It was clear from the start that Google meant business when they announced the launch of their social network Google +.

Now, six months later, Google is taking rapid steps to further integrate Google + into the heart of the Google ecosystem: its’ search engine.

As of today, G+ users can choose to blend G+ results in with the normal Google search results. This means that content shared in G+ makes it straight to the first page of Google.

You can read more about it in this article in Mashable.

But, how will this impact your business now and in the future?

One small step

Is this new development in social search a big game changer for marketers? Not yet I think.

Currently, G+ has only got 40 million users compared to Facebooks’ near billion. So, the value of G+ search results is relative because most of your real friends are on Facebook.

However, the integration with G+ is not something they can easily undo. Google put their money on this move. The mammoth tanker has set sail, so to speak.

One giant leap

Google has now worked up everyone’s appetite for a more social search. So, Google cannot afford to offer anything less than a great user experience.

This means that Google simply has to build G+ into a major social destination, so they can really start enriching their search results with relevant social content.

The price of failing is writing a check to Facebook and Twitter to get the shared goodies from them.

In either case: search is getting more and more social. But, what is the bigger picture for businesses?

Meanwhile on the moon

I think it is safe to say that it will get increasingly impossible to get your content found in search engines if no-one likes, shares, plusses, tweets or in other ways gives it social kudos.

Google wants to dish up Quality content in search results. The rational is that content that gets shared a lot must be of better quality than content that is not.

In addition, Google is also putting much more effort in trying to establish if the content comes from a Trusted resource.

When you add it all up, marketing success on the social web is not anymore a matter of great SEO. Or social media marketing. Or content marketing. Or PR 2.0.

Instead you need to look at all of them in a joined up way.

Famous last words

I speak with people about ‘social web marketing’ every day. Most people think tactical. About traffic, networks, widgets, and tools.

But as a business:

• It’s the content you need to focus on
• And you can’t do it without strategy.

My advice:

If you ever go out and buy strategy from an agency or consultant, ask for a strategy that makes content work towards specific business objectives, by knowing exactly what to say, to who, when they need it.

Sounds obvious, doesn’t it

As we know, SERP 1 is the Holy Grail of marketing. It means that you are the number one result in Google for the terms you want to be found on.

I recently scored my first SERP 1 in Google on a very competitive keyword. Yaay! I thought it was a good idea to take this blog post and use it as an example to educate and inspire you – so you can start writing your own chart topping blog posts.

The post I am referring to is this one; ‘Content Curation and how it can be helpful to you and your network’. It currently ranks number 1 in many local Google search engines.

So how did little old me get to the top spot on Google, while there are other, more influential people than me, also talking about this topic?

Also, most of the information in this blog post was already available on the web in one form or another. Still the post went to number one. Why?

Nutshell answer:

1. It’s targeted
2. It’s well written & structured
3. It’s well optimised.

Here are some straight-talking SEO & copywriting tips if you also want to start writing blog posts that reach the top position on Google.

1. Start with research

On my blog I started to use the term ‘Content curation’ quite a lot and I wanted to link to a post inside my own blog explaining to people what is was.

I then checked if there was any demand for such a post. So, I used the Google Keyword Tool to check volume on the term ‘Content curation’ and the keyword phrase ‘What is content curation’. As it turned out, quite a few people were searching on these terms.

I then proceeded to compile all the relevant information about content curation from the web, and I put it all in one document. I then asked myself the question what information is relevant to my target audience to answer the specific questions they have about this topic?

2. Think about your audience

On my blog I write mostly for marketers and SME business management. They visit my blog because they want to know what content marketing, SEO and social media marketing can do for their business.

Because content curation is often (wrongfully) seen as a substitute for content creation – I’ve put the distinction between the two all the way up in the blog post, right after the definition.

In addition I added some examples to make the topic more tangible, as well as adding best practices and tips to get started today.

All these elements in the copy connect directly to my target audience, their knowledge level and their informational needs.

