The Google Publisher Toolbar – The Lowdown

Webmasters value the ability to gauge specific metrics about their site without having to worry about complex and time-consuming methods. One of the best ways in which webmasters can gain valuable information about their websites in real time is the Google Publisher Toolbar. This add-on works directly with Google Chrome to provide various details in-browser while you are viewing a particular page or site. What features can the Google Publisher Toolbar offer you in regards to maintaining and optimizing your website? Continue reading to find out about all this Chrome extension has to offer.

Account Overview

This broad feature can be accessed directly from the browser; it will display any and all Google-related data about your site in real time. Included in this are updates regarding your estimated account earnings (with ranges for today, the past week, month and year). You will also be able to see any custom channels (up to five) and can sort them by the amount of revenue each has earned. There is also the option to view your total lifetime revenue. This area is also the place from which you can enable ad overlays on your site. You will need to authorize your websites to be used with the Google Publisher Toolbar prior to using these features.

In-Site Ad Overlays

As previously mentioned, you can enable in-site ad overlays to display various data about the campaign using the Google Publisher Toolbar. Much in the same way that pinging Yahoo and other search engines with updates works, the Google Publisher Toolbar will ping revenue information and campaign details directly to the in-site ad overlays, showing you comprehensive details about the revenue you are earning without having to go into your settings or account details to see it. You can also use this feature as a way to block inappropriate ads from appearing on your websites.

In-Page Alert Bar

While logged in with the Google Publisher Toolbar, you can add other sites you own to the program while also seeing any new alerts or pop-ups pertaining to information about any of your sites. You will want to make sure that in-site ad overlays are already enabled in order for this to work as intended. The alert bar will show the number of eligible ads for overlays that are on any of your websites; by clicking the ad overlay notification button on the toolbar, you can then begin adding overlays to those ads. Simply agree to the notification that appears and all of your ads on that particular site will now display overlays.

Conclusion

While pinging Yahoo, Google and other major search engines is a great way to expand your reach, all webmasters need internal data to properly manage their websites. The Google Publisher Toolbar offers the ability to view comprehensive data about your website and the ads which are displayed on it, giving you more control over the revenue generation and appearance of your websites. Best of all, it is easy to install, does not cost anything and integrates well with any and all existing Google services.

Does Your Website Have an FAQ Page?

When we consider all of the different types of information to include on our websites, we may attempt to create numerous amounts of items, pages and modules in what we consider to be a simplistic, self-explanatory summary of the product, service or cause that the website is designed to represent. One thing that is observed on many blogs and websites is the lack of an FAQ page. When covering a particular subject or process, it is immensely valuable to have a section that is both easily found and addresses some of the main concerns and questions people will have when they visit your website.

Improve Your Efficiency

Whether you are selling a product or advocating for a cause, an FAQ page can help eliminate some of the repetitiveness that comes with being a blogger or content creator. Rather than having to answer the same questions from people continuously pinging your blog or inbox for answers, you can take the most common inquiries and summarize said information on the FAQ page. Besides saving customers’ time, you will also be reducing the amount of time you have to spend on answering the same few questions every day. This will give you more time to otherwise be productive.

Increase Your Conversions

Some companies have adopted an approach that keeps certain information vague in order to either encourage the potential client to contact them or to be able to work out individualized quotes for each client. For an online presence, however, it is not the best solution. Use this as another opportunity to promote your contact information, though, so that individuals whose questions have been answered will see it before leaving the page. By providing the maximum amount of information in your FAQ page, you will make each reader or potential client feel more comfortable, leading to more interactions, dialogues and conversions.

FAQs for FAQs

Most people who consider creating FAQ pages ask, “what topics should I include on the page?”. Depending on the subject of the site and the type of audience pinging your blog, there can be an array of vital answers to provide. For direct sales, it makes sense to include your contact details, quotes, methods of payment accepted and shipping information. When advocating for a cause, you would want to summarize the stance and mission of the website, how to get involved and where else additional information can be found. The best way to determine this is by asking several people to view your website and pose any questions they may have to you directly; this is a great way to brainstorm and determine what information is optimal for inclusion.

Conclusion

The primary existence of a website or blog is to provide content, offer services and items, and convey opinions. The common denominator is that they exist to inform. It makes sense to create an FAQ page not only for the benefit of your readers, but it can also save you time and increase the likelihood that your visitors will engage with your blog or site in the way you wish them to do so.

