Whether it’s a new year or a new season, design trends are always changing. And, much like almost every element in the online world, website design trends change quickly and evolve over time. While there are some elements to the design of websites that remain constant, as they reflect best practices, there are always new fads that pop up. We’ve complied a list of trends, as well as examples of the trends on websites, in order to show the direction in which website design is moving so far this year.

Simplicity – Back to basics
The first trend that we are exploring is actually a revitalization of a previous website trend. With numerous sites, we are seeing a return to simplicity, where classic graphic layout is used in laying out the pages.

Imagery and copy on web pages are now sharing similarities with print layout, where the strength is in delivering the message. In the past, more emphasis was placed on the texture and graphical elements, resulting in the design standing out more than the content. Conveying messages clearly and capturing the attention of your website visitors is key to having a successful website. Placing focus on the messaging, rather than flashy design elements, will ensure that your visitors are able to find what they’re looking for, and fast. If the user is unable to find information quickly and easily, they will leave your site. A grid format of laying out content is common to keep information well-organized. Larger fonts and typography are also utilized to add interest and emphasis to information, and body copy is typically larger now, between 14-16 pixels.

Another example of this simplicity trend includes the minimal use of effects, such as gradients, within shapes and buttons. Drop shadows are used in subtle ways to make the content more organized, and keeping the design two-dimensional, stepping away from all the 3-D special effects that were popular once in web 2.0 style.

Large Background Images
Complementing the increasing popularity in simplicity, large beautiful images are used to make the site unique and project the predominant mood of the site. There has been a predominant shift away from Flash-based sites by utilizing a large background image, as one can create that same effect using other technologies. The advantage of this is having a more SEO-friendly programming language, and it is also a more viable option because this presents a better user-experience for an increasingly large mobile audience, since not all mobile phones are equipped with Flash.

Using large background images can also work to keep your design simplified with a huge statement by replacing the need for the usual extra effects and graphics to make the site visually effective.  Remember: a picture can be worth a thousand words!

Scroll Layout / Vertical Narratives
In terms of design layouts, the use of scrolling and having a long web page seems to be increasing in popularity. Many websites, mobile sites, blogs and social media online, are using scrolling, as it seems to be a more natural response to accessing more information from a usability perspective. There has been an increase of page layouts that use scrolling down as the way to present information.

In the most basic form, the website’s copy and information is laid out in chronological order along with smart image placement, such as on The Nest’s. With more advanced programming, scrolling downward on a page animates the information along with creating imagery. We can see an excellent example of this on the section of Nike’s site that focuses on their Air Jordan 2012 models. This format is used to deliver information in a more dynamic and interactive fashion for the user.

The largest social media websites online are also using this vertical scrolling layout: Facebook’s Timeline features vertical scrolling to access past information; Twitter’s feed has the most recent Tweets at the top, and chronologically organized. eCommerce sites are also typically organized vertically, with their product catalogues displaying information in a vertical fashion. With the explosion of blogs in the internet, blogs offer the best examples of vertically displayed information for every type of genre site.

While this element is not exactly new, there was a lesser movement towards horizontal scrolling, and coming back to an emphasis on the vertical layout, since most mobile websites and apps are not designed for vertical scrolling. Instinctually, the user will naturally scroll up and down with their mouse before they will look for the horizontal scroll bar to navigate through the web page from left to right. We’re also seeing a shift away from the web 2.0 trend, which tended to have all information kept above the fold, and broken down to large amounts of information into sub-pages. Web designers are now laying out information through vertical narration which is a reaction the user’s natural web surfing habit.

These are only three of the major current design trends that are a result of previous trends, and have been reengineered for today’s modern web users. The focus on simplicity places the focus on the messaging on the site; the large background images align with keeping a clean and clutter-free page and compatibility with all types of browsers; and vertical layout is an ergonomically designed format for users to access information. We stand behind the importance of the content over the design, and more people are realizing the importance of the content and the messaging. With these three key trends emphasizing content and design, we see a progressive move to more catered visitor experience, and intuitively designed websites.

