Marketing in the Age of Google, Revised and Updated

A business's search strategy can have a dramatic impact on how consumers interact with that business. But even more importantly, search engine activity provides amazingly useful data about customer behavior, needs, and motivations. In this non-technical book for executives, business owners, and marketers, search engine strategy guru Vanessa Fox—who created Google's portal for site owners, Google Webmaster Central—explains what every marketer or business owner needs to understand about search rankings, search data, comprehensive search strategies, and integrating your strategy into the businesses processes.

• Updated statistics, tools, and recommendations
• Details about the latest changes from Google, Bing, and the overall search landscape
• Explanation and recommendations related to Google's substantial new search algorithm, know as "Panda"
• Discussion of the changing landscape of the integration of search and social media, including the addition of Google+ to the mix

Traditional marketing isn't enough anymore. Businesses need to evolve as customer behavior evolves. Marketing in the Age of Google shows you how.

Foreword Danny Sullivan xv

Preface xvii

Chapter 1 How Search Has Changed Your Business 1

Chapter 2 How to Use Search Data to Improve Your Business and Product Strategy 25

Chapter 3 How We Search 67

Chapter 4 Building Searcher Personas: Opening the Door to the Crowd of Customers You’ve Been Keeping Out 89

Chapter 5 How Search Engines Work 111

Chapter 6 Implementing an Effective Search Strategy 139

Chapter 7 Working with Developers: How to Turn Business Strategy into Tech Speak 157

Chapter 8 How to Cut through the Data and Get the Actionable Metrics You Need 171

Chapter 9 Social Media and Search 185

Chapter 10 What’s Next?: Beyond Google and 10 Blue Links 213

Notes 229

References 243

Index 245

"The most straightforward guide to the power of search." (Start Your Business, April 2012)

VANESSA FOX is a leading speaker and consultant on search engine strategy. She was previously Google's search engine spokesperson responsible for explaining Google's search algorithm to millions of website owners. She has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, The Times (of London), Forbes, and on CNN. She's a contributing editor for SearchEngineLand.com and founder and CEO of Nine By Blue, which provides reporting tools and training for search best practices.

PRAISE FOR Marketing in the Age of Google

"Former Googler Vanessa Fox has been educating people about the world of Google and search marketing for years. She thoughtfully guides marketers past jargon and technical distractionsto focus on the best ways to reach customers in today's 'searching' culture."
—Danny Sullivan, Editor in Chief, Search Engine Land

"Vanessa Fox grabs your hand, shows you the way into the big black box of search marketing, and flips the lights on. You'll walk away from this book not only getting it when it comes to using search to build your business, but knowing how to do it."
—Tamara Adlin, author of The Essential Persona Lifecycle

"This may be the first book that manages to identify and deconstruct the new search-engine-centricbusiness world in which we live. Highly recommended."
—John C. Dvorak, columnist, MarketWatch and PC Magazine

"Finally! A nontechnical book about smarter search engine marketing. This is the search marketing bible for people looking to grow their business."
—Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Online Marketing

"Vanessa Fox has a fantastic perspective into the search marketplace. Her experience at Google and within the industry, combined with her ability to share those insights in nontechnical morsels, make this book a must-read for anyone in business."
—Richard Zwicky, founder and President, Enquisite

Your search strategy can influence how consumers interact with your business. But, more importantly, how audiences use search engines provides critical data about customer behavior, needs, and motivations. This nontechnical book explains everything you need to know about search rankings, search data, and creating a search strategy that's deeply integrated into your business. This revised and updated edition includes the latest tools and changes to the search landscape. It now covers Google+ as well as Google's Panda algorithm, which has substantially changed how Google evaluates content quality.