The term ‘linkbait’ is used in SEO to describe content that is placed on a website to generate incoming links from other sites. This content can be a quality article, attractive images, interesting blog posts, funny videos, or any other source that will draw in traffic consistently to a site or page.

Link baiting techniques are possibly the most efficient way to create incoming links to your blogs and pages without having to pay for expensive advertising. They are also quite useful in creating immediate traffic and boosting your search engine rankings. Higher rankings and a growing audience has many benefits, including:

• Business sites will experience increased sales;
• Web users with RSS feeds, newsletters, email lists, etc. will notice more new subscribers;
• A vast growth in loyal readers;
• One link may lead to another, creating secondary traffic.

There are several different methods you can use to bring in traffic consistently. To name them all would be impossible, as new ones keep popping up constantly. Nevertheless, here is a list of the most widespread linkbaiting techniques currently used (note that some techniques may overlap).

1. Write Quality Articles – You do not need to stuff a site with lots of text as long as the articles you do publish are interesting and of high quality. If people like what they read, they will be back and may even re-post or tweet about it. Update your articles frequently, so your fans have a reason to visit often.

2. Web Design – Ask yourself, who would not want to be associated with an unusual, ingenious site? People love originality and will, therefore, create links to sites that have a clever and innovative web design. Be one of them!

3. Offer Tools – offer useful, current and free tools that other websites might use and can mention thereby pointing back to your site. A wonderful example of such a tool is the one developed by Dane Carlson on his Business Opportunities blog. You simply type in your blog’s URL, and in seconds, this free tool will tell you how much it is worth.

4. Create Tests, Surveys & Quizzes – People love quizzes, surveys and tests, so use this knowledge to your advantage. If they are set up properly, they can become quite viral.

5. Organise Contests – Similar to tests, surveys and quizzes, contests are quite popular with readers. Organize a contest many people can participate in. Make it competitive and offer an attractive prize. The more valuable the reward, the higher the participation rate.

6. Participate in Awards – While not all awards are effective, many will generate a generous buzz with lots of traffic, and as a result, many incoming links. Awards can be beneficial on a number of levels. They will generate links because:

- Participants will generate links to pursue people who will vote for them
- Winners will generate links to create opportunities to tell people of their victory

7. Be a pioneer – Be the first and create a niche no-one else has set up. Come up with an original idea, a new catch phrase, a brand new web tool,… something nobody else has, and you will generate traffic like you have never seen before. Being second, third, etc. will also generate traffic, but far less.

8. Know what is in demand – Sensationalism is like a magnet, thus use it to your advantage. Create a section on your site for breaking news updates, scoops and scandals. You can also expose fraud cases, and warn people of the latest scams.

9. Publish a Press Release – Be proud of your achievements, especially if you are first. It is a breaking story you can publish on your own site, as well as on sites created especially for press releases. People are curious, and before long, your traffic will increase.

10. Podcast – By podcasting you can give your credibility and incoming links an incredible boost. Giving tips, launching tutorials, and spreading the news on topics related to your industry or field of expertise is a great way to attract the attention of bloggers and have them linking to you.

11. Make Lists – People seem to love lists and ‘how to’ blogs. Content that is broken down is easier to read and comprehend – just check out “Delicious” and “Digg.” As many websites are starting to use this approach, be original in your set up if you want many links!

12. Be Funny – If you want great linkbait, find a humorous edge. People enjoy daring cartoons, hilarious photos, amusing videos, witty stories and funky titles. Sarcasm can also work well but be sure that your tone isn’t offensive so as to put of too many people.

13. Create an internet celebrity – Many people want to be famous, so give them the opportunity to be discovered. You can organize a contest, or offer participants a chance to display their talents. The bigger the prize, the more incoming links will appear on the web. Sometimes you may even stumble on an internet sensation.

14. Start a community – The desire to ‘belong’ is embedded in human nature, therefore, setting up a community people feel connected to can bring great benefits. Prime examples are Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. You too can create a site or discussion forum where members with similar interests can post messages and comments. Be sure to have a representation on the other major social networks as well.

15. Express yourself – Well-written rants and other ‘shock’ tactics can attract a lot of attention, especially from people who have the same opinions (or the complete opposite) about a certain issue. A passionate tirade or a controversial idea mentioned in your blogs and articles will generate heaps of links, but can also produce plenty of responses ( and criticisms) from your loyal followers. Be prepared for those reactions by setting time aside to follow up on those comments!

16. Pick a fight – If you do not agree with another blogger or competitor, you can always try to pick a fight and hope someone will ‘bite’ back. This is a risky linkbait approach, which may come back to haunt you some day if not orchestrated properly. Take the extra links, but do not destroy your opponent and be prepared to receive some heavy ‘fire’ yourself!

