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Brand Mentions Improve SEO

BrandMentionsWe have a new Sheriff in SEO Town and he goes by, ‘Brand Mentions.’

SEOLink building used to rule SEO, but today Brand Mentions has taken control. Why? Google trusts Brand Mentions more because they are harder to manipulate and falsify.

The Dark Past with Link Building – Back in the day, Google and other search engines decided that the more links a website had leading to their site, the better SEO ranking the site should get. However link building was easy to fake, and many website and SEO managers began to utilize Link Pyramids and other artificial link building strategies to increase the number of inbound links to their sites.

Today, most search algorithms are OVER that. They, (especially Google) dislike being ‘tricked’ and your SEO will suffer if you try. So don’t do it! If you have existing artificial links from the “glory days past”…find them, and dump them, before they come back to haunt and hurt your website.

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A Bright Future with Brand Mentions – Google has determined that quality links and brand mentions on other (reputable and legit), websites carry more weight than plain links to your site.

Their reasoning: If a website manager, content writer, or social media manager, (from an unrelated brand) trusts your brand enough to mention it and/or link to it, then Google approves, and will give your site a higher SEO ranking.

Brand Mentions can range from:

  • Text mentions of your brands name
  • Discussing your brand
  • Having a live link with copy about your brand
  • Sharing your content

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Platforms where Brand Mentions count:

  • Websites
  • Blogs
  • Social Media (Google+, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Ways to monitor your Brand Mentions:

  1. Use robotic applications such as, Fresh Web Explorer or Mention
    • Pros: Fast and easy (what a combo)
    • Cons: Not free and can be less accurate
  2. Manually use Google to identify Brand Mentions:

Identify  Brand Name Mentions:

  • Open a Google Search
  • Use parenthesis around your “Brand Name” – to ensure you only get results with your exact Brand Name

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  • Click on Search Tools and select location and the time frame you want to search

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Identify Brand Website Mentions:

  • Open a Google Search
  • type url:website (example, url:o2creative.com)SEO
  • Click on Search Tools and select location and the time frame you want to search

From here you can take the necessary steps to protect your brand’s identity and recognize those who are recognizing and mentioning your brand.

If you have questions or concerns about your website’s SEO, we are here to help. O2 Creative specializes in websites, SEO, graphic design, branding, marketing strategies, and printing. Our team of skilled and creative designers, web programmers, copywriters, and social media experts work with clients to ensure their businesses stand out. Give us a call, send us an email, or stop by our office today. · [email protected] · Phone: 970.726.8021

Google and Your Website

Google and Your Website

 googlesearch

“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact on our search results.”

– Google

What does that mean for your website? If your website is not responsive or mobile friendly, your mobile search engine rankings will take a hit. (Say goodbye to your first page rankings)

Why is this happening? Google is putting mobile users first, because mobile traffic is outweighing desktop traffic on the old “inter-web” these days…

desktop-mobile-stats

Not sure if your site is mobile-friendly or responsive? Test it here

If your website is responsive, pat yourself on the back and go watch videos of cute puppies…

If your site is mobile-only, take a deep breath knowing your site will be safe from Google’s “mobile-pocalypse,” but you might want to continue reading to learn the many benefits of a responsive website.

Image Source: WebProNews
Image Source: WebProNews

If your website FAILED  you’ve got two options:

– Option 1: Create a mobile-only website that links to your website

– Option 2: Replace your website with a responsive website

Mobile-only design: This is a separate website specifically for mobile devices. (You will end up having two websites, one for desktop users and one for mobile users.)

Pros:

  • Lower upfront cost
  • Customizable for mobile users

Cons:

  • Site needs to be maintained frequently for future browsers
  • Higher long-term costs to maintain and update multiple websites
  • SEO challenges – Google sees two websites vs. “piggy backing” on the sites
  • Redirecting from desktop website slows the loading, hurting SEO

Responsive Website: This is an all-inclusive website that aesthetically fits whatever device (desktop, mobile, tablet…) users are browsing on.

Pros:

  • Lower lifetime cost (less day to day maintenance)
  • One website covers everything
  • Very flexible among different devices
  • Provides users with a unified experience no matter the device ~ ideal for branding
  • Google recommends responsive – (Google is the BOSS..surrender for your business’ sake)

Cons:

  • Higher upfront cost

O2_Creative_Online_Work

The Trend: Google has specified that these changes are specific to mobile search results, however indicators suggest that Google will expand these rankings to desktop searches as well. With mobile devices outweighing desktop users, we recommend that businesses and organizations switch their websites to responsive or mobile-friendly now.

The Reality: So on April 21, 2015 Google’s mobile ranking algorithm will include their new mobile-friendly usability factors, either pushing your site’s mobile SEO rankings up, (if you’re mobile-friendly/responsive) or pulling your mobile rankings down if your website is not.

Contact us at O2 Creative for more information and to find out how this will impact your website. Don’t let your search ranking slip. Let us help you revamp your website and capitalize on Google’s new mobile ranking algorithm.