PS: Thanks for your insights and input to put this together, Sunny.

The reason for this change is due to the revelation that Google’s costs per click, or CPCs, were down 12% in the first quarter and still didn’t bounce back in the fourth quarter, as they showed a negative of 4%. The solution for CPCs that are slipping downward is to increase the number of clicks. The more clicks, the more revenue Google makes.

So, what Google has done is update the keyword match types. Exact and Phrase match keywords will now show variants of the search term if the user chooses. This means that misspellings, plurals, stemmings, accents, abbreviations, and acronyms all count.

What Won’t Change?

First, there is no worry that Google will expand to synonyms. There is also no word reordering in phrase match or exact match.

For those who will not benefit from the new Near Match or Broad Match feature, they can opt out. The benefits of opting out will depend upon the industry and the intentions behind using Adwords. The reason for this is, if you are searching for a black purse; you may be searching for a specific black purse. If you search “black purses,” you may want to see a variety of black purses.

If you manage PPC campaigns and would like to opt-out, it is quite easy to establish whether or not you want to include plurals, misspellings, and other variants. Under “Advanced Settings,” you can make the adjustment under “Campaign Settings” and then choose “Keyword Matching Options” to make your choices.

Using Google Analytics to Track the Impact of Phrase and Exact Match Close Variants Update

Google Analytics has an option called ValueTrack. ValueTrack is a URL-tagging feature that is easy-to-use. With this feature, you are given information about where your ad was when the user clicked it, which ad was shown, and what keyword caused the ad to appear. So if you use Near Match as opposed to Exact Match, you will be informed of what keyword was responsible for the ad generated for the user.

If the user typed in “Blue shoes” and the keyword that generated it was “blue shoe” because that’s what you bid on for your ad, you will know what is generating your traffic and this can help you adjust your campaigns if you need to. If more people are specifically searching “blue shoes,” that may be what you want your keyword to be so you can also compete with the narrower exact match results while also having possible exposure to those users typing in “blue shoe.” You may want to adjust your campaign due to the fact the broader results means more ad competition, but your exposure increases at the same time.

Utilizing Negative Keywords to Improve Control over Close Variants Update

Negative keywords in AdWords are the words you designate within Ad groups that you don’t want to include in your keyword bidding. Your negative keywords can also be included in the clicks for which you don’t want to. pay..

With Near Match, you will need to put a lot of thought into selecting possible negative keywords, because you can have a lot of success with it. You can’t have every possible keyword in your account, so a combination of broad match keywords and negative keywords can filter out the traffic that you don’t want. If broader terms can bring in more relevant traffic, which they most likely will, use them. However, if certain close variants bring in untargeted traffic, rule them out.

Monitor your AdWords Campaign Closely after the Update

You need to carefully watch your key performance indicators after making updates to your campaigns. Because your ads will be showing up under keywords they did not normally show up for, your impressions are going to increase and so are your clicks.

Of course you do want your ad seen as much as possible and you want more clicks that ultimately turn into sales. Nonetheless, you will need to monitor the fact that your impressions can increase at a rate that is much higher than your click rate. This could have a negative impact on your click-through rate. This is why you want to take a look at Google Analytics ValueTrack and see which keywords are bringing in the traffic as opposed to the ones you bid on.

To make monitoring easier for you, you may want to set up alerts via Google so you know when your metrics hit above or below a specific number. Doing this will help you understand what needs to be changed in your ad campaigns so that you can have great success with Google’s new Phrase Match and Broad Match feature.

The update will go live in mid-May, so get ready, as this will surely mean big changes for current AdWords campaigns. Let us know how the changes affected you and any tips and tricks you discovered to make your campaigns more successful!

According to eMarketer, Canada ranked first globally in social media penetration as a percentage of population in 2011.  We have slipped to second behind the US in 2012, but not by much.

Canadian still hold the highest worldwide average in average time spent on social networks, according to comScore’s June 2011.  Yes, we Canadians are social media junkies.  Every Canadian age group is above the worldwide average; however the heaviest users are between the ages 18 to 24, to no surprise.  Facebook and LinkedIn are the most popular networks.

