‘Search Engine Optimization’

Google has changed the SEO landscape considerably with Panda, the +1 Button, Social Search, and now the author rank algorithm. Web marketing companies and publishers need to make changes in their online marketing strategies or have their sites end up on pages five or six in the search results.

With the authorship mark-up announced, a tag can be added through semantic HTML to allow for searching of works by the same author in a particular website. In addition, the tag allows for directing to an author’s bio page which should be at the same website. With another tag, a link can be made to a profile at an external page or all pages displaying the author’s work.

Benefits For The Reader

The authorship mark-up enables users to locate articles written by a specific author. If an author has thus written informative and high quality articles, the recognition will be valuable. Users will not have to utilize the find option to locate works by a particular author at a website. In addition, the author rank system makes it easier to find articles written by a particular author in the organic search results of Google. The author’s page will include a list of articles or content pages created by the author and some biographical information. The days of the faceless content writer seem to be over.

Why The Authorship Mark-Up?

Google intends to deliver the most relevant and highest quality content in response to user searches. What makes it a bit tricky is that the author page must be located at the same website where the content is delivered. The user will have to rely on organic searches to locate works by the same author at other websites.

Implications For Freelance Authors

The author ranking system will benefit freelance authors who write quality articles. An author will think twice before spinning out superficial content for the sake of search engine marketing. Once the author’s name is connected to an article or press release, the author will rethink the content. As such freelance authors may in future decline projects where the focus is on articles about similar or rather similar keywords for the same site.

Authors writing for numerous sites may have an initial disadvantage because they write on a wide variety of topics and may find it difficult to develop a reputation of being an expert on a topic. Whereas an author may not have minded writing about a particular topic in the past because there was no name attached to the content, the reputation of the author may become more valuable and as such many freelancers may decline previously accepted projects to protect their reputations.

Authorship Mark-up And Author Rank

Google Authors by jimboot

The authorship mark-up is a tool to be used, simplifying the process of identifying and locating work of a particular author at a website. The author rank is a content metric to help measure the quality of articles and importance of a web page based on the reputation of the author. With author ranking then Google will be able to identify high quality articles and content pages and thus ensure more relevant search results. Google is also planning the implementation of trust metrics such as the Google +1 button and user feedback which will help to ensure accurate results. Users will appreciate other features such as Google Preview showing parts of a work and perhaps an image of the author as well as a short bio on the author.

Implications For Search

It would be naïve to think that the author ranking metric will not influence search results. Users may be influenced by the images of authors and the trust indicators. With a positive image and thus trust associated with an author, the user is more likely to click on the result. SEO companies and publishers will thus have to ensure that their content writers develop solid reputations in specific areas of writing and carefully select the topics to be written about. By taking pro-active steps in the matching of author and topic, they can thus ensure higher click-through rates based on the reputation of the author.

Authors will have to create Google profiles to which the authorship mark-ups can link. It will give them more control over their content in the sense that their content will be protected against scrapers. Ownership of the works will thus be easier to substantiate.

Reputable authors will rank higher with the author rank system ensuring better search placement for well written content. With the authorship mark-up tools webmasters will be able to also link to other web pages and the author bio ensuring that authors will play an all important role in placement of web pages in search results at the end of the day. Multiple profiles can be linked by using a mark-up such as rel=”me” to ensure linking between various profiles.

With the system in place, the content created by high ranking authors may even be indexed before there are links created to the content. If a webmaster therefore uses a reputable author with an excellent ranking, it could mean quick indexing and with this improved traffic. The focus in content generation will thus also need to be on improvement of author rank.

Search engine marketing through content generation in future may heavily rely on top quality content of high ranking authors. Even if an author is relatively unknown at the start of the author tag usage, the scene can change quickly as some freelancers write numerous articles for one site during the course of a month. The author could develop a reputation for writing excellence on the topic within a relatively short period, which will ultimately benefit the website owner.

Combine the author rank with the muscle of the Google +1 button to recommend sites and you have powerful tools for better search results placement on a specific topic. Professional web marketing techniques become all the more relevant for top ranking. Contact us to help your site reach top ranking and sustain its search engine placement.

