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6 Reasons Search Your World Changes SEO Strategy

January 31, 2012 By alansmith Leave a Comment

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has gone through a lot of changes over the years. Search Engines are like little toddlers, they need to be taught what is relevant and quality for searches. The goal of search engines is to provide the most relevant and best quality result to your search query. The task of SEO is to provide search engines with all the necessary triggers of relevancy and quality to teach them what to display in search results.

The basics of SEO consists both of on-site factors, like header tags and title tags, and off-site factors, like back-links and social triggers. Over the years the way we try to reach our goals with organic search has changed. And with the introduction of Google’s “Search Plus Your World,” there has been a shift in search results based on the Google+ social graph.

If you do not have a Google+ social media plan in place, now is the time to adapt one.

6 Reasons Search is Changing

Google+ information is being heavily displayed in search results. When you are logged into your Google account and perform a search, not only are you going to see the regular paid ads and the top ten search results, you are going to see Google+ results all over the page.

You will see the people that are in your circle along the top of the results page. You will see content from your circle’s feed showing in prime locations in search. Google+ is being displayed prominently and it will affect your traffic and potential conversion.

Google+ is in Search Results

Second, Google has made an aggressive change to the way search results are displayed. They have introduced a new results box called “People and Pages on Google+.” This is prominent and will grow in use. This will only display when logged into your account, but the power is obvious.

Facebook, at the time of this writing has about 800 million active users. Google has billions of users performing billions of searches each day. The amount of data available to Google is significantly greater than even Facebook.

Google is essentially personalizing your search results based on your social connections and the things that you have indicated are your interests. They are trying to learn what is most relevant to you and deliver the results that they believe you would want to view and your social connections help determine both relevancy and quality.

Google+ Adoption is Growing

Facebook has spent a great deal of energy and effort becoming the center of the social graph. They have built an enormous amount of equity in “owning” the social space. Google is making an effort to dislodge Facebook from that position because of the power of search. Google+ is still a young social media platform. At the time of this writing, it has about 60 million users. It will reach 100 million by the end of 2012 and begin to grow at steady rate.

I don’t know about you, but when people perform a search using one of my primary keywords, showing up in organic search is good, but showing up in “People and Pages on Google+” would be great! It is in a better position for clicks and gives me an opportunity to connect better with potential customers or users.

Enriching Result Snippets

The rich snippets that are being included in the markup will have impact in click through rates and impressions. You now have images, icons of people in your circle, brands that you follow being displayed in the search result under a listing. It is adding an element of social proof that search results have missed.

We will be more likely to click on links that people we know and follow have +1ed or shared on their stream than a link with no social proof. Google is counting on these triggers. These are the things that help provide them with better information that leads to better search results for its customers, you and me!

Social Triggers and Proof Matter

The current trend in search is to be biased toward social triggers and social proof. The search algorithm is designed to deliver the most important content to its users. The problem is that these mathematical formulas are missing a key ingredient, human behavior. They are not able to understand and predict human behavior in a reliable, systematic way. By incorporating the social element from Google+, they are able to utilize this data to help filter irrelevant and low quality results and deliver high quality relevant results specific to the user.

Your search results will differ from my search results because our social graph is different. These triggers will impact the way Google delivers results. Search becomes more personal.

SEO is Changing with Social

The impact of Google’s “Search Plus Your World” is yet to be completely understood. It has already proven that is an important tool for online marketing and social marketing and it is now influencing SEO strategy. If you have not began to look at how Google+ can improve your web traffic, jump in while there is still room to learn, grow and master. Then you can become the authority that is showing for your keyword in the “People and Pages on Google+” results.

Here’s A Quick Way To Convert Audio To Text

January 24, 2012 By Terri Leave a Comment

As an Internet Marketer, I have developed audio recordings of business tips, and many training videos. So I began to think about another way to re-purpose that content. Such as turning them into transcripts and re-purposing them as an ebook, a seven-step series on “how to” do whatever I was discussing, or a free tips sheet for my opt-in box.

