Google giveth, and Google taketh away; Google Apps for Business is no longer free. Photo Credit: CoolCaesar/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA

Bad news for any business owners who are planning on launching a website for whatever it is they are selling. Google, as it turns out, has decided to reverse course and will no longer be offering Google Apps for Business for free any longer.

Google Apps for Business now requires paid membership

In the beginning, the Internet was void. Then came the search engines and a bountiful supply of help for business owners, who would put up and develop websites to sell their wares or act as middlemen in selling others’ wares, as was their wont and Google saw that it was good. To that end, Google offered a suite of functions to people who registered their domain with the site, such as a business email account and bespoke versions of Google’s applications, called Google Apps for Business. Those that didn’t need a huge amount of support got it for free, those who needed much more server space and so forth had to pay for it. However, Google announced on Dec. 6, 2012, according to one of its official blogs, that this will no longer be the case. Use of Google Apps for Business requires payment.

Not a huge amount

Part of the reason is that businesses found the basic version wasn’t cutting the mustard and consumers likewise found the premium version to be overkill. That said, if one still wants to use Google Apps for Business, it isn’t exactly going to break the bank, as the site is only charging $50 per year, or if one only needs it for a month or two, according to a screenshot on Mobilemag.com, it’s $5 per month.  Unfortunately, that also comes with the loss of the option of Google Apps for Business Premium, which won’t exist anymore. Individual users, of course, still get everything free of charge, but business users who haven’t yet registered their domain will have to pay.

Ways around it

If one decides to buy, the purchaser gets 25 gigabytes of Gmail storage, bespoke versions of Google Drive applications, formerly known of Google Docs, tied to one’s domain name and round-the-clock phone support. They promise 99.9 percent uptime , as ever. Anyone who already has a Google Apps for Business account won’t have to fear, as they are grandfathered in. However, if someone wanted to circumvent the paywall, Lifehacker recommends this: log in to Google App Engine with an existing Google account. Click on the “Create Application” button and open the “Dashboard.” Select “Add Domain” and enter the domain name. A link will come up to sign up for Google Apps for Business, free. That is, until Google figures that out and shuts the loophole.

Sources

Google

MobileMag

Lifehacker

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There are a number of things one can do in the hunt for getting more links. Photo Credit: Cyclone Bill/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA

The more people are able to notice a site, the more people will visit a site and therefore the site will make more money. One way to boost traffic is getting more links, or rather having links to a page on or to a website itself and there are some basic tips that will help in that effort.

Getting more links means more exposure

Directing more traffic to a website is essentially like advertising in any other medium, in that a lot of the same rules apply. To get more people to come to a site, the site has to be seen by more people and the way most people see websites is by seeing a link, either on a search engine results page or on some other website. Ergo, a link to a website is exposure, more of it means more traffic and potentially more money. Look at link-farms such as Gawker, Newser or the Huffinton Post – lots of sites and videos went viral and exploded as a result of getting a link.

Some easy bits

According to SEO Moz, there are certain things that help immensely in getting more links. As a result of some analysis of certain webpages, SEO Moz found a few things definitely led to more links to a site, one of which was making sure a picture was in every post. They also found word count wasn’t a factor, as longer length often was a benefit, rather than a hindrance. Often times, longer word length indicates someone knows what they’re talking about, or really good at making it seem that way! Including multiple media in a post also helps a great deal, as SEO Moz also found that pages that included at least three mediums, such as a list, video, pictures or text, got more links than those that didn’t.

What will anger the Great and Terrible Google

However, some link building schemes might be good for getting more links, but will not amuse Google. According to a Google Webmaster page discussing the topic, there are some link building strategies that will get a site’s page rank punished for insolence. Buying or selling links is a no-no. Link trading, in a “one hand washes the other” manner will also get a site noticed. Linking or having a link seeded onto a site that has nothing to do with yours is also a red flag for Google. Making a “partner” site just to cross-link and build up rank that way will also not work. In essence, any unnatural link that is clearly not the result of organic linking is going to get your site punished.

Some other things to think about

According to post on SearchEngineLand.com, one sure-fire way to get links is to have as relevant content and keywords as possible. Obviously that’s a bit more of a given since the Panda and Penguin updates, but the salient point is that if content and keywords are very specific and relevant to each other, then more people looking for precisely that thing will notice it. They will also link to it. In other words, a good strategy to getting links is to concentrate on creating an honest and informative site. Visitors are more likely to link if they find the page to be authentic.

