Google Updates

Google has a couple new elements going on in its results pages. The first one is the addition of brand links for some queries.
In the ones I've seen, they appear near the top of the results, just below the top paid listings. They are not links to the sites of these brands, however. They are links to SERPs for queries that incorporate those brands into them. For example, clicking "Wilson" in the footballs example will take me to results page for "wilson footballs".

Steps for Creating a Social Media Strategy

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3 Steps for Creating a Social Media Strategy

Social media is all about engaging with people whether it be clients, friends, or relatives. As Li Evans of Serengeti Communications explains, “Everybody likes to share, and they like to share a story.”

She goes on to tell WebProNews that businesses are just now grasping how they can use social media. If they create valuable content, she says people will share it, which will expand their reach.

Contrary to some beliefs, effective social media marketing is a lot more than simply having a Facebook page. Evans says businesses need to, first of all, understand where their audience is. Although Facebook and Twitter have exploded in popularity, it doesn’t mean that your audience is there. If this is the case, these platforms will not be effective for your business.

It could be that message boards and forums are where your audience is. Although these areas have been around since before the term social media was even coined, Evans believes they are still very powerful, have a large reach, and rank in search engines. Other effective platforms include ratings and review services and location-based sites.

Secondly, businesses need to understand what their resources are. It is important to realize what you are capable of doing before you jump in. Otherwise, you could quickly get overwhelmed, which could lead to failure.

Thirdly, businesses have to listen to what their audience is saying. Just as businesses need to understand their resources before embracing social, they need to do a lot of listening too. If not, Evans says it could be compared to petting a shark. Businesses should know what is acceptable and what is not before they embark on a social media campaign.

Once a business applies these 3 steps, she says it can build a social media strategy.



Domain Name for SEO

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Select a Domain Name That Boosts SEO

There are two ways of selecting a domain name. You can choose the domain name first and use it as your organization name or vice versa. Most of the old organizations prefer to retain their brand name in their URL.

Many startup organizations select their URL first and then name their organization. This is because of the non availability of the perfect URL.

Your website URL is your online identity that is visible to millions of internet users. It impacts your organization name, website seo and future business endeavors. All these factors should be taken into consideration before selecting a URL.

Boost Your Website SEO with the Following Domain Selection Tips:

1. Choose a Keyword Rich Domain Name:

A keyword rich URL is a bonus for any website. It helps boost ranking in the search engine results pages. If the desired keyword rich URL is not available, you can add a prefix or a suffix to the keyword. A URL which contains a combination of keywords helps in drawing more traffic to the website.

2. Include Hyphens in the Domain Name:

Search engines can distinguish between hyphenated keywords very easily. This helps in ranking better in search results pages. Hyphenated keywords in the URL are a good option if the desired keyword rich URL is not available.

There is one pitfall in using hyphens in the URL. Your website visitor can land on the competitor's website if they forget to add the hyphens. Webmasters should include hyphens as a last option to obtain the perfect domain name.

3. Select A Top Level Domain Name:

A website URL should be selected based on the geographical location of the customers. If your website caters to the customers at a global level, a dot-com domain is suitable for you. If the dot-com domain is not available, you can opt between dot-net and dot-org. If your organization is based in United Kingdom, your top level domain should be dot-co-dot-uk. A non-profit organization should opt for dot-org as their top level domain.

4. Purchase a New Domain Name:

A domain name should be researched well before purchasing. It is an important to get a URL related to your niche.

Tips for purchasing a new URL:

a. The name should be easy to spell & remember.

b. URL's are inexpensive. You can register multiple keywords rich URL and redirect them to the main domain. As a result, a lot of traffic will be directed to the main site.

c. Make sure that you are not infringing another organizations brand name.

d. If your organization belongs to a particular region, Purchase a geo specific URL. This helps in capturing the target audience.

5. Purchase an Aged Domain Name:

Always check the background of an aged domain before purchasing it. Aged domains can give your website seo a good boost.

Tips for purchasing an aged URL:

a. Check the domain age. This will give you an idea of how old the domain is. Google gives a lot of importance to aged domains in search results pages. Your chances of ranking well improve with the age of the domain name.

b. Note the page rank of the aged domain. As the page rank increases, the importance of the domain increases.

c. Calculate the number of backlinks of the aged domain. An aged domain should have a few hundred backlinks. If the backlinks are not sufficient or are of poor quality, move on to purchasing another aged domain.

A good domain name should not exceed 67 characters. Look for a reputed service provider to host your URL. Register your URL for a few years instead of one year. Your website will leave a good and lasting impression on Google.



Does Google show the right Sitelinks type for your website?

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When Google displays Sitelinks below your website listing in the search results, it's very likely that your website will get more clicks and more visitors. The majority of searchers click on the top 3 results. For that reason, getting more links in the top three results increases the number of clicks that your website will get.

Unfortunately, Google does not always display the right Sitelinks. This article explains how to check your Sitelinks and how to make sure that Google displays the right Sitelinks for your website.

How to check which Sitelinks Google displays for your website

Google robot

It seems that Google only return Sitelinks when they are confident that the search query is looking for a specific site.

If you want to see the Sitelinks for your website, search Google for your domain name without the .com or for any other keyword for which your website is listed on the first position.

For example, if your domain name is "cebuads.info", search Google for "cebuads".

Which type of Sitelinks does Google display for your website?

If you search Google as explained above, Google will display one of the following Sitelinks below your listing:

  1. Google shows up to eight text links that are identical to your website navigation links. If you see these links, the navigation of your website can be parsed by Google and it divides your website into separate categories. This is good.

  2. Sitelinks that go to random pages on your website. If you get these links, the navigation of your website probably can't be parsed by Google and Google took the pages with the most backlinks for the Sitelinks. This is not so good.

  3. Google does not display any Sitelinks. If Google does not display any Sitelinks for your website then it's very likely that your website is not search engine friendly and that your pages cannot be parsed correctly. This is bad.

How to get better Sitelinks

Google generates the Sitelinks for your website based on your website navigation and based on the links that point to your website.

If Google shows the wrong Sitelinks or no Sitelinks at all for your website then you should work on your website navigation:

If your website has a clear navigation, it will be much easier to get Sitelinks for your website.

Do not use too many navigation links and make it easy for web surfers and search engines to find out which pages of your website are the most important pages. The better a web page is linked, the more likely it is that it will appear in the Sitelinks.





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