Erik Qualman's Blog, page 560

How Social Media Affects Our Offline Lives

Accounting for 28% of all time spent online, social media is evolving to give us ever increasing ways of engaging with our friends, family and even our favorite brands.

With so much time spent online, what changes can we see in our offline behavior when it comes to traditional forms of communication?

Direct vs Indirect Actions

In order to better look at people’s behavior on social media, researchers in New Zealand studied peoples’ direct and indirect interactions on Facebook. Posting on a friend’s wall, commenting, tagging, liking and messaging were all considered direct actions. Simply reading a friend’s profile or posts was considered an indirect action.

Results found a correlation between a user’s most common types of interactions and their feelings offline. Those with more direct actions recorded greater social bonding and higher self-esteem, but those with a higher number of indirect actions recorded more frequent feelings of alienation and lower self-esteem.

David Russell of Psychology Today said:

“A number of studies suggest that Facebook can be used to strengthen and reinforce distant social connections, while others indicate that the website inflates the number of one’s actual friends and discourages real interaction.”

With the average adult Facebook user having three hundred and thirty eight friends, it can seem very easy for users to become more passive in their interactions.

Letter Writing

One area we can see social media having a definite effect on is in the field of letter writing. A study into the amount of letters being written across the UK found 64% of people don’t write any letters throughout the course of a year, and those that do average just one letter a month.

The amount of tweets being sent outnumbers the amount of letters being sent at a rate of sixteen to one, with some cities hitting as high as forty-two tweets for every letter. Despite this, 69% of people still chose letter writing as their most meaningful form of communication, with just 2% opting for tweets.

It isn’t hard to see why letter writing is diminishing when a third of people know only 5% of their friends’ addresses. Even when acknowledging that letters mean more to them, people still opt for the immediacy and ease of electronic methods. Home addresses have gone the way of landline telephone numbers, as a quarter of people in the UK don’t know their own home phone number, and more than half only have a landline so they can connect to the internet.

Abbreviations and Spelling

One of the reasons often cited for social media’s popularity is its speed. Messages are sent and received instantly, and Instagram encourages both frequent image posting and using hashtags to connect with others.

It has been found, however, that this speed can have an effect on people’s spelling ability, as this has bred a culture of widespread acceptance of incorrect spelling variants. According to research from Lucy Jones of the English Spelling Society: “We are now witnessing the effect these linguistic variations are having on children born into the computer age, with such a high level of access in and out of schools. They do not question their existence.”

The acceptance of these variations can lead to deteriorated skills outside of a social media environment. As many as 22% of people wouldn’t be confident writing an important document without the aid of a spell-checker.

Social media has affected our offline lives in a variety of ways. From moving away from putting pen to paper in favor of using our touch pads and fundamentally changing how we approach language, there are certain situations in which online communication appears to be dominating. Are these simply changes that have risen from social media’s increasing prominence, or hints at underlying problems in the way we communicate online? Only time will tell.

 

Photo credit: Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

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Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge Have Arrived

Samsung finally revealed their new smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Image from Samsung

Here is what Bonnie Cha from Re/code had to say about Samsung’s newest release:

Design

Both smartphones now feature designs that use high-quality materials rather than plastic and fake leather. Specifically, the Galaxy S6 models have a glass body and metal frame. It’s hard to notice a difference between the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S 5 at a glance. But you definitely feel the difference once you hold the phone in your hand. It finally has a premium design befitting of its flagship status and price tag.

The screen size hasn’t changed from last year’s model at 5.1 inches, but it does get a bump in resolution from 1,920 by 1,080 pixels to 2,560 by 1,440 pixels. According to Samsung, it’s 25 percent brighter than the Galaxy S 5’s display, and offers better outdoor visibility.

The biggest difference between the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge is that the latter’s display curves and wraps around the left and right sides of the phone. This isn’t just for looks. The curved portion acts as a secondary display where you can view notifications and launch applications with one hand.

It’s similar to the Galaxy Note Edge, which I reviewed a few months ago. But now, lefties no longer have to rotate the phone 180 degrees to use the curved display. Also, there’s a new feature that lets you add your favorite contacts to the secondary display for quick access.

