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Source: http://www.stayonsearch.com/feed/

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<title>Make Social Sharing Simple with Bookmarklets</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/make-social-sharing-easier-on-yourself</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tools]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=8422</guid>
<description><![CDATA[How many times have you been reading a great blog post or page and just knew that you HAD to share it with your followers because you knew how much they would love it or find it beneficial? So you scroll up to the top, scroll down to the bottom, look to the left, then […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/make-social-sharing-easier-on-yourself">Make Social Sharing Simple with Bookmarklets</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[How many times have you been reading a great blog post or page and just knew that you HAD to share it with your followers because you knew how much they would love it or find it beneficial? So you scroll up to the top, scroll down to the bottom, look to the left, then the right, and realize that this page has no social sharing icons. 
No Tweetmeme, no Facebook Like – nothing. Or if they do have a button, it’s old and doesn’t work properly (like the Twitter buttons that just copies the link into the status box and nothing more).
Now I know, you might feel like “well, no icons, buttons or widgets means they must not want or deserve to be shared.” But this isn’t about you – this is about your followers. Giving them great content makes you more valuable. Hence, you have to share it.
<h2>Social Sharing Bookmarklets</h2>
This is where bookmarklets come in. They work on almost every browser – just drag them to your browser’s bookmark toolbar, and click on them every time you want to share a post on a specific network. The bookmarklets I use the most often include the following. Just drag the bookmarlet link to your browser’s bookmark toolbar to start using them!
Bit.ly
<a rel="nofollow" href="http://bit.ly/pages/tools" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bit.ly</a>‘s bookmarklet will take whatever page you are on and shorten the URL into a Bit.ly link and, if the page has a title, will bring that in as well. If you create a free Bit.ly account and connect it to your Twitter, you can tweet the page title & link directly from Bit.ly as well.
Bookmarklet Link: <a class="bookmarklet_link" href="">Shorten with bit.ly</a>
Twitter
Another way to share things on Twitter is using the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://dev.twitter.com/pages/share_bookmarklet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">official Twitter retweet bookmarklet</a>. This one will capture the page title, shorten the page’s URL using Twitter’s official t.co shortener, and place them in your Twitter status box, ready to tweet.
Bookmarklet Link: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="//platform.twitter.com/bookmarklets/share.js?v=1';F.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(E)}());">Share on Twitter</a> 
Topsy
The <a rel="nofollow" href="http://corp.topsy.com/apps/topsy-trackbacks-bookmarklet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Topsy bookmarklet</a> takes you to the URL’s page on Topsy where you can retweet the URL as well as see the current tweet count for the page and who has recently tweeted it.
Bookmarklet Link: <a id="bookmarklet-link" title="View trackbacks on Topsy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="//topsy.com/bookmarklet?bookmarket_ver=1.1&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href);">Topsy Trackbacks bookmarklet</a>
Facebook
Facebook offers a bookmarklet for the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/share_options.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook Share feature</a>. This will take you to Facebook with the option to post the link to your wall with a thumbnail and your own comment – this is how I like to share links on Facebook as they get more attention that way instead of simply “liking” the page. 
Bookmarklet Link: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="//www.facebook.com/share',l=d.location,e=encodeURIComponent,p='.php?src=bm&v=4&i=1291267829&u='+e(l.href)+'&t='+e(d.title);1;try{if (!/^(.*\.)?facebook\.[^.]*$/.test(l.host))throw(0);share_internal_bookmarklet(p)}catch(z) {a=function() {if (!window.open(f+'r'+p,'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,resizable=1,width=626,height=436'))l.href=f+p};if (/Firefox/.test(navigator.userAgent))setTimeout(a,0);else{a()}}void(0)" id="share_bookmark" title="Share on Facebook">Share on Facebook</a>
LinkedIn
The newest bookmarklet on the scene is the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=browser_bookmarklet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LinkedIn bookmarklet</a> for those who like to share links for their connection’s LinkedIn activity stream. Be aware of what you share on LinkedIn though – it’s a professional network. Not the one you might want to send the latest SNL sketch to (unless you have that kind of network).
Bookmarklet Link: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="//www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&ro=false&trk=bookmarklet&title='+encodeURIComponent(d.title)+'&url='+encodeURIComponent(l.href),a=function(){if(!window.open(f,'News','width=520,height=570,toolbar=0,location=0,status=0,scrollbars=yes')){l.href=f;}};if(/Firefox/.test(navigator.userAgent)){setTimeout(a,0);}else{a();}})()" title="Share on LinkedIn">Share on LinkedIn</a> 
Digg
Digg offers a bookmarklet that will let you view a URL’s page on Digg. It doesn’t submit it for you, but allows you to go to the pre-existing page if it has already been submitted. Otherwise, you will be taken to Digg and then have to submit it from there.
Bookmarklet Link: <a class="bookmarklet" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="//digg.com/' + escape(u); window.location = u;">View on Digg</a>
Delicious
Delicious offers a variety of bookmarklets – one to bookmark a page on Delicious, and another to view the page’s history on Delicious (ie. number of times bookmarked, if any).
