What Would History Say About Google Authorship?

Image courtesy of https://plus.google.com/authorship

I know this association is going to tick off a few, but as one of the older people now in the Internet realm, my intent is to cause pause before running out and linking blogs or websites to Google Authorship profiles in order to secure better rankings on SERP’s for personal brands.  I’m a Mom, so I’m just going to say what Moms say, “If everyone were jumping off a cliff, would you jump off, too?”

Truth be told, I like Google and I’m all about being with the times.  I know it’s not going to seem that way, but I do understand the benefits of claiming your brand.  I’m just really wrestling with the herd mentality of doing something because Google says we have to do it. The industry reaction appears to be admiration and support through blog posts and conference panel discussions.  Get the writers on board and you can change the world.  If you control the content makers and their careers, you can control the content (to a degree).

I’m also old enough to know how fast what seems indestructible can change.  I have an uncle that spent his life in a nursing home after serving overseas in combat during WWII.  Forgetting history is not an option for me – really for any of us.  My (our) ancestors would be disappointed if I (we) did.

What if Google’s leadership and vision ever changed – forcibly or through death or sale?  Would you want your personal identity stored in a data base for the new owners?  Some of you are more skeptical of our current president or gun control then you are of handing over your identity and all linking to a search company’s data bases.  True, we’re already tracked in so many ways, that for most of us, our identities were compromised years ago when we first opened our Facebook accounts.  But, let’s just hand over more?

As a reminder, between 1939 and 1945, the below image was a reality.  Hitler would have really appreciated access to profiles that connected the dots to everything people did or thought, everyone they communicated with, and everything they liked or disliked.

Image courtesy of http://arnaudstecroix.weebly.com/

It’s an awful association, but profiling happened.  It’s not a new idea.  People were identified and categorized, while scared onlookers stood by, watched, and participated because if they didn’t they might lose what they have. Those who spoke up were shunned or eliminated.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia

While the hot talk is about securing your brand, just don’t forget what happened a few decades ago.  Prisoners from this era would probably shake their heads at our naivety.  I’m not so sure that I can completely dismiss their lives by saying, “Yeah, but this is a different time and place.”

I also don’t have a good answer for reconciling what was learned, while moving into today.  I’m signing this post with my first name knowing full well, that even without a profile, you can research who I am.  The best I can do is write to warn the writer, who hasn’t become public, to first carefully consider the potential consequences before publishing online.  ~Jean

Other Articles:

My 2013 SMX Conversation with Matt Cutts about Google Authorship

Ethical Guidelines When Using Social Media: An Interview with NIU’s Dr. David Gunkel

The Direction of Search – Stalking, Censorship, or Simply Great Results

 

National Brands without Physical Stores Struggle to Rank for Local and other 2013 #SMX West Insights

My Web Writers Attended #SMX 2013

By My Web Writers

How can You Rank for Local, if You’re a National Brand without Local Stores?

Good luck.  There are few alternatives to building physical stores.  When a user types in a qualifying term like “pants Toledo”, he or she is probably looking  for a Toledo clothing store that sells pants.  Often the user is located within 1.5 miles of the store at that time.  In many cases, it’s becoming the norm for national chains, that solely sell online, to fall below the local listings of brands with stores.

How do you get around the local problem if you’re a national chain without physical stores?  Some panelists suggested building local pages on your website, while others suggested empowering affiliates to drive traffic for local, long-tailed keywords. Local landing pages are required and must have phone tracking, pricing, transparency, an adoption plan, and ensured alignment with the national PPC campaign.

Balihoo.com, which offers a free download of going local ideas, suggested starting with 4 – 5 affiliates and empowering them with incentives in local markets.  My Web Writers also published a post on going local back in 2012.

For those businesses that do have physical stores, Scott Nickels of Home Depot shared a story of a map pin to a local store that ended up in the wrong place. Traffic kept flowing to a residential home before the resident finally called to complain about the headlights in her back yard. Store managers have to be aware of the postcard process required for validation of the physical addresses and Maps needs to better hone in on the locales.

