By Luanne Teoh on 10-26-2011

As search engines continue to refine their algorithms to provide the best user experience, relevant information and content becomes a key factor in gaining the most visibility in search results. For small businesses, this development will continue to level the playing field when it comes to Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

Not only can you go compete directly with the big boys on relevant content, your brand is now tied to social-related activity which requires genuine interaction and transparency — an area which a lot of big businesses and corporate brands fail badly at.

Below are some of the latest search related information and updates.

Content for SEO

• 92% of marketers say that content creation is either “very effective” or “somewhat effective” for SEO.
• 50% of marketers cite web pages as “very effective” for SEO.
• 40% of marketers cite white papers as “very effective” for SEO.
• 76% of marketers who have strategic SEO campaigns in place invest in content creation.

The Google Panda Factor — Changes introduced in 2011 to the search algorithm used by Google to improve its search results. The change aims to lower the rank of “low-quality sites” and return high-quality sites to searches.

• “Our site quality algorithms are aimed at helping people find “high quality” sites by reducing the rankings of “low quality” content” – Amit Singhal, Google Fellow
• Content fuels Google organic traffic – frequently updated blog posts and Tweets has steadily increased its organic search traffic through all of Google’s Panda updates.

Social is SEO and Content is Social

• Bing uses Facebook Likes as a ranking signal for logged in users.
• Google says it is using +1 as a ranking signal.
• Tweets help Google index content faster.
• 27 million pieces of online content are shared daily.
• 1 in 5 social media messages include links to content.
• 60% of content-sharing messages specific to an industry mention a brand or product by name.
• 44% positive response from B2B marketers on the impact of social on SEO.
• 1% negative response from B2B marketers on the impact of social on SEO.

The Brand Effect — Branding tells a story and stories rely on content.

• 50% of consumers are more likely to click on a search result if the brand appears multiple times on the results page.
• “Try to make a site that is so fantastic that you become an authority in your niche.” – Matt Cutts, Head of Google’s web spam team on whether Google gives more weight to brands in rankings.

Content Converts Search (and other) Visitors

• 60% of business decision makers say branded content helps them make better product decisions.
• 61% of consumers are more likely to purchase goods from businesses that offer custom content.
• 52% of consumers say blogs have impacted purchase decisions.
• 57% of marketers have acquired new customers via their blogs.
• 42% of consumers look to articles and blogs for info about potential purchases.
• 19% of beauty buyers who made purchases based on blog posts say they stumbled upon the content via search.

Marketers’ Forecast for SEO — Predicted value of search factors.

• Marketers are investing $12.5 billion in online content.

Here is the infographic to give you a pictorial guide of the facts and data presented above.

Infographic courtesy of Brafton

About Luanne Teoh

Luanne is a senior correspondent for BizTechDay focused on Small Business Tech, Mobile and China based in San Francisco. Apart from a keen interest in technology, Luanne is also and avid explorer of the globe, cultures and people.

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