Last week, I read this blog. It inspired me to think about the value of social media, e-readers, and e-publishing. As writers and thinkers, we have a responsibility to the future. Or more accurately, we have a responsibility to preserve history. We must make published documents accessible for future generations.
Do you think they’ll use the same technology in 2511 we use now? Is publishing our most valuable information in such a way that is likened to thousands of authors 500 years ago writing a trillion documents on papyrus, shredding each document into 10,000 pieces, and strewing those documents across the earth the best way to preserve our history?
In that blog, the author jokingly theorized that perhaps future generations might study Kanye West’s tweets. Do you think civilizations 500 years from now will consider what he tweeted, in the midst of zillions of gigabytes of information, that valuable? I’d argue that in the 26th century Kanye West and Lady Gaga will be celebrated, if they are known, in the same way we celebrate minstrels. Do you consider lyrics of a minstrel from 500 years ago valuable? Do you know any?
I theorize ancient civilizations had better means to preserve their most valuable documents. Though, just as we publish in a way that is the most convenient and cost saving for us, perhaps they published in the same way.
What do you think? Is e-publishing likened to thousands of authors, writing trillions of documents, shredding each of those docs into ten thousand pieces, and strewing them across the earth? Or is e-publishing likened to the advent of the printing press? I’d love to know your thoughts.
Recently, I read an article that purported that studies showed social media did not increase traffic to websites. Of course, that was a generalization and is not true of all websites. Though, for the average website, I am not going to argue with it. The purpose of social media is not to increase traffic to websites. If people go to your website because of your social media campaign great, but that should not be your primary focus for delving into social media.
Think of your website like a Starbucks and your website traffic as the foot traffic. Now, lets say because you had a sign spinner or a giant banner or some other means of advertising your store, 1,000 people come into your store on a particular day. 450 of those people buy coffee, 350 come and sit with friends or just read, and 200 just get water or use the restroom.
Of course, you have your overhead, you need to pay your employees, and there are other expenses. Only those 450 people on that particular day paid for all of your expenses for that day. That banner or the guy spinning the sign or whatever other method you used to drive traffic to your site may have driven that traffic to your location, but those 450 who paid for something that day also paid for the 550 who bought nothing or used something without a cost.
Now, think about why you do or do not go back to a particular coffee house. Perhaps its because of good prices, good product, good service, ambience, convenience, you’ve developed a relationship with the baristas, or other. The bottom line is SEO, like that sign spinner or the banner, is about driving traffic; social media is about building relationships and developing loyalty.
Last week, Avinash Kaushik tweeted that some people don’t think before they Tweet, and that can lead to adverse consequences. I Replied, “It makes one consider that the freedom of speech has given rise and justification to the freedom of criticism.” I thought I’d write out a Social Media Marketing Rights version of U.S. citizens’ Miranda Rights:
“You have the right not to post or tweet everything you’re thinking or doing all the time. Anything you post or tweet can be used against you by anyone, anytime, anywhere for any reason at all. You have the right to maintain a social media presence separate from your everyday social and personal life, now and during future interactions with your friends, followers, and fans. You have the right to hire or consult a social media marketing agency, before you engage in social media. If you cannot afford to hire or consult a social media marketing agency, you’re on your own. If you must let everyone on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and other social media sites know what you’re doing and thinking all the time, all those free social media tools you use may cost you your job, privacy, and dignity.”
Like your Miranda Rights (If you’re a U.S. citizen), which are meant to remind you that you don’t have to incriminate yourself under police interrogation or in a court of law, your Social Media Marketing Rights should remind you that when engaging with your friends, fans, and followers on social media sites, there are just some things better left unsaid because not leaving those things unsaid could spell trouble.
No matter whether you’re a social media novice, aficionado, or expert, there is bound to be something in this book you can glean from. It’s a great resource for teachers and students, and it covers all of the basis from blogging to the importance of a social media plan.
If you’ve read this book, let me know your thoughts. I’d love to glean from you, and learn what has and has not worked. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, you can buy it below.
Yesterday, I came across a blog with the term “Google +” in the title. Chances are you’ve seen a blog or article with this term. Just as the + symbol holds a different value than a digit in math, it holds a different value than a letter for the purposes of SEO.
For example, check out the SERP for +, or Google “Google” and then “Google +.” As of this morning, both resulted in 12,240,000,000 hits. As the Internet expands, that 12 billion will increase; but both will always show the same number of results.
So, how can bloggers and Web content writers get Google to recognize the + symbol, which is normally used to search for two terms together (i.e. social+media means “social media”)? Type “Google+” with no space or “Google Plus;” though, I wouldn’t use “ Google Plus,” since that’s not the title.
Now, you want to know why the search giant used this symbol for their latest social media endeavor. My guess is to condition people to think of the + symbol, so they would become accustomed to using the +1 button. Though, I argue the +1 button won’t work for the social search purposes for which Google created it for.
Now, if I could just find the article in which a top Google executive said the +1 button will only reach about 1% of social search potential (I calculated about 3%, but they’re the experts). If someone else saw that article, it would be great if you would put it in the comments or tweet me. Thanks!
Hootsuite uses it, Scribd uses it, and several other sites use it to be more search bot friendly and interactive for users. Here’s a list of the most social link types, attributes, and elements in HTML5.
Article Element – This tells search bots when content is related to other content, such as with blog comments.
Cite Element – This cites sources and is a great way to give credit where credit is due.
KBD Element – Under certain circumstances, this can be used as a voice command.
Embed Element – This represents integration with non-HTML points, such as applications or other interactive content.
