8 Factors in Search Engine Rankings You Probably Don't Know About

I just found out from a colleague that Google uses over 200 ranking factors when determining which pages go where in the search engine results. I knew there were a lot, but I didn't realize there were that many and how they impacted the search engine rankings of my website and the sites of my clients. The link is above if you want to review 200 yourself, but here are eight Google ranking factors that I didn't know about, and you probably don't know about either (until today):

1. Exact Match Domains - An exact match domain is a domain name that's an exact keyword, such as contentmarketingservices.com or greenhomecleaning.com. Exact match domains have always been a Google ranking factor, but they have lost strength in the last few algorithm updates. However, if your exact match domain offers high quality content, then it should still give you an edge, but more so because of the content and not because of the exact match.
2. Page Loading Speed - Yes, it is a direct ranking factor. If your page takes too long to load, then it could hurt you. Google considers page loading speed, and several other factors, as part of the user experience. The better the user experience, the increased likelihood that the website offers quality content and is regularly maintained and updated, which is essentially what search engines want to show people in the search results.
3. Image Optimization - This is one that's worth noting as its a Google ranking factor that may business bloggers and online publications miss. Google can't see images, so it "reads" them according to things like the caption, description, title, file name, and alt tag. When including images on your blog posts and web content (and please include images), include the keyword you want that page/blog post to rank for in each of those sections for the image.
4. Contact Us Page - Supposedly, if your contact page actually has information on it (and isn't just a form), then that will improve your rankings. Although, it could just be for that page, but at least this is one more reason why a contact form isn't good enough for a contact page.
5. Guest Posts - Guests posts, especially the backlinks, are very valuable for search engine rankings. However, links in the author bio aren't as valuable as those within the context of the article. This may be a little difficult to achieve, since some online publications are picky about the links that can be included in their blog posts, but it's something to keep in mind if guests posts are a big part of your online marketing strategy.
6. Wikipedia Source Links - Bad news on this one! All Wikipedia links are 'no follow' so none of them count as part of your search engine rankings. As great as it is to have a link from Wikipedia, it does not count as part of your Google ranking factors. This also means that creating a Wikipedia page about your company may be good in that's in one more thing that can come up when people search for your company, but the links you include in there won't mean a thing.
7. Word Count of Linking Content - A link from a 1000-word post is more valuable than a link inside ofa 25-word snippet. Who would have thought? This is a good reason to publish longer, more comprehensive content, as it boosts the value of the backlinks you provide to others.
8. Brand Signals - This one actually encompasses several factors, but Google does like pages and social presences that indicate that your company or your website is, in fact, a brand. Make sure that your company has strong, fresh, and active brand signals, such as an official LinkedIn company page (using a personal profile is against the site's policy, so stop that if this is you), brand name anchor text, a Google+ local listing, and the number of blog/RSS subscribers you have.

Not only are there eight more ranking factors (well, more actually, if you count brand signals as several) to be aware of, but hopefully there's an additional understanding of things you can do to improve your SEO strategy. Keep in mind that search engine rankings aren't just based on one or two big things, but on a huge conglomerate of things that contribute to the user experience and what you have to offer a web visitor.

Pivoting Your Business 180 Degrees is Crazy

Quite frankly, I don't really know how to pivot my business 180 degrees, but that's essentially what I'm doing right now with my business. I love blogging and creating content. I just don't like doing it for other people anymore. I'm over it, and I really went into business to create more of my own content, instead of creating content for others, and a year-and-a-half into this I'm still spending most of my time creating content for others. So, I'm pivoting myself and Stirring Media, and we're going to create our own content. I need to revise the business model, and the website, and our social media presences. I also need to once again drop clients and figure everything out. Oh, and I should probably tell my business consultants about this.

Or, Maybe Not, We'll See

However, I did receive a call from a lead just now, a lead that would be really awesome to work with and would save my company from going broke. The company has a software that allows corporations and interest groups track relevant legislation, which sounds fantastic. Do blog posts about the importance of following legislation, how to respond, how to contact the relevant people to get your say involved, how to encourage action (perhaps this is something I should write about on the Amnesty blog?). It's great stuff, although I admit, my sales pitch on the phone was horrible. I don't know if I sold them on anything that they already don't have the manpower to do, because the lead said they have someone on board to do this.

Man, I got all excited about the YouTube and the blogging and creating my own content. Maybe we could slowly transition, instead of suddenly transition. It would mean I'd have to worry less about becoming proprietary so quickly. But, it's also more creating content for other people, which is what we need to get away from right now. So, we might pivot, we might not pivot, we might pivot very slowly. Don't know yet. Ask again tomorrow.

