URL structure is one of the most important and basic elements of SEO and, even in this day and age, far too many sites ignore URL best practices. If you have ever encountered an overly long URL that is mostly a series of numbers that mean absolutely nothing to you (or anyone else besides the site’s original webmaster for that matter), then you know exactly what I mean. Below are the basic guidelines for creating search engine friendly URLs that both users and web crawlers will find appealing.
1. Keep It Simple
Your URL structure should be straightforward and easy to comprehend. It should describe what is on the page in a way that makes sense to both people and bots alike. Use words instead of numbers whenever possible. For example, include a brand or product name instead of an inventory or catalog number. This is not only more palatable for users, but also makes it easier for the team that builds and maintains your site. You should be able to accurately predict what will be on a page by its URL alone. If you cannot, it is back to the drawing board for you.
2. Keep It Short
Use as few words and parameters as possible. Google explains that overly complex URLs with multiple parameters are problematic for bots because they create, “unnecessarily high numbers of URLs that point to identical or similar content on your site.” For those of us who are less technically inclined, think about URL length in terms of how easy it is to remember, share, and spell. The less characters involved, the better. Furthermore, if it is too long, users will simply generate a shorter URL through sites like tinyURL or bit.ly, which will be a random collection of numbers and letters that do not reinforce your brand.
3. Use Static URLs
The dynamic URLs generated by web servers and Content Management Systems change and are not customized. You can spot dynamic URLs because they include question marks (?), equal signs (+) and ampersands (&). Since they are not specific to your content, they are difficult to remember. They also tend to have lower click thru rates because they do not describe the content on the landing page. While dynamic URLs are crawlable, different URLs can point to the same content and make things confusing for users. It is far simpler to stick with static URLs, which allow you to optimize your link structure.
4. Use Keywords
Most people should realize this already, but if you are trying to rank for a keyword, it should be included not only on the page but also in its URL structure. The best keywords are relevant and specific. Do not keyword stuff and do not incorporate misleading keywords that may garner initial traffic, but do not actually pertain to the content on the page. It will annoy users and eventually damage your page rank.
5. Use Lowercase
While you can use both upper and lowercase letters in any web address, the URL is case sensitive and capitalization of certain letters will muck things up considerably. Most users think in terms of lowercase when it comes to web site addresses and emails, so it is the safest bet in terms of what they will remember and actually type. Also, consider asking your webmaster to implement a 301 rule that redirects an incorrectly capitalized URL to the proper one.
6. Use Hyphens for Punctuation
If you are using phrases with multiple words, Google recommends separating them with hyphens (-). For example, “chocolate-cake” instead of “chocolatecake.” While it is not wrong to leave the two words smooshed together without any punctuation, it is easier for crawlers and users to process. Likewise, you could also use underscores (_) or pluses (+), but there is no discernible benefit, and it makes far more sense to do what the world’s primary search engine suggests.
7. Be Consistent
Once you settle on a URL structure, do not divert from it. If something prompts you make a change, such as a tip in this article, you should globally convert all of your existing URLs to the new structure. Ultimately, a URL is a file structure and uniformity is key. Having an inconsistency will simply create confusion and headaches for users and web developers alike.
As you can see, optimizing your link structure is largely a matter of common sense. If you are descriptive, succinct, and follow the recommended formatting guidelines, you will have links that would make any SEO professional proud.
Thứ Ba, 29 tháng 5, 2012
How to Optimize Your Use of Twitter
Twitter Cheat Sheet for Authors
Basic Terminology:
TWEET – Any message 140 characters long sent out to everyone. Unless you send a direct message (DM), everything on Twitter is viewable to the public.
DM – Direct Message. These messages are private and only between people who DM each other.
RT – Retweet. Twitter has created a re-tweeting tool that makes it easier, but the standard convention is to put a RT, cite the source of the message, and then retweet.
Example, if I wrote: “I write, but not always right.” You would RT @unrulyguides “I write, but not always right.”
The goal is to encourage others to retweet your message thus expanding your reach.
# - Hashtag. These are used in front of a word or set of letters to allow easy communication on a specific topic. For example, if you tweet about dogs with other canine lovers, you could use the hashtag #dogtalk. This becomes a clickable link in your message and when clicked will display all the tweets using that hashtag.
#FF – Follow Friday. It’s a nice way to show support of other tweeters. On Friday.
10 Tips to Optimize Your Use of Twitter:
1. Use Your Real Name, If Possible
Make it easy for people who know you to find you on Twitter.
2. Add a Profile Picture
This should be a picture of you. People connect better with other people, not cartoons, book covers, logos, etc.
3. Link to Your Website
Hopefully you have a blog or website you can link to. If you don’t, create one now.
4. Write Your Bio
Make it memorable. Make it relevant to who you are. You don’t have to be funny or cute, but if you can, and still be relevant,
then do it.
5. Tweet Regularly
This is the biggest obstacle for authors. But it is key to promotion. It doesn’t matter if you only have two followers and one is your mom, you still need to tweet daily, to be effective.
If you don’t have something to write, then RT something funny or useful. Another way is to connect your blog to your twitter account, then every “post” you write is automatically “tweeted” on Twitter.
6. Tweet Relevant Information
Don’t tweet every moment of your life, such as “I am eating a hamburger” or “I should have ate a salad.” These tweets are not interesting or relevant. However, if you were eating a hamburger with Johnny Depp sitting at the next table, then by all means, tweet. “I just ate the best hamburger sitting next to Johnny Depp. Now I am ready to write my romance novel.”
7. Link and Don’t Link
It’s good to link to other places and share your discoveries; however, if all you do is link, people may think you are just trying to sell to them and won’t give much regard to your posts.
8. Have a Personality
This is easy. Be yourself. You don’t have to be overly, funny or smart. Twitter is all about connecting with people – so be a person.
9. Follow Those Worth Following
Some people are all into the quantity. But I recommend looking for quality. Just because you are being followed by someone you do not have to return the follow. Only follow people that are relevant and beneficial to you or your audience.
10. Communicate with Others
Twitter is all about communication. If people talk to you or RT your message, then talk back and/or thank them. (SECRET: People like to feel involved and acknowledged. I like it, you like it, everybody likes it.)
Set up your free Twitter Account.
Basic Terminology:
TWEET – Any message 140 characters long sent out to everyone. Unless you send a direct message (DM), everything on Twitter is viewable to the public.
DM – Direct Message. These messages are private and only between people who DM each other.
RT – Retweet. Twitter has created a re-tweeting tool that makes it easier, but the standard convention is to put a RT, cite the source of the message, and then retweet.
Example, if I wrote: “I write, but not always right.” You would RT @unrulyguides “I write, but not always right.”
The goal is to encourage others to retweet your message thus expanding your reach.
# - Hashtag. These are used in front of a word or set of letters to allow easy communication on a specific topic. For example, if you tweet about dogs with other canine lovers, you could use the hashtag #dogtalk. This becomes a clickable link in your message and when clicked will display all the tweets using that hashtag.
#FF – Follow Friday. It’s a nice way to show support of other tweeters. On Friday.
10 Tips to Optimize Your Use of Twitter:
1. Use Your Real Name, If Possible
Make it easy for people who know you to find you on Twitter.
2. Add a Profile Picture
This should be a picture of you. People connect better with other people, not cartoons, book covers, logos, etc.
3. Link to Your Website
Hopefully you have a blog or website you can link to. If you don’t, create one now.
4. Write Your Bio
Make it memorable. Make it relevant to who you are. You don’t have to be funny or cute, but if you can, and still be relevant,
then do it.
5. Tweet Regularly
This is the biggest obstacle for authors. But it is key to promotion. It doesn’t matter if you only have two followers and one is your mom, you still need to tweet daily, to be effective.