When I first started in this business, I had a hard time convincing companies about the importance of Internet Marketing. At the time, it didn’t take much to get to good results from those initiatives – for instance, obtaining the one spot in the search results, but companies just didn’t see the value in it.  Today, the same story is being told with social media. As competition grows in the space and it becomes more mainstream, those companies that didn’t start investing some time into it will end up spending more having to catch up.  The history of a profile or site has a lot of value in determining authority online, and history can only be built after an extensive period of good content and quality work.  Canadian companies need to get social and take the opportunity for their brands to engage with this enthusiastic Canadian audience.

With over 30 sessions available across 5 tracks the variety and wealth of knowledge being shared is unparalleled and both seasoned and new search marketers will find value in attending.
9th sphere will be in attendance and we are proud to be sponsoring the SEO Track session which kicks off today and features four main sessions discussing everything related to SEO.

The sessions for the SEO Track are as follows:

• Link Building: Why You’re Doing It Wrong
• Ask The SEOs
• The New Periodic Table Of SEO
• Legal Update: ASA Compliance, Click Fraud, Privacy & More

These sessions are sure to provide a wealth of knowledge to those looking to learn more about SEO and it will be interesting to see what kinds of marketers, businesses and enthusiasts are in attendance.

One of the great things about SMX is the opportunity to network and interact socially with like minded industry professionals, something we don’t get a chance to do that often sunk behind a monitor.  Making new contacts can prove invaluable for both your business and even for simply brainstorming new ideas in areas you would never have thought of normally.  The conference has a great atmosphere and vibe to it and for the most part all the attendees are eager to exchange information and hear what you have to say, which can be quite refreshing.

The content is the main selling point for SMX and continues to be to this day.  With a vast array of speakers set to share unique insights there will definitely be a ton of value for attendees.  There is something for everyone at SMX and with the wealth of information available you can rest assured you will leave with some valuable insights into successful search strategies and online marketing.

The 9th sphere Facebook Timeline page (which can be seen at www.facebook.com/9thsphere) features a nostalgic look back through time to over 14 years ago when 9th sphere first opened its doors for business.

The Facebook Timeline format was first introduced for profiles back in September, but as of late Facebook has rolled out this Timeline layout for pages as well, giving brands the opportunity to customize their look and feel and further enhance marketing efforts.

Already brands are starting to take notice and are coordinating their marketing efforts with the new layout in order to keep their fans aware of current initiatives as well as to provide leadership in the social space.  The new Timeline will allow for brands to show off their history of the company’s progression from inception through to current times, which is providing a unique look into a corporate environment which for many years has been taboo and hidden from the public eye.

With the new Timeline also comes a full suite of analytical reporting and page post metrics to allow marketers a better chance to provide insights on social growth for their business.  Facebook will measure the total reach of your posts, how many users engage in the content as well as who is talking about it and a “virality” score based on how actively shared your content was.

You can measure weekly total reach, your total likes, the expected reach of your current fans as well as current unique visitors that are viewing your brand page.  These insights are exportable via csv or xls for further analysis and each facet of the analytics outlines key metrics in full detail with graphically pleasing charts and graphs.

Facebook has also implemented a new design featuring photos, likes, and apps at the top of your page listed below your cover photo.  Photos are automatically featured in the first spot but page admins can reorder any of these elements however they deem fit.  A total of 12 apps can currently be shown here.

Facebook has also utilized starring, hiding and pinning for your creative content.  Now you can anchor (or pin) a specific story to the top of your Timeline for up to seven days.  This helps to highlight key content  that you don’t want your users to miss that would have been otherwise buried under more recent updates.

Another new integration is “Milestones” for your brand or business.  If an important event takes place that you wish to feature, using the Milestone flag will help you showcase your finest accomplishments such as award wins, product releases or even trade shows.

I feel like the new Timeline is a great thing for Facebook as brands will have a chance to show off their creativity and uniqueness, while at the same time measuring performance to ensure their marketing efforts are having a positive effect.

