‘organic search results’

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.

Integrated Technical Services known, as ITS Africa, is a well-known industrial and commercial cleaning equipment supplier in South Africa with a large customer base. The company is also a distributor of the famous Kärcher products.

The ITS client base includes the likes of large mining companies and projects such as the Gautrain cleaning contract. The company operates in an extremely competitive environment also when it comes to carwash and carpet cleaning equipment. Competition on high level also means that competitors invest a lot in marketing, especially online marketing. This in turn leads to extreme keyword and ranking competition. Getting to the first five search result ranks for one of the main keywords is a rather impressive feat and more so to stay at the position or to improve the position.

ITS Africa, as an award-winning cleaning equipment supplier and service provider to large enterprises in South Africa, recognises the importance of a flexible, yet, well planned online marketing strategy. With that in mind the company under leadership has partnered with iLead Online to ensure that it can gain and keep a competitive edge in the online environment. The company recently received the South Africa Distributor of the Year Award from two major suppliers. It is an impressive accomplishment indeed. Part of their distributor success has to do with their marketing and customer relationship building strategies. Both strategies include a solid online presence and user-friendly websites packed with information on the various products and brands.

Online Marketing Strategy And Performance

ITS makes use of Pay Per Click Advertising in addition to affiliate marketing, link building, search engine optimisation and content generation services offered by iLead. Their service package thus consists of a complete marketing mix ensuring that they gain maximum online exposure and visitor traffic to their website. In addition to the above the following areas are also exploited in terms of online marketing:

• Interactive blog allowing for short posts about specific services offered by the company.
• Website banner ads at strategic places.
• Newsfeed on the main page allowing for constant news updates on the latest developments.
• Facebook advertising and business profile development.
• YouTube Channel for video marketing and building of links.
• Opt-in Mailing List for news & specials.
• Newsletter to build credibility and keep clients informed

Links Increase

The ITS Africa website had 135 incoming links in June 2010. Within only a few months iLead succeeded in building an additional 126 links bringing the total incoming links to 261 for February 2011. Ranking is directly influenced by the number of value added and relevant links and as such the incoming links have helped to improve search engine ranking.

Organic Search Results

The website is performing well on the organic search results for most of their main keywords, considering how competitive the market is in terms of their specific keywords. Co-owner of ITS Africa, Wayne Mulder, commented that although the website is not within the first three search results for some of the important keywords that it is on its way there and since search engine marketing is a long term and gradual process, it is worth the investment. Being on the first page is absolutely essential if one hopes to get a major chunk of the visitor traffic, and lying within the first five definitely helps. The goal is to get to position two or three in the near future.

Pay Per Click Advertising

While the website is still climbing the ranks in terms of some main keywords, it is doing exceptionally well on the PPC front with tremendous click through conversions. The combination of organic search with a PPC campaign strategy managed by iLead is delivering the desired visitor and conversion results. Out of 10411 clicks in February 2011 there were 1061 visits. When interviewed about his website success, Wayne answered that PPC is a more controllable tool which is definitely a must have for immediate results. Pay per click offers the benefit of a user already being in the market for the specific product or service and not only browsing for information. With this then, PPC is used to compliment the traffic drive to their website.

Leads

According to Wayne iLead has helped to ensure a constant flow of incoming leads. Not all result in sales, but are still important for brand building and customer mailing list development. Every relevant lead is important and with a definite increase in leads experienced, the company is 100% satisfied with the iLead strategies and professional lead building techniques.

Report Back & Future Trends

With the marketing mix strategy that iLead follows, the client can expect a solid return on investment into online marketing. Additional channels which are still to be exploited fully include that of viral marketing, YouTube, and social media brand development, all planned for the future.

Client Perspective Of iLead

The company provides excellent service and staff is available 24/7 to assist with any queries. One can trust in the professionalism of iLead. Even though iLead has other clients in the same industry, the company gives 100% to each client and upholds the integrity of the relationship. ITS Africa experiences the search engine marketing relationship as one based on trust. iLead is committed to client service and the building of long term relationships. It is this commitment that ensures complete dedication by the search engine specialists and staff. It is a reliable company that delivers on its promises to clients.

In Summary

ITS Africa is one of the leading commercial and industrial cleaning companies in South Africa. The company makes extensive use of online marketing to expand its markets and to ensure brand awareness. iLead works in close relationship with ITS to extend the reach of the company by ensuring well planned search engine optimisation, a flexible approach to Internet marketing, and transparency in its marketing approach. With this approach followed and a professional relationship with the client, iLead continues to develop strategies for optimal visibility, online branding, and the ultimate return on investment for ITS Africa. Contact us to develop an online marketing strategy that will suit your particular advertising needs.

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.