Home Depot’s word for 2013 is “local.” Nickels suggests creating one page per store and localizing social, too. He somberly shook his head when an attendee asked, “Do you mean if I have 53 stores, I have to optimize 53 Facebook pages?”

“Yes, yes you do,” he replied.

2013 #SMX West Insights

There are already so many, insightful, #SMX West 2013 recaps floating around the web from various attendees, but here are a few more insights as well as a list of the recaps.

Random Notes from Watching Sites Get Critiqued:

• Put Java Script and CSS in external script.

• Don’t use disavow if possible. Don’t tell Google you have a problem unless you have a PhD in understanding linking. You don’t want to accidentally remove links that are actually working for you.

• Submit articles to Reddit.

• Canonicals- make sure all products are given credit.

• PR can build legitimate page links.

• Shopping cart pages should be optimized with what the latest coupon codes are. Remember to 301 redirect expired coupons.

• Experiment with Google Plus to get juice for search-ability.

• Don’t blog just to blog. Consider putting monies toward PR opportunities.

• Schematag.org – a plugin for WordPress

• Enrich your Google Places ranking.

Take-aways from other SMX West sessions are as follows:

• Authorship and identity will matter more over time. False identities will be found.  Do authorities and brands have rank? Individuals have their own brands and should use authorship to maintain them.  Big brands are still struggling with this, which makes it a good time for small companies to utilize Authorship.

• “Links still have many good years ahead of them.” ~Matt Cutts

• Social interaction helps to determine SERP’s.

• Mobile is going to surprise a lot of people. It’s a critical factor.  Isolate mobile in Analytics. There’s a web page test tool that @AnneCushing likes to use to watch a video of how long it takes to load a client’s page.  It helps clients to see the importance of improving site speed- 
  http://www.webpagetest.org/
  .

• “SEO is no longer about tactics, but more about strategy.”

• “Keep the company focused on metrics that matter to the company and not ranking reports.”

• Duane Forrester says the most important SEO factor for next year is “usability.  It’s more important than h-tags.”

• Ann Cushing said to “focus less on keywords and more on landing pages.”

• Matt Cutts reiterated that the “global view is the same as in other years. Give the user what they want.” Annotate your web pages with ‘about of’ markup for Chrome users. You can also disavow at a domain level.

• Rae Hoffman encouraged SEO’s to “Let go of how easy it used to be.”

• Greg Bowser said, “Embrace the big data.”

Looking for additional #SMX 2013 Recaps and Insights?  Read these excellent posts:

SEO Success in 2013 & beyond: Matt Cutts & others’ insights at #SMX

Matt Cutts, Duane Forrester talk ‘Adventures in SEO’ at SMX West

SMX West 2013: Top Tips, Tools & Takeaways

Insights from a Conversation with Matt Cutts about Google Authorship

Live Blog Recap: SMX West 2013 Day Three

Live Blog Recap: SMX West 2013 Day Two

Live Blog Recap: SMX West 2013 Day One

My SMX West 2013 Takeaways- Sugar Rae’s blog

What ideas do you have for national brands that want to rank for local search terms? Is there a #SMX 2013 blog post that I missed that you like?

~Jean

My 2013 SMX West Conversation with Matt Cutts about Google’s Authorship

By My Web Writers

I think my slight frown, wide gesturing, and passionate opinions against Google’s Authorship surprised the low-key Danny Sullivan and Duane Forrester in the hallway after the SEO in 2013 panel discussion at SMX West on Wednesday. Danny replied, “Well, whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay, so get used to it,” while  Duane, slightly ducking from the healed boot I was removing, suggested that I talk with Matt Cutts about it.

After the crowd of Google-lovers dispersed from telling Matt how much they loved him, I moved in – fin above the water.

Honestly, I was nervous.

I just watched most everyone agree (except for Rae from Pushfire who played a lovely, Devil’s Advocate) what a fine, fine school Google Authorship will be.  If you aren’t familiar with Google Authorship, it’s supposed to help authors start to gain recognition, while helping Google to cut down on spammers.  With Google’s Authorship, search engine page rankings will be determined by the author’s readership and track record.

