Google Webmaster Tools has a new look that augments the new functionality Webmaster Tools received last month. The changes include a new look to the dashboard, redesigned menus and a style that more tightly integrates with other Google properties.
On May 13, 2012, In SEO, by Thom Craver
Google Webmaster Tools has a new look that augments the new functionality Webmaster Tools received last month. The changes include a new look to the dashboard, redesigned menus and a style that more tightly integrates with other Google properties.
On May 13, 2012, In SEO, Social Media Marketing, by Victoria Reynolds
1. Klarna Klarna is a Swedish-based e-commerce company that offers businesses the ability to receive payments and consumers to buy items, via online storefronts. Klarna creates a trustful relationship by offering customers the option to pay for goods after they are delivered and also allows buyers to verify their identities using basic personal data. Again, [...]
1. Klarna
Klarna is a Swedish-based e-commerce company that offers businesses the ability to receive payments and consumers to buy items, via online storefronts. Klarna creates a trustful relationship by offering customers the option to pay for goods after they are delivered and also allows buyers to verify their identities using basic personal data. Again, this allows for a safe and trustworthy relationship to be built, which is the core of Klarna.
2. CoverHound
CoverHound provides consumers a new way to shop for car insurance by using a comparative shopping platform. CoverHounds platform offers consumers the ability to choose which car insurance best suits them through comparing instant, accurate and actionable rates from leading insurance carriers. Without selling consumers data, CoverHound uses relationships between insurance carriers and agencies to enhance users’ car insurance policies.
3. Giftly
Giftly enables consumers to conveniently use their debit or credit cards to send and receive thoughtful and personalized gifts to family and friends. It is a newer kind of gift card, by turning ordinary debit and credit cards into gift cards that allows recipients of a “Giftly” to choose where he/she will spend it. Gifters choose up to 3 businesses where the Giftly can be spent, a personalized photograph or note, the amount, and send it via email. The recipient can then easily make purchases from the businesses listed using a credit or debit card that has been registered with Giftly or redeem the Giftly via computer or smartphone at giftly.com.
4. ZipZap
5. BillGuard
6. Dwolla
7. Virtual Piggy
On May 13, 2012, In SEO, by Tom Critchlow
Posted by Tom Critchlow
So here's the truth – I used to suck at project management. But over the years I've determinedly turned myself into a half-decent project manager. Why? What was the driving force?
Project Management Is A Tool For Effecting Change
At the end of the day, I never have and still don't care that much for project management. But what I do care deeply about is effecting change. Driving action and results instead of talk and documentation. You can see my drive for getting things done in this whiteboard friday:
(Note, if you have thoughts about this video you'd do well to read my follow-up comment about the difference between reports and reportings.)
Although there are many ways of affecting change, project management is a crucial part of it. Below I'm going to outline a bunch of tools, tips, and tricks that we've discovered and implemented over the years at Distilled to get better at project management:
Project Collaboration – Trello
Personally I'm not a fan of clutter, either physical or virtual, and so I love technology that gets out of the way while you get on with getting shit done. I've tried lots of different project management solutions, and Trello is the first one I've fallen in love with. For those that saw the whiteboard friday I did with Jamie about a year ago it models the real life post-it note system very well:
I'm going to let Will explain why he likes it so much:
And I'm going to let Paddy break down the details in his blog post Using Trello to Manage SEO Projects.
Project Collaboration – Google Docs
A lot of you will already be familiar with Google Docs. Of course. But only recently have I come to realize the extreme power behind the collaboration elements. I've always hated track changes in Word and finally Google Docs has something better to offer. This video, although cutsey, actually demonstrates the power of real time collaboration:
In particular, two features that are really making me excited are in-line comments (with easy replies and notifications) and revision history (which allows you to see when, how, and who edited a document).
We use Google Docs extensively within Distilled to craft and send around documents even if ultimately we deliver the final report as a .PDF or some other format. After all, some large corporations still like the smell of .PDFs in the morning….
Inbox Zero Methodology
I can't explain how much of a life changing experience the inbox zero methodology is. For the modern day information worker, inbox zero is fundamental to happiness and productivity. If you're not using the inbox zero system then please trust me when I say it'll change your life. Here's Merlin Mann talking about the original system at Google:
When new employees start at Distilled, we coach them in the ancient ways of Inbox Zero. Although it's a personal revelation for many (myself included), the real power comes when you have an entire organization that is GOOD WITH EMAIL. Having seen a peek inside companies that are not so efficient with email the difference is night and day.
