There’s a lot of talk online at the moment relating to Google’s ‘Instant Search’, and I’ve received a fair few questions from clients and friends asking what the implications are from an SEO perspective; to the extent that I thought a quick blog post might be the order of the day…

What is Google Instant Search?

Google Instant Search is a form of Incremental Search – or ‘search-as-you-type‘ that starts producing ‘suggested results’ as soon as you start typing – basically it guesses/pre-empts what you’re trying to search for, which Google thinks it will deliver matching results faster.

But before we go into the ins and outs of it, ‘search as you type‘ isn’t new, infact Yahoo did something very similar back in 2006:

And Microsoft (i.e. Bing) have been developing an enhanced search experience using HTML and Apple’s Safari 5 browser:

Google Instant Search: SEO/SEM implications

For years now, Google have been advising site owners/managers/SEOs to optimise for the longtail as that’s where conversions take place: not just for organic listings but also for Google Adwords (PPC – pay per click) so my immediate thought was that we have to go back and start optimising again for the ‘short tail’ keyword because the search results change dynamically as you’re typing!

This particularly effects PPC as the sponsored links also change and there (at least at the moment) are more sponsored links than before. What impact will this have? More revenue for Google through Adwords listings and an increase in PPC costs for advertisers as keywords bids become more competitive. But from a usability perspective, we now have to go through 5-6 times more PPC ads than we had to before in order to find the actual results that we were looking for: this is because Google Instant Search performs a new query with every time you type a different letter and changes the sponsored links to reflect this.

From an organic search result perspective, if an individual didn’t want to click on a sponsored link then they now have to scroll a lot further down to find a relevant result. But more so than before because websites will have to compete against so many more search verticals (news, shopping, video, images etc) and from a variety of different sectors…

But doesn’t this defeat the whole purpose of Google Instant?

There will undoudtedly be an increase in costs (expanentially) for companies that want to get their website to appear as early as possible within the dynamic search result listings – and this may cause a return to the days of ‘keyword stuffing‘

And finally…

I don’t think this is the best Google update we’ve ever seen – in fact I’d go as far to say that it’s a bit of a false starter… I can see Google Instant Search benefitting those people that have never used a search engine before however for the majority of us that know how to use a search engine, in my honest opinion, makes it complete a distraction.

The ‘Instant’ search results have so much more emphasis on sponsored links, which begs the question, is the the main aim of this update actually to increase Google’s Adwords revenue rather than to enhance the users search experience?

Personally, I don’t need Google to search for things that are of no interest whatsoever to me, I don’t like to be interrupted whilst I’m typing and when I use Google Instant Search it feels like Bart Simpson asking Homer, “Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair? Can we go to the fair?” …. ARGHHHHHHH!

Displaying new search results again every time a new character is definitely a Bart Simpson moment… but that is purely my subjective opinion… The good news is that Google Instant Search only works if you’re logged into your Google account and I suspect that not many people are logging into or have a google account. But this can also be turned off. Google Instant Search also doesn’t work when a person is searching directly from the browser search field…

As always, happy to be challenged and educated

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When you write a post – whether it’s a tweet, blog or comment etc – and people read it, repeat it and they like it – this can at times lead us to feeling ‘I’ve done it. I’m finally reaching people’

But in point of fact, this is only the beginning. Because even though tracking what people think about what you write is good and establishing whether their feelings towards you and your content are great or not so great is important, measuring the results of your communication efforts is actually key.

In an offline world, and to quote Guro John Popolini (the world leader in ‘sucksess’ coaching) “When you are in a room full of people it’s important you get as many business cards as you can. The more you have… the more money you will make”

This of course is BS and just ‘more’ online ‘whatevers’ are not a measurement that we should focus purely one.

Yes, more can be good, but simply having more friends, more followers, more likes etc than your competitor is not a metric to measure the success of how well you, your company or your brand are successfully engaging with people that are interested in what you do.

From a deeper perspective, more isn’t an end unto itself… it’s only a means to an end…

Just counting the number of people who follow you on twitter and or subscribe to your blog/newsletter is easy … What you should be measuring is how many of them are actually engaged!

