>Google+ Facebook and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

>Since 2010 Facebook has been the #1 referrer on the Internet with more daily users than Google.  Twitter and Myspace have sat on the sideline for the most part as Facebook widened the gap while Google quietly recruited Gmail users to setup Google Profiles.  In 2007 InternetBuilderConsulting.com setup our first Google Profile and began setting up Google Profile pages for customers as part of our Social Marketing packages.

It was clear there was a reason for Google Profiles outside of just having a small page of information hosted on Google.  The Google Profiles were updated this year with a very ‘Facebook’ looking format showing a profile photo top left and a similar layout.  Recently Google began offering Gmail and Google Profile users Google+ and the +1 button to ‘rank’ websites and webpages.  Before getting into Google+ and the +1 button I will cover why it is important to use these and how they will impact Search Engine Rankings.

Google is the # 1 Search Engine yet Facebook has taken a significant amount of traffic away through the built-in search using Microsoft Bing.com to power search results.  Social Marketing is a critical requirement of any effective Search Engine Optimization campaign with Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace and other social networking pages typically showing up in the Top 10 search results on Page 1 of any search engine. 

Search Google for Builder Consulting and several of the Top 10 search results are social networking pages setup to market and promote the business.  Google, Yahoo and Bing publicize the inclusion of social networking links to websites as part of the  algorithm used to determine how high or low to rank websites.  This means that links FROM social networks to websites increase the ranking of the websites when done properly. 

Google already ranks websites higher due to links from Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and other social networks.  Now that Google has their own Google+ and +1 options the websites that are listed, linked and +1 the most often will receive higher placement on the Google search engine.  This is already in process if you are using Google+ since any website that someone within your ‘Circles’ has recommended will already show up with their photo and information directly below the website listing in search results. 

Now that it is clear Google+ and the new +1 feature will affect website rankings we can look at what Google+ and the +1 features are.  Google+ is basically Google’s version of Facebook with the following main features:

• Online profile with a description, contact information, places lived, work details and links
• Photos & Photo Albums(integrated with Picassa) 
• Circles (Groups of Friends and contacts similar to Facebook friends)
• Stream is the same as a News Feed or Recent News on Facebook showing you updates from the people you have added to your Circles
• Hangouts (online meetings using video and chat)
• Sparks (feeds and updates by interest such as sports, autos, movies, etc.)

Join Google+ by invitation only at this time or you can visit the website at  www.Plus.Google.com and request to join.  To join Google+ you should setup a Gmail account since Gmail accounts are receiving premium VIP admission to the system at this time. 

Once you sign up for a Google+ account you can start customizing your profile, adding links, contact information and begin connecting with others. 

What you place on your profile is completely up to you as long as you remember that the LINKS area should include any/all of your websites, Blog’s and associates you would like to promote online.  

Once the basic profile has been setup you can start working on your ‘Circles’.  A Circle on Google+ is unique to all social networks since Google permits anyone to add anyone else to their Circles without permission.  Adding someone such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs will permit you to view what they are sharing publicly.  It does not put your information on their Stream unless they choose to add you to their Circles.  Other social networks require the people you connect with to confirm and permit you to connect while Google has set Circles up with a much wider reach.  

When setting up Circles you can define ANY type of Circle you want and name it anything you want such as Friends, Customers, Prospects, Family permitting you to organize your contacts into logical groups.  Once Circles are setup you can search for and add ANYONE using Google+ to any of your Circles and follow anything that contact choose to share publicly.  If you would like to BLOCK specific contacts from viewing your content or information there is a default Circle for BLOCKED you may add them to which makes you invisible to anyone in that Circle. 

Once the profile, links and circles are setup your ready to start using Google+ and learning how it works as Google continues to develop new features.

Questions, comments or if you would like an expert consultation on Websites, SEO and Social Marketing  be sure to contact us www.InternetBuilderConsulting.com or 816-842-7774

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson

Internet & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, SEO & Social Marketing Solutions since 1995

    

>Android Mobile OS has 54% of Smart Phone Usage

>In the first quarter of 2011 devices running the Android mobile OS had 54% of the total mobile market impressions.  Google Android had twice as many impressions as the second place Apple iOS (iPhone Operating System) with 26% followed by RIM Blackberry at 17%. 