3. Write well, structure well

Take a look at the post (link above in this post) and see how it was written. Look at how the content was structured.

All along I kept my target audience in mind. I used clear language, clean grammar and concise formulation to draw people through the text. Short sentences wherever possible. And a nice, logical flow.

Also note that I have italicised certain words. In contrast to what many SEO people would tell you, I didn’t do this to boost the importance of the italicised keywords for ranking purposes. If that was the case I would have only italicised the words ‘Content curation’ and ‘What is content curation’. Instead I have used italicising to create emphasis in the text. This helps for more easy reading and helps Google to understand the framework of the blog post.

All in all, the average reading time for this post is nearly five minutes, so most people have actually read the whole thing. Solid structure really helps.

4. You’re online … DO optimise!

Great writing and structuring is the foundation of a well optimised post. But, if you want to get found, don’t forget other so called On-Page SEO factors.

For example, you need to use the most important keywords (in this case ‘Content curation’) throughout your post (not too much!) but also in the beginning of the Title Tag of the post.

You also need to look carefully at the links you put in your post. Make sure they are relevant and provide the reader additional information or context on the topic.

There’s a lot more you can do to optimise your post. But above else, you need to provide readers and search engines with a great piece of content.

Two posts that can help you write SERP 1 blog posts

The posts below give you tips on how to start writing SERP 1 blog posts as well. They contain all the guidelines I talked about in this post and more. It’s the exact same steps I have used to write my own SERP 1 blog post.

Copywriting & SEO: 6 tips to help your blog posts get found more

SEO & Copywriting – Part II – 6 tips to get your blog posts found even better

Let me know how you get on. I would love to hear if these tips helped you to write a blog posts sitting at SERP 1!

If you’ve ever been on Twitter for more than 2 minutes, you probably know what a hashtag is.

Just in case you don’t: a hashtag is a word with a # symbol in front of it and it’s used to categorise and group conversations that are happening on micro blogging services such as Twitter.

Using hashtags can help your tweet get more attention, retweets and clicks and even help you build followers.

But there is a problem.

According to this research from social media management software provider Argyle Social many marketing professionals use hashtags ineffectively.

In the research they analysed more than 37,000 total tweets from 103 Twitter business accounts. They found out that some companies got much more clicks from their tweets containing hashtags than others.

Using hashtags: what doesn’t work?

Hashtags do not work when the words you use are too generic. Too broad. For example, the research shows that hashtags like #socialmedia, #business, #sales or #crm are too generic. People are not following these because there is too much ‘noise’ to filter out.

The same goes for hashtags like #superbowl or hashtags from large conferences like #adtech or #sxsw, because these hashtags fly by quicker than anyone can read.

Using hashtags: what does work?

Hashtags need to be relevant, targeted and occur naturally in the conversation. Think for instance of:

• Moderately sized conferences and lectures: e.g. #iabceme, #MP2011
• Causes: e.g. #haiti, #giveasmile
• Highly engaged groups: e.g. #crisiscompit, #glutenfree, #oilspill
• Create your own: e.g. #nerdbird, #blogchat

Key insight for marketers, PRs and business communicators when using hashtags

On the social web you need to get much more targeted than you were used to in mass communications. It’s not about reaching many people. It’s about reaching the people who really want to hear what you have to say and will share it with their peers.

To do that you have to think specifically about what exactly people are interested in. What are the most relevant hashtags about the topic you have to offer. Then create the right hashtag or combinations of hashtags, that will get the right message to the right audience.

Happy #hashtagging!

This morning I was having a cup of coffee with a marketing strategist who had just started a WordPress website and blog. His site looked great. But it wasn’t optimised for search engines in the slightest.

This happens a lot, because many business people think SEO is scary and difficult. But it ain’t. In my view it’s actually a core business skill. Also, basic SEO for WordPress is not too difficult to implement.

