A little history related to this feature:

- 15 November 2006 – "Displaying Compact and Expanded Data Items" patent filed by Google

- 18 November 2006 – the local (because there are others, too, such as Finance, Products, Video, etc) Plus Box first noticed and testing confirmed

- 21 March 2007 – Google announces officially the local Plus Box

- 2007 – 2009 – many reports of erroneous data in the Plus Box, and Mike Blumenthal's article on what the possible causes might be

- October 2009 – last reference of erroneous local Plus Box from 21 October 2009

- 14 February 2012 – the Plus Box noticed again after more than 2 years MIA

Why did the Plus Box reappear after so long time?

The simple answer – because Google once again tweaked the way they think about, look into, and display local information. These changes had some significant influence in general on the organic search, mainly because Google now puts much more focus on the geographically-related intent of the user. In other words, even if you do not specify the location in your search query, for instance search for "Chinese restaurant", Google would still assume you are looking for a Chinese restaurant that is located in your immediate proximity. This has been the case even before February 2012, but not across such a wide variety of terms and locations. Now let's look at how Google decides when to display the local Plus Box.

1) Google should determine whether the search query has location intent.

If it decides it has, it will look at if the relevant pages for this particular search are also geographically relevant. Here is what the "Assigning geographic location identifiers to web pages" patent, filed by Google on 24 November 2004 (that's 1 day before I turned 16), and summarized magnificently by Bill Slawski says about what a geographical location identifier might be:

- a partial or complete postal address
- telephone number (obviously a local area code one)
- area code
- airport codes
- landmark identifiers
- other values tied to physical locations, such as longitude and latitude
- or based upon hyperlinks between pages without geo information that seem related to these pages which do have location information

As the last point suggests even a page that does not contain any of the above mentioned geographical location identifiers might be considered as relevant to a particular location based on the following relevancy factors:

- relative distance to a document that contains some or all of the geographical location identifiers (by "distance" understand the number of hyperlinks through which one should pass to go from one page to the other) – according to the patent "in one exemplary implementation, the number of links may be within the range of 2-5 links", i.e. if the distance between the geographically relevant document (web page) and another linked document is more than 2-5 links, the documents further away would not be considered relevant to that location
- whether these two pages are on the same website
- the anchor text for the link leading from the geographically relevant page to another page should include one (or more) of the following words: location(s), direction(s), find, finder, locate, locater, store(s), branch(es), about, company, contact, information, "a complete or partial postal address"
- the same terms as above should appear in the title attribute of the link
- terminology used (most probably refers to specific dialect words used only at or around the particular geographical area)

2) Google should be given the geo-location information for the business.

In his blog post from 2006, Matt Cutts says: "You can tell us your business address at Google's Local Business Center" (a.k.a. Google Places). He also adds links to three help articles, from which currently only this one is still active. In a summary, here are the tips it gives to the webmasters on how to provide location information to Google:

- add your business to Google Places
- your address information should be clearly available in plain text on your home page or at least one important page on your site
- an interactive map of your location and/or a set of driving directions and/or a personalized map "created by yourself or other users"
- use top-level domains to handle country-specific content
- associate your website with a particular country via Google Webmaster Tools
- creating a KML file for your location and adding it to your Sitemap

Here is what Professor Maps, Mike Blumenthal (who is probably the most experienced with the local Plus Box), gives as example of good practices when trying to trigger the Plus Box:

- KML files
- rich snippet address formatting
- location specific pages
- geo rich contact us and about us pages
- claimed listing

He also mentions the usage of Geo Sitemap, but these are not in use by Google anymore.

3) Google might decide to screw you up.

Even if you've followed every single recommendation listed above, Google might still decide to make fun of you by displaying wrong Plus Box information. The problem usually comes from the fact that Google gets business data from numerous sources, which are sometimes contradicting and erroneous. Very often the information provided by the business owner might be trumped by information coming from other sources, which are considered "more trustworthy", or at least more relevant (don't ask me why Google would consider a third-party source more trustworthy than the business owner themselves). Therefore, even if you claim your listing and make sure all the information there is up-to-date, Google might still not believe you. It might change your business data as appearing on Google Maps and in the organic search results at any given time. And as noted above, the business data from Google Places is a very important factor when Google determines what to display in the local Plus Box. Mike Blumenthal has written about this problem as long ago as March 2008.

So to the tips mentioned in 1) and 2), I'd add the usual "straighten up your N.A.P." (Name, Address, Phone), which should actually be the beginning part of each local SEO campaign.

More on local search:

•  5 Things You Should Not Do on Google Places
•  Google Places #1: How To Get A Red Balloon In 10 Steps
•  Simple Steps To Improve Local Search Marketing

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

The Local Search Plus Box

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Written by Nyagoslav Zhekov, Local Search Marketing Blog

Overall a website can cost anything from a couple of hundred dollars up to thousands and even million dollars. So why is there such a big difference?

Building a website is similar to building a house or customizing a car. The more features, the more time it will take designers and developers to put the site together.

