Looks Like Google Is Rolling Out A New Algorithm
Google has been sending A LOT of notifications to webmasters with sites that apparently are not mobile friendly. Have you or your web developer received an email like this? If you are not sure, you better check. The subject line says, “Fix mobile usability issues found on” and then the domain name. The notification goes […]
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Google has been sending A LOT of notifications to webmasters with sites that apparently are not mobile friendly. Have you or your web developer received an email like this? If you are not sure, you better check. The subject line says, 'Fix mobile usability issues found on' and then the domain name. The notification goes on to say how 100% of your pages contain critical mobile usability errors on 100% of your pages and that 'these pages will not be seen as mobile-friendly by Google Search and will therefore be displayed and ranked appropriate for smartphone users.' What does this mean? Simply put, your site will not rank well in mobile search.
The mass notifications seem to be a clear sign that Google is getting ready to launch a new mobile ranking algorithm. Preceding this letter, Google sent out some other signals that this algorithm change would be happening. It recently launched a mobile friendly testing tool and mobile usability reports in Google Webmaster Tools. It also started showing mobile-friendly labels in the search results. It seems something big is happening.
What should you do? If you received this notification, talk to your web developer about making your website mobile friendly. If you are not sure, even the more reason to reach out. If you don't have a relationship with a web developer, you better start one. Something big is happening. You don't want to be hit after what appears to be a new pending algorithm is launched." target="_blank">
Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn all gained new users over the past year. 23% of adults surveyed said they used Twitter, which was up from 18% the previous year, and Instagram users grew from 17% to 26%. Although the number of Facebook users did not increase, more people regularly logged onto Facebook than its rivals. According to the survey, 70% of Facebook users log in daily. That number is much higher than Instagram at 49%, Twitter at 36%, Pinterest at 17%, and LinkedIn at 13%.
Yes, this is just a bunch of numbers based on a survey, but is should be enough to make you think about developing the right social media marketing strategy for your business.
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Small businesses need to gear up for the new Facebook changes coming next month. The network will be increasing its efforts to filter out free promotional status update posts from user news feeds. This effort has been going on for quite a while. The reach of posts has been dwindling. If you currently don’t pay to promote your post, you are only reaching a very small fraction of your fans. Facebook has now formally announced that businesses which promote free marketing pitches in their status updates will see a “significant decrease in distribution.” The push toward paid advertising is on. One can only imagine what the percentage of fans who see those posts will drop to with the new year changes.
Bad SEO Companies Do Things The Wrong Way - Do Not Enter[/caption]
'We do SEO. Our services consist of creating a title tag and an alt image tag for each page.' That is just what an SEO company recently told a web developer partner of mine. Really, that's it? I shudder to think how many unknowing people they have ripped off. So much more goes into SEO: description tags, heading tags, geo location tags, interlinking, keyword rich links, creation of backlinks, local SEO services. The list goes on and on. There is a wrong way and and right way to do SEO. Make sure you don't enter into something you will regret.
I admit it. I like to watch The Good Wife (must be the former attorney in me). But both this season and last, they have bashed SEO. It gets me frustrated. SEO is not bad and most SEO professionals are not the devil. If you have a website, you need us to help you get found online. That can be done ethically. There does not have to be anything spammy about it. But unfortunately, some so called SEO professionals (the bad SEO companies) are giving the rest of us an unjust rap - not only in the business community but also on television shows!
SEO is a comprehensive process. It is not just a title tag and a keyword reference on a page. It is so much more. It is not just knowing what the right keywords are and where to place them, but also where not to place them and how not to be spammy. Effective SEO professionals live and breathe SEO. They keep abreast of the latest algorithm changes, search engine platforms and more. They are involved in networks that share what is and is not working, what stumbling blocks are popping up and how you can get around them. In a sum, these professionals are professionals. So then why are these horrible SEO companies getting the work? Simple – price point and lack of consumer knowledge.
Removing Bad Backlinks - Do It![/caption]
One of the most important website ranking factors is the number of backlinks you have. A backlink is simply a link on another website to your website. In the past it seemed that he who had the most backlinks had the best rankings. So, many questionable search engine optimization tactics included getting the most links you could - even if those links were basically spam. This tactic seemed to work well for quite a while. Then along came Google's Penguin Update, which seeks to find spam and penalize those websites that rely upon it. If you have questionable backlinks and have seemed to somehow skate by this update, consider yourself lucky – but beware.
As I contemplate Thanksgiving this year, as always, I have so much to be thankful for:
AdWords Click Through Rates[/caption]
Managing an AdWords campaign not only involves researching relevant keywords, writing ads and adjusting bids; it also includes monitoring click through rates to determine the effectiveness of those ads, keywords and campaigns. When we provide our detailed monthly reports to our clients, those click through rates are one of the top items we highlight. So it is no surprise that clients ask:
If you don't know how your website looks on an iPhone or any other smart phone, you REALLY need to find out. Research shows that there are now 1 billion smart phones. Imagine the number of potential mobile searches. Well, you don't have to imagine. Approximately 4 million web searches are performed every day, and according to Google, approximately 20% of its searches are mobile. We have found with our clients that 20 to 25% of their visitors are a result of mobile search. What does this all mean? That you need a website that not only looks great on an iPhone and other smart phones, but that is also easy to navigate so you keep people on your site and place the information they are looking for at their fingertips making them customers. There are a few ways you can achieve this.
If your website was built in WordPress, Joomla or the e-commerce platform Shopify, you can create a mobile version without having to touch a single piece of coding. You simply add a WordPress plug-in, a Joomla extension or a Shopify mobile theme and your visitors will see a simple, easy to navigate mobile version when they visit your website from a smart phone. Your desktop version remains the same.