If you don’t have something to write, then RT something funny or useful. Another way is to connect your blog to your twitter account, then every “post” you write is automatically “tweeted” on Twitter.
6. Tweet Relevant Information
Don’t tweet every moment of your life, such as “I am eating a hamburger” or “I should have ate a salad.” These tweets are not interesting or relevant. However, if you were eating a hamburger with Johnny Depp sitting at the next table, then by all means, tweet. “I just ate the best hamburger sitting next to Johnny Depp. Now I am ready to write my romance novel.”
7. Link and Don’t Link
It’s good to link to other places and share your discoveries; however, if all you do is link, people may think you are just trying to sell to them and won’t give much regard to your posts.
8. Have a Personality
This is easy. Be yourself. You don’t have to be overly, funny or smart. Twitter is all about connecting with people – so be a person.
9. Follow Those Worth Following
Some people are all into the quantity. But I recommend looking for quality. Just because you are being followed by someone you do not have to return the follow. Only follow people that are relevant and beneficial to you or your audience.
10. Communicate with Others
Twitter is all about communication. If people talk to you or RT your message, then talk back and/or thank them. (SECRET: People like to feel involved and acknowledged. I like it, you like it, everybody likes it.)
Set up your free Twitter Account.
How to Keep your Home LAN Secure
Do you know if your home LAN is actually secure? Whether you have a wired or wireless LAN, without the proper security precautions, all of your information and data can be stolen in an instant by an anonymous hacker. Don’t let something like this happen to you by following the proper steps!
First off, when installing your router, you need to change both your administrative login and password. This is the first vulnerability a hacker will look at. What most people don’t actually know is all routers of the same brand are given the exact same login name and password. Without changing it, the hacker can easily gain access to your network and snoop around.
The next step you need to take is to upgrade your encryption. While WEP has been the standard piece of encryption for years, it is recommended that you upgrade your security to WPA2, which is much more secure. You can easily download a fix for this by simply doing a quick Google search. If you are running off of a Windows computer, Microsoft provides the fix straight from their website. Once your software has been fully updated with the new security settings, you should log back into your router’s administration panel and update the security encryption to WPA2.
Next up, make sure to change your SSID name to something other than the default name. Most default SSID’s are simply named Belkin or Linksys and this may encourage a hacker to try and break into your network because it looks like you simply plugged in your router and never touched it again. By changing the name of the router, the hacker may stay away from your network because they will perceive that you were smart enough to add security to the network. Relating to your SSID, you should also disable the broadcast network of your router so only your devices can be connected to it. This way, no one else will see or be able to connect to it.
A major and important security step that many people forget to utilize is the router’s built-in firewall. While these are normally turned on by default, certain network settings or other security programs installed on the network may prevent the firewall from actually being enabled to function correctly. By enabling your router’s firewall at all times, you are adding on an extra layer of protection to keep you safe from any hacking attempts in the future.
As far as other settings go with your router, be sure to check that the “remote administration” option is disabled. This should automatically be disabled by default but again, it’s always good to check. This feature, if enabled, is basically inviting hackers to attack your network and steal your information. Hackers can basically access your whole home network if this option is enabled, including devices like your printer or anything else connected to the network such as a smartphone or iPad.
To minimize the leak of your wireless network outside of your home, keep the router away from the edge of your building or home. If you can, keep this router in a central area like the middle of a room. This ensures that the wireless signal will be fairly weak outside of the building. Keep in mind that wireless routers vary in terms of their signal range, so try walking around your house with your laptop to see where you can pick up a signal from. Then you can adjust accordingly.
It can be a scary event if a hacker ever breaks into your network. Your personal information can be stolen as well as any important files that you may have. By following all of the steps listed above, you can be sure that your home LAN will be extremely secure against any type of attacks and you’ll always have a tight lock on your data.
First off, when installing your router, you need to change both your administrative login and password. This is the first vulnerability a hacker will look at. What most people don’t actually know is all routers of the same brand are given the exact same login name and password. Without changing it, the hacker can easily gain access to your network and snoop around.
The next step you need to take is to upgrade your encryption. While WEP has been the standard piece of encryption for years, it is recommended that you upgrade your security to WPA2, which is much more secure. You can easily download a fix for this by simply doing a quick Google search. If you are running off of a Windows computer, Microsoft provides the fix straight from their website. Once your software has been fully updated with the new security settings, you should log back into your router’s administration panel and update the security encryption to WPA2.
Next up, make sure to change your SSID name to something other than the default name. Most default SSID’s are simply named Belkin or Linksys and this may encourage a hacker to try and break into your network because it looks like you simply plugged in your router and never touched it again. By changing the name of the router, the hacker may stay away from your network because they will perceive that you were smart enough to add security to the network. Relating to your SSID, you should also disable the broadcast network of your router so only your devices can be connected to it. This way, no one else will see or be able to connect to it.
A major and important security step that many people forget to utilize is the router’s built-in firewall. While these are normally turned on by default, certain network settings or other security programs installed on the network may prevent the firewall from actually being enabled to function correctly. By enabling your router’s firewall at all times, you are adding on an extra layer of protection to keep you safe from any hacking attempts in the future.
As far as other settings go with your router, be sure to check that the “remote administration” option is disabled. This should automatically be disabled by default but again, it’s always good to check. This feature, if enabled, is basically inviting hackers to attack your network and steal your information. Hackers can basically access your whole home network if this option is enabled, including devices like your printer or anything else connected to the network such as a smartphone or iPad.
To minimize the leak of your wireless network outside of your home, keep the router away from the edge of your building or home. If you can, keep this router in a central area like the middle of a room. This ensures that the wireless signal will be fairly weak outside of the building. Keep in mind that wireless routers vary in terms of their signal range, so try walking around your house with your laptop to see where you can pick up a signal from. Then you can adjust accordingly.
It can be a scary event if a hacker ever breaks into your network. Your personal information can be stolen as well as any important files that you may have. By following all of the steps listed above, you can be sure that your home LAN will be extremely secure against any type of attacks and you’ll always have a tight lock on your data.
Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 5, 2012
Create Your Own Smartphone App With Infinite Monkeys – No Coding Knowledge Required
It would be great if we all had the time, skills, and patience to learn computer coding, especially since technology pervades so many areas of our life. But thankfully, there are applications and web developers out there who provide ways for the rest of us to produce apps with little or no coding skills.
Back in June, I reviewed one such web application called Buzztouch, which is designed to allow anyone to create their own smartphone application. Now a similar program has just been released called Infinite Monkeys, a web-based tool geared toward niche communities who want to share content on the iPhone and Android platforms. Infinite Monkeys is not as polished theme wise as Buzztouch, but unlike the latter, Infinite Monkeys, says the developers, “Is completely web-based, and works on any computer or tablet device. You never touch the source code and don’t have to know what it is or how it works.” There are several other differences that also might make Infinite Monkey more accessible to non-programmers than Buzztouch. But you’re free to explore both and see which fits your needs.
These web-based apps of course don’t compare to more advanced apps like Angry Birds, but they are great for small niche communities and businesses, such as school associations, sports teams, churches, musicians and restaurants, who want to share content privately or publicly.
Infinite Monkeys provides three different app platform models, ranging from free to the pro level version of $499. But for many users, the free HTML 5 web-based, and ad-supported model should suffice.
The great thing about using a web-based platform is that you can constantly add content and updates to your app via your blog site, YouTube channel, photo sharing site, etc.
The Infinite Monkey web application uses a familiar drag-and-drop process. You start off by giving your app a title, followed by choosing a privacy setting. You can make the app public, or private for closed community access which will prompt users to enter a password to view content.
You can of course customize the background image and splash screen, as well as the font colors for the title and other text.