Building a new website may involve the expertise of multiple individuals:

Website designer – designs the overall website theme and the way the website will look. The designer may also convert the website into simple HTML. You'll find most good designers will not develop or code your website. Their expertise is making your website look good, easy to use, and ensuring every aspect of your website has good visual appeal.

Developer – The developer works on the coding element of your website; building contact forms, or working on a pop up feature when user come to the website, or on the checkout stages of an ecommerce site. The Developer may also code a backend admin control panel from where the website can be managed. The developer and the designer work hand in hand, as the designer gives the developer the files that have been designed.

Flash Designer: If you want Flash animations on your website a flash designer will be involved. At times the website designer may be able to do certain aspects of Flash, but to really put together a Flash animation using Flash script usually requires a Flash designer and developer.

Graphics Designer: Makes the graphical banners or a custom made logo. The website designer could assist you but ideally you want an expert graphic designer who specializes in graphical work.

So back to the question, how much should a website cost? The website costs can vary depending on what you are looking to achieve. You may be satisfied with a simple HTML website which the designer has designed for you and put together ready to be uploaded onto your server. It may take between 10 " 30 hours to put together and can cost anywhere between $100 – $500 USD.

On the other hand if you are looking to build a custom ecommerce site with a unique design, developed according to your specifications the design aspect alone could take anywhere  from  10 to 50 hours. A developer would code it all together or implement your designed layout into an open source shopping cart; another 80 to 150 hours, at least. Professional web designers and web developers can cost between $50 and $150 per hour.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

How Much Should Website Design Cost?

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Written by Wasim Ismail, Wasim Ismail's Blog

Small business owners and the self-employed know that it's challenging to complete their writing to do lists. With so many tasks to balance, writing anything can seem daunting. But when you take the time to plan out what you'll need to do for your website, or any marketing channel really, it becomes a lot easier to manage – and a lot less expensive.

The key in creating any content for your business, no matter what the industry, is to put the emphasis on quality. However, when you're working on a tight budget, hiring a quality freelancer or agency can be out of the realm of possibility. So what can you do?

Here are some ways that you can write frugally so that you can give the best possibly content to your customers while saving money, time, and frustration.

Do It Yourself: I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but bear with me. Small business owners who take the time to actually write for their business can offer something that many freelancers can't: first-hand knowledge and experience. You're technically the expert in your industry and you know that you know your stuff – so why not share that insight with your customers? Sure, you might not consider yourself to be a wordsmith, but you know you have something to say about your products and services. Consider the path of doing the writing yourself.

Have a System: If you decide to take the DIY route, it helps to have a system. Maybe you find that you like to write first thing in the morning before there are any interruptions in your day. Maybe you like to write at night after the kids have gone to bed. Whatever it is that makes you feel most comfortable, most ready to write, go for it. Set up a schedule for yourself and map out what you're comfortable with writing. Then, you can start taking your projects on little by little. The biggest battle is to actually schedule yourself that time.

Make a Road Map: In SEO copywriting, many of us follow content road maps to guide us along our projects. You can do the same thing. Sit down and make a road map for the most important pages on your site, starting with the home page and working your way deeper in. You can use your site map as a guide. Then, create an editorial calendar and schedule for yourself for when and what you'll be writing. The goal is not to get it all in one day – it's to do good work at a steady pace.

Break It Into Pieces: This is one tip I've put into practice as long as I've been writing. It helps to break a big writing project into small pieces to make it more manageable and less time consuming. Nothing looks scarier than a blank page and a 750 work goal. Instead, break it into 100 words at a time. Often, you'll find that you can write in short bursts easily on a clip, saving you time as well as stress.

Keep it Short and Sweet: Your audience isn't looking for the next great novel. It's looking for clear, concise, and to the point information. Give them what they want and keep it easily digestible. Keep your paragraphs trim and your ideas simple. Complicating things with language and word count only takes away from the experience.

Ask Your Audience: Did you know that you could get free feedback on what you need to communicate through your writing by asking your audience? It's true. Ask your readers what they want to know or get from your writing. Do they want how to's? Answers to frequently asked questions? Background information? Survey them through your Facebook page, email marketing, or good, old fashioned conversation. Use their feedback to create copy that really speaks to them and in turn, takes the pressure off of you.

Keep Learning: There are countless blogs, internet marketing training programs, writing courses, and webinars available to you to help with your writing. Take advantage of these free or frugal resources as much as possible. It pays to keep learning.

If you absolutely need help with your writing and can't afford an agency or a high priced freelancer, here are some ideas for getting your writing done on the cheap while still maintaining quality.

Ask a Student: When I was in college, I wanted to get my hands on any copy project possible. Great writers can be found on college campuses and in many cases, they're willing to write just for the experience and portfolio material. Work with them. Be cooperative when they approach you about doing a class project that involves your business. Give them the opportunity to do good work.

Barter: Do you know freelance writers who can benefit from what you have to offer? Approach them and ask to barter your products or services in exchange for copywriting. For example, if you're a wedding photographer looking for site content and you have a bride that writes professionally, ask her about swapping services. You give her a break on her photography package and she helps you write what you need. It's a win-win for everyone.