We will be adding more throughout the historic Timeline of 9th sphere as we progress with our Timeline design, and continuing to do what we do best, provide quality web design and internet marketing services.  Feel free to share your thoughts on the new Facebook Timeline in the comments below.

Are you a Canadian website owner who needs to know how to accept payment on your website?

I will provide a guide to how the system of processing and accepting credits cards from your website works.  This is not to be a technical guide for implementation, but is written instead to give website owners, entrepreneurs, project managers and others an understanding of how the systems work.

The overall system is very similar to how eCommerce works in other parts of the world; however, Canada has its own tax rules and currency challenges.

The eCommerce System
The system of accepting credits cards online is not very complicated once you understand the logistics.  This image illustrates the process.

Whether you have a few products that a visitor can purchase through a simple form or a full shopping cart, the website visitor selects the product(s) they want to purchase and presses a button that will direct them to send payment – the checkout.  At this point, information required to process the transaction is provided by the customer and is sent to an Online Gateway.  The Online Gateway provider is a company that collects the necessary information necessary to process an online credit card transaction then takes the funds and deposits it into your bank account.  Beanstream, Moneris, and InternetSecure are some of the more well-known Canadian gateway companies. The most common information forms collect the following from the customer:

• First name
• Last name
• Address
• Credit card type
• Credit card number
• Credit card security number
• Credit card expiration date
• Acceptance of terms and conditions (includes: shipping policy, security policy, refund policy, customer service contact information)

Other fields provided by the website:

• Product title(s)
• Dollar amount(s)

Online Gateway providers typically have a monthly fee based on volume and monetary order size of transactions.

Each credit card type (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc.) and currency you want to accept has their own merchant number.  A business would either contact a Merchant Provider, also called a Payment Processing Provider, to apply for these. In some instances, the Online Gateway provider may also take care of this if you don’t already have one.  Chase Paymentech is a well-known Merchant Provider in Canada.  The Merchant Provider is responsible for either accepting or declining the customer’s attempt to process a transaction through their credit card.

Each credit card has its own processing fees that can range between 2% to 4% on each transaction processed.

Visa and MasterCard are the easiest to get for Canadian companies. Accepting payments in USD through American Express cards as a Canadian website owner requires the website owner to have a business presence in the United States.

When the customer confirms they want to pay for a product on your website, their data is sent to the Online Gateway (typically hidden from the customer), which may then send the information to the Merchant Provider to confirm the credit card is approved. The Merchant Provider then either approves or declines the transaction with the Online Gateway and then confirms back with your website.  If the transaction is approved, the Online Gateway will transfer the money from the customer to your bank account. Each Online Gateway has different policies related to how fast the money is actually deposited into your bank account – some within 24 hours and other on specific days of the month.

If you already have merchant accounts through your business because you have a physical location that accepts credit cards and you want to provide an online payment system (eCommerce), you will need to apply for an online merchant accounts. They are different numbers.

Many banks have partnered with Online Gateways and Merchant Providers.  For instance, TD Canada Trust works with Beanstream, while RBC Royal Bank works with Moneris.  You could contact your bank for support or go through the service providers directly to negotiate rates.

At the point when a transaction is either approved or declined, a purchase receipt or notice is provided both on screen and via email.  The email receipt is branded by the selling company and typically sent from the Online Gateway system.

PayPal is a different alternative.  Using the systems above by having your own merchant, a customer’s credit card statement will have your company name listed.  PayPal, on the other hand, is in essence a hosted Online Gate and Merchant Provider in one.   Instead of having your own merchant accounts, you use PayPal’s and therefore on a customer’s credit card statement will indicate the payment was processed through PayPal.  PayPal charges a per transaction and monthly fee for this service and is typically higher than having your own merchant accounts for the benefit of not having to go through the aforementioned setup.  Over the long-term, having your own merchant account is less expensive.

Tax Implications
Different industries have different tax implications. For instance, the tax laws you must follow if you are selling books are different than the ones applicable for selling consulting services.  The tax laws are specific to industry and province in which the company is registered.

