Thursday 27 February 2014

Keyword Unavailable: No Keyword Data, No Problem

The single most asked question I have had over the last two years is, “how do you solve for keyword unavailable?” The answer to me is simple, “you don’t.” Every hack you do gets you farther away from the real number. SEO analytics, like SEO, is an evolution that has been kicked into hyper drive in the last couple of years.  The best people in the business have stayed at the core of what SEO is: making an effective website. Keyword metrics, in my opinion, are not at the core of this belief or the most valuable signal to a website’s effectiveness in natural search, the site is. How pages and sections perform are the true indicators you should be monitoring.

So am I saying, “don’t look at keyword metrics?” no. I’m saying that understanding your website is more important than understanding your keywords.

SEO hierarchy 1

So now that I have released you from the chains of SEO analytics, let’s knock this solution into overdrive. Wow, I am on a kick today – must be from the all day marathon of Back to the Future. The first step I take in executing this style of analytics is to start by mapping out the structure with the SEO team and clients. To get a better understand of the website and its’ focus I like to begin this process by asking probing questions like:

What are the goals of the website?

What is your most profitable product? why?

How many products do you have?

What are the key categories you monitor?

For the sake of fun and ease let’s say you work on a site that sells gummy bears. We’re going to start by breaking out the site into categories and working our way down. Our four main categories are going to be B2B, Store, Support and Locations.

SEO hierarchy 2The best way to do this is by creating segments. No matter if you have SiteCatalyst or Google Analytics this should be rather simple. If you have questions about how to build segments in SiteCatalyst refer to the segmentation section of my article on Making SEO Decisions with SiteCatalyst . In your parameters for these segments you want to include a must contain for each category: www.gummybears.com/store, www.gummybears.com/b2b, www.gummybears.com/support, www.gummybears.com/locations.

The next step I recommend taking is to segment out pages for each category by traffic.  This will give you a view into what pages are performing well and why. Hint, hint, perfect place to revisit on-page factors. To create these, just simply add a must contain URL in each segment: www.gummybears.com/store/blue-gummy-bears, www.gummybears.com/store/red-gummy-bears…



seo-arck
The next layer to build in is the top converting pages in each category. To get these pages take your traffic segments and apply your conversion metric.  Once your data settles contain these exceptional pages in a separate segment.

seo-arck -converting

The best thing about this type of exploration is that it never ends. Yippee! Breaking down a site like this will make you the most informed about SEO performance.

Putting a bow on it, when conquering SEO analytics stay at the core of what SEO is. Focus on the website, not the keywords. Understanding your pages and sections is the best way to get insight and monitor the progress of your SEO initiatives.

WHAT IS BETTER THAN REMOVING 1.7 MILLION BACKLINKS!

You probably remember we removed 1.7 million backlinks by deleting our WordPress theme pages to fight off Google Panda/Penguin penalties and unnatural link warnings, The traffic sustained despite removing 1.7 million backlinks to the pages over the last few months.  The idea was that deleting urls with bad links would make 404 pages which will make the backlinks useless. Yet the  92% traffic drop still persisted.

So I curbed my theme designing activities for the last year as it  no longer seemed possible to get credit for my theme designs with footer links. But then I observed that most popular theme design companies like Studiopress (Genesis Theme), DIYThemes (Thesis theme) and many other theme design services did maintain a dofollow footer credit link and performed well in search.

Moreover, how would Google analyze a site where 1.7 million entries to the site return 404 errrors? Also it seemed silly to loose all the link juice by 404 pages.

Tuesday 18 February 2014

15 Tips for a High-Performance Blog

Blogs make for great reading because bloggers tend to be individuals or companies blogging unbiased content. That makes for a refreshing read compared to advertising-backed publishers, sponsored writing, unjustifiable opinions, and scores of other nuances that make even long-term, respectable publishers dwarf in comparison to trust.


For a blog to reach this stage of “dumbing down what the big publishers claim,” there’s a long way to go. Here are some tips to make your blog stay on the high-performance circuit.


Webmaster’s Note: This is a guest post by Jeff Davis.

Define “Performance”
Performance
A blog – like a business – has many parameters to gauge its success on. You could drill down into multiple sub-niches or stick to a popular topic. High performance – for you – could mean traffic that could bring servers down or maybe it’s about attractive suave readers who prefer sophistication and “alternative thought.”