Seek Out Guest Writers: Need blog posts for your small business blog? Use a service or blogger network like MyBlogGuest to hook up with guest bloggers. It's free and a great way to get quality content for your blog without busting your marketing budget.

How do you keep your writing frugal?

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Writing Frugally: How To Get Quality & Quantity At The Lowest Cost

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Written by Mandy Boyle, Mandy Boyle

Most of us are using the different widgets and plugins to display the number of Tweets/Retweets for our website URLs, blog post, articles, press release and other pages. Although there many other ways to keep a track on how many people are taking about your page on Twitter and how popular your page is online #SocialMedia.

Twitter also provides a small widget for adding Tweet Button to your website which allows your website users to easily share your web pages with their followers and it displays the number of people who have tweeted about that particular page. The Tweet Button count box shows how many times the URL has been Tweeted. You can choose to display or hide the count box, or place it above or next to the Tweet Button.

As the Tweet text are editable by design. The users are always able to change the text of a Tweet they are going to publish from their own account. But to avoid any kind of URL confusion and split in Tweet Count, it is always recommended to use the cleanest URL and avoid the tracking parameters. i.e. utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign etc. The default Tweet Button works without any configuration or parameters. The Tweet Button will use the URL of the current webpage and the content of the <title> element as the text of the Tweet.

Sometimes you many need the Tweet counts for internal reporting and analytics purpose and many not like to do it manually, by visiting each and every page. You can easily automate this process by using free API's and PHP Codes. Tweetmeme has an API by which you can find out how many times a specific URL has been Tweeted.

Example: http://api.tweetmeme.com/url_info?url=<YOUR_URL>

Below is the sample PHP code you can use to get the number of Tweet Count.

function tweetCount($url) {
    $content = file_get_contents("http://api.tweetmeme.com/url_info?url=".$url);
    $element = new SimpleXmlElement($content);
    $retweets = $element->story->url_count;
    if($retweets){
        return $retweets;
    } else {
        return 0;
    }
}

echo tweetCount('http://www.facebook.com/');

If you don't like to code or not able to run PHP for some reason you can also use the Twitter API. It also provides a way to get the number of retweets. Also I have created a free online tool to Count Tweet URLs, you can use this tool and let me know your feedback.

Example: http://urls.api.twitter.com/1/urls/count.json?url=www.facebook.com

You can use these tips & tricks to automate your #SocialMedia reporting process and save many hours of manual labor and be more accurate and efficient at work. This will help you make your MIS more solid and effective.

PHP Code Source: www.catswhocode.com

See also:

•  How to Implement Google +1 Button for Social Sharing
•  7 Pinterest How To's
•  How To Track Clicks On #Anchors in Google Analytics

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

How to use PHP to get the number of Tweets for a URL?

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Written by Joydeep Deb, Blog | Tools | MISC | Contact | G+

Well, the most challenging part is getting information and putting them into an interesting story. Everybody can copy and spin stories but that has never been our goal and won't ever be. Original quality content is tough in a city like New York where thousands of other blogs exist.

Can you relate to his answer? I bet you do at some level.

The good news isthere is a way out of the The Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest Signs of Catastrophic Blogging Syndrome!

To our reader and to every miserable blogger on planet earth, I dedicate this article. Enjoy!

Let The Creativity Pyramid Do the Work!

Since blogging is, in essence, a creative interaction between a blogger and their readers, I figured that consulting the creativity pyramid may be the answer to our prayers.

The very basic foundation of the pyramid is knowledge (understand).

Before rushing into writing mediocre blog posts, take some time to understand what I like to call "the Maslow's hierarchy of blog readers' needs".

Unlike the well-known Maslow's hierarchy, that starts with survival needs and ends with self-actualization, the blog readers' hierarchy of needs starts with education. Then, engagement and finally entertainment.

If you strive to create outstanding blog posts that your readers will appreciate, you must consistently deliver the "3 E's" in every single blog post you publish.

Interesyingly, Stephen Guise, author of DeepExistence.com, has noted that:

"I'm starting to realize that it's better to write 3 amazing articles than 10 good ones – both in personal satisfaction and impact on the blogosphere/internet/world."

I couldn't agree more! You should NEVER compromise quality for quantity. Take the time to ensure that your post meets (or exceeds!) your reader's expectations.

In doing so, you must have an in-depth understanding of your target readers. Fortunately, social media can help you listen and (sometimes eavesdrop!) on your audience conversations in order to hand them what they are looking for on a silver platter.

"Duh!" Versus "Aha!": Which Blogger Are You?

As you dig for quality topics to share with your readers, you must understand what they already know versus what they need to know that you (and only YOU!) can provide.

If you offer your readers basic information, their reaction will be "Duh!" and your bounce rate will say: Amen!

For example, we train Real Estate agents on how to use social media marketing intelligently. One of the tips we recommend that they must keep in mind is that social consumers are well-equipped with information compared to ordinary customers.

In other words, most home buyers will do their research homework online before seeking a Realtor's advice and would expect much more than basic housing information.

Smart Realtors are the ones that provide scarce tips and information that blog readers would react to saying: "Aha! I didn't know this before. This Realtor is a master in his/her craft."

