One of search engine giant Google’s priorities is to improve user satisfaction by quickly delivering the desired result for every search term entered – for every user, every time.

As part of that it is constantly looking at ways to index the entire internet. At the moment though there is one barrier to Google achieving that goal: Facebook.

Facebook presents a real challenge to Google as the majority of activity by Facebook’s 500 million users stays on the social network’s servers and cannot be indexed. This has the search giant seriously worried, as status updates alone are estimated to amount to more than ten times the number of words written on blogs worldwide (thanks to AllFacebook for this and other excellent reporting on this topic).

The ‘Like’ is released

Google’s concern over this issue runs in parallel to Facebook’s recent launch of the Open Graph Protocol, which extends the ‘Like’ function outside of the network. It allows webmasters to install Like buttons on their sites and lets users share their ‘Like’ (or vote of approval) for content outside of Facebook on the popular network.

Despite Google’s concern about Facebook’s ‘hidden’ data this all seems reasonably inconspicuous. That would be unless external content wasn’t showing up in Facebook search…which it is.

Thanks again to AllFacebook, who reported this was happening earlier in the week for certain TripAdvisor listings:

These results pop-up as ‘Pages’ in Facebook search but are not pages on the network. Instead clicking on the link takes you through to the TripAdvisor listing.

This is fascinating stuff and makes Facebook’s future plans a really compelling mystery. In one move it has effectively produced a brilliant way of indexing content. And if they can keep spamming under control this could well become the people’s search engine.

Facebook is clunky and so is its search function

While the potential for this is enormous there is a real danger that Facebook is trying to run before it can walk in the search game.

Its current internal search function is truly appalling, with pages regularly disappearing out of search altogether.

More fundamentally, Facebook has to figure out how to describe the search results generated through the Open Graph if it is ever going to meet Google’s ability to satisfy users. What are these results? Are they a product of the people’s search engine I described above? Or simply a popularity contest that is therefore both unreliable and biased?

Links are just one measurement that Google uses to rank content in search results, Facebook needs to identify other ranking factors that will balance out the ‘Like’ and make this form of search credible.

Battle lines are drawn

These questions do need to be answered. But in the meantime we can be in no doubt that Facebook is squaring up to Google and wants ‘Like’ to become the new link.

Another big question is how Facebook will move out into the wider internet over time. It is still largely a closed system. To compete in the search world data from the Open Graph will have to be available and searchable outside of the network.

Alternatively, Facebook may become the homepage of choice (some would argue this is already happening) and form a portal or conduit to the rest of the internet, with the ‘Like’ search engine an integral element of that.

So what should you do?

There is really only one thing to do right now, and it plays perfectly into Facebook’s hands. Any webmaster with a busy site would be stupid not to implement the company’s Open Graph Protocol and to see how things play out.

If you haven’t already, then also definitely create a Facebook page for your organisation or company, as it is likely they will also form part of the ‘Like’ search engine in the future.

Other than that, just pull up a chair and watch as two of the internet’s titans go head-to-head in a battle that will shape the way we use the internet.

Photo credit: richkidsunite

Joel and I were fortunate to hear some inspiring speakers, meet some interesting people and pick up lots of new tips and ideas. This isn’t so much a review of ThinkVisibility – plenty of in-depth reviews have already been posted – but over the past week or so we have had the opportunity to begin turning notes, thoughts and talk into action. So I’d like to share some  the tips and ideas that are already proving useful in our day-to-day work at Tinderbox Media. It is my intention that in the future, Corporate Blogger will be covering some of these in greater detail, but here’s the overview of our favourite takeaways:

1.  The value of citations in Google Local. (FYI: citations are distinct from links. They are online mentions or references to your company.) Tom Critchlow, the head of search marketing at Distilled, drew upon plenty of real-life examples to show us how citations improve results. One of his top tips? Add an address to your company profile that is 100 per cent identical to the format and structure of the address in the local search listing. Hey presto: whenever that profile appears online, Google recognises it as a bona fide citation.

2. How to increase our productivity by making use of online project management tools. Sarah Carling of Bloom Media gave a talk on SEO project management and introduced us to Tom’s Planner. This is an online scheduling and collaborative working tool, which ticks all our boxes (quite literally). It is shiny and new, still in beta (which also means that for now it is free) and we are already putting it to use.

3. One of my favourite talks of the day came from Andrew Burnett, who spoke about building a website’s presence on social news websites. One of the reasons why I enjoyed this talk so much was because I came away with a fresh perspective on some of my everyday online haunts. You know what it’s like: you spend so much time on certain websites that you stop really “seeing” them, or viewing them as sources of inspiration. I am in the habit of reading every single UK newspaper online on a daily basis (hangover from journalism days), so I sat up straight when Andrew showed us some of the ways in which these publications successfully showcase their “golden posts”, encouraging clickthroughs and submissions to social news sites.