Below is a general list of tax rates per province. However, please consult with your accountant before implementing these rates. The government can penalize your business for back taxes owed and not knowing the laws is not a valid reason for non-compliance.  For most companies selling goods and services online, taxes don’t need to be applied to resident US customers. Again, please confirm with your accountant that this also applies to you.  Therefore, if a US resident purchases from your website you typically don’t need to charge them Canadian tax.

Currency Implications
If you are planning to sell to Canadians only, Canadians prefer to be charged in Canadian dollars.  However, if you expect to be selling worldwide or predominantly to a US market, the global online currency is US dollars and most will opt to use this currency for their website.  When a Canadian company wants to accept USD, it’s best to have a US bank account.  This helps save on currency conversion fees.

Shipping Implications
There are many different options when it comes to shipping.  Integrating with a courier company’s system (via an API) to obtain real-time rates based on distance, size, weight and shipping type (next day air, 3 days, etc.) is one. Having a flat shipping rate is another – and there are many different combinations of options in-between.  Note that shipping outside the country may result in duties or other fees for which you or your customer may be responsible.  It’s important to indicate these on your website so the customer is aware of any additional costs.

Interac
Interac in Canada is a newer form of payment online. It’s widely used for companies that cater to a younger audience or those that can’t get a credit card.  The systems that process these transactions are similar, however, if this payment option is selected a customer is directly to their Bank’s website to login and confirm payment instead of it being done behind the scenes.  Also, instead of a percentage transaction fee the processing costs range from $0.50 to $0.90 per transaction.

Technical Development
The web designer and developer of the website and shopping cart software must take all the items above into consideration and ensure all the pieces fit together properly.

So that’s how the eCommerce process works in Canada. Canadian businesses have a lot of opportunity to utilize eCommerce to grow their business both locally and internationally, and improve profit margins. So come on, Canada – let’s show off our wares online!

If you go to login to your Facebook page today you may or may not be greeted with a full page splash from one of many new advertisers taking the jump into the full page splash ads.  Coinciding with Facebook’s new timeline rollout slated for the end of the month, the full page ad looks to be an extension of brand pages including a social engagement box to encourage user interaction as well as a splash image much similar to a timeline enabled page.

In the above example Axe Canada utilized a video embed to capture users attention to a new commercial they have been recently running to target social media.  The box on the lower right asks an engaging question to peak the users interest, while the video embed itself will pop-over a video player similar to those found on Facebook.  The neat thing here is that you dont have to actually be logged in to view the video.

Other brands seem to be hopping on board with the new Facebook splash ads as I refreshed a few times and saw Bing, Titanic 3d, Axe Canada and even Starbucks.  While I’m sure users elsewhere are seeing different ads based on their geo-targeting and location, since we are in Toronto we mainly were privy to ads targeted towards Canadians.

I think this is a big move for Facebook, and I am positive there is a high barrier to entry for brands to get a full page splash ad like the aforementioned examples.

Facebook undoubtedly is looking for more ways to increase revenue given that they set to go public sometime in the coming months.  With mobile advertising launched recently, and now these new full page splash ads, I think they are heading in the right direction in terms of monetization.

The key thing to consider is whether or not this will have an adverse effect on the user experience on Facebook.  From the looks of things they don’t appear to be too intrusive, although bear in mind that this is still in its infancy and the future I’m sure will hold more aggressive advertising options as Facebook looks to hold on to its $100 Billion valuation.

What do you think?  Is this a good thing for Facebook?  Are these ads too intrusive?  And will this hurt them in the long run?  Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

The domain name address of a business website is often an element that is rushed when a business starts out and launches their company website.  A great “business name” is thought of and then when they go to register the domain name, 9 times out of 10 the great business name is already registered.  Often times at this moment a new name is thought up and registered in the hopes that it will somehow be just as relevant as the original, this is nearly never true.  What you are left with is a meaningless domain to Google and other search engines, when it is probably one of the most important factors you will need to consider.

