Find the report at:

Audience > Demographics > Language

Keep in mind en, en-us, and en-uk are all English. Add those up and divide that by total number of visitors. That number represents the number of visitors to your site who have their browser set to the English language.

Why is this important?

Understand Your Customer

Use this data to help understand how your audience consumes your site’s content. Take bounce rate and Average Site Duration into consideration. There may be reason to optimize for them. If there are enough visitors from a different language it might make sense to build out a site specifically for them.

Better Targeting

This could help you find opportunities to localize your ads to speak to your interested audience. Check for patterns around peak seasons and consider running campaigns specifically targeting those visitors.

Google Analytics Language Codes:

ar -sa = Arabic Saudi Arabia
eu = Basque
bg = Bulgarian
ca = Catalan
zh -cn = Chinese PRC
zh -tw = Chinese Taiwan
hr = Croatian
cs = Czech
da = Danish
nl = Dutch Standard
en = English
en -ca = English Canada
en -gb = English United Kingdom
en -us = English United States
et = Estonian
fa = Farsi
fi = Finnish
fr -ca = French Canada
fr = French Standard
mk = FYRO Macedonian
ms = Malaysian
de -at = German Austria
de = German Standard
el = Greek
he = Hebrew
hu = Hungarian
it = Italian Standard
ja = Japanese
ko = Korean
lt = Lithuanian
no = Norwegian Bokmal
pl = Polish
pt -br = Portuguese Brazil
pt = Portuguese Portugal
ru = Russian
sk = Slovak
sl = Slovenian
es = Spanish
es -ar = Spanish Argentina
es = Spanish Spain Traditional
sv = Swedish
th = Thai
tr = Turkish

Google Voice Search

Google has worked a lot recently to bring natural speech to mobile devices through the use of Google Now. But not that experience will be brought to the desktop, “Soon, you’ll be able to just say, hands-free, ‘OK Google, will it be sunny in Santa Cruz this weekend?’ and get a spoken answer.”

The impact of this will be in how you position your website and its content to users. Content should be about to make a strong natural connection with users, not focusing a ton on technical jargon or keyword density. This has been the case for a while now with mobile users, but Google bringing this functionality to the desktop makes it that much more important.

Google Maps Update

For local search, Google Maps as been one of the THE most trusted and used sources to find information businesses, directions, and more. It’s focused so much attention on business listings and search results.  The new Google Maps will now learn from its users and present search results in a whole new way.

Learning – The new Maps will learn from its users, instantly changing to present the most important information. And the more you use it, the more it evolves to better serve the user – “When you set your Home and Work locations, star favorite places, write reviews and share with friends, Google Maps will build even more useful maps with recommendations for places you might enjoy.”

Search – Search on Google Maps used to present a left-hand side column with results that look similar to traditional organic search. In the new Maps, search results are labeled directly on the map with brief information about places , icons indicate categories and other information like recommendations from friends.

Old Maps

New Maps

The full impact of these changes to businesses and their listings is yet to be fully determined. Formic dedicate a post just to these changes once we get access.  Plus, there was so much more coming out of I/O from over 41 changes to Google+, to a streaming music service, and an update to Google+ Local ratings.

The presentation will be an educational Lunch & Learn event from Noon to 1 p.m. at the Formic office. Food and beverages will be provided. Register now to save your seat!

Date: June 12^th, 2013

Time: Noon-1 p.m.

Location: Formic Media Inc., 300 NE Failing St. Portland, OR 97212 (just off MLK, 2 blocks North of Fremont St.)

Cost: Free

URL: http://www.formicmedia.com/seminars

Phone: 503-517-9059

The number of brands using social media to provide customer service doubled from 2011 to 2012, rising from 9% to 18%, according to The Social Customer Engagement Index 2012. A trend embraced by only one in five companies might not seem terribly relevant, but in today’s increasingly social-media-driven market, incorporating social media into your customer service is critical if you want to stay ahead of the curve. As more and more customers shift their primary streams of communication to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, it’s wise to make sure your company is also online to address customer questions and concerns

Brands With Social Media Savvy
As a customer, I love having the option to solve an issue I have with a product or service by reaching out to the company via Twitter. I don’t have to sit on the phone pushing buttons, or suffer through five different transfers. I’ve interacted successfully with Dell and Quickbooks on Twitter, and tried to engage with plenty of other brands (many of whom were not actively listening to customer tweets and failed to acknowledge my requests).

