Build Great Backlinks has posted a new item, 'Keyword-Driven Personas -
Whiteboard Friday'
Posted by RuthBurr
As inbound marketing is gaining traction, marketers in all inbound disciplines
are realizing the importance of taking on keywords with a more holistic
approach. It's time to start building your keywords into the bones of your site,
rather than adding them once your site is already completely mapped out.
In today's Whiteboard Friday, Ruth Burr discusses how you can use your keywords
to drive personas, and ultimately affect your site mapping process for the
better. Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
For your viewing pleasure, here's a still image of the whiteboard used in this
week's video!
Update:Ruth referred to some code that Mike King of iAquire put together that
may help your site if integrated into your analtyics. Give it a look!
Video Transcription
"Howdy, SEOmoz fans. My name's Ruth Burr. Welcome to another Whiteboard
Friday. I'm the Lead SEO here at SEOmoz, and today I want to talk about using
keywords to drive personas and ultimately your site mapping process.
One thing that we're really thinking a lot about as we move more and more
toward an inbound marketing model, where there are multiple different people
with multiple different functions all working together to have the best inbound
marketing possible, is what we're doing with keywords and sort of when we're
adding keywords into the site. I know that we've all had the experience in years
past where we would get a site or get a piece of copy that was completely
written and then just kind of have to plug our keywords into that existing
content wherever they would fit. You might have an entire site that's already
completely mapped out, it's got a sitemap, it's got information architecture,
and then you're supposed to go in and put in your keywords. I've found that that
is not always the best user experience for the keyword, and also isn't as
effective as taking a more holistic approach.
So what I'm really hoping you guys will get out of this is take it back to
your UX and your IA teams and really think about how you can build keywords more
into the bones of the site.
One thing that Google is thinking a lot about that is really important for us
to be thinking about as marketers as well is searcher intent. Search engines are
spending tons of money and tons of time and tons of effort trying to figure out
what people are searching for when they use a keyword. It behooves us as
marketers to do the same thing because that way we can give people what they
want when they tell us they want it, and that's the beauty of search engine
marketing.
My example here is chocolate cookies, because I like to think about cookies.
You might have somebody that's searching for the keyword "chocolate cookies,"
and maybe you own ChocolateCookies.com, a great domain. If that's the case, you
don't really know what they want when they want chocolate cookies. They could be
looking to buy chocolate cookies. They could want to learn how to make chocolate
cookies. They could want recipes. You might also have ingredients. Maybe in
addition to cookies you sell ingredients for cookies. Maybe you have recipe
content and sales content, and you want to know how to serve up each of those
pieces of content in a way that's really going to serve the user. What you can
start doing is really thinking about the search intent of each one of these
keywords and building that in to a traditional persona-based marketing model.
This is my example model. All of these examples are made up. The data is not
real. You cannot use this data and take it out and just go build
ChocolateCookies.com. You could, but results are not guaranteed. To reiterate,
this data, made up.
In my ChocolateCookies.com example, we've got three different personas. We've
mapped out who they are and what they want. Now we can actually assign keywords
to them. Say you're trying to target people who want to make cookies. What
they're looking for, they're looking for recipes, they're looking for
ingredients. They are not looking to buy cookies. If somebody googles "chocolate
cookie recipes" and they click through to your site and it's a page about how
you can buy cookies from you, that is a bad user experience. Those people are
not going to buy cookies, and they're also going to bounce right back to the
search results.
That is the kind of thing that search engines are tracking. How quickly did
somebody return to the search results page from your site? Did they do it
without taking an action? If so, that can be a signal that you're not serving up
quality content. It's bad from a ranking factor's perspective, and it's also bad
because that person did not give you money and that's what we're trying to do,
trying to sell cookie recipes.
So you really want to make sure that this person when they're searching for
these keywords, which you've mapped back to their persona, you're serving up
chocolate cookie recipes. And if they're looking for ingredients, you're serving
up ingredients. Then you're creating an entire experience. You're not just
paying lip service saying, "Oh, here's a recipe and then buy a bunch of stuff."
You really are serving them up that high quality content that users love, that
brings them back to the site again and again. If the recipe content is good
enough, this baker might even share your content and share it with their
friends, and maybe even link to it from their blog that's all about making
cookies. Wouldn't that be nice?
Then you might also have somebody who does not want to make cookies because
they don't have that kind of time. They want to buy cookies. They just want to
buy them and then eat them. It's a model that I practiced for years. So they're
going to be looking to buy cookies online. They're not going to care about
recipes at all. They're not going to care about ingredients at all. They're
going to be much more purchase-driven and be looking at keywords around their
favorite brands and looking for sales. These are the people that you can really
incentivize with calls to action and trust signals, like free shipping,
delivery, sales, coupons, join our mailing list, and things like that. You've
now mapped these back, so again you're creating this entire experience and all
of this content based around the fact that this person does not care about
recipes at all, they just want to buy.
Then our third persona is somebody who's buying at the corporate level. Maybe
they're an office manager, or at SEOmoz, Team Happy is constantly buying us
goodies and snacks, and we love that. But this person is in charge of the cookie
supply at their office. What, does your office not have cookies? I'm so sorry.
Get some cookies.
So this guy, he doesn't care about recipes at all. He's not going to make
cookies every day for 100 people. He wants to buy them, and he's not spending
his own money. He's spending the company's money. So he's looking for things
like a corporate discount, a bulk discount, Maybe he's catering a party. He
needs same-day delivery. These are the things that are really going to be
important to this person. Since you know that, you can create content that is
solely targeted toward this one person, this one buyer. Especially if you have
things like a corporate discount, this is the place to really show it off.
So you've got these three different personas, and they're taking three very
different paths through the site and they're consuming the site in different
ways, whether it's buying a bunch of stuff, buying one thing, consuming your
content and buying ingredients, coming back. Each of these personas is
experiencing your content in very different ways. Rather than just creating one
site and popping in keywords all willy-nilly so that all of these people are
having the same experience, you can start crafting unique user experiences for
each of these people based on their paths through the site.
Great, except that that takes a lot of time and money. Both in the fact that
at most businesses time in some ways is money, and you may actually have to
spend some money on it. One of the things that I actually really recommend doing
during this part of the process is running some PPC campaigns around the
keywords where you're trying to define user intent. If somebody's just searching
on chocolate cookies, you might not know if they want to buy them, or if they
want to make them or what they want to do. So use PPC, run a little test, and
see whether people respond better if you've got recipes, or free shipping, or
what the different calls to action are for those more generic terms. Over time
you can start to see what the majority of users' intent is and what they really
respond to and craft experiences for those more generic terms based around that.
That's a really great way to use PPC as a little guinea pig test.
Now here comes my favorite part because it involves metrics. What you can do
is go into your Google Analytics or whatever, use your analytics tools and start
looking at these behaviors based on keywords. Once you've got your persona and
you've got your keywords assigned to your persona, first of all make sure that
all of these keywords really are the same persona. Make sure that users who
enter on those keywords are taking similar paths through the site and executing
similar actions. That's a great secondary indicator that all of these keywords
do belong to this same persona.
Start looking at what they do. Maybe you get the most traffic from the baker,
but you get the most revenue per order from the corporate guy. Maybe the shopper
doesn't return as much, but she does convert at 2.4%. The baker spends the
longest time on site, but maybe she doesn't buy as much. These are the things
that you can start to look at and say, "Okay, so we know that the baker spends a
lot of time on site, that's great. What can we do to encourage her to turn that
into a purchase? How can we brand message to her in ways that make her feel more
comfortable buying ingredients, or what can we do to incentivize her sharing
this content which clearly she's consuming or loving?"
The same thing with the corporate guy. If he's got the highest revenue per
order, obviously we want more of this guy. We want to figure out what does he
want, what is he doing, and what are the triggers that we can use that get him
to buy more or get him to return to the site more. You can start really testing,
and that's great because it allows you, even just before you've done any of that
amazing tweaking and testing, to say, "Okay where is the biggest mover of the
needle among these two personas? What are the activities that we could be doing
that could encourage them to do more of the activities they want to do fastest?"
Then that'll help you prioritize and it'll help you target your efforts and your
budget.
Then if you want to go above and beyond and really get in there and be a
little bit creepy, what you can do is actually link up your site to Facebook
Open Graph so that people are opting in to a Facebook app when they're
registering on your site. They're connecting with Facebook. So there is that
opt-in. You don't just want to take people's information. Once you've done that,
you can actually, in your Google Analytics code, link it up to your Facebook
Open Graph data, and you can start getting real demographic data on the actual
people who are using these keywords and coming to your site. Now in addition to
knowing that the baker is 40% of searches, you know that she's 35 to 40, you
know she's female, and you know she's a mom. The corporate guy you know that he
works at a company of more than 100 people most of the time. So you can really
start targeting these people based on their demographic information.
What you also learn then is who these people are that like you so much.
They're coming to your site over and over. They're buying things from you, which
is really what we're trying to do here. And you can start targeting more of
those people in your own SEO efforts, in your own customer acquisition efforts.
You're targeting them on social. You're reaching out to them for links. You're
buying ads to put in front of them, and you have more confidence that you'll
have a return on those ads because you already know these are the kind of people
who like you.
So you have all of this information about keywords and about personas. Now you
can take that back to your user experience team, to your information architects
and say, "Hey, let's redo the sitemap and have it be based on these personas,
based on these proven user behaviors that start with a keyword and end with a
purchase, and let's build experiences for those keywords." Now instead of just
saying, "Well, here's what I think. We've got like About Us, Contact Us,
Products." You can really say, "These are three main personas, so in the header
we should probably have cookie recipes, shop cookies, corporate discount," and
know that even from page one on the site whenever one of your target people
comes to the site, it's really easy for them to find the experience they're
looking for, make their way through the site, and then buy something.
Mike King of iAquire, who blogs at ipullrank.com, put together some code using
Stack Overflow, which may or may not work on your site. Take it to your devs and
see if they can make it work with your analytics. Every site is different. Your
mileage may vary, but there is a link to it here at the bottom of the screen.
There should be. It's invisible to me, but you can see it.
Now that you have this data, go to your UX people and show them the power of
keyword-driven site mapping. Show them how SEO has so much to do with what they
do, and not only will this project work for you, but in the future they'll be
more likely to come back to you and say, "Hey, we're going to change the whole
site, and we thought you should know before we do it." That's what you want.
That's it for Whiteboard Friday this week. Thanks for coming by you guys. See
you next time."
Video transcription by Speechpad.com
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Friday, 19 April 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
[Build Great Backlinks] TITLE
Build Great Backlinks has posted a new item, 'The Difference Between Penguin and
an Unnatural Links Penalty (and some info on Panda too)'
Posted by Marie Haynes
This post was originally in YouMoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it
provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are
entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc.
Are you confused about the difference between Penguin and an Unnatural Links
penalty? Not sure whether you should be disavowing your links? Wondering whether
you should file for reconsideration? Well...you're not alone! I have spent a
good amount of time answering questions and learning from others in the SEOmoz
Q&A and I see a lot of site owners and even SEOs who are unsure about the
answers to these questions.
Recently, a YouMoz article (that was promoted to the main blog) was written in
which the author showed an image of the unnatural links warning that his site
received and then stated:
"We straight away knew that we had been hit by Google's Panda 3.9.1 update!"
Oh dear. An unnatural links warning is NOT indication that you have been
affected by Panda! Now, this article, and the comments below it have some great
information on unnatural links recovery, so I don't want to be too harsh on the
author. My point in mentioning this though is that even SEOs who know a thing or
two about Google penalties and algorithm changes can be confused on these
matters.
A confession - I messed up too.
I am insanely obsessed with understanding Penguin, Unnatural Links Penalties
and Panda. I really don't know why. But it all started because I made a mistake.
I was part of an SEO forum discussion in which a site owner felt they had been
affected by the Penguin algorithm. I told him to clean up his bad links and then
file for reconsideration. A senior member of the forum rightfully corrected me
and said that I was giving incorrect advice. And he was right! As I will discuss
further on in this article, filing for reconsideration is not going to help a
Penguin hit site. I gave some bad advice and I am grateful that I was corrected.
What that correction did was make me realize that Penguin and Unnatural Links
Penalties are confusing. A lot of SEOs, myself included at the time, had a lot
to learn about these issues. I made a decision that day that I would learn
everything I could about algorithm changes and Google penalties.
A Brief Description of Penguin, Unnatural Links and Panda
Before we start answering questions, here is some fundamental information about
Penguin, Unnatural Links Penalties and Panda:
The Penguin Algorithm
On April 24, 2012, Google announced "Another Step to Reward High Quality
Sites", an algorithm change aimed at fighting against webspam. The algorithm
change was first called "The Webspam Algorithm" but eventually began to go by
the name of "Penguin". This algorithm severely affected sites that had
widespread keyword stuffing and participation in link schemes. Matt Cutts, head
of webspam at Google, eventually admitted on Twitter that links are "a primary
area to monitor" when you have been affected by Penguin.
What most SEOs believe is that one of the primary causes of Penguin is when
sites create easily made links containing keywords as anchor text from low
quality places such as article marketing sites, bookmarks and do-follow
comments.
Unnatural Links Penalties
These penalties are manual penalties that Google can place on sites when they
determine that a site is widely attempting to manipulate the search engine
results by creating links. These penalties are manual as opposed to Penguin
which is algorithmic. So, what causes a site to be hit with an unnatural links
warning?
Most webmasters believe that if someone files a spam report against you, then
this will open up your site for a manual review. Some have speculated that
Google monitors some of the more competitive niches such as "payday loans", "car
insurance", casino sites, etc. and manually checks for unnatural links. No one
knows for sure.
The Panda Algorithm
The Panda Algorithm was created by Google in an attempt to cause low quality
sites to be displayed much lower in the search results. When Panda first hit, it
was an unnamed algorithm. Many named it the "Farmer update" as it seemed to be
aimed at content farms that ranked well as a result of scraping content from
other sites. Most SEOs believe that sites affected by Panda have issues with on
page quality as opposed to the quality of their links as in Penguin and
Unnatural Links penalties. Sites that have been affected by Panda often have
significant amounts of duplicated content (either on their own site or more
commonly, from other sites) and also thin content. Thin content is usually a
page that consists of very few words. If a site contains a lot of duplicate and
thin content then Google sees little reason to show this site prominently in its
search results. An entire site can be severely demoted because of Panda even if
only parts of the site have duplicate and thin content.
Now let's cover some of the points where people are the most confused about
these issues.
What is the difference between Penguin and an Unnatural Links Penalty?
Both of these issues have to do with unnatural links. In both cases, the use of
keywords as anchor text can be a factor. However, the main difference between
the two is that Penguin is an algorithmic issue while Unnatural Links penalties
are manual. A manual penalty is one that is levied by a human being, one site at
a time. For example, a competitor could file a spam report on you which could
result in a Google Webspam employee looking at your site. The employee could
look at your backlinks and see that you have been engaging in practices that are
considered as link schemes. As such, they may decide to levy a manual penalty on
your site.
Penguin is not levied one site at a time. Google has created an algorithm which
is designed to programmatically find sites that have been engaging in unnatural
link building tactics. When Penguin updates, if your site has been flagged as a
site that is engaging in webspam, then your site will be affected on the date of
the update. No human being is directly involved in determining whether your site
is affected. As a point of interest, I have heard some SEOs who have done
testing and believe that Penguin can affect a site on any day and not just
Penguin refresh days. So far, in sites that I have seen, it seems that Penguin
can only affect a site on a Penguin refresh day. The reality is that at this
point no one knows for certain whether or not a site can be affected by Penguin
on a date other than a Penguin refresh date.
Do Penguin, Unnatural Links and Panda affect the whole site or just part of the
site?
Penguin: Penguin usually affects a site on a page and keyword level. Let's say
that you have a page called example.com/greenwidgets/ and you have been building
links to this page all containing the anchor text, "green widgets". If Penguin
affected you, then it would mean that this particular page would no longer rank
well for "green widgets". Penguin generally does not affect an entire site.
However, quite often when sites have been affected by Penguin, they have built
many anchor texted links, possibly for many different keywords all to the
homepage. This can mean that the homepage will not rank for a number of terms.
Unnatural Links: A manual unnatural links penalty can affect the entire site,
or just a page, or even just one keyword. Sometimes a site can be penalized and
be totally removed from the Google index. Other times, the site can still be in
the index but not be shown in the first 10 pages for any of its keywords. Or,
sometimes the penalty will not be as severe and may only affect one or two
keywords. Here is a quote from Matt Cutts regarding a site that was penalized on
a keyword level:
The site in this example would not be able to rank for the keywords that they
had used as anchors for sites that embedded their widgets.
Panda: Panda can affect an entire site, or sometimes one section such as a news
blog on the site. Panda does not tend to affect just single pages of a website.
If you have a site that has some good content, but a lot of thin and duplicate
content, then the Panda filter can cause the entire site to have trouble
ranking, not just the thin and duplicate pages.
Should you file for reconsideration if you have been affected by Penguin,
Unnatural Links or Panda?
Penguin: No. A reconsideration request is only meant for sites that have a
manual warning. If you have a manual warning then you will have a message in
your WMT. (See the image next to the section above on Unnatural Links.) If you
have been affected by Penguin, then, because this is an algorithmic issue,
having a Google employee review the site will not help.
Unnatural Links: Yes. If you have a manual warning in your WMT then once you
have done the work required to clean up the site (see below) then you will need
to file for reconsideration.
Panda: No. See Penguin. Panda is also an algorithmic change and a
reconsideration request will not help you recover.
Should you be using the disavow tool if you have been affected by Penguin,
Unnatural Links or Panda?
On October 16, 2012, Google released the disavow tool which allowed webmasters
to essentially have Google add an invisible "nofollow" to certain links that are
pointing to their site. Since the release of this tool, there have been so many
webmasters asking questions in Q&A as well as other SEO forums wondering if they
should be disavowing their links. Many have become paranoid about their links
and want to disavow everything that looks suspicious. I've seen people who
wanted to disavow a great link because it was site-wide. I've seen others who
wanted to disavow a pile of links even though they are already nofollowed links.