It is the digital age and any business without a solid online presence has to work harder, invest more and wait longer to expand their market share and increase profits. A business needs a website and online marketing campaign to effectively compete with the millions of other businesses in the world. It is possible to simply make use of secondary sites for online promotion such as directories, social media such as Facebook, forums, auction sites, online shopping facilities and blogs to attract the attention of possible customers, but to truly benefit from an online presence a business needs a an online site and a well planned marketing campaign. A few more reasons are provided below as answer to the often asked question of “Why does a business need a website and online marketing campaign?”

Information To Help With Decision Making

Consumers require information to make decisions as to whether or not to make use of a company’s services or to buy a product. A business can hardly be open 24/7, but with a website they can. The website offers the opportunity to give enough information about the company, products, and services, ensure that questions are answered and that the client can get in contact with a representative. The information can be displayed in a visually attractive format and trust can be built through regular online communication.

Convenience For The Consumer

If you are looking for a more convincing answer on the question of “Why does a business need a website and online marketing campaign?” consider the convenience offered. Mr. X doesn’t want to get in his car and drive 10 km, fight traffic, struggle to get a parking spot, wait in line to be served and then have to decide whether or not to buy product A or B under pressure. He loves sitting at home or office and browsing the Net. Email communication is more his style and if he really wants, he can simply call the customer service line. He can make a decision in his own time, place the order and make payment without ever having to go the through the process described earlier.

Mrs Y loves shopping, but uses the website to get more information about the product. She wants to feel the fabric that she will buy and as such uses the website as her first point of decision making. There are many more scenarios that can be described, but the bottom line is that it offers a convenient facility for the consumer. The choice of interaction lies with the consumer, but information, pictures, and feedback opportunities are available 24/7.

Additional Outlet

Having an online presence can be seen as having an additional outlet. It serves as an entry point to your business. Instead of having to be at every exhibition or having to open offices in every possible town, you can have one website and reach consumers around the world. It is thus also a cost effective way of expanding your reach.

Additional Customer Communication

The customer gets another means of communicating with your company through online application forms, ordering facilities, feedback forms, email, chat facilities, forums and blog comments. It becomes a two way street of communication and thus an essential tool for building trust and improving customer relations.

Creates Credibility

While exhibiting at an event or discussing options with a client you may find that the client wants more information. The clients and potential clients often request the website address. If you send an email to a client from a free email address not connected to a valid domain, your correspondence will more than likely be met with some scepticism, but a valid domain and domain based email will build trust with the potential client.

Why Does A Business Need An Online Marketing Campaign?

The second part of the question “Why does a business need a website an online marketing campaign?” has not yet been answered. The online marketing campaign is what ensures visibility. Just as offline marketing is essential to create brand awareness and to let the customers know where your business is and what you offer, you need a solid online marketing campaign to ensure that your website can be found amongst the millions of other online businesses.

Many small business owners create websites and simply think that should do the trick. A few months down the line someone may ask how the website works for them and they will say that it is not worth their while. The reason is straightforward enough – their site doesn’t get enough targeted traffic. It is one thing to optimize the site for search engine placement, but another to ensure that all links stay in working order, a solid rank is obtained and that users will find the site when searching.

An effective online marketing campaign should include a complete mix of marketing techniques. It is essential to establish the goals of online marketing, the budget, expected return on investment, target audience, and general purpose of the website before investing in Internet marketing.

With the digital business world being rather competitive, the website owner cannot afford to use a fly by night approach. It takes time to develop a strong online presence and with the online world changing rapidly attention should be given to the whole package including:

• Website design for easy navigation, readability, information value, and convenience.
• Branding through the website, banners, affiliate marketing, pay per click advertising, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs and search engine visibility.
• Developing good ranking for particular keywords and ensuring relevance.
• Link building for higher ranking.
• Creating sticky content to ensure that the visitor stays longer and finds the site useful.
• Improving user experience through feedback forms, avatars, video content, and information.
• Improving visibility through YouTube channels and Facebook.
• Ensuring accuracy of information and professional display of information.
• Adding social media buttons such as Google +1, Facebook and Twitter.
• Creating a strong AdWords campaign and landing pages for higher sales turnover.
• Building relationships through newsletters.
• Using press releases to announce important business product launches.
• Market analysis and website traffic monitoring with tools such as Google Analytics.