Engagement for me is when someone cares enough about what you have written to such an extent that they felt compelled to do something about it. E.g. This blog post came about after reading @SuButcher ‘s post from yesterday http://www.justprofessionals.net/2010/09/how-to-work-out-the-size-of-your-audience-on-twitter-in-4-steps/

Seeing a level of active participation from the people that follow you etc is a much more rational metric than the number of bums on seats that registered – but missed what you were saying because they were in the loo, blinked or at the bar when you said it…

Metrics I like to use to understand the effectiveness of online communications are based upon the number of people that:

- read it (easy to measure)
- saved/embedded/downloaded it
- rated it
- repeated/quoted/retweeted it
- commented on it
- recommended it (challenging to achieve)

And finally…

So over my next few posts I’d like to explore different ways you can use to encourage people to move from just reading it…to recommending it. And as this is an evolving medium it would be great if you share what is working for you too and or what isn’t.

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I came across this youtube video from Coca~Cola (launched today 7th September 2010) that is truely REMARKABLE, and one that clearly everyone involved in will talk about, think about for a very long time to come. In fact I don’t think they’ll approach a Coke machine ever again without thinking about it or wondering ‘I wonder if…’

This is such an effective offline engagement – a sequel to the youtube viral sensation posted back on the 12th January 2010 that currently has 2,644,680 views – that transfers WoM (word of mouth) in WoW (word of web) and shows you don’t have to spend millions to reach millions…

Good Ideas Don’t Just Happen

A good idea takes time to develop so you need to bounce ideas around and let them develop into an concept that people will understand – relate to… and if they do they’ll want to share it with everyone.

If you’re wondering where to start then the web makes it easier for us to get the creative juices flowing look at other videos and see what makes them effective. Read comments left by people to understand what spurred them to leave a comment! Keep in mind that you’re looking for that ‘one thing’ that provokes a reaction in them.

And finally…

Quite often, the best ideas are the most simple ones. The online space is in expensive in real terms – i.e. it doesn’t cost you anything (other than your time) to post a tweet, upload a video to youtube etc – so use this to your advantage.

So what video’s have you seen that made you take action? Post the links in the comments below…

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This post is support my 7 min talk at the Late Late Breakfast Show, at the Sway Hotel in Holburn tonight (20th July 2010). I will keep adding to this list when I come across sites, but if you know of any that are not here please can you add them in comments.

For those of you who can’t make it tonight, here’s my presentation…:

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I seem to write a lot about the importance of using the correct keywords but seeing as I’ve been getting more questions than normal I thought I’d put finger to ‘board once more…

Almost any business these days needs to have a ‘strong’ web presence and in many instances, offline business activity will increase if the number of visitors that reach the website increases. Cause and Effect – Economics 101. But there are so many methods that will increase site visitors, but (and this is a big but – not ‘big butt‘ as in Jennifer Aniston in the scene of her dancing and singing to her baby in Friends) more web visitors do not necessarily bring higher profits to a business. So it’s vitally important to attract the relevant traffic and keep non-targeted searchers away (more on that in a bit…)

Relevant traffic (i.e. those individuals that are looking to ‘buy right now’) depends on the quality and type of the keywords and keyword phrases that you use on your website, blog etc… And you have to identify what those keywords and keyword phrases are before you publish the content on said sites.

Behavioural Search

When someone starts a search, he/she/they will key in a keyword or a keyword phrase in the search engine box, and based on that, the browser will show a list of sites that match the query. Now, and this isn’t a Eureka moment – what you want here is to get your site to display in the search results (SERPs – search engine results pages) on the very first page, – preferably in the top 3 positions in those result pages.

But let’s work a small example through, and for examples sake let’s say that you sell Moisturising Wipes for Men… (chosen because I don’t know anyone that sells them… I think you can imagine that there would be several specialised (niche) keywords and keyword phrases that would be used like ‘moisturising wipes for sensitive male skin’, ‘how to moisturise your face with stubble’ etc. that should be utilised to promote this item. These sorts of keywords and phrases will increase website traffic and direct those website visitors, that are most likely to purchase something or leave some type of contact information through an ‘opt in’ feature on your website. But, if you make use of keywords that are too generic like ‘wipes’ or even ‘moisturising wipes’ you may bring in a huge amount of site visitors, however these visitors will offer little profit for your business.

So now it’s back to the ‘un-targeted traffic‘. All businesses that I speak with, large and small, that use ppc marketing with Adwords (pay per click) lose so much money on traffic that isn’t interested in buying. The % that do click through leave without doing anything – and it’s just cost the business £s for the privilege!

And finally…

An interested website visitor will spend more time on your site, searching through the items, reading content and making other searches – as long as your site has a search function that is… So you must endeavour to increase your traffic, reasonably and profitably by focusing on a your specific areas of what you do that is relevant to what people are searching for. The old adage of “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” really applies here. But once they are on your site make it easy for them to ‘discover’ the other ‘gems’ that you provide and show them that your content is constantly changing as this will position you as a ‘go to source’.

