The new launch of Google’s “Search Plus Your World” is the latest evolution in the Internet giant’s ever-expanding wave of algorithm restructuring in an effort to refine users’ search results, and unlike other frequent tweaks this change will be hard to miss.

This most [...]]]>

Get ready, because Google is getting personal.

The new launch of Google’s “Search Plus Your World” is the latest evolution in the Internet giant’s ever-expanding wave of algorithm restructuring in an effort to refine users’ search results, and unlike other frequent tweaks this change will be hard to miss.

This most recent revision essentially combines search results that contain personal information stored by users that they share with other members in the Google+ network (e.g., photos and posts) with Internet results on the same search engine results page (SERP). It is important to note, however, that although the private information appears in the results it is not publicly displayed.

The new changes help shed some light on Google’s ongoing business and algorithmic engineering decisions, particularly the launch of the Google+ social network and the secure search capabilities within it. The integrated nature of search when signed in to Google will allow users to streamline their personal and Internet searches, and make new connections between friends, trending topics, product searches and shared information.

Some experts wonder whether the broadened search capability will raise privacy concerns among users. Google+ users will notice it is the new default system, and results may feel a little too personal even though on-screen indicators are available to help sift through the different results and otherwise control the level of exposure.

Google’s motivations for this integration are clear in that they want to capture more of the search market share by increasing relevance of searches, but it will also obviously make the Google+ social network more relevant – and attractive to users. Twitter reps spoke out about the change, arguing that the new SERPs will be heavy on Google content that will eclipse other results, like tweets.

The Twitter statement is an indirect note that Search Plus Your World will not contain data users have shared through Facebook and Twitter, because there is no agreement between the companies to share information. Many will likely feel this is a good thing, considering the very serious privacy implications it raises, although there are no guarantees these wards of personal information will remain unaffiliated.

Search engine optimization (SEO) specialists are also interested in how the new Google will change Internet marketing. A major driver for the creation of “social search” is that consumers are more influenced by their peers’ buying habits, which Search Plus Your World will bring to the forefront as SERPs display friends’ opinions about searches for products, restaurants, vacation spots, etc.

This may mean a need for SEO experts to consider new strategies that better address these changes as Google pushes “social search” into the mainstream, and users grow accustomed to a new era in Web search

James Madeiros is a staff writer at Sparkplug Digital, a Seattle SEO company providing online marketing strategy and execution for tech companies and non-profits.

If you’ve read any SEO resource out there, the same thing crops up again and again: if you want results in search then you need to be engaged in a link building campaign. However, this “advice” typically falls a bit short. It falls short because it neglects to [...]]]>

If you’ve read any SEO resource out there, the same thing crops up again and again: if you want results in search then you need to be engaged in a link building campaign. However, this “advice” typically falls a bit short. It falls short because it neglects to mention “how” to achieve this, at least in a practical way.

Let’s Start With Two Simple Points.

1. Link Building Isn’t About Numbers, It’s About Quality

This is the first thing you need to reconcile yourself to: link building isn’t about quantity, it’s about quality. That may be difficult to believe, but one solid, authoritative link from a website like BBC.co.uk (which you won’t achieve without a great deal of effort), is far more valuable than hundreds of low quality directory links.

2. Link Building isn’t About PageRank

PageRank is a marketing gimmick, that’s probably the best way to think about it – it’s a ranking factor, but it’s one of many ranking factors. The fact of the matter is that you can easily go out tomorrow and buy ten PageRank links for around $20 – does that spell “value” or “quality” to you?

It’s not just about the PageRank value of the page you are acquiring the link from, it’s also about the overall authority of the website (the total quality of all links pointing in), relevance, trustworthiness and so on.

So, What is Successful Link Building?

This is the million dollar question. There are hundreds of potential link building strategies out there but before we review a couple, remember this: there is no such thing as a “magic bullet” (well, unless you have an astoundingly original business concept which will naturally generate links). Link Building is about tenacity, creativity and perseverance – apply these in equal measure, with a little bit of knowledge, and you will succeed.

Blog Networks: Securing Links From Authoritative Websites

What’s better, an in-content link or a comment link? The in-content link of course, but that’s not really that important – above all else you need to focus on acquiring links from a diverse range of quality websites; blog networks can help you achieve this objective.

Three of the best websites to utilise are LinkVana.com ($147 per month), BuildMyRank.com ($57 per month) and MyBlogGuest.com ($29 per month) – what makes them the best? They can help you submit your content to authoritative blogs which get indexed regularly and contribute value to your web presence.

The great thing about blog networks – or general blogs owned by webmasters – is that they help you build out a diverse link profile; you can essentially acquire links from a range of different sources. Compliment this with social bookmarking submissions (again, available through LinkVana) and press release distribution via various press release hubs, and you have a link building strategy.

This Isn’t Rocket Science, But It Is Hard Work

Link Building, and SEO for that matter, isn’t rocket science – but it does take practical application and consistency; rankings will be built up incrementally, however create a plan and stick to it.