The above elements are only a few of the important aspects of an online marketing campaign that can help to ensure a solid return on marketing spending and thus the growth of the business. In an age where millions of businesses have already shifted their focus to the online market, the question of why does a business need a website and online marketing campaign is almost too obvious. If you have not yet join the ranks of the online business world then do so now by getting immediate professional assistance through iLead Online for optimal success. Contact us for assistance today.

The Google +1 button has been rolled out and received with mixed enthusiasm by website owners and AdWords advertisers. Many of the webmasters have already added the +1 button to their sites. No doubt, Google changes their search and indexing algorithms on a regular basis and keeping up with all the changes can be hard work. Google Buzz may very well disappear completely or if the company strategizes correctly, they may just combine the two ensuring more interactivity amongst searches.

If you haven’t placed the Google +1 button on your website yet, you will benefit from the tips and pieces of information about the new roll-out from Google.

Google +1 Button Will Influence Rankings

Google announced that the +1 feature will definitely be used in determining a web page relevance to a search string and thus also its ranking. Website owners will thus have to carefully consider the content of their sites and the keywords optimized for. Quality will count since the user will have the power to click on the button for liking the content. The button can almost be compared to the Facebook Like button, just with a bit more power.

How Does The User See The Google +1 Button?

When a searcher comes across a web page related to a specific search, they can simply click on the Google +1 button to recommend it as relevant to the search. The users must be logged in with their Google account to use the button and can set the public display in their profiles. The button and likes of a person will by default be publicly displayed unless set otherwise in the profile settings.

Users will see recommendations from contacts below their search results, helping them to get more relevant search results. The moment the user clicks the button, the content will appear in the user’s profile at Google under the Google +1 button tab. It can be seen in 44 languages, but the annotations will only be visible in English.

Is The Google +1 Button The Same As Google Buzz?

The +1 feature is not intended as a conversation tool whereas the Google Buzz feature has been created to promote conversation about interesting topics or web content found by searchers. Up to now, it has not been used widely and many website owners have already replaced it with the +1 feature, seen as more relevant to searches.

How Will The +1 Button Feature On A Website?

Google provides the website owner or AdWords advertiser with several styles and sizes to select from. If a site owner has a bit of technical knowledge, more customisation can be done to the button. One can add several +1 buttons to a single web page at various places. If a user clicks one, it will mean a recommendation for the whole page. Google has suggested placement of the +1 button near the page title and the links to be shared. In addition, you can place the button at the end of the page as well.

Google has given recommendations regarding faster loading speed such as placement of the script tag at the end of the page before the closing of the page body tag. It is worth keeping in mind since loading time of a page is also considered regarding page ranking. When it comes to AdWords, the +1 annotations will appear next to the headlines.

Where Will The Button Also Be Visible?

The Google +1 button will be visible under the Share at YouTube, and will also be visible at the Blogger, Android Market and the Google Product Search facility. It is not available for mobile search at the moment, but Google most probably will add the feature to the mobile search in the near future.

How To Add The Button At A Blogger Site

Simply click on the Page Elements under Design on the blog dashboard and once you have located the blog posting area, you can edit by selecting the share buttons option where the +1 button can also be found.

Why Place The Google +1 Button At Your Web Pages, Blog Posts And Search Ads?

According to Google, adding the button to your pages, AdWords and blog posts, you ensure that your pages and ads will be immediately visible. By giving your visitors more opportunities to plus one your content, you increase the chances of more relevant traffic to your site. This is so because the plus one annotations will be visible in the search results. The idea is that people are more likely to click on search results with plus one annotations than those not reviewed and recommended.