Do not rush your domain name. Location is everything.
As an SEO content writer one of my daily duties is on-page optimization. One of the first places I look when starting to optimize a site is, you guessed it, the domain name.  This is also one of the first places the guys at Google start with when ranking your site for keywords and search relevancy.  One of the inherit problems lies in the fact that once you register a domain, it’s not easy to change.  That being said, it is safe to say that the domain is one of the most important parts of your website.  If you can’t find one that is available, go back to brainstorming and don’t stop until you get one that makes more sense.

How is my domain name important?
Being one of the first elements that the search engines crawl when visiting and indexing your site, the domain name carries an extremely integral part of your website.  Much like the title tag where most of the keywords get the highest relevancy, the domain name gets crawled first and most likely will also be involved in the vast majority of your external and internal linking. Matt Cutts from Google has stated that keywords in the domain will not carry as much weight as was once thought, and those brandable terms may provide a better user experience and be more memorable overall. One of the most important things you can do before even thinking of registering a domain is some keyword research to know exactly which keywords are most popular and relevant to your business.

So how can I get the best possible domain name?
A good domain will be hard to come by, especially in this day and age.  While a lot of smaller businesses may like the idea of going with a brandable name with no keywords, I would advise against this as it will take longer to build up brand legitimacy and rankings for terms unrelated to your domain.  While you may not get much of a boost from the domain having keywords, in studies done of the subject it has proven to boost rankings.  An option that I always recommend is to try and find a freshly dropped domain name that has some age and relevancy to it already; you may even get lucky to find a domain that has a backlink profile already built.

Another misconception people have is that they need to get a .com to be relevant and rank well.  This is true to some extent, but if you are from Canada, there is no difference between a .ca and a .com, especially if your visitors are searching for you on Google Canada.  In fact in recent tests done by users of webmasterworld they found that .ca’s tend to outrank .com’s in Canadian search results, leading me to believe that your “country-code top level domain” (ccTLD) may have more relevance than .com’s for users search from your home country.

Your visitors are still human, and they matter!
You still must keep in mind that the visitors that are going to be looking for and eventually coming to your website are people just like you and me.  So while some keywords and phrases may work well from an objectionable SEO standpoint, they just may not be the best suited for actual users who would want to come back to your site at a later date.  One of the best things you can do is to include a keyphrase with a brand word that make the domain clean and clear but also catchy and memorable.  If you do end up with a domain name that has no relevancy on your industry as a whole, you can rename your sites pages to keyword injected filenames in order to show the search engines some type of keyphrases on your site.  An example could be renaming index2.html to doors_windows.html if you are a doors and windows manufacturer.

Need some more help finding a domain name?
There are some great tools on the web that help with domain name generation and domain name registration. See below for a list of the tools I recommend and use the most for domain name ideas and to help stir up some creativity.

Domain Name Generation & Brainstorming:

• Domize – Instantly search for domains as you type, great tool!
• Impossibility – Add words to a keyword, then search to find what is available, great for brainstorming.
• Instant Domain Search – Name says it all, instantly search for any keyword/phrase.
• Dot-o-Mator – Neat tool to add word lists to your keyword and find availabilities.
• Bust a Name – My favorite tool for domain name generation, will allow you to easily search tons of keyphrases to find the best domain for your business.

Recently Expired Domain Names and Dropped Domains:

• Stuck Domains – free search for millions of expired domains, probably the best for its purpose.
• Just Dropped – allows you to search for recently expired domains, quite useful.

Although most of this article has been focused on the benefits of domains and SEO, there is also something to be said about keeping the domain name consistent with your actual business name. This also ensures consistency and a clear brand message.  So when deciding which domain name to choose it’s important to weigh the pros and cons from different angles and applications to ensure the best possible outcome.

9th sphere, who consults and works with companies to navigate their way around social media and internet marketing, conducted its own research to evaluate if the same results may be found online. Looking at the customer service results with an online perspective, we wondered: How would this translate to a customer’s online experience?  If a company’s culture was not customer centric, would the same results be found if evaluated through an online experience or would it be different?

