Google recently added a new page layout algorithm which can negatively impact your page rank.  In an effort to enhance customer experiences, Google plans to penalize sites with ads placed primarily at the top of a website.

The Right Ad Mix

According to Google, the new algorithm impacts less than 1% of searches.  Pop-ups, pop-unders and overlay ads are not considered in the new algorithm. Google stresses the change impacts only the sites that have a large number of ads above the fold (the area that users do not have to scroll down in order to read).

SearchMetrics regularly charts the page ranking losers impacted by Google algorithm changes. A few of the top sites recently dropping down in page rank include IMDB, Facebook, Rotten Tomatoes,  

LA Times and Amazon. While it’s not clear if this new algorithm is directly responsible for the drop in rank or if other factors are at play, it does show that even the most popular websites are seeing some impact.

Should You Worry?

As long as the content located at the top of your site outweighs the advertisements, there’s no need to worry. If your site is ad heavy, you might want to take notice as the new algorithm is really intended to punish sites that rely more heavily on ads than content.

The Google Browser Size tool can help you determine the amount of content that is easily visible to visitors when landing on your site. To check, simply visit the Google Browser Size tool and input your web address. You’ll get a quick glimpse of the content visible when individuals land on your site. If all you see is ads, you might want to think about redesigning your site so ads aren’t the only thing your visitors see when landing on your site.

In essence, the change encourages businesses to focus on ad placement that doesn’t impact the user experience.  A few things to keep in mind to minimize the impact of this new algorithm:

Focus on User-Friendly Design. Sites that greet customers with tons of ads don’t create the best experience and don’t do much to build trust. Use the top of your page to promote content sought after by your customers, instead of ads.

Incoming Links – Incoming links coming from ad-heavy sites may be downgraded by the Google algorithm change. Their downgrade may impact your site ranking as well.

Make Changes – If your site is downgraded due to heavy ads at the top-of-the-fold, now is the time to make changes to your site. The changes will be reflected once Google has a chance to re-crawl the content of your site. It may take many weeks to for the penalty to be lifted.

In the end, this change will make websites better and search results more relevant. After all, few things are more frustrating than clicking on a search engine result and landing on a website with no content and a bunch of ads.

A few of the ways your brand can deliver outstanding care online are highlighted below:

Listen to Online Conversations
Brands that have yet to fully embrace social media and digital marketing should at a very minimum start monitoring online brand conversations. Regularly search your brand online and use Google alerts to monitor conversations.  Use Twitter search or free tools such as Twendz to monitor how people are responding to your brand. You should also monitor blogs discussing your brand. Both Technorati and Google Blog search tools are good tools to use for monitoring any brand discussions happening in the blogosphere.

Create Memorable Customer Experiences Online
Most businesses have a strategy in place for providing exceptional customer experiences. This same focus needs to be delivered online. Brands can enhance customer experiences by providing interesting lifestyle content, sharing employee stories, inviting customers to share their own stories and sharing videos and photos that cater to the unique interests of your customers.

Provide unexpected experiences online and aim to delight customers with personalized communications when possible. Avoid broadcast messages and opt for personal messages to each customer.

React to Negative and Positive Feedback
A recent InterGlobe Technologies’ study confirmed that for every 100 customer service calls, airlines attract 96 conversations on social media. The relationship between customer service and social media may not be as strong in all industries, but it does stress the need for businesses to be aware of both good and bad online conversations.

Brands need to thank customers for positive remarks and reach out to customers when they post something negative or complain online. Most consumers will be delighted and surprised that your brand took the time to contact them. When feedback is negative, instead of creating streams of communication online for the entire world to see encourage customers to send a direct message with a phone number so a customer representative can contact them directly. Follow-up with customers after the issue is resolved to ensure they are still satisfied with the resolution.

Act on Customer Feedback
Some of your customer suggestions could be your next new product or service.  Use social media to invite customers to provide feedback on their recent stay or brand experience. Invite them to outline things you can do to make their experience even more exceptional. Empower customers to share their stories, pictures and videos on your website or social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. By doing so, your customers can become some of the strongest ambassadors for your brand.