Infinite Monkeys includes additional content models for music and books, food and beverages, events, sports, reference materials, and location services such as a map and directions.
With the click of a button you can easily preview your app at any point in the development process. The online app also includes an embedded short video tutorial for each of the three part steps and multifunction tools.
You have poor control over the content of your app, including links to streaming videos, live chatrooms, shared calendars for upcoming events, shopping links to recommended products, and tap–t0–call phone contact information.
Since your app is ad-supported, Infinite Monkeys will host it for free on their server. While it is not nearly as polished as professional apps that you will find in say the iTunes App Store, it does provide a way for anyone to get their content into this space.
An article from http://www.makeuseof.com/
Back in June, I reviewed one such web application called Buzztouch, which is designed to allow anyone to create their own smartphone application. Now a similar program has just been released called Infinite Monkeys, a web-based tool geared toward niche communities who want to share content on the iPhone and Android platforms. Infinite Monkeys is not as polished theme wise as Buzztouch, but unlike the latter, Infinite Monkeys, says the developers, “Is completely web-based, and works on any computer or tablet device. You never touch the source code and don’t have to know what it is or how it works.” There are several other differences that also might make Infinite Monkey more accessible to non-programmers than Buzztouch. But you’re free to explore both and see which fits your needs.
Web-based GUI
Infinite Monkeys’ web-based graphic user interface allows users to incorporate existing web content from social networking sites like Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and blogging sites.These web-based apps of course don’t compare to more advanced apps like Angry Birds, but they are great for small niche communities and businesses, such as school associations, sports teams, churches, musicians and restaurants, who want to share content privately or publicly.
Building An App
Infinite Monkey provides a seriously easy step-by-step process for creating a smartphone app in less than an hour; that is if you have an ample amount of content already posted on the web.The great thing about using a web-based platform is that you can constantly add content and updates to your app via your blog site, YouTube channel, photo sharing site, etc.
The Infinite Monkey web application uses a familiar drag-and-drop process. You start off by giving your app a title, followed by choosing a privacy setting. You can make the app public, or private for closed community access which will prompt users to enter a password to view content.
You can of course customize the background image and splash screen, as well as the font colors for the title and other text.
Core Content
The core content of your app consists of primarily news and third-party feeds such as your blog site(s) and specific URLs.Infinite Monkeys includes additional content models for music and books, food and beverages, events, sports, reference materials, and location services such as a map and directions.
With the click of a button you can easily preview your app at any point in the development process. The online app also includes an embedded short video tutorial for each of the three part steps and multifunction tools.
You have poor control over the content of your app, including links to streaming videos, live chatrooms, shared calendars for upcoming events, shopping links to recommended products, and tap–t0–call phone contact information.
Publishing App
The free version of Infinite Monkeys allows you to instantly post your HTML 5 version immediately to the web so that anyone with a web-enabled smartphone can access it through the assigned URL.Since your app is ad-supported, Infinite Monkeys will host it for free on their server. While it is not nearly as polished as professional apps that you will find in say the iTunes App Store, it does provide a way for anyone to get their content into this space.
An article from http://www.makeuseof.com/
How to Avoid Fake Antivirus, Rogue Software
Here at SecurityWatch, we often talk about malware that masquerades as legitimate software in order to trick users into downloading and installing rogue programs. Users need to remember two important tips in order to steer clear of these malicious applications.
Install from Authorized Sources
Cyber-criminals behind these scams rely on users downloading software from unauthorized sources to push their fake products. On Tuesday, Trend Micro researchers reported a banking Trojan that passed itself off as an installation file for Google Chrome to Brazillian and Peruvian users. Even though the fake installer had the same name as the legitimate file (ChromeSetup.exe), users should have been leery of the fact that the files appeared to be hosted on sites such as Facebook and MSN.
Many users often get hit with rogue software when they try to get pirated versions of software. This isn't a discussion on whether or not you should download pirated software, but it seems pointless to try to download free software (such as Chrome) from alternative sources.
Remember the recent furor over the Flashback Trojan that infected Macs? Flashback got its name because it pretended to be an update file for Adobe Flash. If you need Flash, take the time to go to Adobe.com and download from there directly.
"Use caution when you click links in email or on social networking websites," recommended Tim Rains, director of Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft on the Microsoft Security blog.
However, one of the links identified by Trend Micro happened to be a Google Brazil address. While Net-savvy users may be aware that large companies such as Google are unlikely to link directly to an executable file, this is very tricky. Here is where tip number two comes in. Have a firewall and security software running.
No, Really. Stick to Legit Sources
There is a lot of discussion in security circles over the value of anti-malware tools, especially since many malware writers test their code to bypass major scanners. While there are malicious software that can slip through at the beginning of an outbreak, not having security software in place is akin to leaving the door open in a house and being surprised the burglars came in. Most security software nowadays have several layers of protection to detect and trap unknown variants. PCMag.com has a lot of reviews, for instance, Norton 360 Everywhere, Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete, and Bitdefender Total Security 2012.
"Install antivirus from a company that you know and trust, and keep it up to date," wrote Rains.
It's not just security software that needs to be kept up-to-date. Operating system and other commonly used software, such as Flash, Reader, Java, Microsoft Office, Web browsers, among others, should be regularly updated. "Use automatic updating to keep your operating system and software up to date," Rains added.
Many companies are moving towards automatic updates. Turn it on, or run the install from within the application to avoid getting caught by fake update warnings.
Going back to the first point, the security software should come from legitimate sources, as well. Researchers at GFI Software last week identified a Twitter campaign promoting antivirus applications. The problem was, these "must-see" tools were actually scareware. Unsuspecting users who clicked on these links wound up downloading and installing fake antivirus which claimed to find tons of issues with the computer. Some of these links actually directed users to sites boobytrapped with the Blackhole exploit kit to download additional malware before recommending that users download "Windows Antivirus Patch" to remove the infection, GFI warned. The catch in this and other scareware scams, is that the user ponies up (often for $79) for a paid version that does nothing.
Cyber-criminals are crafty and are always working on ways to trick users into downloading their applications. Don't make it so easy for them.
Install from Authorized Sources
Cyber-criminals behind these scams rely on users downloading software from unauthorized sources to push their fake products. On Tuesday, Trend Micro researchers reported a banking Trojan that passed itself off as an installation file for Google Chrome to Brazillian and Peruvian users. Even though the fake installer had the same name as the legitimate file (ChromeSetup.exe), users should have been leery of the fact that the files appeared to be hosted on sites such as Facebook and MSN.
Many users often get hit with rogue software when they try to get pirated versions of software. This isn't a discussion on whether or not you should download pirated software, but it seems pointless to try to download free software (such as Chrome) from alternative sources.
Remember the recent furor over the Flashback Trojan that infected Macs? Flashback got its name because it pretended to be an update file for Adobe Flash. If you need Flash, take the time to go to Adobe.com and download from there directly.
"Use caution when you click links in email or on social networking websites," recommended Tim Rains, director of Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft on the Microsoft Security blog.
However, one of the links identified by Trend Micro happened to be a Google Brazil address. While Net-savvy users may be aware that large companies such as Google are unlikely to link directly to an executable file, this is very tricky. Here is where tip number two comes in. Have a firewall and security software running.
No, Really. Stick to Legit Sources
There is a lot of discussion in security circles over the value of anti-malware tools, especially since many malware writers test their code to bypass major scanners. While there are malicious software that can slip through at the beginning of an outbreak, not having security software in place is akin to leaving the door open in a house and being surprised the burglars came in. Most security software nowadays have several layers of protection to detect and trap unknown variants. PCMag.com has a lot of reviews, for instance, Norton 360 Everywhere, Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete, and Bitdefender Total Security 2012.