The focus of the research was on how these retailers use the internet (website, social media, and other online tools) to address customer service problems.

Walmart Canada’s online approach promoted customer support over the phone and email.  Walmart USA has an online application to handle customer service requests; however, this was not the case observed for their Canadian presence. They did have a Twitter profile and YouTube channel, but not a Facebook page.

Zellers also offered customer support over the phone and email. We saw the use of social media for promotional purposes through their Facebook page and Twitter account.  They also have a YouTube Channel.

Canadian Tire’s customer service provides support over the telephone and via email. They also have a Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube Channel.  They recently disabled the “view all” functionality on their Facebook page, which prevented us from seeing older comments posted by customers.

Overall, through the different online tools, the most revealing source for evaluating customer service online was a corporate Facebook page. Facebook pages offer sufficient space to share information, ask questions and express concerns. Compared to other social media channels, it has highest level of social visibility. In comparison, Twitter allows 140 symbols to express a customer service experience and it offers limited ability for an observer to track @mentions and #hashtags for brands.  Due to the volume of users and the features available, Facebook provided the most insight and transparency to issues related to customer service.  Facebook also provides a more efficient means to evaluate responses when compared to other social media sites, since we could see the posts and related responses.  Many other social media sites, like Twitter or other ratings/reviews sites, either didn’t have official company responses or the same level of transparency. This made Facebook our primary tool with which to evaluate.

For the purpose of our investigation, we defined customer service as anything posted on a social media outlet that involves a complaint, concern, or question. Anything that called for a company representative to respond we categorized as customer service.  Many posts were related to coupons or online games/contests.

A common theme we found was the lack of knowledge between online and in-store promotions between websites.

Let’s break down our findings for each Canadian retailer.

Canadian Tire:

• Largest amount of Facebook Fans, also longest user
• 22% of posts are Fans comments
• Approximately 24% of wall posts can be categorized as related to customer service
• Approximately 13% of these were responded to by a company rep
• Most questions answered within 3 hours

Zellers:

• Has had the largest increase in number of new fans: 22%
• 28.5% of posts are Fans comments
• Approximately 30% of wall posts can be categorized as related to customer service
• Approximately 80% of these were responded to by a company rep
• Approximately 30% of requests answered in less than 90min.

Walmart Canada:

• No Facebook page to review

Our findings would conclude that the worst online customer service experience would be Walmart Canada as they lack any online vehicles to resolve customer service issues. In our evaluation, Canadian Tire would come next and we would rate Zellers as having the best online customer service experience.  We rated Zellers as the best of the three due to their commitment to respond to customer’s issues in a timely manner.

Interestingly, the experience found by Marketplace in the retail stores was not the same experience that we evaluated online. This leads us to determine that a company may be stronger using online customer service tools rather than the in-store alternatives.

Could this result in a shift towards companies directing customers through tools in which they excel? Perhaps Zellers, for example, could gain value in encouraging their customers to share their experiences online, where they are committed to timely responses to the issues of their shoppers. Only time will tell, but the volumes of people using online tools, like social media, will surly force companies to get their act together and use these tools to the maximum capability.

What do you think?

PS: Thanks Dilyan for your assistance on sifting through the mounds of data!

If you are an internet marketer chasing the golden nugget of first page rankings, you undoubtedly ran into some issues this past year. It’s no easy task, and the rules are always changing. The great Panda update of 2011 was sure to drive search experts mad with dancing rankings and penalization. Those who paid attention and followed Google’s rules were far better off. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you have to give Google what they want.

Now I’m not going to guarantee that you will get first page rankings by following this checklist, I’m just saying that you will be in far better shape if you abide by these rules in your search marketing efforts. And at a bare minimum, you will have a better understanding of what NOT to do in order to maintain your rankings, because the last thing anyone wants is a Google slap.

In the past year Google has come out and stated that it is their business to provide high quality, relevant search results. If they don’t meet the needs of users around the world searching far and wide, then they will lose their monopolistic stranglehold on the search engine market, and that is the last thing Google wants. So we have to think in the mind of the visitor’s perspective and what they would perceive as quality. It is only once that element is fully understood that you can start to comprehend the complexities behind Google’s search algorithm.