For example, you may decide to build 15 blog submissions, 5 guest blog submissions, 25 social bookmarking submissions and 1 press release distribution per month – providing you are targeting the right terms i.e. terms you can realistically rank for, you should have absolutely no problem creating a business model out of Search Engine Optimization.

Gareth Mailer is an SEO professional at Clickwork Media who spends far too much time thinking about links – visit ClickworkMedia.co.uk for more SEO and link building tips.

Google HQ is constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of searches. While arriving late to the social media party, the search giant is finally showing signs of introducing user-generated into the search algorithms. There are several issues with ranking user-generated content through social media because it depends who [...]]]>

Google HQ is constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of searches. While arriving late to the social media party, the search giant is finally showing signs of introducing user-generated into the search algorithms. There are several issues with ranking user-generated content through social media because it depends who is the original author, to what communities the author belongs to, and whether the author is an authority on the subject of the content.

The introduction of Google+ is an interesting attempt in bringing user-generated content through social media closer to the Google search engine.

Here is a discussion of how Google+ could affect SEO.

Circles

Through circles, Google+ could measure the reputation of users. For example, you could determine the influence of a user in technology consulting by the number of circles related to the topic of technology consulting. One curious aspect of this ranking methodology would be whether you consider an expert in one field but most users include you in circles related to a completely different topic.  This could happen as people in Twitter often have bios along the lines of “foodie, fashion lover, humanitarian, social ninja”.

At the same time, some circles could have a higher ranking if they include users with high ranking themselves.

By measuring the reputation or ranking of Google+ users, user-generated content could be evaluated more properly by the Google search engine.

Quality of Posts

Another way to pick top quality user-generated content would be through the +1 button.

Google could not only count the amount of +1′s that a post receives but also consider how many of those +1′s come from influential users. So following the technology consultant example from above, a post generated by an user that receives a lot of +1′s from people  that are involved with an IT outsourcing company, website or organization, could be ranked as more relevant than others.

Comments within Google+

In the past one would think that a post with 2,000 comments would be better than one with just 200, however social media has proven that it is important to consider who is making the comment and how close the comment was created in relation to the time of the original post. A thank you comment is not as relevant as a insightful review, unless it comes from an expert in the subject matter being discussed. The +1′s counts on the comment should help to shed some light for search engines.

Integration with Other Social Networks

Facebook is with Bing. Google+ will certainly be with Google.

Wouldn’t it be helpful to connect all this data? While the Klout and Peer Index approach may not be the favorite one, it is the only one trying to combine all social data into one measure. Through a similar approach, Google could introduce factors into the search algorithm.

Conclusion

Organizations ranging from Dallas SEO organizations to major tech blogs such as Mashable are watching as Google implements Google+. Through the use of circles, the measurement of the quality of posts and comments, and the potential integration of other social networks, Google+ aims to introduce user-generated content into its search engine algorithm in a smoother fashion.

One of the main reasons for this is that Google does make up a vast amount of the total search traffic in [...]]]>

When the topic of SEO (search engine optimization) is discussed many people automatically think about optimizing for Google and do not really think about Yahoo or Bing.

One of the main reasons for this is that Google does make up a vast amount of the total search traffic in the world while Yahoo and Bing’s percentages are much smaller, however there might be missed opportunities for many small and medium sized businesses by not devoting any time to the other search engines.

Closer Analysis

Yahoo and Bing combined do still command a decent amount of search market (between 10% and 24% depending on which figures you choose to go off). Of course Google commands the largest percentage and for this reason they do get the main focus of many seo companies.

With this fact alone we can come to the conclusion that putting some effort into optimising for Yahoo and Bing could prove far easier because many seo companies are solely focused on Google. So for example if a website selling football shirts was ranking well on Google then if they put 10% of their budget into their SEO for Yahoo and Bing, they might be able to get a 10% bump in traffic far quicker than they would see on Google due to the competitiveness.

How To Target Specific Search Engines

The first fundamental step to take for both the Yahoo and Bing search engines will be to sign up to the webmasters tools services they offer and then using this data you will be able to see more detail on how they are seeing your website. Furthermore they will outline any issues they have with crawling your website and then you can address these which will improve your on page seo for both Yahoo and Bing.

Link building for all search engines is definitely a good practice to implement as all search engines including Google, Yahoo and Bing will look at the number of inbound links your site has. Also Yahoo and Bing do look more at on page content of your site, so it is definitely worth looking into making sure all your meta descriptions, meta tags, original content and a regularly updated blog are up to scratch on your site.

Finally have a good look on the seo forums and specific Yahoo and Bing forums to find out what the latest optimising techniques are because like Google they will be changing constantly.

Final Word

It is worth noting that optimizing your website specifically for Google will help you rank on Yahoo and Bing unintentionally, however if you apply some specific SEO techniques that Yahoo and Bing pay more attention to than Google, then you will find your site will rank far more effectively on both Yahoo and Bing and generate you additional traffic.

