The Change in Facebook

So many Facebook users including those who have used such social media platform to engage or gain clients for their business have grown used to using its social media interface. However, recent announcements done by the Social Media giant is going to change all that with its introduction of the Facebook timeline. Many people using Facebook have been reacting negatively to the introduction of the Facebook timeline including those who have been using Facebook for their business. This reaction may be due to the fact that people are afraid of change however in terms of business the new Facebook timeline will be able to bring a lot of benefits. Such benefits are the following:

1. Timeline Views – Through the timeline view branding could be incorporated, well timeline view is actually not new in Facebook, these are the text tabs found at the left side of the page it was redeveloped to display thumbnails rather that texts, allowing you to incorporate your company logo perhaps?

2. The Cover Photo – Facebook has incorporated a new feature in their interface and this is the cover photo, where you could use a unique photo as your profile’s header. Again another chance for branding as you could your company logo to be your Facebook pages’ cover photo.

3. Post Control – because of timeline you can now manage the different posts in your own timeline. You can highlight a post which you would like to be seen among your other posts. So if you have an important announcement it will not be pushed down by recent posts.

4. Easy Multimedia Inclusion – with the old Facebook interface incorporating multimedia in your post requires the use of your knowledge in HTML specifically that of the iFrame. In the new Facebook Timeline interface embedding multimedia is as easy as posting a message.

Conclusion

Change as they say is inevitable especially in the case of implementing the Facebook Timeline. The new features of Facebook Timeline introduced more opportunities for those who would like to utilise Facebook for business another alternative traffic source for SEO companies and SEO consultants.

What is Page Rank?

In order to understand why many SEO companies and SEO consultants are worrying about their websites page ranking we have to understand what page ranking is. Page Rank basically is patented by Google, it is a ranking set in order to indicate the authority of the website. The ranking will start from a low zero to a high of page rank 10. The increase in page rank can be attributed with the link building SEO strategy where link page rank is passed on if it originated from a website with a high page rank. This is because of the fact that links from one website to another is considered as a “vote” to the recipient website which means that the more websites with high page rank linking the higher the page rank of the recipient website.

Page Rank and Panda or Penguin

Many would wonder if Penguin and Panda interplays with the Page rank. One of Panda and Penguins main focus is to track poor and spinned content making it reduce the ranking of the website in SERP. The main question therefore is does content now play a role in determining the page rank?

The Answer

Content nowadays play a significant role in determining the page rank of the website, this is because Google utilises the flesch-kincaid method where it tracks word spelling and sentence grammar and checks whether they are correct. Of course content is only one of the determining factors as links are still key players in determining the page rank of a website.

Conclusion

This just proves what we have always been saying on this blog time and again. In order for you to gain ranking either in the search engine results page or in the page ranking you have to incorporate quality not only in your link building efforts but most of all in your content development.

What Is Web Spam?

The definition of a web spam is very simple, it is the strategies used in order to manipulate or trick the search engines in order to increase your websites’ search engine ranking. These strategies include all those that are considered to be black hat strategies. These include keyword stuffing, duplicate contents, link schemes among others.

How to Recover From Penguin Update

Of course we know that in every Google algorithm update there are always those websites that will take the hit. Depending on the algorithm’s “flavor” specific websites will take the fall and be de-ranked or banned by Google. If your site is among the three percent (3%) hit by the Google Penguin update then it is important that you retrace your SEO steps from content development to link building where you could do the following:

1. Identify Duplicate Content in Your Website – you might have used some contents that were just copied from another site, previously or many moons ago this practice escapes the eye of the search engines but not today, so if you have some duplicate contents that may still be in your website it is time for you to delete them.

2. Identify Low Quality Links – to put it into proper context low quality links here pertains to those links that were from link farms or from bad neighbourhood sites, these types of links are easy to acquire however it is potentially dangerous to your websites’ ranking.

3. Plead Your Case – one of the features included in the Penguin update is the fact that you can plead your case with Google. You can plead your case through the Google Webmaster Tools. Here you can specify or inform Google about reconsidering your sites ranking especially if you think that Google has mistakenly de-ranked your website.

Conclusion

As always Google will continue to update their algorithm and it is essential that SEO Companies and SEO Consultants are always updated on such changes. If their site is hit by such algorithm change it is also very important to know what to do to remedy the situation, proper knowledge is needed and to acquire such knowledge research and being always on the lookout for relevant information would be very beneficial.

What are Considered as Web Spam?

According to Google web spam practices are those that are implemented in order to manipulate the search engine rankings. It does not really promote useful content for the users instead the contents are generated for the search engine crawlers. With Google’s advocacy or goal of giving search engine users the most relevant results based on the keywords entered, there is definitely no place for those who spam the search engine results page.

Is This the First Time for Google to Combat Web Spam?

The answer of course is no, Google have always wanted to deliver quality search engine results to search engine users thus Google have already started updating their algorithm to return quality results to the users ever since its inception. What Google has incorporated in their algorithm update is a more comprehensive way of tracking web spam, it is an augmentation or improvement to their current anti-web spam algorithm.

