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Introducing Shakespeare Would you say Shakespeare needs no introduction? You would be wrong.  Most of us really do not know Shakespeare. Those who have read the abridged versions of his stories, definitely, cannot claim to know...

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Salads for every season; every reason Salads are not just health food.  They are healthy food.  Salads should form a part of at least one meal a day. You can toss up interestingly arranged, tasty salads in a few minutes! Invite friends...

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Places to see in Central Delhi: Humayun's Tomb Humayun's tomb is often referred to as the red stone version of the Taj Mahal. It preceedes the Taj Mahal and was the source of its inspiration.  The tomb was built in 1562 by Hamida Banu Begum the wife...

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Luyten's Delhi Having dwelt acidically on the state of preparedness for the commonwealth games and the unabating optimism of the Indian, I would like to make some amends. While the picture painted by me in the earlier...

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Athithi devo Bhava: The visitor is God... If you are tired of the phrase "Athithi Devo Bhava", you are a new age Indian. You are highly westernized and proud of it.  So, Amir Khan's campaign must irritate you no end. But, I have noticed that...

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A googly or a google?

Category : Content Marketing, Defining Content, Information highway, Keyword search, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, Types of content

Wordnet describes “googly” as a cricket ball bowled as if to break one way that actually breaks in the opposite way. “Google” of course is a search engine that throws up googly’s when one searches for something! Puns apart, all search engines do that.

Why is that so?  Search engines are after all computer programs. You need to create databases and databases means records of something. So search engines create data bases of frequently searched words and match them with websites in which these words occur. They also create databases of links that connect  or from one site to another. When a user types a keyword, the database is searched and results are produced. When ranking sites access a website, they check the number of links to the site or from a site from the database and award the ranks. Hence, it is not surprising that a new world of commerce has grown around search engine optimization and link building!

But what about the googlies? I thought we were talking about search engine googlies! Yes we are. However, if you look deep into the issue you will find that it is not the search engines that make the googlies but the site owners who force search engines to produce the googles that visitors see! How?

Many site owners set out to improve page rankings for their site by ensuring that their sites are search engine optimized. Of course, they do not make a fetish of providing their visitors with information or knowledge in the process. They include the keywords in image descriptions, title of the page and scatter the keywords in sufficient percentage to ensure that search engines are hoodwinked into thinking that the site is relevant to the keyword. After all search is a computer program and the law of garbage in garbage out never changed since the introduction of the computer.

These site owners also love article directories. They will buy or create quantities of articles that are qualitatively poor but provide links back to their sites to make sure Alexa and other similar sites rank them high because of the number of incoming links to the site.  While this is cheating for links, how does it matter?

In the circumstances it is not surprising that “searchers” experience the “goglies” when they search for relevant information.  What is your experience? Do you get googlies when you google? Come share it with us!

What is the true name of the game?

Category : Communication, Content Marketing, Defining Content, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, Types of content, social media, social media marketing, website content

cyber-warIf you are a fan of fantasy fiction, you must have read “The Inheritance Triology”.  The characters in the book are extremely anxious that no one guesses their true name. The true name is nowhere defined, but one can infer that the true name is the real essence of the person and it can be figured out by people who know the innermost thoughts of the individual.  If you know the true name of a person, you can have complete control over his thoughts and actions!

Perhaps the characters in the novel would be amazed if they were to encounter the techies and consultants of today who are struggling to guess the “true name” of websites!  Is this a game for better control of business or……… what?

It is clear that the players of the game “Web Presence” begin with a well defined  set of rules. The rules fall into neat categories–Search Engine optimization, Search engine marketing, Keyword optimized content, link building, Page ranks, site scores, Partnering, affiliating and so on.  Each rule based evaluation produces a tally. The tally and subsequent rank, marks the extent of control or lack of control.

The contest–as usual–is with the opponent–your competition (such fierce competition at that!) to grab positions (page ranks, incoming links etc) and seize assets (keywords, traffic) and wage cyber wars for a variety of reasons–sometimes based on rules and sometimes lawlessly (if you consider the hackers, virus producers etc). The “web presence” or “true name” will also be determined by how effectively and efficiently you win the cyber wars and stand terrorizing the attackers.

On the stands are the hordes of spectators who watch the game and influence it. These are the poeople who blog, twitter, forum or socialize and create the traffic to the site and also discuss among themselves about the merits of the site (with or without reference to the tally). These are people who have something to say about what intersts them and what the “true name” should be.

Ultimately, getting at the “true name” may well prove to be too much to “bite off” and chew….

So, what is your take on that?

License to drive

Category : Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, Types of content, social media marketing, website content

trafficJust putting up a showroom or creating a website will not bring your customers to you. It is just like acquiring a license to drive without actually driving in traffic! Online marketing like offline marketing requires a lot of effort and persistence. Here are a few trips to make your online marketing a success.

Search engine optimization or SEO is the prime mover.  This is because people normally reach your web page via search engines. Search engines need to index your pages on the basis of keywords and their density/frequency on your page.  Your content needs to be search engine optimized so that search engines will rank your page higher than that of your competitors. The best part of this process is that it is FREE. All you need to do is make sure your content displays the keywords in sufficient and meaningful regularity.seo-top-of-google-results

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is all about tidying up the website and filling out appropriate forms that search engine crawlers can use to identify context and reward it with a high page rank. Of course, this requires you to invest time and money and you need to ensure that your advertisements are placed in the right pages on the right sites.  You also pay to ensure that your advertisements are displayed on relevant search queries and you again pay if someone clicks through the advertisement to your site.

Blogs and online content can be a marketing tool if you know how to exploit its potential. The bottom line is that you will have to blog everyday to attract visitors to your site via the blog. You can use your blog to publish content on the web that is replete with the pertinent keywords and score on SEO. Blogs also develop an online community that is entirely based on the content you display and the product you are marketing.

Social Media marketing is the new mantra of the decade.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Digg help in developing a strong social network that can be exploited for business gains. It also helps to develop an intimate relationship with your customers and readers.

Email marketing is another effective method of reaching out to customers. These marketing campaigns are easy to create and almost free. However, one must be cautious in the use of this tool. It can backfire. It can be treated as spam and your site can be black listed for generating spam!

So if you have acquired the license to drive, it is time to learn how to drive!

Sourcing Content Optimized For Search Engines

Category : Defining Content

Every good website strives for great content and a clean design. However, the key difference between a good website with a large number of visitors and a good website with just a few visitors is how high they show up on search engines.  Search engine optimization or SEO as it is commonly known is not as straight forward as creating a website. There are several tools that help create a website quickly and easily,  but finding content that fills up the pages is another ball game altogether. Branded content that is unique, original and absolutely owned by you must be sourced to get you the returns on investment.

There are two ways of drawing traffic. One is directly through search results (called organic search results) and the other is through advertising (called sponsored links). Every website would like to draw their traffic using the former as nothing can beat its price tag – free.

Let us quickly look at the various factors which govern a search engine optimized website. The phrase “Content is King” never held truer. By having relevant content, which includes frequently searched key words and adding the appropriate tags to a post will ensure steady traffic in the long run.  Cross linking pages from the same website and linking to other websites and having other websites link to your site will also help the website gain higher rankings in search engines.

If you are considering outsourcing your content, a good idea is to do it right in the beginning as it will help your website at the inception.  Like any other important project, it is of course important to check the firm’s history to ensure that it is well reputed and has plenty of experience in its field.  Check with other clients that the firm has worked for and ensure that you get the maximum bang for your buck. Brand is the key!

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