Sources

SEO Moz

Google

Search Engine Land

The post Tips on getting more links appeared first on Adworkz.

Use images to enhance your company’s presence on social media sites. Image: Mykl Roventine: Out & About/Flickr/CC BY

The evolution of the social media has been a movement toward fewer words and a greater use of imagery. To stay competitive, marketing strategists need to pay attention to the trend and find ways to integrate imagery into social media campaigns.

The move toward imagery

The rise of visually-oriented social media has grown exponentially in the last year. In July, 29 million Americans were visiting Pinterest on a weekly basis. A year earlier, it was only 1.27 million, according to Experian. Other data shows Pinterest gets more visitors than Twitter, Stumbleupon, LinkedIn or Google+.

Instagram likewise has seen its weekly traffic grow from 56,360 last year to more than 12 million this summer.

Even Facebook has become more visual of late, with its move to the Timeline format.

Find iconic images

To be most effective, the images used in your social media campaign should be iconic. They should tell a story in a compelling and immediate way.

Begin by clarifying exactly what you want to communicate to your social media visitors. What do you want them to think of when your business is mentioned? And what kind of image will most effectively brings that to mind?

According to Dawn Pigoni, writing for SEO News:

“Every business can be expressed through images, you just have to do a little brainstorming to figure out what will work best.”

Build a bank of images

Build an archive of relevant, iconic images you can draw on when the need arises. There are many ways imagery can be acquired. The most costly, but perhaps the most effective, is to hire a professional photographer or graphics designer. Or perhaps somebody in the office is adept with a digital camera and image-enhancing software. Images can also be purchased from an online image gallery. Alternately, there are thousands of images available on sites like Flickr that are licensed for public use at no cost.

Enhance posts, attract attention

Today’s social media user has been trained to grasp things in little bytes. Their attention span can be very short, so you want to grab them with a compelling image. That will increase the amount of traffic that actually takes the time to read your post.

For instance, any time you update status on Facebook, think about what image would best enhance the subject matter. By including an image or a video, traffic will likely increase.

Keep track of likes, comments and shares to determine which images are most effective. That will help determine a direction for future images.

Get familiar with social media channel

Become an expert at whatever social media site you are utilizing. Not only does that ensure the most effective use of the platform, but it will also make sure you don’t come across as a novice or amateur.

Encourage sharing

Get your customers involved by encouraging them to share photos of their own. This keeps them interested, and adds to your library of images.

For instance, you could have a contest on Facebook, encouraging customers to upload pictures of themselves using your product. Further, encourage them to also put these images on their Pinterst board. Or ask followers to use your company’s unique hashtag when posting related pictures to InstaGram pages. Perhaps they can earn rewards by doing so.

The old saw says that pictures speak a thousands words seems increasingly relevant in a society that is learning to communicate in more and more visual ways. Let your social media campaigns embrace the trend, or you may be left behind.

Sources

Marketing Land
SEO News
Social Media Examiner

The post Using imagery in social media campaigns appeared first on Adworkz.

You want Google to return better, more immediate results for your new blog. (Photo Credit: CC BY/Brett Jordan/Flickr)

Search engine optimization techniques are important for driving traffic to your blog. Social media and “good blogging” techniques are just as important, if not more so. CLICK HERE if you missed the beginning of this article.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 7 – Be a guest blogger and trade posts

Once you establish a good working relationship with a blogger in your subject area, politely propose the idea of exchanging guest posts on your subject area. Followers of the other blog may very well also begin to follow your posts, and your group of followers may very well give the guest blogger’s site additional traffic, which is always welcome. It’s a you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours proposition between friendly bloggers, and it’s how traffic is generated. The growth of audience will be noticeable.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 8 – Link up with social media

Facebook and Twitter are absolutely lockstep in forming strong social media ties via your new blog. If you have videos hosted on YouTube to boot, it can all go viral. Just be sure to use a blog platform like WordPress, as social media sharing capabilities are built into the interface. Studies indicate that post timing is important, too. Tweet your posts between 1 p.m. And 3 p.m. Mondays for optimal effect, and at 3 p.m. Wednesdays on Facebook, claims Seo-News.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 9 – Learn SEO techniques

If Google can’t find your new blog, you’re dead in the water. With search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, your chances of appearing higher in the search rankings increase. Use simple, pertinent keywords in your posts, don’t overstuff and link to other relevant pages on your own website. A modest number of external links also help, but again, focus on pertinence and quality of the material to which you’re linking.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 10 – Extra tips and tricks