Google has identified the main types of web spam that this algorithm will be targeting and these are:

1. Duplicate Content – as an improvement to their Panda Algorithm, duplicate contents especially those that were spinned will now be easily detected by Google. Poorly written contents will now be dislodged from rankings.

2. Unusual link Patterns – according to Google the unusual link patterns refers to the use of keywords as links in a totally unrelated content. An example is the use of the word “financial” as a link within a content that talks about health, where the keyword is totally unrelated and used out of context within the sentence, paragraph or the entire content for that matter.

3. Link Schemes – this is not the first time that Google will be punishing link schemes their previous update was intended to do just that, however, as web spammers becomes creative in link scheming Google sees the need to update their algorithm once more.

4. Keyword Stuffing – again this will not be the first time that Google will be tracking down websites using keyword stuffing, this is an improvement to such algorithm where it will be able to detect websites that surreptitiously incorporated keywords even out of context.

The Importance of Content Writing and Content Writers

We believe that the main reason why some SEO companies and SEO consultants are resorting to spinning content as well as to duplicating content is because of the sheer fact that content development takes time, effort, education and the ability to write using the correct grammar and spelling. With the coming Google algorithm update the role of content writers, blog writers and article writers have become even more important. Delivering quality and relevant content is what Google would like to see in websites and not thinly written contents that are just copied and spinned.

Conclusion

Algorithm updates from Google is not new to every SEO Company and SEO consultant, steps should be taken into improve their target websites in order to ensure the survival of the website in its ranking in the search engine results page. What is being emphasised therefore is that your website should be a considered as a high quality site by having high quality content and high quality links.

Indicators of Over Optimised Websites

Although there are no direct announcements or indications on what could be considered by Google as over optimised websites, SEO companies and SEO consultants have contemplated that the following may be considered as indicators of over optimisation:

1. Internal Links Indicating Search Engine Manipulation – there are sites that have utilised internal linking to different web pages within the website that are purposely done in order to manipulate search engine ranking. Although there is no prohibition as to this type of link building structure it should be remembered by SEO companies implementing this type of strategy that the linking should be relevant and within the context of the content. Otherwise, the link may just invite the attention of the search engine algorithm as something that is spammy or is intended for search engine manipulation.

2. Spammy Link Building Strategies – of course spammy link building strategies have always been penalised by Google however there might be some link building strategies that may be fine for now but might be considered by Google as something spammy after the algorithm update. Among those link building strategies that might be considered as spammy by Google are link building through comments especially those that were automated, private link networks and even article directories that accepts poorly written content.

3. Excessive Use of Keywords in the Title Tag – using the keywords in the site’s title tag may be an indicator of over optimisation because such title content does not mean anything. It would be best if you write your title in such a manner where you could indicate a short description of your page or website rather than stuffing the title element of your website with keywords.

Conclusion

What we should first remember is that these are just speculations that is borne out of an extensive observation. It is not an absolute list of what Google will consider as indicators of over optimisation for a website. However, those that were mentioned reduces user experience something that Google wants to increase. Therefore, it would be best to develop your SEO Campaign with the user in mind rather than having the search engine as your primary focus.

Overview on Semantic Search?

We have explained semantic search in our previous blog posts however for the purpose of this tutorial it would be best to revisit what really semantic search is. Semantic search is focused on discerning the “meaning” of every keywords entered by the user in the search engine query box. We all know that a word may have several meaning depending on the context on how it was utilised. The role of semantic search will be to determine the actual meaning of the keyword being entered and will then result to a more accurate output from the search engine results page, where accuracy is based on the fact that the returned results will be in accordance with the context that the user is looking for.

Impact of Semantic Search to SEO

If the semantic search algorithm would finally be implemented there would really be an impact with regards to every search engine optimisation campaigns. Ultimately your SEO campaign must adapt to the change that Google will be implementing, this means a change in your link building and article writing or content development strategies. The main impact of this update is change, a change that will help websites conform to the standards set by the search engines particularly Google in this case.

Benefits of Semantic Search

Although a lot of people hates change since it entails a lot of work to be done just to change it again after sometime. In SEO however change is inevitable because search engine algorithms are dynamic. With this change comes its benefits, and since change inevitable it is best that we focus on the benefits that SEO Companies and SEO consultants can get from this change like the following:

1. Recognition from Search engines – if your website content contains a semantic search targeted keywords search engines may give you a high score in terms of determining the quality of your content. However, you should not forget that your content should be informative, relevant and written in correct grammar to be considered as absolutely a content of high quality.

2. Increased click throughs – since the keywords are semantic search compatible an accurate result will be returned to the search engine results page, therefore users will be confident in clicking the link which they think is most relevant to their search. After which even if the user will be directed to a landing page they would still be confident in clicking on the link to the website since they believe that they have been directed to a website that is within their context of search.