To match the physical design, Samsung also worked to simplify the user interface. The Galaxy S6 models still run Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface over Google’s Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, but the company said it streamlined the features by 40 percent over previous models.

Camera

Both phones have a 16-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing five megapixel camera, with a new f1.9 lens that promises better low-light performance. There are also some enhancements to the camera app. A new auto real-HDR feature will automatically turn on HDR when necessary. In addition, Samsung brought over the smart optical image stabilization system it introduced on the Galaxy Note 4. This should help reduce any blurriness caused by a shaky hand, and it’s also designed to help capture clearer shots of moving subjects.

Finally, you can now double tap the Home button to launch the camera from any screen, even when the phone is turned off.

Mobile payments

Last month, Samsung acquired a U.S.-based startup called LoopPay to launch a new mobile payments solution to compete with the likes of Apple Pay. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will be the first devices to incorporate that technology, though the feature won’t be available right at launch.

Called Samsung Pay, the technology is based on something called Magnetic Secure Transmission. MST wirelessly transmits the same information stored on your credit card’s magnetic stripe to a store’s pay terminal with a simple tap of your phone. None of your credit card information is stored. Instead, the system uses a tokenization system and requires a fingerprint scan (a fingerprint scanner is built into the Galaxy’s home button) to complete the secure transaction.

Samsung’s sales pitch for using its mobile payment solution is that because the technology is already available on many pay terminals (up to 90 percent in the U.S. market), it can be used in far more stores than Apple Pay or Google Wallet, which use a less prevalent technology called NFC.

As I noted, Samsung Pay won’t be available when the phones launch this spring. Instead, Samsung will release a software update this summer to enable the feature. Also, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will support mobile payments both via MST and NFC.

Other hardware changes

As expected, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S Edge use Samsung’s new 14-nanometer mobile processor. Without getting technical, the promise of the new chipset is faster performance and lower power consumption.

Like the Galaxy Note 4, both phones also have Adaptive Fast Charging technology, which helps speed up the charging process. Samsung says using the included quick charge adapter you can get about a 50 percent charge in half an hour, which is 30 percent faster than the Galaxy S 5. They also have built-in support for both the WPC and PMA wireless charging standards.

Some hardware changes that users aren’t going to love? There’s no microSD expansion slot, and the phones are no longer waterproof. Also, the battery is no longer user replaceable.

Availability and pricing

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will be available in the U.S. this April. AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon Wireless will offer both phones, while smaller regional carriers like Boost Mobile and MetroPCS will carry the Galaxy S6. The phones will come in white, black and gold. In addition, the Galaxy S6 will come in a blue topaz color, while there will be an emerald green option for the Galaxy S6 Edge. Pricing was not announced at this time.

 

Article by Bonnie Cha from recode.net

 

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

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9 Tools That Can Make Your Social Media Marketing Much Easier

Social media marketing has become a very important aspect of marketing in the world of today. You cannot even imagine gaining any traffic to your website without having a proper social media marketing plan. However, making this plan is not that easy. There are a number of things to consider and various aspects to analyze, but there are some tools that can make it a lot easier for you to plan and execute your social media marketing campaigns much more easily. The following are 9 such tools that can make social media marketing a piece of cake for you.

Writing Tools

In order to develop great social media marketing campaigns, you will require creatively written content as well. This task can be accomplished by making use of the following writing tools that will help you in coming up great content for you blog posts.

Quabel: It is an online word text editor that is completely free of the bells and whistles that are a common aspect of other such programs.

Essaymama: Essaymama.com is a writing service that can provide you with great articles and essays on the topics that you have provided written by experience and qualified writers.

Research Tools

Research is crucial for a successful social media marketing campaign. There are a number of research tools available on the internet that can help you in coming up with new ideas and topics for you from a variety of sources.

InboxQ: This tool is going to help you in coming up with interesting topics for your blog posts.

The Content Idea Generator (v2): It will automatically find stories and news related to your blog posts from a variety of sources.