Bookmarklet Link to Share on Delicious: <a class="bookmarklet" title="Share on Delicious" href="document.selection.createRange().text))+'&v=6&';a=function(){if(!window.open(f+'noui=1&jump=doclose','deliciousuiv6','location=yes,links=no,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,width=550,height=550'))location.href=f+'jump=yes'};if(/Firefox/.test(navigator.userAgent)){setTimeout(a,0)}else{a()}})()">Share on Delicious</a> (also allows you to share via Twitter and email)
Bookmarklet Link to Bookmark on Delcious: <a class="bookmarklet" title="Bookmark on Delicious" href="document.selection.createRange().text))+'&v=6&';a=function(){if(!window.open(f+'noui=1&jump=doclose','deliciousuiv6','location=yes,links=no,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,width=550,height=550'))location.href=f+'jump=yes'};if(/Firefox/.test(navigator.userAgent)){setTimeout(a,0)}else{a()}})()">Bookmark on Delicious</a> (bookmark on Delicious only)
Bookmarklet to View Delicious History: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="//www.delicious.com/url?v=4&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)" title="Bookmark history">Bookmark history</a>
<h3>Your Favorite Bookmarklets</h3>
Do you regularly use bookmarklets for social sharing? Share your favorites in the comments!The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/make-social-sharing-easier-on-yourself">Make Social Sharing Simple with Bookmarklets</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>Get More Retweets with These Plugins, Apps, and Services</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/get-more-retweets-with-these-plugins-apps-and-services</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tools]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[retweet button]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[retweets]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[topsy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tweetmeme]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=6838</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There is a lot of information about how to get more retweets for your content, the most popular being the Science of Retweets with Dan Zarrella of Hubspot. But the simplest way to get retweets is to make your content easy to retweet. Amazingly, I still see lots of sites that neglect to have any […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/get-more-retweets-with-these-plugins-apps-and-services">Get More Retweets with These Plugins, Apps, and Services</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[There is a lot of information about how to get more retweets for your content, the most popular being the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.hubspot.com/archive/the-science-of-retweets-social-media-marketing-webinar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Science of Retweets</a> with Dan Zarrella of Hubspot. 
But the simplest way to get retweets is to make your content easy to retweet. Amazingly, I still see lots of sites that neglect to have any form of retweet button on their blog posts or pages. Here are some simple plugins, apps, and services to help your content find it’s way to Twitter with ease.
Tweetmeme
The <a rel="nofollow" href="http://tweetmeme.com/about/retweet_button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tweetmeme retweet button</a> is my personal favorite – not the official Tweet button, but the well known Tweetmeme button itself. It allows you to configure different options, such as style, @username source, and shortening service used with the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://help.tweetmeme.com/2009/04/06/tweetmeme-button/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">custom code</a>.
You can also get <a rel="nofollow" href="http://tweetmeme.com/about/plugins" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">official plugins</a> for WordPress, TypePad, and Blogger as well as community created plugins for Joomla, Drupal, Windows Live Writer, and B2Evolution. The Tweetmeme button is also mobile friendly. You can see this retweet button in action at the top of this post!
Topsy
The <a rel="nofollow" href="http://labs.topsy.com/button/retweet-button/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Topsy retweet button</a> has a few more customizable features than the Tweetmeme Retweet button, and can be installed using the code or as a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/topsy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plugin for WordPress</a>. One feature that is particularly appealing for designers is color themes for the buttons to match the website’s layout.
<img src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/topsy-retweet-button-colors.jpg" alt="Topsy Retweet Button Colors" width="400" height="352" />
Similarly to the Tweetmeme button, you can configure the @username source, URL shortener service used, and other options. The Topsy retweet button also shows (based on your preferences) when your post or page makes it to the top 10k, 5k, 1k, and 100 tweets. 
Whether or not you use the Topsy button, you should at least install the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://labs.topsy.com/widgets/bookmarklet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Topsy trackback bookmarklet</a> – this will give you Twitter sharing data about any page that you are on, including the number of tweets and the <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/how-to-find-the-most-influential-people-on-twitter-in-your-niche">most influential Twitter users</a> who have shared it. This information can help you learn what content gets the most retweets.
Twitter
Twitter’s own <a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/goodies/tweetbutton" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">retweet button</a> is the “official” new retweet button popping up on websites, and uses the new http://t.co/ shortening URL. Unfortunately, you cannot change to your desired shortener like you can with Tweetmeme and Topsy using this button.
Clicktotweet
Another innovative way to make specific links in your text tweetable. You can easily stick tweetable links throughout your blog posts and pages using <a rel="nofollow" href="http://clicktotweet.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Clicktotweet</a>, an easy to use, free web application. 
<img src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/clicktotweet.jpg" alt="Topsy Retweet Button Colors" width="520" height="329" />
For example, clicking on the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://clicktotweet.com/lOD43" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this link</a> will take you right to Twitter to tweet this post using the text I entered above. You can use this site to make quotes within a post tweetable, and also share within emails, instant messages, and forums to help others retweet you without even going to your site.
<h3>Your Favorite Plugins to Get Retweets</h3>
The above are some of the most well known plugins and unique applications to get retweets. What plugins, buttons, widgets, etc. do you use to get retweets of your own content and why?The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/get-more-retweets-with-these-plugins-apps-and-services">Get More Retweets with These Plugins, Apps, and Services</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>5 Tones to Take in Ad Copy to Shake Things Up</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/5-tones-to-take-in-ppc-ad-copy-to-shake-things-up</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[SEM]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ad copy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ppc]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[sem]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=3758</guid>
<description><![CDATA[CTR is flagging, conversion are lagging and you’re in a funk. So what do to wake up your ad groups? Take one of these 5 tones for a test drive! Get your creative juices flowing, get the wheels turning and hey- you might even have some fun while you’re at it. First pick out which […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/5-tones-to-take-in-ppc-ad-copy-to-shake-things-up">5 Tones to Take in Ad Copy to Shake Things Up</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[CTR is flagging, conversion are lagging and you’re in a funk. So what do to wake up your ad groups? Take one of these 5 tones for a test drive! Get your creative juices flowing, get the wheels turning and hey- you might even have some fun while you’re at it.