The point I am making here is that you must strive to establish yourself as an "Aha!" expert in order to generate targeted traffic to your blog.

Scarcity Rules Even in Blogging!

Jon Morrow, associate editor of Copyblogger and owner of BoostblogTraffic.com, believes that you can get more blog comments if you publish less often. In fact, he provides valid reasons to support his argument:

The more often you publish, the less comments your posts will receive (on average). For one, the number of new comments a post receives drops dramatically when its pushed off the front page, but also, readers tend to get overwhelmed when youre publishing a lot of content. By publishing less often, say once a week, you can actually increase your engagement, and therefore, your comments.

That is another reason for you to think quality and scarcity. Let your readers miss your posts and look forward to them.

Where Do You Go From There?

I have barely touched the surface here! So far we covered the first piece of the Maslow's hierarchy of blog readers' needs which is education:

What kind of information your readers MUST find in your blog in order to stick around?

Once you get that part figured out, you must add the engagement and entertainment pieces in order to finish your first pyramid.

Completing the bloggers needs pyramid will create a solid "remember" and "knowledge" foundation to your blogging creativity pyramid that we will further discuss in future posts. Stay tuned for that!

So Far So Good! Why Pyramids?

Trust me, my Egyptian background (that you can infer from my avatar picture) has nothing to do with it!

I firmly believe that creating a solid content marketing strategy is a complicated process that needs to be subdivided into phases. So, I figured that the pyramid illustration can help you take educated steps towards massive blogging success. Good luck!

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

The Mind Boggling Question is…Can the Creativity Pyramid and Maslow's Hierarchy Save Your Blog Traffic?

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Written by Heba Hosny, Garious

When it comes to pranks – as when it comes to pretty much everything else in the virtual world and beyond – Google are in a league of their own.

Their April Fools' Day japes and jokes are deservedly recognized for their humor and intelligence, for one. They've been playing them since the start of our young century, and this year's offerings didn't disappoint. A 2012 list that includes Google Maps "re-launched" with retro Nintendo 8-bit graphics, a "click-to-teleport" extension on Google Chrome, and the Really Advanced Search showed that the Internet monolith hasn't lost any of its nous in the viral marketing department.

However smart it may be, though, at times even the king of tricksters that is Google can get caught out.

Whether played for comedic or political purposes, or for the sake of anarchy pure and simple, these pranks clearly show that the world at large can play the team from Mountain View, CA at their own game.

Here, then, are the 10 most outrageous pranks played on Google to date. Snigger.

10. Facebook QR Code Vs. Google Earth

A notorious prank played on the mighty Google in 2012 came courtesy of pretenders to the throne in the online world, Facebook, whose employees painted an enormous 42-foot-square QR code on the roof of their new Silicon Valley HQ.

When scanned into a smart phone, the code loads fbco.de (FB Code) into the browser, which for now just shows a "coming soon" icon but could potentially be a place for all sorts of Internet tomfoolery.

A truly audacious hack from the big G's rival for dominance on the online display ad market, it won't be long before the giant interactive barcode makes its way onto Google Maps, possibly paving the way for the service to be overrun with similarly scan-able free pieces of promotion. In the end, all you need is a big pot of paint, a large roof, and some willing hands.

9. Fake Google Screamer

It looks like the Google Search page, but looks can be deceiving…

A truly terrifying example of a joke at Google's expense, this clever ruse is so shocking, we can't show a screenshot of what happens when you type a search in this trickster-like imposter site for fear it might scare you to death!

Let this be a health warning, however: be prepared! This prank is fun and certainly outrageous in it's own way – but the real victim of its deception could just as easily be your friends!

8. Weapons Of Mass Destruction Google Bomb

Image via: Chestofbooks

Pranking where Google becomes at least part of the target can often take on a political edge.

This famous example came not long after the invasion of Iraq by America and her allies on grounds that Saddam Hussein was holding weapons of mass destruction. (As it turned out, of course, this was not the case; no such weapons were ever found.)

The landmark "Google bomb" makes its point eloquently clear. Searching for the words "weapons of mass destruction" returned the pictured prank page (pictured) as the first result, taking web users to the brilliant parody of the browser error message. Created by English pharmacist Anthony Cox in 2003, the spoof 404-error page went viral and, thanks to the work of bloggers linking the offending keywords to Cox's site, tricked Google's page rank algorithm into "thinking" the prank page was the most relevant result for the search query.

As such, it wasn't just a smart satirical attack the Bush administration (and an inspiration to aspiring political pranksters everywhere) but like other Google bombs, also a challenge to Google's rules of the game.

7. Scuba Google Street View Prank

Image: Google via News.com

Arguably the funniest joke Google became the butt of was brought to us by two Norwegian men native to the coastal city of Bergen.

In the summer of 2010, Borre Erstad and Paul Age Olsen received a tip-off that Google Street View vehicles were in town and decided to give one of the roving invaders a rather surreal welcome.

After patiently waiting for the van, the two jokers – dressed in scuba gear and wielding with pitchforks, naturally – sprung into action and began pursuing the vehicle.