17. Produce Research and Statistics – If you can spare the time, conduct your own studies. It is worth the effort, as interesting and original research results and statistics are quite popular. Your original findings can be used as illustrations by yourself, like-minded bloggers and sympathetic website owners.

18. Give free stuff away – Everyone likes to receive presents and free stuff. It is a fact that has been proven many times over by experts, as well as talk show hosts like Oprah. Who could ever forget that day she surprised all her audience members with a free car? It created such a buzz that people are still talking about it even after all this time. Of course, not everyone has that kind of money to throw around, but there has to be something valuable you or perhaps one of your sponsors can give to your fans, even if it is only a free, practical program.

19. Write Useful Pieces – Although this technique may overlap with some of those listed above, it is worth mentioning on its own. Writing attractive and unique content is part of any successful SEO strategy, as it will not only increase the amount of incoming links, but will also give your rankings a nice boost. Quality writing is important, but will not help you to succeed in reaching your goals if it is not beneficial or interesting to your readers. Consequently, pick your topics wisely. Give useful advice, entertain your audience, circulate improvement information, and show your fans how they can master certain tasks.

20. Be Hip – The URLs of cool websites, blogs and pages are always generously passed around. You too can be inventive and come up with ideas to make your work stand out! Be inspired by the sites you personally like, and those most popular in your industry.
It is impossible to deliver a complete list of linkbait techniques, as new practices and ideas are regularly discovered. These tips that we have presented to you will, at least, give you a good start in your efforts to promote yourself, and strategically increase your web traffic through linkbaiting. Use the tactics you feel comfortable with, always respect your ethics, and never do anything you will regret later on or that may damage your reputation.

A press, or media release, is simply an official statement, or an account of a news story that is written specifically for the news media. Press releases can be published off-line as well as on the Internet.

Online press releases generally deliver fundamental information, data which is of interest to its readers, as well as the search engines. They also generate instant traffic to your website, and should therefore be included in any comprehensive Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign.

Here are some the advantages press release submissions can bring to your website:

Instant visibility
It is a known fact that news releases can increase your online visibility instantly. Great news stories always circulate quickly on the web, as long as they have an eye-catching headline, are well-written, and have accurate and interesting facts to report. The more often your stories will be picked up by the various online platforms, the faster your visibility will grow. Even if you are not a member of the press, you can still publish your PR on one of the many press release websites available to the public. Some don’t even charge.

Easy back links
Many PR sites allow back links, which you can place, either in the body of your text, or in the footer at the end. You can also include quality back links in the URL section, if there is one. Being able to incorporate back links can really boost first-page visibility and rankings, especially if your press release is accepted by a high traffic site.

Improved Ranking
Press releases that are search engine optimized, loaded with high quality short and long tail keywords, and are picked up by ‘Google News’ and ‘Yahoo News,’ can vastly improve your rankings.

Brand Visibility
Although press releases are not meant as an advertising tool, mentioning your brand and company successes can certainly help to improve your image globally. In fact, because of the press releases, which are read around the world, your company could attract a lot of business from foreign markets.

Increased traffic
We all know that the reason why websites apply SEO is to draw more traffic. First-rate press releases can make that happen, because with an interesting topic and a fascinating writing style your news releases will soon be picked up by all major search engines. People will hear your brand name more often and trust it. Any doubts? Just think about all the exciting news stories from major companies and websites you read have lately! If they can use PRs to promote their products and services, so can you!

What is usability testing?

Usability testing is a technique developed to evaluate products by testing them on users, while observers watch, listen and write down their observations. Test subjects can be anything from consumer products and documents, to websites and web applications.

What is the goal of usability testing?

Before conducting a usability test, identify your specific concerns and know what you would like to achieve. Tailor your test to meet those goals and objectives.

In a standard usability test, you may want to:
• Identify any usability problems the product may have
• Gather quantitative data on your participants’ performance
• Establish your participants’ satisfaction with the product

When should usability testing be applied?

Usability testing is vital to success, and should be incorporated as soon as a project starts. The more you test, the quicker you can identify concerns and prevent future disaster. Fixing problems early will also save you money later on, especially if your project revolves around building a website. Initiating website design changes can be difficult and expensive, so prevent rather than fix.

Test early and test often! Be smart by developing a prototype website first. Thoroughly test and retest, then apply your findings to the real web application.

What can usability testing teach us?