When done right, online marketing and social media provide an additional way for brands to nurture existing relationships and build new ones. It provides customers with an opportunity to share their opinion and ideas direct with the brands they love. The businesses that respond and engage with their customers have a new opportunity to make these relationships even stronger.  Ignoring this communication channel is no longer an option, especially since customers are now more engaged online than ever before.

To help you continue to navigate the constantly-changing luxury environment, we’ve highlighted a few of the trends expected to impact luxury marketing below.

Deliver Outstanding Customer Experiences – Everywhere

Affluent consumers have always celebrated brands and services that continuously strive to exceed their expectations. We expect this trend to continue in 2012 on a much broader scale. Whether staying at a hotel, visiting a website or accessing information on a mobile device, consumers expect brands to deliver an exceptional experience on all platforms.

Luxury brands can no longer get away with slow-loading websites or stale content. Instead, brands need to embrace the power of storytelling to create online content that’s fresh, entertaining and engaging. Websites should load quickly, cater to the affluent consumer and be easy to navigate. Social media should engage customers on a more personal level.

Embrace Digital Marketing

By now, most luxury brands have embraced social media, ecommerce and mobile marketing. Those that haven’t may be missing out on a huge opportunity. According to the 2012 Four Seasons Luxury Trends Report: The Luxury Consumer in the New World: Then and Now, 78 percent of affluent consumers are on social networks. And 65 percent of the wealthy consumers surveyed believe brands with no social media presence are out of touch.

Luxury brands like Four Seasons are developing online digital media programs that authentically interact with consumers on all platforms are a good fit for the brand. To add authenticity to their site, Four Seasons integrated consumer reviews from sites like TripAdvisor and Twitter.

Recognize that Value and Quality Matter

Although the economy appears to be headed in the right direction, wealthy consumers will continue to demand performance at the best possible value. Ad Age recently released the results of their annual Ipsos Mendelsohn Affluent Survey revealing that 78% of the affluent individuals surveyed agreed with the statement “When it comes to quality, I believe you get what you pay for.”

Luxury brands need to deliver on their quality promise and reinforce their unique value proposition. Consumers no longer purchase products on services on brand name alone. They continue to seek out brands that can deliver on the things that matter most important to them.

Take Advantage of Mobile Technology

Mobile applications will continue to become a bigger part of the luxury marketing mix in 2012. Affluent consumers expect luxury brands to be available to them from any location and device. Mobile sites should be commerce-enabled, quick-to-load and easy to navigate. And when it comes to mobile advertising, luxury marketers should keep advertising simple and easy to read. Mobile technology makes it possible for luxury brands to easily offer exclusive content in a timely, personalized matter.

Develop a Focused Strategy

Now more than ever, luxury brands need to develop a cohesive marketing strategy. Whether utilizing current staff or working with an agency, luxury brands need to focus on integrating all forms of marketing, whether traditional or digital, into a seamless to provide affluent consumers with exceptional experiences at every customer touch point.

Describe yourself in three words. Creative. Insightful. Effective.

Fill in the blanks: Advertising is everywhere in our lives.

If you could do something other than advertising, what would that be?
I’d be a fine artist or an architect.

Why did you and your brother Peter Posner form Posner Advertising?
Actually my father Sidney Posner had been in the advertising business and both Peter and I grew up in it. His Agency was called Newmark, Posner and Mitchell (aka. NPM). When he retired in 1993 Peter and I formed Posner Advertising, bought his accounts and provided him with an exit strategy.

You’ve worked with Peter [Posner] for the past 35 years. Tell us what it’s like to work with someone so close.
What can I say, he’s my brother! My first time working with Peter was when I was only 14-years old, as a coolie at Catalina Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, Long Island. He was a cabana boy and I was his assistant. It was all about the tips.

What was the most important lesson learned throughout your career?
Never take things for granted. Value clients and colleagues alike. The rewards are not in the prize, but in the journey.

Who was your first client?
My first client was Linda McKean of McKean Real Estate in Sullivan County, New York. I remember driving 2 hours to meet with her and her father. Her father came in from hunting with a rifle and was apparently a real maverick in that part of the county. He showed me a dozen buck hanging from a tree. I knew then that I couldn’t mess up. Linda and I had taken an immediate liking to one another and we worked together for over 10 years.

