With the recent release of the Apple iPad in Australia, Alan Long, Research Director for Experian Hitwise, investigated the online search behaviour of consumers. He found similarities in search behavior, as for the Apple iPhone, whereby consumer interest moved from product searches to an increasing focus on data plans and prices as the launch date loomed. However, application searches have not been as dominant after iPad's initial announcement, as they were for the iPhone.

With Apple initially launching the iPad in the US, Australians have been able to read reviews and news from the US market to understand the benefits on owning an iPad, before its launch here. Applications are no longer the mystery they were when the iPhone was launched, so the excitement/interest, whilst still relatively strong, has not been the key search driver.

The major interest has been around news, reviews, pricing, applications and of course the final release date of the iPad.

Optus and Telstra are the dominant carrier's associated with the iPad, no doubt benefiting from the iPhone's popularity, followed by Vodafone. Telstra and Optus' positions are reversed, when compared to the weeks leading up to iPhone launch in July 2008 - this is seen through the search term portfolios relating to iPad and the respective carrier brands.

To read the full article, please visit Experian Hitwise Analyst Weblogs.

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Experian Hitwise has been in the online space for many years and has learnt through clients and industry experience that there seem to be many 'cowboys' offering Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services, ultimately promising the world, only to leave clients disillusioned and with no real results in sight.

So to avoid all the heart ache, expense and frustrations, we have put together the top 11 questions you should be asking an SEO agency before signing anything plus the answers they should be giving you!

Following is the final four questions in our three-part series:

Question 8: What are your link building strategies?

There is an almost never ending list of link building strategies that can be implemented for your business. Here is a snapshot of some of the strategies your SEO provider can use:

• Premium Directory Submissions;
• Deep Linking Submissions;
• Internal Linking - within your own website to different pages;
• External Linking;
• Link Baiting - exercises with relevant anchor text;
• Competitor Link Strategy - where are your competitors getting them and why aren't you;
• Press Release Online Distribution;
• Article Submission Distribution; and
• Video Optimisation and Distribution.

Question 9: Do you allocate a strategic account manager that provides insights and direction?

There should actually be two key people that will be allocated to your SEO campaign - firstly, you should have an Account Manager that will lead the project, develop strategies and ensure your goals are met. The second person should be an SEO Analyst, who is responsible for providing you with important insights into your campaign, along with expert recommendations.

Question 10: What reporting do you provide?

The measurement of campaign success should be the core to any SEO project. The ongoing review and analysis that should occur throughout a campaign will ensure that your objectives are constantly being met and will continue to stay that way. Some of the key measurements within a report would be:

• Rankings
• Traffic
• Sales
• Leads
• Conversions
• Channel performance

Question 11: What is the ongoing strategy after the initial phase?

After detailed market research has been conducted, your SEO agency would ideally develop a range of recommendations, keeping in mind your objectives and how they can be best achieved. From there, progress reporting should be used to identify more opportunity for growth within your business.

So, there you have it! A detailed guide to the key questions you should be asking your SEO provider, and the responses you should receive from a professional and experienced agency. SEO is so much more than simply injecting keywords into your website - it requires a detailed, scientific approach that should be handled by knowledgeable, dedicated experts who value your business objectives as much as you do.

For more information about SEO please email search.csm@hitwise.com or call 1800 816 997.

As part of an ongoing effort to measure and act on our clients' feedback, you may have received Experian Client Voice Survey on 25th May 2010. Your personal input is very valuable as we strive to deliver you, an exceptional client experience.

This year Experian will also be making a donation of AUD$2 to 'Room to Read' for every Client Voice Survey that is returned, so please help to support our corporate social responsibility initiatives by returning your survey.

The following report lists the most popular terms typed into a search engine for the 4 weeks ending 22/05/2010 that resulted in traffic to websites classified by Experian Hitwise within the 'Lifestyle - Mens Sites' industry. For example, the most popular search term was 'zoo weekly' representing 6.79% of all search terms that delivered users to websites classified by Experian Hitwise in the 'Lifestyle - Mens Sites' industry.

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." - Christopher Reeve.

It seems, Australian Internet users have increasingly broadened their horizons with the GivesMeHope website (www.givesmehope.com) moving 5293 positions to rank 1179 in All Categories (week ending 22/05/2010).

The website, which provides short stories of hope, increased its market share by 480% in All Categories for that same week.

75.21% of visitors to GivesMeHope were new - with OMG Facts (created by the same group who made the GivesMeHope website) and Facebook, being the top upstream websites contributing the highest volume of new visitor traffic to the GivesMeHope website (week ending 22/05/2010).

60.05% of visitors to the website were female and 38.88% of all visitors were aged between 45-54 (4 rolling weeks ending 22/05/2010). Interestingly the most highly represented Mosaic Australia Group to visit the GivesMeHope website were 'Privileged Prosperity' (4 rolling weeks ending 22/05/2010) - who are best described as the most affluent families living in the most desirable locations.