You might say that your blog is high-performing if it pays the bills or you might not even be happy with your blog making it to the leagues. The first step hence, is to determine what high-performance means to “you” as a blogger: is it about a select group of readers (low, but targeted traffic), conversions for sale (for something you sell), or making your blog every advertiser’s dream?
Keep it Personal, One-on-One
Keep it Real
Blogs are presentations you are making to government bodies, banks, or even venture capitalists. Blogs are a tool for self-publishing but most bloggers forget the “self” part in a crazy pursuit for popularity, traffic, and monetization. Not that any of those goals are bad, but it’s just that blogs aren’t blogs if you produced content that should rather be fit for “The Economist.” Keep your blogs personal. Use “I” and “We” and “You” in your content.

The day you start a sentence with something like “One should…” you are off limits. Maybe you should work on the next edition of The Bible. There’s a writing voice and identity you’ll want to achieve. Sean’s post on Establishing your Content Identity points it out perfectly.
Present Opinions with Fact
Opinions
Try presenting an opinion without justification on your blog posts you’d be met with an unending comment stream of criticism from your readers. While it’s sometimes good to rant, rave, or go into a mega-slashing mode murdering popular opinion, “talking down” or “going against the grain” – admittedly it gets you a lot of traffic, views, and social media shares – it’s always a good practice to back up your opinion with facts.

At least, ride on the back of what someone else said about the topic at hand. Someone who is more established, proven, or credible in your field or niche.
Market it like a Business
Marketing
No matter what your goals are (point 1), you’d need to push your blog out, reach out to your readers, and attract traffic. All of that takes a never-ending, relentless, and possibly a lifetime of work to get traffic for your blog. Marketing, just as it is for business, is a bloggers’ daily job. You could write all you want but none of that popularity and influence comes just by writing; you’d have to market your blog too.

Blogging is a business, and your blog needs to be run like one. You just have to do what it takes.

Blog for a Reason
Blogging
Don’t blog because it makes you money or because it makes you popular for the wrong reasons. Don’t blog because that’s what every digital marketer worth his or her salt suggests. Don’t blog because you thought that it was a great way to start your online business.

Blog only if you are passionate about whatever it is that you blog about. If you have to blog, do it for a reason. The reason is for you to find out and for the rest of the world to read.

Strive for Influence
Impact
After you pick the niche you want to blog on, it’s time to work on your “personal brand” and influence. Gary Vaynerchuck, for instance, is known for his effect on his readers and not so much for AdSense revenue or for any of his affiliate income.

If you blogged enough – and passionately enough – for a reason, this influence would come in time. Anything else you’d do looks like so much else on the web that no one would notice.

Social Media is your Blog # 2
Pinterest
So, you have a blog and you keep pumping enough content to make it a potential winner. Sadly, there are only so many readers that your blog can attract initially. Your readership grows over time and your blog is little less viral or has much less potential (by itself) than when compared to social media, for instance.

Hence, social media is your platform to stretch your efforts. It’s your blogging channel #2. Social media helps you to amplify your message, spread your content virally, bring in an additional set of readers (sometimes, overwhelmingly enough), and give you a lot more influence than what you can ask for. If you think you need help in this field, SEO Hacker provides a serious set of Social Media Marketing Services.
Build Relationships Everyday
Building Relationships Online
You could look at all possible reasons to start building relationships with others (within and outside of your niche) but they would all pale in comparison with this one reason to create relationships: you learn, respect, and love others. You are in awe of others. You relate to others because you just relate to them. There are no reasons for building relationships with other bloggers and business owners.

Build your network for the sake of “building your network” and you’ll see some of these relationships blossoming into opportunities of a lifetime. Still, that’s not the reason why you connect.

Do More than just Blog
Be awesome
Bloggers blog, don’t they? Yes and no. That’s where most bloggers limit their potential. Instead, work towards a lot more than just a blog. A book is a good start (even the self-publishing option is a good one). Launch events, conferences, and online webinars. Start tutorials or launch online courses on the niche you blog on.

All of these endeavors help you to develop credibility (not to mention the possibility to make money), and drive even more readers to your blog. Of course, it takes a ton of effort to do all this. You need to keep slogging away at your blog every single day. Who said blogging was easy?
Keep Track of your Numbers
Google Analytics
You’d never know where you ought to go if you didn’t know where you are. Google Analytics is free for now and that’s more than to ascertain who your visitors are, where they come from, the mobile devices they use, and how long they spend on your blog. You can even drill down information about the content they read, social interactions, and much more.

Set up “goals” within your dashboard to get you all the information you need. Work from there.

Feature Prominent People on your Blog
Seth Godin

Social leverage is a secret that not many bloggers tend to put to good use. Whether you are creating a humongous list of “18 people you should seek advice on [Niche idea]” or even if you wanted to mention someone in the passing, do so with a flourish. Then, outreach each of these influencers to let them know that they’ve been featured on your blog post. News spreads quickly. You’ll get on the radar.
Attract and Accept Guest Posts
Write for Us
Don’t close opportunities for other bloggers who might want to guest post on your blog. Whether they are doing to gain backlinks or to gain exposure or credibility, it’s a win-win situation for both parties.

