
Mark Traphagen
Director of Digital Outreach at Virante : Social Media | Google+ | Content Marketing
Occupation: Director of Digitial Outreach: Social Media Marketing - Google+ Marketing - Content Marketing - SEO - Organic Link Building
Location: Durham NC
Birthday: 07/21
His ProfilesRankThis is the rank of 'Mark Traphagen' out of all Google+ Profiles.: 1,257 (GenderRankFor the gender 'Men'.: 702)
His ProfilesRankThis is the rank of 'Mark Traphagen' out of all Google+ Profiles. in United States: 436 (GenderRankFor the gender 'Men'.: 265)
Followers: 52,545
Following: 3,189
Added to CircleCount.com: 07/10/2011That's the date, where Mark Traphagen has been indexed by CircleCount.com.
This hasn't to be the date where the daily check has been started. (Update nowYou can update your stats by clicking on this link!
This can take a few seconds.)
Mark Traphagen has been shared in 391 public circles
Activity
Average numbers for the latest postings:
5 comments per posting'Current posts' means the last 50 posts that are at the most 4 weeks old. So this metric gives a picture of how many comments someone has received recently.
3 reshares per posting'Current posts' means the last 50 posts that are at the most 4 weeks old. So this metric gives a picture of .how often someone's posts have been reshared lately.
17 +1's per posting'Current posts' means the last 50 posts that are at the most 4 weeks old. So this metric gives a picture of how many +1's someone has received on his or her posts recently.
715 characters per posting'Current posts' means the last 50 posts that are at the most 4 weeks old. So this metric gives a picture of how many characters someone has used per post recently.
Latest postings
2013-06-20 10:31:48 (11 comments, 2 reshares, 11 +1s)
The other day I shared a post where Google's Matt Cutts said that using stock photos will not hurt your search rankings. I commented, "Yes, but they sure might hurt the responses of your visitors!"
Here's a few examples of why ;-)
HT +Colman Carpenter

2013-06-20 09:46:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)
Healthcare Online Marketing Seminar
Come to the Research Triangle Park near Raleigh, North Carolina, for this content-packed morning of training, case studies, and valuable information for healthcare providers, professionals,and related businesses.
Learn how to use free Google tools and services to increase the reach of your healthcare business. Click the link for details!

2013-06-20 00:36:52 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 16 +1s)
Today the web is working for...
Latest Google business video

2013-06-20 00:24:05 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 21 +1s)
I like this. Reverse of the "find your passion" advice. Instead, become an expert at something, become the indispensable source about something, and it will become your passion.
Just realized that explains the last two years of my life.

2013-06-19 22:07:07 (11 comments, 14 reshares, 39 +1s)
Ten Things Google Knows to Be True
I hadn't seen this before until someone pointed me to it today. Fascinating to see how these ten values are being worked out through Google+.

2013-06-19 21:57:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)
HEALTHCARE MARKETING SEMINAR IN RALEIGH
If you are a healthcare professional, or work for a healthcare-related business, this half-day seminar next week in the Research Triangle Park is for you. Listen to a top Google healthcare community exec, hear actual case studies from local healthcare providers, and learn from a nationally-recognized online marketing professional. And enjoy a networking lunch as well!
Tickets are limited, so register today. And if you know people who might benefit from this, please share it with them!
P.S. >> While the focus is on healthcare, many of the principles and tips shared at this event will help ANY local business. Feel free to register even if you're not in healthcare!

2013-06-19 20:48:12 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)
Link Removal Requests as Negative SEO Strategy?
This post presents evidence that up to 40% of webmasters will remove a link from their site without any effort to corroborate the identity of the person making the request. These requests were all made from a random Gmail account.
How much of a threat do you think this might be?

2013-06-19 20:05:20 (8 comments, 4 reshares, 22 +1s)
Mars Curiosity Billion Pixel Panoramic Image
An astoundingly-detailed 360 degree billion pixel panorama from NASA. Follow the instructions in the post to make it full screen, and then click the squares to the right to zoom way in on interesting landmarks.
I always feel a personal connection when I see anything from Curiosity. Some of you may not know that my wife and I were guests of NASA for Curiosity's launch. We got to view the launch from the press area.

2013-06-19 17:52:10 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)
HEALTHCARE MARKETING SEMINAR IN RALEIGH
If you are a healthcare professional, or work for a healthcare-related business, this half-day seminar next week in the Research Triangle Park is for you. Listen to a top Google healthcare community exec, hear actual case studies from local healthcare providers, and learn from a nationally-recognized online marketing professional. And enjoy a networking lunch as well!
Tickets are limited, so register today. And if you know people who might benefit from this, please share it with them!
P.S. >> While the focus is on healthcare, many of the principles and tips shared at this event will help ANY local business. Feel free to register even if you're not in healthcare!