Our Consultants Work On-site Where Possible
Life is organized chaos. Sometimes not so organized either. Project management is similar in that it's often more chaos than management. There's only so much you can really and truly work to get things done without being in the thick of it.
So, where possible, our consultants aim to spend some time on-site with our clients. The increase in results is striking. Not only are we better able to communicate our ideas, but we are also better placed to understand how the client's business works – not just the business model and mechanics, but communication, project management, hopes, and fears.
The best substitute for this if you're not able to get face-to-face with the client is to at least communicate often with many different points of contact within the client's organization. This improves the chances that you'll understand the real needs of the client as well as ensure that as many people as possible like you which is important for getting things done!
Communication Solves All Problems
We have various memes within Distilled; you can read more about them in a post I wrote for Dharmesh a little while back called Startup Culture Memes – Do You Have A Duck Of Awesomeness. One of the ones I'm most proud of is the mantra "communication solves all problems". I'm constantly amazed at the ability to solve problems by communicating effectively. Either talking to other members of the team or talking directly with the client – just having some real interaction (face to face or on the phone ideally) and explaining the situation clearly solves 99.9% of all problems.
This mantra has infiltrated all parts of Distilled, but I see two key ways that this affects project management on every project.
At the start of any project, we have a kick-off meeting which has two clear outcomes; the first is a top to bottom understanding of the client's business, and the second is a detailed understanding of what the project is going to look like. Mark wrote up our project kick-off process in a little bit more detail here: How To Kick Start SEO Projects.
Secondly, I drill into people here that it's okay to miss deadlines. Really. It is. Do people really care if you deliver something on Monday morning instead of Friday afternoon? The answer is that yes, they care very much if you don't let them know. If you let them know that you will deliver it Monday instead of Friday, then in 99% of cases, they could care less. Why is this so powerful? Because a single missed deadline without communication tarnishes your perception in the client's eyes. So long as the communication is strong, the actual dates rarely matter.
PPT Pitches
PPT? As a project management tool? Well yes. Let me explain – there are broadly speaking three types of work that you do when you're consulting and there are three different tools you use for these tasks as follows:
| Activity | Tool |
|---|---|
| Research and analysis | Excel |
| Deliverables and specifications | Word |
| Pitching ideas and strategy | PowerPoint |
Although this seems like a no-brainer, it's actually a very powerful mental model. Want to take a guess where setting the project vision and goals comes in? Yep – PPT. Although you won't keep track of a project in PowerPoint, you should be crafting and creating the vision and goals for the project in PPT. Without strong vision and goals, projects will fail.
So persuading a consultant to put together PPTs at the start of projects is a powerful tool to ensure we have a clear idea of where we're going, and importantly, the client is on board.
Monthly Industry Updates
As part of our monthly reporting communication, we provide a letter from Will to our clients. This is a value add that allows our clients to keep abreast of industry news and changes. I've included a sample of the letter (and supporting links) for April here:
Why is this important? Well not all of our clients are SEO junkies like us. And they like to be kept abreast of the latest happenings in the industry.
How is this a project management tool? You might think it's tenuous, but actually it's crucially important. Running SEO projects on the shifting sands of Google's algorithms means we have to keep on our toes and be prepared to potentially shift our strategy at a moment's notice. So communicating these changes to our clients allows us to be on the same page when we start talking about pandas and penguins….
What Works For You?
It's important to note that what works for us may not work for you. Hopefully this has been helpful for you to take a peek at how we manage projects and communication. I'd love to hear what you guys have to offer in the comments!
Further Reading
If you loved this psot and want to explore the subject further take a look at these:
- http://www.distilled.net/blog/seo/project-management-for-seo/
- http://www.seomoz.org/blog/project-management-for-seo
- http://www.slideshare.net/SarahCarling/seo-project-management
- http://searchengineland.com/why-is-project-management-undervalued-in-seo-65750
- https://seogadget.co.uk/seo-management-good-seo-managers/
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!
Posted by Tom Critchlow
So here's the truth – I used to suck at project management. But over the years I've determinedly turned myself into a half-decent project manager. Why? What was the driving force?
Project Management Is A Tool For Effecting Change
At the end of the day, I never have and still don't care that much for project management. But what I do care deeply about is effecting change. Driving action and results instead of talk and documentation. You can see my drive for getting things done in this whiteboard friday:
(Note, if you have thoughts about this video you'd do well to read my follow-up comment about the difference between reports and reportings.)