Blog owners don’t have to give up control on quality of the content (which you can supervise) and dictate editorial terms for every approaching guest blogger. However, closing the doors for guest posts works to your disadvantage.

Build a Team of Writers (with Credits)
Building a Team
Why build a team of writers or attract tons of guest bloggers, you ask? Every contributing author has vested interest in promoting these published blog posts elsewhere. Apart from the direct links inbound to your own blog (from each of these other blogger’s websites and blogs), you’ll also gain some social spread.
Ghost writing has its place but so does credited publishing of blog posts. Tap into the power of other’s hard work.
Spread your Content Variety

Content Creation

Yes, it’s a blog. It’s not limited to text, though. Add all sorts of content on your blog. That includes videos, links to your podcasts that features on iTunes or elsewhere. Slide decks on Slideshare.net and embedded magazines. Infographics, animated content, and interviews. Webinars, recorded seminars, and even book excerpts. The blog is your playground.
Notice how Sean uses Slideshare for his blog?
Go play.
Bleed to Win
Success
If you’ve come down to the end of the list, it shows that you are committed to the effort it takes to run a high-performance blog. You might have read stories of bloggers making it big and how small blogs are media behemoths today. None of that came by easy and it certainly didn’t happen in a day.

But that kind of performance only comes for super-achievers. That means sacrifices. It also means endless days sitting alone, staring into your monitor, and typing like a lunatic typist. You’ll forego television, online videos, casual browsing, Facebook (unless you are promoting content, which you can automate), and weekend parties. This kind of work demands that you bleed to death.

How to Monitor your Backlinks this 2014

Monitor Backlinks (Old Home Page)
Old Home Page
First of all, happy new year fellas! It’s been a crazy ride with you through 2013. We figured we should start the new year by unveiling one of the SEO tools that we’ve been using for some time already – Monitor Backlinks. They did a revamp of their tool and we want you to be the first to know.
Monitor Backlinks (New Home Page)
New Home Page
If you didn’t know, we’ve done a couple of reviews about Monitor Backlinks here and here. One of the things we mentioned that has room for improvement was the design. Mad props to the development team over at Monitor Backlinks as they’ve been listening and have obviously worked hard (and are still working hard) on this. Just looking at the past and present homepage designs alone is a good indication of things to come.
Monitor Backlinks Dashboard
Past
Monitor Backlinks Dashboard (New)
Present
The dashboard has also been “pimped out” quite a lot. Checking the status of links has become more user-friendly as it shows a cleaner and more defined look, and that makes it easier for users to check and filter the information they want to see. Some of the information that you can find, apart from the usual, are the social signals (this can be taken into account in calculating the power of a link), IP of the server where the site is hosted, and the number of external dofollow links.
SEO Auto Discover
In our previous review, we’ve covered how to add backlinks manually, how to use the backlink checker, how to import links using CSV files, and even the Bookmarklet tool. Now, we’ll go through their new SEO Auto Discover tool.
Simply put, SEO Auto Discover is a feature that allows users to be notified about the links that are gained or lost from their own site as well as their competitors. Upon adding your domain, all detected links are imported and rechecked to (1) make sure they are live and to (2) detect any other problems it may have. It should be noted that some time may need to pass (approximately 24 hours) before all the initial data will be available for viewing.  These checks are done on a daily basis and users will be notified of any corresponding changes.
Every important notification will be sent straight to your e-mail so you don’t need to check in regularly to be updated. Usually every Monday, aWeekly Domain Report will be sent straight to your email. I check my email more than anything else so this is really helpful.
Weekly Domain Report | SEO Auto Discover
The graph above shows what you can see in the Overview section. The graph basically shows you how much what changes have occurred with regards to the average keyword position of your keywords, the number of new backlinks that have been attained, and the flow of organic traffic from search engines. All of these numbers put together can give you a brief understanding of just how much your newly acquired backlinks have changed the traffic coming in to your website.
Competitor Backlinks
Apart from being able to track your website’s new backlinks, there’s also a feature that allows you to track your competitors’ backlinks. I don’t think I need to tell you why this is important, right? *Wink, Wink*
Average Keyword Rankings Tool
Here you’ll be able to see a chart of how your keyword rankings have changed over a specified period of time. You can even see your competitors’ keyword rankings as well based on the keyword you entered. (Note that there’s no data yet for the period as the domain has just been recently added to the tool. The progress of the keyword rankings will be tracked starting from the date the domain has been added.)
Keyword Rankings
This is where you’ll be able to see a breakdown of the keyword rankings of the keywords entered for your website as well as your competitors. You can also add more keywords here if you want to do so.
Anchor Text Report
Another new addition is the Anchor Text Report which shows the number of counts for each anchor text used in your backlinks. This is really useful in making sure that your website is not over-optimized with having too many target keywords apart from your domain and brand name.
Certainly, Monitor Backlinks has been steadily improving their prized backlink monitoring tool. As far as improvements go for the current features, one thing I’d like to recommend is to add a function to customize the time period. I don’t want to be constrained in looking at data from last month, 3 months ago, or last year only. This gives me more flexibility in data gathering.
So far, so good Monitor Backlinks team. Keep up the good work!