Windows Mobile OS phones ranked significantly lower tied with the Symbian  and Other category at 1%.

The latest numbers continue to illustrate the tremendous gains Android made in the market strengthening it’s place as the leading mobile OS.  It is important to track mobile OS usage to ensure online marketing, PPC  and your mobile website are optimized for the widest audience (Android, iOS and RIM). 

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, Social Marketing, Mobile Websites & Internet Marketing since 1995
816-842-7774 Office & Expert Consultations

>Consumers & Online Buyers Are Tapping Into the ‘F-Factor’ of Social Networking

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Consumers are increasingly tapping into their online social networks of friends, fans, and followers to discover, discuss and purchase goods and services, according to analysis from Trendwatching.com. The consumer trend analysis firm calls this trend the “F-Factor,” with the “F” standing for friends, fans and followers.

Social Sources Become Trusted

As a result of social networking and other online communication technologies, consumers can now use trusted sources they know to obtain information about products and brands, rather than rely on third party advertising or perform extensive first hand research.

Trendwatching.com advises that consumers have always relied on word-of-mouth advice from friends, relatives and associates, but modern technology is greatly accelerating its development as a major influence of purchase decisions.

Facebook Dominates the F-Factor

The F-Factor is currently dominated by Facebook, according to Trendwatching.com.  As of April 2011 Facebook has 500 million active users spend more than 700 billion minutes a month on the website and every month more than 250 million people engage with Facebook across more than 2.5 million external websites.

2010 Facebook data shows the average user clicks the “Like” button nine times each month and February 2011 Ad Age/Ipsos data shows 3/4 of Facebook users have liked a brand.

Consumers ‘F-Discover’ Best of the Best

Trendwatching.com has broken down five key ways the F-Factor influences consumer purchasing decisions. The first, ‘F-Discovery’ involves consumer desires to own or experience the best of the best and their desire for serendipity, excitement, interaction and community. People are curious and interested in what their friends and contacts think, do, eat, read, listen to, drive in, travel to and buy, because this will often be similar to how they want to think, act and buy.

Thus consumers are embracing communities, tools and apps that allow them to dive into and discover selections from friends, fans, followers, and so on.

Consumers Want ‘F-Rated’ Products

Consumers sometimes enjoy finding the best of the best through discovery; they are increasingly able to access personalized recommendations and reviews on something they know they want to purchase. Research from trendwatching.com shows more and more websites will automatically serve up friends’ recommendations, ratings and reviews next to goods and services that people are researching.

‘F-Feedback’ Makes Recommendations Personal

Anonymous reviews aren’t always what consumers need or want; they can lack relevance and context, and consumers with many options sometimes just want an unambiguous or finite opinion. F-Feedback involves consumers actively disclosing their purchasing intentions and reaching out to their friends and contacts for personalized feedback.

Trendwatching.com further advises that with more and more consumers increasingly viewing their online reputation as something to enhance as well as just protect, the quality of answers on Q&A services is rapidly improving.

F-Together Makes Shopping Social

While group buying platforms such as Groupon are revolutionizing local, consumers typically do not know the other members of the group that they are buying with. So, while consumers get to leverage the power of the web to benefit from better deals, the actual shopping experience frequently lacks the F-Factor. Consumers have strong incentives to share certain purchases, especially for F-Factor-friendly experiences such as buying event tickets where consumers can now automatically invite friends to a concert or movie right after purchasing a ticket.

F-Me Individualizes the F-Factor

Trendwatching.com refers to the trend of personalized products and services based on the activities and output of one’s social network as ‘F-Me’. This includes services that turn a user’s Facebook page into a daily newspaper and a user’s Twitter feed into a published journal.

