Pick up any business seminar brochure, and you can pretty much guarantee that you will find someone talking about the importance of social media such as Facebook or Twitter ... All the cool kids are doing it. It's where the customers are (instead of reading emails). You need to do it for customer service.
Yes, I've talked about the same thing, as well as written about how to set up your social media policies so your team don't get into trouble.
But ... the bigger reason businesses need to get into social media, is that now forms a vital part of SEO when done correctly.
A Quick SEO History - The Past 5 Years
SEO (search engine optimisation) is a constantly moving and developing industry. Just a few years back, links were king. Links back to your website (didn't really matter where they came from) were some of the most important factors was used by Google to determine where you sat in the search engine results.
This led to link farming industries – where each piece of content was religiously socially bookmarked in places such as Digg, Propeller, Plaxo & Reddit. Third world copywriters were hired to churn out content for a few cents an article – spinning the same words into hundreds of new combinations, which were then spread to one of the thousands of article sites on the web.
Then social media got into the act, and then each piece of content was duly also shared via Facebook and Twitter (where the game was to grab as many followers as you could, even if they were bots and porn sites, to prove how brilliant you were).
It got to the point where the clutter and the noise on the net became overwhelming – and the first few pages on the search engine results were full of garbage.
And then came Panda
Recently Google did a major change to its algorithm (code named Panda) to cut the clutter. They moved from returning results to returning answers. (If you want to know how one of the top people in Google thinks, the New Scientist article on Peter Norvig is a must read – in a nutshell – he believes if you have a big enough data set, you can find answers to the world's biggest problems).
Yes, Google is changing all the time, but Panda hit over 30% of all websites.
What Google Wants
In early May, Google took the step of giving some insight into what now it looks for when it returns results.
Would you trust the information presented in this article?
Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
How much quality control is done on content?
Does the article describe both sides of a story?
Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
Would users complain when they see pages from this site?
What does this mean for your business?
This is what Google now uses to work out where your site sits in search engine results. Or, to put it into laypersons terms – think of your website like a restaurant. How would people know if your restaurant is good, or one of the "before" restaurants in Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen?
Good restaurants use fresh ingredients, quality signature dishes cooked exceptionally well by notable chefs, great decor, superb customer service and are frequented by top diners and restaurant critics who share their thoughts with others.
Coming back to your website – good websites also have fresh content, signature content you won't find elsewhere, well written and designed, great customer service and are frequented by people of note who share their thoughts with their followers.
So of course, it is now more important than ever to hire a great SEO copywriter, proof-reader and brilliant web designer for your website.
But it is also vital to have a high social media profile, where you hang out with reputable people, giving quality information that these people want to share. These people have to be well-respected, influential and relevant to your niche for maximum SEO effect.
So, this means ditching the hackneyed quotes in favour of quoting yourself if you can be original and meaningful.
And don't automatically accept every friend request, or automatically follow back. You may also want to do a quiet bit of friend pruning if you were carried away a few years back by the more is better school of social media. You are now known by Google by the company you keep.
Yes, this means you need to re-think your social media strategy, as what you do (or don't do) on Facebook and Twitter will definitely affect your website rankings.
Just a reminder that we are having an end of financial year sale for readers of this newsletter, on all our Heart Harmony products, with a minimum of 25% off.
All you need to do is:
1. Enter the coupon code EOFYS in the coupon code box on each sales page,
2. Click the Submit Coupon button, and the reduced price will automatically come up.
Remember, if you don't enter the code EOFYS and click Submit Coupon, you will be charged full price.
This sale is only until midnight 30 June 2011, so get in quick!
Legal stuff: This newsletter is intended as only a general guideline for Australian businesses. You should seek specific advice for your situation rather than relying only on this newsletter
Earnings disclaimer. Some of the content may include advertorial information, which means I may receive financial compensation for the products I recommend. But - unless I know and trust the product, I will not recommend it.
Brilliant, i learnt so so much, already fwd this page to several business friends and colleagues who are just beginning new website stages like myself...thanks Ingrid, you always have your finger on the pulse ! Vanessa
I loved this article. Such a great summary. It really hits home about what has happened and the higher path that google wishes to take. We can no longer fake it. We just need to be our real authentic selves, which is all we were ever meant to be anyway.
Thanks again, Ingrid. I think that is why you write such good stuff. You are just being your authentic self.
Thanks Dave - I appreciate your kind words more than you may realise. And you are right - being authentic and taking the time to share what we know with others is not only the best marketing, it is also a great way of living life.
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