2013-06-19 16:16:17 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 22 +1s)
We've got a wonderful Men's Health Month Hangout this Friday with +Mark Traphagen and +Martin W. Smith speaking about their experience with cancer. Mark has recovered from rectal cancer and Martin has terminal leukemia and is starting a website, http://curecancerstarter.org, to fund cancer research. They'll be speaking at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST. http://bit.ly/11rVF5M

2013-06-19 16:10:48 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 13 +1s)
Google Plus Authorship - Why, Why Not & Do It In 5 Easy Steps.
Video Hangout Intervew & step-by-step
For those that missed this one - one of those practical step-by-step posts, but also answers the following 21 Authorship questions via a +Mark Traphagen & other top notch 'G+ people' in a great video interview!
1. What is Authorship?
2. What is Author Rank
3. How does Authorship effect small business?
4. Does Author Rank really exist?
5. Can we test Author Rank?
6. How does Bing’s Authorship (Subjectship) impact Google’s Authorship?
7. How would multiple profiles or personas effect Authorship?
8. How would multiple personal interest impact Authorship?
9. How does Authorship builds trust in results?
10. How does Pagerank flow from your profile to your web pages
11. Does Authorship have anything to do with... more »

2013-06-19 13:19:34 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)
We Are in the Middle of a Communications Revolution by JC Kendall
I was very fortunate to have +J.C. Kendall as a friend and mentor. On Thursday, May 16th, 2013 he contacted me to ask if I could host one of his well researched articles. Anyone who has consumed an article by JC knows that they are not only well written but thought provoking. I was more than happy to oblige.
JC and I agreed on many things technology related. We both felt as if Google was positioned very well against Apple and Facebook. At Google's stock price nears an all time high of $900+ it looks as if JC was right. This article will end up being prophetic in the long run. Please take the time to read one of his last articles.
#google #apple #facebook

2013-06-19 12:44:22 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 12 +1s)
Our Remove'em back link removal tool and service is celebrating one year of helping penalized sites recover and restore their Google search rankings.

2013-06-19 12:07:19 (8 comments, 7 reshares, 25 +1s)
Now only shares that use the new Google+ interactive buttons display a post meta data description in the featured link snippet.

2013-06-19 11:57:31 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)
My home feed is showing increased activity in the last 10 minutes. Looks like +Mark Traphagen is up and about.

2013-06-19 11:33:58 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)
The Author Revolution
There is a secret in this excellent slideshare from +Mark Traphagen SMX West presentation - the Author Revolution. If we think of Google's recent moves in aggregate we see a macro-pattern.
Google wants their democratic engine to work. Democracy can't work if votes can be bought or when votes are otherwise fraudulent (intimidation, or being more crafty and sneaky). The web has always been about the push and pull of opposing forces.
I've had fascinating conversations with "black hat" cowboys who defend their actions as policing the system. There may be some truth in their assertion since they work just as hard as white hats (sometimes harder).
When I point out the fact they work just as hard they agree and identify their "rebel cause" as motivation. It is not a lazy man's way to make a million bucks (black ... more »

2013-06-19 11:23:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)
Help improve moderation in Google+ Communities!
Please reshare
Do you moderate a Community? I'm a researcher at Google and we'd love to get your feedback on what's working and how we can make it better. If you've got five minutes to take our survey we'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1TgivTZeHpR7QTzhjQ9Clk1RF8egE6lwWEIoo8sL1Ppw/viewform


2013-06-19 01:43:01 (17 comments, 8 reshares, 28 +1s)
Make the New Notifications Drop-down Work for You
The new notifications drop-down provides much more capability than was available previously. The beauty of this is that you can use the unread notifications section as a Google+ to-do list. You can look at the list, handle important notifications immediately, leave some to handle later, and remove others.
Notifications are now listed in two groups, ones you have not read and ones that were Previously read. In addition, unread notifications can be either new or not. A new notification is one that was added to the list since the last time you opened the Notifications list.
A bell icon replaced the old notification counter icon, and the icon provides useful information itself. The icon is only an outline of a bell when there are no unread notification but is solid (as shown below) if there are unread notifications. The n... more »


2013-06-19 00:12:12 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)
Best possible outcome of a rained out Durham Bulls game


2013-06-19 00:10:44 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 30 +1s)
Best possible outcome of a rained out Durham Bulls game


2013-06-18 22:38:20 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)
We've got a wonderful Men's Health Month Hangout this Friday with +Mark Traphagen and +Martin W. Smith speaking about their experience with cancer. Mark has recovered from rectal cancer and Martin has terminal leukemia and is starting a website, http://curecancerstarter.org, to fund cancer research. They'll be speaking at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST. http://bit.ly/11rVF5M

2013-06-18 19:08:10 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)
My Brit Lit Honors students ended their year with Hamlet videos. Such fun!