Look for ‘Twinsumers’ and ‘Social-lites’

Both of these types of online consumers were identified by Trendwatching.com in December 2010 as critical to spreading positive word of mouth recommendations. Twinsumers are consumers with similar consumer patterns, likes and dislikes, and who are valuable sources for recommendations on what to buy and experience while  ‘Sociallites’ are consumers who consistently broadcast information to a wide range of associates online.

Social Networking and the integration of social factors with websites, online marketing and eCommerce are imperative in any Internet Initiative today.  Contact Internet Builder Consulting and the Social Marketing Builders social networking experts to build a BETTER website or Social Media Marketing solution today at 816-842-7774.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, Social Marketing & Consulting since 1995

>Americans Are Doing More Search Engine Queries & Yahoo/Microsoft Gain 31%

>Internet Users in the US conducted more search queries in March 2011 than they did in either the prior month or prior year, according to new comScore qSearch data. In March 2011, US web users conducted almost 18.9 billion search queries, up 12% from 16.9 billion in February 2011 and about 23% from 15.4 billion in March 2010.

Yahoo & Microsoft Gain 31% in Search Queries

Among US core search providers, Google sites ranked first with 12.1 billion searches, followed by Yahoo sites with 3.4 billion and Microsoft sites with 2.6 billion. Google’s search total was up 10% month over month from 10.9 billion and 21% from 10 billion year over year.

Yahoo posted very strong month over month growth of 17% from 2.9 billion searches and year over year growth of 31% from 2.6 billion. Microsoft reported 14% month over month growth from about 2.2 billion searches and also about 31% year over year growth from 1.8 billion.

As the number of Internet Users  and Search Queries continues to increase it is increasingly important to have an effective optimized website with a Social Marketing campaign in place.  Facebook now has more daily traffic than Google thus a website alone is only reaching half of your potential clients without effective, optimized Social Network Marketing.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing Solutions since 1995
Social Marketing Builders – Professional Social Networking Setup, Marketing & Management

816-842-7774 Office

>Are Text Messages and Social Networking Harming Relationships?

>Remember when call waiting was considered ‘hang on, there might be someone else more important on the other line’ in terms of communication?  Consider a few years ago what you did when you wanted to hang out with your best friend or family.  Did you go see them only to spend your time together texting other people or playing on some social network paying more attention to someone else than the person you claimed to want to be with?  The way technology has connected everyone is also the way technology is separating everyone.  If you go to bed with your husband, wide, boyfriend, girlfriend or significant other and then instantly pickup your laptop or cell phone to make sure you let other people know you are thinking about them or worse yet respond to inquiries or requests from other people while you should be paying attention to YOUR life and your relationship then you have lost.

The point is that life is about who you want to spend it with and what is most important to you not what everyone else is doing.  If you are compelled to spending every opportunity to check out what others are doing instead of trying to make your life, your family life, your relationships and your situation better than you have lost yourself to technology.  Social Networking is key in the point of being ‘social’ in that you have to conduct yourself with respect, professionalism and communicate in the same fashion that you would in real life.  If you met someone socially for dinner or drinks and then spent your entire time ignoring them while talking to other random people then would you consider that a good social relationship?  Odds are you would say no, we like to be with people who want to be with US while most people would say someone who ignored them to ‘socialize’ with everyone else is someone nobody would want to be around.

This being the case why do people still feel the insane need to continue ignoring those they love and care about to text, email or respond to others?  If someone is important to you then show them by giving them your undivided attention.  What the person you met 3 weeks ago is doing for dinner is not more important than your relationship with your child, spouse or family.  It’s time we woke up, grow up and decide who and what is most important in our lives then conduct ourselves accordingly.  I am not advocating the demise of texting or social networking but I am advocating prioritizing it to keep what is important first…and I live and breathe technology!

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson

>Women & Teenagers Text Significantly More than Men & Other Age Groups

>Nielsen Company data from Q4 2010 shows women send and receive an average of 30% more text messages (717 for women, 552 for men) and 12% more calls made (181 calls for women and 161 calls for men).  No surprise the ‘teenage’ group of 13-17 year olds lead the way in texts with an average monthly volume of 3,276 messages sent or received in a single month. 