First pick out which tone is best for your audience and which ad group you want to take for a test drive. Don’t change all the ads you’ve going there, either add one of these new ones or change a lagging one, but in case you picked the wrong tone, you want that OK performing ad out there still, just in case.
<h2>Be More Aggressive</h2>
When’s the last time you were forceful or aggressive in ad copy? Perhaps you’re selling a fitness drink or real estate agent classes- how do you cater to their drive and need to be pushed? You taunt them, tease them and call into question what they aren’t doing but should be!
For example: 
Buy Widgets 
What Are You Waiting For? 
Don’t Be a Wuss, Shop Today!
Widgets on Sale 
You Know You Need Widgets, So 
Get On it and Order Now.
<h2>Running Out of Time</h2>
Nothing pushes people to move it more than a sense of impending urgency (or doom) especially if there’s a sale involved!
For example: 
Art Sale Ends Now 
Soon All the Art Will Be Gone & 
You Will Have None. Buy Now!
The End is Near 
You Haven’t Bought Widgets Yet? 
The Sale Ends Today- Hurry!
<h2>By Dynamic! With Noise!</h2>
We can’t actually make sounds or noises (yet) in ads, but we can certainly invoke the senses with popular sounds and noises in the written format.
For example: 
Wine Glass Sets 
Crash! Smash, Tinkle. 
New Sets on Sale Now.
Spalding Basketballs 
Swish! Bounce & Slam Dunk 
With Spalding NBA Basketballs.
<h2>Ask Questions</h2>
You can’t use an exclamation point in a headline, but you most certainly can use a question! Engage users right off the bat and help them find what they need by asking a question to their question- Sigmund Freud style.
For example: 
Need Reading Glasses? 
Take Our Free Online Reading 
Test & Find Out for Sure!
What’s In a Name? 
Pretty Much Everything! Don’t Let 
Your Domain Name Get Away.
<h2>Humor</h2>
Make them laugh and they will buy. OK, maybe that’s not guaranteed, but you’ll certainly have their attention and they will remember you! I may not have bought any Jack Link’s Beef Jerky lately, but I have yet to forget a second of their “Messing with Sasquatch” commercials. I mentioned it here- see it works!
For Example: 
Get Completely Screwed 
Screw Often, Hard & Accurately! 
Shop Phillips Screwdriver Kits.
A Rabbi & A Priest Go 
Made You Look! Now Checkout 
Our Awesome Car Stereo Sale.
The content network is a great place to try out new tones if you (or client) isn’t quite ready for these in search. Especially since a user from the content network will need a little extra push to get their attention to stand out amongst the content they actually came to read. Happy testing!The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/5-tones-to-take-in-ppc-ad-copy-to-shake-things-up">5 Tones to Take in Ad Copy to Shake Things Up</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>SOS Weekly Recap in Search 12/07/09</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/sos-weekly-recap-in-search-120709</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[SOS Recaps]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=1242</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Search Engine Land: SES Chicago ’09: Day One Live Blogging Search Engine Land: SES Chicago ’09: Day Two Live Blogging Search Engine Land: SES Chicago ’09: Day Three Live Blogging ReadWriteWeb: 5 Fabolous New Features Google Unveiled Today StayOnSearch: 100 SEO Blogs You Should Subscribe To Mashable: Google Launches Real-Time Search Search Engine Land: Google […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/sos-weekly-recap-in-search-120709">SOS Weekly Recap in Search 12/07/09</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/5-sos-rating1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-502 img-none" title="5-sos-rating" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/5-sos-rating1.jpg" alt="5-sos-rating" width="177" height="74" /></a>
<ul>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://searchengineland.com/ses-chicago-09-day-one-live-blogging-31375">Search Engine Land: SES Chicago ’09: Day One Live Blogging</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://searchengineland.com/ses-chicago-%E2%80%9809-day-two-live-blogging-31444">Search Engine Land: SES Chicago ’09: Day Two Live Blogging</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://searchengineland.com/ses-chicago-%E2%80%9809-day-three-live-blogging-31615">Search Engine Land: SES Chicago ’09: Day Three Live Blogging</a></li>
</ul>
<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/4-sos-rating1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-501 img-none" title="4-sos-rating" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/4-sos-rating1.jpg" alt="4-sos-rating" width="148" height="74" /></a>
<ul>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/five_fabulous_new_features_google_unveiled_today.php">ReadWriteWeb: 5 Fabolous New Features Google Unveiled Today</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/100-seo-blogs-you-should-subscribe-to">StayOnSearch: 100 SEO Blogs You Should Subscribe To</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://mashable.com/2009/12/07/google-real-time-search/">Mashable: Google Launches Real-Time Search</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://searchengineland.com/google-goggles-search-by-images-31364">Search Engine Land: Google Goggles: Take a Picture With Your Phone, Search By Image</a></li>
</ul>
<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/3-sos-rating1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-500 img-none" title="3-sos-rating" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/3-sos-rating1.jpg" alt="3-sos-rating" width="118" height="74" /></a>
<ul>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-fast-is-your-site.html">Google Webmaster Central Blog: How Fast is Your Site?</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.dailyblogtips.com/the-best-of-daily-blog-tips-in-2009/">DailyBlogTips: The Best of Daily Blog Tips in 2009</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://searchengineland.com/12-social-media-new-years-resolutions-for-2010-31258">Search Engine Land: 12 Social Media New Year’s Resolutions For 2010</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/whiteboard-friday-dealing-with-duplicate-content">SEOmoz: Whiteboard Friday: Dealing With Duplicate Content</a></li>
