Search Engine Optimization & Website Contents

The world of Seo or Search Engine Optimization is constantly changing. At present the SERPs are unstable as search engine try to perfect their indexing and ranking system. Much to the dismay of webmasters some criteria has been set which gives preference to brands, major chains and even websites that are not optimized at all or those with soddy contents.      

A constant evolution is taking place with regards to the algorithms responsible for placing websites and blogs on search engine result pages or SERPs. 

The SE companies are constantly involved in improving results that would convince visitor of their effectiveness in response to the query.  With the induction of Panda and Penguin most of the spammers have been ousted and optimization has become as tough task.   

Optimization is no longer limited to link building as it was earlier. A vast range of matrix have come into play with various degree of effects. Among the major influences, website contents and authoritative linking plays major roles. Both the elements are related - creating authoritative links requires excellent contents. 

Hence contents become supreme. This means one should have good, relevant and unique contents on websites. Writing for users is a prerequisite but some elements of seo should be present.  Many website owners skip due importance that should be accorded to contents. 

Writing is not only a skill but it is an art too. The first step in content creation is to create a link architecture which elaborates what topics would be present on the website. This begins right at the white board stage.          

The link architecture should be created in a top down manner with the priority pages on the top. While creating the topic list link naming should take place using keyword related to the topic. 

As always, the home page should be written first, it should comprise of summary of what the website is about. This is where tags, title, meta all come into picture. Hence write the contents such that they incorporate major search terms along with semantics. The contents should be neatly divided into readable paragraphs interspersed with relevant images which are properly optimized.     

As per old practice keep the targeted search terms in the first and last paragraph while including semantics within. The contents should be highly relevant and should justify the domain and the title. The domain should be based on related search terms but the ranking algorithms do not rate them as highly as they did before. So a company name or any other name is not a disadvantage...well to some extent.       

Whence writing make sure that there is no duplicity and violation of rights of  others. Hence do not copy contents....do not plagiarize.. and no scraping please this is copyright infringement and search engine are not kind to such write ups.   

Writing unique contents means digging deep using research. If you are writing about less searched topic, it would rank better on the SERPs. This simply means there is less competition, and hence less chance getting buried in a pile of redundant websites which have not been able to climb the ladder. 

So if you are writing about an economy hotel stick to it there is no need to describe a luxury of five star . property. You will be aiming to place your website on budget, cheap, economy hotels not luxury hotels mind you.   

Whence you write on internal pages see that each and every page offer unique but related information. If you find a page has similarity but you still need to keep it onsite then use the "rel=canonical" tag. 

Yes proper grammar and structure as good as they could be should be given top priority. These guidelines also apply for creating contents whence building authoritative links using article, blogs and news. Last but not the least saturate your web pages with good amount of write up optimum being two hundred and fifty words. If it is an eCommerce site  proper product description creates a winning portal.  

Social Media : Content Curation?

Content Curation in simple words is aggregation of the best content available online. This can be further paraphrased as  topic related or relevant content that users find useful and entertaining. Naturally it should also be information rich since that is what wildly searched on Net - unique information.  

While in Social Media we try to make our platforms like blogs, article sites, websites and forums rich in content we can not always do it ourselves. Hence in order to fulfill the content gap we usurp that which is available freely on the Internet. This is not plagiarism since the link of the site where it is published in attached to the article.      

Apart from information dissemination and entertainment contents also increase online followers seeking all this. This then becomes an important marketing tool and raise brand equity of businesses.    

If effectively curated the social media platform becomes a one stop shop for those seeking the right stuff. This also helps avoid long and tiring searches on the unfathomable web.   

Sharing content propagated by outsiders in nothing shameful on the contrary it is wise strategy. Content curation increases versatility of what you make available and in a way increases your authority by enhancibg your grasp  of the subject. 

There are many tools on WWW available to sort out, choose and publish outsider contents.    

Social Media: Online Communication & More

With the advent of Internet, a paradigm shift has taken place as to how we communicate. The greatest flip has arisen out of the coming of social media platforms which have - if not of all - heightened thinking, educated, changed the mindset and attitude of the literate class, professionals and amateurs alike.   

Information transformation has been tremendous, accessible to one and all, and may I add cheaply. The versatile social media platforms have proven to be excellent communication channels in terms of written words, audio/video.

Besides being instrumental in networking of like minded, niche set and the common man. They have augured the interests pertaining to various fields/topics, be it business, hobbies, activities and what not. Hence they carry with them endless possibilities of making effective social changes and broadening our spectrum of thoughts and attitude in the right manner. This has been evident by the transformation and upheaval created by the bloggers. Members of forums and groups (online communities) has been able to express views, exploit and disseminate information pertaining to their interests with ease.   

Holistic in approach, Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter with ample space for communication, tools for creativity along with admixture of entertainment channels have proven to be the most successful online phenomenon.  For propaganda, business and publicity these media tools offer exciting possibilities which are continuously evolving, hence the thunderous success and popularity.

The medium offers endless courting space, thanks to graphic tools, content possibilities and audio for sales conversions, promotions and creating a target audience. There are many niche platforms which  focus on aspects that do not float in a void but are more of hubs with specific offerings.

Not only people, news channels, companies, organizations, NGOs, professionals, career seekers, all have been attracted to the medium. This has proven to be an economic dais that has given them a voice and increased visibility, to paraphrase - a means of expression that is not possible elsewhere without a large man power and expenditure.    

The cyber space is witness to  many startups...platforms that come with promise and vanish overnight, only the deserving survive.  Complex platforms with restrictions or conditional approach have experienced diminished access to audience as compared to the mega portals which have become part of our lives.

What has been so far restricted by the offline or traditional paper based media to specialists, professionals, news mongers, writers and journalists has reached the palms of the ordinary man and his milieu. The collective phenomena with the tremendous possibility of accumulation and dispersal of information online has become an extension or our mind, body and soul.

Albeit free, these platforms offer enhanced accessibility to specialized tools through the paid options. Not bound by boundaries, timings, speed or distance, the phenomena is here to stay.