How the consumer is impacting search engine optimisation ...

Forget generic search terms, today?s consumer is more likely to get social recommendations and hone their target before they hit Google and brands need to take notice says David Bain in a piece that first appeared in Encore.

Nine years is a long time on the internet. In 2004, 11.5 per cent of the world?s population was online. By December 2012 that figure had increased to more than 34 per cent, or more than 2.4 billion people.?

Yet despite this surge in internet usage, Google is reporting a significant drop in the popularity of many common search terms. According to Google Trends, there has been a 400 per cent decrease in popularity for the search term ?hotels? over the past nine years.

This drop is too steep to just be an industry slowdown. In fact, many other generic search terms in other industries are following a similar downward trend.

Each year the world?s internet population continues to grow and Google is still the number one site in the world, so we?re not seeing a reduction in the popularity of search as a medium. Rather, what is happening is that online consumers are now more selective in how they search ? not surprisingly they are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

So why are consumers changing their online search habits?

Specialist websites such as niche booking sites and limited-time sale sites allow consumers to go elsewhere to find what they are looking for ? and often at a better price.

Thanks to the emergence of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, web users are now able to quickly and easily ask for recommendations from their friends rather than rely on search engines.

Search engines themselves are changing the types of results they deliver. Last year Google introduced Search Plus Your World, which shook up search results by enhancing them with personalised results. This sped up the change in consumer search behaviour.

However, that is not to say that all Google searches are decreasing in popularity. People still tend to rely on search engines to look for specific deals, categories or locations of items. For example, they are now increasingly searching for the term ?hotel deals?.

As consumers now have more places to go, and as they become more comfortable at being able to conduct online research without the help of search engines, search engines have to take more signals into account when it comes to determining the ranking of web pages.

What we are seeing relates more to the evolution of the internet as a whole, and the increased level of sophistication of the average internet user. Users are now more likely to first refer to other websites ? or ask people they trust ? before making up their minds which niche area of the generic topic really interests them.

Only then, after feeling comfortable with which niche area is relevant to them, will the average internet user revert to a search engine to further enhance their knowledge. And more importantly, consumers are now becoming increasingly likely to stick with a brand they know and trust, combined with asking their friend?s opinion on what they should do.

Five years ago it was relatively easy for a search engine optimisation firm to position a website towards the top of Google organic results for highly searched, popular keyword terms.

Now it?s not so easy ? and not necessarily as rewarding.

Search engine optimisation is now firmly part of the marketing mix ? and needs to be thought of alongside website design, brand positioning and content production. Building a brand that people love and want to evangelise is a large part of effective SEO. If people search for ?hotel deals? and they don?t like what they find, the short time they spend on your site will send a negative signal to Google ? and you won?t be ranked for that keyword phrase for long.

Clearly, the increasingly sophisticated consumer is having a significant impact on SEO due to the precise nature of their searches and the actions they take while on a website. This is causing a few headaches for SEO firms, but if it has a positive impact on the quality of search results, then surely it?s a good thing.

In short, move with the times. This isn?t something that?s going away and agencies that continue to focus on the increasingly unrewarding ?head terms? will discover that their initial internet land grab is starting to erode.

Professional SEO agencies will need to be business consultants to their clients in the future. That means getting under the skin of what their business is about ? fully understanding their product and service range and the psychology of their customers. Agencies will need to be at the cutting edge of multi-touch attribution modelling, ensuring their clients understand the true long-term value of specific keyword phrases.

Now, and more so in the future, the best keywords will be those that convert at the highest ratios over the long term ? not the ones that deliver the most website visitors. A quick visit from an irrelevant visitor just sends out a negative message to search engines. That old adage ?turnover is vanity, profit is sanity? will apply to websites more and more in the future.

David Bain is the SEO manager at MEC.

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This story first appeared in the weekly edition of Encore available for iPad and Android tablets. Visit encore.com.au for a preview of the app or click below to download.

March 18th, 2013 at 9:34 am

Source: http://mumbrella.com.au/how-the-consumer-is-impacting-search-engine-optimisation-145754

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Americans sympathize with Israel; Want U.S. out of it

Many more Americans continue to side with Israel rather than the Palestinian Authority, but - with President Obama's first visit there days away - most also prefer to leave peace negotiations to the two protagonists, rather than having the United States take the lead.

