6 Key Metrics for a Social Media Measurement Dashboard

A host of social media monitoring tools are available to monitor conversations that are relevant to your brand or company. Many of these tools also now offer built-in engagement components that allow you to easily engage in relevant conversations. In addition to ease of use, another key benefit of these tools is that you can also track and measure the conversations you participate in through one easy solution.

This makes social media engagement much easier to manage, but a key aspect is still missing. To fully understand the impact of your social media efforts, you need a true social media measurement dashboard.

Because there aren't any truly robust tools that go beyond monitoring social media to measuring your social media efforts, you'll likely need to create your own dashboard for now. The following are six key metrics that should be part of your social media measurement dashboard.

1. Gross Views

Gross views is the aggregate of views across your various social media channels. It represents the number of times users were exposed to your brand through your social media channels. The calculation will vary depending on the channels that you use, but some of the metrics that go into this calculation include:

• Facebook page views
• Blog page views
• YouTube channel views
• YouTube video views
• Flickr photo views

2. Connections

This is a calculation of anyone who has explicitly expressed an interest in your brand or company. By expressing their interest, the user has taken the next step beyond just being exposed to your brand or company to now having a relationship where a conversation can take place.

Some of the metrics that will fall under the connection calculation include:

• Blog subscribers
• Facebook fans/likes
• Twitter followers
• YouTube friends and subscribers
• LinkedIn group members

3. Audience Engagements

Audience engagement is a measure of how actively your audience is engaging with or talking about your brand or company. A few of the key metrics that go into the calculation include:

• Blog comments
• Twitter retweets and @ tweets
• Facebook interactions
• YouTube interactions
• Social media brand mentions

4. Social Media Referrals

Likely one of your ultimate goals of a social media campaign is to drive visitors to a site where a conversion can take place. Measuring social media referrals to your site is thus a critical component of a social media measurement dashboard.

In order to properly measure social media referrals, there will need to be some set up and configuration with your web analytics tool. Once this has been completed, you'll be able to measure social media referrals that can be tied directly to your efforts as well as social media referrals that aren't directly attributed to your efforts.

5. Social Media Conversions

You'll likely be judged based on the business value that you deliver through your social media efforts, so just showing metrics (e.g., connections and audience engagement) won't impress your superiors. You need to show how these types of metrics translate into conversions that provide value to your company.

If you've properly set up and configured your web analytics tool to measure social media referrals and you've defined your site goals, then you're ready to measure conversions. You should measure conversions from each social media channel and then roll it up into total conversions that can be attributed to social media.

6. My Engagements

This is a measure of your activity within the social media space and is increasingly a type of metric that social media monitoring tools are including. Looking at how this metric correlates with the other metrics included in your dashboard can begin to show the impact that your social media efforts are having.

Some of the metrics that should be included in the engagement calculation are:

• Internal blog posts
• External blog and forum comments
• Facebook posts
• Twitter retweets, @ tweets, and general tweets
• YouTube video posts

While these six metrics in a dashboard aren't going to show a complete picture of your social media efforts, they will put you on the right path to justifying the resources that are being directed towards social media.

Your social media dashboard should include additional metrics that are custom to your business needs and how you're engaging in social media. By creating your own social media dashboard that has the ability to show the impact of your social media efforts, you'll be in great position to bide time until a truly robust social media measurement tool is available.

Please Share your Thoughts with me

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/3641089

3 Tools for Optimizing Page Speed

For the past couple of months, Google has been telling the world that page speed is an increasingly important aspect of Web sites. The Google Speed site – which has the laudable goal of making Web browsing as fast as turning the pages of a magazine – has been featured in several posts on their Webmaster blog, and features links to various free tools that they, and others, have made available for the masses.

So, as someone responsible for a site, if you suspect that you may have page load issues, what's your first stop? Where should you go to get an overall idea of your site performance, short of opening every page of your site while holding a stopwatch?

The first place that many of us will start is in our Google Webmaster Tools account. Log in, click on Labs, then Site Performance. There, you'll see site performance data based on feedback from their crawlers.

On the page you'll also see a sample of 10 pages with the load times for each. Unfortunately, it doesn't go any deeper than that. But at least you'll be able to see at least a couple of bad performing pages to further investigate using other tools.