Terms Of Usage

Google by now has learned that SEO marketers and web publishers don’t take long before they get shortcuts regarding Google features. As such the company has created strict rules and regulations for the usage of the Google +1 button. One for instance, may not entice a visitor in any way to click on the +1 button. Publishers may also not try to discover who used the button unless the user has allowed sharing of such information with the publishers. Publishers cannot give awards in return for clicking on the + 1 buttons.

Analytics For The Feature Are Not Yet Available

Although you will not be able to use Google Analytics for the +1 button yet, Google is working on such to ensure that website owners will be able to get information on the demographics and content clicked for. In future then, webmasters will be able to use information derived from Google +1 button clicks to improve their web content and marketing strategies.

Should You Ignore Or Use?

The Google +1 button is a social sharing feature, something at which Google has not been able to succeed thus far. Considering that web pages are now almost cluttered with all the social sharing buttons, one may be sceptical regarding usage of the +1 by users.

Although people use the Like feature for Facebook, they tend to be less concerned about what their friends search for and will want to search for regarding organic searches. On the other hand, a +1 annotation or more can certainly help to improve visibility in the search results and as such we recommend that you add the button to your pages and ads sooner rather than later.

Let us handle the process should you struggle to add the new Google +1 feature to all your web pages.

Google Panda is the name of the new algorithm used by Google to index pages and also to ban and move pages down the search results. Dewaldt Huysamen of iLead Online recently compiled a report named “SEO Update On Google’s Top Secret Google Panda’s Algo Change” based on the findings of Michael Campbell who gave 19 pointers on how to ensure that your website remains in the top search results even with the new Google Panda lurking in the woods.

Search engine optimization is a fine and dynamic art. Just as human search and Internet usage behaviour changes over time as they adapt to new additions to the online environment, search engines, including the likes of Google, change their algorithms to ensure the most relevant search results for the user. Google attempts to give the user value for their search time through the implementation of the Google Panda Algorithm.

Why The Need For Google Panda?

It never takes long for SEOs to catch up with new algorithms and unfortunately the spammers and black hat SEOs are even faster. They are the opportunists of the online world, taking what is meant to be good for everyone and turning it into a tool that gives them an unfair advantage. Make no mistake – advantage is what you should strive for, but not when it involves unethical behaviour that can cause the search engine to change its algorithm into a rather angry Google Panda that becomes aggressive to keep the status quo. Since the spammers and the black hatters will always be around, the average website owner has to do some work to prevent being categorised in the same category as the unscrupulous black hatters.

What Is Important According To Google Panda?

The normal SEO stays in place. Keyword density must be checked, spelling and grammar should be up to standard and useful sticky content must be provided. The article directories and article farms were hit exceptionally hard because the feeling is that the content at these sites is not worth the search. Still good for building incoming links, these article directories unfortunately are also filled with user generated content with loads of ads, making it difficult to read the content. Problem is that users leave the sites and have to redo their searches.

Duplicate content and no meat are two more reasons for citing the above as below standard sources of information. With Google being the number one search engine and also an excellent income generator for AdSense entrepreneurs, article directories have become big business. Three blocks of ads can be placed with every article and since the user may find the content to be useless, the ads become all the more attractive, leading to clicks and of course, money in the bank for the AdSense generator.

In effect then, Google is also guilty in creating the culture of serving up junk and had to do something to level the playing field again and taking out the junk. Google Panda is their answer to this problem.

How To Stay On The Friendly Side Of Google Panda

The main focus should be to retain visitors at your site. This doesn’t mean getting the users to your site and then trapping them. Indeed, such behaviour will make Google Panda your enemy. The answer lies in good quality content. You have heard it all before, but now the content must be super relevant and of exceptional value. Google Panda basically works on the principle of checking how long a visitor stays at a site before returning to the search page to find a more relevant match for their query. Without getting bogged down in detail – Google checks user behaviour. It may come as a surprise, but your every move on the search engine is closely monitored. No need to switch off the computer as the tracking is done simply to enhance the search engine and to ensure that you will find relevant pages when typing in a search.