This continuous need to update a site is, for many businesses, deemed a waste of time and resources. However if a company is trying to increase the amount of relevant traffic to its site then creating site content should be approached in the same professional way as the products or services you sell or provide and not be not substandard.

Otherwise the effort you put into the website will make about the same difference as taking a bucket of water from the sea would do to reduce the rising sea levels!

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So as promised becasue the #shoestring tag wasn’t displaying the stream correctly – I think it was sabotaged #joke – I’ve integrated my tweets into the stream for those who might have found it difficult to follow…

If you were following along and didn’t manage to get a question in or you’ve thought up a question since the Twinterview pop it in the comments section below.

nixdminx

#shoestring @andybargery @leesmallwood – are we ready to go? Hi everyone, grab yourselves an icecold drink & ask for our advice about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck

abarge

OK lets get cracking. Q1 @nixdminx, What is your area of expertise in social media marketing? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck

nixdminx

@abarge I’m a strategist and prolific blogger too, I work with brands on the inside and also marketing agencies as a consultant #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to abarge

abarge

@nixdminx thanks. yes i’ve read your blog. worthwhile people reading for some insight i suggest http://bit.ly/5plySX #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck Retweeted by you

abarge

And Q1 to @leesmallwood. What is your area of expertise in social media marketing? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck

LeeSmallwood

I specialise in integrating digital communications, incororating strategy where people are, what they’re saying and how they’re saying it about 1 hour ago via web

LeeSmallwood

for FMCGs, consumer electricals, and sportsware manufactuers #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

LeeSmallwood

I love blogging and tweeting – sometimes work gets in the way thoughlol #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

abarge

thanks @leesmallwood, so you too are a blogger. Do you think it’s important to have a blog as part of your social media mix #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite in reply to leesmallwood

LeeSmallowood

I believe so… it’s a way of letting people see what you’re passionate about – and your personality #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

LeeSmallwood

it also lets people see what’s going on ‘behind the brand’ #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

andsomepeople

Creative half of brain working on #intern #recruitment concepts, logical half keeping an eye on #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

nixdminx

@abarge There is no barrier to entry for a small business to get involved – common sense and savviness are required though #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to abarge

abarge

@nixdminx I guess the only barrier is the time and effort required to setup the right channels for your specific biz needs? #shoestring

nixdminx

@abarge when it comes to time; it all depends on finding relevant content and using it across facebook, twitter and or blogs #shoestring

nixdminx

@abarge an interior design company would showcase work well on facebook, a blog and youtube #shoestring

abarge

@nixdminx why then do you think business should care about social media? #shoestring

nixdminx

@abarge it’s great for start ups to make an inroad into online marketing; it’s also good to engage with your audiences #shoestring

LeeSmallwood

@abarge Social media itself is a term which, IMO, will be encapsulated under ‘communications’ #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

Lee Smallwood

@abarge so if we apply that to your question it kind of changes the context a bit as communicating effectively with people … #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge must be at the heart of everything any personal brand, SME or large multinational in order to deliver on its promises #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

ArchitectJane

@leesmallwood @nixdminx Q #shoestring how do you work out which channels are most appropriate – demographics / outreach information? about 2 hours ago via web

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane @leesmallwood facebook and youtube are mainstream mass audience vehicles; you can target any marketing spend #shoestring about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane @abarge I think social media shouldn’t be seen as a ‘channel’ in the more traditional sense of the word … #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane @leesmallwood #shoestring it’s my personal belief that a blog and bloggers are key influencers for your audiences and key about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

RT @nixdminx ‘it’s my personal belief that a blog &bloggers are key influencers for your audiences and key’ // completely agree #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge … it’s more of a direct dial directly to the people in an organisation that can deliver on the brands promises #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

abarge

@leesmallwood what do you mean by a direct dial? a way for customers to by pass your exsting custeomr service infrastructure? #shoestring

LeeSmallwood

@abarge yes, customer service, IMO, is the new marketing. Traditional forms of CS are failing badly … #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to abarge

LeeSmallwood

@abarge whilst SoMe CS use is proving to be very effective in delivering value to customers and clients … #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge @vodafoneuk is a great example opf this #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

abarge

@leesmallwood yes there are some examples of really great cust service online too, like @BTcare #shoestring about 2 hours ago via HootSuite in reply to leesmallwood