2013-06-18 18:06:41 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)
Amazing! Great way to make the outdoors more accessible.
cc +REI

2013-06-18 18:04:16 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)
+Terry Simmonds you said, "the fact Google themselves use the rel=author tag on business pages throughout Google+"
I'm confused by that. I cannot find a business page that has rel=author markup on it. Can you provide an example, or clarify what you mean by that statement?

2013-06-18 14:55:03 (10 comments, 6 reshares, 11 +1s)
Healthcare Online Marketing Seminar
Come to the Research Triangle Park near Raleigh, North Carolina, for this content-packed morning of training, case studies, and valuable information for healthcare providers, professionals,and related businesses.
Learn how to use free Google tools and services to increase the reach of your healthcare business. Click the link for details!

2013-06-18 14:26:44 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)
Cool SEO Tool & Recovery Tips
Let's say your website, that magical set of content, images and navigation, has taken a severe Google Panda or Penguin hit. What do you do?
First you confirm that Google's new algorithm is the problem. I don't know a better way to do that than use Panguin. Panguin 2.0 launched yesterday and it is an even better version of something that was already cool.
Panguin is such a simple tool. Panguin overlays the dates of Google's changes, labels them (letting you know if you have a content or link spam problem or both) and it uses YOUR data.
If you depend on organic SEO to make your numbers shame on you. Internet marketing is a game of diversification. You must, must, must be strong in at least 3 channels (PPC, social, organic SEO, video marketing, email marketing, cause marketing, etc...). If you depend on any si... more »

2013-06-18 14:06:03 (1 comments, 11 reshares, 30 +1s)
SEO: How to Rank in Search Engines
Here's your #SEO Bible, from the incomparable +Cyrus Shepard and the folks at +Moz

2013-06-18 12:17:58 (18 comments, 4 reshares, 19 +1s)
Google: Stock Images Do Not Hurt Your Search Rankimgs
But they sure do affect the way users view your site. I can spot a stock image from a mile away, and for some reason it always has a negative vibe for me. Seems to cheapen the content for some reason. Do obvious stock images affect you that way?

2013-06-18 11:49:17 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 14 +1s)
Google Released the Spam Algorithm Last Wednesday to target spammy niches & illegal link building..


2013-06-18 11:37:19 (18 comments, 5 reshares, 19 +1s)
More than the Sum of Us
"When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you." said Nietzsche. He was talking about the connection between the observer and the observed (what Heisenberg enshrined in his Uncertainty Principle) where the more you look and the more you understand the less certain you become.
The moment everything devolves into the realm of statistical probability you get the manifestation of the Quantum Mechanical world where everything is possible but some things are more probable but only when viewed from a certain perspective which then makes everything relative.
A post I did not intend to write, for instance, (http://goo.gl/tyFzF) mentioned fishing and a fisherman I met on a chance encounter. I do not talk about fishing – like ever. +Bruce Marko mentioned his grandfather was a fisherman, +Nikolaos Bogioglou mentioned that he fishe... more »


2013-06-18 01:57:23 (24 comments, 4 reshares, 20 +1s)
First PageRank 8 Google+ Page Found!
Paging +Euro Maestro and +Joshua Berg
To my knowledge, https://plus.google.com/+googleenterprise/posts is the first PR 8 Google+ entity we've discovered. Credit goes to +Paul Shapiro (@fighto on Twitter) who alerted me to it on Twitter.
Previous to this (unless I missed the news) the highest PR we had found was +Barack Obama's 7.
Update: the +Google+ official page is also an 8.


2013-06-17 23:47:25 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)
I will drink this while I re-watch the three seasons:))

2013-06-17 23:41:57 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)
Our Brand New Bag
Ever see those old James Brown clips where he looks exhausted, his helpers come out on stage, drape a cape over his shoulders and begin to walk James out only to have him shrug those shoulders, run in place with those amazing feet and return to the microphone?
Brown's "new bag" is startling, full of FUNK and rhythm and new. So too better be our Internet marketing. Added attribution to this piece to make sure +Phil Buckley, +David Amerland, +Mark Traphagen and +Amy Lewis received the credit they deserve. There is a brand new bag and we can't leave the stage just yet.