I had used a virtual assistant in the past to to listen to the audio and transcribe it for me. Which took several hours to complete and was very costly. I needed something quick and easy (and free would be great too!). After some research, I found VoiceBase. This free web-based program allows you to upload files manually into VoiceBase or automatically through their API. They support many different file types and accept files up to 750MB. You can also record audio or video directly from your computer using your microphone and webcam and upload it to VoiceBase.

VoiceBase has a unique feature in that you can “search” your uploaded files by typing in your keywords. Also, there is a public search feature where you can find public radio and podcasters who have content on VoiceBase.

The free version allows you to store your files for one year. Any time during that one year period you can choose to permanently store your files for around $1 per hour of audio. Also available for an additional cost is human transcribing, which takes approximately three days to complete.

I uploaded a couple of webinars that I had previously done. They were 45 minutes to 1 hour in length. Both files uploaded quickly and in less than two hours, the transcripts were complete. I didn’t see an easy way to save a file, so I just copied and pasted it into a Word document. The transcribed content is not usable and will have to be reviewed extensively in order for it to be re-purposed. However, they did state that the clearer your audio is, the better the transcript will be. So I’m not giving up on this program as a great resource. Keeping in mind that I should speak clearly and slower, I believe the next audio that I upload will produce a much better transcript.

VoiceBase also has a free iPhone App so that you can record from your phone. Overall, I like it and will continue to use it for now. What program are you currently using for audio to text conversions?

How Backlinks Are Significant?

January 3, 2012 By Bethany 2 Comments

According to a definition, a back link of a website is a link anywhere on the web that directs towards the particular website. Any website on the web is incomplete without back links. Even with the most relevant content, a website’s credibility is still under question without quality back links. Search engines especially Google calculates the relevance of a site on the web according to the number of quality back links. So if you own a website, it is most important for you to understand the value of back links and apply while optimizing your website.

Almost every website that expects regular visitors rely on what we call Search Engine Optimization abbreviated as SEO. A search engine expects a website to build quality back links with time, which is a long process. In a search query, the content of the website is considered more relevant which has the maximum number of back links from relevant sources. For example if you own a website based on gadgets, quality back links will be the ones which come from other gadget websites. Search engines will depend upon the source website’s content to determine the quality of your website’s back link. So you should not just blindly aim on having the maximum number of back links from any website but look for relevance. Natural back links can be slowly built with time and maturity of your website on the web. This way it is a long process and this is why we need effective SEO for back links. But to manipulate search engines for back links is not fairly easy.

Back links hold a high value in search engine algorithms. Hence a lot of people try to influence search engines by manipulating the use of back links. But these tips and tricks lose their influence with time and the algorithms just get tougher. Among the most common techniques are link farms and back link bombing. Sometimes when you click somewhere on a webpage, it automatically opens a different webpage. You might wonder if you have mistakenly clicked on an advertisement. This is instead a hidden link which is actually a back link to a website. These are known as link farms. Back link bombing is actually a deliberate attempt to fake the credibility of a website. Suppose if someone has 5 different websites under the same IP and he/she interlinks them together to sneak in a few extra back links. All the websites may or may not have similar content but under the same IP they are usually caught. This is called back link bombing.

A search engine considers both inbound and outbound links of a website to calculate its credibility. You should always keep a check on all the websites that link back to yours to make the links effective. A tool that can help you with that is the Domain Stats Tool. You should also consider the Backlink Builder tool that can help you find websites which has a content theme similar to your website. Another tool that can help you build more effective hyperlinks is the Backlink Anchor Text Analysis Tool. Apply these tools for optimization and follow a fair and square method to enhance the quality and increase the visitors on your prestigious website.

About the author: Bethany is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. She recently read an article about Green building and liked it a lot. Beside this she loves cars and dreams of owning one of the BMW cars.

Comment Luv

October 24, 2011 By Terri 10 Comments

I LOVE Comment Luv! How about you? That almost sounds like a cheer doesn’t it?

But I do really love the plugin, CommentLuv and there is a hot new WordPress plugin coming soon! Cathy Stucker is giving away a free copy at her book marketing site, SellingBooks. Learn how you can enter and win by visiting Cathy’s CommentLuv Premium giveaway page.

If you are not familiar with this plugin, it builds backlinks, increases traffic to your blog, makes it easier for your readers to share your posts on Facebook, Twitter and others social networking sites and leaves a link for your last post on any other blog you comment on that has the plugin installed.