The Untold Secret of Linkbuilding

It’s out. There is no one way to build links. There is no holy grail in getting tons of high-quality, relevant links to your site. There is only the untold secret. And I’m about to uncover it now.

Remember the good old days?

When directories and blog comments worked like magic? Yeah. Then a black and white bird came and pecked away all the fairy dust. What if I told you that directories and blog comments got their magic back?
I know you wouldn’t believe that. It’s too… Easy.
So I’m not gonna tell you all that unbelievable, magical crap. But I’m going to tell you what I’ve noticed recently – some directories and blog comments are creating positive ranking effects again. Weird huh?
This is the first case.

Spending Power

Text Link ads and other forms of paid links have been axed off. And for good reasons. It was an awesome, completely artificial way to manipulate rankings through money. It was an entire industry of its own.
The thing is, more and more people got into the boat. Google noticed.
And just like any hot linkbuilding strategy, it saw its demise.
This is the second case.

Rumored to Have Died

Guest posting is dead. That’s what blog entries last year said. The truth is, it didn’t die. It just sneezed.
And since it got snot all over the place, Google had to shut its nose. Guest posting got stricter and stricter with webmasters and linkbuilders alike. And like all things scarce, it increased in value – albeit silently.
Guest post requests have died down since last year. But what you don’t know is that it still has the same link value as before.
This is the third case.

The Recovery

What did you notice about these three cases? They were very popular linkbuilding strategies.
They worked.
Then Google lifted its sword and staff and said “That’s enough!”
Linkbuilding Shall Not Pass
And down the drain it goes.
Here’s the million dollar question for you: “Did you ever try to go back a few steps and try them again?”

The Secret

I won’t keep it any longer. I know you’ve been itching to know what the untold secret is. So take a deep breath, collect yourself.
Ready?
Here it is.
“Go against the flow.”

WTH?!

You heard me right. Go against the flow. When a linkbuilding method is getting traction, don’t go with it. Chances are, it will bubble up and explode – getting snot all over the place.
From all the years I’ve been doing linkbuilding, here’s what I noticed: Google axes mainstream linkbuilding strategies.
Then when things have died down, they will put it back in their ranking algorithm.
Pretty cool huh?
They say that diversity is key to linkbuilding. I couldn’t agree more. But let me add to that if you would.
One key to linkbuilding?
Go against the flow.

Value Principle

Here’s my personal theory about linkbuilding that we teach at SEO School“The linkbuilding methods that are not as popular hold the best value for effort at any given time.”
This is dictated by Google’s learning machine.
The best thing about this theory is that, since not a lot of people are practicing that linkbuilding strategy, then it’s not as hard to get into.

Monday 10 February 2014

Top 10 Must Have SEO Extensions for Google Chrome

Every few years I make a browser switch and my web use evolves sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. My particular evolution went something like this: Netscape, IE, KDE Konquerer (switched from Windows98 to Debian - so no more IE), Mozilla Phoenix (early Firefox), IE (what do you know... went back to Windows), Firefox, IE, Firefox, and over the last year Chrome. My latest switch to Google Chrome has had the biggest affect on my daily web usage, particularly from the amazing assortment of extensions. The browser is also light and stylish with cool themes. If you haven't tried it already I highly recommend you do. With Chrome quickly gobbling up market share, it's clear I'm not the only one who's recognizing this.  

Ok, enough of this Google fanboy madness... let's talk about some SEO tools. Google Chrome's Extensions, much like Android's Apps, are full of garbage with a few gold nuggets hidden amidst the madness.  

1. MozBar

Yes, this is SEOmoz, so you might expect this to be top of the list. However, SEOmoz has done an exceptional job with this tool. Before becoming a Pro Member I used it daily and now that I'm a pro member it's always on it. Note: I'm not just saying this to get my blog post boosted to the main blog (wink wink), but it really is the best tool out there and an essential for tool any aspiring SEO.


SEO Site Tools is an all inclusive powerhouse of SEO information. It includes 6 main sections:
  • External Page Data
  • Page Elements
  • Social Media
  • Page Terms / Tools
  • Server / Domain Info
  • Suggestions
Some of the unique features and enhancements include highlighting your domains in Google search, trend data in Google webmaster tools, and Social Media stats in Google Analytics. A close second to MOZbar, this tool is an absolute must. 