Although there are many ways of affecting change, project management is a crucial part of it. Below I'm going to outline a bunch of tools, tips, and tricks that we've discovered and implemented over the years at Distilled to get better at project management:
Project Collaboration – Trello
Personally I'm not a fan of clutter, either physical or virtual, and so I love technology that gets out of the way while you get on with getting shit done. I've tried lots of different project management solutions, and Trello is the first one I've fallen in love with. For those that saw the whiteboard friday I did with Jamie about a year ago it models the real life post-it note system very well:
I'm going to let Will explain why he likes it so much:
And I'm going to let Paddy break down the details in his blog post Using Trello to Manage SEO Projects.
Project Collaboration – Google Docs
A lot of you will already be familiar with Google Docs. Of course. But only recently have I come to realize the extreme power behind the collaboration elements. I've always hated track changes in Word and finally Google Docs has something better to offer. This video, although cutsey, actually demonstrates the power of real time collaboration:
In particular, two features that are really making me excited are in-line comments (with easy replies and notifications) and revision history (which allows you to see when, how, and who edited a document).
We use Google Docs extensively within Distilled to craft and send around documents even if ultimately we deliver the final report as a .PDF or some other format. After all, some large corporations still like the smell of .PDFs in the morning….
Inbox Zero Methodology
I can't explain how much of a life changing experience the inbox zero methodology is. For the modern day information worker, inbox zero is fundamental to happiness and productivity. If you're not using the inbox zero system then please trust me when I say it'll change your life. Here's Merlin Mann talking about the original system at Google:
When new employees start at Distilled, we coach them in the ancient ways of Inbox Zero. Although it's a personal revelation for many (myself included), the real power comes when you have an entire organization that is GOOD WITH EMAIL. Having seen a peek inside companies that are not so efficient with email the difference is night and day.
Our Consultants Work On-site Where Possible
Life is organized chaos. Sometimes not so organized either. Project management is similar in that it's often more chaos than management. There's only so much you can really and truly work to get things done without being in the thick of it.
So, where possible, our consultants aim to spend some time on-site with our clients. The increase in results is striking. Not only are we better able to communicate our ideas, but we are also better placed to understand how the client's business works – not just the business model and mechanics, but communication, project management, hopes, and fears.
The best substitute for this if you're not able to get face-to-face with the client is to at least communicate often with many different points of contact within the client's organization. This improves the chances that you'll understand the real needs of the client as well as ensure that as many people as possible like you which is important for getting things done!
Communication Solves All Problems
We have various memes within Distilled; you can read more about them in a post I wrote for Dharmesh a little while back called Startup Culture Memes – Do You Have A Duck Of Awesomeness. One of the ones I'm most proud of is the mantra "communication solves all problems". I'm constantly amazed at the ability to solve problems by communicating effectively. Either talking to other members of the team or talking directly with the client – just having some real interaction (face to face or on the phone ideally) and explaining the situation clearly solves 99.9% of all problems.
This mantra has infiltrated all parts of Distilled, but I see two key ways that this affects project management on every project.
At the start of any project, we have a kick-off meeting which has two clear outcomes; the first is a top to bottom understanding of the client's business, and the second is a detailed understanding of what the project is going to look like. Mark wrote up our project kick-off process in a little bit more detail here: How To Kick Start SEO Projects.
Secondly, I drill into people here that it's okay to miss deadlines. Really. It is. Do people really care if you deliver something on Monday morning instead of Friday afternoon? The answer is that yes, they care very much if you don't let them know. If you let them know that you will deliver it Monday instead of Friday, then in 99% of cases, they could care less. Why is this so powerful? Because a single missed deadline without communication tarnishes your perception in the client's eyes. So long as the communication is strong, the actual dates rarely matter.
PPT Pitches
PPT? As a project management tool? Well yes. Let me explain – there are broadly speaking three types of work that you do when you're consulting and there are three different tools you use for these tasks as follows:
| Activity | Tool |
|---|---|
| Research and analysis | Excel |
| Deliverables and specifications | Word |
| Pitching ideas and strategy | PowerPoint |
Although this seems like a no-brainer, it's actually a very powerful mental model. Want to take a guess where setting the project vision and goals comes in? Yep – PPT. Although you won't keep track of a project in PowerPoint, you should be crafting and creating the vision and goals for the project in PPT. Without strong vision and goals, projects will fail.
So persuading a consultant to put together PPTs at the start of projects is a powerful tool to ensure we have a clear idea of where we're going, and importantly, the client is on board.