Since then, you’ve worked with some really big named clients – Trump, Asprey, L.G. and Capella to name a few. Can you recall an advertising campaign you were most excited to work on?
I’ve been really engaged on the Capella account in particular because the founder of the company Horst Schulze is a true legend in the hospitality business and I find him inspiring. I also had great fun working on the branding for Citi-Habitats and helping its founders, Andrew Heiberger and Gary Malin, grow their brand into a huge success.

Is there a recurring style or idea that marks your creative work at the agency?
Honestly, every creative solution is entirely different and specially devised to solve a particular marketing challenge. While all of Posner’s work is impactful and visually engaging, rarely do you see two campaigns that look anything alike. The one thing that is consistent is that we deliver strategies and solutions that generate an immediate response.

What does a good ad say to you?
A good ad gets my attention right away. It is memorable and has emotional resonance. It can take on many different tacks and still deliver emotional resonance – be it entertaining, inspirational, endearing, familiar, sexy, etc. The bottom line is, it should make you want to experience that product or service soon.

Those are excellent questions, Michelle. Posner Advertising has been around for over two decades, specializing in traditional and new media marketing for the real estate, healthcare, hospitality and luxury market. We take pride in serving these markets and continue to find and implement new ways to assist and educate our clients.

When our agency hires a manager to look after our social media presence, we look for a person who is knowledgeable about the aforementioned markets. Our social media manager must also be organized, have superior common sense, be able to communicate with a professional, authentic and ethical point of view and most importantly, he or she must possess good listening skills – because as much as we want to be “social,” our priority is in finding out what our clients’ needs are.

Additionally, we strive to create an informative and empowering marketing platform for our potential and existing clients.  Therefore, even though our agency’s voice may appear to be very focused and singular, it is in fact a grouping of shared ideas from many of our top marketing executives.

Jules Hecht from New York, NY asked:
“Self-publishing is the easiest way to produce a book without having an agent or a publishing house. What course of action would you take to promote a book to push it toward the bestseller list?”

Thank you for your question, Jules. Though our agency does not specialize in marketing books, we believe the best course of action for your shoestring budget involves leveraging the power of word-of-mouth and social media.

We would start by first branding the book and author. Have you determined the official typeface for your book? Will you be using artwork for the cover? Do you have professional headshots for press?  Once you have created a clear brand for your book and yourself, you can start the marketing process.

Begin by sharing your book with your established fans – your friends and family; ask them to help by recommending your book to others. We would also partner with businesses within your community to organize book reading and book signing events to promote your book on a local level. Expose your book on a national (or even global level) utilizing social media. Set-up a Facebook page as a platform where fans can engage and find out upcoming tours and news items. Set-up a Twitter account and align yourself with like-minded individuals. Set up a blog and write informative articles that relate back to your book. Be sure to use good SEO tactics!

Lastly, stay on course. Word-of-mouth and social media marketing takes time. Be patient and if your book is any good, we’re sure you’ll make the list.

Charles Trevor James from New York, NY asked:
“Everything is digital now. Will print advertising be as relevant?”

Hello Charles. Your question seems to be on the top of many minds. In the past five years, our agency has experienced a surge in new media clients. We have also seen a noticeable shift in media buys, with large budgets being allocated to digital spheres. What this says to us is that digital is here to stay.

But while there are many benefits to working with digital media such as efficiency, trackability and lower costs, there are also set backs that should be considered.

This year, the average user spent one minute and 12 seconds with online news compared to the 3 hours and 25 minutes an average user spent online in 2010. This indicates that our online engagement is actually declining even as our digital spaces are growing. Not surprising, our engagement for print is substantially higher, averaging a total of 50 minutes for newspapers and magazine readership per day.

So to answer your question, we believe print advertising is still relevant today, as it provides a space for marketers to invest in consumers who are truly and thoughtfully engaged.

On June 21, 2011, the Posner Advertising team set out to the New York Stock Exchange to join other interactive community members taking part in a unique social experience called the iPhone Symphony. At exactly 11:45 p.m., scores of people gathered around in a circle and raised  their iPhones up high in the air, unifying a distinct and dense reverberating sound via an iPhone sound application developed by GROUP. The result was wondrous.

Posner Advertising participates in the iPhone Symphony by GROUP

Not surprisingly, it’s that last “social” bit that has taken him far in life.