The pictures only made it onto the mapping service when it was upgraded in 2011, but the pranksters deny any collusion with the Internet giant (and the fact that their images have since been blurred out lends credence to their claim).

"It was meant in fun, but we never imagined it would get such a tremendous attention," said Erstad.

Whatever their motivations, the stunt certainly got the pair noticed! As proof that Google can sometimes be vulnerable to a good prank, it doesn't get much better than this.

6. Google Trends 9/11 Prank

Image: Google via The Mike Abundo Effect

For those not in the know, Google Trends tracks the search engine's most popular searches on any given day, comparing the frequency with which terms get entered with search volumes across the globe.

Another prank – this one with a more nihilistic political edge – made use of this particular feature of the Internet colossus's services.

In 2009, a Wingdings font depiction of what looks like an airplane flying into the Twin Towers made it onto the number two spot on the hot searches list.

It's unclear exactly who was behind it, but if it was a deliberate reference to 9/11, we think you'll agree it represents a rather distasteful joke indirectly at Google's expense.

The big G explained a previous case of a swastika appearing on Google Trends as being the result of a spike in searches due to its having been posted on a popular forum.

5. Google Car Tracked In Berlin?

Image via: Geek.com

Street View is to many a glorious piece of Google technology that can make our lives on the whole simpler and more convenient.

Getting one's bearings in an unfamiliar city becomes easier after taking a look at the panoramic results of the project, launched in 2007.

Yet not everyone takes kindly to what is sometimes perceived as an invasion of privacy.

Members of the art and open source media group Free Art and Technology (FAT) took their arguments to the source in early 2010 when they stuck a GPS tracking receiver to a Google Street View Camera Car in Berlin. Or said they did.

Reports stated that the group was then able to track the car as it drove around the German capital photographing the streets, and it was even claimed that others got in on the act, with the vehicle treated to a number of alarming sights, including swearing and nudity.

However, all this said, it now appears the prank was itself a hoax, as Google declared the Street View Car was in fact a fake. Still, in view of the exposure it gained, we'd still argue the joke was on Google.

4. Miserable Failure Google Bomb

Love him or loathe him, George W. Bush certainly attracted a lot of attention during his time in office – much of it unwanted, almost as much of it his own doing. In the media as a whole, the 43rd President of the United States was a constant target for jokes and general tomfoolery – so why should it have been any different on the Internet?

Back in 2006, if you entered the words "miserable failure" into Google's search engine you would have been greeted by a strange result: a biography of the then-President on the White House's official website. Another piece of political Google bombing, it was an example of the practice that truly captured the world's attention – though Google later algorithmically "defused" the bomb that made it look almost as foolish, if not quite as much of a failure, as "Dubya" himself.

The technique of gaming Google to give web pages high rankings for seemingly unrelated searches has its roots in the early Noughties, and the term Google bombing is itself credited to blogger Adam Mathes, who in 2001 linked the words "talentless hack" to a friend's site.

•  The 10 Most Incredible Google Bombs

3. Google News Presidential Race Prank

If there's one time for pranks it is of course April 1st.

As we all know, Google themselves are fond of joking around on April Fools' Day, but what they'd probably sooner keep quiet is the fact that they can be duped just as well.

Take the following example from 2012. The respected service that is Google News reported that President Obama's only obstacle in the upcoming presidential race, Mitt Romney, was pulling out of the elections and throwing his support behind rival Rick Santorum (who has himself since ended his own campaign).

Google picked up the fictitious story from Forbes and only realized their error once it was already too late. The big G's news algorithm apparently placed the "Romney Drops Out of Race, Endorses Santorum" headline among its hottest breaking-news stories, and it was only after the business magazine unpublished the prank piece that it dropped off Google's radar, allowing blushes to fade. It just goes to show: always check your facts!

2. Firefox Crop Circle On Google Maps

Google Maps is, it is fair to say, a wonderful tool. It has become an invaluable service since its launch in 2005 and is used by millions of people planning their routes or simply scanning the globe every single day.

This leaves it wide open to the wiles of would-be jokers, however. Yes, with the world as their stage, pranksters can have a fine old time exploiting the all-seeing eye of the application.

Take, for example, this pseudo-mysterious crop circle: but of course, it's no ordinary pattern flattened into a field by hands, alien or otherwise.

Representing the logo of one of Google's major web browser rivals, the Firefox crop circle appeared in an Oregon cornfield in 2006. It was created by the Oregon State University Linux Users group to cover an area of over 45,000 square feet. As a celebration of Firefox's 50 millionth download – and a spot of free advertising on Google Maps – it was hard to top. Sly like only a fox could be.

•  10 Dumbest Google Maps Fails

1. Seagull Photobombing Google Street View

Image: Google via Huffington Post

Here's proof that animals – we presume unwittingly – can get involved in ensuring the joke is on Google, too.

This seagull invading the shot taken by a Street View camera in John Street, Brighton, England, is yet another way in which things can be made to go slightly askew in the Googleverse! Hilarious! The bird, complete with food in beak, quickly became a star in 2010 as Google's problems with their vehicles being mobbed in Europe continued.