Monthly Industry Updates
As part of our monthly reporting communication, we provide a letter from Will to our clients. This is a value add that allows our clients to keep abreast of industry news and changes. I've included a sample of the letter (and supporting links) for April here:
Why is this important? Well not all of our clients are SEO junkies like us. And they like to be kept abreast of the latest happenings in the industry.
How is this a project management tool? You might think it's tenuous, but actually it's crucially important. Running SEO projects on the shifting sands of Google's algorithms means we have to keep on our toes and be prepared to potentially shift our strategy at a moment's notice. So communicating these changes to our clients allows us to be on the same page when we start talking about pandas and penguins….
What Works For You?
It's important to note that what works for us may not work for you. Hopefully this has been helpful for you to take a peek at how we manage projects and communication. I'd love to hear what you guys have to offer in the comments!
Further Reading
If you loved this psot and want to explore the subject further take a look at these:
- http://www.distilled.net/blog/seo/project-management-for-seo/
- http://www.seomoz.org/blog/project-management-for-seo
- http://www.slideshare.net/SarahCarling/seo-project-management
- http://searchengineland.com/why-is-project-management-undervalued-in-seo-65750
- https://seogadget.co.uk/seo-management-good-seo-managers/
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!
On May 13, 2012, In SEO, by Greg Jarboe
For Mother’s Day, we also interviewed another mom on YouTube: Mindy McKnight. She runs the Cute Girl Hairstyles channel which is so popular that the lead hairstylist for Hunger Games movie reached out to her to do a Hunger Games style on her channel….
For Mother’s Day, we also interviewed another mom on YouTube: Mindy McKnight. She runs the Cute Girl Hairstyles channel which is so popular that the lead hairstylist for Hunger Games movie reached out to her to do a Hunger Games style on her channel.
On May 13, 2012, In SEO, by Jonathan Allen
For Mother’s Day, we interviewed a mom with a successful YouTube: Betty Givan. She runs her cooking channel, Betty’s Kitchen which is so well optimized that YouTube asked her to create a video to share her recipe for using meta data on YouTube.
For Mother’s Day, we interviewed a mom with a successful YouTube: Betty Givan. She runs her cooking channel, Betty’s Kitchen which is so well optimized that YouTube asked her to create a video to share her recipe for using meta data on YouTube.
On May 12, 2012, In SEO, Social Media Marketing, by JD Rucker
I’m what you might call an Apple Hipster. I was using the Macintosh and Apple IIe before they were cool. The various companies that I’ve worked for over the last decade and a half converted me to be a PC guy, but definitely not by choice. That’s why it was a surprise to those who [...]
I’m what you might call an Apple Hipster. I was using the Macintosh and Apple IIe before they were cool. The various companies that I’ve worked for over the last decade and a half converted me to be a PC guy, but definitely not by choice. That’s why it was a surprise to those who know me when I bought a G1, the first official Android phone, back in 2008.
I was trying to be smart. I compared the specs. I went so far as to put it head to head with an iPhone to see which was more responsive, which was faster browsing, and which seemed to have the brighter future. The Apple won by a very small margin but I was already with T-Mobile and it wasn’t enough of a difference to switch carriers, so I went home and started to play with my shiny new Android device.
Fast forward 5 Android smartphones later and for the first time since my mobile computer life began I’m facing a decision. Do I finally relent and get an iPhone 5 when it comes out? Do I go with one of the slick new Androids like the Galaxy S III (never had a Galaxy)? I was planning on going over the specs, grinding through comparisons, and making an informed decision as any self-proclaimed geek should.
Then, something happened. I saw a friend using a Windows 7 phone. Like when I’m watching a trailer for a movie that I decide half-way through I’m going to watch, I stop my friend from showing me any more. I’m in. It’s not that the features are any better (though the interface is pretty slick). It’s that I enjoyed the little that I saw and felt that this may just be the phone for me.
I’m not going to go into specs. I’m making a lifestyle choice for my next phone. I don’t want to be an Apple cult follower. I don’t want to be part of the Android sheep, either. I want to be a Windows Phone guy. It’s not the advertisements. It’s definitely not the peer pressure (I only know one person with a Windows Phone). It’s the symbolism that the company represents. They’re the underdog. They have what many consider to be a formidable product and their app store is perfectly big enough for me. As a result, I’m officially going to be carrying around a Windows 8 phone.
When do they come out again?