ArchitectJane

@nixdminx @leesmallwood #shoestring if your target is specific rather than mainstream how do you know best site to reach them? about 2 hours ago via web in reply to nixdminx

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane do you know where your audience hangs out in social media? if not, try research; lots of free tools are available #shoestring about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane that’s a great Q. In days gone by, people thought that you build it and people would come… #shoestring cc @abarge about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane … but now it’s finding the right platforms – and generally its more than just being on FB, twitter etc… #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane … niche platforms are generally far more appropriate, but it’s important that you go to people not expect it 2b #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane … the other way around #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane you can either spend a lot of time googling or use SoMe monitoring tools to help like @radian6 … #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane … although this may not be a viable option for a lot of companies – but there are freemium tools which can help #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane see the sources section here on measurementcamp wiki http://bit.ly/12Df0L really useful #shoestring about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane here’s a list of Free social media monitoring tools http://bit.ly/bbb7j5 #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

ArchitectJane

@leesmallwood @ArchitectJane here’s a list of Free social media monitoring tools http://bit.ly/bbb7j5 #shoestring <fantastic thanks! about 2 hours ago via web in reply to leesmallwood

BetterPM

RT @ArchitectJane: @leesmallwood @ArchitectJane here’s a list of Free social media monitoring tools http://bit.ly/bbb7j5 #shoestring… about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane free tools a great but #radian6 is v affordable if you look at the cost of advertising which is very hit and miss #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

nixdminx

Mr Tweet is a great place to identify other people to follow http://mrtweet.com/ #shoestring about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck

BetterPM

RT @nixdminx: Mr Tweet is a great place to identify other people to follow http://mrtweet.com/ #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

nixdminx

@leesmallwood can’t see your tweets but thanks for the RT! #shoestring about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to leesmallwood

LeeSmallwood

@nixdminx hmmm v weird #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to nixdminx

BetterPM

@nixdminx Not just me then, @leesmallwood not showing on public timeline for #shoestring about 2 hours ago via HootSuite

@BetterPM <sigh> #shoestring cc @abarge @nixdminx about 1 hour ago via web in reply to BetterPM

abarge

@nixdminx @leesmallwood Which companies are using social media well that we could all learn from? #shoestring about 2 hours ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge @vodafoneUK is a great model to follow for companies that are doing it well – pepsi is another and so is P&G #shoestring 45 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @vodafoneUK is a great model to follow for companies that are doing it well – pepsi is another and so is P&G #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge Tampax deal with a difficult subject matter for young girls very well on the site http://bit.ly/b8sNt6 #shoestring @nixdminx 34 minutes ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge but there are also smaller brands doing it just as well if not better… #shoestring 44 minutes ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge @teplio , @robertaward (mypropertymentor) , @robjcameron @dreamwall are some that definitely need to be mentioned #shoestring 43 minutes ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge plus I can;t miss out @subutcher #shoestring 42 minutes ago via web

ArchitectJane

@leesmallwood @nixdminx another Q how do you make yourself stand-out if you are using mass audience tools? #shoestring about 2 hours ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane quality content is key – don’t post for the sake of posting #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to ArchitectJane

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane make sure you have a coherent and integrated design for your channels; brand them, make them look professional #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

abarge

RT @nixdminx: @ArchitectJane make sure you have a coherent and integrated design for your channels; brand them, make them prof. #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite in reply to nixdminx

RobertaWard

@ArchitectJane You need a niche or a different way of communicating that folks like or can latch on to Jane #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck

ArchitectJane

@RobertaWard how do you analyse what people are liking and what not? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to RobertaWard

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane also a good idea to check out trade association blogs and twitter feeds #shoestring about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

abarge

@nixdminx @leesmallwood What are the key first steps for starting to use social media for marketing? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge listening listening listening… so many organisations just rush in because they hear how ‘popular’ certain platforms R #shoestring 41 minutes ago via web in reply to abarge