It seems citizens avian as well as human are concerned about Google's increasing invasion of their privacy – not least through Street View's ever more ubiquitous and close-focus capturing of images. The way to fight back? Pranking, of course!

Bonus: The Googlewhack

For those who've been living in Outer Mongolia for the past ten years, the now well-known phenomenon known as the Googlewhack happens when a search for two words produces precisely one hit. Pretty rare in any case, they also don't last long once known about because, naturally, as soon as they're published on a website, the number of hits will increase to two – one for the hit, and one for the site on which the 'whack is divulged.

In 2003, the British comedian Dave Gorman (pictured) created an entire act around the Googlewhacking craze, as well as writing best-selling book. The search-engine obsession came to Gorman while working on a novel. He never finished the work of fiction, but he did end up with a successful book based on his experiences of traveling the globe finding the authors of Googlewhacks.

Is the joke really on Google here? Maybe not directly – but Gorman and the folks at Googlewhack.com have clearly had some fun. What's more, the search engine giant did get egg in its eye when Googlewhack.com discovered that "results 1-1 of thousands" were thrown up for relatively common word combos like "anxiousness scheduler" – a result of the sporadic "cleaner girl" bug in the big G's search algorithm.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

10 Most Outrageous Pranks Played on Google

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Written by Nicole ,

With dozens of high-attention social media platforms jockeying for attention, it's no wonder that business owners are baffled when they have to unify their social media activities into a cohesive, unified marketing strategy. A big issue is too much variety, where even two social media platforms focusing on video can work as differently as night and day.

To bundle your social media activities into one powerful message, you must choose topics that cross various channels. Here's a seven-step plan to fold your social media into business promotional gold:

1. Soundbite summary - Twitter and other microblogs have elevated the soundbite to a high art. You have to be able to summarize the gist of the message and make it alluring in a mere 140 characters (including shortened URL link). If the title or slogan of your topic already is bumping up to triple digit character counts, consider letting the tail wag the dog and prune the original phrasing to fit the microblog!

2. Full blog treatment - The diametric opposite of the soundbite summary is the ability for the topic to sustain the detailed exploration necessary in the blog format. If your product's label has changed colors that is a message that might suit the soundbite but fall flat in the blog. After all, how can you fill 600+ words with paeans to fuchsia? The selection process of the best topics for social media unification have to also be profound enough to warrant considerable elaboration.

3. Multiple angles - Conventional posts on the standard social networks such as Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn are generally just a bit longer than the usual tweet, therefore you need to compose multiple posts to bridge the gap between the curt soundbite and the expansive blog. It is considered bad social media form to essentially duplicate posts, so you need to focus on various aspects of your message topic. If you're introducing a new product, for example, you can craft separate posts on the original invention; the R&D process; the manufacturing facets; the eco-friendly packaging; the innovative marketing, and so on.

4. Suitability - The message should be adaptable to both B2B and B2C messaging, and its strengths be leveraged in the appropriate forms. LinkedIn is the prototypical B2B vertical social network and the types of posts which are most effective on that platform are not necessarily suited to the more horizontal networks such as Facebook where you are addressing a wide "fan" base.

5. A picture tells… - The Pinterest revolution has distilled both micro- and macro-blogging to a single visual impact. You need to create the ultimate photo or artwork which sums up the essence of your message in a single, striking hit. In order to achieve the maximum effect you need to discover something within your message's topic which can attract the attention not only of the cognoscenti who can appreciate specific details, but of the general public who must be able to recognize the image as unique, interesting, and most importantly: share-worthy.

6. Video killed the verbose star - It's not enough to stop at static images as videos are an integral part of your overall social media blueprint. Videos are an art form onto themselves, and extensive attention (and in most cases, budget) must be allocated towards ensuring that the result is professional, informative, entertaining, and powerfully lends itself to viral distribution.

7. Cross-Channel everything – The properly unified social media strategy enables the imparting of essentially a single message across channels to saturate your customer's attention. All aspects of social media must be harnessed and cross-plugged, including the critical email marketing channel to drive cohesive engagement across your various social networking presences.

If your message's topic is not layered enough to work equally well in all of these vectors, you're better off to pass on it and come up with subject matter that does lend itself to such multiplexing. Keep in mind that your social media presence is a key component of your overall company's image and a single misstep in any one of these channels can have extensive negative ramifications.

There is no substitute for the meticulous crafting of each iota of your social media messaging to ensure that it will be widely distributed and your business will benefit from the expanded customer engagement.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Unify Your Social Media Strategy In 7 Simple Steps

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Written by Daniel Cassady,

So how do you stand out?

Pimp out those blog posts! Make them exciting, make people want to share them, make people want to subscribe to your newsletter…make people want to come back to your site rather than a competitors.

With this in mind I am going to show you three great (and free) tools for pimping out those blog posts and making you traffic more than a one hit wonder

Create Interactive Graphs Based On Your Data

Use: http://infogr.am

Got some cool data to share with your readers? Sign up with infogr.am and you can quickly and easily turn it into an interactive graph that you can embed on your site.

What will it look like?

