Digital Always Media Inc.
: Search, Social & Analytics :

It’s no surprise I (heart) ‘the interwebs’. It’s my life’s work, my passion, and my fun. I’m not always keen about certain aspects of it, though: our complete lack of privacy and willingness to forfeit it are my most common complaints about social media. But I’m from a time before the internet: when you had to find information through the Dewey Decimal card catalogue instead of Google, something my teenage nephews have clearly never heard of, and sometimes my scepticism gets the better of me when I hear of yet another social platform.  Medium may be the first one to change my mind.

Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone developed Medium out of an interest of developing a social sharing site the focuses on quality content while allowing an ease of use for all users. Although its BETA testing is only open to a small, select number of contributors (no date of roll-out is available yet), their vision is both clear and successful. Blending elements from every decent social site out there, and then some – including Reddit, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr, Medium allows you to post images and content, which can be upvoted with a small green toggle and then edited by the public. Subjects are grouped by categories, which allows for better organization, but its clean layout makes it easy to navigate.

 

So far, every bit of content I’ve looked at reeks of authenticity. It’s genuine, excited and honest – many of the qualities that drive return visits to social sites in the first place. My favourite part has been the image sharing section, and I think it’s what will establish the niche Medium is seeking.

For instance, can you look at this and not smile?

 

I not only want to read it, I want to be a part of it. It’s awesome, and funny, and a great reminder how far we’ve come in developing into a global collective. There’s no trolling (yet), no snark; just genuine glimpses into the lives of others, without the sort of behaviour that makes 4Chan such a cringe-worthy example of how not to be. There is a unique power is such a positive collective, and I am really excited about the possibility that Medium holds.

Can I be absolutely sure it stays this way? Of course not – it is the internet, after all. But I’m keeping an eye on it through my twitter account (@infinitesass), and believe me when I say I’ll be reporting on it again. I just have to go find some pictures from my childhood first.

SEO is a complicated issue for many small businesses. A lot of owners approach me looking for help, but due to time or financial constraints, can’t afford a consultant. I get that; having come from a start-up background, I am empathetic to the complications that arise from entrepreneurship.

Having said that, here is some straightforward advice for people attempting their own website optimization. Am I going to give you a blow by blow account on how to do this? No, because it’s not that simple. SEO needs vary from site to site; what works for an e-commerce site may not work for a NFP’s webpage, or a blog. What I will do is point out some of the less than obvious issues that are frequently overlooked by noobs. Here are some tips and advice for those considering it, or already in the process.

1. Understand the basics

Contrary to popular thought, SEO is not a process of manipulating the internet, but rather positioning your site to be efficient for search engines to  process and cache. It is essential that you understand how the internet works before you can positively affect your search engine results.

You must understand how the bots spider your page – it’s not like how you and I read from left to right. Understanding how the page is segmented and approach should help you determine the most effective set up, and ideal locations for keywords, etc.

Also consider how pages are rated and ranked by search engines (S.E.s). Knowing what the S.E.s expect from quality pages will help you prioritize the work you do on the site, both in the front and back end. A large piece of this has to do with keywords and research. Which brings me to….

2. Research – it’s not just for students

SEO is not something that requires just a couple of hours of attention: It takes time, research and consistent attention to truly bring results. If you believe three hours of work once a month is really going to work, you are gravely mistaken.

When it comes to research materials, timeliness is increasingly important. What worked two years ago may not work now (thanks Penguin and Panda!); is it is important that your research materials be recent if you’d like to affect real change.

3. What the hell is a Keyword?

It’s disturbing how often I am asked this by entrepreneurs who think they’re doing an excellent job in SEO. A keyword is a specific word that you want to use, that is targeted by searchers, and thusly the bots completing the searches.

Throwing a bunch of random words or links onto your page might have worked before, but the internet is a funny thing – and it is in a constant state of flux. Do some keyword research: That includes looking that the trends surrounding that word, or the search habit of the people or area that you business should be targeting. There are some great, free or low-cost software out there that will let you do this.

4. Don’t overestimate Metric turnaround and underestimate popular media – use it to your advantage

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but adjusting keywords and structure will not result in an instant explosion of traffic or conversions. Generally, you won’t see real results in your metrics for at least six months. To expect more is unrealistic, so learn to be patient.

Use this time to your advantage: it will allow for deeper research, and more time to generate traffic through social media, mobile apps and referential media. All of these are essential in the current landscape, and will help you generate organic links (essential) while creating genuine interactions with others. These could even be considered marketing initiatives, so keep it in mind when you’re establishing your marketing tactics and scheduling your time.

5. Under-valuing the time investment in SEO

I get it: working in a small business means time is critical. But devoting a small portion of your month to SEO just isn’t going to cut it. Although it may seem like an unrealistic amount of time, integrating 30-90 minutes per day into your work schedule for SEO/Marketing initiatives would improve your search engine results whilst increasing your ROI. The bright side: this includes Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Yelp and other emerging social apps: all essentials in your marketing plans.

In this day and age, is there any point in pretending we can quit Facebook or Google?

For the 99.998% of the population that didn’t notice, Facebook quietly launched their latest application, Brave New World “Find Friends Nearby”. Basically, when you’re at your next party, you can jump on your Android phone and log into a Facebook site that automatically connects you with others in your geographic vicinity. How does it do this? It tracks you, and then remarkets that information back to you in the guise of being social; with your permission, of course. Although it does sound tempting to some, perhaps we’re getting a little too comfortable with just how much of our info is out there.

But some people are fighting back, if you could call it that. IT WORLD’s Tom Henderson . A also explored the concept, noting that the EU has been critical of Google’s privacy policy, calling it ‘invasive’. Considering Europe’s position on cookies, this isn’t a surprise; but can you actually function as a technologist or a geek in this day and age and actually avoid Google-assisted and/or owned technologies?

Leaving isn’t the answer. It is hardly realistic. I’m all about privacy, but I’m also a realist. Caching personalized information does improve individual results, making the Internet the virtual playground we all know and love. But, more importantly, my job and the success of our clients revolve around this data. For any SEO to ‘quit’ Google is professional suicide: refusing to work with anything that Google has touched is pretty unrealistic, if not outright stupid. No Google Maps? Perhaps possible, there’s always Bing. No YouTube? Boring; but possible. No Analytics? No chance. We’re having a difficult enough time coping with non-referral data but a total lack of data, not a chance.

Am I 100% onboard with the idea that everything I do is tracked? No, but more on that another time. I am, however, onboard with the reality of the situation. At this stage of the Internet’s evolution, trying to eliminate all data mining would not only be futile, it would limit the effectiveness of search and social media applications. Furthermore, you should get used to the idea that everything you do online is recorded; somewhere in the world is a constantly growing cache of information with your name on it. Google, Facebook, Twitter, your ISP; everyone is tracking everything.

People can accept CCTV cameras in the streets, but can’t accept the idea that a multitude of organizations are tracking their online habits? Quit picking and choosing your arguments, and go down to the shops to get that Galaxy Bar. Facebook already knows you want it, anyway.