YSlow and Google's Page Speed tool (which both require the Firebug add-on for Firefox to be installed prior to their installation) both appear to show the same information when compared, so my reason for picking YSlow over Page Speed is simply aesthetic. YSlow provides a grade for each page you review and provides grades for each element examined, whereas Page Speed returns a green check, yellow triangle, or red warning symbol along with a score out of 100. You may prefer Page Speed, but because there isn't much difference, we'll walk through YSlow.

When using YSlow, simply click on the text next to the grade for each element, which details the issues detected for that particular topic on that page, whether it's the placement of JavaScript, the zipping of content, or the number of HTTP requests on a page.

But that's not all. You can check out statistics on the page components (e.g., .js files, .css files, Flash files, etc.) to see which files directly impact load times.

The AOL Page Test tool is a more visual representation of the page load, as it provides a waterfall graphic showing the load times for every element on the page. For each element you can see the DNS lookup time, connection time, time to first byte, and the actual content download time, which can alert you to issues with individual elements (i.e., a JavaScript file on another domain that takes a long while to load should most likely be placed directly on your domain). The green vertical line represents when the page rendering began, while the blue vertical line represents the completion of the page rendering process (although some elements on the page may not fully render for a few seconds beyond that, as you'll see on the chart when you check it out for your site).

In the configuration settings for this tool, you can set it to run each page twice, so it can show you the effect that caching content on your site from a prior visit has on your load times.

With page load optimization tools, it's ideal to have multiple options available (and even better, to have multiple free options available). But you can generate an actionable list of performance enhancements for your site by using these tools. If you have some favorites that I haven't mentioned, feel free to let us know in the comments.

Source:http://searchenginewatch.com/3636580

5 Website Changes That Will Hurt Your SEO

One of the biggest factors in the traffic you get from search engines is the inbound link profile to your site. When you make a significant change to your site, one question that the search engines need to consider is whether those links are still valid.

Would the person who linked to your site still link to it if they looked at it again now? If the answer is no, the search engine doesn't want to count that link.

Of course, the search engine can't determine the answer to that question, but they can choose to initially reduce the effective value of those inbound links for a period of time, until they see whether people start removing links to your site after you make a large change.

This filtering process helps protect them from spammers who look to buy domains with lots of link authority, and then change them into entirely different web sites (e.g., buying a domain that used to be for an educational institution and turning it into an auto insurance site). The people who linked to the educational institution certainly didn't mean to endorse an auto insurance site.

Let's look at a few cases where the search engine may consider a change large enough to reconsider how they treat your site.

1. Domain

Many website publishers make the decision to change their domain. For example, maybe they started out with a ".net" domain and they were able to obtain the ".com" variant of the same domain. Or perhaps they are simply rebranding their company.

Whatever the reason, a domain change in potentially seen as a huge change by the search engines, particularly if you do a site redesign, change the URL structure, change the content significantly, and change the WhoIs all at once.

Even if all you do is a simple domain change, the search engines have reason enough to contemplate the possibility that people who linked to the old domain would no longer choose to link to you. With a simple domain change and proper implementation of 301 redirects, your risk of a significant setback is relatively low. But the risk is still there.

2. URL Structure

It isn't uncommon for sites to go through complete redesigns, or to implement a new content management system (CMS) without making significant changes to the content at the same time. However, it takes time for the search engine to understand the new site structure to determine what is on the new version of the site.

All the intricate relationships between the pages of the site have been restructured, and this may take weeks or even months for the search engine to understand. In the meantime, they may feel a need to devalue your site somewhat. Implementing 301 redirects from the old pages to the new pages will help with this problem, but it doesn't eliminate it entirely.

3. Content

Significant changes in content can also give a search engine a reason to ponder how it treats your web site. Even if the basic topic matter is unchanged, it can take some time for the search engine to make that determination.

4. Whois

When you make a change to the Whois record for a domain, even when no change is made to the domain itself, this can be an indicator of a change of the owner of the site.

To the search engines, much of the reason why one web site may link to another may be very much related to their trust in the owner. If the owner changes, is that trust still there? In many cases, the answer may be no.

Simply changing the e-mail address of the administrative contact isn't likely to be seen as such a signal, but changing the name or address of the registrant is likely to be interpreted as a change in owner.

Making such changes often goes without a hitch, particularly if you don't make other significant changes at the same time. Combining a major change to a web site and the registrant at the same time, however, starts to be quite a bit riskier.

