Archive for March, 2011

Seeming to follow in the footsteps of Facebook’s “liking” of a status or a Facebook business page, Google is implementing a “+1″ button where users can “vote up” a search result that they like. According to their “learn about +1” video, they will allow for integration of +1 into websites in a similar fashion as we now see Facebook like buttons. The program is currently being rolled out slowly, but you can sign up for it at http://www.google.com/experimental/ if you want to check it out. Below is a screen shot of a blog post that I gave the “+1″ to and I have encircled both the indication that it has been “voted up” (or 1 up’d) as well as the +1 button.

Now, when I look at my Google profile, I see this listed under the tab labeled “+1′s” (you can click the image below to enlarge it.)

Given that social media activity such as tweets and (Facebook) likes are having an impact on organic search engine optimization, I am sure this will play into rankings as well. Stay tuned!

Over the weekend, I noticed that one of my websites was offline. It’s not a mission critical site which is why it was not monitored more closely (in case you are wondering), but it is a site that generates income and one that I was getting ready to upgrade.

I noticed that the web stats had dropped to zero for the past few days and I knew there was a problem. I tried to visit the site and it was down so I called the web hosting provider (I will be nice and not out them… but you can certainly see my Twitter history if you know how to find it) Anyhow, I was told that it was a known issue and being worked on and therefore I could not have a support ticket, but that I was welcome to call back and endure another 5+ minute hold time if I wanted an update. Let’s just say, it was less than stellar customer service.

Knowing the power of Social Media, I Tweeted about the issue and named the company in the Tweet, so they would see the message. After not getting a response, I followed up with another Tweet saying that I was surprised that they did not monitor Twitter, given how large of a company they were. Within a few minutes, I was contacted via Twitter asking for my ticket number. I told them the issue and that I was told a ticket could be created… at which time they created a support ticket and told me the issue would be resolved that day.

The next day the issue still persisted and I replied to the support ticket asking for an update because they did not meet the time frame they had said they would. I then Tweeted that I was still frustrated that after 4 days of a website outage (which is simply unacceptable), I still did not have a status. I am sure you can guess what happened next. I got a Twitter message saying that someone would call me to try to resolve the issue, and of course I got a phone call. No one could tell me what magically happened, but they were able to get my site back up within minutes of that call. They said they did a work around to get mine up but that the others on my shared server were still offline. I guess I am surprised that no one else had a problem with their website being down for days.

What’s the moral of the story? Don’t underestimate the power of Social Media. As you might imagine, a few web hosting competitors and affiliates saw my posts and contacted me via Twitter with hosting offers. I went to respond to one to thank them, but they failed to follow me (on Twitter) which means, I could not communicate with them. Well, at least they were on the right track…

A great way to improve your website conversion rates is by using a “live operator” service where prospects can get their questions answered by you as they are preparing to make a buying decision. Many people would rather ask a few questions via chat as opposed to calling where they feel they might be pressured into a purchase and others may not want to send an email because they don’t know how long it will take to get a response.

There are many great solutions on the market for live operator services, but one in particular that I found helpful was Website Alive. What I like the most about Website Alive is the Phone App that allows you to run your chat client from your Smart Phone. For an independent business owner this allows you to connect with real time prospects without having to sit in front of a computer all day or outsourcing this task. The end result; higher conversion rates and increased profits.

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If you are a blogger, you certainly want to make sure that your content gets found by Google, Bing and the other search engines to maximize your online exposure. Below are 5 tips to help increase your exposure on Google.

Keyword Research
One of the most critical steps you can take to help improve the search engine rankings of your blog posts is to engage in a little bit of keyword research prior to posting. You can use a free tool such as the Google AdWords Keyword Tool and find out what people are searching for related to your blog post. Next, you want to use those keywords in the title of the blog post, and ideally closer to the front of the post. For example, if I wanted to leverage the popular phrase “blogging tips”, I would have made the title, “Blogging Tips – How to Help Google Find Your Blog Posts.” You have to balance SEO value with what reads well obviously. Given the volume of blogging tips on my blog, it would not make sense to start every post with “blogging tips.”

Using Ping Services
If you use WordPress, I would make sure that you have more than just the one ping service listed under the “Writing” settings. I am sure other blog platforms have this option, but I am pretty much a WordPress guy. Here is a list of recommended ping services:

http://api.feedster.com/ping.php

http://api.moreover.com/ping

http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping

http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2

http://ping.feedburner.com

http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php

http://pinger.blogflux.com/rpc

http://rpc.newsgator.com/

http://rpc.pingomatic.com/

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2

http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/xmlrpcping.aspx

Blog Often
The more content you put out, the more opportunities you will have to be found through those keyword rich titles. Eventually, you will start to see your blog come up in searches under the keywords in the post titles. Your web stats (analytics) will show you the keywords that people are using to find you.

I recommend setting a schedule and sticking to it (unlike I do). At a minimum, you should shoot to post at least once a week.

Promote on Social Networks
Social networks are a great way to promote blog content. For starters, I would add your blog feed to your LinkedIn profile. If you use Facebook, then I would post your articles to your profile and your business page, and if you are on Twitter, I would not only Tweet, but use related hashtags for maximum impact.

Using Tags Effectively
Tags are a great way to capitalize on popular keywords and themes by linking your posts to them. For example, I have tagged this post with the following keywords; blogging, blog SEO and blogging tips, which are popular keywords that I would like to connect with. You can see them referenced in the footer of the post. WordPress makes adding tags simple as does Blogger, and I would imaging other blog platforms do as well. Just don’t overdo it and make sure the keywords are related to the blog post. Often a tag will get listed in a search engine from a blog and rank well for the related keyword which gives you additional opportunities for search engine exposure.

This is certainly not conclusive, but a good top 5 list. Feel free to post any tips below in the comments.

Happy blogging!