"Install antivirus from a company that you know and trust, and keep it up to date," wrote Rains.
It's not just security software that needs to be kept up-to-date. Operating system and other commonly used software, such as Flash, Reader, Java, Microsoft Office, Web browsers, among others, should be regularly updated. "Use automatic updating to keep your operating system and software up to date," Rains added.
Many companies are moving towards automatic updates. Turn it on, or run the install from within the application to avoid getting caught by fake update warnings.
Going back to the first point, the security software should come from legitimate sources, as well. Researchers at GFI Software last week identified a Twitter campaign promoting antivirus applications. The problem was, these "must-see" tools were actually scareware. Unsuspecting users who clicked on these links wound up downloading and installing fake antivirus which claimed to find tons of issues with the computer. Some of these links actually directed users to sites boobytrapped with the Blackhole exploit kit to download additional malware before recommending that users download "Windows Antivirus Patch" to remove the infection, GFI warned. The catch in this and other scareware scams, is that the user ponies up (often for $79) for a paid version that does nothing.
Cyber-criminals are crafty and are always working on ways to trick users into downloading their applications. Don't make it so easy for them.
How to Fix Your SEO in 10 Minutes!
1. Find the Right Keyword (4 Minutes)
The first step is to choose what you think most of the people you want on your site would search for in Google. Remember, it’s the people you want on your site, that is those who either would actually buy your product or service, who would follow your blog, whatever the case may be. It has to be something relevant.
For professionals, there are a number of tools to determine just that. An SEO expert would be able to filter out the words that are not relevant and, more or less, find the exact words and phrases in any given subject that would give their client more hits, and more substantial hits. Luckily you can use some of their research fairly quickly—though not quite as accurate, this will definitely be helpful.
Let’s use the example “Flash Fryer”
Type “Flash Fryer” into a Google search and you should get something like this:
You’ll notice “Flash Fryer” is the one word that shows up pretty much consistently, however in this case it is rarely the first word that shows up in the titles, other than the paid ads on the right side. You’re not paying for ads though so this is something to note. What else shows up? Stainless Steel Flash Fryer is in a couple, there are some brand names as well. You can safely assume that those brand names are what is selling as far as the Flash Fry industry goes. If you sell a popular brand, use its name is what this is telling us.
Okay, we have our key word “Flash Fryer” and we know to use popular brand names where relevant and of course stainless steel if we have stainless steel fryers.
This is important to mention. Not every product will be the same, that is, don’t apply the example we’ve come up with using “Flash Fryer” to other things. Do your own search for whatever your product happens to be and see what comes up.
Pretty simple, but very effective. Okay, on to the next step.
2. Fix your title (3 Minutes)
Okay, now it is time to use our research for your title. We are basically borrowing what others have already done, apparently the right way since they are on the first page of a Google search. So your title might looks something like this.
(Popular Brand) Stainless Steel Flash Fryer for Sale – (Name of your site)
Remember to keep your title within 60 characters. If you have a long site name or brand name you might have to play with it. Every subject will be different. In some instances you might find your search pulls up results with a specific stock number, usually for technology, if so use it. Sometimes it will be very straightforward and that is okay as well.
All you are doing is taking what, presumably, others have researched and making an educated guess about what they found to be the right title for the subject matter. You do not want to copy their titles though. Make sure yours is different than any on the first pages of Google at least.
With all of that in mind, always be sure to keep your title relevant to what your site is all about. Don’t mention a brand name, or stock number, if you don’t really have that item.
3. Content Optimization (3 Minutes)
Optimizing your content can be pretty easy, but is often misunderstood. You want to use the important key terms you’ve found, but don’t over do it. If you have content in place already, simply go through and make sure that your main keyword shows up at least once, but not more than twice, in each block of content. Even more important than that though is to keep it natural. Don’t force your keyword or key phrases anywhere they do not fit.
Jeff Gross is an SEO expert based in Long Island New York, and owner of iIntentio, a Long Island Web Design firm. If you would like to learn more about search engine optimization or web design please visit www.iIntentio.com.
The first step is to choose what you think most of the people you want on your site would search for in Google. Remember, it’s the people you want on your site, that is those who either would actually buy your product or service, who would follow your blog, whatever the case may be. It has to be something relevant.
For professionals, there are a number of tools to determine just that. An SEO expert would be able to filter out the words that are not relevant and, more or less, find the exact words and phrases in any given subject that would give their client more hits, and more substantial hits. Luckily you can use some of their research fairly quickly—though not quite as accurate, this will definitely be helpful.
Let’s use the example “Flash Fryer”
Type “Flash Fryer” into a Google search and you should get something like this:
You’ll notice “Flash Fryer” is the one word that shows up pretty much consistently, however in this case it is rarely the first word that shows up in the titles, other than the paid ads on the right side. You’re not paying for ads though so this is something to note. What else shows up? Stainless Steel Flash Fryer is in a couple, there are some brand names as well. You can safely assume that those brand names are what is selling as far as the Flash Fry industry goes. If you sell a popular brand, use its name is what this is telling us.
Okay, we have our key word “Flash Fryer” and we know to use popular brand names where relevant and of course stainless steel if we have stainless steel fryers.
This is important to mention. Not every product will be the same, that is, don’t apply the example we’ve come up with using “Flash Fryer” to other things. Do your own search for whatever your product happens to be and see what comes up.
Pretty simple, but very effective. Okay, on to the next step.
2. Fix your title (3 Minutes)
Okay, now it is time to use our research for your title. We are basically borrowing what others have already done, apparently the right way since they are on the first page of a Google search. So your title might looks something like this.
(Popular Brand) Stainless Steel Flash Fryer for Sale – (Name of your site)
Remember to keep your title within 60 characters. If you have a long site name or brand name you might have to play with it. Every subject will be different. In some instances you might find your search pulls up results with a specific stock number, usually for technology, if so use it. Sometimes it will be very straightforward and that is okay as well.
All you are doing is taking what, presumably, others have researched and making an educated guess about what they found to be the right title for the subject matter. You do not want to copy their titles though. Make sure yours is different than any on the first pages of Google at least.
With all of that in mind, always be sure to keep your title relevant to what your site is all about. Don’t mention a brand name, or stock number, if you don’t really have that item.
3. Content Optimization (3 Minutes)
Optimizing your content can be pretty easy, but is often misunderstood. You want to use the important key terms you’ve found, but don’t over do it. If you have content in place already, simply go through and make sure that your main keyword shows up at least once, but not more than twice, in each block of content. Even more important than that though is to keep it natural. Don’t force your keyword or key phrases anywhere they do not fit.
Jeff Gross is an SEO expert based in Long Island New York, and owner of iIntentio, a Long Island Web Design firm. If you would like to learn more about search engine optimization or web design please visit www.iIntentio.com.
Thứ Hai, 21 tháng 5, 2012
10 Things To Know About Robot Teachers
If you’re an online college student, you’re used to telecommunicating with professors and classmates via all types of technology. But what if the instructor you worked with wasn’t even human? Robot teachers are being tested by engineers and scientists around the world and are already being used in many classrooms in Korea and Japan. What could be coming to a classroom — or online portal — near you? Here are 10 things to know about robot teachers.
- They’re human-like: Besides physically resembling a pleasant-looking human being — the Tokyo University of Science-created robot has a chic haircut and pink lipstick — robot teachers can express human emotions through subtle facial movements. The Tokyo "teacher" can express surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness and sadness.
- They’re especially effective with small children: Robot teachers have tested well with children and the elderly, and have even made some small children cry after they’ve been reprimanded by the robot teacher. Generally, Korean scientists are focusing their robots on educating young children, while Japanese engineers prefer to use robots to help the elderly.