Here are 5 quick SEO wins you can implement today through your WordPress CMS:

1. Optimise your homepage title

- Go to: Settings > General
- Here you see ‘Site Title’ and underneath that ‘Tagline’
- My ‘Site Title’ is ‘Social media tactics you can Trust’
- My ‘Tagline’ is ‘PR 2.0  | Social Media Marketing | SEO | Content Marketing’.

This is how my site appears in Google:

As you can see, Google shows the ‘Site Title’ + the ‘Tagline’ all the way at the top of the search result. In SEO terms this is called the Title Tag. If there is one (On-Page SEO) ranking factor you cannot ignore it’s the title tag. Google uses the words you put in your site title tag to figure out what your site is about.

2. Optimise your homepage meta description

The meta description is the description of your site that Google shows in search results. The meta description serves mostly as a call to action for people to visit your site. Take a look at the image above. My meta description is:

“Great tips, tricks, insights and practical advice on how to develop the skills and knowledge to be a successful marketer on the social web.”

Funnily enough WordPress doesn’t have an easy way to fill in your home page meta description. But when you download and install the All In One SEO pack, you can easily fill in your home page meta description.

When you run a Thesis theme, like I do, you can fill in your homepage meta description under Thesis > Site Options > Home Page SEO.

3. Optimise your URLs

If your URLs look something like this: http://www.yourwebsite.com/?p=123, then you ain’t optimised.

Here’s how you change the structure of your URLs in your WordPress CMS:

- Go to Settings > Permalinks
- Select ‘Custom Structure’
- Fill in: ‘/%postname%/’ (without the kommas)
- Hit ‘Save changes’.

Your URLs now look something like this: http://www.yourwebsite.com/name-of-page-or-post. Your URLs are now optimised for search engines.

Important note: if your website already has links from other websites, you then need to redirect these links from old URL to new URL. This also goes for the internal links inside your website of course.

More on this so called 301 redirect here.

4. Optimise your blog posts and pages

With every blog post or page that you publish, make sure you use the keywords you want to be found on in:

- Title Tag (max 70 characters)
- Meta description (max 150 characters)
- URL (max 115 characters)

Some WordPress themes make it easy for you to fill in title tag and meta description per blog post or page. But some don’t. In those cases, use the All in One SEO Pack plugin and you are all sorted.

As for the URL, WordPress automatically works the title of your blog post into your URL. If it’s too long, edit it down using the ‘edit’ button right underneath your title.

5. Optimise your images

The images you use in your blog, also get indexed by Google. Optimising your images helps to get your blog content found better.

Here’s what you do:

- Go to your media library
- Select an image by clicking ‘edit’
- You need to put keywords (max 5-7) in both fields ‘Title’ as well as ‘Alternative Text’
- When you are uploading new images, also make sure you use these keywords in the file name also.

A last note

The above 5 basic SEO tips are tactics. And as we know – tactics ain’t worth much without good strategy.

As for SEO, this means that you need to use the right keywords. You do this through developing a keyword strategy.

But for now, these basic SEO tactics should already help to optimise your WordPress blog better for search engines!

While I was searching in Google for the term ‘social media marketing’ Google Suggest gave me the term ‘social media marketing for dummies’. And that means people are appearantly searching for that.

Google Suggest is a really handy tool to get a grip on long tail searches and it is also a source of inspiration for blog topics. And that’s why I am now writing this post for  ‘social media marketing for dummies’.

7 Things Social Media Marketing Dummies need to know about Social Media Marketing

1. You’re not dumb!

That’s right. You are not dumb. It’s mostly about unlearning rather than learning. You need to unlearn many things that you’ve become used to as a marketer. For instance …

You cannot interrupt people. They need to proactively ‘like’ you or follow you. You cannot broadcast. You need to engage in a conversation. You cannot only talk about yourself. It’s all about them.