Link type “Author” – This can be used with link, a, or area elements and creates a hyperlink. When used with the a or area element, it indicates further information about the author of the article. When used with the link element, it indicates information about the author of a page.
Link type “Help” – This can be used with link, a, or area element and indicates that the referenced document provides help. When used with the a or area element, it indicates help for the article. Within the link element, it indicates help for the page.
Link Type “Pingback” – This may be used with the Link element and creates an external link resource to let authors of other blogs or articles know you referenced their information.
Accesskey Attribute – This generates keyboard shortcuts that activate elements.
If you’re an SEO, you should know the basics of HTML, and you should be aware of the upgrades in HTML5. If you don’t, W3 Schools is an excellent place to learn.
Over the last 48 hours, I’ve had little Internet presence. I used the time to catch up on my reading and writing, spend time with friends and family, and just refresh. I tweeted once or twice from my iPhone, a few scheduled tweets went out, and I checked my e-mail. But I had almost no interaction on the Internet.
Even though it was just a couple of days and it wasn’t that much growth, it was growth. It was growth I experienced because I left a positive impression. At least, I hope and assume I experienced that growth because I left a positive impression. I am not saying this to boast. I am saying that when you tweet, comment, or otherwise engage online, you leave people with an impression.
I encourage you to set some but not all of your social media presence on auto, so you can engage offline and online or across various channels at the same time. I encourage you to engage in such a way that you leave a positive impression. I encourage you to consider the impression you leave. And I encourage you to disengage every once in a while.
For SEO and webmasters concerned about recent updates to Google’s algorithm, I recommend reviewing Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Google favors well designed websites, original content that adds value, and links to reputable websites. Think of a website like a house.
An architect doesn’t design a house so a person walks into the garage when they open the front door. In the same way, a website should welcome visitors, let them know what the site is about, and encourage them to discover more.
An architect designs every room with at least one door to and from another room. In the same way, each page of a website should be accessible from at least one static text link; and the page titles should tell users where those links lead.
Just as an architect designs a house with windows to allow visibility, an SEO should submit their website to search engines and link to relevant websites. This will allow potential visitors to see your site and current visitors to find relevant information.
And just as a contractor adds certain appliances to certain rooms, you should add content that is relevant to specific pages. Don’t talk about widgets if the title of your page is gadgets.
Finally, just as any good contractor should make sure all of the plumbing and electrical in the house functions right, you want to use good coding and make sure all of the links work.
If you follow these rules, your site will maintain its integrity no matter how often Google changes its algorithm.
With the rise of social media curation tools like Storify , the value of what you tweet and post on Facebook is becoming largely dependent upon the relationships between the category of your website and the categories of the website(s) your tweeting or posting about.
Right now, if I Google ‘Social Media,’ I receive 161,000,000 hits. If I search for ‘Social Media’ within the last 24 hours, I receive 56,400,000 hits. It would take countless wasted hours to sort through all of those hits.
Google categorizes your site according to the anchor text, title, and keywords in the URL of your site’s pages. They also use the anchor text, title, and keywords in the URL of sites you link to to determine how relatable your site is to that topic.
So, if you want to find the most relevant blogs and articles on any given topic within any period of time, use the search parameters allinanchor:seo+content, allinurl:seo+content or allintitle:seo+content. You can also use a combination of those three if you want very specific results.
The Web is becoming more and more dependent upon relationships. Not just relationships between people, but also relationships between websites. Go through your website and consider the keywords in your anchor text, url, and title. Consider the same of sites you link to, tweet, or post on Facebook. Finally, consider their relationships and the the relevancy of their relationships to the overall message of your site.
For more on how to get the most out of Google, check out this Free Search Guide.
Hitwise reported that Facebook was the most trafficked website in 2010. In an e-mail to Hitwise, I questioned them about their reporting methods, which relies on the reports of individual ISP (Internet Service Providers). A representative replied:
“Other Internet measurement companies use different methodologies . . . Some report data by rolling up all the Google properties together (e.g. YouTube, Gmail, etc.) . . . and have Google as the top visited site [Alexa does not do that]. Within our product we don’t report a rolled-up number, but we did provide a roll up [SIC] figure within the press release that stated the Google-properties for full year of 2010 came out on top. The domain Facebook.com is the top visited, but when you roll-up all the Google owned properties they come out on top.”
“It is unclear from the article how exactly a visit is defined, but the Web Analytics Association defines a visit as
‘an interaction, by an individual, with a web site consisting of one or more requests for a page. If an individual has not taken another action (typically additional page views) on the site within a specified time period, the visit will terminate by timing out.’
The standard timeout for visits is 30 minutes. This means that if I refresh my Facebook News Feed every 15 minutes for 8 hours, I’ve made one visit to Facebook that day. If, however, I refresh once an hour for 8 hours, that’s eight visits because the time between refreshes is greater than 30 minutes.”
Here are the reporting methods Alexa uses to gather their information: Alexa Ranking
So, was Facebook more trafficked than Google in 2010? Yes, if you are talking about time spent on the site. And perhaps even yes in that the same person may log onto their Facebook account(s) several times a day. Though, those several visits may still count as one or just a few visits per day according to the definition of a visit by the Web Analytics Association.
Since Hitwise’s reporting methodologies are proprietary, the Internet community has the right to question whether they remain compliant to the standards set forth by the Web Analytics Association.
“Hitwise, what do you count as a visit? Do those ISP that report to you count visits from search bots as visits? Do you adhere to the definition of a visit according to the WAA? If not, what is your definition of a visit?”
Google continues to receive more unique visits than Facebook. Don’t just take my or Alexa’s word for it; take a look at the precise numbers reported by Compete.
