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5 Ways to Make Your Website Appeal to Google Robots

When I speak at Trade Shows, I often get asked “how can people find my website when looking for my products? It all comes down to how Google and their robots work.

It can be tough, spending hours creating new content for your website and it is important that the Googlebots (search bot software) can find it quickly. This not only speeds up the time it takes Google to index your pages, but it also allows you to benefit from your hard work sooner, rather than later. Here are 5 ways to help your website benefit from Google Robots.

1. Use Social Networks to Utilise your Content
One of the best ways for the Google Bots to find your website is via links, especially on Social Media. Having Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube set up, with links back to your website is great for SEO purposes and will definitely help the Google Robots find your website.

2. Regularly Updating your SiteMap
A Sitemap is an XML document on your website’s server that lists each page on your website. It will tell search engines when a new page has been added. If you have a website built on WordPress you can install the Google XML Sitemaps plugin and have it automatically create and update your sitemap as well as submit pages to search engines. You should also use XML Sitemaps Generator to help with this. Once you have a sitemap, submit it to Google Webmaster Tools then go to Optimization > Sitemaps and add the link to your website’s sitemap to Webmaster Tools to notify Google about it and the pages you have already published.

3. Link Backs to Previous Content
A great way to make your website appeal to Googlebots is to always link back to previous content on your website to drive more traffic. It is important to keep a web of links to content so the robots can crawl between your work. You will need to create new content to make sure your website is still growing. Make sure you link to all of your articles so that the robots can access all your work and help your optimization.

4. Social Bookmarking
Since 2003, Social Bookmarking has been a great way to boost your website optimisation and get those Googlebots working their magic. With sites like Delicious, Reddit and Digg, Social Bookmarking has proved to be a great way to drive traffic. As the sites listed above were ranked among the top 300 websites in 2011 in terms of traffic, Google will be paying close attention to what is being posted there.

5. Offsite Content
By offsite content, I mean content that can be traced back to your website from another online source. A great way to drive off site content is to be a guest blogger in your expert industry. I write for various websites like Entrepreneur Country and Social Media Today which allows me to drive that extra traffic back to my website, allowing those Googlebots to optimise my website at the fastest possible speed.

I hope these 5 tips will help Google Robots work their magic on your website!

8 Ways to Build a Website for Free

The past year at trade shows I have found a lot of people asking me how they can build a website for free. There are a lot of options out there to do exactly that. Here are 8 ways to build a website for free.

1. WordPress
There are various free platforms out there which you can use to build a website but nothing beats WordPress. It’s usability is by far the best and creates a great looking website. The basic WordPress layouts are free however, if you want one of the premium themes, you will have to pay for it. For a business I am involved in called Social Media eLearning, we built the website in WordPress.

2. PayPal
Once you have built your website you will need to integrate various free tools to help you complete the overall look, one of them being PayPal. Using this payment platform will allow you to sell products on your website. The setup for this is free and they will only take a small percentage of each sale.

3. Eventbrite
If you are a business that holds events, then you can use Eventbrite to do this. You will be able to create an event page for free and take payments. This tool will only take a small percentage of each ticket sale and is a great way to reach people you would never have been able to. When we hold Social Media Training days, we use Eventbrite to do this as it is easy and very simple to integrate into your website.

4. Pic Monkey
Pic Monkey is one of the best free image tools on the internet. You can do all of the usual image adjustments plus more complexed adjustments like retouching and adding text. Once making changes to your image, you can save it to your desktop, free of charge. Be careful, Pic Monkey can become very addictive!

5. YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. It is not only great for viewing videos but also using it to host video’s for free then integrating them into your website. For Social Media eLearning we have our own Youtube channel where various videos are held which can be viewed inside of YouTube but also on our website.

6. Facebook
Facebook is not only a social network, but also a great place to sell your products. A new feature Facebook added earlier this year was their Store. If your business has less than 2,000 likes on its page, you are able to have a Facebook Store completely free of charge. Using a tool called Payvment will help you do this.

7. Pinterest
The newest social network on the block, Pinterest has proved to be a big hit with a lot of users, with each share worth around 48p. Just like Facebook, you can sell your products inside of Pinterest by using Pin2Sell.

8. Ebay & Amazon
One of the most well known websites in the world; Ebay is a great way to sell products. There are some small fees around eBay but overall, you are able to make a profit if you are selling at the right price. Amazon is also a great place to sell products. Again, you will only incur a small fee for doing this.

I hope these 8 ways to help build a website for free will help you do exactly that.

If a Picture is Worth 1000 Words, How Much is a Video Worth?

Following from my last blog “The Power of a Picture is Worth 1000 Words” I thought I would follow up with the power of video.

It’s not a secret that most people are more likely to connect to a business through an image as opposed to just text. With platforms like Pinterest and Instagram which are image driven, we are seeing an increase in businesses utilising their images to sell products. With Christmas fast approaching, using images to sell is not the only way to connect with an audience. Using Video’s is just as powerful.

For my Gloople website, I have used a video on the homepage and for my Social Commerce website, I have also used a video on the homepage. I see the value in Video and so should you.

I have most recently become an Advisor and Mentor to Social Media eLearning where we create 60 minute home study courses to help people use Social Media for their business. The whole concept of the business is based around videos and it is very time consuming. To create one course, broken down into separate modules, it takes around 400 hours. This isn’t purely down to the creation of the video, but also the effort made to make sure the video can achieve its full potential in connecting with potential customers. In this case, video is more time consuming than a picture, but this is down to a business being based purely on video.