Oh, and I came away determined to find a WordPress plugin for thumbnail images to accompany related posts. This being ThinkVisibility, when I mentioned this mission to a fellow attendee at the after-party, it turned out that he had recently made a plugin that did just that. Result!

4. Another takeaway from Andrew’s talk: an app called trak.ly. It is like bit.ly, but with added benefits – especially if you’re a Digger.

5. Using your company’s USP as linkbait. Paddy Moogan , online marketing campaign manager at Pin Digital gave an overview of various link-building techniques, with a particular emphasis on those links that are hardest to get. His talk was packed full of interesting gems, but Joel’s brain began whirring when Paddy mentioned the how a company’s USPs could provide excellent linkbait. An example of this could be a company with strong environmental credentials, held up by ‘green’ bloggers or websites, as an example of best practice.  Seems obvious really, but the obvious is often overlooked.

6. 1.5 million businesses search on YouTube every day. Just one of the points raised by Iliya Vjestica, online marketing manager at Magnitude, that left us with food for thought. We are doing increasing amounts of video for B2B clients; it looks like we’re heading in the right direction, which is reassuring.

7. Paul Carpenter, of Bronco, spoke about how to use Google News to improve online visibility. Thiswas one of Joel’s favourite talks of the day; there is too much here to summarise, so we’ll let Paul’s slides and notes do the talking.

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Our favourite reviews of ThinkVisibility3:

David Towers liveblogged throughout the day. Brilliantly.

“It’s in the North – we can’t all attend SXSW or SMXWest so to have something like this on the doorstep is a joy.” – Sorbet Digital

“It is different from a usually conference in that it is held on a Saturday – so you tend to attract a crowd who are genuinely interested in their work.” - Pin Digital

“The event is a pretty intimate affair, with around 150 people attending.” – Dan Harrison

“I really liked about the conference were the afternoon slots when you get to see people who haven’t spoken before.” -  Piggynap

“As well as the sessions themselves, Think Visibility provides a great networking opportunity and it was great to see some familiar faces” – Zath

(Thumbnail image credit: sk8tegeek)

Here are the slides from my talk, which I presented using Prezi (zooming presentation software). This is a simplified and abridged version of my talk, because I have removed a number of slides and because I’m not there talking over the top of it! However I have added some notes and my essential argument is extant. In a nutshell: you may have good reasons for having a business blog, but that doesn’t make your business blog good. I highlight some common pitfalls and propose some simple measures, considerations and ideas that should help turn those marketing theories into real-life business benefits.

If you aim to improve your company’s online visibility and/or performance, and you can make it to the next ThinkVisibility conference, I recommend the trip. Just look at the feedback for the last one.

EDIT: For some reason the Prezi isn’t showing up in some readers. Clicky to view.

Dairy Queen is the American chain of ice cream parlours. I have been reading a great case study about the company’s use of social media, over at Michael Fruchter’s Social Media Marketing Strategies blog. Michael is a digital strategist with Pierson Grant, a PR firm across the pond.

It is all too easy, when you cast your eye over these lavish descriptions of big bucks companies and their tip top achievements online, to overlook the potential “learns” and benefits for companies of all sizes. If you read this particular case study in full – and I recommend that you do - you will find plenty to pore over. You will also note that Dairy Queen, despite its size, hasn’t been “doing” social media for long. Its corporate blog, for example, is just five months old at the time of writing.

Let’s take a closer look at what Dairy Queen has been doing. Nothing here is going to blow your mind – and I mean that as a compliment! Forget the budget; forget the bells and whistles. Ultimately this is a strategy that draws upon straightforward, considered tactics to generate brand awareness, engagement – and lashings of goodwill.

1. Dairy Queen Blog.

• Launched February 2009.
• Contributors: seven Dairy Queen employees, including the company’s Chief Branding Officer.
• Aims: “to ignite conversation and have fun with a brand that has been around for more than 70 years”.
• Has already attracted more than 50,000 visitors and 560 comments, according to Michael.

I like this blog. It is easy to navigate, is regularly updated and has a personal feel – just look at the header. So many corporate blogs have the company logos stuck in the header and come off bland and dull, because they don’t have any “faces”. The content here includes podcasts and video clips – one clip features Warren Buffett in a local DQ, talking shop with girl scouts – and in general, strikes a good note. It stays on-message, without shoving that message in your face. Contributors are willing to share personal stories (with a DQ twist, of course).

I note that the seven employees are all based in Dairy Queen’s communications department. I would be interested to hear less from comms, and more from the counter and from employees in other areas such as R&D. I also notice that on average, posting takes place once per week. More frequent posting would help develop rapport between visitors and bloggers, and would also encourage Google to crawl the site more frequently (which helps to boost search engine rankings). Overall though, it looks good to me.

What is most impressive about the blog is the traffic and engagement (comments) that it has attracted in just five months. I would like to learn more about the blog marketing methods that have been put to good use here. What we are told sounds good: in addition to Dairy Queen’s Twitter account, the PR team behind this venture reached out to other bloggers by devising a creative competition. Bloggers were asked to write about the “sweet deals” they would make, in order to try the chain’s new Sweet Deals menu for free. The tasty prize: free Sweet Deals every week for a year.