There is a lot of confusion around the use of the disavow tool. This is probably
why the disavow tool comes with this disclaimer:
Penguin: Google vaguely suggests that the disavow tool could be useful for a
Penguin hit site. In their blog post about the disavow tool, they say the
following:
"Q: Should I create a links file as a preventative measure even if I havent
gotten a notification about unnatural links to my site?
A: If your site was affected by the Penguin algorithm update and you believe it
might be because you built spammy or low-quality links to your site, you may
want to look at your site's backlinks and disavow links that are the result of
link schemes that violate Google's guidelines."
Most SEOs believe that if you have been affected by Penguin then you should use
the disavow tool to discount the unnatural links to your site. At the time of
writing this, Penguin has not refreshed since the disavow tool was released.
(The tool was released October 16th and the last Penguin refresh was October
5th.) What this means is that we do not have any proof yet as to whether or not
disavowing links will help a site to recover from Penguin. Hopefully it will,
but there may be other factors that need to be addressed as well such as on page
issues like keyword stuffing.
Unnatural Links: Yes. This is what the disavow tool was made for. Google says,
in regards to a manual unnatural links penalty, "If youve done as much as you
can to remove the problematic links, and there are still some links you just
cant seem to get down, thats a good time to visit our new Disavow links page."
Panda: No. As Panda generally does not have anything to do with backlinks,
disavowing links to your site is not likely to help.
Do you need to manually remove links?
Penguin: While removing links is probably a good idea, it is likely not
necessary. Because Penguin is an algorithm, to recover you don't need to show a
human being evidence that you have worked hard to remove links. Most SEOs who
are experienced with Penguin issues believe that disavowing your problematic
links will help and that physically removing the links is not necessary. With
that being said, if the bad links are under your control and easy to remove,
then it is a good idea to do so.
Unnatural Links: When trying to recover from a manual unnatural links penalty,
it is not enough to just disavow the bad links. Google wants to see evidence
that you have tried to get as many of the unnatural links removed as possible.
When you file for reconsideration, one of the first things that the webspam team
member does is check a number of the links that they have flagged as unnatural
and see how many of them you have gotten physically removed. For the unnatural
links that you are unable to get removed because the webmaster didn't reply, or
because they wanted a large sum of money or for whatever other reason, then you
can disavow those links.
Removing an unnatural links penalty from a site can take a lot of work. If you
are struggling to remove a penalty from your site, or if you are an SEO who
would like to get involved in doing penalty removal work, I have documented
everything that I do in order to get penalties removed in my book (see bio
section for link).
Panda: No, it is not believed that any links need to be removed for sites
affected by Panda.
When will you recover?
Penguin: Most SEOs believe that you will not be able to recover a Penguin hit
site until Penguin refreshes again. Google announced at SMX West that in 2013
there would be a major Penguin update but did not say when this would happen.
There are some people who believe that they have seen Penguin hit sites recover
on a day other than a refresh day. There are ways to recover a Penguin hit site
without waiting for a refresh. For example, if you had a "green widgets" page
that had been affected by Penguin because you built anchor text using the phrase
"green widgets", you could build a new page called "buying-green-widgets" and
get new, good quality links to that page and possibly rank again for this term.
The original page would not rank, but the new one could. The problem with this
is that getting new good quality links is difficult. Google wants you to earn
links and not make them yourself.
I asked John Mueller, a Google employee about whether or not it was possible to
recover a Penguin hit site outside of a Penguin refresh and here is what he
said:
"+Marie Haynes theoretically, in an artificial situation where theres only one
algorithm (which is, in practice, never the case), if a site is affected by a
specific algorithm, then the data for that algorithm needs to be updated before
it would see changes. In practice, while some elements might be very strong
depending on what was done in the past, there are always a lot of factors
involved, so significantly improving the site will result in noticeable changes
over time, as we recrawl & reindex the site and its dependencies, as well as
reprocess the associated signals. So yes, youd need to wait for the algorithm to
update if it were the only thing involved, but in practice its never the only
thing involved so youre not limited to waiting.
Also keep in mind that for long-running processes (be it algorithm updates like
this, or other higher-level elements in our algorithms), its never a good idea
to limit yourself to small, incremental improvements; waiting to see if its
enough can take a while, so Id recommend working to take a very good look at the
issues youve run across, and working to make very significant improvements that
will be more than enough (which users will appreciate as well, so theres that
win too)."
A full discussion on ways to recover from Penguin is outside of the scope of
this article.
Unnatural Links: Once you file for reconsideration, it will take anywhere from
3-14 days to hear back from Google. I have had it take as long as six weeks, but
this was just after the disavow tool was released and Google probably had a
large backlog of sites to review. If you get the wonderful "manual spam action
revoked" message, for some sites recovery can happen in a couple of days.
Depending on how severe the penalty was, it can take significantly longer such
as several months.
There are some sites that can have a penalty revoked but not see any increase
in rankings at all. This generally happens when sites have no good links to prop
the site up. If your site's backlink profile consisted of 99% self made links
and you have removed or disavowed almost all of those links then you will need
to get good, quality links to your site in order to rank again. Gone are the
days of being able to rank well on poor quality links.
Some sites can still appear to be penalized after their manual penalty is
lifted if they are also under the effects of Penguin. In most cases, it is
believed that the work that is done to recover from an unnatural links penalty
will also get you out of Penguin trouble. However, you'll need to see a Penguin
refresh in order to start ranking well again.
Panda: Again, a full discussion on Panda recovery is outside of the scope of
this article. Once you have done what is necessary to fix Panda issues such as
duplication and thin content, then many sites will recover with the next Panda
refresh. However, I have seen some sites that have taken several Panda refreshes
in order to recover. As of March, 2013, Matt Cutts stated that Panda will not be
doing large regular refreshes as we have been used to but instead it will now be
regularly rolled into the regular algorithm. I expect that this means that Panda
hit sites can recover much sooner now once the work is done.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article was to answer some of the regularly asked questions
when it comes to differences between Penguin, Unnatural Links and Panda issues.
I don't claim to have all of the answers though. I hope this article generates
some good discussion and questions!
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten
hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think
of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but
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an Unnatural Links Penalty (and some info on Panda too)'
Posted by Marie Haynes
This post was originally in YouMoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it
provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are
entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc.
Are you confused about the difference between Penguin and an Unnatural Links
penalty? Not sure whether you should be disavowing your links? Wondering whether
you should file for reconsideration? Well...you're not alone! I have spent a
good amount of time answering questions and learning from others in the SEOmoz
Q&A and I see a lot of site owners and even SEOs who are unsure about the
answers to these questions.
Recently, a YouMoz article (that was promoted to the main blog) was written in
which the author showed an image of the unnatural links warning that his site
received and then stated:
"We straight away knew that we had been hit by Google's Panda 3.9.1 update!"
Oh dear. An unnatural links warning is NOT indication that you have been
affected by Panda! Now, this article, and the comments below it have some great
information on unnatural links recovery, so I don't want to be too harsh on the
author. My point in mentioning this though is that even SEOs who know a thing or
two about Google penalties and algorithm changes can be confused on these
matters.
A confession - I messed up too.
I am insanely obsessed with understanding Penguin, Unnatural Links Penalties
and Panda. I really don't know why. But it all started because I made a mistake.
I was part of an SEO forum discussion in which a site owner felt they had been
affected by the Penguin algorithm. I told him to clean up his bad links and then
file for reconsideration. A senior member of the forum rightfully corrected me
and said that I was giving incorrect advice. And he was right! As I will discuss
further on in this article, filing for reconsideration is not going to help a
Penguin hit site. I gave some bad advice and I am grateful that I was corrected.
What that correction did was make me realize that Penguin and Unnatural Links
Penalties are confusing. A lot of SEOs, myself included at the time, had a lot
to learn about these issues. I made a decision that day that I would learn
everything I could about algorithm changes and Google penalties.
A Brief Description of Penguin, Unnatural Links and Panda
Before we start answering questions, here is some fundamental information about
Penguin, Unnatural Links Penalties and Panda:
The Penguin Algorithm
On April 24, 2012, Google announced "Another Step to Reward High Quality
Sites", an algorithm change aimed at fighting against webspam. The algorithm
change was first called "The Webspam Algorithm" but eventually began to go by
the name of "Penguin". This algorithm severely affected sites that had
widespread keyword stuffing and participation in link schemes. Matt Cutts, head
of webspam at Google, eventually admitted on Twitter that links are "a primary
area to monitor" when you have been affected by Penguin.
What most SEOs believe is that one of the primary causes of Penguin is when
sites create easily made links containing keywords as anchor text from low
quality places such as article marketing sites, bookmarks and do-follow
comments.
Unnatural Links Penalties
These penalties are manual penalties that Google can place on sites when they
determine that a site is widely attempting to manipulate the search engine
results by creating links. These penalties are manual as opposed to Penguin
which is algorithmic. So, what causes a site to be hit with an unnatural links
warning?
Most webmasters believe that if someone files a spam report against you, then
this will open up your site for a manual review. Some have speculated that
Google monitors some of the more competitive niches such as "payday loans", "car
insurance", casino sites, etc. and manually checks for unnatural links. No one
knows for sure.
The Panda Algorithm
The Panda Algorithm was created by Google in an attempt to cause low quality
sites to be displayed much lower in the search results. When Panda first hit, it
was an unnamed algorithm. Many named it the "Farmer update" as it seemed to be
aimed at content farms that ranked well as a result of scraping content from
other sites. Most SEOs believe that sites affected by Panda have issues with on
page quality as opposed to the quality of their links as in Penguin and
Unnatural Links penalties. Sites that have been affected by Panda often have
significant amounts of duplicated content (either on their own site or more
commonly, from other sites) and also thin content. Thin content is usually a
page that consists of very few words. If a site contains a lot of duplicate and
thin content then Google sees little reason to show this site prominently in its
search results. An entire site can be severely demoted because of Panda even if
only parts of the site have duplicate and thin content.
Now let's cover some of the points where people are the most confused about
these issues.
What is the difference between Penguin and an Unnatural Links Penalty?
Both of these issues have to do with unnatural links. In both cases, the use of
keywords as anchor text can be a factor. However, the main difference between
the two is that Penguin is an algorithmic issue while Unnatural Links penalties
are manual. A manual penalty is one that is levied by a human being, one site at
a time. For example, a competitor could file a spam report on you which could
result in a Google Webspam employee looking at your site. The employee could
look at your backlinks and see that you have been engaging in practices that are
considered as link schemes. As such, they may decide to levy a manual penalty on
your site.
Penguin is not levied one site at a time. Google has created an algorithm which
is designed to programmatically find sites that have been engaging in unnatural
link building tactics. When Penguin updates, if your site has been flagged as a
site that is engaging in webspam, then your site will be affected on the date of
the update. No human being is directly involved in determining whether your site
is affected. As a point of interest, I have heard some SEOs who have done
testing and believe that Penguin can affect a site on any day and not just
Penguin refresh days. So far, in sites that I have seen, it seems that Penguin
can only affect a site on a Penguin refresh day. The reality is that at this
point no one knows for certain whether or not a site can be affected by Penguin
on a date other than a Penguin refresh date.
Do Penguin, Unnatural Links and Panda affect the whole site or just part of the
site?
Penguin: Penguin usually affects a site on a page and keyword level. Let's say
that you have a page called example.com/greenwidgets/ and you have been building
links to this page all containing the anchor text, "green widgets". If Penguin
affected you, then it would mean that this particular page would no longer rank
well for "green widgets". Penguin generally does not affect an entire site.
However, quite often when sites have been affected by Penguin, they have built
many anchor texted links, possibly for many different keywords all to the
homepage. This can mean that the homepage will not rank for a number of terms.
Unnatural Links: A manual unnatural links penalty can affect the entire site,
or just a page, or even just one keyword. Sometimes a site can be penalized and
be totally removed from the Google index. Other times, the site can still be in
the index but not be shown in the first 10 pages for any of its keywords. Or,
sometimes the penalty will not be as severe and may only affect one or two
keywords. Here is a quote from Matt Cutts regarding a site that was penalized on
a keyword level:
The site in this example would not be able to rank for the keywords that they
had used as anchors for sites that embedded their widgets.
Panda: Panda can affect an entire site, or sometimes one section such as a news
blog on the site. Panda does not tend to affect just single pages of a website.
If you have a site that has some good content, but a lot of thin and duplicate
content, then the Panda filter can cause the entire site to have trouble
ranking, not just the thin and duplicate pages.
Should you file for reconsideration if you have been affected by Penguin,
Unnatural Links or Panda?
Penguin: No. A reconsideration request is only meant for sites that have a
manual warning. If you have a manual warning then you will have a message in
your WMT. (See the image next to the section above on Unnatural Links.) If you
have been affected by Penguin, then, because this is an algorithmic issue,
having a Google employee review the site will not help.
Unnatural Links: Yes. If you have a manual warning in your WMT then once you
have done the work required to clean up the site (see below) then you will need
to file for reconsideration.
Panda: No. See Penguin. Panda is also an algorithmic change and a
reconsideration request will not help you recover.
Should you be using the disavow tool if you have been affected by Penguin,
Unnatural Links or Panda?
On October 16, 2012, Google released the disavow tool which allowed webmasters
to essentially have Google add an invisible "nofollow" to certain links that are
pointing to their site. Since the release of this tool, there have been so many
webmasters asking questions in Q&A as well as other SEO forums wondering if they
should be disavowing their links. Many have become paranoid about their links
and want to disavow everything that looks suspicious. I've seen people who
wanted to disavow a great link because it was site-wide. I've seen others who
wanted to disavow a pile of links even though they are already nofollowed links.
There is a lot of confusion around the use of the disavow tool. This is probably
why the disavow tool comes with this disclaimer:
Penguin: Google vaguely suggests that the disavow tool could be useful for a
Penguin hit site. In their blog post about the disavow tool, they say the
following:
"Q: Should I create a links file as a preventative measure even if I havent
gotten a notification about unnatural links to my site?
A: If your site was affected by the Penguin algorithm update and you believe it
might be because you built spammy or low-quality links to your site, you may
want to look at your site's backlinks and disavow links that are the result of
link schemes that violate Google's guidelines."
Most SEOs believe that if you have been affected by Penguin then you should use
the disavow tool to discount the unnatural links to your site. At the time of
writing this, Penguin has not refreshed since the disavow tool was released.
(The tool was released October 16th and the last Penguin refresh was October
5th.) What this means is that we do not have any proof yet as to whether or not
disavowing links will help a site to recover from Penguin. Hopefully it will,
but there may be other factors that need to be addressed as well such as on page
issues like keyword stuffing.
Unnatural Links: Yes. This is what the disavow tool was made for. Google says,
in regards to a manual unnatural links penalty, "If youve done as much as you
can to remove the problematic links, and there are still some links you just
cant seem to get down, thats a good time to visit our new Disavow links page."
Panda: No. As Panda generally does not have anything to do with backlinks,
disavowing links to your site is not likely to help.
Do you need to manually remove links?
Penguin: While removing links is probably a good idea, it is likely not
necessary. Because Penguin is an algorithm, to recover you don't need to show a
human being evidence that you have worked hard to remove links. Most SEOs who
are experienced with Penguin issues believe that disavowing your problematic
links will help and that physically removing the links is not necessary. With
that being said, if the bad links are under your control and easy to remove,
then it is a good idea to do so.
Unnatural Links: When trying to recover from a manual unnatural links penalty,
it is not enough to just disavow the bad links. Google wants to see evidence
that you have tried to get as many of the unnatural links removed as possible.
When you file for reconsideration, one of the first things that the webspam team
member does is check a number of the links that they have flagged as unnatural
and see how many of them you have gotten physically removed. For the unnatural
links that you are unable to get removed because the webmaster didn't reply, or
because they wanted a large sum of money or for whatever other reason, then you
can disavow those links.
Removing an unnatural links penalty from a site can take a lot of work. If you
are struggling to remove a penalty from your site, or if you are an SEO who
would like to get involved in doing penalty removal work, I have documented
everything that I do in order to get penalties removed in my book (see bio
section for link).
Panda: No, it is not believed that any links need to be removed for sites
affected by Panda.
When will you recover?
Penguin: Most SEOs believe that you will not be able to recover a Penguin hit
site until Penguin refreshes again. Google announced at SMX West that in 2013
there would be a major Penguin update but did not say when this would happen.
There are some people who believe that they have seen Penguin hit sites recover
on a day other than a refresh day. There are ways to recover a Penguin hit site
without waiting for a refresh. For example, if you had a "green widgets" page
that had been affected by Penguin because you built anchor text using the phrase
"green widgets", you could build a new page called "buying-green-widgets" and
get new, good quality links to that page and possibly rank again for this term.
The original page would not rank, but the new one could. The problem with this
is that getting new good quality links is difficult. Google wants you to earn
links and not make them yourself.
I asked John Mueller, a Google employee about whether or not it was possible to
recover a Penguin hit site outside of a Penguin refresh and here is what he
said:
"+Marie Haynes theoretically, in an artificial situation where theres only one
algorithm (which is, in practice, never the case), if a site is affected by a
specific algorithm, then the data for that algorithm needs to be updated before
it would see changes. In practice, while some elements might be very strong
depending on what was done in the past, there are always a lot of factors
involved, so significantly improving the site will result in noticeable changes
over time, as we recrawl & reindex the site and its dependencies, as well as
reprocess the associated signals. So yes, youd need to wait for the algorithm to
update if it were the only thing involved, but in practice its never the only
thing involved so youre not limited to waiting.
Also keep in mind that for long-running processes (be it algorithm updates like
this, or other higher-level elements in our algorithms), its never a good idea
to limit yourself to small, incremental improvements; waiting to see if its
enough can take a while, so Id recommend working to take a very good look at the
issues youve run across, and working to make very significant improvements that
will be more than enough (which users will appreciate as well, so theres that
win too)."
A full discussion on ways to recover from Penguin is outside of the scope of
this article.
Unnatural Links: Once you file for reconsideration, it will take anywhere from
3-14 days to hear back from Google. I have had it take as long as six weeks, but
this was just after the disavow tool was released and Google probably had a
large backlog of sites to review. If you get the wonderful "manual spam action
revoked" message, for some sites recovery can happen in a couple of days.