Practical Points

Google Panda considers the following in addition to the other 200 SEO factors to be important:

• Feedback from users – still considered in a way, but may change in future.
• Bounce rate – how long a visitor stays at a particular web page before hitting the back button and doing another search.
• The number of ads displayed on a page – if there are too many ads, and especially ads not meeting the standard such as blinking ones and ads loading slowly, the Google Panda algorithm kicks in.
• Auto generated content – if the website contains too many pages of auto or syndicated content it can lead to a lower rank.
• Spelling and grammar should be correct as incorrect usage of language can be an indication of article spinning and also of low quality content.
• Design of the page – loading time is the keyword here.
• Outgoing links – pages with too many links out will be penalized.
• Duplicate content – even on your own pages will lead to penalization.
• Getting a top ten result for a keyword phrase spread over several pages is considered scaly.

What You Can Do To Stay On The Best Side Of Google Panda

Apart from changing your website to ensure that you stay within the Google Panda boundaries as indicated above, you should ensure that the visitor stays longer than the average 57 seconds at your site. You want to ensure that the visitor’s attention will be grabbed for at least 60 seconds and as such will benefit from using the following techniques:

• Avoid the usage of clipart and unprofessional graphics. You want to build confidence which will not be the case when using outdated blinking clipart and animation.
• Use colours wisely. You want to improve readability and as such should stay clear of a light font colour on dark backgrounds. Keep in mind that people get tired easily when having to read blurry content which is exactly what happens when you have a light font on a dark background.
• Keep outgoing links to a minimum – you want the user to stay with you for just a bit longer.
• Use Verdana instead of Arial or Helvetica fonts which were meant for bus stop signs rather than for computer readability.
• Avoid heavy navigation which will confuse the user and tempt them to hit the back button. It can also lead to slow loading times – which can be detrimental if you want a low bounce rate.
• Use narrow column widths such as 60 characters and keep the font at 12 points to ensure maximum readability.
• Create super quality and attention grabbing content which will ensure positive feedback.
• Structure pages well to ensure that any auto content will be separated and not indexed.
• Check high bounce rate pages and change the content. Even one page with a high bounce rate can affect your site’s ranking.
• Don’t ignore the importance of the legal pages such as Privacy Statement, Terms & Conditions, and Disclaimers. Group them together under the About Us section.
• Ensure that your site only features high quality ads.
• Use photos instead of clipart and only include such when adding value to the story.
• Add sticky content. This means a video where relevant to keep visitors at your site for longer.

Review your website for the above factors. If you need help in getting into Google Panda’s good books or should we say, the best side of the Panda tree, get in contact with us at iLead Online to ensure that your website does more than meet the requirements – it should flourish in the Google Panda world.

SEO companies and website owners have to work around the clock to adapt their online and website marketing strategies to ensure that the sites they promote don’t fall victim to the latest Google algorithm changes, which highlight the importance of original well-written content aimed at the reader and not the search engine.

Not too long ago, most of the articles written for the purpose of search engine optimization were still around the 450 word mark and before that you could find hundreds of long copy in the range of 600 to 700 words. At the same time also came the notion that all you needed to pass the Google algorithm was about 250 plus words. It became more cost-effective for website owners to have several pages of just over 300 words focussing on keywords, than paying more for high quality articles in the range of 600 words. SEO companies have employed several content writers paying them for mass production and thus a lower tariff rather than paying more for high quality articles.

In effect it has been fine up to now since the general agreed perception is that online users prefer shorter rather than longer articles. Web users often scan rather than read. Of course, you also need to consider that once the article goes over 600 words, the writer must be paid more as it also means a new ball game of quality. All of these factors have  contributed to a massive influx of articles rather than truly in-depth articles not saying the same old thing over and over just in different words.

