What are Facebook Questions?

Facebook Questions are simply a basic Q&A feature developed by Facebook. The new feature will be similar to sites such as Yahoo Answers, Ask and Wiki Answers. The main purpose of the feature is to allow a platform for users to Q&A on the Facebook site. The questions which are asked will be broadcast with the same distribution as a wall post would enjoy.

Who Cares?

Who cares? I mean seriously, is this a revolutionary feature? I think not. Seeming to agree with my sentiment, there is a note on the Facebook apps page stating, “We think it will be as exciting as Facebook Photos and Facebook Events…” Both of which, while important, are not at all amazing, although I will say that the photo sharing element is pretty cool… The issue is that the Facebook questions functionality already exists to some degree. You can easily ask a question on your Facebook wall anytime. In fact, it is one of the main strategies to stimulate interaction.

Facebook Questions & Search Engine Optimization

While Facebook Question may not appear to be mind-blowing from a view of functionality, it sure does have some big implications from a search engine marketing standpoint. One reason why information sites like Yahoo Answers, Wiki Answers, Ask, etc, are so popular is because they provide relevant, searchable information. By creating this feature, Facebook will be stimulating a whole new type of searchable discussion. For instance, if you have a business page for a computer product and ask consumers a question like, “How to Pick to the Perfect Computer?” this will be creating new content, which by being backed by the authority of the Facebook site could eventually command good search traffic. This has the possibility of allowing Facebook to achieve longtail rankings for the querys surrounding these questions. In addition, it gives SEOs the opportunity to optimize Facebook pages for this type of content. Of course there are more things to consider in this section but for time sake I will stop here.

Future of Facebook Questions

As of right now we have no idea what the future has in store for Facebook Questions, I mean let’s be honest, it hasn’t even been launched yet and it is still in beta testing so what can we really know? As with most Internet based features we really won’t know much about it until we can actually try it. While this is true, one thing is for sure, Facebook Questions has many implications from a social media marketing and search engine optimization perspective. But only time will tell what it really has to offer.

What do you think about Facebook Questions? Leave a comment below!

What are Tags?

Tags are simply an extended category structure often used in Wordpress. When you create a tag, you create a new category which stores content under that label.

Why use Tags?

Many people feel that tags are beneficial because they improve internal linking and create many new content streams. For instance, say I write a post on search engine optimization and then I add three tags to the post, those being, SEO, search engine optimization and search engine marketing.

What will happen is that that piece of content will not only have the dedicated URL:

http://www.example.com/search-engine-optimization/

it will also fall under the following URLS:

http://www.example.com/tag/search-engine-optimization/

http://www.example.com/tag/search-engine-marketing

http://www.example.com/tag/seo/

So what does this do, well, it creates new databases of content. The issue is, however, that if there is only one post associate with 4 URLs then we have something the serps hate, duplicate content and canonical URLS.

Now keep in mind; this is only duplicate content until more posts are associated with the tag. If 5 different posts eventually fall under each tag, and they are all different posts, then the content should be unique enough to rank. Another important point is that when a Read More tag is added then the full article/blog is not displayed. So technically the entire piece of content is only displayed on one URL and the rest of the URLs/ tags only display text preceding the Read More link.

Why not To Use Tags

So we have long debated this around here and the general consensus is that tags are simply a short cut to improve internal linking. But the issue is that they improve internal linking to new categories. Also, after much testing it has become clear that many times the dedicated URL of the post will not rank, but instead the tagged post will rank because of this modified  internal linking. This is OK, however, the tagged post URL is not SEO friendly.

When it all comes down to it, what really are tags? They are simply categories. So if you already have categories on your blog or site then tags are simply creating duplicate categories or niche categories. So what’s the point if you already have a clean category structure?