Depending on how severe the penalty was, it can take significantly longer such
as several months.
There are some sites that can have a penalty revoked but not see any increase
in rankings at all. This generally happens when sites have no good links to prop
the site up. If your site's backlink profile consisted of 99% self made links
and you have removed or disavowed almost all of those links then you will need
to get good, quality links to your site in order to rank again. Gone are the
days of being able to rank well on poor quality links.
Some sites can still appear to be penalized after their manual penalty is
lifted if they are also under the effects of Penguin. In most cases, it is
believed that the work that is done to recover from an unnatural links penalty
will also get you out of Penguin trouble. However, you'll need to see a Penguin
refresh in order to start ranking well again.
Panda: Again, a full discussion on Panda recovery is outside of the scope of
this article. Once you have done what is necessary to fix Panda issues such as
duplication and thin content, then many sites will recover with the next Panda
refresh. However, I have seen some sites that have taken several Panda refreshes
in order to recover. As of March, 2013, Matt Cutts stated that Panda will not be
doing large regular refreshes as we have been used to but instead it will now be
regularly rolled into the regular algorithm. I expect that this means that Panda
hit sites can recover much sooner now once the work is done.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article was to answer some of the regularly asked questions
when it comes to differences between Penguin, Unnatural Links and Panda issues.
I don't claim to have all of the answers though. I hope this article generates
some good discussion and questions!
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[Build Great Backlinks] TITLE
Build Great Backlinks has posted a new item, 'Rel=Confused? Answers to Your
Rel=Canonical Questions'
Posted by Dr. Pete
Its been over four years (February 2009) since Google and Yahoo announced
support for the rel=canonical tag, and yet this single line of HTML is still
causing a lot of confusion for SEOs and webmasters. Recently, Google posted 5
common mistakes with rel=canonical its a good post and a welcome bit of
transparency, but it doesnt address a lot of the questions we see daily here in
Q&A. So, I thought it was a good time to tackle some of your most common
questions (and please forgive the following nonsense)....
What Is Rel=Canonical?
Put simply, the rel=canonical tag is a way to tell Google that one URL is
equivalent to another URL, for search purposes. Typically, a URL (B) is a
duplicate of URL (A), and the canonical tag points to (A). The following tag
would appear on the page that generates URL (B), in the <head/head>:
<link rel=canonical href=http://www.example.com/url-a.html />
Googles support document on rel=canonical is actually pretty good. The subject
of duplicate content is complex, and Ive addressed it previously in detail. For
this post, Im going to skip ahead and assume that you have a working knowledge
of technical SEO and have attempted to use rel=canonical on your site.
Note: Rel=canonical is also referred to as Rel-canonical and The Canonical Tag.
For this article, I will try to consistently refer to it as Rel=canonical.
(1) Should I Use Rel=Canonical for Pagination?
Im not going to repeat all of Googles answers, but this one is so frequently
asked that it deserves more detail. Lets say you have a series of paginated
search results (1, 2, 3 n). These can be considered thin, from a search
standpoint, so should you rel=canonical page n back to page 1?
Officially, the answer is no Google does not recommend this. They recommend
that you either rel=canonical to a View All page (if having all results on one
page is viable) or that you use rel=prev/next. Rel=canonical can be used in
conjunction with rel=prev/next to handle search sorts, filters, etc., but that
gets complicated fast.
Pagination for SEO is a very tricky subject, and I recommend you check out
these two resources:
Conquering Pagination A Guide to Consolidating your Content
The Latest & Greatest On SEO Pagination
(2) Can I Use Rel=Canonical Cross-domain?
Yes in late 2009, Google announced support for cross-domain use of
rel=canonical. This is typically for syndicated content, when youre concerned
about duplication and only want one version of the content to be eligible for
ranking.
(3) Should I Use Rel=Canonical Cross-Domain?
Thats a tougher question. First off, Google may choose to ignore cross-domain
use of rel=canonical if the pages seem too different or it appears manipulative.
The ideal use of cross-domain rel=canonical would be a situation where multiple
sites owned by the same entity share content, and that content is useful to the
users of each individual site. In that case, you probably wouldnt want to use
301-redirects (it could confuse users and harm the individual brands), but you
may want to avoid duplicate content issues and control which property Google
displays in search results. I would not typically use rel=canonical cross-domain
just to consolidate PageRank.
(4) Should I Use Rel=Canonical on Near Duplicates?
As my catastrophic canonicalization experiment and follow-up experiments
showed, Google does honor rel=canonical even on very different pages, in some
cases. That doesnt mean that its a good idea. Generally speaking, I think its
best to reserve rel=canonical for duplicates or very-near duplicates. For
example, if a product pages spins off into five URLs for five different colors,
and each color's page only differs by a sentence or two (or an image), then yes,
I think its fine to rel=canonical to the parent product page.
Do not use rel=canonical as a substitute for appropriate 301-redirects and/or
404s. While it probably wont cause large-scale catastrophes, I strongly suspect
that Google will start to ignore your canonical tags, and this may impact how
you control legitimate duplicates.
(5) Can I Put Rel=Canonical on the Canonical Page?
In other words, is it alright to put a rel=canonical tag on the canonical
version of the URL, pointing back to itself? Practically speaking yes, it is,
but you don't have to. Early on, there were hints that both Google and Bing
preferred that you not overuse rel=canonical. Over time, though, their stances
seemed to soften, and Ive seen no evidence in recent history of a properly used,
self-referencing canonical causing any harm.
This is often just a practical issue many URLs share common templates, and the
code needed to display a rel=canonical tag on just the duplicates and not the
canonical version of a page can get messy and increase your chance of mistakes.
Personally, I believe that the search engines recognized the reality most
webmasters face and adjusted their initial, conservative stance.
(6) Is It OK to Put Rel=Canonical on My Entire Site?
Should you pre-emptively rel=canonical your entire site even if many of the
pages arent subject to duplicate content issues? I think this gets very
speculative. We have recommended this approach at SEOmoz in the past, and I
think its generally safe. I do worry that excessive use of rel=canonical could
cause search engines to devalue and even ignore those tags, but I cant point to
any clear evidence of this happening. I also worry that people often implement
site-wide rel=canonical tags badly, and end up pointing them to the wrong pages.
I do think that a pre-emptive rel=canonical on your home-page is generally a
good ideas, as home pages are prone to URL variations. In a perfect world, Id
say to use rel=canonical on the home-page, known duplicates, and any pages with
parameters that could drive duplicate content, and leave the rest alone.
However, thats often a very difficult procedure. In some cases, site-wide
rel=canonical implementation is better than no index control.
(7) Should I Use Rel=Canonical or 301 Redirects?
Please understand that while these two approaches can behave similarly, from an
SEO standpoint, they are not interchangeable. Heres the critical difference a
301-redirect takes the visitor to the canonical URL, while a rel=canonical tag
does not. Usually, only one of these approaches is the right one for your
visitors. If you really want to permanently consolidate two pages and remove the
duplicates, then use a 301-redirect. If you want to keep both pages available to
visitors, but only have one appear in search results, then use rel=canonical.
(8) Does Rel=Canonical Pass Authority/PageRank?
This is very difficult to measure, but if you use rel=canonical appropriately,
and if Google honors it, then it appears to act similarly to a 301-redirect. We
suspect it passes authority/PageRank for links to the non-canonical URL, with
some small amount of loss (similar to a 301).
(9) Can I Chain Rel=Canonicals (+301s, 302s, etc.)?
What happens if you rel=canonical to a URL with rel=canonical to another URL,
or you rel=canonical to a URL that 301-redirects to another URL? It gets
complicated. In some cases, it might work and it might even pass PageRank.
Generally speaking, though, its a bad idea. At best, its sloppy. At worst, it
might not function at all, or you might lose significant PageRank across the
chain. Wherever possible, avoid chains and implement rel=canonical in a single
hop.
(10) Are Non-Canonical Pages Indexed?
For all practical purposes no. If Google honors a rel=canonical tag, then the
non-canonical page is not eligible for ranking. It will not have a unique cached
copy, and it will not appear in the public index via a site: search. Now, does
Google maintain a record of the non-canonical URL? I assume they do. As an SEO,
though, the non-canonical URL ceases to exist in any meaningful way.
(11) Can Someone Else Rel=Canonical My Pages?
Ive seen occasional worries about someone using rel=canonical, especially
cross-domain, to harm a site or steal its authority. Keep in mind that you can
only grant canonical status from pages you control. So, you could rel=canonical
all of your pages to someone elses site, but why would anyone do that? To wreak
any real havoc, someone would have to hack into your site. If that happens, then
rel=canonical abuse is the least of your problems. The vast, vast majority of
damage done by rel=canonical is self-inflicted.
(12) Can I Have My Cake and Eat It, Too?
No. Yeah, I know you dont want to hear it. At least a third of the questions
we get about rel=canonical boil down to I want all of these pages to rank, and
theyre the same, but I dont want to get in any trouble for duplicate content! I
dont have any secret sauce to pour on that.
You dont have to use rel=canonical, but. in my experience. controlling your own
duplicate content is better than having Google do it for you, and eventually
theyll do it for you. In the old days, that might just mean that the wrong page
got filtered out. After 25+ Panda updates, though, it could mean that your
entire site suffers. You cant have it both ways if you have duplicate content,
then remove it, control it, or improve it.
What Questions Do You Have?
If you have any general questions about the canonical tag or how to use it,
feel free to leave a comment, and Ill try to address them. Please understand
that I cant dig into your site and provide consulting-level services, but if you
can ask the question in a general way that will be helpful to others, Ill do my
best to leave a reply.
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten
hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think
of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but
want to read!
You may view the latest post at
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/fOlEGu1hzB8/rel-confused-answers-to-your-rel-canonical-questions
You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
posted.
Best regards,
Build Great Backlinks
peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
Rel=Canonical Questions'
Posted by Dr. Pete
Its been over four years (February 2009) since Google and Yahoo announced
support for the rel=canonical tag, and yet this single line of HTML is still
causing a lot of confusion for SEOs and webmasters. Recently, Google posted 5
common mistakes with rel=canonical its a good post and a welcome bit of
transparency, but it doesnt address a lot of the questions we see daily here in
Q&A. So, I thought it was a good time to tackle some of your most common
questions (and please forgive the following nonsense)....
What Is Rel=Canonical?
Put simply, the rel=canonical tag is a way to tell Google that one URL is
equivalent to another URL, for search purposes. Typically, a URL (B) is a
duplicate of URL (A), and the canonical tag points to (A). The following tag
would appear on the page that generates URL (B), in the <head/head>:
<link rel=canonical href=http://www.example.com/url-a.html />
Googles support document on rel=canonical is actually pretty good. The subject
of duplicate content is complex, and Ive addressed it previously in detail. For
this post, Im going to skip ahead and assume that you have a working knowledge
of technical SEO and have attempted to use rel=canonical on your site.
Note: Rel=canonical is also referred to as Rel-canonical and The Canonical Tag.
For this article, I will try to consistently refer to it as Rel=canonical.
(1) Should I Use Rel=Canonical for Pagination?
Im not going to repeat all of Googles answers, but this one is so frequently
asked that it deserves more detail. Lets say you have a series of paginated
search results (1, 2, 3 n). These can be considered thin, from a search
standpoint, so should you rel=canonical page n back to page 1?
Officially, the answer is no Google does not recommend this. They recommend
that you either rel=canonical to a View All page (if having all results on one
page is viable) or that you use rel=prev/next. Rel=canonical can be used in
conjunction with rel=prev/next to handle search sorts, filters, etc., but that
gets complicated fast.
Pagination for SEO is a very tricky subject, and I recommend you check out
these two resources:
Conquering Pagination A Guide to Consolidating your Content
The Latest & Greatest On SEO Pagination
(2) Can I Use Rel=Canonical Cross-domain?
Yes in late 2009, Google announced support for cross-domain use of
rel=canonical. This is typically for syndicated content, when youre concerned
about duplication and only want one version of the content to be eligible for
ranking.
(3) Should I Use Rel=Canonical Cross-Domain?
Thats a tougher question. First off, Google may choose to ignore cross-domain
use of rel=canonical if the pages seem too different or it appears manipulative.
The ideal use of cross-domain rel=canonical would be a situation where multiple
sites owned by the same entity share content, and that content is useful to the
users of each individual site. In that case, you probably wouldnt want to use
301-redirects (it could confuse users and harm the individual brands), but you
may want to avoid duplicate content issues and control which property Google
displays in search results. I would not typically use rel=canonical cross-domain
just to consolidate PageRank.
(4) Should I Use Rel=Canonical on Near Duplicates?
As my catastrophic canonicalization experiment and follow-up experiments
showed, Google does honor rel=canonical even on very different pages, in some
cases. That doesnt mean that its a good idea. Generally speaking, I think its
best to reserve rel=canonical for duplicates or very-near duplicates. For
example, if a product pages spins off into five URLs for five different colors,
and each color's page only differs by a sentence or two (or an image), then yes,
I think its fine to rel=canonical to the parent product page.
Do not use rel=canonical as a substitute for appropriate 301-redirects and/or
404s. While it probably wont cause large-scale catastrophes, I strongly suspect
that Google will start to ignore your canonical tags, and this may impact how
you control legitimate duplicates.
(5) Can I Put Rel=Canonical on the Canonical Page?
In other words, is it alright to put a rel=canonical tag on the canonical
version of the URL, pointing back to itself? Practically speaking yes, it is,
but you don't have to. Early on, there were hints that both Google and Bing
preferred that you not overuse rel=canonical. Over time, though, their stances
seemed to soften, and Ive seen no evidence in recent history of a properly used,
self-referencing canonical causing any harm.
This is often just a practical issue many URLs share common templates, and the
code needed to display a rel=canonical tag on just the duplicates and not the
canonical version of a page can get messy and increase your chance of mistakes.
Personally, I believe that the search engines recognized the reality most
webmasters face and adjusted their initial, conservative stance.
(6) Is It OK to Put Rel=Canonical on My Entire Site?
Should you pre-emptively rel=canonical your entire site even if many of the
pages arent subject to duplicate content issues? I think this gets very
speculative. We have recommended this approach at SEOmoz in the past, and I
think its generally safe. I do worry that excessive use of rel=canonical could
cause search engines to devalue and even ignore those tags, but I cant point to
any clear evidence of this happening. I also worry that people often implement
site-wide rel=canonical tags badly, and end up pointing them to the wrong pages.
I do think that a pre-emptive rel=canonical on your home-page is generally a
good ideas, as home pages are prone to URL variations. In a perfect world, Id
say to use rel=canonical on the home-page, known duplicates, and any pages with
parameters that could drive duplicate content, and leave the rest alone.
However, thats often a very difficult procedure. In some cases, site-wide
rel=canonical implementation is better than no index control.
(7) Should I Use Rel=Canonical or 301 Redirects?
Please understand that while these two approaches can behave similarly, from an
SEO standpoint, they are not interchangeable. Heres the critical difference a
301-redirect takes the visitor to the canonical URL, while a rel=canonical tag
does not. Usually, only one of these approaches is the right one for your
visitors. If you really want to permanently consolidate two pages and remove the
duplicates, then use a 301-redirect. If you want to keep both pages available to
visitors, but only have one appear in search results, then use rel=canonical.
(8) Does Rel=Canonical Pass Authority/PageRank?
This is very difficult to measure, but if you use rel=canonical appropriately,
and if Google honors it, then it appears to act similarly to a 301-redirect. We
suspect it passes authority/PageRank for links to the non-canonical URL, with
some small amount of loss (similar to a 301).
(9) Can I Chain Rel=Canonicals (+301s, 302s, etc.)?
What happens if you rel=canonical to a URL with rel=canonical to another URL,
or you rel=canonical to a URL that 301-redirects to another URL? It gets
complicated. In some cases, it might work and it might even pass PageRank.
Generally speaking, though, its a bad idea. At best, its sloppy. At worst, it
might not function at all, or you might lose significant PageRank across the
chain. Wherever possible, avoid chains and implement rel=canonical in a single
hop.
(10) Are Non-Canonical Pages Indexed?
For all practical purposes no. If Google honors a rel=canonical tag, then the
non-canonical page is not eligible for ranking. It will not have a unique cached
copy, and it will not appear in the public index via a site: search. Now, does
Google maintain a record of the non-canonical URL? I assume they do. As an SEO,
though, the non-canonical URL ceases to exist in any meaningful way.
(11) Can Someone Else Rel=Canonical My Pages?
Ive seen occasional worries about someone using rel=canonical, especially
cross-domain, to harm a site or steal its authority. Keep in mind that you can
only grant canonical status from pages you control. So, you could rel=canonical
all of your pages to someone elses site, but why would anyone do that? To wreak
any real havoc, someone would have to hack into your site. If that happens, then
rel=canonical abuse is the least of your problems. The vast, vast majority of
damage done by rel=canonical is self-inflicted.
(12) Can I Have My Cake and Eat It, Too?
No. Yeah, I know you dont want to hear it. At least a third of the questions
we get about rel=canonical boil down to I want all of these pages to rank, and
theyre the same, but I dont want to get in any trouble for duplicate content! I
dont have any secret sauce to pour on that.
You dont have to use rel=canonical, but. in my experience. controlling your own
duplicate content is better than having Google do it for you, and eventually
theyll do it for you. In the old days, that might just mean that the wrong page
got filtered out. After 25+ Panda updates, though, it could mean that your
entire site suffers. You cant have it both ways if you have duplicate content,
then remove it, control it, or improve it.
What Questions Do You Have?
If you have any general questions about the canonical tag or how to use it,
feel free to leave a comment, and Ill try to address them. Please understand
that I cant dig into your site and provide consulting-level services, but if you
can ask the question in a general way that will be helpful to others, Ill do my
best to leave a reply.
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten
hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think
of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but
want to read!
