Sit down and pull up a chair. This blog post is the first installment of an ongoing series on SEO and how to obtain the much-valued top search engine positions.
As part of an online marketing strategy, a primary objective for business owners and competitive social media marketers is to get top search engine results (SERPs). More recently however, the focus has shifted to PageRank as well. So what is PageRank anyway and how does it relate to the much-talked-about holy grail known as SERPs?
PageRank, according to Wikipedia:
“is a link analysis algorithm, named after Larry Page[1] and used by the Google Internet search engine, that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of “measuring” its relative importance within the set.”
Page’s partner in the project, Sergey Brin, had the idea that information on the web could be ordered in a hierarchy by “link popularity”. In layman’s terms, a page is ranked higher as there are more links to it (which is what off-page SEO is). The Google system ranks web pages on a site on a scale from 1-10.
Main factors that affect PageRank:
So that’s all well and good you say, but what’s the skinny on SERPs and how does it relate to PageRank?
This term SERPs refers to where you are in Google’s search results for a given keyword or keyphrase (which is what on-page SEO is) . For example, you’ve written a webpage about “pomade”. When someone types “pomade” into the Google search box, it would be ideal for your page to be displayed in the top 10 search results for that keyword.
Main factors that affect SERPs:
So we’ve learned that both PageRank and SERPs affect each other interchangeably. High PageRank is based mostly on backlinks (off-page SEO) while SERPs are mostly affected by keywords (on-page SEO). So which one is more important and what are the best ways to optimize your page and get backlinks? Stay tuned for the next article from Scott Baldino Design and we will delve into the wonderful world of PageRank and backlinks. We will introduce a new term as well…Social Bookmarking!
For a good related article on SERPs read Hubpages.com article at:
http://susana-s.hubpages.com/hub/increase-page-rank-google-search-pagerank
Bad service, hate it, spread it.
In today’s market, social media is changing the face of customer service. With the global reach of the world wide web, a bad customer experience can overshadow years of hard work. One negative post on a review site or being blasted out on Facebook & Twitter can substantially impact the possibility of attracting a new customer. I read and write reviews about my experiences with businesses periodically and it is generated ultimately by emotion. Either I had an incredible experience or an awful one. It feels good to be able to voice your opinion about customer service you’ve received and to let my friends know about it as well. Savvy business owners understand this dynamic and are responding to these posts.
Personally, I will never forget how slighted I felt when no one responded to a review I posted online about an experience that I had at a local doctors office. I wanted to be heard and a simple ‘we’re so sorry for your experience’ would have retained me and my family as patients. I felt that by posting no response my business did not matter to them. I am the average American who wants to be heard and I use the social media to do so. In order to be successful in today’s market, businesses should be watching their social media accounts very closely.
As business owners, it is imperative to engage with your customers. Statistics show in this excellent article by Brian Solis that “people are willing to spend more for products from companies that have a history of good customer service or that deliver outstanding experiences.” Isn’t that what we all want at the end of the day? We want our business to succeed and our customers to walk away feeling that their money was well invested.
Enjoy this article by Brian Solis:
How do I integrate social media into my business? I have a Facebook & Twitter accounts for my business, now what do I do?
I’ve been wondering the same thing and this interview shed some light upon that missing link. Brian Solis, author and thought leader in new media asks Tyler Cyr, web communications manager at Dunkin’ Brands about his approach when integrating social media and marketing in the following interview. Tyler describes business presence in social media and how it’s important to not push your product but to develop a personality for your business. He emphasizes engaging your customer in their space. A good interaction on social media can outstretch not only to your customer but to their friends as well. Dunkin’
with over 4 million Facebook Fans has very few holes in their social media
strategy.
Enjoy this interview and let us know what you think.
This is an Op-Ed blog post for my ongoing series about social media.
I consider myself to be a moderate social media user. I generally do not go a day without checking my 
status and yes that does include when on the job. But hey, I am in marketing so I think that its borderline justifiable. I, like many have reconnected with high school friends, family, and colleagues via Facebook. The wave of friends continues to grow effortlessly. Facebook is familiar and like the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon in the fall. It is a welcome place to exist for a brief period of time during the day.
I am now trying to break my Facebook routine and push myself to use Google +. It is somewhat awkward but extremely alluring with new uncharted features. I now am able to decide who fits into which circle I’m dragging and dropping my way into a more organized structured social media which, in essence seems like a great idea. Who isn’t about streamlining their life, right? Who wants their boss knowing their political views or what a great date you had the night before. The circles do have their place and Facebook has responded simultaneously with the smart lists to avoid those awkward times before you are able to press delete those, “god I hope she didn’t read that” post kind of moments.
I am finding that since Google + pulls from my email accounts I am only getting people that I have email addresses for which isn’t that many, so even though I am being proactive in dividing everything up there are few people in my circle which is pretty boring to me. The Google+ hangout seems like an awesome feature but I assume that you need people to hang out with. Drats! I have used the search feature for my friends on Google+ but few have made the switch on my feed with the exception of Snoop Dogg (who just posted a picture of himself) and Zuckerberg. I never bothered to ask my Facebook friends their email addresses because I know where to find them, Facebook. I don’t recall Facebook requiring that much effort to connect with people.
Google + is a lot like that machine at the gym that I’ve seen people swinging back and forth on. It looks really cool, if only I could get the nerve to get on it. I like the treadmill. I know what it does, It moves and I run, it’s that simple. Getting on the new equipment is always awkward. Google + is that swingy thing for me. I am going to keep trying and maybe even like it but it so far is requiring some getting used to.
Btw Happy 13th Birthday Google!
Check out this great article with more articulate verbiage about the new Facebook and security measures as well Google+ and its new features.
http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2011/09/new-facebook-and-newly-opened-up-google-plus.html
Google+ is the top-secret social project Google has been working on for the past year. Google+ is said to be an “extension” of Google. It is Google’s interpretation of social media in a more organic experience allowing you to create circles of friends in a streamline fashion. Other features are sparks, huddle, hangouts and instant uploads.
This article will be part of an ongoing blog series featuring the new Google+ project. If anyone is a part of the beta test version of the project please post your comments about your experience.
Read more about MG Siegler’s exclusive interview with Google pioneers Vic Gundotra & Bradley Horowitz via:http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/28/google-plus/
Sometimes in post production you will want to change the colors of an object in your photos. Photoshop has a number of tools that you can use to change the color in an image, and in this post you will learn some of these which you can use without having to make a selection on the image.
Helen Bradley Instructs via:
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/changing-color-in-photoshop