CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-17 21:29:37 (6 comments, 4 reshares, 52 +1s)

Docking in Skagway this morning.

2013-05-17 21:21:33 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

First house in Skagway Alaska. Once the gold rushers got here, he was able to upgrade ;-)

2013-05-17 14:52:22 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 41 +1s)

True Story

2013-05-17 14:47:35 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 54 +1s)

Just docked in Skagway, Alaska. This is our last port of call. Saturday and Sunday we'll tour two glacier bays from our ship, then dock in Whittier Bay near Anchorage.

Next week Karyn and I will be at a remote lodge at the end of the Kenai Peninsula

2013-05-15 21:18:07 (28 comments, 3 reshares, 49 +1s)

Ketchikan Alaska

We're at our first port of call on our Alaska Inside Passage cruise, and the first time I've had 3G in four days. So here's a fee photos from this very Alaskan little town.

Tomorrow Juneau, then Skagway, the two days cruising through two of the largest glacier fields before docking Monday near Anchorage.

2013-05-08 12:08:55 (7 comments, 11 reshares, 28 +1s)

Version 1.4 is out now! Grab it while its hot :) Update include options to reorder the tabs and choose what one is default now. Among other bug fixes and updates.

2013-05-07 19:17:43 (12 comments, 15 reshares, 43 +1s)

Confirmed: Google Authorship for Slideshare Profiles

A couple of months ago I had remarked that I'd seen an Authorship rich snippet for one of my Slideshare.net decks for a few days in Google SERPs. At the time I thought it was just an experiment by Google, as it didn't verify in the Structured Data Testing Tool. 

But today not only do I see the Authorship snippet, but it also verifies in the SDTT as having Authorship markup! Here's what you need to qualify:

1. Make your Google+ profile URL (with ?rel=author appended immediately to the end, no space) the visible website for your Slideshare.net profile.

2. Link back to your Slideshare.net profile in the Contributor To section of your Google+ profile.

That's it! (As with all rich snippet results, remember Google decides according to its own algorithm when they show and for whom.... more »

2013-05-07 18:32:10 (27 comments, 92 reshares, 86 +1s)

Confirmed: Google Authorship for Slideshare Profiles

A couple of months ago I had remarked that I'd seen an Authorship rich snippet for one of my Slideshare.net decks for a few days in Google SERPs. At the time I thought it was just an experiment by Google, as it didn't verify in the Structured Data Testing Tool. 

But today not only do I see the Authorship snippet, but it also verifies in the SDTT as having Authorship markup! Here's what you need to qualify:

1. Make your Google+ profile URL (with ?rel=author appended immediately to the end, no space) the visible website for your Slideshare.net profile.

2. Link back to your Slideshare.net profile in the Contributor To section of your Google+ profile.

That's it! (As with all rich snippet results, remember Google decides according to its own algorithm when they show and for whom.... more »

2013-05-07 17:53:05 (10 comments, 10 reshares, 25 +1s)

Can I speak with the owner, please?

Have you ever tried cold calling to generate business? It's an excruciating task! Calling businesses and asking to talk to the owner, sometimes without knowing their name, and always trying to get past the "gatekeeper." It's a failure rate that makes even the most seasoned sales professionals cry themselves to sleep. And yet, salespeople continue to pound the phones!

Fortunately, there is a better way!

Businesses can leverage Social Media and Inbound Marketing to connect with other business owners and generate leads in a much more organic and stress-free way. In today's blog post, I put the spotlight on those that are using LinkedIn incorrectly, and suggest 5 ways that you can use LinkedIn differently to gain more prospects.

1. Introduce Yourself
2. Don't Focus on Selling
3. OfferE... more »

2013-05-07 17:50:27 (5 comments, 7 reshares, 28 +1s)

Building Authority with Google+

Here's the audio I recorded with the talented interviewer +Ryan Hanley on his Content Warfare podcast. Ryan is one of those naturals who knows how to draw out the best stuff from the people he talks with. I'm not at all surprised to see that his show is rapidly shooting up the iTunes charts for "content marketing."

We cover:
<> Why businesses should invest time in Google+
<> How Google+ contributes to a content marketing strategy
<> The importance of Google Authorship to content marketers
<> What "Author Rank" is and isn't, and the impact on Google search results now

2013-05-07 14:18:05 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Only TWO ONE SPOT LEFT for my very-hands-on class this Thursday morning at +Virante Search Marketing's Morrisville offices, just off I-40 near Raleigh. This class will give you EVERYTHING you need to be more than up-and-running on Google+ for your and/or your business. 