You may view the latest post at
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Best regards,
Build Great Backlinks
peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
[Build Great Backlinks] TITLE
Build Great Backlinks has posted a new item, '#RCS, YouTube, and Being Helpful:
An Interview with Wil Reynolds'
Posted by Erica McGillivray
Anyone who's seen Wil Reynolds from SEER Interactive give a presentation
remembers him. The first time I saw him speak, at SearchFest in 2012, I found
myself not just nodding along with what he was saying while checking Twitter --
but actually listening. I was actually thinking about what I was doing as an
inbound marketer and how I could make it better.
So when I sat down to interview Wil, I wanted to know more about his
inspirations and his belief in the power of YouTube. And of course, Real Company
Shit Stuff (#RCS).
Wil at MozCon 2012. Photo by Rudy Lopez Photography.
What's inspired you lately?
I was most inspired by Lani Lazzari, the 18-year-old who went on the TV show
Shark Tank and just killed it. (Fast forward to 22 mins to see her.) It was
inspiring to think at that age she had the confidence, poise, ownership of the
stage in a way that most people never gain in their entire professional lives.
Younger people who do this tend to inspire me.
I dont throw around the word 'inspiration' often; it's something I dont say
lightly.
I have also recently been reflecting on great client service, and I have been
thinking a lot about how to create experiences for our clients that are above
and beyond expectations. What got me inspired by that? A recent stay at a 5-star
hotel. The attention to detail and the care about me enjoying myself were more
than Ive experienced anywhere.
When you first started pondering #RCS, what kind of hope did you have for the
widespread adoption you've seen?
I had no hope. (It's why I didnt register the domain or anything!) I just
started thinking, 'Is my job going to be having a less crappy list of link
networks? Do I get excited about sending emails as a female persona because the
open rate is higher? NO way!'
My hope for #RCS is the same it's been for every other presentation Ive ever
given. Give people one to two things that will stick with them WELL PAST the day
or two after the conference. I want to find the simple things people can do or
the mind shift we need to make to make real changes and real successes.
Watch Wil's talk from last year's MozCon on #RCS.
As you've implemented #RCS for SEER and your clients, what's a favorite 'ah ha'
moment you've had or seen?
The client response. It's amazing how every so often a lead comes in saying,
'We are looking to do #RCS.' That is always kind of exciting as it means the
client and SEER are aligned on what success looks like.
Getting two clients on TV, from an SEO company idea, is hands down one of my
proudest moments. Im glad to have clients who believe and a team who believes
that an SEO company is just as able to develop quality marketing ideas as a
marketing agency.
I also realize that #RCS should have never had to have been said... If I was at
a marketing, branding, or PR conference, it would have been a dud. As that is
what they have been practicing all along.
What's #RCS' biggest nemesis?
Google.
If #RCS doesnt drive rankings, then many SEOs will continue to seek to find
shortcuts. If the rewards for their hard work of convincing a client; building
quality assets; and promoting it to real news outlets, publications, and
bloggers will not get ranking love, that is a major smack in the face.
You also advocate for marketers to help each other to build their careers. What
are some of your favorite channels to help others on?
YouTube. Google+ Hangouts. It's funny; right now, there is a massive debate on
women at conferences. But, I have yet to see someone say, 'Hey, Ill be on
Google+ doing a hangout to help any of these guys (or gals) get better.' I
absolutely love the power of YouTube to help others, even in my sleep. :)
As a company founder, I see a large part of my job being to understand what my
team is seeking in their careers. And as long as they are kicking butt for
clients, how can I invest my time and network to help them get on that path or
get that exposure. I think that is the start.
While we're on the topic of giving back, you've spent some time lately
unplugged and in Nicaragua to work for your wife Nora's nonprofit. Tell us a bit
about it.
My wife Nora co-founded an organization, Water for Waslala, to help people in
very rural Nicaragua get access to clean drinking water. It's funny how, in
parts of Waslala, I can get a cell phone signal, but I cant get clean drinking
water. That was eye opening as it was a reminder that there is no money in clean
water, and as such, it's not as big of a priority, sadly.
I have been twice, and the trip usually results in several bruises since it is
like eight hours travel in the back of a truck. After being there though, it's
always all worth it.
I am most concerned with what [my unplugging and traveling to Waslala] says to
Nora; I want her to know that me being off the grid never happens, but I place
supporting her efforts as highly as she prioritizes supporting mine. I guess it
is what makes us work.
Awww. Thanks, Wil, for ending this interview on an awesome note.
For more thoughts on #RCS, Wil will be speaking again at this year's MozCon,
July 8th-10th. He'll be giving everyone an update on how #RCS been going and his
tips for implementing it in your business. You can also follow Wil
at@wilreynolds.
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten
hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think
of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but
want to read!
You may view the latest post at
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/oS6Tl6q3Sqg/an-interview-with-wil-reynolds
You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
posted.
Best regards,
Build Great Backlinks
peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
An Interview with Wil Reynolds'
Posted by Erica McGillivray
Anyone who's seen Wil Reynolds from SEER Interactive give a presentation
remembers him. The first time I saw him speak, at SearchFest in 2012, I found
myself not just nodding along with what he was saying while checking Twitter --
but actually listening. I was actually thinking about what I was doing as an
inbound marketer and how I could make it better.
So when I sat down to interview Wil, I wanted to know more about his
inspirations and his belief in the power of YouTube. And of course, Real Company
Shit Stuff (#RCS).
Wil at MozCon 2012. Photo by Rudy Lopez Photography.
What's inspired you lately?
I was most inspired by Lani Lazzari, the 18-year-old who went on the TV show
Shark Tank and just killed it. (Fast forward to 22 mins to see her.) It was
inspiring to think at that age she had the confidence, poise, ownership of the
stage in a way that most people never gain in their entire professional lives.
Younger people who do this tend to inspire me.
I dont throw around the word 'inspiration' often; it's something I dont say
lightly.
I have also recently been reflecting on great client service, and I have been
thinking a lot about how to create experiences for our clients that are above
and beyond expectations. What got me inspired by that? A recent stay at a 5-star
hotel. The attention to detail and the care about me enjoying myself were more
than Ive experienced anywhere.
When you first started pondering #RCS, what kind of hope did you have for the
widespread adoption you've seen?
I had no hope. (It's why I didnt register the domain or anything!) I just
started thinking, 'Is my job going to be having a less crappy list of link
networks? Do I get excited about sending emails as a female persona because the
open rate is higher? NO way!'
My hope for #RCS is the same it's been for every other presentation Ive ever
given. Give people one to two things that will stick with them WELL PAST the day
or two after the conference. I want to find the simple things people can do or
the mind shift we need to make to make real changes and real successes.
Watch Wil's talk from last year's MozCon on #RCS.
As you've implemented #RCS for SEER and your clients, what's a favorite 'ah ha'
moment you've had or seen?
The client response. It's amazing how every so often a lead comes in saying,
'We are looking to do #RCS.' That is always kind of exciting as it means the
client and SEER are aligned on what success looks like.
Getting two clients on TV, from an SEO company idea, is hands down one of my
proudest moments. Im glad to have clients who believe and a team who believes
that an SEO company is just as able to develop quality marketing ideas as a
marketing agency.
I also realize that #RCS should have never had to have been said... If I was at
a marketing, branding, or PR conference, it would have been a dud. As that is
what they have been practicing all along.
What's #RCS' biggest nemesis?
Google.
If #RCS doesnt drive rankings, then many SEOs will continue to seek to find
shortcuts. If the rewards for their hard work of convincing a client; building
quality assets; and promoting it to real news outlets, publications, and
bloggers will not get ranking love, that is a major smack in the face.
You also advocate for marketers to help each other to build their careers. What
are some of your favorite channels to help others on?
YouTube. Google+ Hangouts. It's funny; right now, there is a massive debate on
women at conferences. But, I have yet to see someone say, 'Hey, Ill be on
Google+ doing a hangout to help any of these guys (or gals) get better.' I
absolutely love the power of YouTube to help others, even in my sleep. :)
As a company founder, I see a large part of my job being to understand what my
team is seeking in their careers. And as long as they are kicking butt for
clients, how can I invest my time and network to help them get on that path or
get that exposure. I think that is the start.
While we're on the topic of giving back, you've spent some time lately
unplugged and in Nicaragua to work for your wife Nora's nonprofit. Tell us a bit
about it.
My wife Nora co-founded an organization, Water for Waslala, to help people in
very rural Nicaragua get access to clean drinking water. It's funny how, in
parts of Waslala, I can get a cell phone signal, but I cant get clean drinking
water. That was eye opening as it was a reminder that there is no money in clean
water, and as such, it's not as big of a priority, sadly.
I have been twice, and the trip usually results in several bruises since it is
like eight hours travel in the back of a truck. After being there though, it's
always all worth it.
I am most concerned with what [my unplugging and traveling to Waslala] says to
Nora; I want her to know that me being off the grid never happens, but I place
supporting her efforts as highly as she prioritizes supporting mine. I guess it
is what makes us work.
Awww. Thanks, Wil, for ending this interview on an awesome note.
For more thoughts on #RCS, Wil will be speaking again at this year's MozCon,
July 8th-10th. He'll be giving everyone an update on how #RCS been going and his
tips for implementing it in your business. You can also follow Wil
at@wilreynolds.
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten
hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think
of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but
want to read!
You may view the latest post at
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/oS6Tl6q3Sqg/an-interview-with-wil-reynolds
You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
posted.
Best regards,
Build Great Backlinks
peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
[Build Great Backlinks] TITLE
Build Great Backlinks has posted a new item, 'How to Build an Online Community
for Your Business'
Posted by Mackenzie Fogelson
Every day,things are changing in SEO. If youre not already working on adapting,
todays the day.
Its time.
It's not that SEO is dead or that links are obsolete, or whatever all that
crazy talk is that's been going around. It's that there's a way to integrate all
the pieces into the big picture of building a better company by building an
online community around it.
There are lots of benefits to building a community around your company, but if
I had to choose a few, here are my top five:
It will help you weather Googles algorithmsâ¨
Building an online community is one of the best ways to weather Googles
algorithms. If you're continually chasing the algorithm, you're putting all of
your power in what Google's going to do next. If you're building a community
around your business, you're putting the focus where it belongs: on your
business. Building a strong company and brand isn't something that Google can
take away.
It will add equity and value to your businessâ¨
When you build online community, you have to do a bunch of stuff to better
serve your customers like creating quality content and resources, enhancing your
product or services, and improving your systems and processes. Doing these
things adds equity and value to your business and attracts the right customers
to your community.â¨
It will help you have purposeâ¨
Theres a lot of effort involved in building a community around your brand, and
its not just about creating content or being on social media just because
everyone else is doing it. When youre strategic about community building, it
forces you to identify goals and put a solid purpose behind your
efforts.â¨
It will help you stand outâ¨
If youre committed to the process of building a community, you are going to be
doing a great deal of self-discovery (which often times can be pretty
uncomfortable). During this process youll determine what youre all about, what
you love to do, and what its going to take to help you stand out among the
competition.â¨
It will put the focus on goals, not tools
â¨Building an online community isnt a bunch of fluffy stuff. Its the
seamless integration of tools like SEO, social media, content marketing, email
marketing, and all kinds of other important stuff (like hard work and passion).
But in order for the tools to be effective, theyve got to be driven by a
strategy that is rooted in the goals of your whole business.
In the last year, Mack Web has been working on building our own community (and
helping our clients to build theirs). What weve found (through a whole lot of
trial and error, joy and pain, sunshine and, well, you get the point) is that
building community means building a better business. Its a necessary online
component for growth as it forges and fosters relationships that are essential
to building a business online as you would in person. â¨â¨
A present for you
For the past several months, I have been writing a lot about community. How to
build it with value, how to identify it, and how to attract customers to it. And
now, lucky for you, I'd like to share our process for how to build an online
community for your business.
What follows is a super awesome infographic and the play-by-play breakdown of
each step in the process. I'm thinking it might come in handy (you can even
listen to my webinar for the full effect).
Whether youre building a community from scratch, or youre working to grow an
existing one, you can use this process to get your community rolling or optimize
and leverage what you already have.
The order in which you attack this may differ depending on the size of your
organization, your goals, and the stage youre in as a company. I encourage you
to take this process and meld it into what works best for you.
Here we go!
And, in case you want to steal this, here's the embed code ('cuz we're nice
like that).
<pcenterimg
src="http://www.mackwebsolutions.com/img/mozimages/how-to-build-communities.jpg"
width="540"> <br/>An infographic on <a
href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-build-an-online-community-for-your-business">How
to Build an Online Community</a> by the team at <a
href="http://mackwebsolutions.com/">Mack Web Solutions</a/center/p>
Let me break that down into stages for you:
[1] Define your business objectives
Lets start this entire process out right by thinking about your goals. What you
want to focus on here is defining objectives for your entire business, not just
for SEO, social media, content, or marketing. Stay focused on the whole picture
of what you want to do with your company.
Keep in mind that theres a lot more to defining business objectives than just
writing down a bunch of goals. So before you do that, think about this:
What makes your company unique?â¨
Especially when youre a new business (but this happens with old ones, too),
its easy to feel like you need everyone to be your customer. But the fact is,
what you really need are the right customers.â¨â¨
Take Coke and Pepsi; Hershey and Dove; and Chipotle and Qdoba. All companies
who sell similar products, but attract very different customers to their brand
and their communities.â¨â¨ Both are good (and to many
people, taste the same). So whats the difference? Why would someone be attracted
to, say, Chipotle over Qdoba?â¨â¨
Chipotles food has integrity. They serve sustainably-raised food. They support
local farmers. They respect the environment. Because of these values, Chipotle
attracts people who have similar philosophies and approaches to food and life.
â¨â¨
Qdoba is about quality ingredients. These are very similar things, but the
difference is something that people find common ground with, feel strongly
about, and want to stand behind. Its not just about the food. Its what they
believe in. Its what makes them unique. And people want to be a part of
that.â¨â¨
So, determine what your unique selling proposition (USP) is. Do an analysis of
your competition. What do you do differently than them (no matter how small)?
How is that remarkable? Why does it make you special? Thats your USP. Own this
and make it part of everything you do. On and offline.
Why do you care?â¨Simon Sinek can probably say this a whole lot
better than I can, but here it is: what is it that makes you care about your
business? What keeps you pushing forward (especially when you want to quit)? The
reason that you care has nothing to do with money, so besides that, whats
important?â¨â¨
That passion that you feel for your business is not only a significant
differentiator, but its part of your story and its far more motivating than
money. Keep this sucker in your back pocket. Youre gonna need it.â¨
What do you want to build?â¨
Whats your vision for your company? Think six months, eighteen months, and
three to five years. What is it that you really want to do? Dream some of that
stuff up and start making a list. You may even want to write down things that
are currently on the horizon. Big changes, events, product launches, stuff like
that. This will help you to begin defining the goals you have for your business
both short and long term.â¨
Who do you want to build it for?â¨
This is the part where you get really clear about who your customer actually
is. What are their fears, concerns, and challenges? What are the problems (big
and small) they would like to solve? Talk to them. Survey them. Ask
them.â¨â¨
Organize your audiences into groups. Build some personae around them so that
they are real, live, tangible people (find a photo for them and everything).
These are your targets.â¨â¨
It will also help to understand your conversion funnel and how that relates to
your audience. What do your customers need during the different stages of the
funnel? All of this good stuff is going to help inform your strategy (and
eventually youre going to want to create the content and resources to serve
those needs).
â¨â¨Just remember that every person on the web is not your
customer. Go back to that USP that youve just defined. Focus on that and the
people who resonate with it, and do whatever it takes to keep the emphasis on
them.â¨
The answers to all of these questions will help get to the root of what youre
working so hard for in the first place. From there, you can determine what you
really want to do with your company. Then you can identify the goals youd like
to work toward (start with just a few). Once you have those defined, lets talk
about your team.â¨â¨
[2] Elect your team
Weve been around the block a time or two on this community building thing, and
there are many things that can become roadblocks. Team selection is one of them.
Heres a few tips for getting the right team in place so that you can start
working toward achieving your goals:
Understand the rolesâ¨
Building community is no joke. Theres a lot of work to be done and many roles
that will need to be filled. If you work with an outside agency, they will bring
most of the power, but you play an integral role. Keep in mind that an agency is
meant to be your collaborative partner, and not just your mask. Its your
company, after all, so its important that youre present.â¨â¨
If youre among the brave souls who are going to tackle all of this hard work
internally, heres a run down on some of the typical roles that your team may
need to execute: (Please note that Im not suggesting that you hire someone to
fulfill each of these roles. Im simply providing an overview of the different
roles that are part of the community building process. Within your team, there
will be individuals who can take on several of these roles).
â¨Project management: Someone to keep all of the peeps on schedule
and on taskâ¨â¨.
Community management:Someone who can represent your company on social media,
monitor, and manage the rest of your team whos on there as well (pro tip: read
Marty Weintraub's book on community management).
Design:Someone who can create any graphic assets that you need and make you
look really good.â¨â¨
Content:Someone who can write (like the dickens).â¨â¨
SEO:Someone who loves research, analysis, keywords, and Google so that they
can properly and effectively manage the optimization of all content. Ideally you
want this dude to be more than passingly familiar with strategy as
well.â¨
Email marketing:Someone who can design, develop, and coordinate email
marketing campaigns to deliver the value your team is creating in relationship
to your strategy.â¨â¨
Reading & learning:Several someones who are continually reading and learning
about your industry and looking for good stuff to pass around your community
(that isnt about you)â¨â¨. More on this below, but this
reading and learning stuff is incredibly imperative to success.
Outreach:Several someones who are developing relationships and helping to
keep those people and your community involved in what youre doing (so that they
can partake and benefit, too).