Google Trends: This tool offers you the chance to get to know about the queries that the people are making on Google.

Portent: It is a tool that is going to provide you help in terms of writing engaging titles for your blog posts.

Plagiarism and Grammar Checking Tools

Plagiarism and poor grammar are two aspects which can ruin even the prefect blog post and tarnish your reputation. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you ensure that your blog posts are plagiarism-free and do not contain any kind of grammar errors. The following tools are going to help you in accomplishing this task.

CopyScape: It is a plagiarism checking tool which can tell whether the content you have been provided with or have written yourself has been copied from another website on the internet or not.

GoProofReading: It is an online editing and proofreading service where you can hire an expert to edit or proofead your content.

Grammarly: It is a grammar checking tool which makes sure that there are no grammatical mistakes in your blog post.

Email Tools

Although email is a slightly old fashioned marketing method, it is the most effective one to date. Every successful social media marketing campaign requires the use of email tools that can help in getting the message across to those people who are still using emails for correspondence.

Rapportive: It is a tool that can provide you information about your contacts from all over the internet in your inbox.

 Boomerang for Gmail: It is an excellent tool that can help you in scheduling your mail. It makes you the in charge of deciding when you want to send and receive e-mails.

Design Tools

The design of the different elements of the blog post and the images that you use in it can have a very profound impact on the success or failure of the social media marketing campaign. Therefore, making use of the following design tools is something that you must consider doing.

ThingLink: It is a tool that is used for embedding content within the images that you have identified to be used in your blog posts.

Canva: This tool can give you the chance to come up with customized design for your blog posts.

PicMonkey: It is a multi-purpose tool that is a photo-editor and gives you the opportunity to create customized design, collages and graphics.

Infographics Tools

Infographics have become a popular means of providing information to the people. The use of images and data goes along spectacularly well and engages the viewers like nothing else does. You can come up with creative infographics of your own by making use of the following tools.

Piktochart: It is a great tool that can help you in creating infographics even if you are a novice and have never made an infographic before in your life.

Screenshots Tools

The old adage “seeing is believing” is true for social media marketing campaigns. Since human mind remembers visual information for a longer period of time than textual information, it is important for brands to have screenshots on the blogs to have a better impact on the minds of the consumers.

Jing: It is the best tool for creating screenshots as well as videos.

Awesome Screenshot: It is another simple and easy-to-use tool for creating screenshots.

Monosnap: A screenshot-creating tool which is equipped with a number of great features.

Formatting Tools

Formatting of the blog post is also extremely important for the success of a social media marketing campaign. This includes the use of the right fonts, font size and html optimized content for each of your blog posts.

HTML Link Generator: This tool provides you the chance to come up with html optimized content in an easy way.

Notepad ++: It is a source code that can help you in editing the source codes of your blog posts.

Firebug: It is a plug-in which gives you the opportunity to view the code of any page.

Managing and Organizing Tools

Every social media marketing campaign generates a great deal of ideas and files which have to be properly managed and organized. In order to do this, you will have to make use of the following managing and organizing tools.

Evernote: A tool which allows you to view your notes across all of your devices.

Dropbox: A tool which makes it possible for you to have all the files available on every one of your devices.

What tools do you use for Social Media? Share in comments!

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Happy Hours Are All About Socializing

Roughly 75 percent of American adults use social networking sites.

Worldwide, one in four people use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with family and friends, find jobs and keep up with the latest news and gossip.

Restaurants and bars should be getting on board with the social trend, as they can greatly increase their customer base by being active on a variety of social platforms.

Restaurants and bars that offer a happy hour have even more of an advantage by being on social media.

Social media is mostly used by millennials and happy hour is most frequented by millennials, making it the perfect way to advertise to your target market.

McDonald’s, for example, has proven the effects of social media advertising to the younger generation. The fast food chain consistently ranks highest in sales and while part of that is due to the number of locations, the other part is due to their strategic advertising methods.

How Restaurants Can Use Social Media

First, your establishment needs to have a fully-functioning website in addition to social media pages on the biggest platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google Plus.