I don't know if I'm the first to break news of this tool. But even if you hate Chrome, this tool makes it all worth it. It's basic, it's simple, but it has already completely changed the way I work. As the name says you can leave a note... that's right, anywhere. On any page, on any site... leave... close your browser and come back 2 days later. I just left a note on my home page with new keywords I want to target and a note on my Fantasy Football page with all the players I need to drop (sorry Randy Moss). 


Get down and dirty with your code or your competitors code. You'll be able to find the tweaks and tags that can boost your rankings. Not for the beginner but an absolute must for the OCD expert.     

5. IE Tab

Another holdover from Firefox, IE Tab allows you to browse the web as if you were using IE. I use this extension at least twice a day to confirm page appearance, double check a ranking, or if Chrome is having an issue with loading a page. 

6. SEO SERP  

I've found this tool to be slightly buggy. However, the usefulness is there and I'm sure they'll iron out the issues soon. Basically what it does is it allows you to check your search rankings per term. Quick and simple, definitely saves time for those of us that occasionally get addicted to checking rank. 


Shorten URLs on the fly, add them to history, integrate with social media... do I really need to explain this further? It's a time saver.


No more CTRL+ALT+PRTSCN, this simple tool by Google let's you highlight the section of the page you want, highlight the visible area, or highlight the whole page (can't do that with PRTSCN - that I know of). After you select, annotate, highlight, mark it up however you'd like and then email it to that lazy coworker who can't find the broken link or misspelled keyword. It's like slapping them... nicely.  


Let's face it, there's a lot of information out there for SEO, it's a highly dynamic industry and you need to be on top of your game to stay in it. Google reader is the essential tool 


Ever spend 3 hours trying to figure out which who to trade Randy Moss for on Fantasy Football? Nah, me neither... this little tool will help with all that though. Get back to your link building, get back to your analytics, and StayFocused. OK, honesty time... I ended up disabling this tool... but you shouldn't, it's awesome and works better than you think it will. 


Well as I'm sure you know by now there's a ton of tools out there, and while Chrome and its extensions are just one of them, I think they're worth a try... and no... I don't work for Google. I'd love to hear your recommendations as well.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

How to Use Social Media as a Link-Building Tool

Social media can provide a great platform to spread brand awareness. Used properly, your social presence can also be used to boost your SEO strategy by earning quality backlinks to your website.

Links are one of the most important quantifiers used by search engines as they decide how relevant, important, and trusted you are. The more good quality links you have, the more ‘value’ is assigned to your site and the higher your ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Provide Content that Adds Value

There are many ways to get links but social media provides a good opportunity to earn links naturally. As search algorithms get more sophisticated, aggressive self-promotion and anything that even approaches the idea of link farming is becoming less effective and can even be harmful to your  rankings. If you create content that people find valuable, they are more likely to want to share it.

What people find valuable can vary but good quality infographics and posts that provide statistics, well-researched information, and new angles on a subject are all good starting points. A good video that captures viewers’ attention is eminently shareable, which is one reason nearly 87% of brand and agency marketers now create video for content marketing.

Original, entertaining posts stand a chance of going viral. But don’t just concentrate on entertainment value – a solid, useful post is likely to provide a long-term return, as people could use it as a reference for their own content. Experienced bloggers and content writers will often link back to your content rather than quote or steal it, especially if it appears authoritative.
Contribute to the Conversation

The quality of your posts and responses is more important than sheer frequency. People are still likely to link to your content if it is valuable, even if it is a one-off. By making frequent contributions however, you can build up your presence and authority in relevant fields. Not every response you make has to be a meticulously researched and densely packed data bomb. You can add useful snippets of info, offer your opinion or simply say, ‘Hey, great post’ every once in a while. Building your presence means that people in the community are already aware of you and may be even more likely to re-use your content when you do bring out the more valuable posts. If you keep an eye on the conversation and are able to respond positively to others’ queries and problems, this can also help.

It’s particularly useful to provide linkable content within the first few responses to a new blog or post. Being within the first five or ten posts – and certainly within the first page where applicable – can really help get your content noticed.
Identify Targets

The time and resources you have to spend on social media will be finite, so it pays to target your efforts effectively. You’ll ideally want to be seeking out key influencers in the relevant field. This may mean that your comments and posts are competing with a lot of others but this is where the value you build in can help them stand out.

