This was going to happen sooner rather than later. Google algorithmic updates have all focused on helping visitors find high quality websites, and the latest update is a step in the same direction. This one is going to have a marked effect on the layout of the web page.  Google has acted on user’s complaints about difficulty in coming across content on a particular website if it is packed to the brim with advertisements and design elements.

Users aren’t too happy about scrolling down a webpage to look at the content that they are interested in seeing. For them, this is a waste of time and Google, in a bid to ensuring that website visitors are promised the best user experience design that allows them to find the actual content easily as soon as they land on the website, has come up with an update. According to this update, if a website doesn’t have sufficient amount of content "above the fold" on the website, its ranking might be affected.

What this means is that if the space "above the fold" is populated by a slew of ads, it does not make for very good user experience and this is what Google wants to make right. The phrase "above the fold" refers to the upper half of the web page, or to put it more specifically, that part of the web page that a user can easily access without scrolling.

Now, placing advertisements "above the fold" is a common occurrence on most websites, this is because a website owners’ prime concern is to make their sites more profitable, and ads placed in prominent positions encourage monetization. But, excessive placement of such ads means the real content of the website is difficult to find. This update will have no impact on those websites that place ads "above the fold" in normal amounts.  This is the kind of amount that does not push the website content "below the fold".

This update will only impact those websites that display so many ads "above the fold" that they push the content down, so much so that visitors will have to scroll the page in order to have a look at it. Google estimated that less than 1% of searches will be impacted by this change. If a website’s rankings have been affected by this change, webmasters can relook their layout and make the necessary changes on the necessary webpage to ensure that the content on the page can be found immediately. Any change made, will be automatically reflected in the results on the search page. But, it’s important to remember that any layout update or its reorder will take some time to reflect on the SERPs and is dependent on various factors including the amount of webpages updated and also the crawlability of the content.

So, a great idea would be to fashion a website that gives a lot of importance to user experience so that this update doesn’t affect your website’s rankings adversely. Good user experience results in better conversions and reduces bounce rates and this is reason enough to focus on it.

A word of advice – Google has made no bones about the fact that its focus of attention is always on ensuring a better experience for website visitors. So, instead of making changes to your website, whenever Google comes up with an update in its algorithm, it is always better to give due importance to enhancing the user experience of your website, as much as possible.

Guerilla marketing is unconventional, radical, imaginative, energetic and affordable. In spite of being described in such impressive words by just about everybody, it comes as a surprise that guerrilla marketing is not commonly used for website promotion. A number of webmasters and business owners are skeptical about using such an unusual system of promotion.

But the fact is, today, it’s only the "unusual" that works. Conventional marketing won’t be able to take you the distance. Adding a few guerrilla elements to your marketing efforts will definitely help benefit the performance of your website with respect to its popularity and sales figures.

So, here are few tactics that can help the popularity of your site head northwards.

• Running a competition
  
  This tactic figures first in the list because it’s so simple. Host an online competition on your website – The Prize? – Your products and services. You lose nothing and gain everything if you run a competition on your website. It’s free publicity for your products and services, with very little or no investment.
   
• Offer Freebies
  
  Again something that many website owners loathe to consider! It’s surprising really! All you need to do is offer visitors or even prospective visitors a free sample or two of your products and services. You might also think about upping the ante and offering them a freebie that they wouldn’t dream of ignoring.  Remember, this is a successful guerrilla tactic only if there are no terms and conditions attached to the freebies.
   
• Forum Participation
  
  Participate in various forum discussions, and at every step of the way share your website URL. It might not sound like a great tactic, but this is only if you aren’t creative enough. If you share your link without being too ‘in your face’ it will work wonders for you. Be a part of as many forums as you can. Someone somewhere is going to click on your link.
   
• Making your Website the Home Page
  
  This is a highly localized form of guerrilla marketing. But very effective, if you manage to do it! Do a deal with public internet cafes to make your website the home page on all computers. You will need to make an investment for this to happen; but it’s worth every penny that you put into it. Think about it for a second. Somebody opens a web browser, and it’s your website that opens!
   
• Avoid Sneakiness
  
  For many people guerrilla marketing is about being sneaky. Well, you can be sneaky if you want to, but it won’t work for you for the short term or the long term. You might pat yourself on the back and gloat on how you fooled some people into buying your products and services, but sneaky guerrilla marketing is always detrimental. On the other hand, if you are upfront about what you want to achieve, it lends credibility to your efforts. It shows people that you are serious about promoting your websites and its products and services.

While choosing a guerrilla tactic to market your website, it’s important that you don’t think too much about being a genius. Thinking about a rocking new tactic, that nobody had thought of before will earn you a few brownie points. But, using a tactic that brings in visitors will help improve the sales of your products services.

Think about it, which is the better tactic?

PPC is a great online marketing tool, but only if it is used effectively.  At times, many online marketers get caught in a web of myths that surround PPC. While there are others who get caught in a flood of PPC literature that educates but confuses at the same time. All this has lent a mysterious aura to PPC; and many people fail to understand this important online marketing tool.

But, here’s the thing. There is nothing remotely mysterious about PPC and a PPC campaign. It’s all straightforward and if you get your basics right, it’s going to work for you like nothing else will.

Here are a few pointers that will help you decode the mystery of PPC.

• It’s all about ROI
  
  Yes, the money comes first. You might have come across phrases such as ‘manage budget’, ‘use money sensibly, ‘affordable keywords’, and ‘expensive keywords’ etc while reading about PPC campaigns. Let’s cut through the fluff and get down to the brass tacks. PPC is all about getting the maximum returns on your investment. The ROI plays a crucial role in determining where you PPC campaign is heading and whether it will be successful or not.
  