Ultimately, the best way to change the registrant is to do it in isolation. Just wait a while before you make other significant changes to the site.

5. Theme

Changes in theme can take many forms. For example, if you have a site that is about auto insurance, and you then add a new large section on home insurance, it will certainly take a while for the home insurance section to receive the trust and authority conveyed by the inbound links. The value of the links to the auto insurance section of the site may also be devalued.

The type of change that would be seen as a theme change could even be a lot more subtle. For example, if you had a site that was purely a directory of links to auto insurance resources, with little text content on them, and you suddenly start putting lots content on those pages, this may also be seen as a significant change.

It gets back to core principle: Would the links that were given to a directory site still be given now that you've made a deep content site, even though it's on exactly the same topic?

Summary

Learn to consider the possibility of changes to your inbound link profile when you make changes to your site.

Will the change you're considering possibly impact those links? Even if the answer is no, you should also ponder whether the search engine will see the change as large enough that the search engine will question the ongoing value of those historical links.

Remember that the search engines use algorithms to make their determinations, and algorithms aren't as smart as humans are at figuring out what is a material change to a potential linker.

Source:http://searchenginewatch.com/3641466

SEO Tools ...

I was just going through some website searching for some good things related to my work but unfortunately( I was finding an other thing) or fortunately ( I found a good thing) I got a website containing a lots of tools for the SEO.. I am not sure that it is useful or not for as it is not that much reliable but I love to SEEKING out some new and good things .. and i think this will be one of it !!! I am really really sure that these tools + this site will help me in future.. I am posting the link of the site please do help me in checking out all the tools..
It contains:

1: back link checker
2: EDU and GOV link checker
3. A lots of keywords tool
4. Search engine tools
5. Links tools
6. Rank checker tools
7. Header/Tag tools

now here is the link of that site : http://forcesubmit.com/

please do let me know your comments

Thanks
8. IP Checker tools

Google Counters Bing/Facebook With 'Shared By' Social Search Results

Google has quickly tried to counter Bing and Facebook's social search announcement by integrating social shares into their main search results.

As you can see in this screenshot, there is a "Shared by 20+" notation next to the name of the website and number of related articles.

This "shared by" link only appears on the main Google search results page. If you were to click on the "News for ses chicago" link, the shares don't carry over.

Clicking on the "shared by" link brings you to Google Updates, which shows real-time sharing activity.

Also, on some of Google's Hot Topics, (e.g., Christine O'Donnell), you'll also see a message that says "x recent updates from Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and more for Christine O'Donnell."

Interesting update, especially considering all the talk of the Bing/Facebook search revolution. Not sure yet if this is a test or if this will is a permanent change.

Source: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/101020-070600

Why You Should Combine Your PPC & SEO Strategies

Studies show that organic search receives as much as 70 percent of total clicks from search results. But having both a paid and an organic listing has proven to increase the amount of total traffic by as much as 66 percent and influence a consumer's purchase consideration by as much as 8 percent.

This provides a significant lesson for both users and advertisers.

A recent Rosetta study found that only 17 percent of advertisers take advantage of the synergies between paid and organic search results.

The retail industry has the greatest percentage (25 percent) of advertisers that are effectively coordinating paid and organic search results, followed by financial services at 21 percent, travel at 16 percent, technology at 13 percent, and health care at 3 percent.

But it's surprising that more advertisers, overall, aren't doing a sufficient job of balancing their search strategies.

Advertisers can develop a search strategy that effectively coordinates paid and organic listings. The value of paid and organic listings to any advertiser is derived from testing, analytics, and a holistic strategy. This strategy can be applied in these categories:

Attribution

Understanding the interdependencies and relationships between search listings is critical to properly valuing the listings and setting the strategy. Consider the possibility that your paid listing is driving a higher amount of first time visitors, and your organic listing is the last click prior to a sale. You may never know this unless you closely monitor your attribution patterns.

For example, one of our financial services clients sees 3 percent of their traffic hitting multiple sources of traffic, and .25 percent hitting three sources of traffic. These consumers give important information to the brand marketers about media consumption and habits that can be optimized and harvested.

The better your ability to see the common paths that consumers take to achieve the desired action, the better informed your keyword and optimization decisions will be.