Related articles
- Mobile OS Madness Ahead In June (informationweek.com)
- Apple’s Siri says the iPhone is not the best smartphone (examiner.com)
- Wozniak: Windows Phone Apps Are ‘Much More Beautiful’ Than Those on Android, iPhone !!! (emmageraln.com)
- Apple Siri’s Recommending Nokia? Then Nokia’s Recommending Android & iPhone, I Guess (searchengineland.com)
- The Wrap: Samsung Omnia M, sunny Lumia news, et tu Siri? (windowsteamblog.com)
- Apple co-founder picks Windows Phone over Android (bgr.com)
On May 12, 2012, In SEO, Social Media Marketing, by Guest Authors
Interviews can be incredibly stressful, and hunting for a job is never fun. So when you are lucky enough to secure an interview, you need to have the skills and confidence necessary to land the job you want. Here are the top ten most important intervi…
Interviews can be incredibly stressful, and hunting for a job is never fun. So when you are lucky enough to secure an interview, you need to have the skills and confidence necessary to land the job you want. Here are the top ten most important interview skills that will help you impress employers and outshine [...]
On May 12, 2012, In SEO, Social Media Marketing, by JD Rucker
When most think of encryption, they think of computers using complex algorithms to hide data in ways that require a password or key. This is a very modern and simplistic view of a long and stories history behind encryption. Since the dawn of human communication we’ve had a need to be able to send messages [...]
When most think of encryption, they think of computers using complex algorithms to hide data in ways that require a password or key. This is a very modern and simplistic view of a long and stories history behind encryption. Since the dawn of human communication we’ve had a need to be able to send messages without the risk of them being seen by the wrong people. Thus, encryption is as old as the written word in some cultures.
This graphic depicts some of the amazing forms of encryption that have been scattered through our history. Without computers, one needs to have a very creative mind to come up with many of these encryption styles such as the Alberti cipher pictured above.
Click to enlarge.
From: Seattle Chevrolet Via: Visual.ly
On May 12, 2012, In SEO, by MozCTO
Posted by MozCTO
Hello, I am Anthony Skinner, the CTO of MozLand!
Many of you were affected by several SEOmoz tool issues that happened last week, unfortunately all colliding into one colossal day of craziness on May 3rd. We want to first apologize …
Posted by MozCTO
Hello, I am Anthony Skinner, the CTO of MozLand!
Many of you were affected by several SEOmoz tool issues that happened last week, unfortunately all colliding into one colossal day of craziness on May 3rd. We want to first apologize for any inconveniences or problems that these issues caused you.
The good news is that our awesome engineers fixed these problems quickly, but we want to share an update of what happened, how we fixed it, and what we’re doing to prevent "colossal days of craziness" from ever happening again. So, here’s the inside scoop (y’all know we like that whole transparency thing 'n stuff 
).
So, down to the nitty gritty of what happened last week and where we are now….
|
Status |
Issue |
|
Fixed |
Rankings – Rankings were delayed by a couple of days for all customers due to some intermittent outages in our database. This delay caused custom reports without rankings data. Fix: After trying it the hard way, we had a eureka moment (in the shower, no less) and promoted our back-up disks to primary, resolving the problem almost immediately. Why it won’t happen again: We had planned for SSD failures, but did not expect to see a full cluster failure at one time. Going forward, we’ll be looking at making sure we’re using SSDs appropriately, and, when we do use SSDs, having more robust failover plans in place. We’re also changing the way custom reports are built to speed up the process, and enhancing custom reports to wait on dependencies. |
|
Fixed |
Slow Open Site Explorer CSV Reports, and Mozscape API calls were failing – The Mozscape API was running noticeably slower and reports weren’t finishing. We found two export jobs that were continually requeuing themselves, severely backing up the CSV reports queue.
Fix: We fixed the condition causing the queueing and made some adjustments to the load balancing on the servers. Why it won’t happen again: To prevent the queues backing up in the future, we’ve added a hook to prevent failed jobs from re-queuing. Monitoring and alarms have also been added to notify our ops team if these queues start backing up. |
|
Fixed |
Campaign Setup and Custom Crawl – Users were running into an error message when trying to create new campaigns, and some users were seeing a dramatic reduction in the number of pages crawled.