12 Valuable Tips for Video SEO Beginners

If you aren't optimizing your videos to match what people are searching, your videos are likely to get lost and not reach their intended audience. Without reaching their intended audience, they serve no purpose.
YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google. Every minute, more than 48 hours of new video content is uploaded. Videos are 50 times more likely to rank on the first page of Google results, according to Nate Elliot at Forrester.
So how do you ensure your videos get results? With video search engine optimization, commonly referred to as video SEO.
To simplify what you need to do, think about your target audience. Consider their language, wants, and needs.
Use the following 12 valuable tips to get your video to reach the first page of Google and YouTube, but most importantly build visibility to a large niche audience that is interested in what you have to offer.

1. Content Quality Check
Ensure your videos are relevant, informative, and rich with content. Don't waste time producing videos that have nothing to do with your brand or service.
Videos demonstrating step-by-step processes or videos expressing opinions about topics can be quite useful. Videos should be fun, memorable, short, and leave the viewer wanting more.
If using a video production company, trust one that understands the importance of these concepts. If you're hesitant of their services, make sure to scan their existing video portfolio in detail for videos that match these qualities.

2. Title
Capture the potential viewer's attention with a catchy title that contains related key phrases that are relevant to your brand or service. Do some keyword research and find the words that your audience will most likely be searching, but remember to keep the title interesting, not just filled with keywords.
Create a title that will catch the eye of a user. Brainstorm some titles that catch your eye when passing a magazine rack. What compels you to pick up a magazine?

3. Tags
Optimize your video with important key phrases or keywords. Don't use complicated words or terminology that may not be common to the average person.
Refer back to your keyword research and think in terms of what your targeted audience might be searching for when looking to find your brand or service. Tag your video with these terms and consider naming the file of the video with these terms in mind.

4. Description
Optimize your video's description with relevant keywords and include a keyword-rich description of your video to allow search engines to index it and rank it higher, and for users to better understand your video before viewing.

5. Links
Use video as a portal to other content on your site. Upload a couple of videos to portals like YouTube and Vimeo, and consider providing links back to related content and other relevant videos on your site.

6. Transcripts
Provide transcripts of your videos. Good old HTML content is still a favorite with search engines.
If you want your video to rank well, you need to give the search engines something to index and rank. Surround your videos with on-page copy that can be indexed by search engines.

7. Length
Keep your video at five minutes or less. The average amount of time a user spends on a YouTube video is around 1 minute 30 seconds. People do not want to sit through a boring video, and most will not do it.
If you have video content that is of long duration, consider breaking it up into smaller pieces and tagging each accordingly, to be more appealing to the viewer. Not only does this make for better viewing pleasure, multiple videos are also better for optimization efforts.
YouTube is now paying close attention to viewership and engagement. It is critical that viewers watch your video for as long as possible.

8. Video Sitemaps
Submit a video sitemap to Google to make sure that the search engine spiders can find your video content and index it accordingly. This is the easiest way for search engines to find your video content.
Take advantage of Google Webmaster Tools for creating a video sitemap. Use important keywords in the anchor text that links to your videos featured on your sitemap.

9. Branding
As video is a great way to generate brand awareness with prospects, take advantage of this opportunity to incorporate your brand and logos into your videos.

10. Embedding Options
Help your video go viral. Allow other users access to the coding that will allow them to embed your video on their website or blog. This can help gain valuable back links and shares that will boost your rankings in search engines.

11. Syndication
Submit your video to RSS feeds and syndicate your videos to drive exposure across various online platforms and to optimize your videos even more.

12. Share, Share, Share!
Get on your social networks, look through your email contacts, write on your blogs, and get the hype going. Share your video with everyone, because if you have content worth sharing, it will continue to be shared to grow an expanding audience, and in turn develop more exposure for your brand or service.

Summary
Video optimization can be a great way for you to expose your brand to users who may otherwise not have been familiar with your brand, product, or services. It is a great way to engage, entertain, and promote that will get you great results on search engines.
Good luck with your video SEO!

Paying for Links – Is It Ever a Good Idea?