LeeSmallwood

@abarge … without understanding what the tone of the conversation is or even if it’s relevant. These organisations use … #shoestring 40 minutes ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge … what I call a PR bomb: there’s a group of people, here’s our message, drop it on them and wait for the fallout #shoestring 39 minutes ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge @nixdminx make sur that policies and procedures are in place, this is not only for large brands it applies for everyone #shoestring 38 minutes ago via web

nixdminx

@abarge do some research; make a plan – it’s a new innovation in marketing but traditional rules apply too #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to abarge

nixdminx

@abarge blogging is the best way to create a credible community; facebook is great for retail but you need to get a following #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to abarge

abarge

@leesmallwood what is it that @vodafoneUK does so well? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge the team over at @vodafoneUK have learned a lot, they deal with communications v quickly, keep people informed & up2date #shoestring 32 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: the team at @vodafoneUK deal with communications v quickly, keep people informed & up2date #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge and @vodafoneUK are very approachable… I just wish my network provider was the same! #shoestring 31 minutes ago via web

@abarge no not just for big brands & in my experience big brands have a lot of bureaucracy to deal with… #shoestring 33 minutes ago via web in reply to abarge

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge no not just for big brands & in my experience big brands have a lot of bureaucracy to deal with… #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

abarge

@leesmallwood @nixdminx how can I measure the ROI from social media marketing? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

nixdminx

@abarge for a small business, create opportunities to sell will be a key KPI; business leads and footfall are important #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to abarge

LeeSmallwood

@abarge metrics depend on why you are using SoMe? It’s not such a straightforward answer… #shoestring @nixdminx 28 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge metrics depend on why you are using SoMe? It’s not such a straightforward answer… #shoestring @nixdminx about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: metrics dpnd on why you are using SoMe? It’s not such a strghtfrwrd answr. need to set objectives first then!? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge e.g. Activity Metrics: Posts (ideas/threads), Comments & Trackbacks, Active contributors, Ratios: Member to contributor #shoestring 26 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: e.g. Activity Metrics: Posts (ideas/threads), Comments & Trackbacks, Ratios: Member to contributor #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge or Customer Support: Customer satisfaction, Number of initiated support tickets per customer per period #shoestring 26 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge or Customer Support: Customer satisfaction, Number of initiated support tickets per cust. per period #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge orgs need to establsh the why then the what… e.g. Product Development: % of ideas from customers/prospects/community #shoestring 24 minutes ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge there are new metrics pretty much for any company dept, and if you’re a 1man/woman band then #shoestring 24 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge there are new metrics pretty much for any company dept, and if you’re a 1man/woman band then #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge orgs need to establsh the why then the what.e.g. Product Development: % of ideas from custs/prospectsy #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge you have all of these to think about then decide what is going to help the most: both you customers and your business #shoestring 22 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge you have all of these to think about then decide what is going to help most: both custs and your biz #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

ArchitectJane

@abarge @leesmallwood @nixdminx how can I measure the ROI from social media marketing? #shoestring <what is ROI? about 1 hour ago via web in reply to abarge

abarge

@ArchitectJane: ROI = Return on Investment i.e. is it worth your time and money #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane ROI is return on investment ; the cause and effect of marketing #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@architectjane the new ROI IMO isn’t what it’s traditionally known for return on investment… #shoestring @abarge @nixdminx 30 minutes ago via web

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @architectjane the new ROI IMO isn’t what it’s traditionally known for return on investment. #shoestring @abarge @nixdminx about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@architectjane for me ROI now stands for return on involvement – it better describes the process #shoestring 29 minutes ago via web

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane is your ROI question about your social media work for your company? what is the main objective of marketing? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

ArchitectJane

@nixdminx my main objective was originally to find new customers for architectural services… #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to nixdminx

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane you can showcase your work on social media really well ; it can be your social portfolio and influence people #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

ArchitectJane

@nixdminx …probably a bit naive and not very focussed! Now I´m busy&being selective about clients, but none gained through SM #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to nixdminx

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane you could also update your blog once a week and share the update on twitter to get some comments #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

ArchitectJane

@nixdminx I struggle with blogging – not sure what to write that others would find interesting and don´t want to bore people #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to nixdminx

ArchitectJane

RT @leesmallwood @architectjane for me ROI now stands for return on involvement – it better describes the process #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

abarge

Are you able to link scial media marketing effort to increased sales for example? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

nixdminx

@abarge of course you are; it’s easy to create simple tracking mechanisms to help you do this. #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to abarge

LeeSmallwood

@abarge tracking where sales have come from isn’t difficult – in fact it’s one of the easier ones #shoestring 20 minutes ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@abarge but an increase in sales shld never be at the cost of the purchasing experience both before, during and after #shoestring @nixdminx 19 minutes ago via web

nixdminx

#shoestring@ArchitectJane I love your article about top 5 reason to choose an architect – you can post a photo every week too #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck

abarge

Final two questions: what are you going to talk about on July 13th’s Shoestring Marketing event? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

abarge

@leesmallwood @nixdminx and…. what should people expect to learn on July 13th? #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

nixdminx

@abarge they’ll get a taster of social media and practical tips; plus a chance to get their questions answered #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to abarge