One company who is listening to their customers via social media is Dell. The company’s @DellCares account monitors what’s being said about the brand on Twitter—for better or worse—and responds accordingly. Several years ago, I had a broken Dell monitor the company’s call center said was no longer under warranty. Disappointed, I vented my frustration by posting a tweet. Within minutes, Dell responded to my tweet, and a new monitor was on its way. Guess who’s now a loyal customer?

QuickBooks Online uses @QBOnline to tackle easily fixed issues. They’re quick to respond, and customers can search past Tweets to see if the solution to their own problem has already been provided.

Incorporating Social into Your Customer Service Efforts
Everyone from your sales team to your customer service reps should be trained to use social media to connect and engage with customers.

If you’re already using a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) to capture all your crucial prospect and customer information then investigate how your system integrates with social media and how you can best leverage that functionality.  Insightly, for example, offers Twitter integration to give your team easy access to the tweets of a given customer. The additional knowledge gained allows you to build a more complete profile of your customer and their preferences.

Your business also needs a tool that can monitor what’s being said about your brand, and also respond to direct inquiries. You can use a simple solution like Hootsuite to set up searches for your company name and other keywords, or invest in something more robust like Radian6 (recently acquired by Salesforce). Whatever tool you choose; make sure your staff is trained to use it properly. Any mention of your brand should receive a response as quickly as possible from the appropriate person. An aspect of social media that’s often ignored is the boost companies receive not just from helping their customers, but also from being seen doing so. Taking care of an issue publicly shows other social users that you’re a company that pays attention to, and cares about, its customers. The key is swift and appropriate (i.e., on-brand) acknowledgment within minutes of the Tweet. Social media is all about instant gratification, and if your customers have to wait days to receive a response through Twitter, you’ve lost an opportunity to build a relationship— and possibly lost a customer in the bargain.

While traditional avenues of interaction remain a critical part of effective customer service, social media can and should be an important and versatile tool in your customer service kit. The more touch-points you have with your customers, the easier it will be to keep track of issues and resolve them before they escalate. Taking the time to make social media an integral part of your customer service process can help keep your company ensure you stay connected to your customers, and build strong online relationships that might just lead to a better bottom line.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

The presentation will be an educational Lunch & Learn event from Noon to 1 p.m. at the Formic office. Food and beverages will be provided. Register now to save your seat!

Date: May 8^th, 2013

Time: Noon-1 p.m.

Location: Formic Media Inc., 300 NE Failing St. Portland, OR 97212 (just off MLK, 2 blocks North of Fremont St.)

Cost: Free

URL: http://www.formicmedia.com/seminars

Phone: 503-517-9059

How It Works

Facebook can now “see” users’ activity off-line with partnerships with Datalogix, Acxiom, and Episilon. These companies focus on collecting advertising metrics from retail shopping activities. Such as the loyalty cards customers must sign up for at the grocery stores in order to get the current deals, or when customers ask merchants for product information. Facebook matches email addresses and phone numbers given by the loyalty program participants and matches it up with the information their users provided. Now Facebook ads can show to even more relevant users by targeting actual buyers.

What it looks like

Brands and marketers interested in using this new targeting feature are able to only through Power Editor and the API. There are currently over 500 unique groups of categories to choose from. They include common household purchases like Egg & Dairy Buyers, Cereal Buyers, and Frozen Food Buyers. There are also categories covering people likely to purchase a specific sized automobile. Auto dealers can serve a specific ad for mini vans to the most likely purchaser. California Pizza Kitchen can now serve an ad for their frozen products directly to people who’ve just purchased a Digiorno product and Honda could serve ads for their Accord to people who’ve inquired about Toyota’s Camry. How cool (and scary) is that?