I highly suggest you take a look at this plugin and install it on your WordPress site. You’ll LUV it!

The New Facebook Timeline – An Online Scrapbook

September 27, 2011 By Terri 2 Comments

As I sat in my office watching the Live Feed from Facebook’s F8 Conference last week, I quickly saw the new Timeline being much like an online scrapbook. I love to scrapbook and have gotten together with friends to share stamps, templates and other embellishments for by books. But the one thing I don’t do with my scrap-booking is to…Keep It Up To Date! I’m terrible about this. I have really good intentions, but I put it off and put it off until my children are grown and all the wonderful events of their life are outdated, so why put that book together now?

Well, with the new Facebook Timeline, (and everyone should remember this, you don’t HAVE to put your life out there, it’s your choice) I can can go all the way back to my birth and start building my life online. I’m not so sure that I want everything out there or if I even want to go back that far. But I have that option now.

And there are Apps that will make the Facebook experience more like a community. We can share music, movies, books and videos with each other and even watch them together and chat about them, all from within Facebook. Be careful, not to make yourself a hermit with this feature and never go out to a real theater or bookstore. You still need human touchy-feely relationships.

Here is a run down (as I noted it) of the new Timeline and it’s accompanying features:

The heart of the Facebook experience is your Profile
The Story of your Life will be represented in Timeline
Timeline will be a lot more visual
On the right of the Timeline will be the years and you can click it to see what you posted for that year
A large area for a Cover Photo at the top of your Timeline. Can be changed daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
Visual Tiles for the Apps you use
Works on Mobile Devices
You can go to the beginning of your life and build your Timeline, or just start where you are
Apps express who you are by highlighting and curating all your stories and giving you complete control over everything and everyone that sees it
A new Report feature to allow you to see quickly a summary of your Apps, like what you ate, what movies you watched, where you have been, etc.
Ticker (which a lot of people find annoying) is a lightweight stream of information. It moves quickly and shares posts from your friends so you can jump into a conversation with them
Open Graph – a new class of Apps will cover four areas, Communication, Games, Media and Lifestyle
Through Open Graph you will discover new things from your friends – Frictionless experiences and Realtime Serendipity (this is the music, movie sharing feature I mentioned above)
Open Graph is the biggest change on Facebook since the 1st F8 conference

The beta period for Timeline began last week for developers. But many people have declared themselves developers so they can begin building their Timeline. Myself…I’ll just wait until all the bugs and kinks are worked out and build mine. Which will only be a couple of weeks.

After everyone has gotten to learn and use Timeline, the Open Graph will be rolled out.

So you have lots of decisions and choices to make. Do you want to have your entire life online for everyone to read? Do you want to share just the highlights of your life? Do you want to build relationships with your friends over a song, book or movie? You can (or cannot) do it all with the new Facebook Timeline and Open Graph.

How do you feel about these features? Will you use them? I’d love to know your thoughts.

Promoting Your Blog Using Offline Marketing

August 22, 2011 By Jen Silva is a writer for Choosewhat.com. ChooseWhat is a company that provides product reviews and test data for business services and products such as business cards and PBX services. Their goal is to help small companies make informed buying decisions on business solutions that help their business. 4 Comments

Using traditional offline marketing techniques to market your online blog seems like it could be a daunting task, rife with frustration and needless papers and phone calls. However, by doing all of your marketing online, you leave out a huge number of potential readers. If you are blogging for fun or for money, the point is you want people to read what you write. Without readers, all of your work and fantastic writing is for nothing.

You don’t have to worry; though…integrating tried-and-true offline marketing methods with more modern techniques is not as hard as it sounds. There are 3 easy ways you can get started advertising your blog offline. Each of them is unique and helpful on its own, and they work well together. All of them are low-cost, and have proven effective time and time again.

Business Cards

One of the best ways to get the word out about your blog is with the use of good, old fashioned business cards. Keeping these handy in your wallet, glove box, and jacket pockets (don’t wash them!) will enable you to network everywhere you go. They are relatively inexpensive to print – you could even do them yourself, if you really wanted to save money. Here are 3 tips to help you with your amazing business cards:

Don’t print too many. Your contact information, address, job title, or logo may change. It is recommended that you print no more than 1000 cards at a time for the heavy distributor; 500 should be sufficient for the average at-home self-promoter.