Usability tests can show you:
• If test participants are able to successfully complete the task scenarios
• If the participants can or cannot successfully complete their tasks in a set time period
• How many pages or clicks it takes the participants to successfully complete their tasks
• If the test members can perform well enough to meet your usability objectives
• How satisfied the participants are with the site in general
• What changes need to be applied to make the site more user friendly

Once you have your first test results, more detail oriented questions may arise.
• Are participants clicking to pages directly, or did they use a search tool?
• What keywords did they use in their search?
• Is your search box large enough for possible search words?
• Is your search feature easy to find on the page?
• Do the search results provide the answers users are looking for?
• Are your search answers usually on the first result page that pops up?
• Does your search feature also provide answers to questions with typing errors?

What do you need to remember when usability testing?

Never forget that:
• You are testing your website and not the users.
• Performance counts, not preference.
• You should use what you learn.
• Solutions should be geared towards pleasing all your users, not just a select few.

You are testing the site not the users

Tell your test participants that you are not testing them, but your website. Whatever they do is right, and no-one will be judged. Explain that you can learn from anything they do, even if they are confused, and fail to complete a certain task. Also, explain to your test participants that they will be working with a prototype website, and that through their cooperation you will be able to perfect the real site.

You too, should keep in mind what you preach. Don’t try to fix your test participants, but rather concentrate on ironing out the bugs of your website.

Performance counts, not preference

Preference is established by listening to the comments of your test participants, while performance can be measured by reviewing test results. Although preference and overall satisfaction are important, performance should receive most of your attention.

Reviewing your usability test results you may notice that performance and preference do not always match. Sometimes people will say they like a website although they are struggling with their tasks. They may be blaming themselves for their problems, rather than the site, or they do not want to hurt your feelings by giving your site a low score.

To avoid misleading results, test often and with different testers. Thoroughly compare results before coming to final conclusions.

You should use what you learn

Do not test and file the results, but use your findings immediately to improve your site. Set priorities, enhance your prototype, and test again until results are satisfactory

Solutions should be geared towards pleasing all your users, not just a select few.
When developing a product, service, website or web application, you will have to consider a wide range of users. No user is alike. They all have their own way of operating things, their own experiences, come up with their own set of questions, and have different needs. As a project manager, you will have to balance all these challenges, on top of managing time restraints, your budget, and resources.

Taking all your constraints and substitutions into account, try to create a website or web application that will allow you to satisfy the highest number of users. A successful website will answer most users’ questions, and will allow them to complete their tasks without difficulty, and in a reasonable amount of time.

Do not set yourself a launch deadline, unless you are certain that your website can perform adequately. Make sure that you have considered all possible user personalities, scenarios, and design flaws. Fix your flaws before you go public with your site; it will not only make you more successful, but will also save you lots of money.

Evidence has shown that a less than optimal product will never achieve the success that could have been achieved if it had started off with a better interface.

We live in a world that is quickly changing in every possible way. This includes the Internet, as well as social media. From experience, we all know that today’s publishing and marketing techniques are no longer restricted to simple email messages, but now involve a large number of highly effective applications. These applications can be used on their own, or in combination.

The following social media applications have been tried, and proven to be extremely successful.

Control the conversation!

Every website and online business owner wants to stand out, and one of the best ways to achieve that goal is to engage in conversation with your following. Live up to your reputation and talk to your customers through blogs, emails, articles, etc. Share information, ideas, plans for company expansion, and whatever else may be of interest to your audience. Be specific, yet be different from the rest of your industry.

Live up to your reputation

Reputation counts as much online as it does in the real world, maybe even more. In the real world, it takes a while for news to spread, but in cyber space, all it takes is a click of a button or mouse, and praise or slander spreads like a wildfire. You, as a social media mediator, have the power to control pesky rumors by being upfront and honest about your business. Prevent social suicide by creating multiple posts stating the real facts. If necessary, add proof.

Create an audience

You need an audience for your promotions and ideas to grow. You can accomplish this objective by:
• Be a resource – Provide valuable information.
• Be interactive – Find the perfect balance. Offer quality content, but don’t overdo it.
• Increase your web presence – Try various social media techniques instead of sticking to just one. Use email, blogs, Tweets, etc.
• Market online/offline – There was a time before Internet. Use both traditional and cyberspace media techniques, if applicable.
• Be yourself – Never disregard diplomacy, but sometimes you just have to be firm about your opinions.

Organic Public Relations

Organic PR can be created by participating as a contributor to the global social web, and steadily adding value. By being active in the entire social media network, you are not only visible to your own audience, but the entire cyber world. For example, writing blogs for other sites aside from your own, can attract people that would have otherwise never known you existed.