As you can see, this is a lot of weight for one person to carry, so ideally,
if you dont have the resources in-house, or youre a freelance SEO, piece
together a reliable team that can help fill in the gaps. Its not that one person
cant do all of this work, but in that case both efforts and results will
probably be slower to come to fruition.â¨â¨
Also, because building community is a long-term, ongoing process, I wouldnt
recommend assigning the really integral roles (likecommunity manager) to
short-timers or interns. Of course, many companies have limited resources, so do
what you can with what you have and just be consistent as possible with your
efforts.â¨
Elect, dont just assignâ¨
Thing is, especially if youre a smaller company, youve got to work with what
you have. Not every company has the luxury of bringing on an outside agency or
hiring additional people to share the load of all of this stuff. But if you want
these efforts to be successful, youve gotta have a team of people who are
passionate and committed to seeing this thing through, even when its tough and
you want to give up.â¨â¨
Instead of just assigning tasks and dumping a bunch of (usually un-welcome)
work on people, elect people for your implementation team who are committed to
the success of the organization and are passionate about things like your
company, social media, content, SEO, and communication.â¨â¨
Oh, and humans. â¨â¨Youve got to have people on this team
who want to be there or your efforts will fail. Make it a selection process so
that the team feels honored to be part of this whole thing (because it really is
a movement).â¨
Work together as one, big, happy family
â¨Whether youre working with internal and external teams, a whole
bunch of interdepartmental teams, or a mix and match of both, do whatever you
can to come together as a unified team (more on this below). Whatever you do,
dont silo. Collaborate and be friends. It will make all of the difference in the
end.â¨â¨
Keep in mind that this team youre putting together isnt just going to be
working on your marketing; theyre going to be playing an integral role in
transforming your business. Do what it takes to be sure everyone is on the same
page and working together to make things happen.
[3] Develop your strategyâ¨
Developing a strategy is what will actually help you to achieve your goals. A
good strategy will assist you in breaking those high level goals down into
actionable, chewable pieces that you can work towards and even
measure.â¨â¨
Think about strategy in three pieces: the what, the when, and the how.
The what: campaignsâ¨
Campaigns are where your goals meet your ideas. What is it that youre going to
need to create in order to actually accomplish your goals? Everything from your
tangible assets like blog posts, videos, and infographics; to webinars and
events like tradeshows, conferences, speaking engagements, and meetups.
â¨â¨If one of your goals is to become a trusted resource
in your industry (a thought leader), then youve got to figure out what its going
to take to accomplish it. Maybe its a four-part series that involves a mix of
instructional videos that are integrated into blog posts, in-person
lunch-and-learns or meetups, and maybe a speaking engagement at a conference.
Whatever it ends up being, your campaigns need to break down all of the nitty
gritty (and creative) detail of what is going to happen to take this bigger
picture to fruition.â¨â¨
But whatever you do, dont plan the campaigns in your strategy for 12
consecutive months. It really makes it hard for the team to be agile and embrace
stuff that comes up. We have found that every few months, its time to develop a
new strategy (based on the data weve collected and the stuff that weve
observed).
Figure out whats working and put your efforts (and your money there). Things
are going to happen. Your business will change, you'll have a big victory that
you want to explore further, you'll discover an opportunity that you didn't
realize existed. So keep the higher level, 12-month plan in mind, but plan
campaigns for 2-3 months at a time.
The when: execution calendarâ¨
Once you know exactly what you want to do, youve got to figure out how long
its going to take. Develop a high level execution calendar that illustrates the
coordination of all assets and vehicles over a two to three month period (long
enough to collect some data, but, again, short enough to be agile and change
direction).â¨â¨ Your calendar may look something like this:
Youll also want to take all of those high level ideas and break them down to
assign them to actual people with real due dates. We do this in Basecamp and
Gcal, but anything that allows you to assign deadlines will do the
job.â¨
The how: ongoing efforts
â¨The how is your plan for everything that needs to happen and
continue to happen to make your efforts a success (people, assets, actionables).
The biggest thing ongoing is to keep your commitments and stay accountable for
the stuff that has to get done. But a really big (and important) part of ongoing
efforts is continual analysis of your efforts and goals to make sure youre
always headed in the right direction (more on measurement and analysis below).
â¨â¨
Thing is, there is no formula. Youve got to be creative, try things out, and
do what works for your business. Throw some stuff out there and see what
happens. Make some educated decisions about that data and go from there. After a
few campaigns youll get to know what works for your community and youll start to
gain some traction. Its all part of the process.
[4] Empower your teamâ¨
Once that youve figured out what, youre going to do to work toward your goals
(with your super awesome strategy). Before you jump into go-mode, take some time
to set the team up for success. â¨
Do not skip this step.
â¨â¨I repeat. This step is important. Dont skip it.
Depending on the climate (and culture) of your company (or the company youre
working with), theres going to be some fear, concerns, and even resistance that
youll get from your team (even if you think everything is A-OK). Rather than
ignoring it and pushing through, hit it head on. Talk about it. Get it out in
the open. Youll be glad you did.
You can empower your team for success by addressing a few simple questions:
Why are we doing this?â¨
Heres your chance to build confidence and trust. The biggest source of
resistance we run into is with teams who are afraid of the online space and of
being on social media. â¨â¨Help your team understand that
building an online community is not just about social media. Its about working
toward the goals that you have for your company. Social media is just one of the
vehicles. If you use it effectively, youre going to learn a ton of stuff, meet
some really cool people, and turn up some pretty amazing opportunities.
â¨
How much work is involved?
â¨When people have a sense of purpose, they are more inclined to put
the effort forth. Is there going to be a lot of work involved? Yes. Is it going
to be hard? You betcha. â¨â¨
That being said, nows your chance to reassure your team that youve taken the
time to identify goals for the company and have developed a strategy thats going
to help achieve those goals. You have a purpose.
Explain how the campaigns that have been developed in the strategy align with
your specific goals.â¨â¨ Also, let your team know that there
is a learning curve for all of this and that you dont expect them to know what
theyre doing right off the bat. Integrate training for your team as an ongoing
thing. Training that focuses on skills as well as approach. This will motivate
them and help them to feel useful and powerful. â¨
When will we see results?
â¨Let me be very clear about this. You can measure ROI in community
building, but its not as simple as measuring a cell phone case purchase in a
shopping cart. Youve got to be creative about what and how you measure and know
that it takes time to see results. And sometimes the stuff that brings ROI
cannot be easily measured. â¨â¨
When discussing expectations about results, be realistic. Dont sugar coat it.
Building (or growing) a community takes time (and a lot of work). And so does
accomplishing goals. Especially big ones. Its important that you have open
communication with the team about what can be expected in the long and also the
short term. â¨â¨
We like to talk about examples of what the little victories look like. Like
getting recognized for a good piece of content with a retweet on Twitter. Or a
lead that was generated through a good conversation you had with someone on
Google+. Again, its the same stuff you do when youre building your business in
person. Youre just doing it online.â¨â¨
For the long term, we focus on realistic timeframes for their goals based on
the steps were taking with their strategy. If the goal is thought leadership,
and depending on the stage the company is currently in (are we starting from
scratch?), there will be a whole lot of leg work (and foundational work) that
has to be done. Like many goals, this stuff doesn't happen overnight.
Discuss KPIs (that you all can agree on) that will provide the proof that your
efforts are working. Maybe its a series of actions like downloading a
whitepaper, attending a webinar, or being asked to speak at a conference. If
these are the actions, determine how youre going to track them (in Google
Analytics or wherever else you want to collect the data), and then youll have
the data to report on each month (more on communicating measurement
below).â¨â¨
One last thing on results. Remember that you may not ever reach the goals you
set out. But certainly what can happen along that journey can be even more
rewarding. Stay present and pushing forward.â¨
The biggest thing to remember with empowering your team is that you have to
help them disrupt their routine. Building community is about learning, growing,
and pushing your company into new spaces. You cant do this by tacking all of
this new work onto the same routine youve been using for the last 5 years. Youve
got to start new. Disrupt your routine and start new. And then get ready for the
long haul.â¨
[5] Learn your industryâ¨
You cant grow a business in a vacuum. If you want to stand out and be
successful, youve got to be learning and growing.
All. The. Time. â¨â¨
One of your number one priorities in marketing your business online is
providing the best possible customer experience. And you cant do that if youre
not learning continuously.
You can start by identifying your community and determining the blogs you want
to be sure to read, the people you want to get to know, and companies that you
will want to keep tabs on.
Embracing the knowledge in your industry is going to push you to be more
creative, innovative, and agile. Its going to open up opportunities that you
didnt even realize existed. But that wont happen if you dont dedicate the time
to it on a consistent basis.
Learning takes place everywhere. So step away from your computer and meet some
people (for Dr. Petes sake). Make new friends, find people who have a strength
that you need to work on and ask them to mentor you. Build friendships with
super cool people and companies. This is really the most important part.
Then go back to your computer and read a lot. More than you ever have in your
whole life. Read the good stuff inside of your industry and outside of your
industry. Youre going to see some cool stuff that will open up your world (that,
my friends, is why its called the world wide web).
All of this stuff is what manifests serendipity and although thats the hardest
stuff to measure, its also what ends up making the biggest difference when
building a community (and a business).
[6] Create the value
Ok, now were getting to the real good stuff. Value is what your community is
built upon, whether thats tangible stuff like blog posts, videos, resources, and
tools; or an approach, perspective, or virtue that is the basis for common
ground. Value that focuses on your customer and their experience is what
attracts people to your business, your brand, and your community.
In general, there are two types of content that will help build your community:
foundational and community building.Foundational content is the more static
stuff on your website (like your about and services sections), like pages that
explain who you are and what you do. The problem with most foundational content
is, let's be honest, that it kind of sucks. Its really focused on self-promotion
(as it should be; it is, after all, your website) instead of being geared toward
the needs of your customer.
The challenge with foundational content is to listen to your customer. Observe
their needs, the things in life that they struggle with, and then communicate
how your products or services address those things. Use video and resources and
case studies and infographics to provide an engaging and value-packed experience
and make your foundational content worth reading (and worthy of links).Community
building content is the stuff thats more dynamic in nature and usually lives on
your blog. Its the content that is less about what you do and more about what
you know.
Community building content is the easiest stuff to make all about your customer
because the purpose of building it is to help them understand your knowledge and
expertise. This type of content indirectly promotes your brand, establishes
trust and credibility, and really helps to foster relationships.
Just like your foundational content, this stuff needs to be full of your
personality. Show who you are, what you believe in, and how you approach stuff.
Balance your content with risky stuff and things that may help you stand out a
bit. All in an effort to help your customers (current and potential) learn so
that theyll pass it around to their friends and come back later for more.
Heres a few more things to remember when youre generating your
content:â¨
Its not about youâ¨
Make your content about your customer, not about you. Focus on their needs.
And dont just guess, ask them. Do an email survey, or make a phone call, or take
them to lunch. Listen and figure out how you can better serve them and then
actually apply the feedback to the content and resources youre
creating.â¨
Dont forget about SEOâ¨
SEO is an integral piece when building community and content. Certainly your
content will be part of your well-planned strategy, but before you create it,
don't forget to find out whats already out there. Does what you're about to
write already exist (in some form)? If so, find a way to do it better so that
Google has a reason to index it and present it as the best option when someone
conducts a search.â¨â¨
Dont forget the importance of covering your SEO bases and doing the basic
on-page stuff. Do some keyword research and properly integrate it into your
content so that people can actually find your stuff. â¨
Use pre-outreachâ¨
Thanks to this tip from Rob Ousbey, pre-outreach has been one of the most
powerful tools in our arsenal. Getting the word out about good stuff youre doing
is a lot harder if you dont involve your audience in the process. Before you
even create your content, think about who you could talk to, interview, survey,
engage with online, and get valuable feedback that could help make your content
more purposeful and more successful.
[7] Share the value
You may have heard me mention this once or twice, but the way in which you
share the value that you (and others) create, is one of the most important
pieces (and accelerators) when building community and your business.
It works like this: 80% of the time, share other peoples great stuff. But dont
just retweet it or hit the share button and place it on your feed. Read it.
Internalize it. And then curate it. Tell people why its good. This helps you
learn and also keeps the focus where it belongs: on the value that you're
providing for the reader.20% of the time, share your own stuff, but make it
remarkable. This is the community building stuff that we just talked about. The
stuff that provides a wealth of knowledge that people will thank you for.
And remember that just building something amazing, doesnt guarantee that people
will see it. Thats why theres outreach (so do it, dude).
Outreach is code for making friends and being an authentic human before you
even think about asking for anything. Build relationships with people online as
you would in person. Then, when youve got good stuff to get out, theyre going to
be excited to spread the word.â¨â¨ Whatever your ratio is:
60/40, 70/30, 90/10, remember that its not about you. Stay focused on your
customer and test out what works best for your community.
[8] Build and foster growth
This is the part that never, ever ends (that's a good thing). Building and
fostering community is synonymous with building and growing your company. Youve
got to work at it. All the time.
There are lots of things that you can do to foster and grow your community.
Heres just a few:
Get in thereâ¨
Remember that you are a member of your community. You and your entire team.
Get in there. Play an active role. Contribute and engage on a genuine level. Its
an extension of your company and your brand and its important to the growth of
your community.â¨
Embrace offline efforts
â¨Its so important to cultivate relationships with people in person.
Its an integral piece to growing your community. When you form a bond in person,
its even more powerful online. â¨â¨So go to events and hold
events. Ask people to coffee. Go to meetups and conferences. Embrace the
offline, in-person, human stuff as much as you do with your work online. Meet
people face-to-face and learn more about them. It will really help to build your
community and your business.â¨
Acknowledge and show appreciationâ¨
Dont forget that a community comprises living, breathing people who are
supporting you. There are lots of great ways to show your appreciation, so make
sure you set the time aside in your routine to acknowledge the humans in your
community. â¨â¨
Of course you can always give them stuff. Providing free swag at events or
sending it out as a thank you or just because is a great way to show
appreciation and turn your members into your brand
ambassadors.â¨â¨
Be on the lookout for community members who are doing great things in their
own businesses or lives. Recognize their good news and hard work and give them a
virtual pat on the back.â¨â¨ Engage with your community
members and ask them if theres anything you can do to help them. Its a great way
to create the content and resources they need that will also benefit others.
[9] Measure and analyze (and communicate)
This is the juicy part (and just because this is listed as the last piece in
the process doesnt make it any less significant). In fact, youll want to make
sure that youre thinking about measurement and analysis all the way
through.â¨
Measurement and analysis is an ongoing process when building community.
Everything you do will include testing, feedback, measurement, analysis,
adjustments, rinsing, and repeating. And then, youve got to communicate this
data to your team (and/or your client).
Heres a few thoughts about measurement & analysis, but also ongoing,
old-fashioned communication:
Weekly stand-upsâ¨
When were helping clients build their communities, its a very collaborative
process. There are lots of things that we do on their behalf, but theres also
some integral pieces that we need them to execute consistently and timely.
We hold stand-ups every day as a team, and they work so well that we thought
wed try them out (once a week) with our clients. We dont talk metrics at these
meetings. Just a quick 10 minute meeting to get on the phone, a G+ hangout, or
via Skype so that we can get connected for the week. This has really helped to
boost motivation and keep the momentum of the strategy that were all working to
implement.â¨
Bi-weekly pushes
â¨In addition to the weekly standups, we also do a little electronic
pushing over email every two weeks. This is really just a collective heres whats
going on reminder to again, keep the momentum.â¨â¨ We used
to do these in a document, but that wasnt getting the response we needed, so we
switched to a straight up email with a little "action required" nudge in the
subject line.
Monthly reports
â¨Monthly reports tend to be the best way to communicate all of the
hard work youve been doing, but also prove that youre making some headway on
those goals youve set forth. In those reports, showcase the data that youve
collected and then present it in a way that is meaningful to the client so that
they can easily see how this is affecting their business.
â¨â¨Your goal with monthly reports is to illustrate the
value youre providing and the progress youre making. But dont just send these
reports via email. Take the time each month to review (face-to-face) whats been
going on, and talk more specifically about how efforts are helping to reach
goals (which equates to ROI). â¨â¨
Remember that its your job to provide the analysis. What does this mean to
their business? Are efforts (and dollars) being spent in the right places? If
youre experiencing victories, share them. If the data doesnt look good, tell
them why and then what youre going to do about it. Thats what the data is for.
Analyze it and then use it to make decisions about your efforts moving
forward.â¨
Quarterly strategyâ¨
At quarter's end, take a higher level look at whats going on. Can you spot
trends in content, social behavior, traffic? How does that affect efforts and
what needs to be done with the strategy to adjust?â¨â¨Just
make sure youre always bringing this stuff back to goals. Assess the journey and
then figure out what needs to be done to change course and put a new plan into
action.
â¨Now its your turn
As you take this process and work to implement it into your company or with
your clients, keep these final things in mind:
This is about building a brandâ¨
At the heart of building community is becoming the company youve always wanted
to be. Stay rooted in your passion for your business and remember that your
efforts go far beyond your marketing. Youre working to build a brand and a
company that you can be proud of and that people want to be associated
with.â¨
Stay grounded in your goalsâ¨
Whether youre a one-person band, or a humungo company, theres a lot to tackle
with all of this good stuff. Thats why a strategy is so important. But you won't
have a strategy to stand on if you haven't clearly defined your objectives for
your business. Make sure you always come back to your goals. These are the
foundation for all of the hard work youre doing. Always put your focus on goals,
not tools.â¨
Dont give upâ¨
The number one question in all of this is when are we going to see results?
How long does it take before something really great happens? Unfortunately
theres no formula with this stuff so theres no straight way to answer these
questions.
What I do know is that results come in different forms and different sizes for
every company.
For Mack Web, it took us about a year of working through this process for our
company before we started to gain traction, but that was after wed already been
in business for 10 years. If you want to achieve results, youve got to be
willing to fail for a long time before you start seeing the wins. But if you can
stick with it, you wont be sorry (this is what happened to Mack Web's traffic in
just a 10 month period of facilitating this process for our company).
What have I missed? What great things are you doing to build your brand and
your community? I would love to hear more in the comments below.
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peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
for Your Business'
Posted by Mackenzie Fogelson
Every day,things are changing in SEO. If youre not already working on adapting,
todays the day.
Its time.
It's not that SEO is dead or that links are obsolete, or whatever all that
crazy talk is that's been going around. It's that there's a way to integrate all
the pieces into the big picture of building a better company by building an
online community around it.
There are lots of benefits to building a community around your company, but if
I had to choose a few, here are my top five:
It will help you weather Googles algorithmsâ¨
Building an online community is one of the best ways to weather Googles
algorithms. If you're continually chasing the algorithm, you're putting all of
your power in what Google's going to do next. If you're building a community
around your business, you're putting the focus where it belongs: on your
business. Building a strong company and brand isn't something that Google can
take away.
