5 SEO Tips in 2013

It’s time for the ‘old’ SEO dogs to learn new tricks.  I’ve been doing creative marketing for 10+ years and a lot has changed in the past year. If you haven’t stayed abreast of the new changes in the SEO community, then you’ve missed out tre

mendously. The new changes to Google’s algorithm woke up sleeping giants, crushed people’s income, and changed the game dramatically. Here are 5 things you should know in order to survive this year.
1. What’s the Penguin everyone keeps talking about?
In April of 2012, Google released an algorithm update known as the Penguin update. Not every webmaster suffered in this update, but those who participated in any of the following did:

• Link Schemes (unrelated links, link exchanges, buying links, etc)
• Cloaking (hiding keywords)
• Keyword Stuffing (just like it sounds – excessive keyword density)
• Duplicate content (content that is appearing on more than one site, almost word for word)

Website owners that participated in these things lost roughly 40-90% of their traffic overnight. I personally know some entrepreneurs who were living the dream because of their rankings and now they’re deeply in debt because Google killed their ‘golden goose’.
Moral of the story? Focus on building quality links
2. The trend towards social backlinks
Some have worried that backlinks are either obsolete or on their way quickly. At the moment, backlinks are still necessary. With the new updates, we’ve seen a change in the top 10 ranking factors. Out of the top 10, five or them are social. The trend is towards social backlinks.
In case you’re wondering what the top 10 ranking factors are, they are:

• facebook shares
• number of backlinks
• facebook total
• facebook comments
• facebook links
• tweets
• % of backlinks that are no follow
• keyword in domain name
• % of backlinks with keyword
• % of backlinks with stopwords

Moral of the story? Focus on your social media presence and create content that users engage with.
3. Evolution of PPC search
With new devices coming out, Google adjusts their PPC module for advertisers. It used to be that you could set your ads to target desktops and mobile devices separately. It’s not the case anymore. Google has now thrown all of them together because they say that more search is being done from mobile devices anyways.
This is especially important as a service provider running ads. You can adjust your bid to be higher when someone is searching and they’re closer to your location.
4. Facebook and Google are at war with another
Google has sat and watched Facebook’s rise to fame.. and they’re envious. Google always thought their search engine would be the primary place people would go to for information. It turns out Facebook is actually the number 1 place people are going for information; with Google trailing right behind.
Both companies are rushing to mobile to capitalize on the most current gold rush. Facebook just recently released Graph Search, which allows its users to find information based on what their friends like. This tells SEO’s that they need embrace social media more than ever.
Just think about it, if your business doesn’t have likes, then the chances of it popping up are little to nothing. On the flip side, if I am searching for ‘chinese that my friends like’ and a restaurant is liked by several of my friends, I’ll probably end up eating there. It gets rid of the ‘guinea pig’ mentality.
5. Google Authorship
Google is now allowing webmasters to ‘claim’ their content by adding a rel=author tag to our posts. You’ll need a Google + page to begin the process. Personally, I’ve seen increased conversions up to 3x in the SERPs since using authorship.
When someone searches and finds one of your posts in the SERP’s, they’ll see your picture next to your post. It’s great because it adds a personal touch to your posts.

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10 SEO Landing Page Tips

When we talk landing pages, most online marketers think pay-per-click, where the input of a destination URL into Google's or Bing's paid search offerings allow marketers to drive keyword-targeted traffic to (hopefully) optimized pages.
My previous article extolling the death of keywords talked about developing intent-based topics and building content that connects with those topics – intent to content.
We can now apply that mantra in a "first engagement" scenario, after a user clicks a search result, to ensure SEO landing pages:

• Connect with intent: Offering a user what they expect.
• Resolve (initial) user query: Answering their initial query.
• Engage the user: Sending user signals to search engines.
• Drive further user engagement (if necessary): Additional signals to both users and search engines.