Jonathan is working with Soccerbox who specialize in retailing quality football shirts such as the Manchester United shirt, Chelsea shirt, Arsenal shirt and many more quality football shirts.

Which one is better?

I have been thinking about this issue for a while and have come [...]]]>

If you want to attract visitors to your site then there are a couple of ways of doing this. Among the most popular and effective ones are SEO and PPC.

Which one is better?

I have been thinking about this issue for a while and have come up with a few points to try and help me reach a final decision.

Let’s take a look.

The Cost

PPC stands for Pay Per Click. As the name suggests, you pay for every time someone clicks on your ad and gets directed to your site. In theory this means that the more visitors you receive the more you pay. Anyone who is completely confident of converting the majority of their visitors into paying customers should get big benefits out of this. SEO is all about search engine optimization and the price you pay is generally not related to the results you get. You will be paying for a package which involves carrying out the tasks necessary to get you up the search engine rankings. However, you are not paying for the results as such but rather for the process.

The Results

In SEO the results you see will really depend upon how competitive a market you are operating in. For instance, if you are up against some big hitting sites then you are going to have to plug away for a while before getting into a good position on the rankings. On the other hand, if the competition is pretty puny then you should sweep them aside more easily. PPC is a different kettle of fish, as you aren’t really battling it out to get more visibility; you are paying for it. You would think that this means that the results are more guaranteed but I have a spanner to throw in the works. With SEO the people who find you are those who are looking for you. With PPC you might get a lot of idle clickers reaching your site. If your page is SEO optimized for your keywords and it has been done professionally then you know exactly what your visitors have typed in as their searches. With PPC you are attracting visitors who were maybe looking at something completely different but saw your advert and decided to have a look at it. Therefore, they probably have less intention of buying something when they enter your site.

The Long Term Sustainability

The final point I want to consider is which of these two methods is better in the long run. This is another close call and again comes down to the website’s own position in the overall market. For example, if I have a site which doesn’t have particularly strong competition then I can run some SEO work for a few months and blitz my way to the top of the rankings. If the rival sites don’t wake up then I can carry on in my lofty position with little or no maintenance work or costs. With the PPC approach you only get what you pay for. If you stop doing it you stop getting visitors from it, as simple as that.

Takeaway

This means that I have to go with SEO here, as it is something which is designed specifically to give your site visibility on an ongoing basis. Getting business from organic searches seems to me like the most natural and long term solution to finding your next generation of customers.

Image: MarketingForSuccess

If you decide to go for SEO then have a look at the benefits of using a great SEO reseller. For professionalism and results which speak for themselves choosing ZenSeo is the smart choice.

We all know that some things go together better than others.

So what about search engine optimization and an attractive website? Common sense tells us that webmasters are divided into two groups; those who only want to sell things and those who just [...]]]>

Smart bots or sexy design?

We all know that some things go together better than others.

So what about search engine optimization and an attractive website? Common sense tells us that webmasters are divided into two groups; those who only want to sell things and those who just want to entertain the world and share something they are passionate about.

This is fine in theory but we all know that life is not so black and white.

Even if you are writing on a subject you care deeply about you still need to attract visitors as well as pay the bills. Equally, if you are an online business owner then that doesn’t automatically make you the modern day equivalent to an old mill boss who only wants results and doesn’t care how it is done.

The Need of Effective SEO

Let’s look first at the SEO side of things. If we take the example of someone writing about their passion, what good is having a site if no one can find it? Would you be happy spilling all of your hopes and desire onto a site if you knew that your Mum and your Aunt are the only people likely to ever see it? So SEO will give this person the chance of getting a much wider audience, which in turn will give them a chance to earn some money from it.

The Need of Beautiful Design

Turning now to the business owner, they want to make a commercial success of the site but they will probably also want something to be proud of. They will also know that internet users are smart they days and can sniff out a simple money making site no problem. People want something which keeps their interest and gives them a decent experience rather than a site which just tries to get them to click on a sponsored ad or three.

Best of Both Worlds

Now that we have established that, yes, all site owners should be interested in both good SEO and an attractive site we need to turn to the issue of whether this can actually be done. It would be a bit of a disappointment if I were to say that it couldn’t be, wouldn’t it?

Fortunately the two elements are not as mutually exclusive as you might think. An effective SEO campaign can be done on any type of site and doesn’t automatically impose some sort of rigid, unpleasant layout on the site. Luring the big search engines into giving you a higher position can be done in a fairly attractive manner if you place your keywords thoughtfully throughout the site and take care with things such as your backlinks.

Getting the best of both worlds can be done after all, and things which we perhaps had assumed wouldn’t work together can actually match up perfectly.

Talk to your seo reseller about the necessary steps needed to start your SEO campaign off on the right foot.  Visit www.zenoseo.com to find out more.