Why bother with Google+?

<> My current clients are blown away by the opportunities to connect with NEW customers and prospects they wouldn't find anywhere else.
<> The ability to increase your reach on Google Search (and I have PROVEN methods to do that!) is stunning. Search is where you need to have presence; it's where people who don't know you yet are looking for you.

Be AHEAD of your competition for once. Grab one of those last two spots TODAY!

2013-05-06 16:26:31 (3 comments, 17 reshares, 35 +1s)

Blog Post Google Ranking: How to Move Your Posts Up in Search

These 6 simple steps can give your blog posts a much better chance of showing up in Google search and ranking well:

1. Tweak your page title
2. Repurpose your content (especially on Slideshare)
3. Optimize your images
4. Improve your internal linking
5. Get external links to the post
6. Share your post on Google+

2013-05-06 16:10:33 (5 comments, 33 reshares, 12 +1s)

Blog Post Google Ranking: How to Move Your Posts Up in Search

These 6 simple steps can give your blog posts a much better chance of showing up in Google search and ranking well:

1. Tweak your page title
2. Repurpose your content (especially on Slideshare)
3. Optimize your images
4. Improve your internal linking
5. Get external links to the post
6. Share your post on Google+

2013-05-06 15:05:03 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 14 +1s)

Getting Started With Google+ Class

Only 2 spots left for this intensive, three-hour plus, hands-on class that will have you or your business not only "up and running" on Google+, but operating like a power user.

Recognized top Google+ expert +Mark Traphagen (over 40,000 followers on G+) will guide 8 individuals through every step, from setting up optimized profiles, pages, and communities, to the best practices that build an influential following and increase your reach.

This is not a lecture! Participants are encouraged to bring their laptops as Mark will be digging in with them to give them highly personalized instruction they can put into action on the spot. Each participant will leave at the end of the morning with their Google+ account ready for action.

The morning ends with a bonus fourth hour provided lunch where participants... more »

2013-05-06 14:34:30 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

How to Recover from an Unnatural Link Penalty

Excellent step-by-step guide.

2013-05-06 14:27:25 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 23 +1s)

Blue heron in the pond outside +Virante Search Marketing office this morning.

#instagram   #nature   #photography   #birds  

2013-05-04 16:12:50 (5 comments, 13 reshares, 28 +1s)

Google+ Hangouts Update: Remote Desktop Control.

Hangouts Remote Desktop lets you help others by controlling their computer remotely (with their permission, of course). And because you're both in a Hangout, you can talk with and see each other during the session.

HERE'S HOW TO GET IT
Start a new Google+ Hangout
Click View More Apps.
From there, select Add Apps,
then Hangouts Remote Desktop.
Install it and get going.

----------
#hangoutsupdate   #howtohangout   #remotedesktop   #remotesupport   #remotedesktopcontrol   #gplusgotogal  

2013-05-03 15:56:17 (8 comments, 5 reshares, 34 +1s)

Is Google+ the "Creative Class" of social media?

+Jesse Wojdylo draws some interesting analogies in this post, with Facebook being like those classmates from his small, rural town who never left home, and Google+ like those who couldn't wait to break out, see new things, and build a new way for themselves.

2013-05-03 14:10:41 (5 comments, 9 reshares, 24 +1s)

Google+: The Swiss Army Knife of the Evolving Social Web

I had fun spreading the G+ospel at Belmont University tonight to the SEO crowd here in Nashville. Special thanks to +Ross Jones again for the invitation and to +Ted Hogan who snapped the pic.

If you missed tonight's presentation, you can check it out here: http://prezi.com/fnrk6rwh6bba/google-for-seo-presentation/

Side note: +Vic Gundotra & +Dave Besbris: If you're ever hiring an evangelist, let me know!

2013-05-03 13:50:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Celebrate the Day Against DRM

At O'Reilly Media, we've always published our ebooks DRM free, following the advice of Lao Tzu, who said, 2500 years ago, "Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you."

At first, it was pretty lonely out there, but as more and more of our competitors saw how well it was working for us, they agreed to join us, via our digital distribution services.