Read about Partner Categories on Facebook here.

As with any new Facebook update, there is already a bit of backlash forming. Users are concerned that their privacy may be breached with the new feature. There are even articles to be found on how to lock down your Facebook privacy settings before Graph Search is widely available. Mashable published a humorous article about funny graph searches and their results – leading to the conclusion that some things just shouldn’t be put out there on the internet.

Mashable also published an article on how small businesses can take advantage of Graph Search. Some easy tips that they provide include having a fan page that is correct, up to date, and has the business’ hours on it, if that is relevant. This way, if someone searches for something like “restaurant in Chicago that are open late,” your business will show up if it fits the criteria. The author also suggests having a fan base on Facebook that actually likes your business, rather than people who were forced to “like” the page in order to win something or enter a contest.

The last piece of advice that is offered is to have people check-in at your business if you have an actual location. By following all of these pieces of advice, your business will cement its place on Facebook, and therefore will be easy to find when it comes to the Graph Search. Graph Search can be a boon for your business, if you work hard to cultivate a great Facebook presence and community on your page.

The article also talks about using Graph Search to your advantage, in order to check out what your competition is up to. You can see the demographic information for people who “like” the pages of your competitors. You can use this as a comparison tool, to see who you are reaching vs. who your competition is reaching. You could then use this information to target different marketing campaigns at different regions, age groups, or another specific demographic. It could also potentially help you manage your reputation on Facebook.

If you have a small business, go ahead and get on the waiting list to have the ability to use Graph Search. I think that it could really be beneficial for both research purposes as well as people being able to find your page.

(Photo Source)

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

My name is John Owens and I’m the newest Account Executive at Formic Media. My background is primarily in Search Engine Optimization, but I think I’m a pretty well rounded marketer. I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself and how I began my career in Search Engine Marketing.

I graduated college in 2001, disillusioned with a psychology degree I grew less and less fond of over the years. But there was no way I was going to spend any more money on traditional schooling.  I spent the remainder of my twenties working various service industry jobs, contemplating what to do with my life when my brother who worked in Pay-Per-Click called.  “You should look into search engine marketing, I think you might like it.”

At 30 years old my SEO career began by word of mouth, as most good campaigns do. I’d always been drawn to advertising, commercials and copywriting in particular; looking back it all seems so obvious now. I’d read a couple books about commercial copywriting in my early twenties out of curiosity, tickled the possibility but was still young and not that serious about starting a career yet. When my brother called, I thought I’d exhausted every possible career option out there.  I was about to call it quits and accept the fact I was going to work on a coffee assembly line the rest of my life. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I rather enjoyed it but the pay sucked. So it was coffee or the unthinkable, go back to school! The mere thought of paying one shilling more for “formal” education made me nauseous, the thought of creating text, image and video ads on what I consider to be the greatest invention of my generation thrilled me.

After doing some initial research and a girl refusing to date me because I worked at a coffee shop, I was highly motivated to begin my new career. I began scouting out local search companies online and had my top 3 picked out, Anvil Media being #1 because I liked their commitment to giving back and sharing knowledge.

I first met Kent Lewis back when Anvil was located in NW Portland on Wilson Street near the industrial district. I think I wore a suit and showed up with resume in hand, figuring I could just get a job because I graduated college. Kent met me in the front lobby area, I introduced myself and told him I was looking for work in search marketing and really admired his company. I think he kind of rolled his eyes, he was obviously busy running a company and all, but he took a deep breath and brought me into his office. He glanced at my resume, threw it in the garbage (just kidding), doled out some kind advice and a link to an article he had written called Five Steps to a Successful Career in Search Engine Marketing – SEM careers offer greater earning potential than your current dead-end job. I followed all five of those steps and it took about two years, but I got a job with Google doing Local SEO that turned into International SEO that brought me back to Local SEO and Formic Media.