Fifty-five percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll sympathize more with Israel, vs. 9 percent who side more with the Palestinian Authority, with the rest favoring neither, or undecided. It's been a similar gap for many years, including polling back to the 1980s testing Israel vs. the Arab nations of the Middle East.

See PDF with full results, charts and tables here.

Despite that preference for Israel, seven in 10 want the U.S. largely to leave resolving the conflict to the Israelis and Palestinians themselves - a result that underscores the difficulties in finding a solution to the decades-old conflict. Preference for the United States to eschew a leading role is 15 percentage points higher than the last time it was asked in an ABC/Post poll, during an outbreak of violence between the two sides nearly 11 years ago.

Even among those who are more sympathetic to one side or the other, regardless of which side it is, about two-thirds don't want the U.S. to take the leading role. That preference rises to about three-quarters of those who don't favor either side.

In another expression of support for Israel, more Americans say the Obama administration has put too little pressure on the Palestinian Authority than too much pressure - 34 vs. 8 percent. They split about evenly, by contrast, on whether the administration has put too much or too little pressure on Israel. About four in 10, meanwhile, think the U.S. has appropriately pressured each side in the conflict.

RELIGION and POLITICS - This poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, finds little sympathy for the Palestinian Authority across groups, always well behind support for Israel. However, breadth of support for Israel varies considerably, with the Palestinian Authority and frustration with both groups gaining somewhat among less broadly pro-Israel groups.

Among religious groups, sympathy for Israel peaks, at 76 percent, among evangelical white Protestants, falling to 55 percent among non-evangelical white Protestants and Catholics, and bottoming out at 39 percent among those who aren't religiously affiliated. Religiosity is a factor as well, with those who attend religious services more apt to side with Israel.

Support for Israel also is broad - more than seven in 10 - among Republicans and conservatives alike. This drops to roughly five in 10 moderates, independents and Democrats, and to just 39 percent of liberals, with more saying they favor neither side, compared with Republicans and conservatives.

A similar pattern plays out on the matter of the Obama administration's use of influence on each side, with Republicans and conservatives more likely than others to think Israel is being pressured too much and the Palestinian Authority too little. Majorities of Democrats, not surprisingly, are happy with the pressure the Obama administration's applying to each side.

On the other hand, when it comes to U.S. involvement in the peace process, there's agreement across religious, partisan and ideological groups (from 66 to 70 percent) that the two sides should handle negotiations themselves.

Age is another prominent marker of support for Israel, ranging from 48 percent among younger adults to 57 percent of 40- to 64-year-olds and topping out at two-thirds among seniors. Views that the Obama administration is putting too much pressure on Israel, and is applying too little of its muscle with the Palestinian Authority, also peak among seniors.

Obama is scheduled to leave Wednesday for a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank, ruled by the Palestinian Authority.

METHODOLOGY - This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone March 7-10, 2013, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults, including landline and cell-phone-only respondents. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including design effect. Partisan divisions are 33-25-35 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents.

The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York, N.Y.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-americans-sympathize-israel-dont-051205946.html

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Accuser in Steubenville rape case says she recalls little

By Drew Singer

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Reuters) - The 16-year-old accuser in the trial of two Ohio high school football players charged with raping her while she was drunk at a party took the stand on Saturday and said she remembered little of what happened on the night she says she was assaulted.

The girl recounted drinking vodka mixed with store-bought frozen slushies at the party that evening, then finding herself sitting on a curb early the next day, after the alleged rape, with her hands between her legs, vomiting into the street.

She testified that she otherwise had no recollection of her own of what happened in the early hours of August 12, 2012, when witnesses in the case have said she was too drunk to move or talk.

Under its policy of keeping the names of accusers in rape cases confidential, Reuters is not identifying the girl.

Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'lik Richmond, 16, two members of the Steubenville High School football team, are charged as juveniles with raping the girl by digital penetration while she was essentially unconscious.

Mays and Richmond have denied raping her and say that any sexual contact that occurred was consensual.