</ul>
<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2-sos-rating1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-499 img-none" title="2-sos-rating" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2-sos-rating1.jpg" alt="2-sos-rating" width="118" height="74" /></a>
<ul>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/faster-apps-for-faster-web-introducing.html">Google Webmaster Central Blog: Faster Apps For a Faster Web: Introducing Speed Tracer</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/how-events-can-use-social-media/">Chris Brogan: How Events Can Use Social Media</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://blog.hootsuite.com/announcing-hootsuite-for-iphone/">Hootsuite Blog: Announcing Hootsuite for iPhone</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/155299">Social Media Today: Top Tools for Social Media Monitoring</a></li>
</ul>
<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/1-sos-rating1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-498 img-none" title="1-sos-rating" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/1-sos-rating1.jpg" alt="1-sos-rating" width="118" height="74" /></a>
<ul>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.seoverflow.com/blog/call-tracking/roll-your-own-phone-call-tracking-program-it-is-easy/">seOverflow: Roll Your Own Phone Tracking Program – It is Easy</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-marketing-snake-oil/15230/">Search Engine Journal: Social Media Marketing Snake Oil</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://searchengineland.com/starting-a-new-in-house-search-marketing-job-30954">Search Engine Land: Starting a New In-House Search Marketing Job</a></li>
</ul>The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/sos-weekly-recap-in-search-120709">SOS Weekly Recap in Search 12/07/09</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Tips From the Usability Meetup in Raleigh, North Carolina</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/usability-meetup-in-raleigh</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Design/Development]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[meetup]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[raleigh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[seo]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[usability]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=748</guid>
<description><![CDATA[There was a great meetup I attended a few weeks ago to discuss web usability. Ashley Berman Hale and Phil Buckley were the organizers who presented some helpful usability tips. Here are the notes of the Meetup: Usability: On the Web & On Your Site Usability is “Task Oriented” and should enable momentum so users […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/usability-meetup-in-raleigh">Tips From the Usability Meetup in Raleigh, North Carolina</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[There was a great meetup I attended a few weeks ago to discuss <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.meetup.com/RaleighSEO/calendar/11249862/">web usability</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleybermanhale">Ashley Berman Hale</a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/1918">Phil Buckley</a> were the organizers who presented some helpful usability tips.
Here are the notes of the Meetup:
<h5>Usability: On the Web & On Your Site</h5>
<ul>
<li>Usability is “Task Oriented” and should enable momentum so users can complete tasks</li>
<li>Allow search capabilities so a user can expand or refine their search</li>
<li>Users need to understand where they are. Use breadcrumbs, multi-tier navigation and good cross-linking.</li>
</ul>
<h5>Applicable Examples</h5>
<ul>
<li>Show price: Don’t wait until it goes into a cart or make them call</li>
<li>Use detailed descriptions: Good for end-user and SEO</li>
<li>Use simple language</li>
<li>Have clear labels and links</li>
<li>Unclutter your design, using goog images, clean font, etc…</li>
<li>Consistent navigation that is easy to understand</li>
<li>Easy shopping cart process (minimal steps)</li>
</ul>
<h5>Usability: Do I Really Need To Pay Attention To This?</h5>
<ul>
<li>Yes, if you users can’t find it, it doesn’t exist</li>
<li>Search engines will mimic what they think people want/like</li>
<li>Use W3C standards (alt tags, logical headers, 1-click away)</li>
<li>SEO vs Usability: Good usability almost always will trump SEO</li>
<li>Bad User Interface + Long Checkout Process = High Bounce Rate</li>
<li>Understand who your site is targeting (Demographics)</li>
</ul>
<h5>Usability: How Do I Figure Out What Actually Works</h5>
Look at your Analytics:
<ul>
<li> Where are people leaving?</li>
<li> Are they getting to the important pages</li>
<li> What content are they easily getting to?</li>
<li> Goals – Where are they being abandoned</li>
<li> Check site logs and errors</li>
</ul>
<h5>The 5 Second Test</h5>
This was my favorite part of the entire presentation. The idea is to find someone that has never seen your site before and have them look at it for 5 seconds.
Ask them: 
Do they understand what the site is about? 
What they sell? 
What actions are you suppose to complete? 
What demographic is the site targeting?
Because user have such a short attention span online, you have 5 seconds to capture your user. Doing this test can give you feedback on certain design related issues you have to work on.
<h5>Usability: Show Me The Money!</h5>
<ul>
<li> Don’t call your products “products, call them exactly what they are</li>
<li> Great Usability = increased links, traffic, rankings, and conversions</li>
<li> If better usability can increase conversions on your site from 1%-3%, then sales just went up 100%-300%</li>
</ul>
If you have attended a recent Meetup and would like your tips featured on StayOnSearch, <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/contact">let us know</a>.