“Matt,” I said, and he turned and smiled.  I was sweating.  He really has such a sweat demeanor. This would be like confronting Kermit the Frog about what Miss Piggy was doing.

“Can I share with you what bothers me about Google Authorship without making you mad or defensive?”

“Sure,” he said and then we were interrupted by another of his fans.  I had a moment to keep sweating.  This was my first time meeting Matt Cutts in person and now instead of chatting about all the cool things I like, I felt like Tierra from the Bachelor. He finished with the fan, turned back, and then intently listened.

“Hey, I want you to know that I appreciate that Google always has the user in mind, but I feel like Google Authorship is less about the user and more about Google promoting Google.  Half of my writers are not on Google Plus.  Many are females who have issue with putting private information and their pictures in the hands of the Internet.  Most aren’t even on Twitter.  So, now, I’ve got to promote Google by having my writers sign up for accounts.  That’s about Google gaining more G+ accounts, not about a better experience for the user.

If you own a content creation company, every SEO, content, and design firm, as well as clients, would love to work directly with the talent you’ve discovered and helped to cultivate.

My writers are ghost writers, which is common in the publishing industry.  They write tips and suggestions for my clients’ blogs as the clients.  Some write for my blog using only their first names.

My small business paid for the content and now owns it.  The writers happily took the money and understood that their work would now belong to my company.  Besides that, I edit it, and often put my own insights into certain sections of their work.  So, who should get credit for the content?  All the rights were sold to my company.”

And then, I felt a wave of relief.

He nodded and said, “that’s a good point.  I’ll have to bring that back to the engineers.”

I don’t know what the final verdict will be with Google’s Authorship, but at least I felt like I was heard and that some reasonable compromise might come of it.  Thank you, Matt.  I loved your reaction!

I do have my own G+ Profile, but even I’m still leery of having every single article I write tied to my name and a profile.  It feels a bit like Big Brother watching and I guess there’s part of me that’s still a little old fashion… though I’m slowly evolving. ~Jean

How Can I Better Manage My Company’s Social Media Accounts?

by My Web Writers

For many of us, managing our own social media accounts is enough to keep us busier than we’d like. But when you’re given the responsibility of also managing your company’s social media accounts, this task should be given a fairly different approach and a lot more consideration. There’s no doubt that social media holds the power to become a business’s first impression for many of its customers. Because of this, a professional and well thought out social media management plan is critical for any company. Here are a few tips to get you on the right track of tackling this important marketing component:

Create an editorial calendar.

An editorial calendar allows you layout all of your planned social media posts for the coming month. For a company structure where such posts need to be pre-approved by the owner, this is an essential tool. To create an editorial calendar, there are several templates you can find online, or you can simple create a calendar in a Word Doc and format it to fit your needs. All it needs to include is what you’re planning to post and for what accounts. Include the links to any videos or web pages to make for an easy copy and paste action when you do go to post. Finally, an editorial calendar is just as beneficial to you as it is to a company owner. You will be able to easily see how often you’re planning to post and if there are any holes you need to fill. While the calendar may take several hours to initially create, it will make the rest of the month’s social media posting nearly effortless.

Automate your regular updates.

In speaking of making social media posting effortless, what’s less effort than when something is automated? Web sites like HootSuite.com and TweetDeck.com both offer automated social media posting for little to no cost. Once you create your editorial calendar, you can easily plug in the posts and schedule them in advance so that the rest of the month your regular updates are firing off exactly when they should regardless of how hectic your schedule gets. Note: it’s great to use automation for the pre-written tweets and updates, but social media is meant to be live and in the moment. Don’t tune out from all the news and announcements that may crop up unexpectedly that should be shared on social media. Be sure to get these out ASAP the “old fashioned” way—manually!

Make it a group effort.

While one person in a company may be designated as the social media manager, it’s important to remember that social media is meant to be social after all! Make this task a group effort by allowing everyone to offer input on what should be promoted or emphasized on social media. Many of your co-workers might have great suggestions for a contest to run or a question to ask to spark discussion. This input will also help fill up your editorial calendar with fresh ideas without you wracking your brain each month.