- Robot teachers are being tested on toddlers and preschoolers: Still in the testing stage, robots are practicing their teaching skills on society’s youngest. Scientists are monitoring how robots can share their skills and how toddlers and preschoolers respond to lessons in vocabulary, singing songs, and learning colors.
- Robots act as a liaison between parents and the classroom: Through a network called telepresence, parents can use the robot teachers or teacher’s assistants to check on their kids in class through telecommunication. Students would have more access to special guest speakers through this technology as well.
- Robots are already used for teaching English: Many Korean schools use young Americans to teach English classes, but now robot teachers are taking over. According to PlasticPals.com, some robots use speech recognition software, and other robots use telepresence technology, connecting English-language teachers from far away to students in Korean classrooms.
- They encourage self-paced learning: Robots that operate via telepresence allow students to work at their own pace without too much pressure from hovering teachers who are present in the classroom or who have to keep up with students who pick up on skills and concepts faster.
- Their interaction skills haven’t been perfected Have you ever been frustrated with a recorded operator when you try to call your bank? Scientists still haven’t perfected teacher robots’ ability to interact with students or even accurately understand what they’re saying. If the robot can’t understand, for example, students will be interrupted with a harsh "Sorry, I didn’t catch that," message until the robot can process it. Through facial recognition software, however, scientists believe that there is potential
for more accurate, personalized interaction. When a robot processes a students’ facial expressions, it can immediately respond with its own facial reactions too. - Instant feedback: Robots that use speech recognition software can give instant feedback to language students, according to PlasticPals.com. For pronunciation lessons in English classes in Korea, the robots score students from 1 to 5 each time they practice a word or phrase, displaying their score on a screen attached to the robot. This method gives students instant feedback and the opportunity to keep practicing until they get it right.
- Korea has serious plans to implement robot teachers: Through its progressive "R-Learning" program, Korea has pledged to add robots to some 400 preschools by the year 2012. The robots will serve as teaching assistants, not full-fledged instructors, and help to do roll call, tell stories, sing songs and perform other basic, pre-programmed tasks.
- They’re not meant to replace human teachers: While some scientists hope that robot teachers may help with the teacher shortage, they’re not meant to fully take over the instructor’s role in the classroom, or as a mentor. In a report by MSNBC, the developer of the Japanese robot, Hiroshi Kobayashi, maintained that Saya "has no intelligence. It has no ability to learn. It has no identity…It is just a tool."
Chủ Nhật, 20 tháng 5, 2012
Tips How to Start Saving Money
We waste money on things every day. This waste can limit wealth potential and seriously hamper efforts to live a frugal lifestyle. Indeed, whether you are looking for ways to save on entertainment, or if you just want put a few more dollars in the retirement plan each month, you can find little ways to save. In fact, if you are serious about saving, here are 10 easy ways you can start saving money today:
- Double check your employer match program for retirement savings: The employer match is making a comeback now that the economy is on the mend. That is free money in your retirement plan. Make sure you are taking advantage of the employer match.
- Combine your telephone, Internet and TV services: It would be most cost-efficient to just watch TV on the Internet, and get VoIP for your phone, but if you aren’t comfortable with that, see if you can get a package. The rates are often lower when you combine. Start here to see if you can find a good broadband promotion.
- Tri-line discount on insurance: The combination idea works for insurance premiums as well. Many companies will give you a discount if you get homeowners/renters, life, and auto insurance at once. I know I’m saving money each month with my insurance package.
- Ask your credit card issuer for an interest rate reduction: If your account is in good standing, you might be able to get an interest rate reduction — just for asking. You can get a reduction of between 0.5% and 3%, depending on the policy of the issuer. It never hurts to ask.
- Send away for those rebates: If you buy something that comes with a rebate, send away for it. Make sure you keep a copy for yourself, and date it. Use a calendar to mark when you can expect to get the money (6-8 weeks), and don’t be afraid to follow up. If you are really serious, and the rebate is big enough, consider sending it via registered mail to ensure that the retailer can’t claim that the rebate form was “lost.”
- Double check the PMI: If you didn’t have a 20% down payment, you are probably paying for private mortgage insurance. However, if your home appreciates in value, and you have paid enough toward the principal, once you get a 20% cushion, that PMI can be removed. You can save money each month if you aren’t paying PMI premiums.
- Re-evaluate your subscriptions: Honestly evaluate whether or not you are reading your magazine subscriptions, and whether you are really watching that much TV. Consider canceling subscriptions that you really aren’t using. Even Netflix could become a bad deal if you don’t use it. Check the Internet to see if you can find a better deal (free content or TV shows) online.
- Consider rewards cards: If you frequent a store enough, consider signing up for rewards programs, or get a rewards credit card. This can result in coupons, special offers and even cash back. Just be sure that you aren’t buying useless items just to accumulate rewards points.
- Maintain your car properly: Proper maintenance now can mean less expense down the road. Get a car with only one prior owner, and take good care of it. You will be surprised how much you save over the long haul. My husband and I bought a year-old lease return nearly eight years ago, and we have kept it in good shape. Our long-term costs on it have been lower than those of family members who bought cheaper cars, but haven’t been taking good care of them.
- Increase your deductible: If you have a decent emergency fund accumulated, consider boosting your deductible. You can save on monthly insurance premiums if you are willing to pay a higher deductible. With the proper savings in place, adding $200 to $500 to your deductible shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Thứ Năm, 17 tháng 5, 2012
18 Places To Publish And Sell Your Ebook
Selling your own ebook is one of the best ways to make money online. Giving away rebrandable ebooks is one of the best list building and traffic generation techniques that exist. The more places you can sell and distribute your ebook the more exposure you will have and the more sales you will make. Many people will find your ebook simply by searching the sites below. Your ebook should be listed in as many as possible. Here is a quick list of places to start publishing your ebook:
1. ClickBank.
2. PayDotCom.
3. Ebay.
4. Amazon.com.
5. Lulu.com.
7. Cerizmo.
8. PayLoadz.
9. Digital Point Forums.
10. SitePoint Marketplace.
11. Warrior Forum Special Offers
12. Expert Subjects.
13. Itunes Ibook Store.
14. Createspace.com.
15. Ebookcorporation.com
16. Sony Ebook Store Sony.
17. Booksonboard.
18. Barnes and Noble.
1. ClickBank.
2. PayDotCom.
3. Ebay.
4. Amazon.com.
5. Lulu.com.
7. Cerizmo.
8. PayLoadz.
9. Digital Point Forums.
10. SitePoint Marketplace.
11. Warrior Forum Special Offers
12. Expert Subjects.
13. Itunes Ibook Store.
14. Createspace.com.
15. Ebookcorporation.com
16. Sony Ebook Store Sony.
17. Booksonboard.
18. Barnes and Noble.
5 Creative Ways to Use Pinterest for Business
As the new #3 social network, Pinterest’s growth is meteoric and previously unheard of. Businesses can’t get there fast enough. But how should they promote their products and services without offending the calm, grazing culture of window-shoppers delighting in gorgeous, lush photographs. It’s a challenge. Here are 5 thoughts to get you off on the right foot.
1. Use Pinterest to Demonstrate Your Authority
Pinterest offers an ideal opportunity to demonstrate your authority in an area you know well. By breaking up the topic into specific “boards” you can show what is important to know and illustrate accordingly. It won’t be long before your point of view becomes obvious and your expertise respected.
2. Create A Photo Contest Of Customers USING Your Product/Service
Since Pinterest is all visual, it is an ideal platform for a photo contest. We’ve all heard that before. The best way to use a photo contest is to have customers (and/or clients) using your product, happily and creatively! This way you are promoting your product, for sure, but in a more subtle way. You are also sharing other ideas on how your product can be enjoyed, and in the best way possible, getting a 3rd party endorsement. All of which is Marketing 101. This way it’s fun. Don’t forget to offer a really good prize, though, that fits in with what your clients would truly appreciate.