Fix: With some creative ops magic, our engineers were able to configure the proper permissions and get campaign creation working again. Truncated crawls were caused by a race condition. We also made the transition between finalizing the crawling of a campaign and scheduling the next crawl smoother, which resolved this race condition. Affected campaigns were re-crawled so users could receive a full weekly crawl. Why it won’t happen again: We’re working to do better testing at scale and to create more defined unit tests to catch these types of race conditions that don't appear in small scale testing. We’re also working on better monitoring around the campaign crawl service and decoupling campaign creation from the custom crawl service so back end crawler problems will not have such a dramatic affect on the usability of the rest of the SEOmoz PRO app. |
|
Fixed |
Delay in SEOmoz PRO Web App picking up the new index – Our latest index update wasn’t reflected in the SEOmoz PRO web app right away.
Fix: We redeployed an old endpoint in our API that we had been using for campaigns to pick up the new index metrics. We also updated the PRO software to use the new endpoints that Mozscape API now supports. Why it won’t happen again: We updated our release procedures, and also updated the PRO app to use a new Mozscape API endpoint that publicizes the index launch date. This improvement will mean much smoother updates to Mozscape API campaign metrics in the future. |
|
Fixed |
Social – PRO users trying to connect their Facebook accounts were receiving an error message. We were getting odd data back from the Facebook API indicating users' authentication data expired – like 25 years ago  .
Fix: We’ve updated the Facebook connection to return the correct time format. Why it won’t happen again: To be honest, we’re not sure it won’t… We’ll try to stay on top of changes in Facebook and update our app before the changes affect our users. |
We’re also going to be putting some of the new funding (read the memenouncement here) towards making sure things like this do not happen again. We’re investing in infrastructure improvements (blog post to come) to both help keep things running smoothly, and bring you new features and improve stability all around. We’re also hiring… if you’re a brilliant, motivated SEO-lover, apply here.
Again, many apologies for the inconvenience this caused all of you. We’ve learned a lot in this process and will keep doing our darnedest to keep things running smoothly.
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!
On May 11, 2012, In SEO, Social Media Marketing, by Drew Hendricks
Each year, Google makes changes to its search algorithm up to 600 times. This is way too many times to keep up with new changes, and its affecting the ranking of every website on the World Wide Web. Although Google considers most of these changes minor, many website owners find it quite challenging to adapt [...]
Each year, Google makes changes to its search algorithm up to 600 times. This is way too many times to keep up with new changes, and its affecting the ranking of every website on the World Wide Web. Although Google considers most of these changes minor, many website owners find it quite challenging to adapt to changes soon enough.
Every few months, major search engines roll out important algorithm updates which affect the way in which search engines rank websites. Google might consider these changes minor, but I can honestly tell you that; that is not how website owners view those changes because they affect search results significantly. And of course it will be very hard to keep up with some of those changes sometimes.
It important however, that search marketers know and understand these changes and updates. These updates will help you explain changes in website rankings as well as organic website traffic which most of these websites depend upon. And it is important to know that understanding these updates can help you with your search engine optimization.
Search engines love social media because they know that most people express their views without bias on social media networks such as Facebook, twitter, and etc. If a products or service receives a favorable rating on one of the social media networks, major search engines take note of that. Major search engines know that people interact with one another on these websites in ways never seen before. They share their passion, interest, hobbies, and etc.
It is hard to see how search engines can disagree with so many people on these social networks. Even before the recent changes took effect, websites were ranked according to the number of genuine visitors received on each day that passes by. Of course, we cannot ignore valuable products and information, but that alone is not enough.
Words of Caution
Many website owners have now turned to purchasing Facebook likes, something that no one saw coming. Although you have to do it in way that’s not obvious, it does really work if done correctly. Search engines are always crawling social media networks for many things, and not just for fun. They pay attention to every small detail on these websites because they learn a lot of things every day. And they take everything for granted.
If Facebook likes were of no use, then you must ask yourself a simple question; why do the major search engines take these likes very seriously? The answer to this question is very simple; because people like value and not garbage. If many people come out and share how they like a certain product or service, it is very hard to see how these major search engines will oppose them. That will be like a suicide mission, and who would want to do that.
You also have to understand that search engines are not stupid; therefore, you must buy your Facebook likes in a way that won’t put you at risk of being penalized by major search engines because your online business depends on them. That being said, if done correctly it will boost your profit margins in ways you never imagined, which is why even big brand names with well-established foundations are looking for Facebook likes.
If those Facebook likes were nothing or not important at all, no one would even care about them so much. Many businesses big and small, online as well as offline are all fighting for a spot on the first page of Google, because this is where most people go to look for thing to purchase on the internet. And they trust Google on top of everything else.