The following checklist is my personal guidelines for SEO success. Follow these and you will be well on your way to better search rankings, and maybe even that coveted number one spot.

Site Speed
This algorithm measurement isn’t as straightforward as some of the others, but it still has a major impact on rankings. If your surfers are waiting for your site to load, they are likely to leave, rather than waste their time. Check your hosting, consider using a cache utility and look into S3 image hosting. Optimize your site’s structure and images and you will be well on your way to a faster site.

Bounce Rate
I haven’t made an ultimate conclusion on this one yet, but early on indications are that the most recent Google update makes this much more pertinent. This directly ties into having a fast loading site. Other things can also cause high bounce rates, like unrelated content to the search query, or redirects where the user is led through an affiliate tunnel. Most of the time, bounce rates can be attributed to your visitors not finding what they were looking for and leaving, but regardless of the reason, this will negatively affect your rankings. Monitor your bounce rate and make sure visitors aren’t leaving your site after just a single visit.

Keyword Density
The old days of getting top rankings for stuffing a page with keywords are gone. Now it’s quite the contrary; too much keyword density and Google may flag you for trying to game the system. There are some great tools available like Serp IQ that give you meaningful metrics on how densely you should populate your content. A good rule of thumb is to keep your keyword/phrase below 10% of the total text on page.

Related Keywords
Do your keyword research and have a good idea of related keywords and phrases that are close but not the same as the keyword you are targeting. Make sure to use them throughout your content, but make sure that the regularity is less than your main keyword. Scribe is another great tool specifically for WordPress blogs that allows you to see your keyword density and related keywords in real-time while offering other suggestions on how to improve your on-page SEO.

Internal Links
Having a solid site structure goes a long way in Google’s eyes, and the more interlinked pages of relevant useful content, the higher value your site will get. Stay away from serving up too many outbound links and affiliate landing pages, squeeze pages and pre-sell pages as Google will discredit you for making the visitor bounce away from your site. Instead, weave your interlinks like a finely-knit thread and make sure there are plenty of related articles for each page on your site.

Backlinks
Something that didn’t change much in the Google algorithm update is how many inbound links you have. This is still the mainstay in terms of how popular your site is; however you will need to make sure you have as many authority backlinks as possible. Backlinks from flagged sites or sites with very high outbound link numbers will not pass much link juice, much like a nofollow backlink. Aim for high quality backlinks from niche related sites that have quality content. This will be a challenging task, but will have a positive impact upon your rankings.

Meta Title
The main title tag is still pulling its weight and you should absolutely put your main keyword in the title. Make sure to use unique titles for each page on your site in order to garner maximum pull for each keyword and phrase. Take a look at the competition for high rankings websites using your keyword. You will notice a trend with their title tags and it isn’t by chance.

Meta Description
Similar to the above, you are attempting to show something of value to your visitors while still using your main keywords as naturally (and liberally) as possible. This appears right beneath the main title, and also should be unique for each page.

Meta Keywords
The value of these has really decreased, but it is still good practice to include them. They will not, however, show up in the search query. For your Meta keywords, you want to include your main keyword first and then a few related keywords. Make sure the keywords are the same as the content on the page you are putting them on and it is also good practice to include different keywords for different pages so as to spread your keyword diversity and rank for terms other than your main keyword.

Social Sharing
Make sure there is an option for your visitors to share your site, your content, or whatever it is that you’re providing of value. As we move forward and mobile grows, this will become even more important as things are shared instantaneously. Google is shown to be giving more credit to social sharing and links from social networks. Do yourself a favour and make sure you have an active Twitter and Facebook account for your business to interact with your visitors and let them know you are listening to their needs and concerns. I suspect that Google+ will have a significant impact on rankings moving forward, but as of yet it hasn’t had that much of an impact.

Overall, SEO is an ever-changing medium so take these 10 tips in stride with your current internet marketing initiatives and you will soon be well on your way to better rankings.