3. Think Shopping List
So, if you are a party supply store, you might want to offer a board for every party theme you offer. Then, within that board, put up pictures of each thing that the host will need. For example: invitations, plates and cups, table decor, thematics, games, goodie bags, etc.
Don’t forget to upload your pictures in reverse order, as Pinterest doesn’t yet allow us to edit our boards. The photo of the invitations, therefore, should be the last upload, and the goodie bags (the “lovely parting gifts”) first.
4. Deploying The Gift Feature To Get Listed Twice
When you add the $ sign into the comments section of your pin, a snipe (or banner) appears across the top left hand corner with that price on the photo. So two things to keep in mind here: #1 don’t put any text on an image you’re going to snipe and #2 once you have put a price on something, that item shows up in the Gift Section, in addition to whichever board you pinned it on. Good, eh? You get double the exposure.
5. Research What Your Customers Care About
How well do you know your customer? If you know their names you can look at what they’re up to on Pinterest and see what they appear to care about. What they love and pin; what comments they make on their friends’ pins. This tells you important information about your tribe. It tells you their inner dreams (hopes, perhaps) and current passions. You are now better able to present your product or service in a way that either solves a problem or offers a delicious alternative to something already in play. If you search with a #, Pinterest will return every pin that has been identified with that phrase. This is usually a good place to start.
1. Use Pinterest to Demonstrate Your Authority
Pinterest offers an ideal opportunity to demonstrate your authority in an area you know well. By breaking up the topic into specific “boards” you can show what is important to know and illustrate accordingly. It won’t be long before your point of view becomes obvious and your expertise respected.
2. Create A Photo Contest Of Customers USING Your Product/Service
Since Pinterest is all visual, it is an ideal platform for a photo contest. We’ve all heard that before. The best way to use a photo contest is to have customers (and/or clients) using your product, happily and creatively! This way you are promoting your product, for sure, but in a more subtle way. You are also sharing other ideas on how your product can be enjoyed, and in the best way possible, getting a 3rd party endorsement. All of which is Marketing 101. This way it’s fun. Don’t forget to offer a really good prize, though, that fits in with what your clients would truly appreciate.
3. Think Shopping List
So, if you are a party supply store, you might want to offer a board for every party theme you offer. Then, within that board, put up pictures of each thing that the host will need. For example: invitations, plates and cups, table decor, thematics, games, goodie bags, etc.
Don’t forget to upload your pictures in reverse order, as Pinterest doesn’t yet allow us to edit our boards. The photo of the invitations, therefore, should be the last upload, and the goodie bags (the “lovely parting gifts”) first.
4. Deploying The Gift Feature To Get Listed Twice
When you add the $ sign into the comments section of your pin, a snipe (or banner) appears across the top left hand corner with that price on the photo. So two things to keep in mind here: #1 don’t put any text on an image you’re going to snipe and #2 once you have put a price on something, that item shows up in the Gift Section, in addition to whichever board you pinned it on. Good, eh? You get double the exposure.
5. Research What Your Customers Care About
How well do you know your customer? If you know their names you can look at what they’re up to on Pinterest and see what they appear to care about. What they love and pin; what comments they make on their friends’ pins. This tells you important information about your tribe. It tells you their inner dreams (hopes, perhaps) and current passions. You are now better able to present your product or service in a way that either solves a problem or offers a delicious alternative to something already in play. If you search with a #, Pinterest will return every pin that has been identified with that phrase. This is usually a good place to start.
Thứ Ba, 15 tháng 5, 2012
Twitter Rules for Business Success
As far as I am concerned, Twitter is a must have for business; whether you are using Twitter to promote your business or to establish your expertise, it is a crucial piece of the puzzle to getting recognized and building relationships. But with all the clutter in the Twitterverse, it’s important not to ignore the etiquette of Twitter, otherwise you might find that you are
not getting the most of this popular social networking platform.
Top 10 Twitter Etiquette Tips for Business
1. Listen to Your Mother and Mind Your Manners
This is just good common sense. As someone who is a marketing professional first, I always like to say, “New Tools Old Rules.” If someone mentions you or retweets you, if at all possible thank them. Not only do People like to be recognized for their efforts, but this is a valuable action, so not thanking them would be rude. This is also a great way to begin building a relationship on Twitter. This small gesture may open the lines of communication between you and a potential customer or business partner. Show your appreciation and people will be more likely to re-tweet your offerings again and again. Even better, return the favor and retweet one of their posts.
2. Use #Hashtags Appropriately
I personally love hashtags. They are a great way to encourage participation not to mention help others track and find information. Having said that, it is important not to overuse them. While I like the long hashtag as much as the next person, using it too often or putting a hashtag in front of every word of your post will do nothing more than annoy your followers.
3. Resist the Urge to Tweet Too Much
Time and time again, research has shown that there is a fine line between just enough sharing and too much. Oftentimes businesses that are new to Twitter don’t yet understand this principle. Don’t fill your followers’ feeds with spammy Tweets. The best way to engage your audience is to post relevant, interesting, useful, and original content. Before you post, ask yourself: “Would I care about this if I were a follower?”
Tip: If you have a lot of ideas, use a program like Hootsuite to schedule your tweets so that they can be spaced out.
4. Warn Followers if You’re Going to Tweet a Lot
If you want to live-tweet an event at your business or charity gathering, you will need to tweet a lot!. While it’s a good idea, you may lose followers who feel assaulted by a barrage of tweets. A little fair warning will be much appreciated, and your followers will likely give you a pass for the day.
Tip: Tell them to check out Twalala or Twittblocker.
5. Watch What You Tweet
There have been some famous and embarrassing blunders on social media that have gotten both individuals and even entire companies in a lot of trouble. Never use your brand’s Twitter account to discuss controversial topics, send inappropriate photos, or use explicit language. If you’re on a personal account, the sky’s the limit and you can debate anything you like. However, in a business setting, unless it directly pertains to your product or service, it may be best to leave certain incendiary subjects like religion and politics alone.
6. Don’t Get Too Personal
Developing relationships with customers is one the primary goals of Twitter, but you should try to keep your posts about relevant business information. Your followers don’t need to know your personal business. I will concede that there is a benefit to adding a personal touch from time to time, especially in a small business. If you’re getting married or a favorite employee just had a baby, you may want to share the news for your brand loyalists to celebrate with you. Just be careful when considering what is appropriate to share.
7. Write Professionally
Your social media presence is an extension of your business persona. Always use proper grammar and spelling. It will help you maintain a professional image. (No one wants to see a law firm or accountant office tweet “OMG! Its not 2 late 4 u to file ur taxes!”).
Tip: Be sure to use proper forms of commonly misused words like there, they’re, and their.
8. Be Aware of Your Audience
Keeping rule #6 in mind, try and tailor your content to fit your audience. If your brand is focusing on tweens and teens, speak their lingo. If you are a B2B company, you will definitely want to use industry jargon. Be sure to post information that is relevant and timely to those following you and those you want to follow you.
Tip: If applicable, awards shows and sporting events are great ways to engage customers.
9. Be Timely With Communication
Once you’ve started a conversation with someone on Twitter, it is imperative that you respond to them in a timely manner. Even more importantly, if someone poses a question to you, answer them! Social media is great for giving you an opportunity to engage immediately and directly with your customer base. Nothing is worse than asking a company a question and not hearing back
from them for 3 days.
10. Address Customer Service Issues Privately
Almost any customer who tweets you with a complaint or concern wants to be heard, but not all want to engage in a public dialogue. Directly address consumers through direct message, off the public “floor.”