Google isn’t trying to harm website owners. The opposite is true – to get better, more accurate results for searchers ensuring that the web doesn’t become one big mass of useless information. At the end of the day it all boils down to original content being the king. Google has through its algorithm changes targeted the content farms with names of numerous article directories and ‘how to’ sites being affected. Demand Media has been one of the sites hardest hit by the changes in search algorithms, but some innocent sites have also fallen victim to the changes in algorithms. The online search engine marketing strategy will have to be changed if it is focussed solely on rewrites and content creation without the user in mind. Website owners can still create stunning websites, but with articles aimed at informing and giving the user something of value.

What Is Value?

Determining what Google sees as value is altogether something else. Some have speculated that grammar mistakes, repeating of keywords too many times, length of articles, value of incoming links, age of the site, and loading time will all play their fair share in the website ranking.

How To Beat The Changes

Some tips on how to minimize the effect that the Google algorithm changes will have on your site are briefly shared below, but it should be noted that there are more than one hundred factors to be considered. Striking the right balance between search engine marketing and design of the site can mean the difference between landing in the sand box and still ranking in the top five for organic search results.

Share Traffic Between Sponsored/Direct and Organic Search Results

Don’t focus solely on the search results pages. You need to minimize the effects of any algorithm changes and with that then it will be better to have a loyal customer base coming back because you offer value. You will thus have to rethink quantity over quality. Rather have fewer new articles added to your site with keyword density carefully considered than having loads of shorter articles and blogs added offering little other than marketing value. SEO companies will have to reconsider their hiring policies and the pay rate offered to ensure that the writers will not simply write as many as possible articles to get enough income, but will take time to do proper research and of course, also because the articles will contain more words. Website owners will have to take note of this as higher ranks will also mean higher SEO costs.

Design The Site For Fast Loading

Not all users have the same Internet connectivity speed, but Google doesn’t penalise the site owner for that. Rather, it is looking at minimizing the effect on the environment by ensuring faster loading sites complying with the standards for accessibility and usability of W3C. Get rid of too much Flash and get back to basics. Focussed, easy to navigate, fast loading sites will do better. The website owners should reconsider videos at their sites. It may become better to have the videos run at YouTube and have them linked back to your site. Thus, having a YouTube channel for the purpose of website marketing will be better than showing all the videos at your site. Doing your part in minimizing the blue print we have on our environment, will help to decrease loading time and ensure the plus of better ranking.

Keyword Density Considerations

The keyword relevance to a site, topics discussed, and length of articles may in future play an important role. Keeping in mind that through the Google algorithm changes, sites adding the same old content just rewritten will be penalised, one must consider original content of value. With longer articles also comes the benefit of being able to space keywords better and reduce the risk of being noted as just a content farm.

Value Of Links

Incoming links will be judged according to the ranking of the sites from where the links are obtained and relevance to the content of the receiving website. Too many one to one links will be penalised. It comes back to good quality original content. If your site offers true value for the reader, other sites will link to it. Link exchange programs must thus be reconsidered. It doesn’t mean that one on one links will be out altogether, just that a balance must be maintained rather than relying on link exchange programs.

Impact On Article Marketing

Article directories have been severely affected by the Google algorithm changes on 25 February 2011. Some of the hardest hit sites are that of Wisegeek.com, Ezinearticles.com, Suite101.com, and Hubpages.com. Mahalo had severe staff cuts because of the changes and millions of dollars have been lost by the content farms. Website owners will find that article marketing will take on new meaning. Getting links in by submitting articles to the article directories can still be done, but with caution as to not to overdo it. Websites gaining traffic through negative comments at their forums will also see a severe drop in traffic.

Other Steps To Take In Meeting The New SEO Challenges

Create a Facebook account and build a business profile on the Facebook site. Ensure that blog posts are longer and offer real value. Join Twitter and move videos to a YouTube channel. Review your websites and remove any form of keyword stuffing or any resemblance to such. Rely less on article submission and more on the creation of well written longer original content. It may mean that the SEO companies will have to pay more than just doubling the amount for 300 to 600 word articles for the articles written by content writers because the depth of research must visible in the articles, but at the end of the day original content will be king in the battle of surviving the Google algorithm changes.