We're Still Making a Video Though

Yes! We are still totally making a video and I am going to do that tonight! I am going to record me playing Oblivion for about 30 minutes because I need to take action and to create a video. I also need to test my 30-day trial of the recording software I downloaded, so I can see how good it is and see what kind of outcome I get with it. I still want to do the talk show, which has a tentative name of "Real Chats by the Fake Fireside", but I don't want to waste an interview because there was shoddy audio or I mess it up trying to use the software or something. I don't want to have to do an interview again, but I can totally just do another 30 minutes of Oblivion. It's more fun, and much easier to do if something goes wrong.

Another Cool YouTube Show Idea

Since my background is in marketing and business blogging, I could always do videos on that, offering quick tips or answering questions or doing some how-to's. Content creation is only getting more and more popular, and writing and blogging still remain two very tough spots for marketers and businesses creating content. That's a niche I could fill. In my initial research, it looked like that there weren't too many videos on this topic. I think also the challenge here is presenting something like business blogging, which isn't all that visual, in a very visual way. I could couple it with a powerpoint presentation, but we'll see.

Okay! We have a business to pivot and a video to make, so we're going to do that. Yay!

4 Things to Think About When Starting a Blog or Online Publication

Starting your own blog, online publication, or online magazine may be easier and cheaper than ever, but that doesn't mean the venture is a simple or smooth road. There is plenty to think about when getting started, with everything from the name and the design to what you're going to write about every day, every week, or even three or four times per day. To help you get started and to build a successful and awesome blog or magazine, here are four things to think about long and hard

Topic

This is one of the easiest, yet hardest, things to think about. Sure, you might know that you want to do a tech blog or a magazine covering the local nightlife scene, but you might have to narrow yourself more than that. There are TONS of tech blogs out there, and there might already be one or two magazines covering the local nightlife scene. How are you going to compete if you plan to write about the same topic?

When thinking about your topic, you want to think about your competitors and what they are covering. You can't just cover what they cover, as your competitors (some of whom may have been online for a long time) will have an edge over you. You have to know that you are doing something different, whether that's covering a more specific niche, or offering different perspective, or writing longer, more thought-provoking articles.

Audience

Anyone and everyone doesn't count as an audience, at least not today, when there are too many things competing for everyone's attention. To have a little more edge when competing for that attention, you need to think about who your target audience is. If you're doing that local nightlife magazine, for example, then your audience would probably be middle-class twenty-somethings in your area who are probably also interested in drinking, fashion, events, and other aspects of nightlife. Knowing your audience makes it easier to come up with article ideas that would interest your target audience (obviously, this is much easier to do when your audience is narrower than everyone and anyone).

Blog/Article Ideas

Of course, this is something that you're going to think about constantly, but before launching and writing that first article, you'll want to come up with several blog and article ideas to get you started. This way, you don't have to deal with writer's block right away and you'll have something to keep you going right after you launch. Or, what you could do is come up with the ideas, and then write all those articles before the launch so you can focus on promotion and generating buzz. After all, you're not launching much if you write one article, and then take two weeks to come up with a few more ideas and to get the next article out.

Goals

Of course, if you don't have any goals for your new blog or online publication, then there's really no reason to be doing it in the first place. Hopefully, you have a few things that you want to accomplish with your content, whether that's filling a niche that hasn't been filled, or to do better than your competitors, or to share great content about great things, or all of the above. Data-based goals are also good, such as shooting for certain number of subscribers, visitors, and social media followers. When you have your goals in mind, or when you're taking the time to come up with a few goals, make sure to write them down and put them where you'll see them everyday. This tactic increases your chances of reaching those goals while reminding you of what you want to accomplish.

Those aren't the only four things to think about when starting a blog or online publication, but they certainly are four big things to think. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, so plan at least these four things when starting out.

Ideas for My YouTube Programming/Empire

Yesterday, I discussed the very real possibility of venturing into YouTube, creating video content that people will love and maybe turning into the Viacom of YouTube will all sorts of channels on all sorts of things. Today, with consultation from my business coach, I'm totally gonna do it and I have several ideas on some really good programming and on how to start. Fortunately, it's all going to work out because I have a fake fireplace in my home office, which will make a great backdrop for my shows and I can top it all off with an app of roaring fire and it will be great.

Pilot Idea - Me Playing Oblivion

My idea to get the first video up, just to see what happens here, is to do 30 minutes of me playing Oblivion. It should be good, since Sean uploaded a whole bunch of mods that I've never really used, so I don't know what they do. I've also never played the expansions, so I could get those and play those as well. This is more just to see how good my audio/visual equipment is, practice talking as I'm playing so the audience doesn't get bored, and to give something to my friends to watch, to share, and to laugh at. I mean, to be frank, they'll be the only ones watching in the first place.

