Transparency is Vital in Social Media, Journalism & Blogging

By Rebecca Murtagh | SMM - Social Media Marketing , Video & Audio Blog

Why is Transparency So Important to Social Media, Journalism & Blogging ?

If the Internet forever changed how much data could be found on people, places and things in milliseconds, Social Media has revealed the tangled webs we weave on the net.

News no longer evolves over hours or days, it happens in real-time and are largely accessible to anyone, anytime, almost anywhere in the world and likely “reported” by multiple sources…bloggers, news broadcasts, social media, news media portals, and the average “Joe” on the street.

Don Lemon of CNN talks with Rebecca Murtagh about what transparency is, and why it is is so important. – Blog World New Media Expo in Las Vegas 2009.

“The social media world is pushing transparency…and we all have to be on board” – Don Lemon, CNN

3 Things to remember when it comes to Broadcasting via Social Media, Media or Blogging:

1. What you post online is accessible in real time. In December 2009, Google announced real-time indexing of blogs, social media (Twitter to begin with, Linkedin and Facebook to follow at a later date) and other newly posted web content…meaning once you put it out there…it’s out there!
2. Anything you post can be viewed from anywhere in the world. So many people forget that the Internet is the “world-wide-web”…meaning your posts are accessible to anyone in the world with access to the Internet and a good search engine (especially Google).
3. Once it’s out there, there’s no taking it back. Before you post, remember whatever you post will follow you, forever. So, think before you post, check your facts, be kind – or at very least, be prepared for the consequences for anything you may broadcast.

Google Caffeine Update: “Real-Time” Indexing Favors Fresh Content

By Rebecca Murtagh | SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Amidst the progressive roll out of Google Caffeine update these past few months, December 7, 2009 Google Announced that they will index the web in “real time”. This is big news. Why?

Google Real-Time Search will forever change the search engine landscape.

Historically, Google Search was based on the periodic indexing and frequent crawling of websites and content to determine the “rank” of websites, content, social media and Web 2.0 comments in search engine results. This afforded some time for planning, analysis, proactive action and response to emerging trends. Now, the more frequently content is generated, updated, posted or even “tweeted” the more likely it is to be picked up to appear in search engine results.

“Real-time” search engine indexing by Google Search, which currently drives over 65% of search engine share, means that the ever-changing dynamic internet will be even more accurately reflected in search engine results.

Real-Time Search is good news for internet users…Not so good for businesses unable to continually generate optimized content to compete online.

Real-time search engine indexing presents a challenge for anyone dependent upon search for visibility, clicks for conversion from organic or paid clicks.

What Will Google Be Looking to Real-Time Index?
Danny Sullivan inteviewed Google Fellow Amit Singhal who heads up Google’s ranking systems and oversaw the development of the new real time search system after the Google press conference, where Singhal outlined what, exactly is likely to appear in Google results on the web, iPhone and Android mobile devices.

Real Time Indexing – One of Many Recent Google Caffeine Updates
Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Web Spam team, mentions recent Google Caffeine Updates on his blog, including that Google will process over 1 billion pages per day for “real time” indexing. Real-time indexing is aimed at finding fresh content on websites, social media sites such as Twitter, but also will include new press releases blog posts, FriendFeed, Jaiku, etc. Google will include MySpace and Facebook in future evolutions.

What Content Is Likely to Be Favored By Google Real-Time Indexing:

• Twitter Tweets
• Google News Content
• Google Blog Search Content
• Newly posted Website Pages
• Freshly updated Website Pages
• FriendFeed update
• Jaiku updates
• Identi.ca updates
• TwitArmy updates
• Facebook and Myspace will be future additions

With an emphasis on fresh, original content.

“Content is King” – Now more than ever!

As I’ve been advocating for years, “Content is King” when it comes to SEO especially when it comes to Google. Now, more than ever, organic search results become more fluid and more content-centric. Paid Search (Google Adwords) performance is directly impacted by the relevance and optimization of the website pages ads are linking to (which most people do not recognize) making continual content development and optimization key to competing online.

So, what Google Real-Time Search mean to your business website, blog, press releases, articles, social media content, etc.?

You must be strategic, proactive and diligent about creating meaningful, relevant search engine optimized content.

I have forever been an advocate for generating truly search engine optimized content, frequently and strategically. In fact, it’s been how my marketing firm has differentiated itself and been so successful compared to the flash-in-the-pan SEO gurus and programs that do not embrace the value of content in SEO.

We’ve also spent most of 2009 optimizing, tracking, testing and analyzing the relationship between Twitter and Google search…so this announcement comes as no surprise to me. What we’ve learned that you can achieve top Google search position with just a Twitter account, even without a website…if you are strategic about what you are doing.

What I do know, however, is that many businesses are struggling with the demand to continually generate new content and to optimize their websites for SEO. This new development places new weight and increased urgency on the necessity for frequent addition and updates of SEO content, if they intend to compete online.

Building a “Real Time” SEO SMO Mobile Search Engine Strategy.
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