So far, that at the mere age of 29, Rojas is the head of the social media department of one of the chicest New York hospitality brands known as GrandLife Hotels. We recently had the opportunity to hear Steven Rojas discuss his views on the evolving New York City underground scene, the hospitality industry and the business of social media.

One of the things that set you apart from a traditional marketing executive is your connection with the New York underground scene. Tell us about your involvement.
From a very young age I was fascinated by the unconventional, whether it was art, fashion, music or people I was drawn to those individuals and places that offered something unique. From going to CBGB’s punk shows to art galleries, then evolving into culturally charged youth at hipster Mecca Misshapes parties where I began DJ’ing, to eventually becoming entrenched in the Tommy Saleh’s international creative events with GrandLife. Keeping company with these characters in the underground scene has kept me on the cusp of listening, seeing and being involved in everything that is emerging from this cultural niche, which is significant because it is much larger than I could have ever expected.

On your personal Twitter account, your subhead reads: “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” Break this down for us.
This is actually a Mick Jagger quote, but anyone that knows me can attest to the fact that I have a tendency to overdo things. As far as I’m concerned, what’s the point in doing anything if you aren’t going to FULLY do it with all your heart?

In this day in age, everyone is producing online content. What do you think businesses ought to do to stand out above all the noise?
We all have a digital responsibility and I believe companies need to stay true to that idea. Too often we see businesses trying to become someone else online in order to raise numbers and ‘Like’ followings, however this tactic will eventually lead to the digital demise of a brand’s voice and consumers in this social age are far too intelligent to fall for such duplicitous actions. Maintaining a distinguished brand voice that readers can connect with is extremely important for standing out in the jumble of online content.

What are some successful social media programs you’ve implemented for GrandLife Hotels?
Here at the GrandLife Hotels we are constantly meeting and discussing ways in which we can make the digital world work better for our guests. In the past year we released a GrandLife Insiders App, which allows guests to access our insider information. This app pulls information directly from the GrandLife site, which we are consistently updating. We also recently launched a 24-hour digital concierge, you can tweet at us anytime and we will take care of it. It is priority one for us and (me) to make sure everyone is taken care of on and offline.

As a leader in the industry, give one solid piece of advice to a hospitality brand just starting out in social media.
Figure out what your digital voice is and then address it as closely as you can.

For more information on GrandLife Hotels, visit Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand. You can also follow Steven Rojas via Twitter.

Like people, brands can also be distinguished by name. However, a good brand name conveys a precise message and anchors the product to its inherent values. It not only provides a glimpse of its story, but rounds it, makes sense of it and reaffirms it.

What Are Good Brand Names
Interestingly, studies have shown consumers are partial to good brand names. What are good brand names? Names that are simple, easy to remember, easy to say, easy to see. For instance, consumers tend to favor brand names that start with plosive sounds like B, C, D, G, etc. Think Budweiser, Coke, DKNY, Gucci. Consumers also prefer typical brand names, rather than atypical. For example, Tropicana would be a typical brand name for orange juice; Brownies would not. Consumers gravitate towards brand names with a symbolic or pictorial value e.g. Apple’s apple and American Airline’s eagle. In some cases, they even prefer brand names with similar letters as their own name (otherwise known as implicit egotism, but that’s another article).

Whether you’re a large company extending your product offerings or a small business starting a new product or service, deciding on a brand name is an important and arduous task but a necessary one. I recommend a four-step process, which involves setting objectives, creating a list of possible names, evaluating the names and choosing the names.

Set Objectives
Like any great task, one should always start with a list of objectives. What do you hope to achieve with the brand name?

Create a List
On average, most businesses should consider about 50 names to start with. There are many ways businesses can come up with good brand names, some include getting help from agencies, others may brainstorm in-house or even decide to purchase existing names in the marketplace.

Evaluate
Start by assessing how the names measure up with your initial objectives. From there, see if they meet other important criteria such as does it evoke connotations, is there overall appeal or does it translate well globally.

Select Names
Once you’ve narrowed your options, be sure to set aside 3-5 choices in case of trademark clearances. We recommend you consult with an advertising agency for further assistance with qualitative measures such as implementing linguistic research, focus group and survey testing.

Remember, a brand name is one of the most important components of your business. Like your own name, a brand name is highly revealing and will influence how others perceive it as well as determine the kind of sales and overall success of your company.