Don’t be too flashy. The goal of a business card is for people to be able to contact you at a later date. Unless you can do it tastefully, try to avoid a multitude of sparkles, glitter, graphics, and logos. Utilize the free space on both sides of the card. Remember: people will contact you and have a better chance of visiting your blog if your business cards are neat, clean, and easy to read.

Do treat them like candy. Give them to everyone you know. Post them on community bulletin boards. Check out local businesses and schools; a lot of them have cork boards available for community and business-related information.

Fliers

Fliers can be an invaluable resource when you are thinking about reviving your blog with some updated offline marketing techniques. With virtually any option available in size, color, cost, and quantity, using and creating fliers is easier than ever. A number of popular office services companies are available to help you design a flier, or you can hire a graphic designer. Just like with business cards, you can post them everywhere. Be sure to do a little research with your city or county to make sure you are only posting fliers in appropriate areas.

Conventions and Lectures

Depending on your prime reading target, there may be conventions or lectures held in your area – or even outside of your immediate area if you are willing to travel relevant to your blog topic. Purchasing space – or getting it free – at a convention is a great way to draw potential readers to your blog. If you choose the right place, you are guaranteed to have patrons that are already interested in what you have to say. They did come to the convention, after all.

Regardless of the method you choose, remembering the many options available to you via offline marketing will be helpful in increasing your overall reader base. When you blog, you want people to read your blog. Taking advantage of some offline techniques will help to ensure people find you…even when they are away from the internet.

Jen Silva is a writer for Choosewhat.com. ChooseWhat is a company that provides product reviews and test data for business services and products such as business cards and PBX services. Their goal is to help small companies make informed buying decisions on business solutions that help their business.

Becoming Shareable – Let the People Talk!

July 28, 2011 By Ben Leave a Comment

Enjoy this guest post by Ben ~

Social media has become an essential part of web promotion. Not only is it effective and helpful for increasing the popularity of your business or website, but it is absolutely necessary! Proper use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook will not only help your site gain exposure, but it will act as a catalyst for making your content more prominent and even viral.

The easiest and most important step to take when stepping into the “social” scene is adding buttons to your site to help visitors share your content. In other words, make your website “shareable” because the last thing you want to do is inhibit their ability to advertise your business for you. People love to communicate and we also love to share. Social media is the Internet’s analogy for word-of-mouth advertising. Neglecting to add buttons on your site for visitors to share your content is a lot like stripping them of their voice – let them talk!

TweetMeme is a fantastic tool for making your content very shareable. It adds a simple button at the top (or bottom) of all of your posts that people can use to tweet your content with literally 2-clicks. A common trend you will notice when observing popular sites in almost every niche is the overwhelming amount of tweets in comparison to “likes” on Facebook. Tweeting is easier and faster, and in an online world where we skim almost everything we read, we need to have quick sharing options for our visitors.

A common and effective layout for making your site easy to share is to include a button at the top of every post for Twitter and/or Facebook, a set of buttons at the bottom for a few popular social sites, and also the presence of similar sharing buttons consistently displayed on your sidebar. For the sidebar, the most important inclusions are Twitter, Facebook, and your RSS Feed. You might have other sites like LinkedIn that you like to use or a series of videos on YouTube – these would be good additions for your sharing buttons.

To further emphasize the importance of properly using social media, lets cover a scenario:

Someone visits your site and reads an article. They really like it, but they don’t see any sharing buttons and so it may not even cross their mind to tweet it or like it, so they move on with their day.
This same visitor comes to your site and reads the same article. However, this time there are social sharing buttons featured prominently on the page. This visitor tweets the post and it is quickly exposed to all of this user’s followers (dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people).

And it doesn’t stop there. The people who see that tweet might tweet it too, they might look through your site and tweet another post, or they might follow you on Twitter and become exposed to all of your new tweets. Simple processes like this can quickly multiply and expand upon your daily traffic, and all of this happens simply because you have made your website shareable.

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