The case, being tried before a judge rather than a jury, drew national attention to the Ohio steel town of Steubenville, 40 miles west of Pittsburgh, after photo and video images from the party were posted online appearing to document the assault.

The girl testified that she only learned what had happened to her from text messages, pictures and other bits of information posted on social media by classmates who witnessed the assaults. Some of those witnesses have testified.

TEARFUL REACTION

Prosecutors displayed to her some of the pictures that circulated on social media, including one that showed her naked with what prosecutors say is semen on her stomach.

The girl started crying as she looked at the photo, saying she had never seen the image before.

"Who is that in the photo?" prosecutor Marrianne Hemmeter asked.

"Me," the girl answered.

"How does it make you feel?" Hemmeter said.

"Not good."

The girl also testified that when she finally went to the hospital, after seeing a video in which classmates joked about the assault, she was reluctant to identify her assailants.

When Hemmeter asked her why, the girl replied: "Because honestly, I was praying that everything I heard wasn't true. I didn't want to get myself into drama because I knew everyone would just blame me."

Defense attorneys have questioned whether the witnesses in the case remembered details from the party or were just repeating rumors that circulated afterward through their social groups or from investigators looking into the rape allegations.

Earlier on Saturday, the defense called two former friends of the accuser - Kelsey Weaver and Gianna Anile - who testified that the girl had a reputation for dishonesty.

Weaver, 17, testified the accuser had told her she liked Mays. Weaver also said she watched the accuser drink four shots of vodka and two beers and flirt with Richmond on the night she says the rape occurred.

Weaver said the accuser told her she thought she had been drugged as well - a conclusion Weaver said she did not believe. Asked by defense why she had doubts, Weaver said, "Because (she) lies about things."

Both Weaver and Anile were with the accuser on the night of the alleged rape. Both testified that they ended their friendship with her because of the accusations.

On Friday, Mark Cole, a teammate of Mays and Richmond, granted immunity for his testimony, said he recorded a video of Mays performing a sex act on the girl while she was passed out during a car ride between houses in Steubenville the night of the party, but he deleted the footage the next morning.

A second teammate, Evan Westlake, who also was granted immunity, testified he saw Richmond commit a sex act on the girl on the basement floor of a house that same night.

If convicted, the defendants could be sentenced to a juvenile detention facility until they turn 21, and be required to register as sex offenders.

(Writing by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Steve Gorman and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/steubenville-rape-trial-accusers-veracity-questioned-175804991.html

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RNC to spend $10 million to reach minorities

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Reeling from back-to-back presidential losses and struggling to cope with the country's changing racial and ethnic makeup, the Republican National Committee plans to spend $10 million this year to send hundreds of party workers into Hispanic, black and Asian communities to promote its brand among voters who overwhelmingly supported Democrats in 2012.

Committee chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday also proposed shortening the presidential nominating calendar in 2016 and limiting the number of primary-season debates to avoid the self-inflicted damage from inside-party squabbling on the eventual nominee. Priebus' top-to-bottom changes include picking the moderators for the debates and then crowning the nominee as early as June so he or she could begin a general election campaign as quickly as possible.

"Mitt Romney was a sitting duck for two months over the summer," Priebus said of the 2012 GOP nominee.

To help his party ahead of the 2016 contest already in its earliest stages, Priebus said he would be hiring new staffers to build the GOP among voters in the states.

"It will include hundreds of people ? paid ? across the country, from coast-to-coast, in Hispanic, African American, Asian communities, talking about our party, talking about our brand, talking about what we believe in, going to community events, going to swearing-in ceremonies, being a part of the community on an ongoing basis, paid for by the Republican National Committee, to make the case for our party and our candidates," Priebus said.

That move was part of the recommendations included in a monthslong look at what went wrong in 2012. Priebus tapped a handful of respected party leaders to examine how the GOP could better talk with voters, raise money from donors and learn from Democrats' tactics. Priebus also asked the group to examine how they could work with independent groups such as super political action committees.

Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary under former president George W. Bush, and Sally Bradshaw, a veteran strategist and top adviser to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, were among those leading the inquiry. Republican National Committeeman Henry Barbour, a GOP strategist and nephew of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, was also part of the group. RNC members Zori Fonalledas of Puerto Rico and Glenn McCall of South Carolina rounded out the five-person committee that listened to Republicans' ideas and frustrations.