LeeSmallwood

@abarge the stages involved prior to communicating though social media platforms – a roadmap to follow if you like #shoestring 15 minutes ago via HootSuite in reply to abarge

abarge

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge the stages involved prior to communicating though social media platforms – a roadmap to follow… #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge hopefully that SoMe isn’t just about being on FB, twitter etc as that there are many other platforms to consider@nixdminx #shoestring 12 minutes ago via HootSuite in reply to abarge

LeeSmallwood

@abarge and that these online comms tools are only one factor in a larger plan @nixdminx #shoestring 12 minutes ago via HootSuite in reply to abarge

robjcameron

RT @leesmallwood: @abarge @teplio , @robertaward , @robjcameron @dreamwall some that definitely need to be mentioned #shoestring > thank you about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

RobertaWard

Thanks for blog mention @leesmallwood via #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck

LeeSmallwood

@RobertaWard YW … deserved #shoestring cc @abarge @nixdminx 10 minutes ago via HootSuite in reply to RobertaWard

abarge

if you would like to hear more from @Leesmallwood and @Nixdmiinx, join our workshop by clicking here http://bit.ly/a13iE9 #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

abarge

Thanks very much to @leesmallwood @nixdminx for the contribution this pm. Very interesting and look forward to hearing more. #shoestring about 1 hour ago via HootSuite

LeeSmallwood

@abarge thanks for the invite Andy and great to be with @nixdminx #shoestring 9 minutes ago via Twitterrific in reply to abarge

ArchitectJane

@nixdminx thank you! I guess when you get no comments it´s easy to assume that people aren´t interested. The photo idea is great #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web in reply to nixdminx

nixdminx

@ArchitectJane It took me a long time to start getting comments – you need to keep at it but enjoy it too #shoestring about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to ArchitectJane

LeeSmallwood

@nixdminx that’s true. I think I went months without… Then someone said to me ‘have you asked for them?’ @ArchitectJane #shoestring 7 minutes ago via Twitterrific in reply to nixdminx

abarge

thanks also to @architectjane @betterpm @dreamwalls and others for questions and RTs #shoestring 9 minutes ago via HootSuite Retweeted by you

BernieJMitchell

Looking at #shoestring about 1 hour ago via UberTwitter

LeeSmallwood

@BetterPM I’ll post my stream and intergrate it with the #shoestring stream on my blog in a bit … 2 minutes ago via web in reply to BetterPM

LeeSmallwood

@nixdminx looking forward to it have a great weekend cc @abarge #shoestring 3 minutes ago via HootSuite in reply to nixdminx

ArchitectJane

thanks everyone really interesting Q&A… now to put lessons learned into practice #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

LeeSmallwood

@ArchitectJane you’re welcome #shoestring 5 minutes ago via Twitterrific in reply to ArchitectJane

ArchitectJane

RT @leesmallwood @nixdminx that’s true. I think I went months without..Then some1 said ‘have you asked for them?’ @ArchitectJane #shoestring about 1 hour ago via web

nixdminx

#shoestring thanks for your great questions; see you all on the 13th @andybargery @leesmallwood 45 minutes ago via TweetDeck

nixdminx

RT @tribaltalk: 5 smart ways to create additional content for your company blog – http://bit.ly/9WmJFr #shoestring 5 minutes ago via TweetDeck

BernieJMitchell

RT @abarge: if you would like to hear more from @Leesmallwood & @Nixdmiinx, join the @meetup workshop here http://bit.ly/a13iE9 #shoestring 2 minutes ago via UberTwitter

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Those beautiful people over at Vodafone UK have done it again…! They’ve produced a short 1 min youtube video of the iPad running on the Vodafone 3G network…!

Looks pretty fast… and with cheap dataplanstoo!

Look at it … it’s a thing of beauty… hopefully soon I’ll be able to buy a ‘My-Pad…’ and then my mates that keep sending me pics of their iPads won’t wind me up so much lol… ah well … soon be Christmas

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There’s a lot of chat at the moment about mobile tariffs – specifically how much data someone’s able to download without incurring other charges.

To say I was ‘concerned’ about it would be an understatement!

Why?

Well I consider myself to be a pretty heavy user – and before you start I’m not talking about my body mass(!)