A searcher intent to site content engagement scenario I call "CRED".
In these scenarios where signed in users, search query modification, Chrome browsers, "cookied" users and toolbar data provide massive datasets of engagement signals to search engines on how users interact on sites, we need to drive optimal engagement scenarios.
Here's a checklist of 10 "killer" tips to ensure you're able to add a bit of CRED to your SEO campaigns, as well as demonstrate campaign success!

Connecting

1. Are the primary headlines aligned with intent?

The first thing users notice is content structure, headlines, headers, bolded elements, graphics etc. Your 2 seconds of opportunity to grab attention begins with a mental assessment that needs to immediately connect with the original search query and inspire additional engagement via clear communication of what the page is about.
Content should be created with specific intent in mind, with headlines, and/or graphic headers that are obvious, short, surrounded by adequate white space. And the content must be specific enough to inspire a user's attention.

2. Are you matching content type with query intent?

If the target query includes "how to", "best", "top 10", "compare" or other intent refining modifiers, or if the query demands a certain level of text content, are you obviously offering something that visually connects, confirms relevance, displays lists, video or images?
Users won't have time to read, but they will make a quick decision on whether the format they review matches an expectation. For example, a query on top 10 bars should have a list with numbers displayed – or one entry with numbers. Or a query on the history of search should probably have an index and look robust – not just a 200 word paragraph.
Users have short attention spans, and most have a preconceived expectation of what they should find, not matching that initial expectation can equate to a quick "back click.".

Query for "best health insurance plans for single men". Ask Men offers a clear header and an image that immediately screams "authority"

Resolving

3. Can users perform a quick scan above the fold to answer who, what, and why?

As noted above, users don't actually read on a first pass, they make a decision based on visual cues and click expectations (what they expect after they click).
Some websites fail in obviously reinforcing the click expectation, missing an opportunity for engagement, underscoring brand recognition, and providing obvious reasons of time-worthy value.
Click through to your site and ask the following:

1. Is your brand obvious?
2. Is it obvious what you do?
3. Is it obvious why they should stick around?

Especially important with homepages, but equally important on other SEO landing pages, is ensuring your brand is obvious. Make sure what you do, or how you plan to address the user's intent, isn't buried. Give users obvious information and/or justification to stick around and/or click around is key to moving people to engage further.

Query for "flat head screw driver". Home Depot offers clear branding, white space to highlight product, and additional information that is clearly visible and offers visual cues that the tabs are clickable.

Remember: for instant user assessment of resolution potential, anything below the fold doesn't exist!

Engaging

As noted with the Home Depot example, key engagement options exist such as an "add to cart" action button, search for intent refinement or modification, other options to dig into additional information and links to similar products that other customers have purchased.
Each of these elements contribute to answering the next question:

4. Is it obvious what they should do next?

For Home Depot, the answer is most probably yes. It's easy to find the "Add to Cart" button, it's placed in an obvious position and there's multiple options to view additional information.
The product page offers multiple ways to engage, with a zoom button (subjectively probably not big enough), and plenty of other user-centric options such as writing reviews, checking inventory, etc.
Occasionally there can be too many options that can confuse users. In the Home Depot example there appears to be duplicated "check inventory" buttons/links, but these may have been tested and justified.

5. Are there on-page modification options? (based on query modification)

Home Depot offer a good example of obvious search functionality, related products, and other options that can help modify the user's search query onsite rather than have them click back to the search results to modify.
These kind of onsite modifications do not always need to be driven by site search.
Breadcrumbs, side navigation, filters, related prods, color/size selection are all feasible options to mitigate click backs and improve onsite engagement signals.

Driving

6. Are 'next clicks' consistent?

Part of great site engagement is a consistent user experience for similar queries. By monitoring user interaction on a per query basis, website owners can identify consistencies or deficiencies in matches of search intent to site content.
Duane Forrester of Bing said in January 2013:

"In the long run, the brand names secure rankings through depth of content, trust in brand, and user interaction (searchers clicking a SERP result and staying on their site because the site is trusted and answers the searchers question)"

Providing key "next clicks" – obvious steps from landing pages to conversion or core information – is a better user experience = better potential rankability.