Messaging

The copy that is displayed in the search results page can be keyword-rich or sales- or brand-focused. The appropriate message should be tested and defined by achieving the largest increase in incremental traffic and sales.

Copy can be used to identify the consumers that are right for your company's offering. Leveraging various messages in the paid and organic listings that speak to each of these audience segments will prove effective.

For example, Road Runner Sports ranks well for [running shoes].

Their organic listing focuses on breadth of selection.

Their paid listing contains rating information, as well as a focus on their guarantee offer.

These ads are differentiated, and speak to different consumer segments who have different values when shopping online for shoes. The best combination of copy, features, or benefits can be discovered through A/B testing paid search ads.

Position Strategy

You should always strive to achieve the number one position with your organic listing.

Where your paid listing ranks, however, can vary depending on your targeted goals. Understanding attribution, and the highest incremental sales and traffic volume, allows you to determine your ideal paid listing position.

You may not always have the necessary budget to fully fund all targeted keywords via paid search. When this is the case, a strong organic ranking can help align and inform the paid keyword selection.

For example, CreditCards.com has the number one organic listing for the very competitive term [credit cards]. This provides them with the ability to leverage that listing by not over-paying for the number one listing in the paid results.

Instead, they rank fourth in the paid search results, or number one on the right rail. This is strategically good planning as they have two very prominent listings on the page without having to overpay for the paid result.

click to enlarge

Keyword Selection

The primary consideration when aligning paid and organic efforts should be keywords and their associated competition and costs. It may not always be financially possible to buy paid search ads given a limited budget, or depending on your ROI goals. Also, the amount of competition for any given keyword makes the effort to rank organically that much more difficult and resource intensive.

For example, the keyword [money market account] has 78.8 million listings, compared to 45.3 million listings for [12 month money market account] -- a 42 percent decrease in the number of competitors.

Search volume for tail terms is certainly aligned to the number of pages indexed; however, an advertiser could get ranked well for five to 10 tail terms before hitting a home run on the head term.

The same can be said for the different competition between the keywords [3 piece suit] and [gray 3 piece suit]. Consumers in this situation are more definitive in what they are looking for, and therefore advertisers can be more prescriptive in their offering, landing page, and content.

Summary

Only a few brands truly take advantage of combined strategies across paid and organic search. Advertisers should think of how consumers interact with their search efforts, including ad copy and keywords.

Consider writing messages that speak to various consumer mindsets, and increase your ability to win their business given your value proposition.

Search is rapidly growing and changing. Maximizing all the factors that contribute to success is critical to keeping up and winning the game.

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/3641449

Please Help Me To Improve My Site Rank...

When you are aiming to improve your website ranking, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the best way to do it. SEO has been proven over the years as an effective strategy to improve web site rankings. However, this strategy is difficult to do because it needs a lot of time and effort.

In optimizing, a lot of thing should be done. And these things are significant instruments to perform SEO appropriately. By doing SEO appropriately, you will surely improve your web site ranking.

Here are some tips to help you perform proper SEO, and eventually improves your web site ranking:

Have Keywords and Phrases

Having keywords and phrases is an essential part of SEO. This is the primary way to optimize your site. By putting keywords and phrases on your title tags, meta tags, and body text your site can be viewed by other internet users once they will type your keywords and phrases on search engines.
When your site have many relevant keywords and phrases, it is more possible that your site will be able to earn high amount of traffic. But, in getting keywords, you should choose those effective ones, which you think that internet users will type search them. Select also keywords that have fewer competitors in order to have great possibility that you will be to rank on the top place of search engine results.

Consider the Density of your keywords.

In placing keywords on the contents of your site, take into account its density or how often the keywords occur. Avoid excessive repetition of same keywords on your contents. Some search engines does not want very high density keywords. Make sure also to put your keywords on the first or second paragraph of your website content. Some search engines may not search beyond the first 200 words of your content.

Name Your Pages

Create a name on every web page of your site. Search engines display page titles on search results. You can also put keywords on your titles.

Put Links on your Content

Search engines will look the words you use in links to help them find out the content of your page. A great way to emphasize more your keywords is to put links in your web pages. You can link one of your web page to your other web page, or one way or another.

External links or links from other web sites are used to know your PageRank. To improve your PageRank, try exchanging/putting you links to other web sites or directories.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-on-How-to-Improve-Your-Website-Ranking&id=4881058