How did I do it?

It's all simple stuff – I signed up for an account using my twitter account, uploaded my data that I had collected as a csv and then edited the graph so that I was happy with it. Bingo!

Best feature?

The fact that you can have this up and running and embedded on your website in minutes. If you have data collected already that you can use this is a great way to present it.

Create Interactive Timelines

Use: http://www.dipity.com

What will it look like?

How did I do it?

In a similar fashion to the example above I collected the data that I needed (in this case for a Google Timeline – but you can make much more simple versions that take a lot less time!!). Played around with colours, the zoom and added text and pictures until I was happy with it. Another easy way to create something that will set you apart form the competition.

Best feature?

The flexibility in how you present your timeline – adding photos, links and as much or little detail as you want.

Create Interactive Videos

Use: http://www.viewbix.com

What will it look like?

How did I do it?

Took one of of our videos from our YouTube channel (the service allows several other options as well) and then when through their four step process (1. Add video, 2. Add branding, 3. Add Apps, 4. Publish) to create the video above. Simply embed on your site and hey presto! Alternatively you can give these videos away to relevant sites in your niche (or partner sites) and people have quick access to get to the content that you want them to.

Best feature?

The wide range of apps that are available that make these videos so flexible (info, rss, twitter, maps, coupons, eBay, Flickr, Facebook, iContact, Mailchimp, Picassa, QR codes, Scribd, Skype, SlideShare can all be added as apps – with other more general ones as well).

Google has made it obvious recently (after saying it for years) that content that sings will help you win in the search rankings – if your content is the best that you can make it then you deserve a place at the top of the search results.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

3 Free Tools For Pimping Out Your Blog Posts

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Written by Wayne Barker, Internet Marketing Made Easy

In some cases you can have 1000 links on Monday, but next week you have only 700, so what happened? You lost the links, they were devalued, de-indexed, content changed, links removed, no-followed, domain expired, got pushed because there were too many links on the page, your bought links expired and you didn't renew? Any of these can be the reason, which is why link building can be a never ending process if you don't go for the quality ones that will last for years to come, and that is not easy at all!

My Personal Take

The main issue at the moment in my humble opinion (along with everything mentioned above) is Google algo, freshness update, query deserves freshness! Yeah, sticking to news trends is great and all, but those links and mentions fade away real soon because they will rely only on a link spike, just like most viral spikes do. On the other hand, high quality content, evergreen content, like tutorials and studies will be there for years and can attract links for years to come if you keep them up to date.

So my personal take is that our content is partially responsible for the link decay effect. Not always, but for anyone relying on white hat SEO and sanctioned link building practices, the type of content can be crucial for link decay effect.

Another thing, I don't believe in the magical power of aged links or links from aged pages! The page where the link is either has authority from the domain, the author, the amazing quality of the content, the number of links and relevance or it doesn't. I don't believe that a link 5 years old can top any link I created two days ago with those properties!

Don't get me wrong on the last statement! Some links do get better with time, sort of! The reason they get better is that the site gets better, the author gains more authority, the page gathers more links, mentions, the quality of the content makes people and search engines recognize the quality. Those things can take time, and thus the links will get better with time, but it's not a simple matter of aging!

Things To Consider

Enough of the theories and personal opinions, you people need advice, and I've got a few when it comes to link decay. Some of them can be found in the upper part of this post, the rest is here:

1. Some links need support - some links will never get indexed, or the pages will be dropped out of index if they don't have links pointing to them.

2. News and hot topics are not constant link generators – unless you are a news site this link tactic is never good in the long run

3. Check for broken links – inner links, outgoing links and incoming links

4. Check your internal and external links – some of your pages may be broken, pages you linked out to may have changed so some links should be updated or removed

5. Consolidate links you build to quality pages – you have your preferred landing pages, link to them, don't get stuck on your homepage and don't link aimlessly as well

6. Check for the number of outbound links – your links may have lost their value (like directory links) because too many outbound links have been added to the page, so keep track of your backlinks

7. Bad neighbors – bad anchors and links to bad sites may lead to your link being devalued, remove it if necessary or ask the webmaster to remove the bad ones, it's hurting him as well

8. Quality decay – some website and blogs tend to be forgotten, numerous reasons, so check if the value of your links and the website where they are starts declining, remove the link if necessary (no link is better than a bad link, which can be said for point #7)

9. Avoid exact anchors – too many will hurt you, some may be devalued, too many will get you penalized

Links will decay, no matter what you do you will lose some links, so gain some more by investing in great content and some outreach. Build content that will always attract links and create a few of your own, but invest in the long run, look for links that will be there for a few years because they offer value, and not some quick link building spam run that will cause a ton of trouble in the end.

On Link Building

•  What Building 10,000 Links Taught Me About The Top 3 Link Building Myths (+ 3 Essentials That Work!)
•  Link Building to Inner Pages at Will
•  7 Strategies To Build a Link Building Plan

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Link Decay: Your Link Profile Might be Rotting Away!

