Category Archives: SEO

Search Engine Optimisation and the old, new and different opinions, techniques and advice associated with making it a positive aspect of a website.

Social Media and Networking Map – the big picture.

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I have been making efforts to explain the scope of social networking to many of my clients recently so decided that I would take the time to create a visual representation of the online “sociosphere” as I see it.

I’m hoping that this layout will help ease the process of understanding the inter connections between all the different social groupings on the internet and show the extent to which one can develop their online social media presence, if they so wish.

Of course, this wont be to everyone’s liking or indeed fit in with everyone’s schedule, channels or target groups, but this is part of the beauty of the social media and networking. It is so interlinked, so forgiving and can be so rewarding that we can pick and choose where we are present, how we present ourselves and when we are present without  being subjected to penalties, aside from missing out on the latest information or feedback!

Of course, like most things, the more effort you put in and the more involved you are the more you get out as interaction helps grow your network and open new doors and opportunities.

Social Media Map

Social Media and Networking Map the big picture.

Check out the Social Media Networking Map

How the social media map may work

To understand or explain this map begin at the visitor and choose any dotted line in any direction.

Predominantly on the left side are the associates and friends of the visitor, split into 3 groups but all possibly inter-linked. Though associated they may or may not be directly connected to the visitor.

On the right side are the mediums of the social network (a small selection but some of the more prominent) which are all directly related to your blog by the population of your content or by receiving theirs. As shown these mediums also have the potential to be interconnected directly but the end result will always lead to your blog itself.

As you create content in an effort to reach that visitor it will have to pass through any one, multiple or potentially, all of these mediums to reach the final destination and begin the return journey of bringing the visitor to you to interact with your blog. This can all occur in milliseconds.

The aim may be then to repeat the process within the groups that the visitor is associated with to grow and nurture more interested visitors who will continue the process and maintain the momentum.

This is why it is essential that you aim to achieve quality content on your blog as if the information is not engaging or of interest then the process will only serve to frustrate the visitor and the viral effect will slow dramatically or stop altogether.

Feedback

I would be very interested in feedback and comments on this and if anyone should like a copy of the original artwork (done in Adobe Illustrator CS3 v13.0.0) would be more than happy to send it through or a copy in another format. Just add a comment in this thread and I will get back to you.  If enough people want it I will post a link to allow download via FTP.

SEO is easy

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Yeah, Search Engine Optimisation is easy. Dead Easy.  Super easy even.  That´s why everyone is number 1 right?  But hang on, everyone cant be number 1 in Google can they?  No.  They cant. There will always be a number 2, 3 ,4 and so on.  Its the way of the world and its the way search engines work. Period.

To be brutally frank, people piss me off when they say that applying Search Engine Optimisation is easy.  I see it alot on forums and in blogs about how “simple” it is to get to number 1 in Google and make money online.  People are being approached all the time with marketing focused on their need and greed with blasé statements like  ” Become a millionaire in 24 hours!” or “Make 100,000 dollars a month online”, “Number 1 in positions guaranteed” and “”all for 5 dollars a month!”. These unscrupulous marketeers only serve to feed the flames of misinformation regarding the whole concept that is taking a website and making it work on a search engine with the aim of reaching a number 1 position, the true meaning of Search Engine Optimisation. Funny how it sounds rather similar to running a business don’t it?

SEO Search Ranking Factors

SEO is easy

The next time you meet someone who says its easy and cheap, ask them to explain this SEO Search Ranking Factors post on SEOmoz, one of the most prominent reliable sources of Search Engine related information on the web.  Based on the opinion of 37 proven  SEO experts they have created a rated list of what`s important and what’s not so important in creating an optimised website.

In total, there are 53 individual points covered and rated.  YES thats 53 points and yes I counted them.  These points all add up towards creating an optimitised website for search engines based on what they speculate are Googles ever changing requirements.

Yes, they SPECULATE.  Let me say it again “SPECULATE“. Get it?  Even the experts who have proven and successful track records cannot definitely say what it is that makes a website work really well in Google and reach that desired number 1 spot or at least they cannot reach a uniform and united consensus.

