Google gave webmasters a long lead time for making the conversion to the more secure HTTPS. It is important to upgrade to HTTPS even if your website does not require a login, ask for private user information, or accept online payments. For Google, this tagging is all about security. The search engine announced that Chrome would eventually mark all non-HTTPS sites as non- secure two years ago. Then, it made a formal announcement of the impending flagging at the beginning of 2018. NOW that flagging is in place. Google really wants Chrome users to know when a connection to a website is not encrypted. Starting in October 2018, Google will start showing a red 'not secure' warning when someone enters data on an HTTP page.
Twitter's Periscope is another outreach tool for your business. This live streaming phone app let's you share video in real time with just the touch of a button. It could increase your reach at live events. Video from your trade show booth. Broadcast your keynote speech. Do a quick demo. With the built in social features, viewers can comment in real time. If they like the broadcast they can send you hearts. The more hearts you receive, the higher they flutter on the screen and the higher you get on the Most Loved list. Other key features include:
Replay. You can make your broadcast available for replay for 24 hours.
Privacy. If you only want certain people to watch, press the lock icon before going live and choose who you want to invite.
Share. You can share your broadcasts on Twitter. Just tap the bird icon before you go live. When you go live, you will tweet a link so your followers can watch either on the app or on the web. You could also send out an email giving advance notice of the broadcast. Be sure to tell your recipients to download the app and follow you so they get notification of the broadcast.
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We advised of a new ranking change likely coming relating to how mobile friendly your site is. It was later intimated that this change would take place April 21st. Well, this change is no longer likely, and the date it will happen is no longer questionable. Mark your calendars and be prepared.
When directly asked at last week's SMX West if this new ranking factor would go live on the 21st or if there is wiggle room, Google's Gary Illyes simply stated, 'I will say April 21st is a very important day.' Google NEVER let's you know when a change is coming. This change seems to be a huge one. In reply to whether there is a cut off date for when sites need to be mobile ready, Illyes again simply stated, 'have them ready by the 21st and it will be good.' He also let the cat out of the bag that Google is currently working on a completely separate mobile index!
April 21st is just a little over a month away. Is your site ready? If you don't have a mobile site, a mobile responsive site, or a mobile plugin in place you better reach out to your web developer ASAP. Chances are a good portion of your visitors come from mobile devices. You don't want to lose that traffic." target="_blank">
The rumor is that Apple's search deal with Google will be expiring soon. Whether they will strike another deal, Apple will choose a new default search engine, or even power search themselves is anyone's guess. The result can potentially impact your web traffic. If you solely focused on your Google rankings and an AdWords campaign, you might want to re-think your strategy. According to StatCounter.com, desktop and mobile Safari serve as the source for about 26% of internet traffic in the United States. A shift from Google to another search engine could pose a real hit on your visitor numbers. Bing already powers Siri searches on mobile devices as well as Spotlight Search on Apple desktops. So if a deal with Google was not reached, Bing seems like the likely choice. Yahoo would also like to make a grab - they just became the default browser for Firefox.
Now is the time to take a look at your Bing and Yahoo visibility. How are you ranking? Remember, don't rely on simple searches. Personalized search will artificially rank a site higher for you if you visit it often. Make sure you use a rank checking program. A search engine optimization professional can assist you with this. If your rankings are not where you need them to be, now is the time to make some tweaks.
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Twitter users can now shoot, upload and share 30 second video clips. Known for capturing the here and now, this new feature is a game changer for Twitter. Users have been able to embed videos on Twitter for years using Cards technology. The only other option was uploading a video to YouTube and then sharing the link. Already popular on Facebook and Instagram, Twitter was lagging behind in the video department. Now it's as simple as point, shoot, share.
This new feature is a great marketing tool for your business. Shoot videos of products. Share a short clip from a trade show. Tape a testimonial. Embrace the ability to show more videos to your social media community.
To access the video camera, just tap the camera icon and select video. You can record, reorder and even delete segments. You have control over the final cut. And with a 30 second time limit, you won't have a video that might be too long of a commitment for your followers.
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