The Final Word on Tags

If you have tags on your blog already it’s probably a good idea just to keep them around. Tags greatly expand the size of your site, improve internal linking and can be effective from a search engine optimization perspective if used the right way. However, if you are just starting a site and are thinking about using tags, it would seem that a standard a category structure many be a more clean and SEO friendly option. If you do not use tags you may need to do a little more work to improve cross linking and create dedicated aggregate pages, but ultimately, it will pay off.

Do you have insight into using tags in Wordpress? Add a comment below?

1. Keywords:

You’re trying to rank for certain keywords, right? That’s the whole reason you’ve gotten into search engine optimization in the first. So you need to put these keywords in your content. Each of your SEO content pages should be themed around similar keywords. Don’t try to optimize a page for more than 4 or 5 keywords. It’s nearly impossible to accurately optimize or write content for more keywords and still retain the value of the page. The goal should be narrow, targeted pages with very relevant content.

Your SEO content should be 100% relevant to the keywords and, most importantly, be useful to visitors. Writing filler text with keywords interspersed throughout doesn’t provide value to a visitor and will most likely not increase page views or sales. Trickery also places you in a gray area with search engines and doesn’t provide long-term rankings.

While everyone seems to have an opinion of what kind of keyword density (KWD) your SEO content should have, the general consensus is between 3-5 percent. Any more than 5 percent, and search engines will not only see it as spam, but it will seem spammy and keyword stuffed to any regular person just reading it.

To figure out the KWD of a page, divide the total number of keywords used per phrase by the total number of words in the content. KWD is determined per keyword, not for all keywords at once.

Example: If your keyword was “shoes” and you used it 10 times in a 300 word page of content, you would divide 10/300 = 3.33% KWD. If your keyword phrase was “clown shoes” and you used it 6 times in a 300 word page of content, you would divide 12/300 = 4% KWD.

2. Cross Linking:

While each SEO content page is themed to its own keywords, it’s important to maintain an overall theme between all the pages. The main keywords of other pages on your site need to be included in each page to enable cross linking. For a smaller site with five pages this is easy. Just include the main keywords of each page in each of the other pages, and link each keyword to its respective page. For a larger site with 20 or more pages, you may need to divide the pages up and link them to each other in smaller groups (you don’t want 20+ in content links on one page).

For instance, if you had a clothing and shoes website, you could link all the boots themed SEO content pages to each other, link all the dress themed pages to each other, link all the pants themed pages to each other, and link each page back to the homepage.

3. Formatting:

Studies show that most Internet consumers scan a web page for information relevant to their interests and if they don’t find the information they’re looking for within the first couple of minutes, they will leave the website. I’m definitely guilty of this one, and you probably are too. If I get to a page and I see just one big block of text, there’s about a 99 percent chance that I will leave the page before I have read all (or sometimes any) of the text. Some SEO copywriting techniques to break up text and help readers find what they’re looking for include:

• Bulleted lists
• Numbered lists
• Headlines
• Sub-headlines
• Bolded words
• Blocking off or centering important chunks of text

4. Call to Action:

You don’t want to leave the reader with nothing to do at the end of the page. They have read your information, statistics and/or sales pitch, so what should they do now? Whether it is a toll-free number to call, a link to a contact page, or a link to more information, your SEO copywriting should always include some sort of call to action at the end. Create a sense of urgency with words like “now,” “today,” etc. For example: “Call us now to get the best clown shoes today!”

5. Spelling and Grammar:

I can’t emphasize this enough: always check your work after you are done. Spell check is not always accurate. Sometimes it will change words automatically and you won’t notice that it’s the wrong word. Sometimes you can use the wrong form of a word and not realize it until later (i.e. their vs. there vs. they’re). If I’m writing a bunch of pages of SEO content, I wait until it’s all finished and then check it with fresh eyes a few hours later or the next day. If you don’t trust your own eyes, have a friend or co-worker look it over for you.

These five tips are just a start to great SEO copywriting. What are your tricks for writing SEO content?