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Written by Zarko Zivkovic, SEO Blog

The objective of using the following tools is to find/attract, interact and develop the relationships needed to build an opportunity for business with clients that may not have been on your radar. In the new age of sales, building a relationship has become a major factor in turning a prospect into a client.

Here are 9 tools that you may not have heard of that can help you attract new clients.

1. Pinterest

It might be a name you've heard of by now and you may only think its a personal use website to keep track of things you might find online that you like. Well, here's the great news — businesses are making use of Pinterest too!

As a business you can set up a company Pinterest page and then begin a board with instructions for anyone to be a part of it. Home Depot ran a DreamBook contest on Pinterest where they asked people to share their DIY projects on the Home Depot board. It got people active with the company in a social way.

The effect, of course, was to get people interested in a project, see how its shaping up and then ultimately get people so interested in going through with it that they'll head to their local Home Depot and buy the materials needed.

2. Zopim Live Chat

Here's the key factor. Someone gets to your site, starts looking around, seems to be spending a fair amount of time on your site but produces no conversion. Here's your chance to step up and ask that visitor in real time if they need any help.

It's like going into a store and a sales clerk asks if they can help you find something. Of course the key is to not be pushy but to be there if they have any questions. Use this tool to keep them on your site and open the dialogue.

3. SiteVisitorID

Are you in the B2B space? Are you interested in finding out what companies have visited your site AND the pages they have viewed? This is a Search Engine People exclusive software product that allows just that and a whole lot more.

This tool allows you to see the company name, contact info, staff size and more. Think about being pro-active using this tool. Someone from company X may have viewed your products/services page and even checked your contact page but they didn't reach out to you. Here's a good chance to call them and mine for more information. You can be better prepared knowing the pages they've viewed so that you can be a better resource for their potentially upcoming needs.

4. Google Insights for Search

This is a pretty cool tool you can use to gain insights into terms people have been searching for on Google.

Type in a keyword (or multiple keywords) into the search bar and Insights will provide a look at the regional search volumes, top search volumes for variations of those keywords and emerging keywords.

So, if you're looking to expand your offering or even looking at getting the jump on the competition for emerging keywords then this is a tool you'd love to check out! You can then combine it with Google Alerts (see #5) to really put the two tools to use.

5. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is an automated keyword tracking tool that you can use to check in on and see what's being said about any keyword you want.

You can use this to follow any activity involving products and/or services you provide (ie. Track the keyword used car for sale and see what's happening with it). You can also track your company name and branded products. What's great is you can then use that to respond to what's getting out there. It might be someone looking for that product/service, someone who's inquiring on whether someone else has interacted with your company in the past, etc. This is a great tool to keep tabs on what's being said!

6. Ubervu.com

Social Media has been the it word for a little while now. We all hear the talk about the need for a company to have a Twitter account, a Facebook page, a this and that account and more.

Great! Now what? Its a lot to do so how do we track what's going on, what's working and what to do next?

Ubervu is one of several social media dashboards that exist so that you can keep better track of your social media marketing efforts. It offers a simple way to listen and connect with your customers, manage your social profiles quickly and easily, collaborate with various staff members and even measure the effectiveness of what you've been doing.

7. Data.com Through Salesforce

The dreaded cold call. It generally starts with you calling a number knowing you'll need to press 0 in order to speak to reception. You have no clue who to ask for and you're hoping that you'll make it through the gatekeeper. Next, if you're lucky, you get to the person you want to speak to, only problem is you now have to leave a voice message since they seem to be out. Lets hope you have a great radio voice and a compelling message that hits home for that person! If not, you've just wasted your time because that person probably wont be calling you back.

Data.com is a great tool to get to the heart of it all — the companies you want to contact and the person you want to connect with. There's more to it than this but this tool is great because it allows you the chance to get right to where you need to go. If that person is interested they can check your profile, assess if you'd be right to connect with and then move ahead from there.

8. Google Remarketing

It doesn't matter which product or service anymore; people have many opportunities to research the things they want or need before they make their decision to buy. It's life so accept the fact that people will come to your site then leave just to see if there's another option out there.

With Google Remarketing you can keep your brand in that visitors site lines by incorporating this tool into your AdWords account.

Here's how it works: someone comes to your site, looks around but decided not to buy. Google can serve them an ad while they travel around the Google Content Network (GCN).

Google owns roughly 80% of all traffic so its a good bet the ad will pop up pretty often. You can be creative by reminding them of your brand or even retarget a specific product or service that they may have seen. Go a step further and offer them a discount if they come back and buy.

Go another step further and retarget visitors who HAVE converted. Maybe there's an opportunity for an upsell?

9. Market Samurai

This search marketing tool can help you discover the best keywords for your business. With so many ways that a customer can find you online its important to find the right mix of keywords to rank for organically that produce a strong search volume, target real buyers (not tire kickers) and are keywords that you have a real shot at getting a high ranking on or targeting through paid search. Once you download the software you may find yourself intimidated by the amount of tools it brings. Don't fret, once you get the hang of what you're looking at you'll find that you can easily run through things and find the right keywords for your business.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

9 Tools To Attract Clients (You Haven't Heard Of At Least One Of These Yet!)

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Written by Patrick Herman,