7. Can they share what they've found?

Probably the most obvious of tips, it the provision of social sharing and social connection buttons. If landing pages provide the value users expect, will they be inspired to share, and if they are, can they?
Sharing of a page is different than a click through to your social property (i.e., Facebook page or Twitter stream), and should be a key component on most landing pages, with the caveat of audience vs. social platform.
For pages with images, is there an option to share on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter? For business text content, is LinkedIn an option? Social signals are imperative in closing the loop on user intent satisfaction, demonstrating to both users and search engines an endorsement of your content.

8. Ultimately, can users find the banana?

Seth Godin published a book a few years ago called "The Big Red Fez" – rather than repeat all the key concepts, I can state simply is it's all about bananas – users finding what they need from obvious choices. There's an excellent synopsis here.

I love Helen's Cycles, great stores and service. But visit their website and you're presented with way too many choices (red) and a certain level of confusion (green). The green element talks about Helmets, Cycling Essentials and Clothing"¦ but offers no way to click or a link to relevant content.

Give your users clear navigation to improve consistent engagement and "banana-discovery."

Measurement

The final two tips cover justification through measurement of metrics that matter.

9. Have you segmented traffic by topics?

Google Analytics offers segmentation by query topics through Analytics filters (beyond the scope of this article but more information can be found here) or by exporting data and consolidating offline in Excel.
Custom segments allow you to monitor performance across keyword query topics, understand topic traffic and conversion trends, and leverage this data to identify the key landing pages for each topic.

10. Are you tracking first click queries for optimized pages?

Although in an ideal scenario the page you optimize will attract the keyword queries you'd expect, custom segments by topic also offer up insights into competing pages (entry pages in your site that compete against each other), highlighting opportunities to consolidate similar pages, mitigating potential thin content issues and improving topic relevance on merged pages.
Utilize custom segments, organic traffic keyword query reports, together with landing page association to provide insights into potentially competing pages.

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SEO Tips for Technician Website in 2013

If you want to get your technician website noticed on the web, some attention to SEO is required. Search engine optimization has been an important way to get exposure on the internet, and it’s becoming more and more important as time progresses. In the past, the tactic was meta keyword usage, but that was abused, and most search engines now totally ignore those. What are search engines looking for, and how can you get your site noticed on the web by using SEO tactics?

Content is More Important than Keywords

Content is the most important factor with search engines. If the word ‘intelligence’ can be used in relation to search engine algorithms, they’re getting smarter and smarter, and they’re not easily fooled. Don’t try to outwit them. Provide them with genuine valuable content. Describe your services in all the useful appropriate words you can think of. Search engines will pick up on those terms, and will rank accordingly. Be sure to mention your region, as that’s one of the first things users search for when they need services. Include all the regions you cover so that you can be sure you’re ranked for those regions, such as counties, cities and towns, as well as the state.
Keywords are still relevant, but relevant in the way the content on the page contains them. Overuse of keywords might have a negative effect on your website rank in the search engines, so just provide high quality content and use keywords appropriately. If you’re not sure how appropriate your keyword usage is, have someone else read through it to make sure you’re not overusing it. If it sounds awkward or sounds like you’re trying to emphasize one certain word in the content above all else, it’s definitely overuse. In fact, using the keyword just once will suffice. Be sure to write content that can attract relevant organic links, more than anything else.
Readability is another important aspect related to writing great engaging content. There are a few tools out there that can test readability. WordPress has a good tool for it, but keep a balanced view of its results. Sometimes you’ll need to lay things out in a specific way, and if it doesn’t have that great of a readability score, don’t worry too much about it. Look it over and see if you can change anything to make it easier to read. Be sure you’re not using too many unfamiliar terms, keeping in mind your audience. Another thing to keep in mind is length of your body text. Try to write at least 900 words or more, but try not to overdo it. If you present a daunting wall of text for your readers, they’ll either just scan it, or give up and look somewhere else for what they were searching for.

Do you Blog?