Facebook and Twitter are the two go-to platforms for most people but you should also seek out targets on other sites such as YouTube, Pinterest, and Tumblr. If you are marketing within specific regions, you might want to extend your efforts to the most popular sites in each market. VK, for example, is the preferred social media site in Russia, while Orkut can help extend your reach within India and Brazil.
Use the Right Tools

There are a number of tools and services that can help you find the best targets. Followerwonk, for example, offers a Twitter analytics service. This can help you sort and compare followers by looking at data such as social authority scores and the percentage with URLs. You can also gauge reactions to your own tweets by monitoring your activity alongside current follower numbers.

Fresh Web Explorer is another handy tool as it searches for mentions of your brand, company or other keyword and matches this with ‘feed authority’. This can help you sort key influencers from those with less perceived authority, allowing you to target your efforts more effectively.

As links from social media tend to be earned rather than bought or traded, the results of any campaign can be difficult to predict. Genuine earned links can be very valuable – which makes all the effort worth it!

Matt Cutts Explains How Important Social Media Signals Really Are

Screen Shot 2014 01 23 at 11.13.53 PM Matt Cutts Explains How Important Social Media Signals Really Are

Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search spam, answers a question about social media signals in his latest Webmaster Help video where a user writes in to ask:

    Are Facebook and Twitter signals part of the ranking algorithm? How much do they matter?

Facebook and Twitter pages are treated just like any other indexed pages, Matt explains. If Google is able to crawl it on Facebook and Twitter, it will be included in the search results.

Google Doesn’t Crawl Social Media Sites Like Other Pages

To the best of Matt’s knowledge, there are currently no signals in the ranking algorithms that put any weight on how many Facebook likes or Twitter followers a specific page has.

The reason for this, Matt says, is that there was one instance where Google was blocked from crawling these pages for over a month. As a result, Google engineers are weary of doing any kind of special engineering work to extract data from pages when they might get blocked from being able to crawl them in the future.

Another reason why they don’t crawl social media sites too extensively is due to the personal and time sensitive nature of the content. If Google crawled social media pages the way they crawl other sites, the snippets could end up containing information the user didn’t intend to have showing up in search results.

Social Signals Seem To Have No Affect On Rankings

Matt says not to assume that because there is a signal on Facebook or Twitter pointing to your site that Google is able to access it. This is due to various reasons such as the social media profile being blocked from public viewing, or the link is no-followed, or other things like that.

As a result of not being able to access social signals, Matt gives the impression that they don’t directly influence rankings. Matt goes back to the familiar argument of correlation does not equal causation. An awesome piece of content doesn’t rank well because it has a lot of Facebook likes, it ranks well because it’s awesome, and in turn it gets shared on Facebook a lot because it’s awesome.

Influence To Be A Factor in the Future

Matt ends the video by saying that in the future he expects Google to be able to better identify who is writing content where and place more importance on it based on the influence of the individual. But for the time being, Google has to crawl the web as it is.

What Internet Marketers can Learn from Nelson Mandela:

Though Nelson Mandela has left the mortal world, his life – a true legend – has many immortal messages to teach us. You don’t have to be a politician or a world leader, even entrepreneurs and internet marketers have a lot to learn from this legendary statesman.



Nelson Mandela4 What Internet Marketers can Learn from Nelson Mandela

Below are some of the lessons that every internet marketer can learn from Nelson Mandela. 
Keep Learning. Be an Ardent Learner.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Mandela always put an emphasis on learning and continued to learn throughout his entire life. This is equally true in the ever-changing world of Internet marketing. What worked a few years back are now useless (or black hat) tactics. The market and its trends are constantly changing, thus every marketer must keep learning to stay up to date on the latest tactics.
Always Dream Big.

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

Though he spoke these words in terms of living your life, it can also be taken in the context of business growth and success. Mandela always dreamed big. He never ever settled for less. When he first dreamed of freedom and prosperity for South Africa, it was unthinkable to many of this countrymen. But his passionate belief turned his dream into his nation’s reality.

As a marketer, you shouldn’t settle for less either. Suppose you  have high sales in the local market and your campaigns are doing really well for certain audiences – why wouldn’t it work nationally, even globally? Dream bigger and work hard to create your own reality. Start by researching how audiences from the other parts of the world react to marketing. Learn about their culture, what keeps them moving, and how you can really reach their hearts to convince them to buy your product. Don’t settle for less just because it is easier!
Don’t Be Satisfied with Just One Success.

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

So, your internet marketing campaign turned out to be successful?  It worked out marvelously well? That’s great, but you shouldn’t let your success turn into complacency. Just one batch of visitors won’t help your business succeed in the long run. For long-term online success, you need a never-ending stream of target audiences visiting your sites and more and more of them converting into customers.

So, whether it was a certain marketing tactics, a specific target audience, or a particular product that really took off, don’t stop! Be ready for newer tactics, newer audience types, different products, and so on.