<h5>Related Sites</h5>
<ul>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cre8pc.com/">Cre8pc Usability & Holistic SEO</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/">Cre8asiteForums</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.webcredible.co.uk/">Webcredible</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.worldusabilityday.org/">World Usability Day</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.upassoc.org/">UPA: Usability Professionals Association</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.section508.gov/">Section 508 Standards</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.w3.org/">W3C</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.useit.com/">Usable Information Technology</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.usabilitynews.com/">Usability News</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://credibility.stanford.edu/">Standford Web Credibility Research</a></li>
</ul>The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/usability-meetup-in-raleigh">Tips From the Usability Meetup in Raleigh, North Carolina</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<title>7 Social Bookmarking Tools You Should Know About</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:45:21 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[digg]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[social bookmarking]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[stumbleupon]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tools]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=5956</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Over the last few years I have been few active on a number of social bookmarking sites including Digg and StumbleUpon. I have picked up a number of tools along the way that have helped me with staying active on a number of communities with ease. I thought it would be a good idea to […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about">7 Social Bookmarking Tools You Should Know About</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Over the last few years I have been few active on a number of social bookmarking sites including <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://digg.com/users/markthompson15">Digg</a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/markthompson15/">StumbleUpon</a>. I have picked up a number of tools along the way that have helped me with staying active on a number of communities with ease. I thought it would be a good idea to share those tools with you, so it can help you with your social bookmarking.
I would appreciate it you guys could add to the list and let me know if other tools you use to help you with social bookmarking.
<h2>1. Sub Digger</h2>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-5957" href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about/sub-digger"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5957" title="sub-digger" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/sub-digger.png" alt="" width="550" height="171" /></a>
For anyone who is active on Digg, Sub Digger is a real time saver. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://sub.diggerplus.com/">Sub Digger</a> allows you to easily browse through your friends Digg submissions using their custom submission bar. All you have to do is enter in your Digg username into the field and Sub Digger will pull in all of your friends submissions, so you can easily and quickly view your friends content.
They provide a few different views including a StumbleUpon-like style view where you can click the “Next” button to browse all of your friends Digg submissions. The other way is by viewing all of the submissions on one page, so you can quickly browse titles that appeal to you.
<h2>2. OnlyWire</h2>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-5958" href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about/onlywire-3"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5958" title="onlywire" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/onlywire.png" alt="" width="550" height="217" srcset="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/onlywire.png 550w, https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/onlywire-300x118.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://onlywire.com/">OnlyWire</a> is a social bookmarking syndication tool that sends your post out to over 20 of the most popular social bookmarking tools with the click of a button. There are multiple subscription options including one for free!
Bookmarking Sites Include:
<ul>
<li>Digg</li>
<li>StumbleUpon</li>
<li>Mixx</li>
<li>Furl</li>
<li>Reddit</li>
<li>Twitter</li>
<li>FriendFeed</li>
<li>…and many more</li>
</ul>
<h2>3. Social Blade </h2>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-5959" href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about/social-blade"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5959" title="social-blade" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-blade.png" alt="" width="550" height="219" srcset="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-blade.png 550w, https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-blade-300x119.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://socialblade.com">Social Blade</a> provides some interesting data from Digg, including Front Page Analytics (Digg stories that hit the front page) and a list of the top Digg users. If you are trying to get your content to pop on Digg, you should have a look at this analytics data, so you have some insights into which type of posts hit the front page.
<h2>4. Su.Pr</h2>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-5960" href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about/su-pr"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5960" title="su.pr" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/su.pr_.png" alt="" width="550" height="194" srcset="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/su.pr_.png 550w, https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/su.pr_-300x105.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /></a>
This <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://su.pr/">URL shortening service</a> is specific to StumbleUpon, that allows you to shorten and track all of your StumbleUpon submissions. This service is great if you want to see how effective all of your links are in the Stumble community.
<h2>5. Social Bookmarking Demon</h2>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-5961" href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about/social-bookmarking-demon"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5961" title="social-bookmarking-demon" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-bookmarking-demon.png" alt="" width="550" height="261" srcset="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-bookmarking-demon.png 550w, https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-bookmarking-demon-300x142.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /></a>
<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/socialbookmarkingdemon">Social Bookmarking Demon</a> is similar to OnlyWire, however it has many more sites you can submit to and more awesome advanced features. For anyone who is looking generate backlinks and traffic through social bookmark sites, this is a must have tool.
Some Advanced Features:
<ul>
<li>Create Randomized Usernames</li>
<li>Unlimited Scuttle and Pligg Sites</li>
<li>RSS Camouflage to Make URLs look Natural</li>
<li>Create Multiple Title and Descriptions for each Bookmarking Service</li>
<li>Auto Ping Your Bookmarks</li>
<li>Scheduling Options</li>
<li>Auto Verify Your Emails</li>
<li>Use Proxy Servers</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/socialbookmarkingdemon">Buy Social Bookmarking Demon at a Discounted Price</a> ($147 – Limited Time)
<h2>6. Social Marker</h2>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-5982" href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about/social-marker"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5982" title="social-marker" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-marker.png" alt="" width="550" height="227" srcset="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-marker.png 550w, https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/social-marker-300x123.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /></a>

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.socialmarker.com/">Social Marker</a> makes it easy to add social bookmarking buttons to your website or blog. But going through all of those social bookmarking sites is very time-consuming and downloading all toolbars is madness. That’s where SocialMarker.com comes in, the free service designed to reduce the time and effort needed to socially bookmark a website.
<h2>7. Friend Statistics</h2>
<a rel="attachment wp-att-5983" href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about/friend-statistics"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5983" title="friend-statistics" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/friend-statistics.png" alt="" width="550" height="344" srcset="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/friend-statistics.png 550w, https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/friend-statistics-300x187.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /></a>
This is one of the best tools for anyone who is addicted to Digg and wants to be mutuals with others who Digg each others content. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://friendstatistics.com/">Friend Statistics</a> will analyze your Digg submissions and follows to see which of your friends are Digging your content. This is important for Diggers who want to find loyal users who will Digg each others content and help get it to the front page.The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/7-social-bookmarking-tools-you-should-know-about">7 Social Bookmarking Tools You Should Know About</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Blogs aren’t Books: So Stop Writing Like They Are!</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/blogs-arent-books</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[blog tips]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Copywriting]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[seo tips]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=13693</guid>
<description><![CDATA[So why do you keep writing massive walls of text?? Blogs have a whole lot more to offer than just walls of text, and quite frankly, it is hard to read! Computers are a lot different than that old paperweight you call a book. And, they read differently too. The whole monitor thing puts quite […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/blogs-arent-books">Blogs aren’t Books: So Stop Writing Like They Are!</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[So why do you keep writing massive walls of text??