It will add equity and value to your businessâ¨
When you build online community, you have to do a bunch of stuff to better
serve your customers like creating quality content and resources, enhancing your
product or services, and improving your systems and processes. Doing these
things adds equity and value to your business and attracts the right customers
to your community.â¨
It will help you have purposeâ¨
Theres a lot of effort involved in building a community around your brand, and
its not just about creating content or being on social media just because
everyone else is doing it. When youre strategic about community building, it
forces you to identify goals and put a solid purpose behind your
efforts.â¨
It will help you stand outâ¨
If youre committed to the process of building a community, you are going to be
doing a great deal of self-discovery (which often times can be pretty
uncomfortable). During this process youll determine what youre all about, what
you love to do, and what its going to take to help you stand out among the
competition.â¨
It will put the focus on goals, not tools
â¨Building an online community isnt a bunch of fluffy stuff. Its the
seamless integration of tools like SEO, social media, content marketing, email
marketing, and all kinds of other important stuff (like hard work and passion).
But in order for the tools to be effective, theyve got to be driven by a
strategy that is rooted in the goals of your whole business.
In the last year, Mack Web has been working on building our own community (and
helping our clients to build theirs). What weve found (through a whole lot of
trial and error, joy and pain, sunshine and, well, you get the point) is that
building community means building a better business. Its a necessary online
component for growth as it forges and fosters relationships that are essential
to building a business online as you would in person. â¨â¨
A present for you
For the past several months, I have been writing a lot about community. How to
build it with value, how to identify it, and how to attract customers to it. And
now, lucky for you, I'd like to share our process for how to build an online
community for your business.
What follows is a super awesome infographic and the play-by-play breakdown of
each step in the process. I'm thinking it might come in handy (you can even
listen to my webinar for the full effect).
Whether youre building a community from scratch, or youre working to grow an
existing one, you can use this process to get your community rolling or optimize
and leverage what you already have.
The order in which you attack this may differ depending on the size of your
organization, your goals, and the stage youre in as a company. I encourage you
to take this process and meld it into what works best for you.
Here we go!
And, in case you want to steal this, here's the embed code ('cuz we're nice
like that).
<pcenterimg
src="http://www.mackwebsolutions.com/img/mozimages/how-to-build-communities.jpg"
width="540"> <br/>An infographic on <a
href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-build-an-online-community-for-your-business">How
to Build an Online Community</a> by the team at <a
href="http://mackwebsolutions.com/">Mack Web Solutions</a/center/p>
Let me break that down into stages for you:
[1] Define your business objectives
Lets start this entire process out right by thinking about your goals. What you
want to focus on here is defining objectives for your entire business, not just
for SEO, social media, content, or marketing. Stay focused on the whole picture
of what you want to do with your company.
Keep in mind that theres a lot more to defining business objectives than just
writing down a bunch of goals. So before you do that, think about this:
What makes your company unique?â¨
Especially when youre a new business (but this happens with old ones, too),
its easy to feel like you need everyone to be your customer. But the fact is,
what you really need are the right customers.â¨â¨
Take Coke and Pepsi; Hershey and Dove; and Chipotle and Qdoba. All companies
who sell similar products, but attract very different customers to their brand
and their communities.â¨â¨ Both are good (and to many
people, taste the same). So whats the difference? Why would someone be attracted
to, say, Chipotle over Qdoba?â¨â¨
Chipotles food has integrity. They serve sustainably-raised food. They support
local farmers. They respect the environment. Because of these values, Chipotle
attracts people who have similar philosophies and approaches to food and life.
â¨â¨
Qdoba is about quality ingredients. These are very similar things, but the
difference is something that people find common ground with, feel strongly
about, and want to stand behind. Its not just about the food. Its what they
believe in. Its what makes them unique. And people want to be a part of
that.â¨â¨
So, determine what your unique selling proposition (USP) is. Do an analysis of
your competition. What do you do differently than them (no matter how small)?
How is that remarkable? Why does it make you special? Thats your USP. Own this
and make it part of everything you do. On and offline.
Why do you care?â¨Simon Sinek can probably say this a whole lot
better than I can, but here it is: what is it that makes you care about your
business? What keeps you pushing forward (especially when you want to quit)? The
reason that you care has nothing to do with money, so besides that, whats
important?â¨â¨
That passion that you feel for your business is not only a significant
differentiator, but its part of your story and its far more motivating than
money. Keep this sucker in your back pocket. Youre gonna need it.â¨
What do you want to build?â¨
Whats your vision for your company? Think six months, eighteen months, and
three to five years. What is it that you really want to do? Dream some of that
stuff up and start making a list. You may even want to write down things that
are currently on the horizon. Big changes, events, product launches, stuff like
that. This will help you to begin defining the goals you have for your business
both short and long term.â¨
Who do you want to build it for?â¨
This is the part where you get really clear about who your customer actually
is. What are their fears, concerns, and challenges? What are the problems (big
and small) they would like to solve? Talk to them. Survey them. Ask
them.â¨â¨
Organize your audiences into groups. Build some personae around them so that
they are real, live, tangible people (find a photo for them and everything).
These are your targets.â¨â¨
It will also help to understand your conversion funnel and how that relates to
your audience. What do your customers need during the different stages of the
funnel? All of this good stuff is going to help inform your strategy (and
eventually youre going to want to create the content and resources to serve
those needs).
â¨â¨Just remember that every person on the web is not your
customer. Go back to that USP that youve just defined. Focus on that and the
people who resonate with it, and do whatever it takes to keep the emphasis on
them.â¨
The answers to all of these questions will help get to the root of what youre
working so hard for in the first place. From there, you can determine what you
really want to do with your company. Then you can identify the goals youd like
to work toward (start with just a few). Once you have those defined, lets talk
about your team.â¨â¨
[2] Elect your team
Weve been around the block a time or two on this community building thing, and
there are many things that can become roadblocks. Team selection is one of them.
Heres a few tips for getting the right team in place so that you can start
working toward achieving your goals:
Understand the rolesâ¨
Building community is no joke. Theres a lot of work to be done and many roles
that will need to be filled. If you work with an outside agency, they will bring
most of the power, but you play an integral role. Keep in mind that an agency is
meant to be your collaborative partner, and not just your mask. Its your
company, after all, so its important that youre present.â¨â¨
If youre among the brave souls who are going to tackle all of this hard work
internally, heres a run down on some of the typical roles that your team may
need to execute: (Please note that Im not suggesting that you hire someone to
fulfill each of these roles. Im simply providing an overview of the different
roles that are part of the community building process. Within your team, there
will be individuals who can take on several of these roles).
â¨Project management: Someone to keep all of the peeps on schedule
and on taskâ¨â¨.
Community management:Someone who can represent your company on social media,
monitor, and manage the rest of your team whos on there as well (pro tip: read
Marty Weintraub's book on community management).
Design:Someone who can create any graphic assets that you need and make you
look really good.â¨â¨
Content:Someone who can write (like the dickens).â¨â¨
SEO:Someone who loves research, analysis, keywords, and Google so that they
can properly and effectively manage the optimization of all content. Ideally you
want this dude to be more than passingly familiar with strategy as
well.â¨
Email marketing:Someone who can design, develop, and coordinate email
marketing campaigns to deliver the value your team is creating in relationship
to your strategy.â¨â¨
Reading & learning:Several someones who are continually reading and learning
about your industry and looking for good stuff to pass around your community
(that isnt about you)â¨â¨. More on this below, but this
reading and learning stuff is incredibly imperative to success.
Outreach:Several someones who are developing relationships and helping to
keep those people and your community involved in what youre doing (so that they
can partake and benefit, too).
As you can see, this is a lot of weight for one person to carry, so ideally,
if you dont have the resources in-house, or youre a freelance SEO, piece
together a reliable team that can help fill in the gaps. Its not that one person
cant do all of this work, but in that case both efforts and results will
probably be slower to come to fruition.â¨â¨
Also, because building community is a long-term, ongoing process, I wouldnt
recommend assigning the really integral roles (likecommunity manager) to
short-timers or interns. Of course, many companies have limited resources, so do
what you can with what you have and just be consistent as possible with your
efforts.â¨
Elect, dont just assignâ¨
Thing is, especially if youre a smaller company, youve got to work with what
you have. Not every company has the luxury of bringing on an outside agency or
hiring additional people to share the load of all of this stuff. But if you want
these efforts to be successful, youve gotta have a team of people who are
passionate and committed to seeing this thing through, even when its tough and
you want to give up.â¨â¨
Instead of just assigning tasks and dumping a bunch of (usually un-welcome)
work on people, elect people for your implementation team who are committed to
the success of the organization and are passionate about things like your
company, social media, content, SEO, and communication.â¨â¨
Oh, and humans. â¨â¨Youve got to have people on this team
who want to be there or your efforts will fail. Make it a selection process so
that the team feels honored to be part of this whole thing (because it really is
a movement).â¨
Work together as one, big, happy family
â¨Whether youre working with internal and external teams, a whole
bunch of interdepartmental teams, or a mix and match of both, do whatever you
can to come together as a unified team (more on this below). Whatever you do,
dont silo. Collaborate and be friends. It will make all of the difference in the
end.â¨â¨
Keep in mind that this team youre putting together isnt just going to be
working on your marketing; theyre going to be playing an integral role in
transforming your business. Do what it takes to be sure everyone is on the same
page and working together to make things happen.
[3] Develop your strategyâ¨
Developing a strategy is what will actually help you to achieve your goals. A
good strategy will assist you in breaking those high level goals down into
actionable, chewable pieces that you can work towards and even
measure.â¨â¨
Think about strategy in three pieces: the what, the when, and the how.
The what: campaignsâ¨
Campaigns are where your goals meet your ideas. What is it that youre going to
need to create in order to actually accomplish your goals? Everything from your
tangible assets like blog posts, videos, and infographics; to webinars and
events like tradeshows, conferences, speaking engagements, and meetups.
â¨â¨If one of your goals is to become a trusted resource
in your industry (a thought leader), then youve got to figure out what its going
to take to accomplish it. Maybe its a four-part series that involves a mix of
instructional videos that are integrated into blog posts, in-person
lunch-and-learns or meetups, and maybe a speaking engagement at a conference.
Whatever it ends up being, your campaigns need to break down all of the nitty
gritty (and creative) detail of what is going to happen to take this bigger
picture to fruition.â¨â¨
But whatever you do, dont plan the campaigns in your strategy for 12
consecutive months. It really makes it hard for the team to be agile and embrace
stuff that comes up. We have found that every few months, its time to develop a
new strategy (based on the data weve collected and the stuff that weve
observed).
Figure out whats working and put your efforts (and your money there). Things
are going to happen. Your business will change, you'll have a big victory that
you want to explore further, you'll discover an opportunity that you didn't
realize existed. So keep the higher level, 12-month plan in mind, but plan
campaigns for 2-3 months at a time.
The when: execution calendarâ¨
Once you know exactly what you want to do, youve got to figure out how long
its going to take. Develop a high level execution calendar that illustrates the
coordination of all assets and vehicles over a two to three month period (long
enough to collect some data, but, again, short enough to be agile and change
direction).â¨â¨ Your calendar may look something like this:
Youll also want to take all of those high level ideas and break them down to
assign them to actual people with real due dates. We do this in Basecamp and
Gcal, but anything that allows you to assign deadlines will do the
job.â¨
The how: ongoing efforts
â¨The how is your plan for everything that needs to happen and
continue to happen to make your efforts a success (people, assets, actionables).
The biggest thing ongoing is to keep your commitments and stay accountable for
the stuff that has to get done. But a really big (and important) part of ongoing
efforts is continual analysis of your efforts and goals to make sure youre
always headed in the right direction (more on measurement and analysis below).
â¨â¨
Thing is, there is no formula. Youve got to be creative, try things out, and
do what works for your business. Throw some stuff out there and see what
happens. Make some educated decisions about that data and go from there. After a
few campaigns youll get to know what works for your community and youll start to
gain some traction. Its all part of the process.
[4] Empower your teamâ¨
Once that youve figured out what, youre going to do to work toward your goals
(with your super awesome strategy). Before you jump into go-mode, take some time
to set the team up for success. â¨
Do not skip this step.
â¨â¨I repeat. This step is important. Dont skip it.
Depending on the climate (and culture) of your company (or the company youre
working with), theres going to be some fear, concerns, and even resistance that
youll get from your team (even if you think everything is A-OK). Rather than
ignoring it and pushing through, hit it head on. Talk about it. Get it out in
the open. Youll be glad you did.
You can empower your team for success by addressing a few simple questions:
Why are we doing this?â¨
Heres your chance to build confidence and trust. The biggest source of
resistance we run into is with teams who are afraid of the online space and of
being on social media. â¨â¨Help your team understand that
building an online community is not just about social media. Its about working
toward the goals that you have for your company. Social media is just one of the
vehicles. If you use it effectively, youre going to learn a ton of stuff, meet
some really cool people, and turn up some pretty amazing opportunities.
â¨
How much work is involved?
â¨When people have a sense of purpose, they are more inclined to put
the effort forth. Is there going to be a lot of work involved? Yes. Is it going
to be hard? You betcha. â¨â¨
That being said, nows your chance to reassure your team that youve taken the
time to identify goals for the company and have developed a strategy thats going
to help achieve those goals. You have a purpose.
Explain how the campaigns that have been developed in the strategy align with
your specific goals.â¨â¨ Also, let your team know that there
is a learning curve for all of this and that you dont expect them to know what
theyre doing right off the bat. Integrate training for your team as an ongoing
thing. Training that focuses on skills as well as approach. This will motivate
them and help them to feel useful and powerful. â¨
When will we see results?
â¨Let me be very clear about this. You can measure ROI in community
building, but its not as simple as measuring a cell phone case purchase in a
shopping cart. Youve got to be creative about what and how you measure and know
that it takes time to see results. And sometimes the stuff that brings ROI
cannot be easily measured. â¨â¨
When discussing expectations about results, be realistic. Dont sugar coat it.
Building (or growing) a community takes time (and a lot of work). And so does
accomplishing goals. Especially big ones. Its important that you have open
communication with the team about what can be expected in the long and also the
short term. â¨â¨
We like to talk about examples of what the little victories look like. Like
getting recognized for a good piece of content with a retweet on Twitter. Or a
lead that was generated through a good conversation you had with someone on
Google+. Again, its the same stuff you do when youre building your business in
person. Youre just doing it online.â¨â¨
For the long term, we focus on realistic timeframes for their goals based on
the steps were taking with their strategy. If the goal is thought leadership,
and depending on the stage the company is currently in (are we starting from
scratch?), there will be a whole lot of leg work (and foundational work) that
has to be done. Like many goals, this stuff doesn't happen overnight.
Discuss KPIs (that you all can agree on) that will provide the proof that your
efforts are working. Maybe its a series of actions like downloading a
whitepaper, attending a webinar, or being asked to speak at a conference. If
these are the actions, determine how youre going to track them (in Google
Analytics or wherever else you want to collect the data), and then youll have
the data to report on each month (more on communicating measurement
below).â¨â¨
One last thing on results. Remember that you may not ever reach the goals you
set out. But certainly what can happen along that journey can be even more
rewarding. Stay present and pushing forward.â¨
The biggest thing to remember with empowering your team is that you have to
help them disrupt their routine. Building community is about learning, growing,
and pushing your company into new spaces. You cant do this by tacking all of
this new work onto the same routine youve been using for the last 5 years. Youve
got to start new. Disrupt your routine and start new. And then get ready for the
long haul.â¨
[5] Learn your industryâ¨
You cant grow a business in a vacuum. If you want to stand out and be
successful, youve got to be learning and growing.
All. The. Time. â¨â¨
One of your number one priorities in marketing your business online is
providing the best possible customer experience. And you cant do that if youre
not learning continuously.
You can start by identifying your community and determining the blogs you want
to be sure to read, the people you want to get to know, and companies that you
will want to keep tabs on.
Embracing the knowledge in your industry is going to push you to be more
creative, innovative, and agile. Its going to open up opportunities that you
didnt even realize existed. But that wont happen if you dont dedicate the time
to it on a consistent basis.
Learning takes place everywhere. So step away from your computer and meet some
people (for Dr. Petes sake). Make new friends, find people who have a strength
that you need to work on and ask them to mentor you. Build friendships with
super cool people and companies. This is really the most important part.
Then go back to your computer and read a lot. More than you ever have in your
whole life. Read the good stuff inside of your industry and outside of your
industry. Youre going to see some cool stuff that will open up your world (that,
my friends, is why its called the world wide web).
All of this stuff is what manifests serendipity and although thats the hardest
stuff to measure, its also what ends up making the biggest difference when
building a community (and a business).
[6] Create the value
Ok, now were getting to the real good stuff. Value is what your community is
built upon, whether thats tangible stuff like blog posts, videos, resources, and
tools; or an approach, perspective, or virtue that is the basis for common
ground. Value that focuses on your customer and their experience is what
attracts people to your business, your brand, and your community.
In general, there are two types of content that will help build your community:
foundational and community building.Foundational content is the more static
stuff on your website (like your about and services sections), like pages that
explain who you are and what you do. The problem with most foundational content
is, let's be honest, that it kind of sucks. Its really focused on self-promotion
(as it should be; it is, after all, your website) instead of being geared toward
the needs of your customer.
The challenge with foundational content is to listen to your customer. Observe
their needs, the things in life that they struggle with, and then communicate
how your products or services address those things. Use video and resources and
case studies and infographics to provide an engaging and value-packed experience
and make your foundational content worth reading (and worthy of links).Community
building content is the stuff thats more dynamic in nature and usually lives on
your blog. Its the content that is less about what you do and more about what
you know.
Community building content is the easiest stuff to make all about your customer
because the purpose of building it is to help them understand your knowledge and
expertise. This type of content indirectly promotes your brand, establishes
trust and credibility, and really helps to foster relationships.
Just like your foundational content, this stuff needs to be full of your
personality. Show who you are, what you believe in, and how you approach stuff.