Remember with every new success you are more enlightened. You’ve learned more and turned into a better marketer.
Never Give Up. Be an Optimist.

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward… I would not and could not give myself up to despair…”

At some point, you will face some really bad failures. Sometimes, these failures may come in a row and you may start feeling like a failure. Instead, take Mr. Mandela’s advice –  continue moving forward and stay optimistic. Evaluate your failures to learn why they happened and make sure you don’t repeat the same mistakes.

Final Thoughts

There is a lot we can learn from Nelson Mandela, a remarkably immortal soul. Discussing every aspect of his life and the lessons he could teach is quite beyond the scope of this article. However, the lessons we discussed above really do apply to our world and will surely turn a few internet marketers into die-hard seekers of success!

Read more at http://www.searchenginejournal.com/internet-marketers-can-learn-nelson-mandela/86295/#jh8jxc1PBHSrH7Q3.99

Monday 3 February 2014

Blog Commenting Sites List Free

http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://karensopinion.com/
http://mythoughtsideasandramblings.com/
http://www.krissy.nu/
http://www.klaxonmarketing.co.uk/
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http://www.feverishthoughts.com/
http://momreviews.net/
http://www.motheringmany.com/
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150 Working Free Directory Submission Websites

http://somuch.com/
http://www.a1webdirectory.org/
http://www.onlinesociety.org/
http://www.kartoo.com/
http://www.1websdirectory.com
http://almapubliclibrary.org/
http://abigdir.com/
http://yekey.com/
http://1abc.org/
http://alistdirectory.com/
http://aykfb.com/
http://webroads.net/
http://ribcast.com/
http://polypat.org/
http://www.dadaf.com/
http://www.freewebsitedirectory.com/
http://www.jewana.com/
http://linkresell.com/
http://thesquat.org/
http://add2directories.com/
http://nbha.net/
http://www.addbusiness.net/
http://dcamb.org/
http://basoti.org/
http://mainostoimistot.info/
http://www.addnewlink.net/
http://www.nuclearland.com/
http://www.urlcube.com/
http://worldweb-directory.com
http://www.directorywebsitesubmit.com/
http://onyoville.com/
http://tfwd.org/
http://backlink101.com/
http://statusbarplus.com/
http://worldtradedirectory.cn/
http://www.wldir.com/
http://evilgeniusmusic.com/
http://grafixdirectory.com/
http://www.directoryoflawyer.com
http://4169.info/
http://sitechakra.com/
http://www.backlinkhub.com/
http://directorylist.me/
http://directory.tl/
http://ezsubmitdirectorystore.com/
http://tagne.info/
http://ouca.biz/
http://efficientdirectory.com/
http://seofriendlydirectories.co.uk/
http://seolinkcloud.org/
http://seozoo.biz/
http://vseo.biz/
http://mapgh.org/
http://livewebdirectory.com/
http://directorydab.com/
http://www.general-web-directory.com/
http://www.perfectwebdirectory.info
http://becomemade.net
http://puertanoblejas.com/
http://webzveno.com/
http://bigtenu.org/
http://www.allworldlinks.com/
http://webdirectory.si/
http://www.alistsites.com/
http://directorybin.com/
http://www.network-bloggers.com/
http://addsitefree.com/
http://awebdirectory.info/
http://www.freedirectory.ws/
http://non-non.com
http://pr3plus.com/
http://threelinkdirectory.com/
http://www.directorieslist.net/
http://www.hitalyzer.com/
http://rossettijorgensen.com/
http://agrieducation.org/
http://k2hub.info/
http://abstractdirectory.org/
http://bt-t.com/
http://standingnudes.com/
http://linkpedia.net/
http://eastdirectory.net/
http://01dir.info/
http://www.freebestdirectory.com/
http://getlinkdirectory.com/
http://hahwebdirectory.com
http://www.k2hub.info/
http://linkslist.net
http://peakeys.com/
http://crystallinks.info/
http://listasweb.info/
http://webmastersgalaxy.com/
http://cafelaunch.com/
http://freeweblist.info/
http://a84.info/
http://linksurplus.com/
http://smartdir.info/
http://bloblongo.net/
http://www.searchnsearch.com/
http://www.bizyads.com/
http://bravesky.com/
http://www.diyodp.com/
http://directorylist.freeware-software.net/
http://directory.freewebsitelist.com
http://directoryaddurlsstore.com/
http://seolinkvinepro.com/
http://submit4links.com/
http://www.submitlinkurl.com
http://www.prolinkdirectory.com
http://pdu4free.com
http://www.synergy-directory.com/
http://www.informative-works.info/directory/
http://www.a1searchdirectory.com/
http://www.parcelhandicrafts.com
http://addlinkdir.in/
http://advertmycar.com/
http://md1r.com/
http://allcg.com/
http://noblejas.info/
http://ocablog.com/
http://sjeyc.com/
http://www.alternateva.com/
http://ewebdir.com/
http://directory2010.info/
http://www.autopilotdirectory.com/
http://directoryblue.info
http://craigslistdirectory.net/
http://arbitweb.com/
http://sosdirectplus.com/
http://approvelinks.info/
http://addlinkin.com/
http://praq.info/
http://prdp.info/
http://directoryexplorer.com/
http://niresource.com/
http://stickylink.info/
http://vastlinks.info/
http://goodposts.com/
http://horizondir.info/
http://cw12.com/
http://www.sitepromotiondirectory.com/
http://www.abc-directory.com/
http://www.submissionwebdirectory.com/
http://www.marketinginternetdirectory.com/
http://www.usalistingdirectory.com/
http://www.siteswebdirectory.com/
http://www.ukinternetdirectory.net/
http://packages-seo.com/
http://cosee-now.net/
http://www.gmawebdirectory.com/
http://littlewebdirectory.com
http://www.prolinkdirectory.com/
http://www.directmylink.com/