Once your accounts are set up, you can begin your marketing strategy, which includes:

Showcase your mouth-watering menu items – If you want to get customers into your restaurant, you need to show them what they want to see – your food. Take high-quality images and display them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In fact, the most shared photos on Facebook are of images, so don’t miss out on this huge marketing opportunity.
Offer deals and discounts – When choosing a restaurant, most people take price into consideration. If your restaurant offers a happy hour, share the discounts on your social media pages. You can even take it one step further and offer an additional discount to customers who Tweet about your restaurant or check-in using Foursquare.
Think outside the box – Consider making photo collages of your happy hour deals to showcase them in one, all-encompassing photo. As the following article looks at, you could make an infographic on a specialty item, such as The Construction of American Food: Buffalo Wings did. Eye-catching, simple designs are certain to get the attention of customers via social media.
Engage with your clients – Social media is all about networking and connecting with your customer base. If a customer asks a question via Twitter, respond immediately. If someone complains about your business on Facebook, do your best to resolve the issue and offer a free meal for returning. The more social you are with customers, the more your business will grow.

More and more people are turning to social media when it comes to choosing a happy hour hang-out with friends, co-workers and family.

If a Facebook friend recently raved about a new local hotspot, there’s a good chance that particular establishment will get more customers in their door.

On the other end of the spectrum, if a customer were to share a poor review with their followers, the restaurant or bar will see less business.

Social media is affecting sales at a notable rate, and restaurants and bars offering happy hour need to be actively engaged in what people are saying.

If they are, it could be happy times for all.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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How Businesses Can Utilize Google Hangout

When a business gets engaged with social media, there are a lot of aspects to it. A strategy can consist of tweets on Twitter, posts on Facebook and videos on YouTube. It also may want to include a Google Hangout in that strategy.

Google Hangouts, part of the Google Plus array of products is a free, streaming video tool that is easy to use, and can be setup within seconds on a computer or mobile device.

While Google Hangouts have many practical purposes such as video conference calls with colleagues, clients and vendors it can also have a lot of marketing potential.  Here are a few ways it can be utilized:

Create Marketing Videos. Google Hangouts don’t have to be live videos. Within them you can record a meeting or presentation and then easily share the video on your YouTube channel or company blog. Remember, content is king, and this a great way to generate content.


Use It To Become An Authority On A Subject. While Facebook and LinkedIn Groups are great tools to showcase your opinion or provide advice on a topic related to your industry, a Google Hangout is a way to humanize your authority on that subject even further by putting video and a face behind the conversation, not just text and photos.


As A Customer Service Tool. A Google Hangout can also be utilized to handle customer/technical support in real-time. By marketing that you are available at anytime via a real person on Google Hangout, can definitely add trust within your customer base, as this is just another real-time option for them to get support or help.


As a Promotional Tool. Besides having new content for your blog or YouTube Channel, A Google Hangout is a great tool not just to promote your products or services, but also your overall brand and industry. Similar to a Podcast, creating a Hangout on a regular basis will turn your company into a library of videos on a topic related to your business.  If then optimized properly, this mix of education and promotional videos can help with your Google ranking on specific keywords and terms.

Hangouts are a great way to gain search engine visibility within Google’s universal search engine reach. Don’t overlook them, as it can become a very powerful marketing tool for your business in just a short period of time.

 

 

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5 Tips for Expanding Social Media Retail Strategies

This week I got to talk to Collin, the VP of Products and Marketing at YouEye. YouEye is an agile research agency that uses a behavioral analytics platform to discover tips driven from research. Collin shared with me these 5 tips for expanding social media retail strategies.

1) Promote Digital Offers

Paid advertising on social media is an easy way to eat away at profit margins. Because of this, retailers should use social media without the paid advertising.  Companies can use their social media sites to promote offers that customers would not know about otherwise. Having digital offers shows that you are able to have a social media presence but also get people in your store to shop. In order to have customers understand the relationship between digital ads and in-store purchases instead of offering a 20% off through an online only deal, use your social media to post an offer such as the customer gets 20% off when they shop with a friend.  This gets customers looking on your social media for deals while also shopping at your store.