Tip: you can even ask them for a phone number and call them personally to show them you care about fixing the issue.
BONUS: Don’t buy into personal attacks.
There are always those people who complain and no matter what you say they will never be happy. To make this worse, Twitter is a medium of text communication which means there can be a definite margin of misunderstanding because there’s no way to hear someone’s tone of voice or observe their body language. What may be meant as a joke could escalate into something more negative. If it seems a conversation is deteriorating into something contentious, it’s wise to just walk away. Trust me, it’s just not worth it.
Twitter has become one of the most effective ways to market your business of the last decade. Follow these rules, and you’re sure to have many happy tweets ahead of you.
Authored by David P Mon. If you liked this article, please visit our blog at www.SocialMediaManagerinc.com/Blog
not getting the most of this popular social networking platform.
Top 10 Twitter Etiquette Tips for Business
1. Listen to Your Mother and Mind Your Manners
This is just good common sense. As someone who is a marketing professional first, I always like to say, “New Tools Old Rules.” If someone mentions you or retweets you, if at all possible thank them. Not only do People like to be recognized for their efforts, but this is a valuable action, so not thanking them would be rude. This is also a great way to begin building a relationship on Twitter. This small gesture may open the lines of communication between you and a potential customer or business partner. Show your appreciation and people will be more likely to re-tweet your offerings again and again. Even better, return the favor and retweet one of their posts.
2. Use #Hashtags Appropriately
I personally love hashtags. They are a great way to encourage participation not to mention help others track and find information. Having said that, it is important not to overuse them. While I like the long hashtag as much as the next person, using it too often or putting a hashtag in front of every word of your post will do nothing more than annoy your followers.
3. Resist the Urge to Tweet Too Much
Time and time again, research has shown that there is a fine line between just enough sharing and too much. Oftentimes businesses that are new to Twitter don’t yet understand this principle. Don’t fill your followers’ feeds with spammy Tweets. The best way to engage your audience is to post relevant, interesting, useful, and original content. Before you post, ask yourself: “Would I care about this if I were a follower?”
Tip: If you have a lot of ideas, use a program like Hootsuite to schedule your tweets so that they can be spaced out.
4. Warn Followers if You’re Going to Tweet a Lot
If you want to live-tweet an event at your business or charity gathering, you will need to tweet a lot!. While it’s a good idea, you may lose followers who feel assaulted by a barrage of tweets. A little fair warning will be much appreciated, and your followers will likely give you a pass for the day.
Tip: Tell them to check out Twalala or Twittblocker.
5. Watch What You Tweet
There have been some famous and embarrassing blunders on social media that have gotten both individuals and even entire companies in a lot of trouble. Never use your brand’s Twitter account to discuss controversial topics, send inappropriate photos, or use explicit language. If you’re on a personal account, the sky’s the limit and you can debate anything you like. However, in a business setting, unless it directly pertains to your product or service, it may be best to leave certain incendiary subjects like religion and politics alone.
6. Don’t Get Too Personal
Developing relationships with customers is one the primary goals of Twitter, but you should try to keep your posts about relevant business information. Your followers don’t need to know your personal business. I will concede that there is a benefit to adding a personal touch from time to time, especially in a small business. If you’re getting married or a favorite employee just had a baby, you may want to share the news for your brand loyalists to celebrate with you. Just be careful when considering what is appropriate to share.
7. Write Professionally
Your social media presence is an extension of your business persona. Always use proper grammar and spelling. It will help you maintain a professional image. (No one wants to see a law firm or accountant office tweet “OMG! Its not 2 late 4 u to file ur taxes!”).
Tip: Be sure to use proper forms of commonly misused words like there, they’re, and their.
8. Be Aware of Your Audience
Keeping rule #6 in mind, try and tailor your content to fit your audience. If your brand is focusing on tweens and teens, speak their lingo. If you are a B2B company, you will definitely want to use industry jargon. Be sure to post information that is relevant and timely to those following you and those you want to follow you.
Tip: If applicable, awards shows and sporting events are great ways to engage customers.
9. Be Timely With Communication
Once you’ve started a conversation with someone on Twitter, it is imperative that you respond to them in a timely manner. Even more importantly, if someone poses a question to you, answer them! Social media is great for giving you an opportunity to engage immediately and directly with your customer base. Nothing is worse than asking a company a question and not hearing back
from them for 3 days.
10. Address Customer Service Issues Privately
Almost any customer who tweets you with a complaint or concern wants to be heard, but not all want to engage in a public dialogue. Directly address consumers through direct message, off the public “floor.”
Tip: you can even ask them for a phone number and call them personally to show them you care about fixing the issue.
BONUS: Don’t buy into personal attacks.
There are always those people who complain and no matter what you say they will never be happy. To make this worse, Twitter is a medium of text communication which means there can be a definite margin of misunderstanding because there’s no way to hear someone’s tone of voice or observe their body language. What may be meant as a joke could escalate into something more negative. If it seems a conversation is deteriorating into something contentious, it’s wise to just walk away. Trust me, it’s just not worth it.
Twitter has become one of the most effective ways to market your business of the last decade. Follow these rules, and you’re sure to have many happy tweets ahead of you.
Authored by David P Mon. If you liked this article, please visit our blog at www.SocialMediaManagerinc.com/Blog
Ways To Protect Your Website from Future Google Updates
With the recent Penguin update that came down a few weeks ago from Google, a lot of site owners are wondering what they can do to recover from a search engine penalty. We know that Penguin was designed to target webspam tactics (Panda was more about content quality), and while glaring black hat tactics like keyword stuffing are easy to spot and fix, it’s not always as simple to find the gray hat SEO tactics that might be contributing (or will with subsequent updates) to a search engine penalty. Many DIY SEO site owners run afoul of the Google Webmaster Guidelines simply because they don’t realize they are doing anything wrong.
If your site has managed to escape unscathed by a Google update so far, don’t assume that you’re free and clear forever. Each search engine update gets a little better at catching and flagging sites that are in violation of the Webmaster Guidelines. Before you find yourself in emergency mode because your organic traffic was cut in half due to a penalty, here are 5 things every site owner can do to protect their website and ensure that future updates will only help their site perform better in the search engines:
1. Forget About Keyword Density
There is no “right” number of times you should use a keyword in any given piece of content. Forget every piece of advice you’ve ever heard about keyword density (2%, 6%, use each keyword at least three times!) and just focus on writing great content. One of the few hard and fast rules of SEO is that content should always be written for the human reader first, the search engines second. Believe it or not, a well-written piece of content will partially optimize itself because the topic naturally encourages you to use various keywords. You never want to force a keyword into the content to meet some keyword count quota – it’s almost always going to negatively impact the usability of your content. Of course you want to optimize your content for SEO, but worry about targeting keywords AFTER you’ve written the content. You can go back and tweak the post to be a little more SEO friendly in the revision round.
2. Diversify Your Anchor Text
A lot of SEO experts are hypothesizing that exact match anchor text might have been a big flag for the Penguin update. It’s important to diversify your anchor text so the search engines don’t have any reason to suspect that you might be trying to manipulate the SERPs. Branded keywords are probably going to make up a large percentage of your anchor text portfolio, but you don’t want to rely too heavily on a short list of targeted keywords (and please don’t use CLICK HERE as anchor text; it has no SEO value) for your anchor text. Much like with optimizing your content, there is no “right” number of times to use a particular keyword or keyword phrase as your anchor text.