List of Best Guest Posting Sites

http://www.eelseo.com
http://www.searchenginepeople.com
http://www.mpdailyfix.com
http://www.seo-hacker.com
http://www.kikolani.com
http://www.webdesignbooth.com
http://www.dkspeaks.com
http://www.bigmarketingsmallbusiness.com
http://www.dailyseotip.com
http://www.seodesk.org
http://www.seoandy.com
http://www.alexwhalley.com
http://www.bpwrap.com
http://www.bosmol.com
http://www.canimakebigmoneyonline.com
http://www.newbizshop.com
http://www.wpblogmagazine.com
http://www.internetmarketingnigeria.com
http://www.madimmarketing.com
http://www.fmsseo.com
http://www.kerryseo.co.uk
http://www.allinanchor.com
http://www.seocenter.com
http://www.seinternetmarketing.com
http://www.thehealthymoms.net
http://www.organicjar.com
http://www.healingtalks.com
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http://www.healthresource4u.com
http://www.worldhealthhub.com
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http://www.actabit.com
http://www.dailyhealthcare.net
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http://www.webdesigneraid.com
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http://www.topdesignmag.com
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http://www.sitesketch101.com
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http://www.investopedia.com
http://www.financialmentor.com
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http://www.minglebox.com
http://www.allynbaconmerrill.com
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http://www.saycampuslife.com
http://www.world.edu 

Big List of Sweden Directories Submission Website All Working

http://www.addfreewebdirectory.com/countries/sweden/
http://abcinternet.se/
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http://citrucen.com/
http://f4.se/
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http://swedeninternational.se/directory/
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http://webbkatalogen.biz/
http://www.1st.se/
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www.sokmotor.biz

2014 High PR 50 Social Networking and Bookmarking Sites List Updated in January

High PR Social Networking and Bookmarking Sites List 2014
Social Bookmarking Sites PR
http://twitter.com 10
http://pinterest.com 9
https://www.facebook.com/ 9
https://www.linkedin.com/ 9
http://sourceforge.net 8
http://tumblr.com 8
http://zotero.org 8
http://reddit.com 8
https://delicious.com/ 8
http://plus.google.com 8
http://www.examiner.com/ 8
http://slashdot.org 7
http://bibsonomy.org 7
http://dipity.com 7
http://linkarena.com 7
http://newsvine.com 7
http://diigo.com 7
http://digg.com/ 7
http://technorati.com/ 7
http://slashdot.org/ 7
http://www.fark.com/ 7
http://www.designfloat.com/ 7
http://squidoo.com 6
http://buzznet.com 6
http://folkd.com 6
http://linksilo.de 6
http://wikia.com 6
https://www.stumbleupon.com 6
http://blinklist.com/ 6
http://www.mister-wong.com/ 6
http://multiply.com/ 6
http://www.gather.com/ 6
http://segnalo.virgilio.it/ 6
http://www.metafilter.com 6
http://www.dzone.com/links/ 6
http://www.icerocket.com/ 6
http://www.hotklix.com/ 6
http://marketingland.com/ 6
http://jamespot.com 5
http://designbump.com/ 5
http://twicsy.com/ 5
http://www.myus.com/ 5
http://kirtsy.com/ 5
http://popurls.com/ 5
http://givealink.org/main/show 4
http://www.dropjack.com/ 4
http://www.linkagogo.com/ 4
http://www.social-bookmarking.net/ 4
http://www.a1-webmarks.com/ 4
http://newsmeback.com 3