Use SEO strategies
Search engine optimisation (SEO) can be a valuable asset not only to promote your website with key search engines, but can also boost your social media applications. The rules that apply in SEO can, indeed, also be applied to your promotional strategies. SEO strategies will make your articles, copies and PRs more attractive, and ‘search engine friendly. At the same time, the added search engine visibility will help you reach more new and potential followers.

Monitor your progress

The Web offers a wide array of social media monitoring tools. Through them, you can find out if the topics you discuss with your followers are still current, or if new social media techniques are popping up. Technology never sleeps and new techniques are constantly being developed. Stay informed!

Think outside the box

It is a fact of life; people bore easily. They are always on the prowl for new foods, fashion, cars, entertainment, technology, or anything else that makes them tick, and although they may not be fully aware of this detail, the reality is that social media is part of that world that requires frequent updates and changes. To have a successful social media campaign you will have to think outside the box, and come up with extraordinary, innovative and ground-breaking strategies.

Promote coupons and rebates

Using your website, and various other communication methods, inform your fans that you offer coupons, rebates, special deals and demos on the products and services you sell. People never turn their back on a special deal, because they all like to save money. If your promotions are amazing, your customers will tell their friends and family. As a result, your audience will increase drastically, even without a huge effort on your part.

Survey the audience

“Social proofing, also known as “informational social influence,” refers to the polls and surveys researchers use to determine what is happening in a certain field. These studies are important, because they show how the audience responds to certain strategies. Knowing what your followers think, and hearing their testimonials is absolutely essential, especially if you are selling a product or service. Your customers’ statements will tell you exactly what your strong points are, and where you need to improve. Once you know your weaknesses, you can adjust your social media approach and target these ‘lacking’ areas. Even the smallest improvement can go a long way!

Hire skilled employees

Companies with an excellent social media reputation, and many success stories behind their name, are bound to attract talented workers. Paying attention to your customers shows that your company has a human side, and cares. That is very attractive to many skilled professionals, and once they come knocking on your door, don’t turn them away, but rather give them a chance to prove themselves. They obviously want to work for you, and will therefore likely become valuable assets to your social media network.

Redefine your company objective

Today’s thriving businesses no longer view social media as an extracurricular activity. With changing trends and competition more fierce than ever, some of the most renowned companies have long accepted that communicating socially is vital to the survival and growth of their enterprise. Follow their lead, and organize your own social media division. Before you know it, you too will be playing in the big leagues.

Although these social media tips will get you noticed, there are many other valuable techniques that can be applied to increase your online visibility, and radically boost the growth of your audience base. Do the research and properly apply the know-how. Upgrade your social media skills, and before you know it, you too will be able to brag about your success stories!

Most web designers are driven to create killer websites. They want each of their creations to be fresh, innovative, and functional, and most of all they want them spiked with the newest techniques. They know that if they don’t stand out from the pack, their work will not be noted.

Although these intentions are noble and easy to understand, in reality they may have the opposite effect. In other words, what looks good on paper, may not necessarily work in the real world.

The following is a list highlighting some of the worst mistakes a web designer can make.

1. Miscommunicating The Site’s Nature
Different audiences have different needs, but they all want to know what the site they have in front of them is all about. If a visitor cannot figure out what the site is about in the first few seconds, they will quickly move to the next site. Most users do specific searches and do not want to waste time with sites that do not fall into their set criteria.

Conclusion: Clearly state the nature of your site, and display this feature in such a way that it will attract your visitors’ attention as soon as they pull up your web pages.

2. Bad Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Your website search engine visibility can be drastically reduced by typos, plurals, hyphens, slang, and other variants of query terms. Search engines may not pick them up, and not all of your users may consider them. Especially the elderly and new Internet users may be unfamiliar with specific expressions.
In addition, wrong query terms and the misspelling of your products can confuse search engines. As result, you may go down in rankings, your customers may not find you, and you will lose important business.

Conclusion: Do not count on ‘advanced search options’ for users to find you. Do it right from the start and enter the right search terms. It will help your audience to navigate straight to you.

3. Using PDF Files
Most Internet users hate PDF files because they break the search flow. PDF files are tougher to handle, and simple tasks like printing or saving documents are trickier. Standard browser commands often don’t respond either, the document is hard to navigate through, and the paper layout rarely matches the size of the reader’s browser window.

Conclusion: Reserve PDF files for distributing manuals or other large documents, and stick to real web pages for your online business.

4. Leaving Navigational Links Unchanged
Links are a key factor in the navigation process, bringing your audience from one location to the next. Users like to know which pages they have visited, especially those that have proven useless to them. They do not want to waste time returning to those sites. On the other hand, some pages may have proven quite useful, and worth another visit.

As a website creator you have the power to assist your audience by allowing visited links to change colour. This way, your visitors will know exactly which links they have previously used.