Take a little time to read through it the SEOmoz Search Engine Ranking Factors article Its not easy to understand, and you will see quite clearly that they differ in their opinions throughout the points covered. Thats also why I say continually that people who profess to be Search Engine Experts are only practising, much the same as doctors and lawyers are always practising their profession as new develops or changes are continually being discovered and implemented… just like SEO.

Really the point is this.  Search Engine Optimisation is not easy or cheap.  Its not quick either and its not defined.  Its something that needs to be studied, analysed, tested, applied and implemented to every facet of a website and it all needs to be done consistently and in-line with the requirements (and demands) of good old Google and your visitor (because they can change the way they search to…or didn’t you know that?).

And that’s only the start of it, after that you have to have the design studied, analysed, tested, applied and implemented to suit the traffic you are getting and ensure that you are benefiting that traffic to the greatest degree, otherwise the effort will have all been wasted.

After all, whats the point of marketing your shop to the number one position in the highstreet if when people are coming in to browse and purchase you have all the stock in boxes, in the back store room, which is locked and bolted, and has a key which happens to have been lost under a rock somewhere in Canada… Much better to have the right stock in the right place and available for the right people, because I can guarentee you they wont wait around… would you?

*the sarcastic bit now*
All this adds up to a really cheap and easy package that anyone can do obviously.  No seriously it does, I mean I would do all of this for 5-99 a month in about 2 seconds cause I have a contact at Google.. seriously  I do! Who cares that he works in the canteen.

…yeah right. I have tried to explain some of the simple complexities in my previous post on SEO Marbella or SEO Spain but I still think most people just wont get it and if you think this is me going of on a rant, just dont get me started.  There will be much more to come.

SEO Marbella or SEO Spain

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I came across a range of different posts recently and one sparked my interest to the extent that I decided that a good old rant was in order in regards the content of the post. The general view on the post was about the good old “number 1 in Google” debate that has become the obsession with so many business and website owners alike.

In general many of the people commenting where impressed that the post was in a number one position for what they considered to be an important term for anyone practicing SEO while applying localisation to define the scope of the service and encourage traffic and visitors who would be interested in that service and yet the post was NOT an SEO company but rather a post promoting a book about getting to “number 1 Google”.  The term was SEO Marbella and the post, at that time , in the number one position, was a blog all about Nueva Andalucia.

While the idea is completely correct in regards the point that really any self respecting practitioner of SEO services and advice and more specifically any practitioner offering SEO in Marbella really should consider positioning themselves at this number 1 spot to show their ability, even though in reality its not actually where you should be focusing on as quite frankly the returns are not worth the effort, if you simply go by the numbers, but what the hell, who am I to make everyone a number.

Reaching Number 1 for SEO Marbella or SEO Spain

Being at trhe number one spot for SEO Marbella basically seems a waste of time due to the almost non existant traffic enquiring after that term, hence the reason that it would not be any great challange to get there and paradoxically no lose at all if you are not but it is still a small base that needs to be covered. Here lies the conundrum.  What should any SEO business be targetting (Or any other business for that matter, this example holds true for them all)?

Should it be so local as to mention the town or village you are based in, such as SEO Marbella or SEO Puerto Banus or the nearest major city such as SEO Malaga or SEO Seville, or should you go a little further and aim for an area or provenince that covers your local such as SEO Costa Del Sol or SEO Andalucia.  Maybe you should just go all out and aim for the whole country and target a term such as SEO Spain.

The simplest answer is that every single one of these terms is important in reality but the question is how much effort can you afford and how much effort should you legitimately focus on reaching the number 1 in Google spot for each individual term.  That is what proper keyword research is supposed to answer but only in practice can the actual results be measured in value as in marketing who ever told us that 1 means 1 was lying.

In the meantime I think will just keep targeting the keywords that I know will matter to me ( And no im actually not that bothered about SEO Spain now that you mention it).