Search engines still love blogs. Keep a blog section on your site and update it regularly, with high quality content. Write about subjects that are interesting, and that will attract people. Engage your viewers, entertain them, make them feel like they learned something new from your content, and that they benefited from visiting your website. Are your clients asking for your recommendations on tablets and smartphones? Write a short blog post about your recommendations. Is there a piece of malware in the wild that’s causing more computer repair issues currently than you’ve noticed before?
This is up to you, but if you write a post telling them how to protect themselves, not only will it help them, but they’ll see you as trying to help them rather than profit off their mistakes. Secondly, if you’re already busy enough as it is, it will save you those long tedious malware removal jobs and you can focus on other projects. Offer to protect their computers in your post, at a discount rate. Many people highly value their computer and when push comes to shove, they’d rather have someone qualified installing programs on their computer rather than risk messing something up themselves.

Balanced Linking

In times past, many have emphasized link networking as the best way to get a good page rank for your website. That’s currently frowned upon by the search engines, and it will probably continue to decrease in effectiveness unless you use it in a balanced way. What is balanced link building? Don’t post on random blogs with your website link. If the blog or website has nothing to do with your service, you most likely wasted your time, and gave your site a ‘-1′ in the eyes of the search engines. If you want to do link building, do it sparingly, and do it where it counts. For instance, can you get your services reviewed by an outside party? If they write an article on their site, and if their site has a good ranking with Google, and is considered relevant and important by Google, you’ll probably get a good rank with that search engine.

Social Media

This currently appears to be a very large factor in search engine results. If your online presence has a social media network following, such as a thousand or more Facebook followers, several hundred shares, and a few hundred tweets, you’ll be very likely to get some impressive results in the search engine results. You’re probably thinking that’s not possible for you. Actually, it is. It might take some time, but there’s no time like the present for getting started. Put links to your social media presences on your flyers, your business cards, your websites, and your blog. Offer free giveaways when you reach a certain goal on your social media network. Currently, search engines such as Google pay high regard to this kind of interaction, so if you’re not on the social media bandwagon yet with a high quality social networking presence, it’s time to get started.
In conclusion, content is very important. Linking is becoming less important, but links throughout your site to your core page are a good tactic for SEO in 2013. If you haven’t started using social media to expand your presence, start working on it now. If you haven’t got a blog, start one, and keep it updated regularly. If you apply all these tips, you should be on your way to getting good results with the search engines.
If you have some tips that have benefited your website, drop a comment below!

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Social Media Tutorial for Mom on Mother’s Day?

Well, you are not alone.
Mom, we love you but there are some things we’d like to introduce you to that may make communication a little easier or, at the very least, cut down on some of the questions.
An entrepreneurial copywriter in New York named Jenna Livingston got together with some creative pals to offer just in time for Mother’s Day. The tongue-in-cheek website provides informative tutorials on the basics of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. How to tag a photo. What ‘#’ means. Repinning.
Perhaps the most helpful part is the etiquette bit for each category. For example, you don’t have to ‘Like’ every photo your kid posts. Be careful what you tweet when you’ve had one too many white wine spritzers. Only pin wedding info if your kid is actually getting married.
So, in addition to the cards and treasured gifts and special brunch, you can give mom some patient, willing instruction on how to connect all year long. #thanksmom #loveyou #betterthanflowers

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Social Media Tutorial: From Facebook to Twitter and Beyond

Are you cyber-savvy or cyber scared?   Our children are creating digital footprints with every click of a mouse.  They are connected to the web through their phones, their laptops, their Ipads and other devices.   The digital world is an evolving landscape that parents have to learn to navigate.   Facebook is just the tip of the iceberg – have you heard of Bebo, World of Warcraft or Second Life?   How are our children using the Internet and what impact will it have on them today and in the future?  Privacy settings, sexting, texting, cyber-bullying, and online social networks will be discussed.
This practical tutorial will be chaired by Bill Freitas, Technical Director of the Lawrenceville School accompanied by  IT experts from Princeton Common Ground member schools.

