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.
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.
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.
You can make your #blog attractive to #search#engines by making it attractive to potential readers. That means adding keywords but not too many. Stuffing your blog or article with keywords is like wearing too much makeup.
Along with keywords, you want to maintain a conversational flow. That could mean starting your paragraphs with strong transitional sentences, offering links to other resources, or engaging your readers in conversation by asking questions.
Here are ten more tips:
1. Include keywords in the title that draw readers in and allow search bots to categorize Web pages better.
2. Use short paragraphs, lists, bullet points, or other devices that allow readers to skim.
3. Link to blogs, articles, or other online resources that offer valuable content and/or resources.
4. Don’t offer information 500 other bloggers offer.
5. Your description (this appears in search engines below the title) should pose a question or challenge, offer something free, or otherwise draw people in.
6. Use black font on a white or light background. No white font on a black background.
7. Use Arial, New Times Roman, or another easy to read font.
8. If you use a CMS such as WordPress or Drupal add something personal, link to other blogs, and allow people to comment. Unless you’re Seth Godin, your content alone won’t grab people’s attention.
9. Spell and grammar check with a tool like PaperRater. You’re going to misspell words and use improper grammar. Don’t lose sleep over it.
10. Embolden or underline important text to let readers and search engines know what information you consider the most important.
Can you think of any other tips to give blogs sex appeal?
Adam Singer of TopRank Blog said of BlackHat Social Media, “The intention of being black hat is getting better results faster.”
Have you ever seen a tweet from someone you don’t recall following? Those are those people who bought thousands of Twitter followers, and you happened to be one of the Twitter followers they bought. That’s immediate grounds for us unfollowing them and reporting them as a spammer. Or have you found that someone added you to a group page without your permission? Facebook allows people to add people to groups, which is intrusive and a very good reason to unfriend someone.
So, what does the future of social media marketing look like? It will become more compartmentalized to combat black hat social media. Google is integrating links that people’s friends and followers tweet into search results. When you search for a term, each page results in the top ten ranked results via SEO. On the same page, below those ten results, there are ten results from people you follow on Twitter.
This is great for boosting SEO with quality links and content via Twitter; though, it will also lead to a higher necessity for reputation management. It will lead to people needing to be more diligent about following quality Tweeters, so that, in turn, they attract more quality followers. It will also lead to people or companies spending less money to buy fans, followers, and friends and more time posting quality content via search engines or other quality tweeters.
Yesterday was the 159th anniversary of the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book Uncle Tom’s Cabin (UTC). Let’s look at three social media lessons Stowe used to spread her anti-slave message to millions of people.
Lesson 1: Create responsive and innovative messages that inspire change
Written in response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, UTC was influenced by the stories of escaped slaves, including those of Josiah Henson.
Today, many are capitalizing on the rise of social media by suggesting ‘search is dead.’ Those who understand social media best realize search and social media have and will continue to integrate. They inspire change by looking beyond the horizon rather than at the horizon.
Lesson 2:Don’t try to create an audience around your message, rather create your message around a listening audience
Before it’s book publication, UTC appeared in a 40-week serial of an abolitionist periodical called National Era. Stowe found an audience sympathetic to her anti-slave message.
That doesn’t mean let your audience influence you, rather it means tailor your message to the needs of your audience. Listen to and engage with that audience, send a relevant and identifiable message to that audience, allow your message to attract that audience, and trust that audience to spread your message.
Lesson 3: We are responsible for how our messages influence others
Uncle Tom’s Cabin inspired the Republican party to change its stance on chattel slavery, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. And those three books have inspired political and social movements, including the civil liberties, feminist, and green movements.
I’m sure we can learn more lessons from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but those are the three I find most relevant. Are there any lessons you’d add? BTW, all historical information is taken from Wikipedia, so any arguments against any historical information in this blog should be taken up with the editors of Wikipedia.