To make a long story short, in honor of the National day Against DRM, you can take 50% off on thousands of technical ebooks and videos from many top publishers, today only.

2013-05-03 13:58:20 (7 comments, 12 reshares, 29 +1s)

" Inbound is about empathy. It's about creating an experience people love."

- +HubSpot from http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/the-hubspot-culture-code-creating-a-company-we-love

#inboundmarketing  

2013-05-03 11:42:51 (13 comments, 6 reshares, 17 +1s)

Welcome to Friday, friends. See what +Rand Fishkin has to say about why we can't just be SEOs anymore. 

2013-05-03 11:07:11 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Great Video for Small Businesses - Using Content to Boost Your Overall Search Strategy in Google

 1. Plan to spend time building the network around the content as well as the content.
 2.  Be generous.
 3.  Build up other people
 4.  It's not just the numbers - "Not how many - much more important is the who."

Best line of the video "We don't provide paid search for our clients because we don't have to."

Great stuff from +Mark Traphagen and +Todd Hartley 

2013-05-03 15:49:34 (5 comments, 8 reshares, 24 +1s)

Call up to five people from inside Hangouts

We recently made it easier to call someone from a Hangout (http://goo.gl/6vMiS), and starting today, you can have up to five telephone participants (instead of just two)! To give it a try, just click "+ Add Telephone" when inviting someone to your Hangout, then dial their number.

#googleplusupdate

2013-05-03 10:52:39 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 11 +1s)

The Complete Guide to SEO Using Google Plus

Here it is! +martin shervington has produced a mammoth but easy-to-use guide to how Google+ works in conjunction with Google Search to build your search presence and influence.

He carefully indexed hours of video material collected from his interviews with me and +Joshua Berg  and created a series of brief, highly-focused videos around every sub topic we discussed. This is one to bookmark, reference, and share!

(Please help more people to be aware of this resource by upvoting it at Inbound.org. Thanks! http://www.inbound.org/articles/view/the-complete-guide-to-seo-through-google/1)

2013-05-03 10:40:00 (9 comments, 1 reshares, 23 +1s)

The latest +Wolfstar blog post by +Rory Mason: Five great Google Plus experts you should add to your circles featuring +Mark Traphagen +Google Plus Daily +AJ Kohn +martin shervington and +Max Minzer: http://bit.ly/123BKwi

2013-05-02 22:49:18 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Join Mark Traphagen & Todd Hartley to learn how to leverage content marketing to generative business through Google Search.  
http://youtu.be/3vJLYm-l9r0

2013-05-02 22:46:45 (7 comments, 26 reshares, 33 +1s)

Google+ Cheat Sheets

When asked recently about formating text in Google+ a nice cheat sheet occured to me I've seen somewhere here on Google+. I searched 'google+ cheat sheet' on Google+ and got some great results. Here I've collected some of them.

Basics
[1] General formating and posting https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JaanaNystr%C3%B6m/posts/A9FSvWJP2h1
[2] Shortcuts and tips http://www.inquisitr.com/295183/google-cheat-sheet-learn-some-simple-yet-effective-navigation-tips-infographic/
[3] Shortcuts https://plus.google.com/u/0/109164280656499025716/posts/fXmei5LmFQy
[4] Complete cheat sheet for everyday use http://www.bitrebels.com/social/the-complete-google-cheatsheet-infographic/

As even the complete cheat sheet leaves some questions open, here we have some
Specials
[5] Design: Size of photos and thumbnails... more »

2013-05-02 21:10:19 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Join Mark Traphagen & Todd Hartley to learn how to leverage content marketing to generative business through Google Search.  
http://youtu.be/3vJLYm-l9r0

2013-05-02 21:05:31 (6 comments, 8 reshares, 15 +1s)

Google Plus Comment Streams Hack: Post Multiple Comment Streams on Your Site

A very cool hack how-to from +Sean Murray - How to embed side-by-side real-time Google+ comment thread streams on your site so people can see all the discussion about a topic on multiple Google+ threads all at once.

2013-05-02 20:59:49 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

My husband +Jared Bates and me on the scenic railway in Chama NM. This is the only narrow gauge steam engine still running - http://cumbrestoltec.com/ Instant Navigate to the Top of Mountain faster than the Steam Train! >> 37.01997,-106.451345

2013-05-02 15:08:11 (4 comments, 49 reshares, 41 +1s)

The Complete Guide to SEO Using Google Plus

Here it is! +martin shervington has produced a mammoth but easy-to-use guide to how Google+ works in conjunction with Google Search to build your search presence and influence.