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Tutorial Details: By The Mumtaz SEO

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. Are you using these sites? If not, you're missing out on both new opportunities and important information that helps you get published, as well as market and promote your book. In today's competitive environment, you have to be savvy and knowledgeable about online tools and activities, and understand how using these tools can attract the attention of agents and editors, while assuring a potential publisher that you have what it takes to be a successful author.
This session will give you a step-by-step online tour of the most important social media tools available to you and the principles behind using them:

How to test your ideas through social media

How to learn about the preferences of agents and editors through social media

How to stay up-to-date on trends in social media that affect your success as a writer

How to use social media in an authentic way to market and promote your work

How to use social media to build your personal brand

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Introduction to Social Media Marketing:

{ Please note: This article is out of date, but provides good basic information. }
Now is the time to tap into the ever-growing power of social media marketing. Businesses of all sizes are seeing tremendous results with social media. Navigating the web 2.0 envirnoment can be a bit confusing and challenging for new comers, which is why we are proud to offer this guide to businesses owners ready to take the plunge.
Time Is Of the Essence
”’ It’s vital for any individual or business embarking on the social media marketing journey to know one important fact. It takes time! It can take a tremendous amount of time. But if you budget your time wisely, you can see results and not go crazy trying to keep up. Although for those owners and managers who just don’t have the time at hand to invest into social media, we offer a variety of services to help. We can do everything from planning a social media blueprint to actually building and managing your accounts. Knowing it takes time is the first step, and committing the time to it is vital to see success. If you’re ready to take on the challenge, this guide will break down the basic ins and outs. So let’s get started!
Know Your Goals
Before sending out your first tweet, or making your first Facebook status update, it is so important to know what it is you’re hoping to accomplish with social media. Having a clear cut idea of what you want to get out of your efforts is a great way to iron out kinks in your plan before getting into the thick of trying to keep up with everything in the social media sphere. Get past the money. Of course long term as a business you’re looking for more sales and more money, but don’t start there. Are you hoping to increase brand awareness? Do you want to fix a negative reputation, start a positive one? Are you trying to connect with your customers? Do you want to know what customers think of your company and your products/services? Maybe you’re interested in networking with other businesses in your industry?
Know what you want. Write out your goals, and keep them in mind as you build your profiles, and your networks. Never losing sight of these goals can make a huge difference in how you measure the success of your social media campaign.
The Basics:
There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to tackle social media. Many people think making a Myspace page and just letting it sit is enough. Others think you need profiles on 60 networks and need to be active on all of them. There are some basic techniques we use to make the transition into social networking as seamless and painless as it can be. Follow these tips and save yourself some grief down the road.
Let’s take a look at some universal basic tips for social media. Regardless of what services you plan to use, these tips will apply for all of them. Take these to heart before even creating yours first profile.

1. Its called social media for a REASON.
   The thing to remember here is social media works online, just like social activity works offline. Meaning, don’t be “that guy” at the party who just doesn’t get it. Act that way, and I can promise you that you won’t be invited back. I know that you may have an amazing product or service to offer your network, but no one will be interested in just hearing your sales pitch. Instead, take the time to socialize. Be conversational, and most of all offer fresh and interesting content to your network. You’ve got to prove you’re worth listening to before anyone will tune in.
2. What does your Profile Say About You?
   The next step when starting out on your social media journey is building up your profiles. This requires consistency. Making sure your user image, user name, description, and contact info are the same is so important. When building a brand, people must be able to readily tell it’s your company they are connecting with. Consistent branding can really grow your network.
3. Get Active! You’d be surprised how many people don’t get this step. If you want to reap the benefits of a social networking you have to participate in the network. Making sure you are active, and participating in the community is the only way to earn friends, and brand advocates. It takes time, but it’s vital. You cannot allow too much time to go by between updates.
4. Support the Community: The relationships you forge in social media are very similar to the relationships you forge in real life. There will always be givers and takers. Make sure you are a good balance of giving and taking. Show support to your network if you expect them to support you as well. This is a golden rule many new social media users overlook.