Phew! Sounds like you are marketing with two hands behind your back. But it’s not that bad. You just need a head flip. You need to start thinking differently.

2. Know what you want to achieve

Bottom line, marketing is about selling stuff. So, sales and higher conversions are good goals to set. But the social web is a big place. Customers and prospects might want to get to know you better. Especially in B2B marketing. Trust is a big thing.

So, if you are an expert in your field, it can be a great strategy to start working on your thought leadership and build infuence in your industry.

For B2C marketers, building customer satisfaction can be a great goal for social media marketing. Think about the Zappos case for instance. But you can also focus on managing online reputation. This is how Dell got into social media.

3. Discover what you have to give

It’s not called the ‘social’ web for nothing. Social doesn’t just mean ‘hanging out’ and letting your followers know what you had for lunch. It means actually being social and doing something of value for people.

Think of these friendly IT people who give you an answer when you post a question in a forum. They do this because they know something that you don’t, and they like to help.

If you adapt that kind of headset towards your clients or prospects, you’ll soon find out that you have loads to give. It’s about giving something of real value – without demanding anything in return!

4. Say it with content!

Once you have figured out what you are going to give, you need to realise that they way you are delivering this value is through content. It’s all about the content.

Content is the currency of the social web. It’s what makes people click, follow, subscribe, like, share, donate and buy! It builds Influence, Loyalty and Trust with your customers, prospects and other stakeholders. And it drives people through their decision making process about you and your products or services.

Whether it’s a white book you publish, a video you put on YouTube, a status update on Linkedin, a blog post on your blog, a tweet you send on Twitter….as a marketer you need to learn how to become a publisher of valuable content.

5. Think targeted – no, more targeted than that

What is of value to the one person, is not of value to the other. That’s a major challenge for social media marketers! You are not targeting market segments based on demographics. Instead you are targeting real people with real individual needs.

This means, you are not targeting males, in their forties with above avarage education and salary. Instead you can be targeting for instance ‘HR managers in health care who want to improve the regional mobility of their workforce’. And instead of targeting women, between 20 and 35 with a higher education, you are now targeting ‘pregnant moms in Amsterdam with an iPhone’.

You will find yourself targeting people much less based on their demographics and much more based on their behaviours!

6. Think more about their needs than your ‘benefits’

So, you need to offer something of real value, you do that by publishing useful content and you are targeting that content towards individuals.

As a marketer, you used to create one marketing message based on your product benefits and broadcast that message on TV, radio or print. This is how you used to find customers. But on the social web, your customers find you! (This is called inbound marketing).

Where you used to use a fishnet and drag everything in that moved, you are now using a hook and some bait. The bait is the solution to the individual need of your potential customer. This is how you get found in Google and in social networks. People don’t search for ‘cleans cleaner than ever’. They search for ‘what kills germs’. Catch my drift?

7. Don’t go in without a strategy

Many businesses try out social media marketing by starting a Twitter profile or a Facebook page. Or a blog even. In 99.9% of the cases, these initiatives fall dry. And always for the same reasons: either you run out of things to say or it’s not getting you any results. Actually, the reason you don’t get any results is because you run out of things to say!

So before you start, make sure you set clear goals. Then develop a strategy. A strategy ties up an action to a specific target group (or persona) and a specific business objective to specific content.

So, you could for instance ‘publish a white book, targeted at industry influential to build thought leadership’. Or ‘publish a series of video tutorials for your customers to raise customer satisfaction and reduce call centre traffic’.

Bottom line: don’t go in without a strategy. If you find it hard to come up with a strategy: get help.

A last note:

Social media marketing ain’t terribly difficult, but it is quite different compared to how you used to market your products and services.

If your company doesn’t have a presence on the social web yet: you are late! But don’t dive in head first without a plan. To help you kick-start the process, here’s:

7 Tactics for SME business leaders to kick start social media today.

Thanks for reading this post all the way through to the end.

You have now officially left the club of social media marketing dummies!