I’ve been to a lot of search engine marketing companies in the Portland area over the years and none of them gave me the amount of time and help that Kent did that day (No one was ever rude to me, Portland has rad SEM agencies full of great people). I’ve wanted to work at this company ever since and in 2009 Formic Media was founded and I met John McPhee, Anna Hutson and Alex Peerenboom. They showed me just as much kindness if not more. When I first met John he gave me a link to Google’s SEO Starter Guide and over the years he has been a wonderful mentor and friend.

Additional Info.

Now while I’m supposed to adhere to the “rule” of a professional introduction blog post, I would be bummed if I didn’t get the chance to mention that in addition to my professional experience, I unofficially started work when I was five at my Grandma’s liquor store in Montana unloading booze off semi-trucks, stocking shelves, dusting bottles and playing solitaire during breaks.  Occasionally I was given a lottery scratch-it to play if I did a really good job.  I became friends with the regulars and even scored my first motorcycle ride.

When my family packed up and started a carpet business in Washington my brothers and I worked in the warehouse after school and on the weekends, measuring and cutting carpet rolls for customers.  We worked some really long and laborsome hours, but the money my brothers and I made taught us the value of a buck and hard work.

My parents sold the carpet business and moved to Portland so we could go to what they thought was a better high school.  I played baseball, graduated, and worked my way through college at various work study programs.

That’s a little additional, possibly worthless information about me and where I come from. In conclusion, I’m in the industry I love at the company I’ve always had my eye on. It’s all very romantic I know, but honestly, I’m so excited to be at Formic Media and I look forward to working with all of our wonderful clients and friends.

Thanks!

The presentation will be an educational Lunch & Learn event from Noon to 1 p.m. at the Formic office. Food and beverages will be provided. Register now to save your seat!

Date: April 10^th, 2013

Time: Noon-1 p.m.

Location: Formic Media Inc., 300 NE Failing St. Portland, OR 97212 (just off MLK, 2 blocks North of Fremont St.)

Cost: Free

URL: http://www.formicmedia.com/seminars

Phone: 503-517-9059

There are several easy and effective ways to add interactive content to your website. Here are a few suggestions:

Video Content

Adding video content to your website is really pretty simple. Sites like YouTube, Flickr or Vimeo make it easy to upload and share content on your site. Most of these sites offer a limited amount of free upload space each month, and you can buy more if you need it. These sites also typically offer a very simple way to embed your video content into a website or blog.

So what types of videos should you incorporate into your site?  What does it take to make a successful business video? The opportunities are pretty much endless. Depending on the type of business you have, you can consider shooting video of the services that you provide. A local cleaning company in my area actually took video of their employees on the job, showing how thorough they are when cleaning. This definitely inspired confidence in the company, and I hired them. You could also offer video tutorials, product spotlights, or employee biographies.

While this may go without saying, do be careful when it comes to the content of your videos. If your audience is primarily a business audience, make sure and watch your language, and don’t post anything that could be considered not suitable for an office setting. Check out our blog post on how to use YouTube for marketing for more ideas.

Audio Content

Audio content can be a bit tricky to get right. In the past, websites have had sound effects that are not the most pleasant thing to hear if you aren’t expecting them. Sites like Myspace started playing music immediately when you clicked on a user’s page. I think it’s safe to say that many consumers found this more annoying than engaging. Imagine clicking on a webpage and having it suddenly blare music throughout your office!

However, there are definitely ways to do audio content on a website correctly. One idea is to have a company podcast or series of podcasts. Pick a topic that you or your company is an expert on and talk people through how to do it, or hire experts like the group at Pagatim to help make professional audio content. Audio makes it easy for people to access your site and the information and resources you share there while they’re on the go. For example, they could listen to a podcast you produced on a particular topic while driving or biking, which makes it possible to multi-task, but still be consuming media that’s interesting and informative. Another innovative idea might be to have a phone number where people can call in to review your product or service (leave a message on a voicemail) and you could then post those reviews on your site. Music can be a great tool as well, just make sure that your user is able to choose to listen to it, rather than it just start playing when they click on a page.

(Photo Source)

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.