Now that you’ve got the basics down, there are 2 rules you’ve got to be willing to follow to see success in your social media efforts.

Join the Conversation: You’ve got to get in there before the door closes. Be active and make your voice heard.
Be Transparent: Don’t put up a façade. Don’t show them smoke and mirrors. Your network wants to see you for what you are. They expect transparency, but in the very least they’ll accept translucency. Be willing to share.

Twitter, Facebook, & MySpace
These networks are the tri-fecta of social media marketing on the web. Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace currently dominate the social media game with the most users, the most activity, and the highest chance for a successful campaign. While not all businesses do well with social media, everyone should have some sort of presence on these three networks. Depending on your business and your time commitment, you may want to pursue activity on other networks as well, but starting out with these three is a great way to get used to the social media sphere and how to interact with users in this space.
We are going to go in depth with each of these networks, in order to give you the best idea of how to get started, and what to expect from growing your networks socially.
Twitter – What is it?
Twitter is a mirco-blogging network which invites its users to answer a simple question: What are you doing? This question is answered in 140 characters or less. The interesting thing about twitter is that it is not a one to one type of communication tool, it’s a one to many communication tool. So, you can send a message out, instantly to an entire community ready to respond in seconds.
How to Use it? Twitter Tutorial, Getting Started
Facebook – What is it?
Facebook is a social networking site originally exclusive to college students. Building in popularity since it’s inception in 2005, now Facebook is THE social networking service and it’s available to everyone. Built around the idea of a profile, you can connect with former classmates, co-workers, friends, family, etc. It offers many exciting features and truly is the most popular social networking tool at the moment.
Myspace – What is it?
The originator of the social media frenzy, Myspace is the first big player on the block. Very similar to Facebook, Myspace allows users to create a profile on their network, and connect with others via messages, comments, and group communities. While many businesses tend to shy away from Myspace due to its sorted past, it is still a powerful social network, and could be a good place for certain kinds of businesses to network.
So Thats It?
Well…no. There are countless other networks and forums that may or may not be of interest to your business. Some of the key players that take a secondary seat to the top three networks can drive a lot of traffic as well. Some of these other social sites have a lot to offer businesses and can generate a good buzz and brand awareness. Again depending on your business and industry, some or none of these may be worth your time. Take a look through the list and see what appeals to you.
LinkedIn — Professional Connections
Often jokingly referred to as Myspace for grown-ups, LinkedIn is a social network targeted for business professionals. Working along the same lines as Myspace and Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to build a profile that centers around your particular work experiences, future goals, and expertise. As a business, linkedin is also a powerful tool to find new talent.
Squidoo — User Generated Content
Squidoo is an interesting social site. Working on a completely different platform than the above-mentioned, Squidoo allows users to create webpages (called Lenses) about anything they are interested in. This can be a great tool for businesses looking to promote themselves online and get more traffic. There is a bit of a learning curve, and I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone. But if you have a niche industry with a good product, this is a great place to score some relevant traffic.
Digg — Social News
Digg is a social news site which allows users to submit interesting links and stories. Other users can then vote on whether or not they like these links and stories. The act of voting positively for a story is called “dig” and the act of voting negatively is called “bury”. This site is a machine for sending tons of traffic to your website. If your story makes t he front page of Digg, sit back and enjoy the show. But be warned, Digg is a massive site with a lot of users, and it can be brutal. I advise anyone interested in Digg to do a lot of research first.
Final Words of Advice:
It’s awesome you’re ready to take this step. Just remember that it involves a lot of time and effort. Try not to overwhelm yourself. Pick just a few networks to start out with, and start small. Keep your goals in mind in all that you do socially, and you should see your efforts reap a reward. If things don’t work out like you planned, back track and try a different approach. Just remember to keep at it. If all else fails, we here at Customer Magnetism are here to help. Our blog offers many insightful posts to help with social media strategies, and we offer services to take out the heavy lifting. Good luck, and get social!

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