payments very useful because transactions happen in one place.

Now, imagine if you were in my friend's shoes. Sure you can outsource some work to freelancers. But, would you rather create the excel reports manually or do them via the dashboard just by clicking a few buttons? Would you rather drive an hour to meet a client for a simple update or give them access to a dashboard that lets them search exactly what metrics they want to see? The dashboard is a huge help for me at the moment, my friend is also considering outsourcing his work to a strict private label SEO provider that has a dashboard.

The Corporate States of America

In other news, we spent hours just debating over a map we stumbled upon through online marketing blog Marketing Pilgrim. In an entry, the site featured a work by writer and artist Steve Lovelace called the "Corporate States of America." This is essentially a map of the US with the most popular brand displayed per state. See what I mean below:

Marriott apparently is the famous brand here in the Maryland - DC area. I thought the White House was a brand! Source: Marketing Pilgrim

For SEO resellers, this is just an opportunity to educate clients on the most famous brands in their respective states. What then can they do with that knowledge? There's a lot of creativity you can put to good use. For instance, if I were a small business, I might want to strike an advertising or promotional deal with a local store or branch of these brands. Or, they can just be a pretty good icebreaker when chatting with new prospects.

"Hey, apparently, BRAND NAME is the most popular brand here in STATE."

"No way!"

"It's true! I've seen it on the Corporate States of America map."

Many would consider that chatter a waste but you’ll never know, it might land you your next client.