This is also just a pilot idea because there's a whole group in the UK already doing something similar with other games, and I don't need to copy what they do. Maybe if I just do really old games it will be okay, games that still have that sentimental, nostalgic value. But, I don't want playing video games to be my YouTube thing. Perhaps poker from time to time though, because poker is awesome.

For Real Kine Idea - A Talk Show

So, after everyone has made fun of me playing Oblivion, I will get serious with the serious topics and broadcasting. One of those serious, for-real-kine ideas is a talk show, where I interview cool people doing things, or awesome people who are part of an awesome project. I need to make a list of all the people I want to interview, because I can think of a whole bunch of neat folks to interview. However, what I want to do more is just interview them, but turn it into a conversation about the broader topic. So, for example, one of the people I want to interview is my business coach. Instead of it just being an interview with her and her business, I want it to expand to the broader topics of entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, and cool things like that. This is the talk show idea.

Another For Real Kine Idea - A Nightly News Show

This is another idea that I have that I'd really love to pursue because American mainstream media and cable news is so messed up. I don't know if there's anyway to fix it, except to be the change that you want to happen in this world. I'm going to be change in cable news and American mainstream media with my nightly news show. I'd like to cover international news since it's important and no one does that. I'd also like to cover those tough big issues that never get any coverage. I'll work on it and deliver the news next to my fake fireplace. It'll be amazing.

That's all I have right now for ideas. Maybe if this gets really big and awesome then I could have other people carry out their ideas, and it'll be a cool little YouTube video media empire. That would be great, you know, to hire people to make YouTube video's of themselves and their passion. Sounds amazing. Stirring Media at its finest.

My New Plan Towards Saving the World (and Reaching Oprah Status)

May has so far been a stressful, spring-cleaning, rethinking, must-build-identity-capital, sort of month. This month has been all about making the key decisions that will define, oh I don't know, the rest of my life or something like that. My business is just about broke, which isn't fun, and this is the primary reason that I've been stressed, and thinking, and building identity capital. I've lost some major revenue sources, on top of the fact that my latest big project ended up costing me money than making me money. It just seems like I make the money, but the costs keep increasing and have finally increased more than what I've been making. I need to do something quickly. I'm thinking that since I've come to terms with the idea of my business failing and having nothing but a website, and a domain name, and inbound marketing skills, that I should try something new with all that. Do some sort of 180, perhaps almost ditching all that I've done before.

I'm Actually Thinking YouTube

So, my magnificent plan B here is to go for it with YouTube; just start making videos and posting them, figuring out how to make great videos and to create that identity capital that turns me into a YouTube star. From what I've read, YouTube is the untapped gold mine, where there's not only a lot of traffic but there's also tons of opportunity to create great content and for YouTube and advertisers to help you create that content and to help you make money from that content. YouTube is competing with Hulu and Netflix, and they want to compete with television when all is said and done, so I think there's a huge opportunity there to create great videos, to create content that's of value to people and entertaining at the same time.

I don't have much idea of the kind of content I'd like to produce. I could fit the gamer girl niche. I could also produce a talk show or news show, interviewing awesome people doing awesome things. I could just make some sort of YouTube reality show, of me doing things in life and commenting on them. I could film my journey as a Half the Sky Ambassador, spreading the word about those issues and spreading the word about what others are doing. I do, however, have a fake fireplace in my office. I totally intend to use that, make that all camera worthy. My home office, it turns out, was totally made for YouTube videos.

What Is Oprah Status?

Oprah status is my phrase for being so awesome that you can just start your own television network, you know, because you're Oprah and you have that kind of clout. Then, you're so awesome that when your network isn't doing too well, the way to save it is to go back to hosting your own television show, on your own television network, and that does the trick. That's essentially how it went down at OWN, and I know this because I wrote a 700-word article for a client on the future of OWN. Oprah's back doing what she does best, so I'm not worried.

Did I mention Oprah also has her own magazine and website and book club and what not? The woman is fantastic. I mean, she said something about not liking beef, and then the beef industry got angry and sued her because she was Oprah, and the beef industry knew she had the power to turn everyone against beef. That's the kind of influence she has, and that's the kind of influence I want to have. I will use that influence to save the world, you know, end women's oppression and end poverty and good stuff like that. It's going to be fantastic.

Where Has the Time Gone? This is Ridiculous

I have not blogged in a really long time! I promised that I was going to blog while I was in Las Vegas, and after Las Vegas, and I got sidetracked and I didn't do any of that. That was almost two months ago, and so much has transpired over that time. Essentially, what's happened is that I lost money playing poker, I got really busy with the business, now the business doesn't have a lot of money, so I think I need to rethink my life or something. Actually, I probably need to rethink a lot of things. Except the poker, as I'm slowly making my money back online.