A typical day would go something like this:

Morning Usage

Wake up, check phone for new emails and Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin messages and post replies

Open up news apps (sky news, telegraph, guardian and FT) and find out ‘what’s occuring’

Listen to news using tvcatchup.com whilst getting ready

Drive to work listening to audio books OTA (over the air) stored on system at home (it saves space on my iPhone…)

Park car and check for new emails and Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin messages and post replies

Open up Skype app so VoIP number’s available (020 3286 0219 in case you’re wondering) BTW, great deal on Skype – £2.83 per month – for unlimited landline calls… bargin!

Afternoon Usage

Repeat the above but in reverse…!

Check SEO projects using various iPhone apps (these ones are pretty good SEO it, LinkJuice)

Evening Usage

Periodically for new emails, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin messages and post replies

Write a blog post using iBlogger (which I could never do without, ever…!)

Night Time

Because I’m a bit of an insomniac and have tinitus I catch up on any programmes missed using BBC iPlayer app – very cool.

See if there’s anything good to watch on TVcatchup.com – it has more channels than our FreeView box

Watch a movie (or 2 or 3…) using AirVideo – that is a litterally sanity saver for me

Download a couple of books for my Kindle App – (don’t ask how much my amazon bill is per month…!)

…and eventually nod off

Is that ‘heavy usage?’ Well I thought it was but apparently not as the image [top left] is a shot of my total usage since getting my iPhone last October (10/2009). Only 1.2Gb used and I’ve never reset – as you can see at the bottom of the pic…

My tarrif says I have 1GB per MONTH…! if I actually used that I’d be even more of a sad bar steward than I already am…!

A mate of mine has only used 1.3GB since he got his iPhone last January (01/2010) and his tariff is 750mb per month…

Now, there are some iPhone tariffs that offer 3TB of data per month – WTF! What would you need to have that kind of allowance for…?

…And finally

So why do some mobile networks provide such a high data allowance? Well, and this is purely subjective, it could be to try and convince us – the consumer – that it’s a ‘better deal’ when, in point of fact, it’s more of a ploy to mask an inferior network service…

What do you think?

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Last week I wrote ‘dofollow: sharing some link juice‘ regarding why I changed the links within my comment sections to ‘dofollow’. As a follow up to that article I wanted to write about the ‘nofollow’ tag and when I use it and why…

Nofollow

Firstly you can read Google’s blog on Preventing Comment Spam (2005) to understand why the Nofollow tag was first used – (but as a side note, since I implemented it last week I’ve not had one piece of spam posted )

How the ‘nofollow‘ tag or ‘attribute‘ is being implemented changes from search engine to search engine. Some search engines actually take it literally and don;t follow the link at all, whilst others still ‘follow‘ the link to find new web pages but just to index the content there.

What does nofollow actually mean?

The code rel="nofollow" actually tells a search engine to not put a score on the link rather than don’t follow this link. (NOTE: Just to confuse things, this is different to the nofollow used within the robots meta tag that DOES tell a search engine not follow any of the links within the body content of the document.)

The following image show which search engine does what with the ‘nofollow‘ tag:

credit: wikipedia

When I use and don’t use the nofollow tag

Basically I follow a simple rule:

For external Links

If there’s a site that I like and want to pass on some ‘link juice’ to and feel it could benefit from having some extra PR (page rank) then I won’t use it.

If there’s a site that I like but it’s already ranking highly (e.g. wikipedia articles) then they really won’t benefit that much from having additional ‘link juice’ – and I’d rather pass on some PR to a site or sites that could benefit (e.g. EACH’s Treehouse Appeal to raise £3 million to build and equip a new purpose-built children’s hospice or tepilo.com where you can sell/buy your property online for free)

For Internal Links

If I want to pass on some ‘link juice‘ to a page within my site – because I want to get it to rank higher then I won’t use the nofollow tag.

Other than that, my internal links are set to ‘nofollow‘, that includes the following areas in my side panels:

• Recent Comments (not to be confused with the links to the people that have commented – see ‘dofollow: sharing some link juice‘ for clarification)
• Latest Tweets
• Communicate FM – Latest

However, links to my iPhone App and contained in My Blogroll are ‘dofollow‘

How do you change the nofollow setting in WordPress?