With search engine optimization now playing a more important role than ever in the world of gaining exposure via search engines and online sources, many are left with tons of questions. One of the recurring questions often asked is whether or not it is a good idea to purchase link space. There is no uniform answer, unfortunately, as it depends predominantly on the type of link in question, the amount of money being spent, the quality of the institution offering the deal and other factors as well. For those wanting to purchase links in order to gain exposure, please continue reading so you can sort through when to do so and when to walk away from the situation.

Paying for Link Directories

We have all seen them: link directories that promise to help build backlinks for your website while giving your pages more authority by virtue of being a part of these link directories. In the olden days, link directories had purpose and were a great way for individuals to find particular types of content before search engines were able to use modern nuances to uncover every website. Nowadays, though, most link directories are nothing more than scams – and in fact, being featured on a link directory that sells its services while pinging onlinedomains may result in select search engines downgrading your site’s rankings.

Paying for Links via Advertising – Small-scale

Not all links are necessarily permanent; with online advertising, you can display links to your site, blog or social media hub without having to earn a placement in search engines. Some entrepreneurs will reach out to other webmasters who are offering advertising space on their websites. If the content is of a similar nature and the audience will be receptive to your message, then this is a strategy that is worth investing. Downsides to this approach are that the advertising in question will only be displayed on one website, and sometimes advertising in this format can be relatively costly.

Paying for Links via Advertising – Networks and Social Media

Similar to the above, advertising via affiliate networks or social media will result in either penetrating multiple mediums at once, or opening your advertising efforts to a much larger magnitude of web users. In the case of Facebook, for example, you can reach up to one billion people depending on how you decide to target your campaign. Non social media-related avenues such as what is available through Google will allow your website or project to be display on multiple sites and in various search engines. While this is a very cost-effective approach when compared to other methods, it will not result in any permanent link building advantage when it comes to pinging online presence.

Conclusion

There are many elements to consider when weighing a purchase that involves your site’s links. Broadly speaking, search engines frown upon those who are caught purchasing links outright in order to game the system, but advertising efforts and having a dedicated person who focuses on expanding the organic backlink process can have a much greater effect on traffic and exposure – two of the most important things to a website and the reason we do SEO in the first place.

Betterific – Making the World a Better Place

The brands that make some of today’s most popular products can only learn so much from surveys and focus groups. What they really need are ideas for improvement from actual consumers. Betterific is a web-app that provides just that, giving everyday people a place to share their ideas for making all different types of products, events, and services just a little bit better.

Take a look at the products you use everyday. You’ve probably got some ideas for how those things could be improved. With those ideas in mind, head to the Betterific site and type in your best idea (known as a “Betterif”). The idea you’ve posted will show up on the newsfeed or timeline on Betterific’s homepage, and other users can vote up or down your idea based on how useful they think it would be. Ideas can be sorted by popularity or by category. When you tag your idea, you make it easy for other people (or companies, in some cases) to find it amidst all the clutter. The more ideas you add, the higher your Betterific score. Scores are based on the quality and frequency of your “Betterifs,” and they give you a way to see how your own ideas stack up against those of other users in the Betterific community.

Speaking of other users, you can follow the people whose ideas you agree with, and see how your Betterific ranking compares to your friends at any time. Betterific also posts a “Top 10 Leaderboard,” which shows the scores of the top Betterific contributors and how many up-votes their ideas have received.

Practical Uses:

• Share your ideas for improving the taste of Diet Pepsi
• Find out how customers think you could improve your company
• Compete with friends to see who has the best ideas

Insider Tips:

• New users can sign up with Facebook, Twitter, or by entering their email addresses
• Betterifs can be sorted by date, popularity, or category
• Tag the product, category, or industry mentioned in your idea
• View the “Trending” category to see which companies or topics are being discussed most frequently

What we liked:

• Betterific is a great place for people to vent about issues they’ve experienced
• Social voting is a great way to visually see which ideas are the most useful
• People can follow the brands or topics they feel passionate about
• Betterific’s scoring feature lets people compete against their friends

What we didn’t like:

• Right now brands don’t have a way to solicit feedback about specific questions they have or products they’re testing

Alternatives:

• 43 Things – http://www.43things.com

Company Info:

• Launched: December 2012
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Founded by: Micha Weinblatt
• Web site: http://betterific.com

Costs:

• Free