Balance your content with risky stuff and things that may help you stand out a
bit. All in an effort to help your customers (current and potential) learn so
that theyll pass it around to their friends and come back later for more.
Heres a few more things to remember when youre generating your
content:â¨
Its not about youâ¨
Make your content about your customer, not about you. Focus on their needs.
And dont just guess, ask them. Do an email survey, or make a phone call, or take
them to lunch. Listen and figure out how you can better serve them and then
actually apply the feedback to the content and resources youre
creating.â¨
Dont forget about SEOâ¨
SEO is an integral piece when building community and content. Certainly your
content will be part of your well-planned strategy, but before you create it,
don't forget to find out whats already out there. Does what you're about to
write already exist (in some form)? If so, find a way to do it better so that
Google has a reason to index it and present it as the best option when someone
conducts a search.â¨â¨
Dont forget the importance of covering your SEO bases and doing the basic
on-page stuff. Do some keyword research and properly integrate it into your
content so that people can actually find your stuff. â¨
Use pre-outreachâ¨
Thanks to this tip from Rob Ousbey, pre-outreach has been one of the most
powerful tools in our arsenal. Getting the word out about good stuff youre doing
is a lot harder if you dont involve your audience in the process. Before you
even create your content, think about who you could talk to, interview, survey,
engage with online, and get valuable feedback that could help make your content
more purposeful and more successful.
[7] Share the value
You may have heard me mention this once or twice, but the way in which you
share the value that you (and others) create, is one of the most important
pieces (and accelerators) when building community and your business.
It works like this: 80% of the time, share other peoples great stuff. But dont
just retweet it or hit the share button and place it on your feed. Read it.
Internalize it. And then curate it. Tell people why its good. This helps you
learn and also keeps the focus where it belongs: on the value that you're
providing for the reader.20% of the time, share your own stuff, but make it
remarkable. This is the community building stuff that we just talked about. The
stuff that provides a wealth of knowledge that people will thank you for.
And remember that just building something amazing, doesnt guarantee that people
will see it. Thats why theres outreach (so do it, dude).
Outreach is code for making friends and being an authentic human before you
even think about asking for anything. Build relationships with people online as
you would in person. Then, when youve got good stuff to get out, theyre going to
be excited to spread the word.â¨â¨ Whatever your ratio is:
60/40, 70/30, 90/10, remember that its not about you. Stay focused on your
customer and test out what works best for your community.
[8] Build and foster growth
This is the part that never, ever ends (that's a good thing). Building and
fostering community is synonymous with building and growing your company. Youve
got to work at it. All the time.
There are lots of things that you can do to foster and grow your community.
Heres just a few:
Get in thereâ¨
Remember that you are a member of your community. You and your entire team.
Get in there. Play an active role. Contribute and engage on a genuine level. Its
an extension of your company and your brand and its important to the growth of
your community.â¨
Embrace offline efforts
â¨Its so important to cultivate relationships with people in person.
Its an integral piece to growing your community. When you form a bond in person,
its even more powerful online. â¨â¨So go to events and hold
events. Ask people to coffee. Go to meetups and conferences. Embrace the
offline, in-person, human stuff as much as you do with your work online. Meet
people face-to-face and learn more about them. It will really help to build your
community and your business.â¨
Acknowledge and show appreciationâ¨
Dont forget that a community comprises living, breathing people who are
supporting you. There are lots of great ways to show your appreciation, so make
sure you set the time aside in your routine to acknowledge the humans in your
community. â¨â¨
Of course you can always give them stuff. Providing free swag at events or
sending it out as a thank you or just because is a great way to show
appreciation and turn your members into your brand
ambassadors.â¨â¨
Be on the lookout for community members who are doing great things in their
own businesses or lives. Recognize their good news and hard work and give them a
virtual pat on the back.â¨â¨ Engage with your community
members and ask them if theres anything you can do to help them. Its a great way
to create the content and resources they need that will also benefit others.
[9] Measure and analyze (and communicate)
This is the juicy part (and just because this is listed as the last piece in
the process doesnt make it any less significant). In fact, youll want to make
sure that youre thinking about measurement and analysis all the way
through.â¨
Measurement and analysis is an ongoing process when building community.
Everything you do will include testing, feedback, measurement, analysis,
adjustments, rinsing, and repeating. And then, youve got to communicate this
data to your team (and/or your client).
Heres a few thoughts about measurement & analysis, but also ongoing,
old-fashioned communication:
Weekly stand-upsâ¨
When were helping clients build their communities, its a very collaborative
process. There are lots of things that we do on their behalf, but theres also
some integral pieces that we need them to execute consistently and timely.
We hold stand-ups every day as a team, and they work so well that we thought
wed try them out (once a week) with our clients. We dont talk metrics at these
meetings. Just a quick 10 minute meeting to get on the phone, a G+ hangout, or
via Skype so that we can get connected for the week. This has really helped to
boost motivation and keep the momentum of the strategy that were all working to
implement.â¨
Bi-weekly pushes
â¨In addition to the weekly standups, we also do a little electronic
pushing over email every two weeks. This is really just a collective heres whats
going on reminder to again, keep the momentum.â¨â¨ We used
to do these in a document, but that wasnt getting the response we needed, so we
switched to a straight up email with a little "action required" nudge in the
subject line.
Monthly reports
â¨Monthly reports tend to be the best way to communicate all of the
hard work youve been doing, but also prove that youre making some headway on
those goals youve set forth. In those reports, showcase the data that youve
collected and then present it in a way that is meaningful to the client so that
they can easily see how this is affecting their business.
â¨â¨Your goal with monthly reports is to illustrate the
value youre providing and the progress youre making. But dont just send these
reports via email. Take the time each month to review (face-to-face) whats been
going on, and talk more specifically about how efforts are helping to reach
goals (which equates to ROI). â¨â¨
Remember that its your job to provide the analysis. What does this mean to
their business? Are efforts (and dollars) being spent in the right places? If
youre experiencing victories, share them. If the data doesnt look good, tell
them why and then what youre going to do about it. Thats what the data is for.
Analyze it and then use it to make decisions about your efforts moving
forward.â¨
Quarterly strategyâ¨
At quarter's end, take a higher level look at whats going on. Can you spot
trends in content, social behavior, traffic? How does that affect efforts and
what needs to be done with the strategy to adjust?â¨â¨Just
make sure youre always bringing this stuff back to goals. Assess the journey and
then figure out what needs to be done to change course and put a new plan into
action.
â¨Now its your turn
As you take this process and work to implement it into your company or with
your clients, keep these final things in mind:
This is about building a brandâ¨
At the heart of building community is becoming the company youve always wanted
to be. Stay rooted in your passion for your business and remember that your
efforts go far beyond your marketing. Youre working to build a brand and a
company that you can be proud of and that people want to be associated
with.â¨
Stay grounded in your goalsâ¨
Whether youre a one-person band, or a humungo company, theres a lot to tackle
with all of this good stuff. Thats why a strategy is so important. But you won't
have a strategy to stand on if you haven't clearly defined your objectives for
your business. Make sure you always come back to your goals. These are the
foundation for all of the hard work youre doing. Always put your focus on goals,
not tools.â¨
Dont give upâ¨
The number one question in all of this is when are we going to see results?
How long does it take before something really great happens? Unfortunately
theres no formula with this stuff so theres no straight way to answer these
questions.
What I do know is that results come in different forms and different sizes for
every company.
For Mack Web, it took us about a year of working through this process for our
company before we started to gain traction, but that was after wed already been
in business for 10 years. If you want to achieve results, youve got to be
willing to fail for a long time before you start seeing the wins. But if you can
stick with it, you wont be sorry (this is what happened to Mack Web's traffic in
just a 10 month period of facilitating this process for our company).
What have I missed? What great things are you doing to build your brand and
your community? I would love to hear more in the comments below.
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Build Great Backlinks
peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
Monday, 15 April 2013
[Build Great Backlinks] TITLE
Build Great Backlinks has posted a new item, 'Foolishly Viral: Lessons from a
Million Pageview Day'
Posted by Jacob Klein
There comes a moment in every webmasters career when the proverbial planets
seem to align. A moment when the standard cavalcade of what ifs, yes, buts, and
if/thens that claw at the soul of any self-aware web marketer are, however
briefly, appeased. For this humble webmaster, that day came April 1st, 2013; a
day for fools, some say.
It started as a simple gag designed to target what I assumed at the time to be
a very niche set of potential readers and influencers. I wasnt expecting much
more out of the prank beyond a few chuckles from those who were already within
our modest sphere of influence. But April Fools Day was fast approaching, and
after several revisions and second guesses, I just went for it.
[Yadda, yadda, yadda]
As the one millionth visitor rolled in, I was conflicted. This was a story of
great success, right? A fantastic win seasoned with the most exquisite of
spices: total unexpectedness. But with great successes come great expectations
for the future. Its hard not to wonder: was this just a fluke? A lucky draw? Is
this a pinnacle that will never be seen again by the likes of me? Determined not
to allow this achievement to become a one-and-done type situation, I did what
any analytically-minded Distiller might do:
I took notes.
These notes are the impetus of the takeaways Im about to share with you all,
the SEOMoz community. At the risk of turning this into a 2,500 word humblebrag,
Im going to refrain from rambling off share numbers or listing all of the links
we amassed that day. If we get hung up on those, neither of us will benefit on
our next endeavor. As a fatalistically future-oriented personality, I figure
what would be most valuable to you are the high-level strategy lessons that Ill
be taking with me forevermore.
Here are a few items to consider when putting together a piece of content that
you think has the potential of going viral.
A loose plan is better than no plan
Youre planning something big, arent you? This piece of link bait is about to
redefine the meaning of the word "viral." Sometimes web creators can be guilty
of over-planning, while other times were sorely lacking a real plan at all. Id
tend to err on the side of the former rather than the latter, but we all know
that time and personal energy are finite resources. At a minimum, here are a few
things Id have in order before I took another swing for the fences.
Get it done early. This gives you time to have others you trust give you their
opinions. Allow yourself several nights to sleep on it to make it tighter,
catchier, funnier, more relatable, etc. Good things come to those who value
think-time.Pick your targets. Who might link to this? Which user persona might
share this? Thinking about this ahead of time will help you shape your piece.
Have influencers contact info on standby.Find out if its already been done
before. No one likes a re-post. Well, except Reddit.
Give it the "Golden Test of social media. Would you share this with your
friends, family, or co-workers? If the answer is no, then go back to the drawing
board and make it so.
and most importantly.
Timing is everything critical
Like wind to a sailboat, it is surely possible for a skilled sailor in command
of an amazing machine to prevail against the will of the wind. But even an
experienced mariner would see more success with more favorable gales.
The success of the Game of Thrones April Fool's joke can be largely attributed
to timing. The season premiere had just aired the night of March 31, and the
bleary-eyed Knights of Westeros just werent prepared for a heart-crushing April
Fool's joke on their Facebook feed the morning of April 1st.
Hopefully youre intimately familiar with your own industry enough to understand
when the moons might align for your piece of content.
Take a second look at the calendar and ask yourself, Are we dropping this piece
at the best possible time for success, or are we putting this out the day after
our team just so happened to finish the project?
It only takes one (influencer)
Every journey begins with a single step, and every piece of viral content
begins with a single share. You all know all of that relationship building
Distillers and Mozzers have been annoyingly harping about for the past few
years? Now is your chance to cash in.
I sent an email out to a handful of other webmasters in the Game of Thrones
community letting them in on the joke and asking kindly for a share. These are
real relationships with people that we respect and that have built over the
years, so your mileage may differ. However, if youve really got something worth
sharing, I think youll find that your closest contacts will come through for
you.
In our case, we even joked around via Twitter to get things going:
Maximize your own relationships and try your hand at making some new ones. It
often only takes a single influencer in the right position at the right time for
something to spread like wildfire.
A certain percentage of your "readers" will not read
I am not a cruel man. When I decided on this particular prank, I was fully
aware of the angst and rage it would elicit from a community that I consider
myself to be very much a part of. I decided that the article couldn't just be a
straight up lie which read like a genuine news story. I had to give a few clues
along the way so that anyone who really thought about it would see right through
it as an April Fool's day joke.
Those who fell for it clearly only read the first two paragraphs, because
surely they would have balked after reading this gem:
"The producers also noted that, in an effort to maintain continuity, Warwick
Davis face will be digitally transposed over Mr. Dinklages in all future
releases of Game of Thrones on DVD and Blu-Ray."
Or this...
"We felt that Warwicks experience and star power was well worth the investment,
Weiss said. Well be seeing a lot less of the dragons and direwovlves due to the
new budgeting that will have to be done to compensate. But in the end, its a
small price to pay for this kind of acting gravitas."
If you believed those zingers, I've got some text link slots available on
whitehouse.gov that I'd like to sell you. There were several other troubling
discrepancies, as well. I'll give a few passes to those whose first language
isn't English. But as for the rest of you? No.
Lesson learned: a certain percentage of the human race will not read beyond the
fold. A smaller percentage won't even read beyond the headline. We already take
great care in crafting headlines, but this little social experiment reaffirms
the obvious for me. Just something to keep in mind.
Not all referrals are created equal
While the joke received nods from the likes of Huffington Post, Vanity Fair,
and Mashable, these links passed a surprisingly slim amount of traffic back to
the site itself. I know youre all rocking IDIFTLJ tattoos (I Did It For The Link
Juice). I am aware of the benefit stemming from these links beyond direct
referrals. But I was personally surprised to see that most visitors came from
social networks and not the heavy-hitting publications with literally millions
of subscribers. Take a look at the top 15 referrals to the article and note the
differing visit durations, bounce rates, and pages per visit (organic traffic
edges them all out).
For reference, here are the same metrics for organic visitors site-wide:
When another article mentions your piece in reference, the user treats it as
such. They might click on it for verification or to curb their curiosity, but
ultimately, theyre just looking to get back to their original Top April Fools
Jokes of 2013 list which was the article they were reading in the first place,
or theyll simply settle for the linking publications description of your piece.
The virility doesnt stem from the traffic entering via a link from The New York
Times (a common misconception, I think). That exponential, explosive power comes
from the users who share your piece from there. And a percentage of those
readers will be influencers who may link again from there. The copy-cat effect
is truly impressive particularly in the "entertainment news" niche.
The lesson here is that, in addition to being linkable and referenece-able,
your content also needs to be shareable in order to go viral. As powerful as a
link from a major newspaper might be, it will never get you the eyeballs (and
potential life-long readers) that a social powerhouse like Facebook will.
Which reminds me; Ive been meaning to tell everyone to
Bow before the power of Facebook
I have a working theory on Facebook and how its power to push content is vastly
superior to other social networks. If you look back at the list of referrals,
Facebook traffic cleanly decapitates any other social network. And this isnt for
lack of diverse social connections by the content creator. The post was shared
on our Google Plus page with over 13,000 encircled and also tweeted to our
20,000 twitter followers. Compared to the (at the time) 3,000 Facebook
followers, do a bit of math and youre starting to see the real relative value of
a single Facebook fan vs a Twitter follower.
I think this has to do with the way Facebook is integrated into our lives. As
marketers and web-savvy individuals, we all have our Tweet Decks fully loaded
with our Google Plus and Facebook notifications, causing our phones to buzz all
day long. But the average user with a Twitter account probably checks their
account most often when theyre getting notifications and may rarely take the
time to check a finely-tuned feed. The average Google Plus user? ...well.
Compare this with a Facebook user. She might check her phone/tablet/desktop
feed several times a day for updates from people she actually knows - family,
friends, and coworkers. A share on Facebook is not only more visible to friends
and fans, but is also perceived as much more of a personal endorsement from the
sharer.
Im sure others (myself included) have had great success on both Twitter and
Google Plus, so this point is debatable. But the relative size of Facebook
absolutely isnt. The potential to go viral on Facebook, or at the very least the
boundaries of that success, are simply more impressive on Mr. Zuckerbergs social
platform.
This all feeds upon itself as well, because after the dust settles and youre
counting your pageviews, dollars, and new Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus
fans, youre going to get much more residual value out of those 3,000 new FB page
likes than you will with the same number of Twitter followers.
I think part of the reason this particular piece worked so well on Facebook is
because users were apt to share the joke in an attempt to trick their own
friends, which is a process that works much more smoothly on Facebook.
Design content thats packaged with a shiny red bow and ready to be shared with
real people.
Theres always room for more outreach
No matter your perceived initial success, there is always room for more
outreach. Sure, I could have kicked back and watched the links roll in on
Linkstant (which I most certainly did). But with content that has an expiration
date, youll want to break out that little black book of contacts.
One of the most common link-types this article picked up were Top April Fool's
Jokes of 2013. These began going live as early as 8AM on April 1st. Some of them
included our link, while others didnt. I sent out a dozen or so emails to
various authors with a link to our post asking for consideration. Several of
them obliged and thanked me for the submission.
You could also, again, utilize your current relationships by pinging contacts
youve touched base with before.
Viral traffic converts at a much lower rate
Not all traffic is created equal. A user who does a few refined searches and
eventually lands onto your page for the correct answer to her query is much more
likely to convert. Whether that means signing up for a mailing list, purchasing
a product, or clicking on advertisements, these visitors are not really on the
hunt for content in the same way a search engine visitor might be.
These visitors have simply been referred to the site through Facebook, Reddit,
or some other site that has not qualified the user as needing your services the
same way Googles algorithm might. Literally and figuratively: theyre much more
likely to bounce.
Here are the bounce numbers from that week:
The AdSense ToS forbids publishers from sharing any real data, but heres our
Click Through Rate graph sans values:
I recently wrote about AdSense basics on the Distilled blog, but for those
wondering: CPC (cost per click) also took a hit for the following week as the
AdSense algo wasnt very happy about the reduced CTR. Google most likely wanted
to protect advertisers from what it interpreted as a drop in
qualified/convertible traffic.
Viral visitors bounced at a much higher rate as well: ~91% for the April Fool's
article vs a ~60% site-wide average.
Id expect e-commerce sites to see similar results from viral traffic (if not
worse). So, in some ways, it is mostly about the link juice and brand exposure.