Teens use of text messaging is nearly double the next highest age group of 18-24 year old users.  Older adults (age 65 and older) send the least with an average of 46 messages per month.  In terms of cell phone calls Adults age 18-24 are nearly tied for usage with 24-34 year olds at 202 and 201 calls per month respectively.  The trends show teenage usage of technology continues to improve while it may contribute to lower ‘satisfaction’ in terms of personal communication. 

This also illustrates the importance of SMS advertising and mobile websites for businesses wanting to reach millions of users via cell phones.  Contact Internet Builder Consulting for an expert mobile website consultation, SEO or Social Network Marketing.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson

Internet & Technology Expert

Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, Mobile Marketing and Technology Solutions since 1995

816-842-7774

>Facebook Changes…Again – No ‘Comment Button’ and New Options

>Facebook is constantly in flux, if you have seen ‘The Social Network’ it illustrated how the website has teams of people constantly revising, adding or removing options.  Today everyone awoke to the loss of the ‘Comment’ button required to post any comment, note or link to facebook. 

The ‘Comment’ button was removed to make facebook simpler though thousands of people are accidentally posting messages early because they hit the ‘enter’ button to space down but it now posts the message.  Facebook gave users a work around for this enabling people to ‘edit’ posts and comments though it will take some getting used to for many users.  Until this change Facebook Users could push the ’enter’ button to move a line down when posting a comment or add a space between lines.  To space down a line users now need to hold the ‘Shift’ button down while pushing the ‘Enter’ button.

Another feature added earlier this month is the ‘Use Facebook asYour Page’ option enabling anyone who is an administrator of a page to post comments on pages or walls.  Previously there was no clear delineation as to if your post would be made as a page or from your personal account when you were logged in. 

Not all change makes things easier though this methodology has been the norm online for years so it will soon be accepted by Facebook users.  Contact the website and social marketing experts at Internet Builder Consulting to setup, optimize or build you a better website and social media marketing.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, SEO and Social Marketing Solutions since 1995
816-842-7774 Corporate Offices

>Microsoft & Bing Search Engine Has the Largest Search Growth

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Microsoft Sites, mostly representing the Bing search engine, reported 13% growth in US explicit core search queries between December 2010 and January 2011, according to comScore qSearch data. Microsoft’s explicit core search queries rose from about 1.97 billion to about 2.22 billion.

Nearly 17 billion explicit core searches were conducted in January 2011, a 3% increase from over 16.4 billion in December 2010. Google Sites ranked first with 11.1 billion searches (up 1%).

Yahoo Sites came in second with 2.7 billion (up 4%), followed by Microsoft Sites, Ask Network with 576 million (no change) and AOL Network with 296 million (5% decrease).

Google Sites accounted for 64.6% of total core search queries conducted in January 2011, followed by Yahoo Sites with 17.9% and Microsoft Sites with 12.8%. Rounding out the top five total core search query providers, Ask Network comprised 3.1% of total search queries, followed by AOL Network with 1.6%.

While all total core search query growth among the top five providers was moderate at best, Microsoft had the best rate, almost 7%, rising from 12% to 12.8%. In contrast, Google’s share grew by less than 1% (64.3% to 64.6%). Yahoo lost about 5% of its share (falling from 18.8% to 17.9%), Ask.com and AOL lost small share percentages.

It is important to track search engine traffic, usage and trends to know where potential customers and buyers are looking online.  To effectively search engine optimize a website and market website companies must stay ahead of the trends and place customers in front of potential buyers.  At Internet Builder Consulting our Search Engine Experts have led the way in SEO, Social Marketing and Website Development since 1995 with more than a decade of instructing classes on the subjects nationally.