Blogging Case Study

Obviously, this is out the window. I've long past the deadline at the end of the quarter to evaluate where I've come with the blogging. I've probably lost most of the ground I made in the first 70 days or so of the year. I also need to come up with a whole new list of blog post ideas and a brand new goal for this blog and all that other good stuff. I could just shoot for turning this thing into a business and becoming famous online or something, but then I feel that's what every blogger shoots for.

Oh no, I need to think about this like how technology evangelist Ramon Ray does. I am a publisher, although I'm not quite sure what I publish yet. That goes with the figuring out blog topics, new blog goal, maybe something else to study. I don't know. While I am at it, I should come up with a cool title, like how Ramon Ray is the "technology evangelist." I don't know what I am yet.

Saving the World Mission is Still Here, Though

Besides the fact that everything else has gone to garbage, I am now the St. Louis Community Ambassador for the Half the Sky Movement. The movement is based off the book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (which is a great book that everyone should buy/borrow and read), and is about ending oppression for women and girls worldwide. I think I'm going to be devoting some content to that, promoting documentary screenings (the book was then turned into an AMAZING PBS documentary, which you should watch after you read the book) and thinking of other awesome initiatives to do to encourage action and to end oppression. This falls right into line with the 'saving the world' mission, which was cornerstone to this whole blogging thing. Can't forget about saving the world! What's the point of life if you are not going to save the world?

So, What's Next?

Good question, after two months of my life has gone by so very fast. So very, very fast. I do have to plan my first Half the Sky screening, which is planned for June 6 at 5:30 p.m. It is going to be about economic empowerment, but that's all I know so I need to work on that. I also want to do a business blogging class, which I think would be valuable to potential customers. I think I could charge $15 for entry or something. I do need to make changes to the services that I offer with Stirring Media, since I think I need to change direction with the business. I might need to revert back to freelance writing, or focus my services a bit more on just a few verticals or something. Not sure yet. I'm going to work on the new service pages, take a way a few services that no one wants, and see how much of a difference that makes.

Improving Your SEO in Mobile Marketing

People are already shopping on their mobile phones, tweeting from their mobile phones, and using their mobile phones to find jobs, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that people are using their phones to search online as well. Of smartphone users, 71 percent run a mobile search when they see an ad online, on television, or in print. The question is: are you picking the right keywords to reach them in your mobile marketing campaign? Just like with your regular website and with any other online marketing tactic or campaign, you need to think about the keywords you are targeting with your mobile website and in mobile marketing as well. Besides thinking abou it, you need to take the time to do research while improving your SEO every step of the way.

Thinking about Keywords in Your Mobile Marketing Campaign

Mobile marketing campaign? Isn’t it good enough that I have keywords on my website and blog? Well, no, because those searching on a mobile phone have very different motivations, and are under very different circumstances than someone who’s searching on a desktop or laptop. For example, those in front of a monitor may be more interested in making pizza, while those on the street searching on a mobile phone may be more interested in eating pizza and finding a good restaurant. In picking the right keywords for your mobile marketing campaign, businesses need to think about what the needs are of the potential customer on the street, searching for the thing he or she needs right then and there.

Fortunately, Google’s Keyword Tool has the option of checking keywords based on mobile search volume. In the advanced settings right underneath where you would type in your keyword or phrase, simple change ‘Devices’ to “all mobile devices”. You may find that popular keywords on desktops and laptops aren’t that popular on mobile devices. But, you will be able to find the keywords that are commonly searched for on mobile devices.

Why Mobile SEO is Incredibly Important

Internal Google data found that searches from mobile devices grew 130 percent year by year. On top of that, 59 percent of shoppers said they plan to use mobile searches to facilitate their holiday shopping. If your business has not yet paid attention to mobile searches and mobile keywords, now is the best time to do so. The holiday season is just around the corner, and the back to school season serves as a perfect time for you to test certain keywords and mobile marketing campaigns. This way, you can spend the time in between improving your SEO and better preparing yourself for the holiday season.

Mobile users conduct searches on their phones with the intent of visiting your store and making a purchase soon, if not immediately. If you have the perfect Christmas gift on your shelf, wouldn’t you want these people to know? If people are using their tablets to look up different services for their home or their businesses, wouldn't you want your company to come up in those searches? The best way to start is to think about what these mobile searchers would be looking for, and making sure you’re the one they find by picking the right keywords for your mobile marketing campaign.

Related Links:

5 Mistakes Businesses Make in Keyword Research

Starting a Website: Why Every Business Needs One

5 Big Components of Keyword Strategy