Blogs have a whole lot more to offer than just walls of text, and quite frankly, it is hard to read! Computers are a lot different than that old paperweight you call a book. And, they read differently too. The whole monitor thing puts quite a different spin on the user interaction during reading.
90% of online visitors only browse headlines, images, and titles.
The average internet browser does not look at descriptions, author names, meta data, excerpts, short stories, nada, just headlines.
But not only are titles an issue with blogging, overall content writing needs to be properly adjusted for your online viewers. Blog posts should be well written and offer some serious text based reading, but it has to be broken up. Online visitors to your blog are going to quickly scan your titles, images, and other easily read items first. Some of the best ways to make sure that your bounce rate lowers, is to add easy to read features in each post or page.
Internet browsers want their information now, so they browse titles and headlines to look for words and phrases that catch their attention quickly. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to always have a hook in your title, but emotional out reach can help you.
How to write better titles:
<ol>
<li>Know your audience – who is looking for your content, try to create a phrase that will draw them in</li>
<li>Keep it short and to the point – run on titles are a pain, many social media sites fit short titles the best as well</li>
<li>Less is often more – no need to max out titles, descriptions, or any info spot</li>
<li>Images and Video help!</li>
</ol>
Blog writing tips:
<ul>
<li>Use easy to read features like bullet points, lists, quotes, etc</li>
<li>Make key phrases & ideas bold, italicized, underlined</li>
<li>Blend in images and video as your post runs on, this helps break the information and keep your readers interested</li>
<li>Don’t write longer than 5 or 6 sentences without a break, spacing helps the reader move through the words and concepts</li>
<li>Change font size to emphasize and point out specifics</li>
</ul>
These simple tips will help you create a more readable and enjoyable blog for your readers. No more walls of text that scare away newcomers and browsers, instead you’ll have media rich, useful posts where first time visitors can instantly engage with your ideas and concepts. The main points and areas are outlined with text breaks, font changes, images, and such, greatly helping improve your connection with a reader.
<blockquote>Now that you know how to blog well, make sure to blog often!</blockquote>
Google has recently released an algorithm change known as the “freshness” update. The change takes time indicators into consideration when ranking search results. (ie. date, time, year the post was made.) This will allow Google to find the most relevant content regarding current events and breaking news. The idea is to improve the user experience for anyone using the Google search engine. It is a valiant concept, but it has great implications for bloggers if they intend on ranking on the first page for any competitive search term. Now this is assuming your website already has all the correct<a title="Search Engine Optimization Tips" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.seobesttips.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> search engine optimization</a> in place.
Effects of the “freshness” update:
<ul>
<li>35% of all searches will be effected by the freshness update. Any search term that could be construed as time sensitive will be effected by the change.</li>
<li>10% of search results will feel the effects. Search terms and search results are two different entities that should not be confused. Multiple search terms can often bring up the same search results.</li>
<li>To maintain strong rankings sites now require daily updates.</li>
<li>New content ranks better than older webpages or blog posts.</li>
<li>Old contextual backlinks do not carry as much link juice as time progresses.</li>
<li>Online marketing is more time sensitive than ever before.</li>
</ul>
The changes are ensuring a better search engine for future users. The algorithm has definitely not seen the last changes it will under go before the end of 2011. Google averages over 500 adjustments every year so things can still change. What is known, is that three types of search queries that have been effected.
<ol>
<li>Search terms that have time sensitivity inferred like news and current events. When Google search users type “occupy wall street movement” into the search bar, they expect to see the most up to date information possible. With the recent changes Google can achieve this goal better.</li>
<li>Search queries that occur in a timely manner. For instance, if someone types “solar eclipse”, Google assumes they want information about the next solar eclipse, not an event that occurred 5 years ago.</li>
<li>Search terms that necessitate time associated results. When people search for product reviews they rarely ever specify fresh results. It is implied that the user wants the latest review.</li>
</ol>
What have we learned?
There are two basic rules for blogging. If there is anything I want readers to take away from this article it is as follows:
<ol>
<li>Write for your blog, not a book.</li>
<li>Post regularly or fail to be relevant in the eyes of Google.</li>
</ol>
 The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/blogs-arent-books">Blogs aren’t Books: So Stop Writing Like They Are!</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<title>The Future of Video Blogging</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/the-future-of-video-blogging</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Dec 2012 01:18:43 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=15236</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Video blogging or “vlogging” is becoming a very popular online trend and most internet users will agree that video blogs are popping up in every niche and industry. According to recent statistics from internet giant YouTube, more than 65% of U.S. based internet users view online videos, and they each spend no less than 6 […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/the-future-of-video-blogging">The Future of Video Blogging</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Video blogging or “vlogging” is becoming a very popular online trend and most internet users will agree that video blogs are popping up in every niche and industry. According to recent statistics from internet giant YouTube, more than 65% of U.S. based internet users view online videos, and they each spend no less than 6 hours per month doing so.