Let me explain the latest development… Eric Tseng, Facebook’s head of mobile products, made a statement at MobileBeat 2010 noting that Facebook, “really sees mobile as the future.” Wow, really? That is amazing! No one has ever said that before! Just kidding… Many people have said this. But hey, it’s the second part of the statement that is news…

According to Mashable, he also mentioned that we can expect to see Facebook’s “Like” button and Facebook open graph going mobile in the near future. To add to that, he went on to say that app stores will be integrated with social media.

So let’s analyze these brief statements. Basically, Facebook is looking to make their most popular content sharing and community building widgets accessible via mobile devices. Furthermore, they are desperately seeking a way to work social media into the mobile application industry. I would be too with all the money being made in that sector.

Ultimately, it’s crystal clear that everything is going mobile. I will actually go on the record right now and say, “Everything is going mobile! So figure out what your niche is quick!”

Tseng  helped confirmed this fact at the end of his address, stating that 150 million mobile users have been a huge part of Facebook’s success. If the amount of Facebook mobile users is that big now, think about how large the community will be in a year!

More Recent Facebook News

Facebook Developers Section: Facebook Applications you will Love

How to Moderate Facebook Comments

How to Run a Social Media Campaign

Like a Comment on Facebook

If you want to subscribe to a particular thread, or comment on Facebook, simply add your own comment or “like” the post. If you like the post or leave a comment then you will be notified each time a new comment is posted. If you manage a corporate Facebook page this is a good idea because it will allow you to monitor each comment. So if someone says something negative you can jump in and respond or potentially delete it or mark the comment as spam.

Disabling Wall Posts on Facebook

If you want to go the super conservative route you can also simply disable wall post on Facebook. To do this log into your Facebook page and navigate to the “Wall Settings” area.

Once you are in wall settings click edit and a dropdown menu will appear.

The menu will give you the following ways to moderate Facebook. You will be able to moderate who can write or post to your wall, you can also moderate who is allowed to post photos, videos and links.

So as of right now this is the only way you can moderate comments on Facebook. You can of course excessively check Facebook every few minutes too. But for your sanity, we suggest you either like the comments you want to follow or disable certain elements, especially if you have a large community.

We are now seeing that links which are present in Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posts are being recognized in Webmaster tools as external links to the domain which the Webmaster tools account is tracking. This is a new development. So what does this mean for search engine optimization and social media?

We already know that Google is a huge proponent of social media. In fact, Matt Cutts, the head of web spam at Google, has stated on multiple occasions that one great way to succeed in SEO is to create a blog and push those blog posts out through social media profiles (learn more about this here). So we know that Google wants social media to succeed. We also know that this tactic works excellent in the search space already, in fact, we have helped many clients establish this relationship. But what does this all mean from an external linking perpective? This is the missing piece.

Well, in my opinion it means simply this: Google is recognizing theses links as they would any other inbound link. But here are some things to keep in mind. These links are no follow links and they do not have anchor text. So they are not a huge help for search engine optimization. But there is more to consider.

While these links are not the ideal link, it can be assumed that they act as an inbound link would from any other website. If that is the case, these links would still benefit search results to some degree. It has long been speculated that even if a link is a no follow that it does still pass some ranking power (link juice) on to the website it is pointing to, especially if the site has high page rank and fends well for the term you are trying to optimize for.

So there it is! We are now seeing that links from social media posts are registering in webmaster tools. In my opinion, this only strengthens the argument to join the social media movement. What is your opinion? Also, if you have a question please feel free to ask!

By John E. Lincoln

Google Tags for local businesses

Google Tags is now out of beta and available nationwide. For local businesses that rely on Google searches, this is now a way to stand out from the crowd with your own special offer or message in the map 7-pack. For now, they are relatively rare and stand out. As Google Tags become ubiquitous, it might be the price of admission.

Here’s what Google had to say about this new feature:

For a flat monthly fee of $25, businesses can enhance their listings that appear on Google.com and Google Maps with a yellow tag that emphasizes specific information such as a coupon, video, website, menu, reservations, photos, or a custom message. Tags do not affect the ranking of the listings, and we clearly indicate which parts of the search result are sponsored.

