Blogging, SEO and Subject Placement in Searches

Social marketing will not be a practical business tool
until there is a finite way to measure its successes.

PART I OF III

By REV. JIM PURCELL

I had an interesting discussion with an art professional today, who was searching for a company to pay a vast some of money to in order to improve their name recognition and placement on Google. I tried to explain that one's SEO status is dependent on a set of Online behaviors, using and cross-referencing various Online entities. It isn't as simple as going to a window at the DMV and giving some bored civil servant a check that they stamp. The business person was determined still to find someone to pay a large sum of money to in order to accomplish what they could not believe could be done without breaking their personal bank: such is life.

There is so much social media going on every minute of every day that trying to get hold of an advantage in Twitter, Instagram...whatever...is like trying to catch a horse that broke out of its pen and is running loose. If you spend enough time and lose enough weight, I suppose you might make a dent (by throwing yourself into it for 80 hours a week or more). I am not saying anyone should ignore social media....heck no. But, I do think that trying to be everywhere at once without having a plan is pretty weak plan.

I believe in Search Engine Optimization.

Rather than trying to run around like a chicken with their head cut off, I suggest another course of action. At the end of the day, all that anyone gets by using gosh only knows how many social mediums is a relatively higher rating on the Google and/or Bing search engine than otherwise. And, the process these search algorithms use are, by design, enigmatic. However, it makes more sense to study the Google and Bing algorithms and use one's time wisely and with efficiency, rather than spending a whole bunch of time achieving absolutely nothing.

Even today, Corporate America can be confused as all get out about what exactly they are attempting to do with social media and SEO. So, I would like to offer a rock solid mission for companies looking to invest in social media. The goal is to use social media (e.g.blogs, Facebook, Instagram) to secure the highest possible SEO one can get; use it to bolster name identification and additional placement for your name in the top pages of these search engine results. And, the good news about this mission is that it is very attainable without breaking the bank at all.

The problem: Right now someone is asking themselves 'what SEO is' after I have already given the spelled out acronym -- this post probably isn't for you. Still others do not understand the basic idea of what optimizing search engine placement is about. This is not a '100 level' discussion, so this isn't going to benefit you either.

If a social media effort doesn't make it to Main Street why do it?

This is about capturing the first pages of Google and Bing using common sense and hard work, and maybe a smidge of creativity. Oh, it costs nothing but labor. There is nothing to buy, nothing to hire anyone about (unless you are very busy or horribly lazy).

I see the alleged 'work' of many "Social Media Advisors" sometimes, but it is obscure. Being the number one Twitter page for @buyanewcar isn't going to move the marketplace. OK, a few people might be interested -- but social media anything doesn't or shouldn't amount to a hill of beans next to bona fide high placement on the Google or Bing search engines. Personally, I have very little respect for social marketing 'gurus.' I can wrap my head around improving SEO standings by being active in Blogger, or Google, or Facebook, Linkedin and a handful of other sites -- because those sites are Bang for your buck. I cannot see getting wrapped around the axle for Twitter or Instagram, etc.

It isn't because there aren't a lot of eyeballs on Twitter I do not like it for commercial applications -- there are a ton of eyes on Twitter. I just don't think there is enough 'there' there to be putting a commercial effort into it.

It's easier to throw one's self at social media, though, rather than formulating a plan (and executing it) with the intention of raising the profile of a company on search engine pages. Why? Because if someone is succeeding or failing on a mission like raising a company's profile, the result can be enigmatic and hard to measure without being very grounded about just what should be a positive result of a company's efforts. It is easier, by far, to give employers a line of bull about some site that 12 year olds are flocking to today rather than actually getting in the trenches there and raising a company's brand in a practical way.

Here, let me unearth some of the confusion: Google wants to promote its blogs (out of self-interest). Hence, Google gives a better ranking to its blogs than by those of other blog providers: common sense stuff here. There are finite ways to determine if a blog is 'good  ' or 'bad' for helping a commercial effort, and they are not based on subjective 'how do you feel' criteria by bloggers. In fact, what is a good or bad blog, for Google purposes, is apparent in the search for the blog. If a blog is showing up on the first page, or any of the concepts tagged in it insofar as originating pages...then the blogger is doing something. And, if they aren't getting that done then they are full of malarky -- straight up and flat out. The age-old belief is that 'the more people visit you site the higher its SEO is, so 'we should do everything possible to get people to go to the site to raise its Google or Bing profile.' Here is the logic problem with that, though: If Google isn't helping your company or service with a positive SEO profile then how are people going to find your blog in the first place.

Tags on posts are beacons for the algorithm.

In fact, Google has 'rules,' if you will, about awarding blogs favorable placement in searches, and here are some of them;

1. The more frequently you post entries, the more Google will reward the blogger. Ideally, Google would like to see people post daily;

2, Use photos to make points and/or YouTube (another Google product) and these efforts will get rewarded as well;

3. Tag, tag, tag! At the end of every post, the blogger should ensure that pertinent concept are tagged. The reason for this is because those tags become road signs for the algorithm to find;

4. Use Google ads for your site, and Google will reward this with better placement in searches; and

5. Use hyperlinks to go to other Google products (e.g. Google News, websites, other blogs) and there will be a reward of placement.

It does not matter what someone blogs, from technical information to tinker toys, if a blogger uses all of the concepts discussed here then their blog will receive amazing placement in a short time and, instead of having to come up with elaborate dog-and-pony shows to gain viewer interest, it is the algorithm that does the heavy lifting.

I am going to write some more about this, but this is my opening shot.

Rev. Jim Purcell is a graduate of the New York Theological Seminary, where he earned an M.P.S. in Parish Ministry. During his seminary days, Rev. Purcell wrote frequently about Search Engine Optimization and Digital Ministry: driving viewers through strong placement on Google and Bing.