2013-06-17 23:34:04 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)
A Bit of Youthful Brilliance
This past Saturday I had a table at the North Carolina Maker Faire at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. I was showing young people how to make quick LEGO stop motion animation videos using the Vine 6-second video app.
Most of the kids did fairly random stuff, which was great. They were having fun, being creative, and learning what you could do with a very simple tool.
And then there was Audrey.
This 10-year-old young lady went to work on her video while her father and I chatted amiably nearby. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that she seemed a little more intense, a little more "in to it" than most of the other kids had been.
After a few minutes she was ready to show us her creation. And for the rest of the day people were pulling their friends and relatives from across the crowded e... more »

2013-06-17 23:33:36 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)
A Bit of Youthful Brilliance
This past Saturday I had a table at the North Carolina Maker Faire at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. I was showing young people how to make quick LEGO stop motion animation videos using the Vine 6-second video app.
Most of the kids did fairly random stuff, which was great. They were having fun, being creative, and learning what you could do with a very simple tool.
And then there was Audrey.
This 10-year-old young lady went to work on her video while her father and I chatted amiably nearby. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that she seemed a little more intense, a little more "in to it" than most of the other kids had been.
After a few minutes she was ready to show us her creation. And for the rest of the day people were pulling their friends and relatives from across the crowded e... more »

2013-06-17 20:58:10 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 17 +1s)
First Posts Ever on Major Web Sites
They say you always remember your first....
This site shows you the first ever post or product on a bunch of the biggest most famous sites on the web.
What was the first YouTube video uploaded?
What was the first question asked on Quora?
What was the first thing posted on Reddit?
Those answers and plenty more at this intriguing site!

2013-06-17 20:45:52 (1 comments, 5 reshares, 13 +1s)
rel=author vs rel=publisher: When to Use Each
I've noticed time and again that there is rampant confusion about the difference between Author and Publisher verification (rel=author vs. rel=publisher). This post is my attempt to disambiguate the two, and to explain what I think their proper usage is.
Let me know if you have questions, or even disagree with my take!


2013-06-17 15:40:12 (14 comments, 2 reshares, 27 +1s)
Hangout Marketing Secrets - starting in an hour.
Let's talk engagement and author-rank with the one and only +Mark Traphagen and explain why Your Google+ Network is More Powerful than You Think.
Join us here: goo.gl/Yl5P6
----------
#hms #hangoutmarketingsecrets #authorrank #engagement

2013-06-17 12:06:36 (0 comments, 12 reshares, 31 +1s)
Advanced Authorship: The Deep Dive
This post has coverage from +Search Engine Land of the Google Authorship panel on which I participated last week at #SMX Advanced in Seattle, including a summary and list of take-aways from each panelist's presentation.
See (and hear!) my complete presentation "Google+ Profile Page Rank: Is It the Real AuthorRank?" at http://www.slideshare.net/marktraphagen/google-profile-page-rank-the-real-authorrank-smx-advanced-2013-22828686
#smxadvanced #authorship #googleauthorship #authorrank #gplusseo #seo

2013-06-17 11:50:50 (1 comments, 6 reshares, 21 +1s)
rel=author vs rel=publisher: When to Use Each
I've noticed time and again that there is rampant confusion about the difference between Author and Publisher verification (rel=author vs. rel=publisher). This post is my attempt to disambiguate the two, and to explain what I think their proper usage is.
Let me know if you have questions, or even disagree with my take!

2013-06-16 21:49:51 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 51 +1s)
"There is no road too long to the man who advances deliberately and without undue haste; there are no honors too distant to the man who prepares himself for them with patience."
--Jean de la Bruyere


2013-06-16 21:37:48 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 49 +1s)
This is Why We Loved JC Kendall
The man was honest. I will yell science as well JC.


2013-06-15 10:52:36 (12 comments, 6 reshares, 59 +1s)
Why Google+ Is Under No Pressure to Have Ads
Back in December I wrote a post that became more controversial than any Google+-related post I'd ever written: http://www.virante.org/blog/2012/12/21/google-plus-ads-will-there-be-any-what-will-they-look-like/ In it I insisted that it would be a long, long time before we would see any advertising in Google+, and that I believed it quite possible we never would.
Here's a quote from Google's Andy Rubin that I read this morning in the book In the Plex. In context, he was speaking about why Google wasn't charging for the turn-by-turn directions service built into mobile Google Maps, but I believe Google thinks the same way about Google+:
Rubin said, "We don't monetize the thing we create. We monetize the people that use our products. The more that people use our products, the more opportunity we have ... more »

2013-06-15 10:36:47 (13 comments, 23 reshares, 38 +1s)
Authorship or Publisher: Which Is Right for What?
In this article I untangle the confusion around the two ways Google has given us to make verified connections between Google+ and our activity on the web: rel=author ("Authorship") and rel=publisher (verified brand pages).

Buttons
A special service of CircleCount.com is the following button.
The button shows the number of followers you have directly in a small button. You can add this button to your website, like the +1-Button of Google or the Like-Button of Facebook.
You can add this button directly in your website. For more information about the CircleCount Buttons and the description how to add them to another page click here.