Conclusion: Allowing visited links to change colour will help your audience to orient themselves better, and stops them from visiting pages they are not really interested in. Even if this feature is not beneficial to all of your visitors, the majority will appreciate your efforts.

5. Hard To Scan Text
A long page of uninterrupted text is boring, painful to read, and sometimes even intimidating.
Today’s online users have so much data to choose from that they no longer read every page they come across. They scan the headlines and subtitles, and only if they are convinced it is worth the effort, they will read the entire write-up.

To make your online text scannable, use well-documented tricks, including
• subheads
• bulleted lists
• highlighted keywords
• short, uncomplicated phrases
• short paragraphs
• the inverted pyramid – placing of the most important information first within your text
• refrain from complicated language

Conclusion: There is a distinct difference between paper print and online writing. Study the difference, and make sure your text is scannable. Keep your text easy to understand and add simple illustrations.

6. Small or Fixed Font Sizes
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to disable your Web browser’s “change font size” button and keep your font size fixed. Although you may think that tiny font sizes look cool and give you more room for text and illustrations, the majority of readers do not like small fonts, for the simple reason that they reduces readability significantly. Just ask anyone over the age of 40!

Conclusion: Respect your readers’ preferences and allow them the resize text when needed. Do not use small, fancy, or unreadable fonts.

7. Page Titles With Reduced Search Engine Visibility
The “Search Option” is the most important way for users to find specific websites. They will be attracted to your site, by your page title, which is contained within the HTML tag, and the micro-content write-up displayed right underneath. Essentially your SEO drives a major part in people finding you.

Users interested in your site will click on the page title and be automatically re-directed to your website. They will also use that same page title to bookmark your site in ‘Favourites’ folder.

Page titles are vital and need to be to the point. Therefore, don’t waste valuable space by starting your title page with “The” or “Welcome to.” Instead, list your company name first, followed by a brief description of your site. For pages other than the homepage, create a title with some of the most informative words related to your page, or the products displayed on that page

Conclusion: Page titles have to be visible to search engines, yet informative to your users.

8. No Navigational structure
A well-structures website has not only a navigational bar built in, but is also equipped with extremely visible links.

Particular website layouts and phrases have become quite popular on the Internet, and should be taken into consideration by those new to the field, or those with few proven design tricks up their sleeve. If you belong to either one of these categories, you should consider, for example:
• Organizing logos linking back to the homepage in the top-left corner
• Using the term ‘About us’ to display company information
• Placing navigation links in the same place on each page
• Moving flashing logos to the middle or bottom of the page. Users assume that anything placed above the top logo is advertisement
• Using the term ‘Shopping cart’ if you are selling products or services.

Conclusion: Do not underestimate the power of conventions. As the Internet matures, more and more of these customs and practices will emerge. Study your competitors’ sites and see what works for them.

9. Advertisements Are Like Red Flags
Placing ads on a website is not always to your advantage. A lot of users stop paying attention and will click away from sites that are too loaded with distractions.

Because of the “anti advertisement” phenomenon, users often mistake legitimate design elements for promotions. They do not study the web element; they only react out of habit.

If you want to avoid falling into the “advertising trap,” exclude the following from your design:
• Banners – Users never fixate on anything looking like a banner ad, which has a distinctive shape, and is generally located at certain spots on a page.
• Animations – Blinking and flashing text or other aggressive animations are distractive, and by and large not appreciated.
• Pop-ups – Overall, pop-up windows are a nuisance, and Internet users will often close them before they even have had a chance to fully download.

Conclusion: If you want to avoid being misread, refrain from website essentials that look like advertisements.

10. Not Respecting Consistency
Consistency is a virtue and one of the most powerful usability principles. Just think about how you feel when you visit some of your favourite websites. You know exactly where to click and what to expect whenever you use a website feature.

Your own audience feels the same way about your website. In addition, they expect the same features, and click-through results as they do from other websites.

Conclusion: If something works, don’t deviate. The more changes you make, the more you confuse your fans.

If you’ve done any sort of research on writing for the web, you might think you know what this article’s going to say. Keep reading anyway … I’ll buy a digital donut for anyone that can guess all four of the points before they read them! You probably already know about tactics like keeping your sentences short and paragraphs even shorter, making sure your content is relevant and contains real, useful information, and utilizing bullet points and internal sub-headings to make content easier to mentally digest. Today we are looking at 4 aspects of writing for the web that are radically different, even fundamentally different, from the idea of writing for print publication.