2. Facebook.

• Official Dairy Queen fan page launched in May 2008.
• At the time of writing, 163,112 fans.

The Facebook page doesn’t sit there, gathering dust. In the past week the page has been updated several times. Events, initiatives and products launches are publicised, as are video clips and blog posts. Fans are encouraged to contribute their own thoughts and images. It’s an active page; no wonder that several hundred new fans join daily.

3. Twitter.

• Dairy Queen Twitter account launched in February 2009.
• 2,013 followers at the time of writing.

The Dairy Queen employee tasked with the company’s Twitter account does a good job of it, in my opinion. He tweets a few times a day, answering customer queries, conversing with customers, linking to new blog posts and publicising Dairy Queen initiatives. The follower count is relatively low, compared to the level of fandom that has saturated the blog and the Facebook page, but this Twitter account hasn’t been running at full steam for very long and does not appear to be underpinned by an aggressive, follower-grabbing strategy. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; when it comes to Twitter followers, quality trumps quantity.

3. Pending.

• Mobile. A new app has been developed, to enable iPhone and iPod users to locate their nearest Dairy Queen store. Mobile apps can swallow a significant slice of a marketing & PR budget, but this one is fairly simple and straightforward. No flashy gimmicks here! Instead it does what it says on the tin, connecting people with branches of DQ.
• FriendFeed. This is a real-time feed aggregrator; users can stream all their social media content – their tweets, their latest photos on Flickr, their latest blog posts and so on – onto one page. Users can also customise their feeds, and comment on one another’s items. Dairy Queen’s FriendFeed account has 22 followers and streams the company’s updates from the blog, Twitter and YouTube. However, Michael suggests that Dairy Queen’s presence here may be developed further. As he notes: “It’s a passionate community of users who conversate around the content. FriendFeeders are also Dairy Queen customers, so it’s only fitting that Dairy Queen joins the conversation.”

That Dairy Queen has made such strides, within a relatively short space of time, shows how a simple social media strategy can also be a solid one, irrespective of a company’s size.

As Michael concludes: “[Dairy Queen] got off to a late start with social media, but that’s irrelevant, what’s relevant is that they recognized it, embraced it, understand it and use it.”

Image credit: geocam20000.

From The Times:

“Thousands of bloggers who operate behind the cloak of anonymity have no right to keep their identities secret, the High Court ruled yesterday.

“In a landmark decision, Mr Justice Eady refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of a police officer who is the author of the NightJack blog. The officer, Richard Horton, 45, a detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary, had sought an injunction to stop The Times from revealing his name.”

It isn’t the first time that the newspaper has outed a popular blogger. NightJack has now been deleted in its entirety, which is a shame because it had been going for a while and it was a great blog. Its author provided an insider’s view of the police force; often eye-opening, sometimes jaw-dropping and always an interesting read. Earlier this year, NightJack won the prestigious Orwell Prize for political writing, which speaks for itself. (At the winner’s request, the prize money was donated to the Police Benevolent Fund.) It will be missed.

There is growing criticism about The Times‘ decision to track down and name Detective Constable Horton. The newspaper’s defence of its action appears to centre upon its allegation that NightJack featured details about real-life prosecutions – even though the details of these cases were changed and anonymised – and that the blogger’s exposure was in the public interest.

The judge in the case, Mr Justice Eady, isn’t new to high-profile privacy cases: last year he ruled that the News of the World’s had breached Max Mosley’s right to privacy after revealing details about Mr Mosley’s sexual predilections. This, however, is what he had to say about bloggers (from The Times):

“In the first case dealing with the privacy of internet bloggers, the judge ruled that Mr Horton had no “reasonable expectation” to anonymity because “blogging is essentially a public rather than a private activity”.

“The judge also said that even if the blogger could have claimed he had a right to anonymity, the judge would have ruled against him on public interest grounds.

“The police officer, the judge said, had argued that he should not be exposed because it could put him at risk of disciplinary action for breaching regulations. But Mr Justice Eady criticised that argument as “unattractive to say the least”.”

The corporate blogs that I work across all promote the expertise and insights of named, bona fide individuals. But anonymous bloggers have been fair game for years: remember when there was a hysterical (and ultimately unsuccessful) race to unmask the author of Belle du Jour? (UPDATE: since outed – ah well, it was a good run.)

Now that the High Court has rubberstamped such witch hunts, it’s more important than ever to bear in mind that, if you blog under an assumed name, you should think very carefully about what you publish. The majority of bloggers (Belle du Jour is an honourable exception) can be tracked down; even if you have cloaked your WHOIS  entry, your posts may throw out small clues to your identity. Girl With A One Track Mind, who worked in the film industry, provided occasional crumbs of trivia about her jobs. She was identified after a journalist ran the accumulated information through IMDB.

Image credit: davidsonscott15.