Contact Internet Builder Consulting today for an expert consultation at 816-842-7774

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
www.InternetBuilderConsulting.com Websites, SEO, Social Marketing & Consulting since 1995

>Google Android is the Top New Smartphone Platform Mobile Applications

>The Google Android smartphone platform has surpasses the iPhone and all other smartphone platforms such as Windows Mobile, PALM and Symbian in little more than 1 year.  Growth rates are expected to continue with 29% of the application developers planning on development for Android compared to only 8% developing for the iPhone. 

RIM Blackberry still holds the top percentage of overall users with a 12 year head start on the Android platform.  Numbers from the latest Nielson report show 28% of users planning on upgrading to a smartphone are likely to select Android while only 13% prefer the RIM Blackberry.  The demand for Android applications and significant growth in user base is something website developers need to address for mobile websites and smartphone use.  Internet Builder Consulting mobile websites are 100% Android compatible making them future-ready for any customer planning on reaching the significant number of mobile users.

Contact the mobile website developers at Internet Builder Consulting for an upgrade to your website or a new mobile website to reach millions of smartphone users today!

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson

Internet & Technology Expert

www.InternetBuilderConsulting.com – Building BETTER Websites, SEO, Mobile Websites & Social Marketing since 1995

816-842-7774 Corporate Offices

>Facebook Increases It’s Lead, MySpace Still in 2nd Place with Other Social Networks Gain Ground

>Social networking leader Facebook continued its momentum as it added millions of new users and people spent more and more of their time on the site, according to a new white paper from comScore. “The 2010 US Digital Year in Review” illustrates that Facebook accounted for 10% of ALL US page views in 2010, and three out of every 10 (30% ) US Internet sessions included a visit to Facebook. 

In addition to its tremendous increase in users Facebook grew significantly across nearly every performance metric in 2010. Facebook’s US audience grew to 153.9 million in December 2010, an increase of 38%, as it became the fourth-most visited online property, reaching nearly three out of every four US online users each month. Engagement metrics fared even better, with Facebook’s total time spent surging 79% year over year to 49.4 billion minutes and total page views growing 71% to 76.8 billion.

Facebook Increases Both Younger and Older Users While ‘Young Adults’ Decreased Slightly

The comScore analysis of visitors to Facebook and Twitter showed shifting user demographics during the past year. Facebook saw its 35-54 year old share of visitors decline 9% from 39% to 35.4%, while the younger than 18 segment increased 12% from 9.9% to 11.1%, while users 55 and older about 17% from 11.3% to 13.2%.

Twitter.com, meanwhile, saw a roughly 24% gain in the share of 18-34 year olds visiting the site, but those younger than 18 declined 46% from 17.5% to 9.5%. comScore analysis suggests this shifting composition may partially reflect a shift among younger Twitter users towards other communication vehicles and third-party Twitter apps.

In 2010 Facebook saw an significant growth in the number of people using Facebook, visiting more frequently, and viewing more content on each visit.
 

Myspace Continues to Lose Ground but Still Remains the # 2 Social Network

MySpace still maintains its hold on the number two ranking in the social networking category with 50 million visitors in December 2010.  The total audience declined 27% and time spent on the site declined 50% over the previous year. 
The business focused social networking site LinkedIn emerged as the third largest in the category with 26.6 million visitors in December 2010 Meanwhile, number four Twitter climbed to 18% to 23.6 million visitors in December 2010.

A few new social networking sites improved this year, as Tumblr.com surged 168% to 6.7 million monthly visitors and Formspring.me rose in popularity among younger social networkers and grew more than 1,000% in the past 12 months. 
 
Another worthwhile statistic to note indicates that 90% of Online Users visit social networking websites every month.  Social Networking websites accounted for 12% of the TOTAL time spent online in 2010 with the average online user spending more than 4.5 houses on social networking websites each month. 
 
Integration of social media marketing and use of social networking for SEO, online marketing and brand management is imperative for any business today.  Contact Social Marketing Builders today for a no-cost expert consultation on Social Network Marketing, SEO and online marketing at 816-842-7774.
 
Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet, Social Marketing & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER Websites, Social Marketing and SEO Solutions since 1995
816-842-7774 Corporate Offices