Those leaders heard from 50,000 rank-and-file members about how to respond to the nation's shifting demographics.

Priebus planned a full-scale rollout of their recommendations Monday, although the proposals are far from a done deal. They would have to win the approval of the 168-member Republican National Committee and then each state's election chief would have to abide by the party's proposed calendar or face consequences, such as losing voting delegates to the nominating convention. The states previously have ignored such penalties.

Priebus said the party review recommended downplaying its internal divisions among candidates, which forced Romney to take more conservative positions on issues such as immigration during his quest to capture the party's nomination. In all, Priebus counted 23 debates among his party's crowded field of contenders, and there were a handful of other events ? including a Newt Gingrich-Herman Cain faceoff in Texas ? that distracted from their main task of defeating Obama.

"Our primary process was way too long... I think we had way too many debates with our candidates slicing and dicing each other," Priebus said, adding that under his proposal the party would pick the networks that would host the debates and journalists who would question the candidates.

"I would limit the debate to a reasonable amount, maybe seven or eight. But not 23. It's ridiculous," Priebus said. "While we were playing footsy debating each other 23 times, what was the other side doing? ... They were actually getting the job done."

Exit polls indicated Obama carried female, black, Hispanic and Asian voting blocs. He also won among voters under the age of 45 and those who lived in mid- to large-sized cities.

That spells troubles for the GOP in a nation that is increasingly diverse. The latest census data and polling from The Associated Press suggest non-Hispanic whites will lose their majority in the next generation, somewhere around the year 2043.

In 2010's elections, Republicans enjoyed the biggest midterm gains since 1938 and became the majority party in the U.S. House. Yet two years later, Democrats captured the biggest prize in American politics, the presidency, and picked up seats in both of Congress' chambers. Despite solid fundraising from the party and quick work from Romney after he won the nomination, the GOP couldn't overcome Obama's four-year head start and on-the-ground organization.

"We have become a party that parachutes into communities four months before an election," Priebus said. "The Obama campaign lived in these communities for years."

Priebus spoke with CBS' "Face the Nation."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rnc-spend-10-million-reach-minorities-150656306--election.html

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Streelman finally a PGA Tour winner

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) ? Kevin Streelman finally won on the PGA Tour with a game that looked as if he had done this many times before.

Streelman didn't make a bogey over the final 37 holes on the tough Copperhead course at Innisbrook. He didn't miss a shot over the last 11 holes on his way to a 4-under 67 on Sunday for a two-shot win in the Tampa Bay Championship.

Boo Weekley, who teed off three hours before the leaders, had a tournament-best 63 and waited to see if that would be enough.

Streelman, locked in a battle with Justin Leonard over the final hour, came up with one clutch shot after another. He hit 5-iron into 6 feet on the par-3 13th hole, the toughest at Innisbrook in the final round, to take the lead for good.

"Probably the best shot of my life in that situation," Streelman said. "It's just how I envisioned it and I pulled it off."

He locked up the win with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and he was all smiles walking up the 18th fairway. Until Sunday, the biggest tournament Streelman won might have been the club championship at Whisper Rock.

He won in his 153rd start on the PGA Tour, and it sends him to the Masters next month for the second time in his career.

"That was really cool," Streelman said. "I just stayed really patient, and I had a peace about me today."

He finished at 10-under 274.

Cameron Tringale had a 66 and finished alone in third when Leonard, who earlier made bogey from the bunker on the 16th, three-putted the final hole for a 71. Leonard wound up in a tie for fourth with defending champion Luke Donald (69) and Greg Chalmers (70).

The other big winner was Jordan Spieth, the 19-year-old from Texas who holed a 50-foot chip for birdie on the 17th hole and made a 7-foot par putt on the final hole for a 70 to tie for seventh.

That gave him enough money to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour for the rest of the year, meaning he can take unlimited sponsor exemptions.

Until making that chip, Spieth was projected to be $195 short of the temporary membership, which is based on earning the equivalent of 150th on the money list last year.

"That would have been brutal," he said with a grin. "But it's nice to get the crowd excited on 17. That was one of the coolest shots I've ever hit. That was as loud as it gets. Hair on the back of your neck stands up. But yeah, if I was $200, short, I would have just asked if I could pay them $200."