<a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/the-future-of-video-blogging/video-blogging-tips" rel="attachment wp-att-15239"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15239" title="video-blogging-tips" src="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/video-blogging-tips.png" alt="" width="699" height="245" srcset="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/video-blogging-tips.png 699w, https://www.stayonsearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/video-blogging-tips-300x105.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 699px) 100vw, 699px" /></a>
These statistics are not only interesting, but it is a very useful tool for every internet marketer; with online videos becoming such an increasingly growing trend, this is definitely something that every blogger should focus their energy on. Adding videos to your blog will very likely lead to an increase in views, and this in turn will boost your online presence and your blog’s popularity. As an avid online marketer or blogger, it’s time you consider all the benefits that video blogging can provide. Here are a few very helpful guidelines that you can use to help decide if video blogging is the solution that you have been waiting for.
<ul>
<li>Determine Your Target Audience. Do you know if your audience enjoys watching online videos? Do you think they will benefit from watching a video when they read your next blog posts, and will they enjoy it? Where exactly are your readers when they visit your blog; are they browsing from their mobile device? Are they in the office behind their desk? Some of them might have little time available between jobs, and might be looking for plain “text only” blogs for easy reading. These answers will help you determine whether or not your audience can benefit from a video blog.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Take Your Time. Video blogging will take much more time than writing a normal blog post. You need to determine whether you have the additional time needed to create a quality video for your blog post, and if you can do this on a regular basis. It will be more time consuming to create a video, since you will have to write your message and record it too. If you don’t do a lot of blog posts, this won’t be a problem at all. Keep in mind that if you do a lot of posts, say daily, it might be a bit too tough to squeeze a video blog in every day; consider to add a video blog once a week, or twice per month to start. Even though it might take up to a day to complete a simple 3 minute post, the benefits far outweigh the challenges.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Represent Your Message. One of the most important benefits of a video blog is that you will be able to put a human face to your message, and in effect, you will be a representative for your company blog. This will add a more personalized feel to your posts and you will give your audience something to relate to. If you are camera shy, don’t worry; you can easily hire a model to do the video on your behalf.</li>
</ul>
Prepare for Success
There is no doubt that vlogging is fast becoming one of the most popular online marketing trends of the future. Bloggers from all over the globe are starting to include video with their blog posts and they are seeing a significant increase in the amount of page views they are receiving. Bloggers are seeing an improvement in their <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/5-effective-ways-to-reduce-website-bounce-rate">bounce rate</a> and you can also post your video to platforms such as YouTube for an increase in valuable <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/how-to-increase-your-page-rank-by-getting-links-to-your-website">links</a> back to your site. Video blogging is a great way of interacting with your existing readers and to building up a list of new ones, but it does take some time and effort to create quality videos that you can use with your posts. If you put in the effort, prepare to see a significant increase in the success of your blog.
The future of video blogging looks promising and exciting; and it is one of the most powerful tools available to modern bloggers. Not only will you increase your audience, but you will build a targeted list of customers that can help you increase your bottom line. With so many great benefits to offer, video blogging is definitely worth the effort; even if you cannot create a fresh post every day, just start with one per month and enjoy blogging success like never before.The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/the-future-of-video-blogging">The Future of Video Blogging</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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<title>SEO Tips for Any Budget</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/seo-tips-for-any-budget</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:04:17 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=15101</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It can be quite tough to compete online with your competitors if they have lots more budget than you, after all – if you’re a small business on a budget and they have high profile SEO agencies and online marketing professionals on their side – you might even feel like giving up. Because of this, […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/seo-tips-for-any-budget">SEO Tips for Any Budget</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[It can be quite tough to compete online with your competitors if they have lots more budget than you, after all – if you’re a small business on a budget and they have high profile SEO agencies and online marketing professionals on their side – you might even feel like giving up.
Because of this, it is important to try and find techniques that you can utilise with any budget – or even without a budget, whether that budget is big or small. This means that the only things these SEO tips will be costing you – is time and effort. Something we can all spare at some point in the day.
This article will aim to give you some tips that you can use no matter what your budget is.
<h2>Find Wasted Link Equity on your Website</h2>
You want to make sure that you’re utilising as much of your link equity as possible, particularly you you’re working to a small budget and can’t consistently build new links. A neat little technique you can use here is to find where your internal link equity may be wasted a bit.
Start by running a crawler such as Screaming Frog across your website. When it is finished, go to the response codes section and look for any 302 redirects. If you find them, check to see if they are meant to be 302 (temporary) redirects or if they should be permanent. If they are meant to be permanent, then make sure you change them to a 301 so that they pass as much link equity as possible. Better still, change the link so that rather than going via a redirect, they link directly to the target page.
<h2>Give Internships to Local Students</h2>
Quite often, students at your local college or University will be looking for work over the summer or non-term time. You can try and hire some of these and get them to work on your SEO campaign. There are a few ways you can utilize them and use their skills, such as:
<ul>
<li>Writing content for your website</li>
<li>Finding link building targets and getting contact details</li>
<li>Outreaching to people via email or phone</li>
<li>Running your social media channels like Facebook or Twitter</li>
</ul>
There are probably loads of things you can think of. You can also be quite creative depending on your niche too. For example if you operate in the fashion niche, you could try to work with fashion students.
<h2>Offer Guest Posts to Related Blogs</h2>
This one doesn’t have to cost you any money but it can take a bit of your time. You can spend some time researching good quality, relevant blogs in your niche, then contacting them to see if they will accept a guest post from you.
If they say yes, you can then write the article for them and send it over. This can contain a link back to your website. This can be a very low cost way to build good quality links to your website. It can also be a great way of building relationships with bloggers in your niche too.
