SEO and Social Media

At the bottom of this blog, I was linking to on site pages with nonsense words.  These were completely made up words that have no rankings whatsoever.  I was only using javascript to link to these pages.

callicamally
sporgieborgi
blankimankorati

As an SEO we’re bred to think that javascript is bad. More than 2 years ago Google came out and said they were starting to follow these javascript links. Google knows that to better serve their users, they’re going to have to learn to understand this integrated language. They know not all webmasters are SEOs; in all honesty, I’m sure they don’t want them to be! Since many sites were heavily developed in javascript, especially for dynamic navigations, Google had to overcome.

And they did. The tests in the footer of this site showed it. Not only could Google index my pages that had the anchor text in them, but they could also index the thin destination pages. And they did so within 3 hours! Hey, they did say they’re obsessed with speed this year.

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The Simple Experiment

I tried:

<a href=”javascript:var handle=window.open(‘http://www.greenlaneseo.com/temp/test.html’)”>callicamally</a>

Success!

I also tried:

<script type=”text/javascript”>document.write(“<a href=’http://www.greenlaneseo.com/temp/test2.html‘>sporgieborgi</a>”);</script>

Success!

Finally I tried:

<script type=”text/javascript”>var str = “blankimankorati”;document.write(str.link(“http://www.greenlaneseo.com/temp/test3.html“));</script>

Again, Success! I’m pretty satisfied with Google here. Bing and Yahoo? Not so much – they were only able to index the page with the anchor text. And even then, not every time.  But they never claimed to be able to (that I’m aware of).

Now this isn’t surprising to some groups of SEOs, but it really is interesting how often I still hear old SEO recommendations as being critical today.  Granted, this test isn’t exhaustive (the actual PageRank associated through JS links wasn’t tested – just crawlability), but it’s valid.  I think some SEOs really need to get caught up to Google, and start implementing what really matters – user value, context, authority, recommendation, and community.  Whatever you want to call it (SEO 2.0 or not), the wave is starting to build right now – get in front of it, and down shift on the old school SEO tactics.

Popularity: 14% [?]

I’m fascinated with Domino’s new campaign. The Crispin Porter & Bogusky backed push confronts – in an entirely public forum – their customer’s disdain for Domino’s Pizza. Brave move. Most companies who spend the time to learn what customers are saying, tend to keep this under wraps. Emails marked “confidential” start flying! But Domino’s are attempting to use it to their advantage.

This is a very social media thing to do. I think you should be doing this in the social world. It is, after all, still marketing.

The new world media gives businesses a face (if you didn’t create a face for your business in 2009, you’re already a year behind). This year I truly believe it’s about practicing your communication skills. When you’re writing your emails to your friends and colleagues, think about whether you can share it with your consumers. Does what you’re saying feed into the big picture? It’s probably valuable enough to have inspired you to write it – so should you share it? Possibly. That’s what your social consumers want from you anyway. They want to know how you feel about a market trend. They want to know if you have a plan. They want to know, well, if you realize your pizza sucks.

Popularity: 4% [?]

How do you SEO a vending machine?  Turn it into a shopping mall.  Don’t just think of your ecommerce site as a shopping cart and content management tool – think of it as an experience for your customers.  Think of it as an establishment for your customers to find product information, lifestyle information, and learn a few things.  Think of it as a vessel for connecting customers with human beings – I don’t mean just through technology like IM, but via the content your writers produce.  When I think of sites that do it right, I think of sites that aren’t offer me choice.  They cross-sell without hesitation, but in a way that is useful and relevant.  They aren’t afraid to let me know what products don’t sell well, or get negatively reviewed.  They actually tell me what alternatives I might like instead.  They encourage me to come back with the size of their site, but with a comfortable navigation that gives me confidence in my next shopping experience.  They’re not afraid to link out to other sources if they don’t have the answer – even if it’s a competitor.  Search engines look at all this as customer value.  These are the sites they want to serve.

Which retailers am I talking about?  Well, three years ago I would have said Amazon.  Now, since I’ve become an almost complete online shopper (yes – I do my grocery shopping online), I’m noticing a lot more great retailers kicking up their experience.  Zappos, Barnes & Nobles, and Overstock are a few I hit lately.  There’s plenty more.

So this is a simple post with a simple message.  I like analogies.  I think they go a long way.  Ask yourself – is your site a vending machine?  If so, how are you going to change that?  If you don’t have the real estate on your machine now, build it.  Don’t worry so much about putting ROI to it – a lot of times that discourages a chance to really grow, despite how ’sensible’ and safe you think your paranoia is.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Oh no – not another guy trying to create another marketing acronym!

Well, I care less about the acronym and the ‘coolness’ of labeling something, as I do the real principal behind what it is.  As an SEO who came up with it for 10 years, I’ve realized I’ve taken a different path than many.  I don’t get excited by the algorithm manipulations anymore.  I don’t really get involved in the forum arguments on SEO minutia.  I started my professional life as a marketing guy, in love with the art of thought and context, and somehow deviated into web and graphic design.  SEO was a chance to connect it all together.  Now I think I’ve changed in the same direction that search engines changed (or will continue to change).  It’s not about “original content” as much as it’s about “original, valid, creative, editorial content with a purpose.”

Algorithms are headed in the direction of trust, reputation, and influence.  Google wants to rank pages based on the way people would rank them if asked.  Of course, there’s no way every human to assist Google on the billion of pages, so Google’s algorithms will have to grow.  And based on the progress (and patented algorithms) we’ve seen in the last year or two, it’s really likely that they’ll get closer to achieving that goal.  Is SEO dead?  The odds of it dying are as likely as search dying – nada.  It will just change, even if it means another acronym.

Searchable Content Optimization = Marketing

If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say it at all.  Don’t create noise.  There’s enough of that.  But if you have a passion and a purpose, sing it from the rooftops.  Defend it like it’s your child.  Specialize in your vertical, and be an authority.  Care less about the algorithm and more about your niche and the people you can connect with.  Make the content easily available.  Make it readable and crawlable (= searchable), and groom it to be your voice.  Then, market the hell out of that content.  Set it to the top of your hierarchy and speak to it from your other pages, other venues, other channels.

For me, SEO is art.  And for me, in 2010, it is more art than science.  The split is now flattening in my opinion.  And if I had to pick an area to focus solely on, this would be it.

Popularity: 1% [?]