2) Integrate Social Into Reviews

The typical review on a website is a 5 star rating with comments from the user. In order to allow for reviews to be more social, companies have introduced new ways for customers to review their products. Outdoor clothing retailer, backcountry.com, allows users to ‘like’ other reviews, upload photos and share videos in their reviews. This organic social proof is more effective than the typical 5 star rating and comment. From this we see that e-commerce is driving innovation and social media.

Image from backcountry.com
3) Incorporate Social Media Data Into Recommendation Engines

Websites rely on the e-commerce backend to assess the purchases that people make. YouEye found that companies should leverage their trends on social media onto all social media fronts. For example, if customers are liking and sharing your Facebook posts, don’t just leave that momentum on Facebook take it to your other social media sites and leverage on your digital storefront as well.

4) Talk to Competitors Customers

E-commerce has shown success in engaging not only current customers but competitors customers as well. In industries who have a few dominant players such as cell phones, finance and cable, looking out on social media for complaints from competitors customers and replying with a response about how your company can help has shown high engagement rates. It is often a hassle for customers to leave their bank even though they may not be happy with if they receive a tweet from one of their banks competitors that may give them the reassurance they need.

5) Leverage UI and UX Design to Create Social Shopping

During a study of e-commerce in East Asia Pacific, research showed that the e-commerce growth in Singapore is lagging. For what is one of the richest countries this seems off. When looking at the market research for why this is the case it was found that the biggest driver of in-store shopping is the social experience. People tend to buy more when they are shopping with friends rather than shopping online in-store or online. Because this is the case, there is a huge opportunity for e-commerce retailers to figure out how to create a collaborative shopping on a digital storefront.

Companies are spending too much of their time trying to leverage social media rather than their digital storefront. By dedicating more research and development into the social experience on a digital storefront, companies have a chance to take part in the next big thing.

Thanks to Collin and YouEye for the tips!
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Facebook now allows you to describe your gender

CNET – Facebook members can now use any terms they wish to describe their gender.

Announced Thursday on a Facebook Diversity post, the new option lets you add a customized description to your profile if you feel that one of the predefined terms doesn’t accurately describe your gender. Previously, Facebook limited you to certain choices beyond “male” and “female,” such as “transsexual” or “transgender.” But now the gender field is free-form, so you can type anything you wish.

Identifying or changing your listed gender is simple enough to do. On your Facebook page, click the link to Edit Profile under your name and photo. In the About section on your Edit Profile page, click the link for Contact and Basic Info. On the right, hover over the Gender field under Basic Information and click the Edit link. Then click the Gender dropdown box. You can choose Female, Male or Custom. Choosing Custom gives you the opportunity to type your own term for your gender.

You can also decide which pronoun you’d like others to use when they contact you: him, her or them. You can also make your gender public or share it just with certain people, such as friends or friends of friends. And you can choose whether to display your gender on your Facebook timeline.

As Facebook describes the new change:

 ”Now, if you do not identify with the pre-populated list of gender identities, you are able to add your own. As before, you can add up to ten gender terms and also have the ability to control the audience with whom you would like to share your custom gender. We recognize that some people face challenges sharing their true gender identity with others, and this setting gives people the ability to express themselves in an authentic way.”

For now, the custom gender option is available only to Facebook users in US English.

This latest move is part of Facebook’s attempt to create a more user-friendly site for members of the LGBT community. At the same time, the social network has faced complaints from gay rights activists over its real-name policy, which required you to use your birth name to identify yourself in your profile. Last year, the company tweaked its guidelines by adding an “authentic name” policy, which asks you to use the name you use in real life, not necessarily your legal name.

Article by Lance Whitney from cnet.com

Thumbnail from shutterstock.com

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5 Things Your Financial Provider Shares on Social Media

Sometimes meeting with your financial or retirement advisor is a lot like going to the dentist. You know it’s good for you, you know in the long run you’ll be happy you do it, but in the moment you dread it because of the costs (like projected ones!) and it seems like just another chore to struggle through. There’s no doubt about it: Planning for retirement and keeping on top of 401(K)s and other tools is a necessity. However, did you know following financial providers on social media is a more engaging way to stay on top of your needs?