3. Remove Questionable Links From Your Link Portfolio
In the weeks before Penguin, Google started sending out notifications to many site owners warning them about “unnatural links” in their link portfolio. These could be link exchanges, paid links, unrelated links, links from splogs and low quality directories and so forth. If there are any links in your link portfolio that might catch the eye of Google for the wrong reasons, it’s best to do away with them now so you don’t have to worry about it later. Keep in mind that a few “bad” links aren’t going to destroy your SEO, especially if the vast majority of your link portfolio is full of great links. You can’t control who links to you, which has made many site owners worry about the ramifications of negative SEO (a competitor would purposely link from dangerous sites to you to hurt your site). It’s when you have an okay link portfolio or shady SEO past that you need to worry about scrubbing your link portfolio as quickly and effectively as you can.
Some SEO experts have also hypothesized that sites might feel a trickledown effect via their link portfolio. Even if your site wasn’t hit by Penguin, if a lot of the sites linking to yours were those poor quality sites Google penalized, links from those sites become pretty much useless to your SEO. Your site may have escaped unharmed, but your link portfolio took a big hit.
4. Analyze the Value and Quality of Your Content
Ever since the first Panda update last year, just about every Google update since then has been focused on quality, especially content quality. It’s hard to hold a mirror up to our own efforts sometimes, but take a good hard look at your content. Where is there room for improvement? Are there any thin pages that you could combine in order to make a strong page with a great user experience? Are there pages you should just delete entirely? Put yourself in the shoes of your customer – would you want to buy from your brand? Is your content compelling and user driven or is it just a bunch of company mumbo jumbo and ego?
If you haven’t already, now is the time to launch a company blog (or up the number of posts you have going live each week.) Onsite SEO and link building are crucial to long term SEO success, but content is really what is going to propel your brand forward. The more quality content you have built around your website the better you look in the eyes of the search engines. It gives your customers a reason to interact with your brand (and link to your site!), builds your online authority and helps grow your overall online presence.
5. Imagine There are No Search Engines
Speaking of overall online presences (and this is going to sound strange coming from an SEO professional), treat your online marketing like there were no search engines. It’s important to diversify your traffic sources so your entire online livelihood isn’t based on the mercy of the search engines. If Google didn’t exist, what other online activities would you invest into connect with your audience? Build up these other channels so that if your site is impacted by an update, you can survive until you figure out and fix the problem. Google doesn’t owe you anything, and even though they want site owners to do a good job with their SEO (it helps clean up the SERPs, which gives Google a better product) they aren’t obligated to make sure your site survives. It’s up to you to learn the rules of the online world and give your website the best chance at online success!
There are many, many things a site owner could so with their SEO that could trigger a penalty from Google. But these are 5 things a site owner can (and should) do to not only protect their sites from future updates, but actually benefit from them!
The writer; Nick Stamoulis is the President of Brick Marketing, a Boston SEO services agency. With over 12 years of industry experience, Nick Stamoulis shares his knowledge by offering SEO training and consulting sessions and by publishing the Brick Marketing SEO Newsletter, read by over 150,000 opt-in subscribers. Contact Nick Stamoulis at 781-999-1222 or nick@brickmarketing.com
If your site has managed to escape unscathed by a Google update so far, don’t assume that you’re free and clear forever. Each search engine update gets a little better at catching and flagging sites that are in violation of the Webmaster Guidelines. Before you find yourself in emergency mode because your organic traffic was cut in half due to a penalty, here are 5 things every site owner can do to protect their website and ensure that future updates will only help their site perform better in the search engines:
1. Forget About Keyword Density
There is no “right” number of times you should use a keyword in any given piece of content. Forget every piece of advice you’ve ever heard about keyword density (2%, 6%, use each keyword at least three times!) and just focus on writing great content. One of the few hard and fast rules of SEO is that content should always be written for the human reader first, the search engines second. Believe it or not, a well-written piece of content will partially optimize itself because the topic naturally encourages you to use various keywords. You never want to force a keyword into the content to meet some keyword count quota – it’s almost always going to negatively impact the usability of your content. Of course you want to optimize your content for SEO, but worry about targeting keywords AFTER you’ve written the content. You can go back and tweak the post to be a little more SEO friendly in the revision round.
2. Diversify Your Anchor Text
A lot of SEO experts are hypothesizing that exact match anchor text might have been a big flag for the Penguin update. It’s important to diversify your anchor text so the search engines don’t have any reason to suspect that you might be trying to manipulate the SERPs. Branded keywords are probably going to make up a large percentage of your anchor text portfolio, but you don’t want to rely too heavily on a short list of targeted keywords (and please don’t use CLICK HERE as anchor text; it has no SEO value) for your anchor text. Much like with optimizing your content, there is no “right” number of times to use a particular keyword or keyword phrase as your anchor text.
3. Remove Questionable Links From Your Link Portfolio
In the weeks before Penguin, Google started sending out notifications to many site owners warning them about “unnatural links” in their link portfolio. These could be link exchanges, paid links, unrelated links, links from splogs and low quality directories and so forth. If there are any links in your link portfolio that might catch the eye of Google for the wrong reasons, it’s best to do away with them now so you don’t have to worry about it later. Keep in mind that a few “bad” links aren’t going to destroy your SEO, especially if the vast majority of your link portfolio is full of great links. You can’t control who links to you, which has made many site owners worry about the ramifications of negative SEO (a competitor would purposely link from dangerous sites to you to hurt your site). It’s when you have an okay link portfolio or shady SEO past that you need to worry about scrubbing your link portfolio as quickly and effectively as you can.
Some SEO experts have also hypothesized that sites might feel a trickledown effect via their link portfolio. Even if your site wasn’t hit by Penguin, if a lot of the sites linking to yours were those poor quality sites Google penalized, links from those sites become pretty much useless to your SEO. Your site may have escaped unharmed, but your link portfolio took a big hit.
4. Analyze the Value and Quality of Your Content
Ever since the first Panda update last year, just about every Google update since then has been focused on quality, especially content quality. It’s hard to hold a mirror up to our own efforts sometimes, but take a good hard look at your content. Where is there room for improvement? Are there any thin pages that you could combine in order to make a strong page with a great user experience? Are there pages you should just delete entirely? Put yourself in the shoes of your customer – would you want to buy from your brand? Is your content compelling and user driven or is it just a bunch of company mumbo jumbo and ego?
If you haven’t already, now is the time to launch a company blog (or up the number of posts you have going live each week.) Onsite SEO and link building are crucial to long term SEO success, but content is really what is going to propel your brand forward. The more quality content you have built around your website the better you look in the eyes of the search engines. It gives your customers a reason to interact with your brand (and link to your site!), builds your online authority and helps grow your overall online presence.
5. Imagine There are No Search Engines
Speaking of overall online presences (and this is going to sound strange coming from an SEO professional), treat your online marketing like there were no search engines. It’s important to diversify your traffic sources so your entire online livelihood isn’t based on the mercy of the search engines. If Google didn’t exist, what other online activities would you invest into connect with your audience? Build up these other channels so that if your site is impacted by an update, you can survive until you figure out and fix the problem. Google doesn’t owe you anything, and even though they want site owners to do a good job with their SEO (it helps clean up the SERPs, which gives Google a better product) they aren’t obligated to make sure your site survives. It’s up to you to learn the rules of the online world and give your website the best chance at online success!
There are many, many things a site owner could so with their SEO that could trigger a penalty from Google. But these are 5 things a site owner can (and should) do to not only protect their sites from future updates, but actually benefit from them!
The writer; Nick Stamoulis is the President of Brick Marketing, a Boston SEO services agency. With over 12 years of industry experience, Nick Stamoulis shares his knowledge by offering SEO training and consulting sessions and by publishing the Brick Marketing SEO Newsletter, read by over 150,000 opt-in subscribers. Contact Nick Stamoulis at 781-999-1222 or nick@brickmarketing.com
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