New idea #1: Keyword inclusion
Print authors don’t need to worry so much about having their book found via keywords – the only place that occurs is a library. Magazine authors and newspaper journalists don’t need to worry about this at all. However, when you’re writing for the web you cannot ignore the keywords for your page. You shouldn’t use them unnaturally – but be aware of places where you can easily substitute a keyword for a related word, without the text sounding forced and contorted. Keywords help your SEO.

New Idea #2: Writing for selfish readers
On the web, users can cherry-pick information to a higher degree than ever before. If your site tries to push its own agenda too overtly, or if it is too focused on itself, readers will click off and look for something more relevant to them.

In print, the opposite is true. People read from the start to the end of a magazine article or newspaper section … and they definitely read books from start to finish! They want the author to construct their experience, and they have quite a bit of patience with the time it might take to do so.

New Idea #3: Inclusion of hyperlinks
Hyperlinks are the very fabric of the web … not only are they the way that many of us get around the web, they also form one of the central building blocks for how search engines deliver content. Links are the way that everybody gets to any page they see on the web, and your content will naturally include them. The trick with writing hyperlinks is not to acknowledge the link (it disturbs the flow of your narrative), place it in the first instance of the relevant term, and never, ever use the words ‘Click here for such and such’!

New Idea #4: Embrace the sentence fragment
When you click through to a Google Books result for a search term, you most likely notice the difference in narrative style between the book, and the web pages you are used to viewing, immediately. Printed narratives always use complete sentences; in the more informal setting of the web full sentences are actually UNdesirable. Fragments help you pull keywords to the start of a sentence and therefore make it more obvious to a search engine what the page is about. Since readers on the web only process around 20% of words on a page, fragments are actually preferable.

Google stated back in July 2009 that real-time search was going to be their greatest challenge. It seemed that Bing had knocked out the internet giant with a tiny little rock for a while, when Microsoft announced a partnership between Bing, Facebook and Twitter to deliver real-time search results for the popular social networking sites. Now Google has caught up and jumped on the wagon – and they certainly rocked it around a bit in the process! Today we’re exploring Google’s real time search.

Google’s real time search was launched early in December, but not all users would have noticed the effect immediately. When you search for a topic that is trending on Twitter or elsewhere on the web, you may get the real time search results box – or you may not. If you search for results with the ‘Any Time’ option selected, you will usually only get real time results on ultra-hot topics. If you specifically want real-time results, you can go to ‘Show Options’ (just underneath the Google logo on the left hand side of a results page), and select ‘Latest’ instead of ‘Any Time’. If you do, you’ll notice that the entire results page keeps constantly updating itself, and most results in here will be from news sites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc.

Google’s offering seems to go beyond Microsoft’s in that they say they have improved their crawlers to offer a huge range of results in real time, not only status updates from Twitter and Facebook. Another qualification to the real-time search offering is that rather than simply being a stream of data, the real-time search results are filtered of spam and other irrelevant information. Google orders the results using these criteria:
• Author quality – which is likely linked to Pagerank
• Probability of relevance
• Query popularity

Concerns about quality
While most are enthusiastic about the change, some have expressed concern that the results will be ‘cheapened’ by the inclusion of real time search. That the inclusion of non-vetted information that can be published immediately by anyone on Google’s front page makes the entire thing less relevant. This is not a common opinion, however!

Benefits to business
The real-time search feature has some very ‘real’ benefits for businesses, as well as ordinary web surfers. These include:
• Web 2.0 is now firmly established – it makes sense to have content from the new web indexed in Google since it is one of the most popular info types on the net.
• If you are looking for breaking news or new information, the pages with what you are looking for probably haven’t had time to build themselves up to Google’s front page quality standards … which can take months!
• Other people’s opinions have become one of the most valuable information currencies on the web. The real-time search makes these more easily accessible.

CNet, though, expressed very real concerns about the balance between determining what is correct within the latest results for a subject. Most of the content is from sources that undergo little verification – users will have to keep that grain of salt in their mouths as they scroll through the real time results. It can take time for the truth to emerge … and when a random person’s thoughts are appearing on the front page of Google, they can hold a lot more judgmental weight.

So use the real-time search, and love the real-time search … but always remember to put that skeptic’s hat on before you click over to those ‘Latest Results’!

“Ooow, my brain! Don’t do that to me!”

When we’re on the web, thinking hurts. It is this principle that is behind Steve Krug’s seminal work on web usability, ‘Don’t Make Me Think!’. The nature of the net is to proliferate information, and our brains have a hard time processing all the new ways to present the same old thing. Making something usable on the web means making it obvious … and not making your visitors think too much. Today we’re looking at how to do that in practical terms.