  While bidding for keywords, make sure that a particular keyword will give you the kind of returns you are looking for. Focusing on ROI will help you develop a highly successful PPC campaign.
   
• Ad Content is Important
  
  Yes, the keyword selection is definitely important. But what many people forget is that the construction of the Ad in terms of format and content is equally important. It’s your PPC ad content that determines its credibility and efficiency. Firstly, your content needs to be as focused on ‘call-to-action’ as possible. Also, it must have a local flavor in terms of the geographical area that the Ad targets.
  
  A well written ad has no grammar errors, is clear, concise, persuasive and interesting.
   
• Focus on Unity
  
  PPC is all about giving attention to the complete picture. If you can see the whole picture, it will be easier for you to develop a highly successful campaign. Elements such as bidding strategy, selection of keywords, consideration of demographics and local keywords harvesting etc should all come together seamlessly. You need to have a clear picture as to what your PPC campaign is all about and what are your expectations from it, in terms of quantifiable results.
  
  If you think an important element is not jelling with the existing elements, don’t be scared of reworking your strategy.
   
• Give it time
  
  Let’s phrase this in another way – Take your time. PPC isn’t going anywhere. So, you can time out to understand the various factors that go into the making of a successful PPC campaign. Take your own time to decode the mystery of PPC. When you do that, you will find that there is nothing mysterious about it at all. It might challenge your grey cells; but you will soon get the hang of it.

To put it simply – If you don’t confuse yourselves, PPC is nothing to lose sleep over.

Video marketing is an attempt to break free from the traditional techniques of marketing products and services and doing something different. There is no doubt that videos give your marketing campaign the definitive edge. Quite a number of businesses have seen their sales performance improve dramatically through video marketing campaigns.

But, video marketing is not enough to ensure success. You need to ensure that it’s the kind of video marketing that engrosses viewers to ensure a definite call-to-action.

Here are 5 Tips that help you do just that:

1. The Title is the Key
   
   It’s the rule of the thumb, if you want to attract viewers. Using an 'impact title' will help viewers sit up and take notice; and go through the video. Remember, your video is competing with numerous other videos out there; and a great Title helps you stand out from the crowd. Another reason to focus on a unique title for your video is optimization. If your title has a targeted keyword, you improve the video’s chances of being seen.
    
2. Brand it
   
   Don’t miss out on a branding opportunity with your video. Make a nice little video and make sure you logo is right on top of the video and is easily visible. In doing so, people who are watching your video will immediately connect to your company logo.
   
   It’s important to note that this works both ways. If your video is not up to the mark, it’s going to create a negative impression in the minds of the viewers. It will be a wasted branding opportunity. So, make sure that the video is well-made and interesting.
    
3. Call to Action but no hard selling
   
   Yes, you are marketing your products and services with the help of your video. But don’t resort to hard selling. People don’t want to watch an advert of your company. Try taking a different route and adopt a ‘soft sell' approach. But, make sure that at the end of the video, viewers are favorably disposed towards your products and services and take the kind of ‘action’ that you are looking for.
    
4. Innovative Approach
   
   Don’t use an approach that is oft repeated, for e.g. a person talking about why a particular product or service is so good. Such a video might not cut ice with your prospective customers. Try a different approach, something like a ‘question and answer session’, ‘a behind the scenes look at product development’, ‘explanation of certain core concepts' etc.
    
5. Content, Content, Content
   
   It’s only excellent content that works.  Making a video is quite a challenge because it’s a coming together of moving images, words and sound. This is why content becomes very important. It’s very easy to go wrong. You need to plan your video and develop a plot for it. Brainstorming on the content will be a great idea, and so is taking suggestions from different people. Create a video that is a coming together of the best possible ideas.

Great videos are founded on the expertise of video marketers and their understanding of the market and the expectations of the viewers. So, it’s important that you take the help of experts who know their job, and can help create a video that is a perfect fit in terms of audience and client requirements.

What is QDF?

‘Query Deserves Freshness’ is a key component of the Google Algorithm. It gives importance to the ‘freshness quotient’. If a topic is ‘hot’, meaning it’s in the news, content related to that particular topic immediately ranks at the top of Google’s search engine rankings. That, in a nutshell is QDF.

With QDF, the amount of link backs to the content does not matter. The key focus is on the freshness of that content and whether that particular content relates to a topic that is currently a hot topic of discussion.

There has always been confusion about whether content that has attracted a large number of links over a period of time can be considered ‘quality’ content or the content that is fresh but doesn’t have a huge number of links - The QDF algorithm aims to find balance between the two sides of the debate.

When does QDF actually come into play?

This happens when Google notices that there is a spike in activity regarding a certain topic; say the blogosphere is excited about a particular development or there are various news stories regarding the same, and there are search engine queries about that particular topic – and all this happening at the same time or within the same time frame.

The QDF algorithm can best be explained with a real time example. The one name that is doing the rounds of all discussions, currently, across the real and the online world is ‘Osama Bin Laden’.  Key in Osama, Bin Laden or Osama Bin Laden on Google and have a look at the results. The latest news from various news providers will figure first, followed by links to related content based on the order of freshness.

Here is an Example:

How do you leverage the immense potential of QDF for SEO purposes?

It goes without saying that your content should be fresh. You must also make sure that that this fresh content is about a topic that is uppermost in the minds of the people at that particular point of time. It’s of paramount importance that your blogs be updated frequently and you keep a lookout for the kind of topics that are uppermost in the people’s minds at that point of time.

Making the use of Press Releases, news and even PPC with keywords related to the ‘popular query’ is going to prop your SERPs. It’s important to understand that you will need to combine various strategies to optimize the use of QDF. The aggregate of all your strategies will come into the reckoning when Google’s QDF algorithm comes into play.