As with all things Google, expect the paid listings to expand over time and start to overwhelm the free listings. To learn more and try it out, please visit Google Tags.

If you need help with your Google Places listing, Local Search Optimization or want to be a head of the curve with Google Tags contact us today.

Like search engine optimization, social media marketing demands a broad range of knowledge in Internet marketing to be successful. It also requires employees with keen attention to detail and extensive experience. At SEO Inc. we have built a team of bright and motivated individuals who love what they do and this shows in our clients social media and SEO results.

In the press release launched today, our CEO, Garry Grant had a quote that well addressed this concept.

“We’ve been offering social media services for years, but now we are making it official by announcing that we are a leader in the social media marketing space,” said Garry Grant, CEO and Founder of SEO Inc. “Social media marketing is becoming vital to compete online. With our background in SEO, PPC and web development we’ve been able to refine the social media process and integrate services in a new and exciting way.”

After the release launched today we received a great deal of responses. Thank you to all of the people who contacted us to move forward with social media marketing. With so many benefits to engaging customers with social media, we expect this to be a vital part of the online marketing space for years to come.

Read the Full Press Release

Learn more about Social Media Marketing

Your page category cannot be changed
The first item to complete when creating page will be to select the proper category. It’s not currently possible to edit the category page once you have created the page. If you would like to change your category you will need to delete your page and start over. Are you creating a page for your company brand or for a local business? So make sure you are choosing the appropriated category.

Your page name cannot be changed
It’s not currently possible to edit the name of a page. If you would like to change your page name, you will need to delete your page and start over. You might be thinking about having a page for a specific line of products or for the family brand so brainstorm before your action since it will be final.

Your username cannot be changed
This is my favorite feature and it is a one more great way to promote your business’s name. Since the 2nd semester of 2009, you can personalize your page URL by choosing a username – www.facebook.com/<companyusername>, but you need to have at least 25 Facebook users “like” your page before you are eligible to choose your username. And one more time, once you claim your username you will not be able to edit even if it was a small typo.

If you keep those 3 very important things in mind when creating your page you will save yourself from a big frustration of having to start over especially if you have already started interacting with your customers and built a following.

ExactTarget recently released a study on this. According to them, and some commentary in a blog post by Mashable, here is what we know about those who choose social media marketing over email.

Those Who Check Email First

If you check email first ExactTarget says you lean more towards being task oriented and only interact with brands when you need something, such as doing research or just getting general information.

Those Who Check Social First

Now when they said social (social media) they were specifically referencing Facebook. If you start with Facebook they say you look for “extracurricular” information from companies and it is important for you to interact with the company first. In addition, you enjoy accessing their media and entertainment to get a feel for the company.

According to Mashable’s report on the subject, there is more:

• More than 50% of U.S. online consumers check their e-mail before visiting other websites when they start the day.
• Facebook is the first destination for 11% of U.S. online consumers.
• Of daily Facebook users, 69% “Like” at least one company or brand.
• 68% of daily Twitter users follow at least one brand on the service.
• 43% of all American Internet users are either fans or followers of at least one brand on Twitter or Facebook.

As we can see, as each day passes online consumers are becoming more accepting of social media marketing. Clear levels of social media interaction are on the rise making it incredibly important for brands to have a presence on these sites. Facebook in particular, is now a frequently visited destination for over 400 million users! While this is true, email marketing is extremely effective, according to the study.

Adding fuel to the social media campaign frenzy, it was recently noted that “someone who has ‘Liked’ a brand will spend an average of $71.84 more each year on that brand’s products or services than will someone who has not Liked it on Facebook, for a total average annualized value of $136.38.” (Source: “The Value of a Facebook Fan: An Empirical Review”)

With clear signs that we are moving into a social media dominated Internet, companies that jump in early we will see the biggest rewards.

Think about it, if you had a Facebook message or an email. What would you check first?