He carefully indexed hours of video material collected from his interviews with me and +Joshua Berg  and created a series of brief, highly-focused videos around every sub topic we discussed. This is one to bookmark, reference, and share!

(Please help more people to be aware of this resource by upvoting it at Inbound.org. Thanks! http://www.inbound.org/articles/view/the-complete-guide-to-seo-through-google/1)

2013-05-02 14:13:04 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

I have +Mark Traphagen on the Content Warfare Podcast today to talk all things Google+ and Marketing...

...we got some great questions last week for +Demian Farnworth so I figured I'd try it again.

Who has a great question for Mark?

2013-05-02 12:21:08 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 15 +1s)

Top 10 SEO Rules from Bill Slawski

Great basic tips from +Bill Slawski. If you've done these, you're already way ahead of over 90% of the sites out there.

#seo #seotips

2013-05-02 12:09:40 (43 comments, 1 reshares, 102 +1s)

40,000 Day

Just realized that at some point last night I passed 40,000 followers on Google+.

To each and every one of you, my sincerest thanks for making this the ride of my life. I am deeply moved for your trust in me and what I write here, and it is my mission to always honor that trust: to bring you the most accurate and reliable information I can on the things I write about.

But more than that, I deeply value the dear, very real, friends I have made here. I wouldn't even want to start trying to mention them because of how many I'd leave out, but I do want to give a shout out to my original "posse" here on Google+, who were the first real friends I made here who have become FIRL (Friends In Real Life0 even though I still have not met some of them IRL: +Jesse Wojdylo +Ronnie Bincer +Eli Fennell and +Brian Gundersen.

Also my thanks and... more »

2013-05-02 11:33:33 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

Critics Are Your Last Concern - Seth Godin

"The math is sim­ple: no mat­ter how big a crit­ic's plat­form, what moves mar­kets are con­ver­sa­tions. And we are far more like­ly to have con­ver­sa­tions about some­thing we're rav­ing about than some­thing we didn't like (because when we don't like it, our friends never expe­ri­ence it and the con­ver­sa­tion dies). The win, then, is cre­at­ing raves, not avoid­ing pans."

2013-05-02 11:21:46 (3 comments, 8 reshares, 26 +1s)

What is Social SEO with Google Plus? 
In this video you will an introduction to the potential of Google+ for SEO from +Mark Traphagen and +Joshua Berg.
Including...Search Plus your World, Contacts on Google+ and Gmail.
How it is all about relatable content being shared and people becoming connected through online networking.This is search engine optimization, on steroids...
#seo   #socialseo   #searchengineoptimization  

2013-05-02 11:10:11 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

Kick Ass Copywriting for Your Own Website

We can't all be Norman Mailer, but you don't need to be when writing for the copy on your web site, if you keep a few simple principles in mind:

<> Start with research

<> Nail Down a Unique Selling Proposition and Use it in Your Copy (preferably in your value proposition)

<> Write like a real person

<> Use proper grammar, spelling, and active voice

<> Keep your writing consumer focused

2013-05-02 11:03:57 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 12 +1s)

Kick Ass Copywriting for Your Own Website

We can't all be Norman Mailer, but you don't need to be when writing for the copy on your web site, if you keep a few simple principles in mind:

<> Start with research

<> Nail Down a Unique Selling Proposition and Use it in Your Copy (preferably in your value proposition)

<> Write like a real person

<> Use proper grammar, spelling, and active voice

<> Keep your writing consumer focused

2013-05-02 10:55:40 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

Inbound Marketing Is a Strategy, Not a Tactic

Thought-provoking piece by +Gianluca Fiorelli. He tries to step into the battles over the place of our industry's new(ish) buzz term (inbound marketing) and place other disciplines in its context. He posits that inbound marketing is the strategy that works at the intersection of:

SEO
Content
Social
Analytics

2013-05-02 10:54:53 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 9 +1s)

Inbound Marketing Is a Strategy, Not a Tactic

Thought-provoking piece by +Gianluca Fiorelli. He tries to step into the battles over the place of our industry's new(ish) buzz term (inbound marketing) and place other disciplines in its context. He posits that inbound marketing is the strategy that works at the intersection of:

SEO
Content
Social
Analytics

2013-05-01 16:51:40 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 19 +1s)

Matt Cutts: Just Because Google Has a Patent Don't Assume We're Using It

In today's Webmaster Video Google's anti-spam czar +Matt Cutts finally backs some of us up on a recurring issue that relates to the ongoing "legend" of Author Rank: Google having a patent on something does not necessitate that they currently are or ever will actually use the patented idea or mechanism.

