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Using Q&A Sites for SEO

The recent algorithm changes that Google implemented has affected both well-established and new marketers. If you are new to the game, then there’s a lot of catch-up to do. In this article, we’ll tackle the importance of Q&A sites which has emerged a victor after Google’s farmer’s update.

Google has conducted a major overhaul of its search engine. At first glance, it may seem like Q&A sites were weakened by the change but upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that quality websites using this concept actually did not suffer and in fact, they can be highly effective if you use them as part of your marketing strategy. After all, it would be against the search engine’s interest if it ignores searcher questions which are usually found on sites with Q&A platforms. Read More »

Focus on Design and Content for SEO

If you’re wondering if design and content influences SEO, we’ll tell you right now: it does. By focusing on the design and the content for your website, it is possible to improve your rankings dramatically. The key is to make the search engines perceive your site as a valuable source of information. Professional SEO specialists recognize important aspects in optimization that most people overlook.

Below are some areas that matters to major search engines:
On-Site Factors
To determine the value of a website, search engines use “quality indicators”. These indicators will tell the search engines whether your website has friendly design and produces solid content. A good SEO design will place the content at the top of the website’s source code, minimize coding when content is highlighted, and make use of CSS and HTML tags.
Off-Site Factors
On the internet, one factor that determines a site’s authority is the number of websites that link back to it. If your site contains interesting content and good design, then it will attract links. It is also important to create “link bait” articles. These are basically just articles that contain a list of resources for related topics.
Design and Content Improves Branding
The design of your website will be associated with your brand. It can be a good tool for brand building and the opportunity should not be wasted. In the increasingly competitive market, internet users have also become picky when it comes to the sites they patronize. Memorable design and useful content: these are the two ingredients that can help you stand out from the rest.
Appealing Design Lowers Bounce Rate
Although most people are not aware of it, the search engines actually monitor the bounce rate. It enables them to determine how visitors interact with your site and whether it is useful for not. If a lot of visitors leave your site a few moments after arriving, you have a problem. The search engines take this statistic seriously because a high bounce rate is a sign that visitors are not happy with the results page.
Having a strong web presence opens up a lot of opportunities. Don’t miss your chance to take advantage of them. So when it comes to web design and content, it is important not to scrimp. Investing on your website is a worthwhile endeavour. It can help your brand build and sustain its momentum over the long term.

How to Effectively Utilise SEO through Social Media

Social media is increasingly playing a bigger role in search engine optimisation (SEO). Channels such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Digg now dominate the search engine results page for specific search terms. There have been a lot of discussions about the role of syndication and the impact of social media in general. But there is little discussion about tactics that will enable marketers to improve their underlying SEO metrics through the use of social media. In this article, we’ll give you a lowdown about some of the most effective tips:

Train Your Team on Social Media and SEO
In many small organizations, the team that handles SEO is also responsible for the company’s social media initiatives. It is important to train your staff properly. Everyone should know the importance of anchor text, links, and grabbing interaction opportunities. If you are outsourcing this to a third-party agency, make sure that they know the goals of your business.
Keywords should be synched

The keywords that are used in the SEO campaign should also be integrated in the social media initiative for better results. In addition to creating company profiles in social networking sites though, using keywords in your comments, posts, and anchor text is recommended. This will help you dominate the top search engine results pages.

Fill Out Profile Forms Completely
Consider social media profiles as an extension of your company website. Take care of them because these tend to appear at the top of search results. Invest some time and effort in crafting the right text, integrating relevant links, and using proper placement on these profiles. Don’t miss this opportunity to build a better relationship with your customers and prospects.

Include Tracking Parameters
Using shortened URL solutions to post links on Twitter and other social media sites enables you to include tracking parameters. Every website analytics has a tracking program; including this lets your team get better information. Shortened URL gives you an idea which social media campaigns are working and which ones aren’t.