He now has earned $521,893 in three starts, the bulk of that coming from a runner-up finish in the Puerto Rico Open last week.

The 34-year-old Streelman was the 14th consecutive win by an American in official PGA Tour events, dating to Tommy Gainey at Sea Island last fall. Americans have won the first 12 events of the season, their best streak since winning 13 in a row in 1989.

All that mattered to Streelman was finally getting a win.

"Just keep chasing your dreams," Streelman said. "You never know what will happen."

Sixteen players were within three shots of the lead when the final round began, and anything could have happened. No one imagined a 63 at Innisbrook, and Weekley's round was so strong that it was 8.6 shots better than the field average.

"That will go down as one of the best rounds of the year," Pat Perez said in the parking lot, pleased with his own 67 and stunned someone could have a 63.

Weekley began his round by missing a 4-foot birdie putt, and he closed with such brilliance that he ran off three straight birdies on the back nine from inside 2 feet.

"It was impressive," Weekley said. "Even I'm still kind of shocked at how good I really hit it. The greens that I missed, I thought were going to be perfect. Overall, one of the best days I've had in ball striking in a long time."

Considering what was on the line, Streelman's performance might have been better, even his score was only a 67. He had to play in the final group, knowing that he hasn't had a chance this good to finally win.

Leonard tied him for the lead on the 12th, where Streelman missed a short birdie. Every shot after that was right where Streelman was aiming, including the key shot on the 16th hole, when he hit driver with a baby cut that worked its way around the lake.

The birdie on the 17th kept some stress out of the final hole, and Streelman played that the way he had the other holes on the back nine.

"It definitely has not sunk in yet," Streelman said. "It's a total dream come true. Ten years ago, I was in a car driving to mini tours and the Hooters Tour and Gateway Tour and U.S. Pro Tour.

"And I've been very blessed, but I've worked very hard to get here, too. The game is getting harder and younger, and these kids are fearless out here. I've worked diligently, and I think smarter as of late, and fortunately it paid off."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/streelman-finally-pga-tour-winner-225828622--spt.html

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AP PHOTOS: A look at past Iditarod sled dog races

Essential News from The Associated Press

AAA??Mar. 2, 2013?3:48 PM ET AP PHOTOS: A look at past Iditarod sled dog races By The Associated Press??By The Associated Press FILE - Iditarod front-runner Dallas Seavey makes his final drive toward Nome, Alaska, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Marc Lester, File) FILE - Iditarod front-runner Dallas Seavey makes his final drive toward Nome, Alaska, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Marc Lester, File) FILE - Rick Swenson leads his team the final few yards at the conclusion of the ninth annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska, March 19, 1981. The Eureka musher won the race for the third time, covering the 969 miles from Settlers Bay, near Anchorage, to Nome in 12 days, 8 hours, 45 minutes and 2 seconds. (AP Photo, File) FILE - Last year?s winner and veteran dog musher Susan Butcher pulls into this checkpoint in the heat of the day in McGrath, Alaska, March 12, 1987. (AP Photo/Rob Stapleton, File) FILE - Bruce Johnson of Atlin, B.C., Canada, takes a nap in the heat of the day at Nikolai checkpoint along the Iditarod trail in Alaska, March 12, 1987. (AP Photo/Rob Stapleton, File) FILE - The aurora borealis, or northern lights, fill the sky above the Takotna, Alaska checkpoint during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bob Hallinen, File) The world's most famous sled dog race, the Iditarod, kicks off Saturday with an 11-mile-long trot through Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. The race consists of a grueling 1,000-mile trek through unpredictable wilderness to the old gold rush town of Nome on Alaska's western coast. Whoever reaches Nome first wins a new truck and a cash prize of $50,400. The rest of the $600,000 purse will be split between the next 29 mushers to cross the finish line. The iconic race, however, seems to be about more than a monetary prize for most involved: a competition of human versus wild. Here's a gallery of pictures looking back at more than 30 years of "The Last Great Race." Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-02-AP-Iditarod-Photo-Gallery/id-0fd5b7011aed4c039249b30688648ef6

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