<h2>Sort Out Your Server</h2>
Ensure your server is working properly and working well. All this SEO work you’re working so hard for isn’t going to be any use if your audience can’t even load the website because it keeps crashing. You can compare different servers and hosting agents on comparison websites like <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.WhoIsHostingThis.com">www.WhoIsHostingThis.com</a> and find the right one to fit your niche and the kind of industry your website is in too. Read through reviews and compare the different providers – and then watch as your website performs better, and the user experience becomes better – eventually improving SEO.The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/seo-tips-for-any-budget">SEO Tips for Any Budget</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>5 Plugins to Make Your WordPress Blogs SEO Friendly</title>
<link>https://www.stayonsearch.com/wordpress-blogs-seo-friendly</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Thompson]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 May 2012 12:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.stayonsearch.com/?p=14505</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If you are blogging for personal reasons only, you don’t need to think much about search engine optimization and all. But what you will do if you are blogging with the intension to grow your business or making money from blogging. All of your hard work in writing good quality content or developing a good […]
The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wordpress-blogs-seo-friendly">5 Plugins to Make Your WordPress Blogs SEO Friendly</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[If you are blogging for personal reasons only, you don’t need to think much about search engine optimization and all. But what you will do if you are blogging with the intension to grow your business or making money from blogging. All of your hard work in writing good quality content or developing a good product will be all waste if people are unable to find your blog on search engines for the targeted terms of your niche. You need to look at all possible ways to make your blogs SEO friendly. And since you are blogging with WordPress, lots of ready-made solutions are available in the form of plugins which will help you in making your WordPress blogs more search engine friendly.
To make your WordPress blogs more search engine friendly, you need to improve your blog speed along with the social media signals. So here is the list of 5 plugins which will not only make your WordPress blogs SEO friendly but will also help in improving its speed and social media signals.
SEO Smart Links Plugin
SEO Smart Links plugin will help in interlinking your blog posts, pages, categories and tag pages etc. in an optimized way. This SEO plugin can help in driving lots of targeted backlinks for your blog landing pages of your choice with their SEO optimized anchors on auto pilot. Thus plugin comes with lots of customization options like how many links this SEO plugin should convert on a page, can ignoret specific URL type where automatic interlinking should not be done, adding nofollow tag with external links etc. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/seo-automatic-links/">Click this link</a> to download and to know more in detail about SEO Smart Links plugin features and the kind of customization you can expect from this premium SEO plugin while interlinking your blog contents.
Easy WP SEO Plugin
Easy WP SEO is the best premium WordPress plugin for doing onpage optimization activities for a blog. This plugin takes into consideration 23 Onpage SEO factors while calculating SEO Score for a page or post of your interest. This plugin will help you in optimizing a post or page for its targeted keywords. SEO score generated by this plugin varies from 0 to 100, where 0 is the lowest score and 100 being the maximum SEO score you can get. I have been using Easy WP SEO plugin on Bloggers Passion blog for six months now and I’m really happy for choosing this plugin. To download the latest version of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://bloggerspassion.com/easy-wp-seo-plugin-review-premium-onpage-seo-plugin-for-wordpress/">Easy WP SEO plugin</a> and to know in detail about my experience with Easy WP SEO plugin, use this link.
WP Super Cache Plugin
As the name indicates, WP Super Cache is a page caching plugin for WordPress blogs. This plugin will concert dynamic WordPress blogs into Static HTML pages. Once these HTML files are created, your web server will start serving these files to your blog readers for their requests. Since your server is processing static HTML files which don’t take much time in processing, your blog readers will experience a faster loading WordPress blogs. Google used to make 30-40 algorithmic changes related to its search engine every month with the intension to serve better results to its users. And website speed was one of rankings factor Google included in its algorithm recently. So if you have a faster loading WordPress blog, then you will have an edge over your competitors on the basis of page speed ranking factor at least. So you should use a WP Super Cache or any other similar plugin into your WordPress blog for page caching. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-super-cache/">Click this link</a> to get in more detail about WP Super Cache plugin download and installation instructions.
WP Smush.it Plugin 
WP Smush.it is another plugin you can use to improve the speed of your blogs and as a result will help in making your WordPress blog more SEO friendly. This plugin will decrease the size of images that you are uploading on your blog. Once you are finished with this image reduction plugin installation, you don’t need to do anything as this plugin used to lower down the size of images available in content folder in the background while you can focus on other important tasks in hand or can just relax. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-smushit/">Click this link</a> to download WP Smush.it plugin for optimizing images sizes in your blog.
SexyBookmarks Plugin
Since these days social media signals are playing a big role in your website rankings on Google search. So you need to find some way to improve social media shares for your blog. SexyBookmarks plugin will help in showing icons for all popular social media websites in your blog posts and pages. Availability of Social Media icons on your blog will inspire your blog readers to share stories of their choice on Facebook, Google Plug and Twitter type of popular Social media networks. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sexybookmarks/">Click this link</a> to download SexyBookmarks plugin latest version into your WordPress plugins directory.
There are some more SEO plugins you can try for making your WordPress blogs more search engine friendly including Google XML Sitemaps Generator, Broken Link Checker Plugin, All in One SEO Pack and Plugin Performance Profiler etc. It would be interesting to know which plugins you are using to make your blogs SEO friendly, please share your views and concerns in the comments section.The post <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com/wordpress-blogs-seo-friendly">5 Plugins to Make Your WordPress Blogs SEO Friendly</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.stayonsearch.com">StayOnSearch</a>.]]></content:encoded>
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