One of the arguments we hear from time to time from those who insist that "Author Rank" is a present reality in the Google Search algorithm is that because Google has the various Agent Rank patents, they must be using them.This is an unwarranted assumption, and reflects a misunderstanding of what patents are for. Inventors or companies sometimes patent an idea they come up with just to protect it from competition (and keep it in their "war chest"), even if they... more »

2013-05-01 16:32:43 (31 comments, 20 reshares, 33 +1s)

Matt Cutts: Just Because Google Has a Patent Don't Assume We're Using It

In today's Webmaster Video Google's anti-spam czar +Matt Cutts finally backs some of us up on a recurring issue that relates to the ongoing "legend" of Author Rank: Google having a patent on something does not necessitate that they currently are or ever will actually use the patented idea or mechanism.

One of the arguments we hear from time to time from those who insist that "Author Rank" is a present reality in the Google Search algorithm is that because Google has the various Agent Rank patents, they must be using them.This is an unwarranted assumption, and reflects a misunderstanding of what patents are for. Inventors or companies sometimes patent an idea they come up with just to protect it from competition (and keep it in their "war chest"), even if they... more »

2013-05-01 11:46:47 (1 comments, 11 reshares, 21 +1s)

If you missed it yesterday, here's my major post covering what we do and don't know about Google Authorship and Author Rank to date.

2013-05-01 11:45:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

More Of Google Plus is Coming To Search

It won't be long now... :) This is for those of you Google Plus people who are tired of ghost town garbage, and can only shake your head at those around you, who can't seem to understand why you ♥ G+ so much... 

Check out this article in the Huffington Post by +Craig Kanalley of how what happens in your google plus account is effecting apps and search...  It's so pretty... 

With glass getting lots of awesome press.. I can't wait to see where Google is taking us next :)

#socialmedia   #technology  

2013-05-01 11:28:35 (10 comments, 16 reshares, 39 +1s)

Sourcing Free to Use Images

Morning all


You can imagine the amount of images a news site needs on a daily basis - purchasing images could lead to hefty £s / $s costs just in image acquisition alone ...!

So, since taking over +imassera one of the key things for me was being able to find images that are freely available to use and modify (even for commercial use). 

And of course this doesn't just affect news sites... but anyone using an image in a blog post or even a post here on G+.

So I thought I'd share how I source images using Google's Advanced Search - which you may or may not know existed:  

Use These Steps

1) Goto http://www.google.com/advanced_search
2) Enter a keyword that's associated with topic of the image you're looking for
3) Go to the last box at the bottom of the'... more »

2013-04-30 23:56:22 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 24 +1s)

Learning about local SEO from +Phil Buckley and +Jeremy Rivera at the Raleigh SEO Meetup (with +Jesse Wojdylo)

#seomeetup

2013-04-30 21:27:18 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 19 +1s)

Join Me & +Mark Traphagen Live at 2:30pm PT / 5:30pm ET To Learn How to Use Content Marketing To Generative Business Through Google
 

2013-04-30 20:50:01 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

How to recover from a Google penalty http://ow.ly/duBaW #seo #penguin #panda RemoveEm can help! http://bit.ly/MeVeb3

2013-04-30 20:27:56 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 14 +1s)

Social Media Quality: Likes & Retweets Don't Mean Nothing

I like this rant by +Jonathan Gebauer. Social "influence" tools like +Klout depend heavily on retweets as a measure of Twitter quality, and Facebook's beta Graph Search leans heavily on Likes as an indication of what should be at the top of your search results.

But is either of these a good indication of quality? I agree with the author: no! 

I wrote about why I think Likes are a terrible signal for a search recommendation engine: http://www.virante.org/blog/2013/01/15/facebook-graph-search-search-quality-and-the-meaning-of-like/