Do less, but do it better.

Just as in so many other aspects of life, you simply don’t need to do it all! There are countless social media platforms available to you, but that doesn’t mean you need to use every single one. Your time is not best spent managing 15+ social media accounts at a mediocre level. Instead, focus on your top performing 3-5 social media accounts (the ones with the largest audience and most interaction) and spend your time making these exceptional. For many businesses, these will include Twitter and Facebook to start. From there, you may also find YouTube, Digg or Google+ to be beneficial. Depending on your business and the product or service that you’re selling, your social media focus might be different from other businesses—and that’s OK!

Not only should every social media platform be handled differently, so should every social media account—business or personal. Following these tips, you’ll be able to create a professional image for your company that is both effective and well thought out.  ~Stephanie

How Should My Business Use Google+?

By My Web Writers

According to Google Vice President Bradley Horowitz, “Google+ is Google. The entry points to Google+ are many, and the integrations are more every day” ( Wall Street Journal).  Recently, the search engine has made waves by streamlining the integration between Google, Google+, YouTube, Zagat, and other online reviewing platforms. The bottom-line for many businesses is that Google+ has become unavoidable. In using any Google Apps, a Google+ profile is automatically established.  Author ranks are now passed through Google profiles. As Google pushes hard to merge many popular tools across the internet into a more public profile on Google+, it is in the best interest of businesses to keep ahead of the curve and use their Google+ profiles to increase visibility, rank, and industry engagement.

 Boost SEO through Google+

As Google strives to make Google+ integral to internet use, Google+ is likely to carry a lot of weight in SEO ranking.  Using Google+ as part of your personal or business online presence can help return better results. Set up a business site for your company on Google+ and begin to share your company pages, promotions, and news on the feed. As with any SEO, the more active your page, the more good it will do you.  You can also boost your SEO by using Google+ as a social networking platform. Install the +1 button on your pages or blog so that others can share your site. According the the Wall Street Journal, last month over 235 million people used such features. Not only does this platform increase engagement with your site, it also can help to build your rank in Google searches. Google Analytics even features an array of tools that can help you gather and analyze trends in the traffic on your page.

Network with Industry Experts

As Google+ continues to integrate with email and other applications, the ability to connect with other people becomes more open, especially as Google+ profiles are more public than many other similar platforms. Use Google+ to connect with leaders in your industry. Find the profiles for companies or individuals who you want to connect with and add them to your circles. You can comment and ask questions in a setting where they most likely will actually see and read your posts. As Google+ is still developing its niche, now is a great time to take advantage of the relatively easy-access it provides to other people.

Develop Your Public Persona

As you use Google+ to engage with readers as well as network with the big names in your industry, you can also use your Google+ profile to develop your public or company persona. Use the photo albums to share pictures from around the office, the company picnic, trade shows, conferences, or other events. Capture a sense of your company’s personality and make your social media personal, giving visitors a sense of the faces and people behind the great services you offer. The tidy, low-key setup of Google+ allows you to do so without detracting from the visibility of the most important details about your business. Finally, when you share posts on Google+, you can use the ripples tool to see the spread and impact of your posts on Google+. Google also offers social analytics for conversions, pages, plug-ins, and sources to help you gather numbers and data about your company within the network.

Conference with Experts in Google Hangouts

In addition to the many ways you can use Google+ profiles to enhance your brand or to network, you can also use Google Hangouts to run meetings or connect with others. Unlike Skype, Google Hangouts allow you to video chat with up to ten people, making it a great tool for having face-to-face conversations with people you might not meet with otherwise. Instead of flying an expert or consultant in to meet with your office, set up a Google Hangout so that your team can discuss strategies, techniques, or other information in a way that makes the most of everyone’s time. Google Hangouts are especially handy for educators, small companies, and professionals who travel frequently, facilitating smoother communication and a more cost-effective way to meet with experts or associates.

For more information on how to use Google Plus to boost your business, check out Marni’s tips on how to use Google Plus for Content Marketing.  ~Kasey