SEO : Search Engine Optimization from 2012-2013: 7 Key Factors That Will Take The Lead

This time of year is suitable for retrospection. We’re able to take a good look at how things played out in 2012, and get an idea of the trends and patterns that are most likely to dominate the coming year.

2012 was rough for SEO experts due to radical changes in Google’s algorithms, including many updates to Panda, as well as the the introduction of Penguin. While content quality and inbound links continue to play major roles in organic rankings, let’s take a look at the other factors that will govern SEO in 2013.

2013: The 7 Key Factors That Will Determine Your Survival in SEO

If it were up to me, I’d simply focus on creating value for the reader — because ultimately, that should be the goal of any website. However, increasing competition may require you to employ strategic practices in a pragmatic approach to assist your rise to the top of the SERPs. Here are the tactics and strategies that will dominate the SEO landscape in 2013.

1. Quality of Content

Ultimately, it all comes down to the quality and value of the content on your website. Google has been very explicit this year about good-quality content, and we expect this trend to carry over into next year in full force. By content quality, the metrics are:

1.     uniqueness of the content/topic
2.     resourcefulness and information richness (i.e., no thin content)

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing is being touted as the next big thing. Experts have called it the new SEO. To an extent, this is true. As a general rule, content marketing attracts backlinks, and adds value for the user/reader. It is more challenging, because you have to generate more content of high quality, circulate it, and make sure your content gets published widely with ample social signals to generate substantial SEO value.

Since Google takes valuable content seriously, a solid content marketing strategy will be the key to climbing to the next level in SEO.

3. Author Rank and Profile

Author Rank has emerged as a vital metric in deciding SERPs, although studies about its value are still ongoing. One thing that we can be sure of in 2013 is that AuthorRank will add credibility and value to your website, and it will be vitally important for every webmaster.

4. Social Signals and Social Networking

After much debate and discussion, social signals have largely been accepted as valid ranking factors. In the next year (and probably in the years to follow), social signals will play a growing role. Shares, retweets, mentions, and perhaps most importantly, +1s are trophies every webmaster should be amassing.

5. Mobile/Responsive Design

Although this does not directly influence the ranking of a page, it will play a role in your fortunes. Google was one of the first companies to become aware of this trend in web browsing due to the growing presence of tablets and smartphones. Responsive design may not be an explicit SEO factor, but in terms of usability, it is likely to be a highly influential element to consider in 2013.

6. Localization / Info-graphics

Google’s growing preference for local websites and information has become evident in many searches. It’s safe to assume 2013 we’ll witness an increase in this preference. Websites that apply local SEO will enjoy higher rankings and visibility. This includes map data, listings, citations, and reviews on local information sites.

7. Social Media Marketing

Images and videos have become staples on the Internet. We’ve consistently seen that relevant results that include videos get ranked higher than text-only content. The further emergence of media content is an important development you can expect next year. It’s becoming essential to add relevant non-textual media to text content, because this adds value and makes the content more resourceful.
Source

Read more

Facebook Redesigns Continue With Timeline: Community Managers Be Ready

Yesterday Facebook posted another major announcement to its blog.  The long tested redesign of Timeline is beginning to roll out.  The new look of Timeline will give users a place for all the things they care about.

As you can see, the Facebook clean-up continues.  The rich media look that they recently featured in the preview of the News Feed redesign carries over into the cleaner two column look of Timeline.  The about and interests of users will be far more prominently featured to the left of the Timeline posts.  This area of the Timeline will offer users a great deal of flexibility to show off the things they care about the most.  Be ready to see bibliophiles showing off the books they’ve read while film buffs feature the movies they’ve watched and look forward to seeing.

The impact that this change has for Facebook marketers is 3-fold.

• Graph Search will have greater depth and breadth of information to display.
• Advertising will benefit from more complete user identities.
• Community Managers will find more information about the people they connect with.

First of all, as the changes finally start rolling out, there will be the usual outcry from the average users about how much they dislike the fact that Facebook is changing AGAIN.  It always happens.  But, the vitriol always causes a portion of their friends to take the time to log into the full desktop version to see what all of the fuss is about.  That is where the next batch of data collection will begin.  As soon as a user lands on their redesigned space they will be prompted to update and customize.  BINGO!  Fresh info.

Immediately, Graph Search benefits from all of the fresh updates.  Search will be better able to tell users where their friends have been, what they like, and other stuff that could lead them to your marketing presence in Facebook.  Make certain that your business is ready to be optimized and searchable.

The influx of fresh user data will give savvy advertisers even better targeting buckets to mine for optimum ROI.  Just think how much better your geographic targeting will be when massive numbers of Facebook users update their current locations.