Optimize Meta Data around Videos
Right now, search engines are still dependent on the keywords that surround a video so pay attention to the following: title of the video, description, tags, file name, and anchor texts that link to a video. These strategies can go a long way to help you effectively utilise SEO through social media.

Segmenting Social Traffic in Google Analytics

With social media playing an increasing role in internet marketing, it is becoming more important to track what social sites are bringing you visitors. The problem is, most web tracking tools right now don’t show a breakdown of “social media” in their traffic sources section. In Google Analytics, for example, there is a comprehensive data about everything else but social media traffic in its default settings.

Fortunately, something can be done about it in Google Analytics (and many other tools). By implementing the steps below, you can see better traffic statistics in Analytics:

Use Custom Segments
Just go to the “Traffic Sources” section and click on “Advanced Segment”. It is found in the right-hand corner. Afterwards, the “Create a New Advanced” segment feature should be chosen. This simple step enables you to filter results for deeper analysis.

Add Social Sites
Once you have added the custom segment, the next step involves creating a full list of words and websites to include. Using the exact URL of the popular social media sites isn’t recommended. Rather, add “or” statements rather than “end”. Some things to add include: tweet, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, Digg, LinkedIn, Flickr, MySpace, StumbleUpon, and Wikipedia among others. Try to get a complete list of popular social media sites to add words to the Advanced Google Analytics segment.

Name and Test Your Segment
It is important to test your segment in Google Analytics to ensure that you’re getting the results you want. Before you can test for results, the tool will ask you to name the segment that was just created. Click “Save Segment” to go back to the prior screen.

Filter Traffic Results by “(Name of Segment)”
Once the new segment has been created, it is now possible to filter social media and compare it with other traffic resources. If, in the past, you can only determine which social sites bring you traffic through the referring domain link (which is tough to sort through), it now becomes easier once the social referrals are separated.

With the data at hand, you can now see more opportunities from social media with regards to your niche or business. You can also compare the traffic data from various sources through charts – in weeks, months, or years. Better information equals more opportunities for most businesses. This is highly helpful for websites that intend to stay in business over the long term.

Google + Bing Confirm Twitter/Facebook Influence SEO

Both Google and Bing have admitted that rankings can be affected by social media links (aside from beneficial second-order effects on the link graph). This comes after months of suspicion from SEO experts that such was the case.
Basically, links coming in from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sings can provide a substantial boost to any SEO effort. The development is definitely a step forward. But this doesn’t mean that you should go ahead and spam social sites starting today! There are a few things to keep in mind:

• Social Authority of a User is looked into – for links on Twitter to count, both Google and Bing looks at how many people follow you and how many people you follow. Numbers are important in this game. It adds heft and credibility to the links in question.
• Author Quality – this just means that search engines can associate an author with his offline persona especially if he’s a public figure. After all, name searches for them will usually be significant as well. It is important to take note that author authority is different from PageRank, however.
• Diversity of Sources – 50 tweets containing a link from a single account are not nearly as valuable as getting it from 50 unique accounts.
• Surrounding Content – the text that accompanies a link provides search engines with important information about the topic and relevance. It also acts as a substitute for the lack of anchor text (specifically on Twitter).
• Activity Level – basically the number of re-tweets, clicks, and likes (from Facebook) influences the weight of a link.
• Extent of the Network – how many friends and followers do you have? This can provide a significant boost to web authority. More is better with few exceptions (like inauthentic accounts and bots).
• Friends and Follower Ratio – on Twitter, reciprocity is important. For example, if you’re following 5,000 people and only 100 people are on your list, then your account is not as authoritative as an account with 5,000 followers.
• Association Bias – if you regularly tweet about your newest blog posts, it will be detected by the search engines.

There is certainly nothing wrong with that, of course, but it carries less weight than if an outside author or company promotes your link on social media websites.

These are just some of the things you should consider if you intend to use social media to benefit your search engine rankings.