Sometimes, the nine tips above won’t give your new blog quite the juice it needs to gain big-time readership. If such is the case, there are a few more things to try. Not “tricks” in the superficial sense, mind you, but tricks that are actually blogosphere-tested. One is to produce “how to” articles – because the Internet isn’t just for porn, but for detailed instructions about how to do many things. Using social media share buttons on your site for readers is also a good move, as it puts the power to publicize your work in the hands of many. Then there are contests and prizes you can offer through social media. They don’t have to be expensive. Also, don’t forget that it is essential to make sure all of the HTML code validates and that there are no broken links. Search engines penalize sites with bad code. It’s all about consistency – of code, writing quality, writing frequency and visual design – and if you’re consistent, you’re more likely to draw a consistent readership that keeps coming back for more and recommends your new blog to others.

Sources

SEO Moz

SEO-News

Spyre Studios

The post How to drive traffic to a new blog (Pt. 2) appeared first on Adworkz.

Encouraging discussion is important to the success of your new blog. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Cortega9/Wikipedia)

Maintaining traffic on an established blog requires some upkeep. But what if your blog is completely new? Attracting readers and encouraging discussion are still important, but how will you drive that traffic to an unknown? Here’s how to drive traffic to a new blog, 10 tips to demystify the process.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 1 – Content is king

If someone tells you that content no longer matters, they’re wrong. In the long run, humans have the ability to decide what’s useful and what isn’t – and bastardized content with poor grammar and syntax will blow away like powdered digital fecal matter in the dust bin of history. Good writing opens eyes, rather than causing them to glaze over. Unique, well-written content that provides the reader with real value is something that not only humans can recognize, but search engines like Google are increasingly able to sniff it out better than ever now. Don’t B.S. your audience.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 2 – Venture to other blogs and strike up conversation

Think of the blogosphere as something not all that different from the real world. When you reach outside your shell and communicate with others, they will be more predisposed to view you favorably. Go to other blogs you enjoy and tell them so. But don’t stop there. Starting conversations by asking meaningful questions and providing insight can go a long way toward attracting readers to your own new blog. This is where the linking feature in the comments section of a blog is so very valuable. Whether it’s your blog’s URL, email or both, you are providing pathways through which other bloggers can follow – and possibly link to – your new blog. In the process, established bloggers refer other potential readers. This establishes a relationship of trust and respect – so don’t spoil it by spamming the comment section.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 3 – Target blogs in your niche

If your new blog has to do with feminism in film, your target for building relationships with other bloggers shouldn’t necessarily be blogs about uses of pig offal. Not that there’s anything wrong with either, but the connection simply isn’t there. Seek out established blogs that deal with subjects similar to your own. Once you’ve done that, join communities of bloggers of like mind, participate in message boards and forums on the topic and simply be active in the discussion. The relationships you can forum will only help drive blog traffic your way. Be personable.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 4 – Link to other blogs

Like any real-world relationship, there’s a give-and-take, an effort that is required for a relationship to remain fresh. If you receive good press and good advice from an established blogger, give them credit without hesitation. Link to their blog on your own website, or even take the initiative by linking to their blog first. It’s a gift they’re sure to notice. Link through your blog roll, sidebar, or even via direct links in your articles. Give and you will be more likely to receive.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 5 – Get on a blog directory

Blogging directories are another way to gain exposure for your fledgling online venture. It opens doors and exposes your blog to new audiences in a targeted manner – individuals who are predisposed to be looking for discussion on matters that your blog covers. Get your blog in appropriate directory categories, and pay attention to the quality of the directory you use. Generic “link farms” aren’t worth a thing, and they may even bring negative press your way.

How to drive traffic to a new blog tip No. 6 – Share content in bookmarking sites

Sites like StumbleUpon follow the concept of providing categorized bookmarks to their own social networks. Such sites have gained increasing clout in recent years, which means that their own traffic is significant. When your blog appears among the bookmarks/thumbs up/etc, you’re putting your work before more eyes. May the odds be ever in your favor comes to mind.

CLICK HERE for the conclusion of this article.

Using video to drive small business website traffic

Sources

SEO Moz

SEO-News

Spyre Studios

The post How to drive traffic to a new blog (Pt. 1) appeared first on Adworkz.