If, as a business, you are bringing out a new collection for Christmas time, you can showcase this through pictures. If you want to be more creative and spend some time on something that your followers will value then video is the way forward. To do this, you can use an application called Animoto. This platform allows you to create a video with music and text. You can then upload directly into YouTube. This is a powerful way to connect with customers that you may never had thought about reaching. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, losing out to Google (ironically, the owner of YouTube).

Animoto have also just updated their iPhone application, allowing users to share video’s with their other social networks. You can add a name, date and description to your video then tag your friends and share with your social networks.

I am not the only one seeing the value in Video, Facebook is too. They have just announced their collaboration with Animoto where you are able to tag a Facebook friend in one of your Animoto videos, inside of that platform.

It won’t be long until all other social networks are following suit. Jump on the video hype now to get ahead of the game.

The Power of Pinterest

“Expressing passion for a hobby is just as easy as browsing for your next purchase. But what is even more addictive about the site – a collection of collections – is that it’s just as much about the users as it is about what they’ve posted” – Mashable

As the newest Social Network on the Social Media scene, I, along with my colleagues have invested a lot of time into Pinterest to see if it is worth the hype. I can safely say, it definitely is.

So what is Pinterest? Pinterest is a content curation platform which allows users to organise and share beautiful and interesting content they find on the web.

Pinterest is now the third most popular social network, behind Facebook and Twitter which is a great achievement considering it has only been around for two years. Pinterest has proved its worth by driving more referral traffic than Youtube, LinkedIn, Myspace and Google+ put together.

The Pinterest mobile app has been downloaded over 250,000 times and the newest social network is projected to account for 40% of social media driven purchases (60% Facebook). The current average purchase for Pinterest, is $80.00.

Not only is Pinterest growing at an astounding pace, it is becoming the new “it” network for the sheer appearance and exclusivity as it is an invite only platform (unless you want to apply for an account which can take up to two weeks). Pinterest is retaining and engaging users 2-3 times as efficiently as Twitter was at a similar time in history.

The powerful thing about Pinterest is that it not only gives you the freedom to share your images with your audience, but you can also sell inside of Pinterest with a tool called Pin2Sell. You also have the ability to search for certain products within their sector. As a business, being on Pinterest will work in your favor if you share engaging pictures. You will not receive any “likes” or “repins” for images that aren’t “Pinteresting”.

For a company that has only been on the scene for just over two years, it has been valued at just under $1.5 Billion. This valuation holds its own power. It proves that we respond to visually stimulating images or videos as a way to engage with a business.

There are some great infographics, presentations and blogs out there, giving you a breakdown of some great Pinterest Statistics and tips to utilising Pinterest.

What to do Before, During and After Sending Your Blog #CheatSheet

Writing the blog is only half the battle when it comes to posting on your website. You also need to consider the input before during and after the blog.

Before
When writing your blog, the first thing you must do is your research. The chances are, someone would have already written an article like the one you are writing. See how they have approached the topic and read the comments from other users. Learn what you can from other people and apply it to your writing. If you haven’t written a blog before, I suggest that you have someone who has, help you. You will only get frustrated and impatient when writing if you have no clear guidance.

You may also find yourself making changes every time you read through your blog. My suggestion would be to get a colleague or friend read the blog and give you their honest opinion because we are our own worst enemy and will always find something wrong with our own writing.

Before writing your blog you must also look at your marketing plan. Do you have any events coming up? If yes, then write a blog about it. You must always have a defined marketing plan which can be reflected in your Social Media Campaign. Remember, blogs are to be shared so think about it when you are writing.

During
Now that you have done your research and started writing you blog, you need to have a plan. When I am writing blogs, I always have bullet points written on a piece of paper next to me of things that I need to cover; you should do the same. It may also help to read your writing backwards to spot mistakes that you may have missed.

As you’re writing, its worth going back over each paragraph to check your spelling and grammar. It can be really frustrating to notice small errors once you have posted the article on your website.

It is also important to remember to hyperlink your blog. This means adding links to important words in your blog that can send your readers to other places. You will notice that I hyperlink my blogs with other articles I have written. When doing this, you need to make sure you tick the box which says “open in new tab” otherwise your readers will be taken away from your blog. For my blogs on both Warren Knight and Gloople, I use WordPress. This is the best website for blog writing as it allows you to also tag your posts, insert pictures/videos and select categories.

Before you hit send on your blog, reread your writing and double check your spelling. You should also end with a call to action. Whether it be a question or a thought-provoking sentence, you should always keep your audience on their toes and wanting more.

After
Now that you have posted your blog, the work doesn’t stop there. The article will not promote itself. Share your hard work with all of your followers inside of Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest. Include your latest blogs in your newsletter and set up and RSS feed button to give followers the opportunity to read your latest blog in their own time.

Placing your blog on article submission websites, where your target audience hang-out, will drive targeted traffic to your blog. You may even want to look into using platforms that charge to drive traffic to your website based on the content of your blog, like Outbrain.

You may also notice comments appear on your blog – make sure you reply to them ASAP. Leaving them too long will create a negative image on your blog.

Having social share button, like ShareThis is a must for any blog and can easily be set up as a plugin automatically.

I would love to read from you about the ways that you prepare your articles.