Posted by Darrell Long on February 5th, 2008 — Posted in Web 2.0, Social Media
Over the course of the past year or so, social media based sites have exploded and taken over what was then known as the internet. Social based sites took the power away from major conglomerates and placed it within the hands of the individual. The time has finally come where the individual has an opinion that can’t be ignored. In 2007, 38% of all people used some form of social network and that percentage is suppose to double in 2008.
Last week I had the pleasure to make the Social Networking Conference held in Miami Beach Fl, which I will go into more detail about very soon. The reason I reference this is due to the amount of individuals whose main concern was that there are too many social based sites and it’s saturating the market place. It is true there is a massive growth in the number of social based sites. You can see a pretty detailed list of social and web 2.0 based sites at go2web20.net. I currently haven’t seen the bottom of the list yet, but I am trying.
The interesting thing to note here is many of these social based sites are becoming very niche. The day of Digg and Facebook knockoffs are coming to a close, and as time goes on these social based sites will have a very specific subject matter. What does this mean? It means the amount of people actively involved in these communities will be much smaller but the involvement level will rise.
To answer the question I purposed at the beginning of this article. Has the influx of social based sites hit critical mass? The answer is no but, the time of newly developed general social based sites has. The sites that make it will have understood the need to be more focused and provide their users with someone that will add some real utility to their online experience.
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Posted by Darrell Long on April 12th, 2007 — Posted in Web 2.0
The amount of user generated content on the web these days is breath taking. With each passing day there is becoming more and more compelling copy on the web. This consumer-generated content that is being tagged for its relevancy by website users is being dubbed as “Web 2.0”. The question to ask yourself is, does this “Web 2.0” phenomena mean we have to change the way in which we work? How big of an impact does the social media scene have and will it require us to think, plan and execute our marketing strategy differently?
The answer to this question is Yes
With the introduction of web sites such as Digg.com and Del.icio.us users have the power to now classify content they feel is relevant by using a technique called tagging. You may be asking yourself. What is tagging and how can it possibly impact me? A tag is a key phrase which is associated with a relevant piece of information such as a Web page, article, etc. The tag is implemented by users to provide a simple description. This will allow for keyword-based classification of the information. The process of tagging offers another way of finding information on the Web. The Web 2.0 phenomena, is providing online marketers with another avenue for building awareness and driving customers to their products or services.
How do I possibly get involved?
To be able to become involved you must first understand that visitors will need to find the information you are providing interesting enough to tag. The best way to ensure this take place is to get involved in “Link-Baiting”. I know what you are thinking, the term “Link-baiting” doesn’t seem ethical but on the contrary it actual is. Link Baiting is the process of developing content with a high potential of catching the visitors’ attention, such as useful tools, up-to-date news and information or a great recourse of information on a given subject. This should persuade visitors to place links to your page from other websites, which should also drive more traffic to the site. As the page builds in popularity, and acquires more traffic, it has the opportunity to become more prominent to searchers because social search sites place more value on pages that have gained more “votes” or tags from visitors.
On Page Factors
There are also factors on the page the content is housed on that makes a big difference. You want to ensure the key phrases being tagged are used sufficiently within the copy of the information. There are also other areas which should be consistent with the theme of the copy. These areas would include:
• Page Title
• Descriptions Meta Tag
• Keywords Meta Tag
The most important Meta data in your site’s source code are the title and description Meta tags. When a page is indexed within a social search site, the listing description is often pulled directly from the source code. Therefore, make sure the title and description tags associated with the page are relevant and on topic and the tags are unique to each URL.
Look At the Big Picture
Remember that the social media aspect is not the only place to optimize for. Don’t forget the importance of implementing traditional search engine optimization techniques for building visibility on key pages of your website. Google and other search engines place very high importance on inbound linking. The amount of high quality relevant linking pointing to your website is going to be a major factoring in determining your placement within the search engines.
In the end developing compelling keyword rich content is going to benefit you from a social media “web 2.0” point, as well as traditional Search engine Optimization point of view.
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