A good financial provider with social media savvy will know that this is a platform to engage, educate/entertain (in equal parts), and where you can enjoy bite-sized nuggets of relevant information that’s easy to digest. Plus, with the anonymity of the screen, you’re more likely to ask those “stupid” questions everyone else is wondering about (that aren’t actually stupid at all). Plus, if your advisor is following Forbes’ tips for social media engagement, this can be a great way to kill some time at work, too!

Here are a few things financial gurus should be sharing on social media:

1. Retirement 101

What exactly is a 401(K) and how is it different than a 403(B)? How do pensions work in your particular state? And how can you calculate on any given day the minimum you should be saving for retirement? You can’t expect a financial wizard to also be a writing genius, but they should at least be following Copyblogger’s advice on how to trim the fat from their content and engage. They might even be working with a professional writer, feeding them information that’s then spun into content gold.

2. Short videos and infographics

Maybe the idea of even a short block of text turns you off, and that’s okay. Especially in an era of mobile readiness, you don’t have time to squint and read tiny paragraphs talking about your retirement. A good financial advisor will pepper in plenty of short videos (under three minutes) or infographics to draw you in. Plus, people learn in different ways and appealing to visual learners is crucial.

3. The latest news that’s easy to miss or confuse

Maybe finances and retirement aren’t big buzzwords on your news media outlet of choice. Perhaps you’ve heard about the hubbub with social security, but it’s confusing to figure out what’s really going on. A financial advisor’s social media page will link to authority sources, but also break down what’s happening for you in a few sentences. This keeps you from getting lost in the jargon of the financial tab of media sites.

4. Open-ended questions

Both you and your financial advisor are here to engage, but they should take the first step. By asking genuine, open-ended questions and actively listening, this is a way to get free advice from an expert! The best ones will respond within 12 hours and make sure they answered your question completely. There won’t be any pitches or recommendations that you make an appointment for more information.

5. Their human side

Particularly with advisors in major firms, it can seem like there’s not a real person behind all that advice. On social media, they should be sharing glimpses of who they are, their personality, their humor, but still keep it professional. After all, you don’t want to trust a robot with your finances!

Just like any other professional, some financial advisors are better at social media than others. However, it’s a great way for you to find out who’s the right match for you.

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Building More Information Off of Social Media

Recent data shows that one in four people worldwide are using social media.

People use social media for all sorts of things, such as keeping in touch with family and friends, reuniting with old friends, staying current in the media and meeting new people, or networking. Networking via social media has allowed many small businesses to grow their businesses, get more clients, and meet others in the industry and more.

If you currently run a business, you need to be on social media.

Even if you’re a contractor working in the construction industry, social media can be a great tool to get your business where you want it to be.

So you want to be a contractor?

As the following article looks at, the first step is to learn all you can about the business and attend contractors school or get your general contractor’s license, which vary by state.

Both will give you the knowledge you need to do to the work effectively and efficiently. Social media will allow you to grow your business so you have work available to do.

Using social media if you’re a contractor

Once you’ve attended school and obtained your licenses, it’s time to start growing your business.

You can advertise for free on websites such as Craigslist, post flyers on doors and in coffee shops, pay for advertising services and, of course, rely heavily on social media to get word of your company out there.

Among the tips to remember:

Start with a blog and website – You want to have a page that acts as a “home base” for your customers and potential customers. Build a website that has a built-in blog feature so you can update customers on any specials going on, what’s new in business, recent projects you’ve worked on and more. Dedicate a page for information on who you are and why you started contracting, a page for customer reviews, a page for your contact information and a page for current projects you’re working on. Put your website on your business cards, your truck and all of your social media pages.
Join social networking sites – Facebook is currently the largest social media website, followed by Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google Plus. At the very least, join all five of these sites under your business name. Network with other contractors in the area, promote yourself by offering deals and discounts to new customers and always respond quickly to any customer complaints or suggestions.
Focus on getting referrals – Social media is a huge tool in helping you land referral business, which some say is the best type of business since it requires no effort on your part. The more people you have in your network and that are following your social media sites, the faster the word of your business is going to get out. You can offer discounts via your social media pages, join groups to broaden your network and flat-out ask friends and family members for referrals.