This is dead easy:

1. Click on ‘Appearance’ then ‘Widgets’ and expand any of the ones you have listed in your ‘Side Panel’ and look for the following (normall down at the bottom) :

2. Click on the drop down menu – default is set to ‘leave as is’ and select which option you want:

• Leave as is
• Dofollow
• Nofollow

That’s it!…simples

If you want to change a link within the body copy of your article you need to change your editing view from the ‘Visual’ to ‘HTML’ tabs, which are on the right hand side of your wordpress editor:

Then look for the link that you want to change to nofollow:

<a href=”http://www.yoursite.com/link-to-wherever.html”>

and add the following code in red:

<a href=”http://lee.smallwood.ws/2010/05/11/link-to-wherever” rel=”nofollow”>

You’re done

…And finally

I’m not saying that you should adopt a similar stance when it comes to selecting which links to set to ‘dofollow’ or ‘nofollow’ but I’m just hoping that this post helps you understand the differences and what the effect is.

Blatent Plug – if you liked this post then you can link back – and pass on some ‘link juice’ to it using the following:

<a href=”http://lee.smallwood.ws/2010/05/18/nofollow-keeping-control-of-your-page-rank/”>Nofollow: Keeping control of your Page Rank</a>

Or if you don’t want to pass on some ‘link juice’ use the following:

<a href=”http://lee.smallwood.ws/2010/05/18/nofollow-keeping-control-of-your-page-rank/” rel=”nofollow”>Nofollow: Keeping control of your Page Rank</a>

And/or ‘Share it’ by using the icons below…

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One of Lee’s most recent posts (Have you decided) suggested that there was a substantial body of online conversations that indicated that nearly 46% of eligible voters would not vote. I ‘re-tweeted’ this post and added a question as to why so many people may not take up their democratic right, when in other countries people are literally dying to obtain this freedom; Lee got me good and proper and asked me what I thought? Lee’s blog suggest four possible reasons:-

• ‘What’s the point’
• ‘My vote won’t make a difference’
• ‘I don’t understand how to tell which party is right for me’
• ‘They’re all as bad as one another’

Armed with a tool called mindstorming (to create possibilities), I sat down an posed myself the questions

1. Why do people not vote?
2. How could people be encouraged to vote?

Why do people not vote?

The list I generated (as written) is
• Apathy
• Laziness
• No incentive
• Dis-interested
• Extreme/militant views
• Lack understanding
• Do not feel that they have influence
• No motivation
• Nothing in it for them
• Lack education (on importance of process)
• Disenfranchised
• Do not value their vote
• Lack gratitude for the priviledge they have
• Do not agree with the policies
• Do not believe anything will change
• Dis-trust politicians
• Generalisations
• Choice

How could people be encouraged to vote?

Again, the list as I generated it is
• Educate them
• Remove benefits/credits
• Fine them
• Introduce a different (electoral) system
• Engage people more, get away from push messaging
• Demonstrate benefits
• Listen to them
• Build trust (politicians to build with their constituents)
• Visibility

These lists were raw ideas, no filtering or analysis. As I sit and look at them now I think that, whilst there are some subtle differences, there are a few underlying causes; lack of interest or motivation, no value placed on the democratic process and dis-trust. Now, some of the ways to encourage people to vote that I came up with are somewhat draconian and fly in the face of the freedom that we attach to living in a democratic society. However, some of them I believe have some merit; education, engagement and building trust. As a teenager I never received any education on the electoral process, I don’t know if that is the same now, but understanding how our system works, has evolved and the sacrifices people have made to secure the vote might help. As perhaps, would an awareness of the struggles that are going on in other countries globally to secure that freedon. Engaging the electorate in meaning full two way communication, to really understand the issues, rather than pushing the party line and the party perception of the problems would be a significant step forward and that in itself would start to build credibility and trust. Both of these, to some level, can be achieved by an intelligent application of social media technologies; something that seems to have passed our political leaders by at this time.

If democracy is “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” as Abraham Lincoln said, can we truly say we live in a democratic society if nearly 50% of the eligible voters do not vote? If democracy is ultimately about personal freedom and egalitarianism, ultimately people then have the choice whether to engage or not. What do you think?

The history of free men is never really written by chance but by choice; their choice! ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

About Rob Cameron

Rob is an accredited Coach and Mentor with a particular interest in the application of coaching, goal setting and action planning to facilitate personal success and accomplishment. He is committed to and passionate about helping people grow, develop and achieve.

Rob is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET), Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and a Chartered Engineer.

Rob writes a blog, which can be found at http://robcameron.co.uk, that focuses on topics associated with goals, personal development and career management.

Having developed an interest in the use of Social Media and Social Networking, he can also be found on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

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