Brace for impact! Monitor your CDN and server
Is your server ready for 1,000,000 visitors today?! Youd think that my little
site would have been crushed under the stampede of exposure, but just weeks
before, I had clairvoyantly set up a CDN with Amazons CouldFront. This took most
of the weight off of our main server and delivered content more quickly for
international readers. I was feeling great about myself. My Google page speed
score shrugged at 1 million visitors like so much dirt off of Jay-Zs shoulder.
And then I checked my CloudFront billtwo days later.
Considering that a normal day of CloudFront usage for us is about 80 cents, I
was shocked at first (see picture above for actual facial expression). But then
I started doing the mathif a normal day sees about 30,000 visitors and this day
brought about 1,000,000, then this day should cost about 33 times more than
normal. Needless to say, 33 X $0.80 should have left me with about $30 in
overage charges.
Something didn't feel right. So to my dismay, I went back to the page itself
and checked the image file sizes. For some reason, Id forgotten to downsize the
images within the article itself, so that these were each 250KB (!!!) each.
Needless to say, they could have easily been (and now are) 25KB each, a rookie
process I nearly always implement...on every article aside from this one.
In the end: a splendid $100 lesson learned, I guess! But more than that, I get
to share that lesson with you all who will hopefully avoid the same mistake in
the future. For those especially concerned about this, check out the WordPress
plugin Smush.it.
I also cant recommend Amazons CloudFront enough (in spite of the nasty bill
above). They charge only for what you use, so most sites would see major speed
increases for pennies a day. I have no doubt that the site would have simply
gone down had it not been on a CDN. I've seen a huge decrease in page timings,
more pages per visit, and lower bounce rates after switching to a CDN. Set it up
and just leave it off when you're not in need. You can always switch it back on
as the storm approaches.
Fortune favors the bold
Just ask Ser Barristan. At the end of the day, there is always an element of
luck underlying any great venture. What if a different Mashable editor were on
staff that April 1st? What if that "just one" influencer mentioned above called
in sick? There are several variables at play that are out of your control. But
this isn't necessarily an excuse for failure.
On March 31st, I was very nervous about launching this April Fool's article.
How would the mainstream media react? How would George RR. Martin feel about it?
Would my readers come for my head? Is this even funny? I was very close to
pulling the thing, to be honest. But at the end of the evening, I logged in and
scheduled the post for 1AM, April 1st.
In my experience, fortune seems to favor those who take chances. "Luck" comes
to those who do things that aren't completely, 100% guaranteed to work. If there
were zero risk to what you were doing and it were as easy as putting together a
blog post, then someone would have done it already. The barriers to entry on
content are so low these days that sometimes content creators just have to be
brave to get noticed. Bravery on your part also helps ensure that your
competition can't easily duplicate what you've done.
Residual benefits and great expectations
At the end your day of 1 million visitors, its tempting to kick your feet up,
count your earnings, and sip away at that frosty Miami Vice you've surely
earned. But don't get too comfortable. Your brand is now on the radar of several
major news outlets that you may have even spoken to personally (see the outreach
section above). Your social network ranks may have swelled, indefinitely giving
you more exposure for your future works. People are listening now, and much is
expected of you. Now may be just the time to make even more bold moves.
This isnt a post about how to get one million visitors in a single day. I find
those to be about as helpful and genuine as posts about how to make a million
dollars in a single year. This is an anecdotal post about how it happened in one
very specific instance. But hopefully youve been able to glean a nugget or two
of enlightenment that will save you some time and effort in the future...or just
net you a bit more beer whiskey money.
At the very least, I hope that a few of you put down your iPads, look out the
window pensively, and think:
Oh, and my sincerest apologies to anyone who may have had their day/week/life
ruined by the April Fool's joke. It was a very Joffrey Baratheon thing to do.
Seven save me.
Need further recompense? AMA below.
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten
hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think
of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but
want to read!
You may view the latest post at
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/aOjo9wBI9GU/lessons-from-a-million-pageview-day
You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
posted.
Best regards,
Build Great Backlinks
peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
Million Pageview Day'
Posted by Jacob Klein
There comes a moment in every webmasters career when the proverbial planets
seem to align. A moment when the standard cavalcade of what ifs, yes, buts, and
if/thens that claw at the soul of any self-aware web marketer are, however
briefly, appeased. For this humble webmaster, that day came April 1st, 2013; a
day for fools, some say.
It started as a simple gag designed to target what I assumed at the time to be
a very niche set of potential readers and influencers. I wasnt expecting much
more out of the prank beyond a few chuckles from those who were already within
our modest sphere of influence. But April Fools Day was fast approaching, and
after several revisions and second guesses, I just went for it.
[Yadda, yadda, yadda]
As the one millionth visitor rolled in, I was conflicted. This was a story of
great success, right? A fantastic win seasoned with the most exquisite of
spices: total unexpectedness. But with great successes come great expectations
for the future. Its hard not to wonder: was this just a fluke? A lucky draw? Is
this a pinnacle that will never be seen again by the likes of me? Determined not
to allow this achievement to become a one-and-done type situation, I did what
any analytically-minded Distiller might do:
I took notes.
These notes are the impetus of the takeaways Im about to share with you all,
the SEOMoz community. At the risk of turning this into a 2,500 word humblebrag,
Im going to refrain from rambling off share numbers or listing all of the links
we amassed that day. If we get hung up on those, neither of us will benefit on
our next endeavor. As a fatalistically future-oriented personality, I figure
what would be most valuable to you are the high-level strategy lessons that Ill
be taking with me forevermore.
Here are a few items to consider when putting together a piece of content that
you think has the potential of going viral.
A loose plan is better than no plan
Youre planning something big, arent you? This piece of link bait is about to
redefine the meaning of the word "viral." Sometimes web creators can be guilty
of over-planning, while other times were sorely lacking a real plan at all. Id
tend to err on the side of the former rather than the latter, but we all know
that time and personal energy are finite resources. At a minimum, here are a few
things Id have in order before I took another swing for the fences.
Get it done early. This gives you time to have others you trust give you their
opinions. Allow yourself several nights to sleep on it to make it tighter,
catchier, funnier, more relatable, etc. Good things come to those who value
think-time.Pick your targets. Who might link to this? Which user persona might
share this? Thinking about this ahead of time will help you shape your piece.
Have influencers contact info on standby.Find out if its already been done
before. No one likes a re-post. Well, except Reddit.
Give it the "Golden Test of social media. Would you share this with your
friends, family, or co-workers? If the answer is no, then go back to the drawing
board and make it so.
and most importantly.
Timing is everything critical
Like wind to a sailboat, it is surely possible for a skilled sailor in command
of an amazing machine to prevail against the will of the wind. But even an
experienced mariner would see more success with more favorable gales.
The success of the Game of Thrones April Fool's joke can be largely attributed
to timing. The season premiere had just aired the night of March 31, and the
bleary-eyed Knights of Westeros just werent prepared for a heart-crushing April
Fool's joke on their Facebook feed the morning of April 1st.
Hopefully youre intimately familiar with your own industry enough to understand
when the moons might align for your piece of content.
Take a second look at the calendar and ask yourself, Are we dropping this piece
at the best possible time for success, or are we putting this out the day after
our team just so happened to finish the project?
It only takes one (influencer)
Every journey begins with a single step, and every piece of viral content
begins with a single share. You all know all of that relationship building
Distillers and Mozzers have been annoyingly harping about for the past few
years? Now is your chance to cash in.
I sent an email out to a handful of other webmasters in the Game of Thrones
community letting them in on the joke and asking kindly for a share. These are
real relationships with people that we respect and that have built over the
years, so your mileage may differ. However, if youve really got something worth
sharing, I think youll find that your closest contacts will come through for
you.
In our case, we even joked around via Twitter to get things going:
Maximize your own relationships and try your hand at making some new ones. It
often only takes a single influencer in the right position at the right time for
something to spread like wildfire.
A certain percentage of your "readers" will not read
I am not a cruel man. When I decided on this particular prank, I was fully
aware of the angst and rage it would elicit from a community that I consider
myself to be very much a part of. I decided that the article couldn't just be a
straight up lie which read like a genuine news story. I had to give a few clues
along the way so that anyone who really thought about it would see right through
it as an April Fool's day joke.
Those who fell for it clearly only read the first two paragraphs, because
surely they would have balked after reading this gem:
"The producers also noted that, in an effort to maintain continuity, Warwick
Davis face will be digitally transposed over Mr. Dinklages in all future
releases of Game of Thrones on DVD and Blu-Ray."
Or this...
"We felt that Warwicks experience and star power was well worth the investment,
Weiss said. Well be seeing a lot less of the dragons and direwovlves due to the
new budgeting that will have to be done to compensate. But in the end, its a
small price to pay for this kind of acting gravitas."
If you believed those zingers, I've got some text link slots available on
whitehouse.gov that I'd like to sell you. There were several other troubling
discrepancies, as well. I'll give a few passes to those whose first language
isn't English. But as for the rest of you? No.
Lesson learned: a certain percentage of the human race will not read beyond the
fold. A smaller percentage won't even read beyond the headline. We already take
great care in crafting headlines, but this little social experiment reaffirms
the obvious for me. Just something to keep in mind.
Not all referrals are created equal
While the joke received nods from the likes of Huffington Post, Vanity Fair,
and Mashable, these links passed a surprisingly slim amount of traffic back to
the site itself. I know youre all rocking IDIFTLJ tattoos (I Did It For The Link
Juice). I am aware of the benefit stemming from these links beyond direct
referrals. But I was personally surprised to see that most visitors came from
social networks and not the heavy-hitting publications with literally millions
of subscribers. Take a look at the top 15 referrals to the article and note the
differing visit durations, bounce rates, and pages per visit (organic traffic
edges them all out).
For reference, here are the same metrics for organic visitors site-wide:
When another article mentions your piece in reference, the user treats it as
such. They might click on it for verification or to curb their curiosity, but
ultimately, theyre just looking to get back to their original Top April Fools
Jokes of 2013 list which was the article they were reading in the first place,
or theyll simply settle for the linking publications description of your piece.
The virility doesnt stem from the traffic entering via a link from The New York
Times (a common misconception, I think). That exponential, explosive power comes
from the users who share your piece from there. And a percentage of those
readers will be influencers who may link again from there. The copy-cat effect
is truly impressive particularly in the "entertainment news" niche.
The lesson here is that, in addition to being linkable and referenece-able,
your content also needs to be shareable in order to go viral. As powerful as a
link from a major newspaper might be, it will never get you the eyeballs (and
potential life-long readers) that a social powerhouse like Facebook will.
Which reminds me; Ive been meaning to tell everyone to
Bow before the power of Facebook
I have a working theory on Facebook and how its power to push content is vastly
superior to other social networks. If you look back at the list of referrals,
Facebook traffic cleanly decapitates any other social network. And this isnt for
lack of diverse social connections by the content creator. The post was shared
on our Google Plus page with over 13,000 encircled and also tweeted to our
20,000 twitter followers. Compared to the (at the time) 3,000 Facebook
followers, do a bit of math and youre starting to see the real relative value of
a single Facebook fan vs a Twitter follower.
I think this has to do with the way Facebook is integrated into our lives. As
marketers and web-savvy individuals, we all have our Tweet Decks fully loaded
with our Google Plus and Facebook notifications, causing our phones to buzz all
day long. But the average user with a Twitter account probably checks their
account most often when theyre getting notifications and may rarely take the
time to check a finely-tuned feed. The average Google Plus user? ...well.
Compare this with a Facebook user. She might check her phone/tablet/desktop
feed several times a day for updates from people she actually knows - family,
friends, and coworkers. A share on Facebook is not only more visible to friends
and fans, but is also perceived as much more of a personal endorsement from the
sharer.
Im sure others (myself included) have had great success on both Twitter and
Google Plus, so this point is debatable. But the relative size of Facebook
absolutely isnt. The potential to go viral on Facebook, or at the very least the
boundaries of that success, are simply more impressive on Mr. Zuckerbergs social
platform.
This all feeds upon itself as well, because after the dust settles and youre
counting your pageviews, dollars, and new Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus
fans, youre going to get much more residual value out of those 3,000 new FB page
likes than you will with the same number of Twitter followers.
I think part of the reason this particular piece worked so well on Facebook is
because users were apt to share the joke in an attempt to trick their own
friends, which is a process that works much more smoothly on Facebook.
Design content thats packaged with a shiny red bow and ready to be shared with
real people.
Theres always room for more outreach
No matter your perceived initial success, there is always room for more
outreach. Sure, I could have kicked back and watched the links roll in on
Linkstant (which I most certainly did). But with content that has an expiration
date, youll want to break out that little black book of contacts.
One of the most common link-types this article picked up were Top April Fool's
Jokes of 2013. These began going live as early as 8AM on April 1st. Some of them
included our link, while others didnt. I sent out a dozen or so emails to
various authors with a link to our post asking for consideration. Several of
them obliged and thanked me for the submission.
You could also, again, utilize your current relationships by pinging contacts
youve touched base with before.
Viral traffic converts at a much lower rate
Not all traffic is created equal. A user who does a few refined searches and
eventually lands onto your page for the correct answer to her query is much more
likely to convert. Whether that means signing up for a mailing list, purchasing
a product, or clicking on advertisements, these visitors are not really on the
hunt for content in the same way a search engine visitor might be.
These visitors have simply been referred to the site through Facebook, Reddit,
or some other site that has not qualified the user as needing your services the
same way Googles algorithm might. Literally and figuratively: theyre much more
likely to bounce.
Here are the bounce numbers from that week:
The AdSense ToS forbids publishers from sharing any real data, but heres our
Click Through Rate graph sans values:
I recently wrote about AdSense basics on the Distilled blog, but for those
wondering: CPC (cost per click) also took a hit for the following week as the
AdSense algo wasnt very happy about the reduced CTR. Google most likely wanted
to protect advertisers from what it interpreted as a drop in
qualified/convertible traffic.
Viral visitors bounced at a much higher rate as well: ~91% for the April Fool's
article vs a ~60% site-wide average.
Id expect e-commerce sites to see similar results from viral traffic (if not
worse). So, in some ways, it is mostly about the link juice and brand exposure.
Brace for impact! Monitor your CDN and server
Is your server ready for 1,000,000 visitors today?! Youd think that my little
site would have been crushed under the stampede of exposure, but just weeks
before, I had clairvoyantly set up a CDN with Amazons CouldFront. This took most
of the weight off of our main server and delivered content more quickly for
international readers. I was feeling great about myself. My Google page speed
score shrugged at 1 million visitors like so much dirt off of Jay-Zs shoulder.
And then I checked my CloudFront billtwo days later.
Considering that a normal day of CloudFront usage for us is about 80 cents, I
was shocked at first (see picture above for actual facial expression). But then
I started doing the mathif a normal day sees about 30,000 visitors and this day
brought about 1,000,000, then this day should cost about 33 times more than
normal. Needless to say, 33 X $0.80 should have left me with about $30 in
overage charges.
Something didn't feel right. So to my dismay, I went back to the page itself
and checked the image file sizes. For some reason, Id forgotten to downsize the
images within the article itself, so that these were each 250KB (!!!) each.
Needless to say, they could have easily been (and now are) 25KB each, a rookie
process I nearly always implement...on every article aside from this one.
In the end: a splendid $100 lesson learned, I guess! But more than that, I get
to share that lesson with you all who will hopefully avoid the same mistake in
the future. For those especially concerned about this, check out the WordPress
plugin Smush.it.
I also cant recommend Amazons CloudFront enough (in spite of the nasty bill
above). They charge only for what you use, so most sites would see major speed
increases for pennies a day. I have no doubt that the site would have simply
gone down had it not been on a CDN. I've seen a huge decrease in page timings,
more pages per visit, and lower bounce rates after switching to a CDN. Set it up
and just leave it off when you're not in need. You can always switch it back on
as the storm approaches.
Fortune favors the bold
Just ask Ser Barristan. At the end of the day, there is always an element of
luck underlying any great venture. What if a different Mashable editor were on
staff that April 1st? What if that "just one" influencer mentioned above called
in sick? There are several variables at play that are out of your control. But
this isn't necessarily an excuse for failure.
On March 31st, I was very nervous about launching this April Fool's article.
How would the mainstream media react? How would George RR. Martin feel about it?
Would my readers come for my head? Is this even funny? I was very close to
pulling the thing, to be honest. But at the end of the evening, I logged in and
scheduled the post for 1AM, April 1st.
In my experience, fortune seems to favor those who take chances. "Luck" comes
to those who do things that aren't completely, 100% guaranteed to work. If there
were zero risk to what you were doing and it were as easy as putting together a
blog post, then someone would have done it already. The barriers to entry on
content are so low these days that sometimes content creators just have to be
brave to get noticed. Bravery on your part also helps ensure that your
competition can't easily duplicate what you've done.
Residual benefits and great expectations
At the end your day of 1 million visitors, its tempting to kick your feet up,
count your earnings, and sip away at that frosty Miami Vice you've surely
earned. But don't get too comfortable. Your brand is now on the radar of several
major news outlets that you may have even spoken to personally (see the outreach
section above). Your social network ranks may have swelled, indefinitely giving
you more exposure for your future works. People are listening now, and much is
expected of you. Now may be just the time to make even more bold moves.
This isnt a post about how to get one million visitors in a single day. I find
those to be about as helpful and genuine as posts about how to make a million
dollars in a single year. This is an anecdotal post about how it happened in one
very specific instance. But hopefully youve been able to glean a nugget or two
of enlightenment that will save you some time and effort in the future...or just
net you a bit more beer whiskey money.
At the very least, I hope that a few of you put down your iPads, look out the
window pensively, and think:
Oh, and my sincerest apologies to anyone who may have had their day/week/life
ruined by the April Fool's joke. It was a very Joffrey Baratheon thing to do.
Seven save me.
Need further recompense? AMA below.
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten
hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think
of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but
want to read!
You may view the latest post at
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/aOjo9wBI9GU/lessons-from-a-million-pageview-day
You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are
posted.
Best regards,
Build Great Backlinks
peter.clarke@designed-for-success.com
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