Finally, for those really super smart community managers, this will be a boon to better understanding the people they interact with on behalf of a brand.  Although you can count on many users to take the time to play with new features, few will delve deep into their privacy settings.  Most of the information that will come out of the redesign will continue to be publicly visible to any other Facebook user logged into the network, including page administrators.  It won’t be difficult at all to click the link to your most active community members and find out more about the music, locations, and activities that they enjoy the most, and then use that information to improve your page content and engagement.

What are your thoughts and concerns about all of the changes coming to Facebook this year?

Image Credit: Facebook

Read more

Big, Beautiful Photos Of The New Samsung Galaxy S4

No, that isn’t the Galaxy S3 you’re looking at. That is Samsung’s upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S4, pictured in the wild and detailed for all to see. As revealed in the pictures from the Chinese site that managed to secure the device, the phone will include a few new TouchWiz features we hadn’t heard about (like S Pen-free preview functions), as well as confirming many of the hardware specs:

Samsung Galaxy S4

• 7.7mm thick
• 138g
• 4.99-inch 1080p display
• 13MP camera
• 1.8GHz Exynos 5410 Octa core CPU with 533Mhz PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU
• 2GB of RAM
• 16GB of storage and expandable micro SD card slot

Now unless Samsung pulls a fast one, this is exactly what you can expect to see at tomorrow’s unveiling in New York. What do you guys think? Real? Fake? Disappointed? HTC One killer?

Read more

Everything You Need To Know About The Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung is going to announce its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S IV, next week. This is a really big moment for Samsung. It has successfully transitioned from being some boring phone maker to one of the premier brands in the world.

 

The S IV could be its peak, or it could be the next step on the path to world domination. It all depends on how good the phone is. Since you're probably curious about what Samsung has in store, we've summed up just about everything you need to know about the phone in this post. Click here to learn everything about the Samsung Galaxy S IV →

Read more

Google Glass Will Be Able To ID Someone In A Crowd, Based Only On That Person's Clothes

A new technology designed specifically for Google Glass could identify you solely based on your fashion sense. InSight, which is partly funded by Google, recently unveiled an app for analyzing the clothes and accessories people wear to later identify them, Paul Marks of New Scientist reports. Sure, there's already facial recognition, but clothing recognition can help you identify someone even if they have their back to you. The app creates a "fashion fingerprint" of what a person is wearing by taking photos of people as they use their smartphone. It then creates a file called a "spatiogram" to document colors, patterns, and other design elements from a person's outfit. Used in conjunction with Glass, you would easily be able to locate friends in crowded area, like at a music festival, for example. But once someone changes their clothes, Insight can no longer identify that person. That means the fingerprint is only good for a day or so, but at least it protects a person's long-term privacy. The system works 93% time, based on some early test results. InSight was developed by Srihari Nelakuditi at the University of South Carolina, along with fellow professors from Duke University.

Read more

These Computer-Generated Women Look Real

RoartyOver at 3D graphics blog CGTrader, they've rounded up an eclectic collection of computer-generated images of women for International Women's Day.
 
Some are humorous and cartoony, but some are borderline photorealistic.
We've gathered some of the most impressive displays 3D graphics for you here.

Read more

Google Maps Might Be Banned In Germany Over A Patent Dispute

The German courts are on the point of banning Google Maps over a patent dispute with Microsoft.

A judge in Munich has told Google and its subsidiary Motorola Mobility that he is inclined to hold them responsible for infringing a key mapping patent, it has been reported.

The patent refers to “a computer system for identifying local resources”, according to patent expert Florian Mueller.

Google has been unable to convince the court that the patent does not apply to the technology used in its mapping services.

Microsoft is seeking - and very likely to obtain, according to Mr Mueller – an injunction against the Google Maps service.

In order to comply with the likely injunction, Google would have to disable Google Maps from all computers using a German IP address.

It would also have to stop shipping the Google Maps Android app and only distribute web browsers in Germany only if they used internet filters to block access to Google Maps.

Microsoft originally only sued Motorola Mobility and its German subsidiary over the distribution of the Android app. It only engaged Google as a defendant after Motorola executives denied knowledge of how Google Map servers operated.

In order to maintain the service, Google would have to pay royalties to Microsoft for the Microsoft intellectual property that it uses for its maps. Samsung, HTC, LG and other makers of Android devices have already recognised the patent applying to the Microsoft technology and taken out licensing agreement.

The report comes as Google is accused of “arrogance” in the UK after it apparently ignored requests for privacy and published photographs of their homes from its Street View service. 

 

 More than half a dozen homeowners in Surrey asked the web giant not to post images of their properties online after it introduced Street View to Britain in 2009 over fears they could be used by burglars. Google duly blurred the pictures, only to republish fresh, unblurred ones later.

In separate news, it has emerged in a company email that Motorola Mobility is to cut more than 10 per cent of its workforce as Google moves to streamline its mobile phone business.

Google bought the loss-making Motorola for $12.5bn last year, its largest ever acquisition.

Read more