While on the surface it may not seem like contractors need social media, the truth is that every single business person in every single industry needs to be on social networking platforms.

People expect you to be present on social media, they expect you to have a well-functioning website and they expect you to get back to them in a reasonable amount of time.

Don’t disappoint, use social media!

Photo credit: Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

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9 Tips For Mobile SEO Site Optimization

As you all spend your more and more time on your mobile devices and tablets, but many website are not designed to account for different screen sizes and load times.  If your website is well optimized for all search engines, then there are few more additional things that you think while doing optimization for mobile. Check the following things:

Page Speed
Don’t block CSS, JavaScript, or images
Site design for mobile


Don’t use Flash
Don’t use  pop-ups
Design for the fat finger


Optimize titles and meta descriptions
Use Schema.org structured data
Optimize for local search
Mobile site configuration
Responsive web design
Dynamic serving
Separate mobile URL

SEO site optimization starts with the understanding of the need of mobile website.  Now a day’s mobile is growing, and the marketers are needed to be smart enough by doing the right mobile SEO to optimize the mobile site.  As one in every 4 searches which happens on mobile – 50% of the mobile searches are using their device.

Mobile SEO is quite different from desktop SEO what we do. Google announces separate changes in its quality for searches for mobile and desktop including

Localized Results- Google place Listing.
Different levels of Engagement.
Different ranking Algorithm.
Search behavior Different.

1. Redirecting users to correct URL

While redirecting your user make sure that they are accessing your correct URL from their mobile. Use server side redirects (301s or 302s) instead of redirect through JavaScript’s. Use the 301 redirect for mobile which is most recommending.

2. Optimize Embedded Videos and Images

You have to careful that your video and images are responsive for mobile. Avoid using flash in your video because it is slow on your android device. Even if you want to use flash in your video then make use of HTML5. Then you test your video to get best user experience. You can use mobile Emulator like – “Opera mobile Emulator” (http://www.opera.com/developer/mobile...) to check.

3. Test the Page Loading Speed

It’s a study that 74% of users leave the webpage if it takes more than 5 seconds. Use Google page speed Insight tools (https://developers.google.com/speed/p...) to test and you will get recommendations on how to improve the speed.

4. Mobile Sitemaps

You can create separate XML sitemap for your mobile site and you can submit to Google and Bing. You can keep your mobile pages separate with your desktop pages. This will be beneficial for you that there is any indexation issue. You can check in Google webmaster Tools will give you the report.

“Click on Crawl > Crawl Errors and choose the Smartphone tab. On the Webmaster Tools dashboard click on Fetch as Google, enter the URL and click on Fetch.”

5. Don’t Forget To Optimize Local Search

Make sure that your website is submitted to Google with your complete business address, hours of operation and contact information.

6. Optimize Your Website Content

Optimize your website content with the relevant keywords related to your services. You can use the following keyword tools:-

https://adwords.google.co.in/KeywordP...
http://ubersuggest.org]/
http://keywordtool.io/

7. Conversational Tone and Voice Search

Now a day’s more and more people use voice search. So, an SEO strategy promotes your specific location and makes use of conversational search terms in content.

8. Make Mobile Friendly Meta Tags

Meta tags should be mobile friendly. Recommended is:

Title=40-60 Characters and description=90 Characters

9. Fair Design Focused on Usage

Keep your mobile site easy to navigate. Avoid irrelevant design elements and optimize your website in a way that all important information is precisely visible and easy to find. Use Google Analytics to track your mobile traffic data.

Click on: Acquisition>All Traffic>Medium>Organic Search Traffic>Add a Segment>Mobile Traffic and Tablet Traffic, and click on apply.

Finally, optimize your website by using above tactics to ensure mobile SEO success for your website.

 

Thumbnail courtesy of shutterstock.com

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