Category Archives: SEO

What is CSS 4 Media Queries?

CSS3, CSS4, HTML5, SEO, Web Design, , , ,

CSS4 What is it going to be like?

Well, the next generation of Media Queries, CSS 4 Media Queries, was officially made public last year with the last edit in December 2012. Here is the editor’s draft. As I stated, CSS3 Media Queries was mainly focused on the ability to change the format of content for different screen sizes and resolutions. CSS 4 Media Queries, on the other hand, is set to handle a variety of input methods and other capabilities of different devices, and allow for differing presentation depending upon the device capabilities. So far, there are several new media features and others that are basically more descriptive features of previous versions of CSS. Below is a list and link to all of them thus far:

Media Features:

Hover
A feature I found useful and interesting is the ‘hover’ media feature. The ‘hover’ media feature can be used to query whether or not the primary pointing system used on an output device is capable of hovering. If it is capable, the value will be designated ‘1’ if not the value will be ‘0’.
If a device has multiple pointing devices, some of which support hovering and some of which do not, the specification recommends that the UA reports the hovering ability of the least capable of the primary pointing devices. For example, on a touch screen device the value of the ‘hover’ media query should be 0, even if an optional mouse (which is capable of hovering) is attached.
I think it’s great that they’re working on this feature simply because there have been many times when I have gone to a mobile website and they have hover drop-downs that don’t work correctly with touch screens. Resolving this will make a much better user experience especially as our experiences online become more touchscreen oriented.
More information on the ‘hover’ media feature can be found in the editors working draft here.

Luminosity
Another feature that can be useful for mobile devices is the luminosity feature. Here is an excerpt from W3.org:

The ‘luminosity’ media feature is used to query about the ambient luminosity in which the device is used, to allow the author to adjust style of the document in response. The following values are valid:

‘dim’
The device is used in a dim environment, where excessive contrast and brightness would be distracting or uncomfortable to the reader. For example: night time, or a dimly illuminated indoor environment.
‘normal’
The device is used in a environment with a level of luminosity in the ideal range for the screen, and which does not necessitate any particular adjustment.
‘washed’
The device is used in an exceptionally bright environment, causing the screen to be washed out and difficult to read. For example: bright daylight.

Although there are no browsers that support the new CSS4 features, usually Chrome is the first to adopt the latest CSS features. Either way I’ll let you know when browsers get up to speed.

Which Meta Tags Should I Use And Which Should I Ignore?

SEO, Small Business Marketing

Meta tags still importantEven with all the current changes going on in the SEO world, with the penguins and the pandas – the little things still matter. Getting your site set up well from the start is a must. A key part of that is the good old fashioned meta tag. They have been there since the early days of SEO and search engines and while they won’t get you to number one on their own, they are the key foundation of a good website. These site set up tips are by Goddard SEO.

The Title tag

The title tag is often abused. People stuff it with keywords, make it hundreds of characters long, give every page the same tile or give the them titles like “home”. People are still somehow getting the humble title tag wrong. It is still an important tag however. Getting it right is still important. It becomes the clickable link in the search results and for that reason alone you should make it as clean and tidy and relevant as possible. It is also part of the ranking algorithm and should be used properly. Don’t keyword stuff, keep it relevant and to 60 to 70 characters.

Description tag

This will generally show up under your clickable result in Google. While sometimes they will pick content from your page to use as the description they still use this tag on occasion. Make sure it is properly filled in, relevant and useful and not stuffed with keywords.Make sure each page has a unique description and keep it to 150 to 200 characters.

Canonical tag

This tag is very useful for complicated CMS’s and Shopping websites where similar pages are generated based on the users choices. For example a shopping result page might be filtered by price or colour or type but may contain essentially the same content in a different order. This can lead to you getting a duplicate content penalty if not handled correctly. By putting this tag in place you can select the one version of the page you want to be the “real” one. Make sure you set it up correctly and its a great asset to your site.

Author tag

If you write on multiple sites this is a must. It will let your Google+ picture show up in the search results next to your site or a site that has your article on. This increased click throughs, increases author awareness and lets Google tie you together and give you credit when you guest post on someone else’s website. Since the early days of this tag they have worked and tweaked the way it is implemented and it is now relatively easy to get set up and working, even if it takes a few weeks to start showing up in searches.

Keyword Tag

Avoid this tag. Google does not use it, Bing has said that they sometimes use it as a keyword over stuffing spam signal. Its a waste of time and could end up doing more harm than good.

Author:

Gareth Goddard runs Goddard SEO a London based Boutique style SEO agency helping a variety of businesses grow through organic search and online marketing.