Jakob Nielsen says that usability is comprised of five components, measured by both physical processes and a visitor’s mental state. They are:
• Learnability: Is it easy for people to figure out what they need to do to accomplish their tasks?
• Efficiency: Once they know what to do, can they accomplish most tasks quickly?
• Memorability: Will visitors remember what to do next time they visit the site?
• Errors: Do people make many mistakes on site, how severe are they, and can they easily recover from them?
• Satisfaction: Do visitors enjoy using the website?

Another key component which runs alongside usability, but is not technically part of it, is utility. Does a site give you what you need? If you’ve ever found those expired domain names pages that have none of the information Google told you was there, and a bunch of irrelevant links, you’ll understand why this is mentioned!

Cheat sheet for usability

One of the easiest ways to make sure your website is usable for your visitors, is to make sure that it takes advantage of conventions whenever possible. Sometimes, this might mean piggybacking on elements of very popular sites to create your own site – people will be familiar with your navigation by default, then. Some examples of taking advantage of conventions on the web include:
• Make your buttons look clickable. Make your buttons 3D, shadowed, and with a written instruction on them
• Put your search box up the top
• Put your navigation bar either on the left or up the top
• Use the simplest form of a word (‘Jobs’ versus ‘Employment opportunities’ or ‘Build your career here’, for example)
• Use bigger and bolder text for more important things. This clearly shows the hierarchy of the page
On the web, the place to differentiate yourself should mainly be your product, service, or other offering. Your design really shouldn’t .. and even the top creatives in the country can get it wrong. Check out this terrible usability example from Leo Burnett, nominated at WebsitesThatSuck for 2009.

How do I know if my site is usable or not?

If you are asking this question … well done! Some of the worst websites in the world have no idea how usable they are. Admitting that your mind is not necessarily representative of everybody else’s in the world is a great start. User testing is an easy process for gauging how usable your website is. It involves:
• Getting hold of some representative users of your website (ie, people in your target demographic)
• Asking them to perform some common tasks on your site, as well as conversion oriented tasks. So, can they find product information and check their account details … but more importantly, can they complete a purchase?
• Look at how long it takes to get from place to place, and ask them what they are thinking as they move through the site.

This is a wonderful way to ensure that your website can be used by the very people that you most want to spend time there. Usability testing is always a sound investment in your internet marketing.

Newspapers and magazines around the globe have been complaining for quite some time now that subscriptions are down. Readers are no longer interested in dragging around tons of paper, especially when they can satisfy all their reading needs online. As a result, the advertising industry has been shifting towards the Internet, following their fans.

Geoff Ramsey, CEO and cofounder of eMarketer, predicted that online marketing spending will increase by 9 % in 2010. According to Ramsey, the raise will occur due to a readjustment of the overall marketing budgets. On other words, entrepreneurs will pull out money previously spent on traditional media outlets and pump it into the digital world instead.

The online market is a big place, offering lots of choices to spend your hard-earned advertising funds. Some entrepreneurs feel they won’t need to spend any money for this because they could take care of all the tasks themselves, but we all know that this is virtually impossible. Nobody knows all the nooks and crannies of marketing, and no-one has the time to do all the work on top of running a successful business. Eventually, some of the responsibilities will need to be outsourced.

Now that you have made peace with the fact that you will be hiring help to design and realize an efficient marketing strategy, you will need to figure out how to balance your budget so you will receive the highest return for your investment (ROI). For that reason, ask yourself the following questions:
1. What exactly do I want to achieve? Do I want to generate higher sale, and increase leads, or will you focus more on conversions, higher targeted traffic, etc?
2. How much money can I spare for online marketing and SEO?
3. What are my ROI expectations?
4. Where do I need to spend my funds to achieve those ROI goals?

1. What exactly do I want to achieve?
Your objectives will depend largely on your type of business. If you operate an eCommerce website your main goal may be to increase sales or to increase conversions. In that case, hire professionals who are able to turn your existing, high targeted traffic into more sales.

If your traffic is ample, but your visitors are not really interested in your products or services, you may want to invest in professionals that can attract the right audience, the kind that is looking for your kind of merchandize. Without targeted traffic, sales will remain substandard.

2. How much money can I spare for online marketing?
Keeping the global economic crisis in mind, most business people today are uncertain about the amount of money they can or should spend on marketing. They are uncertain about the ROI of their funds, and often do not realize that, unlike traditional advertising methods, online marketing success can be tracked, monitored and tested fairly quickly after improvements are introduced. If the ROI is unacceptable, simply change your objectives; you can reinforce your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) plan, or redesign your marketing strategy.

To track your progress, download Google Analytics, or another analytics program. Use as many tracking and testing tools as you can, and collect as many resources as possible. The more complete your marketing tool palette, the sooner you will reach your goals.