Conclusion on Semantic Search

Google’s move to update their algorithm is to improve search results that are being delivered to their millions of users, thus the change in the search engine algorithm is inevitable thus should not be taken negatively instead changes must also be implemented in every SEO campaign in order to make sure that your target websites will rank accordingly.

The main reason why many SEO consultants and SEO companies are working on implementing a good Facebook management is the fact that Facebook is known to carry lots and lots of traffic to any website. It is even considered now as a big part of SEO. The success of Facebook to reach a lot of audience is undeniable. It does make a real sense why renowned SEO Consultants and SEO Companies have already integrated Facebook management in their search engine optimisation campaigns.

A good Facebook management strategy will obviously bring the rankings and SERP as well as traffic to where your goal is. The fact that Facebook is even considered best in the field of online marketing, SEO companies and SEO consultants have actually devised ways and means in order to turn Facebook users to leads. Any SEO company should never make Facebook management less important if they wanted to become successful online.

The question of why Facebook is very effective for SEO marketing can be answered by many of the benefits it offers. The platform that is being used in Facebook allows great interactions between people. Thus, marketing is never a problem when it comes to this social networking site.

All SEO consultants and SEO companies should do is to be creative in engaging Facebook users to click the link to their target website or to be converted in to potential clients or customers, making Facebook is one of the best ways to bring more traffic to a site. Having a good SEO campaign, plus a good Facebook management strategy will definitely bring you where you want. Getting more traffic means a higher rank, in which in return will guarantee good end result and of course high return of investment.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a two year old company that is focused on providing photo-sharing services for its users. It is a diverse Photo sharing application that allows users to share Photos via different social media networks, although instagram is popularly used by many as a way of sharing photos via Facebook. Instagram was initially a mobile application for the iOS or Apple products but has later on provided availability of its Android version.

Instagram’s worth

Instagram obviously is a worthwhile investment for Facebook having spent one billion dollars to a start-up company that was just established two years ago. The Photo sharing capability of Instagram is what Facebook seeks to enhance and incorporate in their social media features.

The Agreement

Instagram and Facebook agreed that the photo sharing application will be  independently developed, this means that Instagram will not be exclusively used for Facebook photosharing rather it will still have the capability to share photos through other social media networks. In addition the list of Instagram followers will not be incorporated with Facebook’s group thus maintaining control over their own list.

Conclusion:

With the incorporation of Instagram with Facebook, the social media giant hopes that their capability to provide users with better photo sharing experience will be realised, this is an investment that Facebook made for the first time in terms of acquiring a company that has a lot of user or follower base.

What is Page Rank? SERP?

Page rank is a ranking method set by Google in order to determine the reliability of a website. Page rank could be set from zero to ten where ten is said to be the highest page ranking. While SERP ranking is the ranking of a website in the search results of a search engine, considered as the output of an extensive SEO campaign.

Importance of Page Rank

We will not be looking at nor will we be siding either party having contrasting opinions regarding the importance of page rank, instead the importance of having a page rank will be discussed:

1. Page Rank is synonymous to Reliability – according to Google, page ranking is their way of determining the websites’ reliability due to the fact that page ranking is achieved from the links that the website has gained. If a website gained links from websites with higher page ranking then it means that the website link is reliable, thus in link building creating quality links is paramount to building lots of links.

2. Content reliability – with the recent Panda algorithm incorporated in the search engine algorithm of Google, having a high page rank would mean that the website has reliable and non-duplicated content. This is because page ranking will be affected and greatly reduced if such website will contain poorly written and unreliable as well as duplicated content.

Conclusion:

Gaining a considerable page rank is one way to display the reliability of your website, the debate between page rank and search engine results page ranking may continue but one thing should be certain, that is page ranking do have factors that makes it important.

Ways you Can Ensure Website Update

1. Audit Your Links – check your onsite links and verify whether your links are broken or not. This may be a tedious task but it is a must because of the fact that links are gateways for web crawlers and an invalid or broken link would mean and error in the crawling of your website.

2. Regularly Post a Blog – as mentioned every website has already incorporated blog pages in order to include fresh content to the website entirely, however if the blog page is not regularly updated the search engines may not interpret the page as containing fresh content, this is why it is important to regularly update your blog posts it may be a daily, weekly, or monthly update as long as such is followed regularly.

3. Arrange Your Blog Post Per Category – for easy crawling of your website and blog writings as well as for easy search for particular blog posts it is important that you arrange every blog post in specific categories. The categories will ensure that search engine crawlers will also easily locate your posts and easily identify the relevance of each post.

Conclusion:

The release of the March Update in Google’s search quality highlights includes the update on Google freshness algorithm, stating that freshness will already be affecting all websites and not only the news groups where it was initially implemented. This is why it is important for every website to incorporate fresh content in order to make sure that Google will be able to tag the website as containing fresh contents and thus will “hopefully” rank the website better that those similar sites without any fresh content.