SEO Gains More Ground In The Real Estate Website Niche – 3 Hot Trends For 2013

SEO, Small Business Marketing, Web Design, , ,

SEO in real estate businessesIn spite of the fact that 2013 was predicted as the year when the real estate industry will finally reach rock bottom, for the mid period in January, the US homeowners, realtors and the whole globe for that matter was amazed to see the US housing market recover. In fact, according to a recent report published by JPMorgan Chase & Co, the real estate market was showing signs of getting back on its feet since 2012 when the property prices started to increase, slowly but steadily.
Surely this is the break agents were anxiously anticipating. However, this great news also demands some changes in the realtor practices and particularly, their methods of attracting customers. While the following article does not have all the answers, it will offer you valuable information regarding the hottest trends in real estate internet marketing. Let’s elaborate!

Interactive photography

With the bloom of the mobile market and the stiff competition in practically every business segment, customers have become more informed and consequentially, more demanding. As you could notice from last year, people interesting in a real estate transaction expect to learn everything there is to know about a certain asset online. Because nothing is more irritating or a turn off than a pushy real estate agent, the best approach to getting around in this industry consist of creating and uploading 360 degrees interactive photos of the properties and houses you list.

Mobile marketing

Considering that more than half of the adult populating in Europe, Asia and North America use their smartphones to browse the internet for recreational and business purposes, it would be a huge mistake if you didn’t jump on the bandwagon as well. Not to mention the fact that major search engines such as Google and Bing are recommending the implementation of a responsive web design due to the widespread nature of mobile devices. Essentially, what this means is that you need to make sure that your website can support all sorts of platforms and that it is compatible with all mobile devices.

Niche marketing

Truth be told, giving up on the lists and niches to which you dedicated your entire real estate agent profession is scary. However, it is also a crucial step for your career. If business is slow and your company does not have the means to stay on top of the competition, unless you decide to take these associated risks you might lose it all. The advantage is that by making this move you will have sufficient resources at your disposal to focus on a few niches and, more importantly, carry on the marketing campaigns properly and with satisfactory results.
It is important to note that this strategy’s success will mostly depend on the size of the market. While it would make all the sense in the world to narrow down your audience in a metropolis where you typically have 10 or more competitors to worry about, doing so in a small town will only result in killing your business slowly. In general, the real estate marketing campaign for a small town would reap more advantages if it includes alternative tactics such as videos, incentives and an optimized local search for mobiles.

You can thank Celina Rodger from Dialed-In Local for today’s guest post. She is a pro when it comes to internet marketing. Visit her website to know more about Nashville web marketing services.

5 Must-Haves for Social Media Management

SEO, Small Business Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Web Design, ,

social mediaSocial media has grown from a curiosity to an integral piece of corporate strategy in the space of only a few years. Nearly overnight, companies have brought on whole teams of specialists to craft effective social media strategies and manage multiplying numbers of social media accounts. Companies are hungry for better social media tools to engage their constituents. Below is a list of five features key to delivering on a social media strategy.

1) Scheduling
Social media doesn’t sleep, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to! Ensure your social media management tool of choice allows you to schedule messages in advance. So even if you’re in New York, you can schedule messages out to your customers in Tokyo during their workday.

If you want to take scheduling to the next level, look for a tool that offers the ability to schedule large batches of messages at once. This will be a super useful time-saver when it comes to managing campaigns or contests that require heavy messaging around a certain period of time.

2) Geo
When it comes to interacting with your customers, those in different locations may have different needs, speak different languages or follow different trends. You’re going to want a tool that optimizes your searches and filters your searches by language to help you curate relevant content for different demographics.

3) Keywords
Social media is also an effective way for businesses to keep their finger on the pulse. Setting up keywords or search streams provide insight into what is trendy among your customers. This can help you develop a marketing strategy that focuses on customer’s lifestyles and personal preferences.

Keywords are useful for keeping track of competitors’ activities but they’re also useful for tracking brands that are complementary to your offering. If your product is often purchased in conjunction with another product, keep an eye on the complementary product’s social media activity to take advantage of promotions or recent sales, as these are potential leads ready to be converted.

4) Collaboration
It takes two to tango especially when it comes to being social. Collaboration is key when it comes to developing and executing an effective social media campaign. Ensure your social media management tool enables you to seamlessly collaborate with your team to ensure you execute an integrated social media management strategy.

Social Media Marketing5) Reporting
Gone are the days of social media purely being about ‘building buzz.’ It is now a line item in budgets as companies invest resources in these channels and there is an expectation for reports which show ROI for social media outreach.

Make sure your tool has the ability to analyze important metrics such as click-through rates on shortened links, clicks by region and top referrers. It’s also important to have access to Facebook Insights and Google Analytics.

The most effective tools will provide the ability to access in-depth granular metrics on the efficacy of your social media programs. This will allow you to determine which messages resulted in the highest number of conversions, which platform is providing the greatest return and which time of day is most effective to drive traffic.

What does it take to go Pro?
Social is here to stay and to maintain a competitive advantage, businesses need to stay abreast of this ever-evolving space. HootSuite Pro help teams engage with audiences and analyze campaigns across multiple social networks like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from one secure web-based dashboard.

By Peter Marino

HootSuite - Social Media Management