3. What are my ROI expectations?
Everyone’s ROI expectations will be different, as no two businesses are alike. What works for one may be insufficient for another. For instance, one entrepreneur may spend $ 900//month for 6 months and achieve a 25 per cent increase in conversion rate. He may feel this was money well spent. Another company may spend the same amount over the same time period, yet only see a conversion growth of 5 per cent. Although their ROI increase is less, they may be equally thrilled with the results as the first company, because they started off with high targeted traffic and an excellent conversion rate. Any improvement is icing on their cake!

Whatever your expectations are, keep them realistic. It will help you assess your performance effectively and allow your hired help to meet your expectations.

4. Where do I need to spend my funds to achieve those ROI goals?
The best way to create an effective marketing strategy is to list all your strengths and weaknesses. If you know which areas need improving you will spend your money wisely and effectively and will be able to determine your ROI goals.

Don’t be fooled to think that once you have set your ROI goals, you’re done. They will change over time, just like your company will undergo transformations and the Internet will continue to evolve. Competitors will come and go, your merchandize or services will change and your disposable capital will fluctuate, just to name a few of the factors that may force you to reinvent your ROI aspirations.

The entire process may be rather confusing for beginners. In that case, consult with a trustworthy online marketing specialist. Most professionals are listed online and through customer reviews and client comments, you can find the one with a great success track record. Pick the one you will feel most comfortable with and can afford.

In conclusion: Attracting the right audience online is not as simple as placing an ad in your local newspaper. Your competition in the virtual world is bigger and fiercer, and not doing anything to improve your sales and reputation once your website is up and running, is one of the worst mistakes you can ever make. Therefore, know your strengths, weaknesses, prospects and threats. With that knowledge, you can arm yourself and always be one step ahead of your competition. Use the advantage, and before you know it, you will have achieved all your goals and objectives.

Much like the Mayan Calendar (only with less hype and lead time), some companies and bloggers have been predicting the SEO doomsday with the advent of Google’s personalised search. Yes, Google rankings will now change according to what a user has searched for and clicked on before, in addition to changing along with their geographical location and other minor factors. The milder, geo-targeted version of personalised search has been in effect for some time now (with not quite so much accompanying doom and gloom!), and changed SEO tactics only mildly. Today we are looking at why the impact of the new Personalised Search is likely to be equally mild; we check out the precise impacts that the new algorithms are likely to have.

The impact of personalised search

To help quell any myths about the general impact of personalised search on the re-organisation of SERPs, here are some key facts to consider:

• Only queries that a user has made before (or queries related to the current one) and clicked on a result from will be affected
• Therefore, the vast majority of possible queries will be unaffected
• Positions 1-4 have been seen to be only minimally affected by the new personalised search
• Positions 5-10 have encountered a bit of jostling and re-arrangement, but the URLs in the top ten are mostly the same.
• Google has been personalising results for signed-in users for some time now – the big change with the new personalisation rollout is that changes will apply to signed-out users als

This means that the core activities of SEO really haven’t changed at all. We still need to make pages accessible, design sites and content that are useful and necessary, target the keywords that people would be using to search for a company, and continue with link building activities.

What has actually changed with personalised search?

From an SEO point of view, there will be several new characteristics of SERPs to adjust to. We should also see a few new trends emerging as personalised search becomes more entrenched. These will include:

• Ranking placements are no longer as ‘reliable’ as they once were. Tracking with personalisation-off will need to be done for comparison, but still may not provide an accurate picture of what the ranking actually is.
• The importance of site design, user experience, customer service etc will all have an effect not only on your traffic and conversion stats, but also on your SERPs.
• In light of this, companies that are already doing well in SERPs and in user experience design will become even more popular … the rich will get richer! This doesn’t mean that if you are already in the SERP elite, that you shouldn’t try – there is always room for re-organisation of results.

How should personalised search help our best practices evolve?

Much as the changes don’t indicate the need for an overhaul of the entire industry, the focus of SEO activities will need to change subtly. We’ll see some things become more important, such as:

• Getting visitors to your site by any possible means. The fact that a single visit will put you at (or close to) the top of the results for a particular term in the future means that top rankings are actually easier to achieve, in a sense!
• Improving user experience and branding will be critical. If visitors like your site and visit it over and over, there will be not only a direct traffic effect, but a direct SERP effect.
• Understanding your analytics and viewing them in conjunction with your SERP to get a better picture of the effect that your SEO activities are having.

Personalised search may not be either the dragon that the doomsday-ers believe it to be, or the knight in shining armour that Google portrays it as! It is something that we’ll certainly have to work with, though, and another reason to take your search engine optimisationto the next level.