Is Blogging Dead?

I was having a conversation with a successful local realtor a few days ago as we discussed the latest and upcoming trends in the world of online marketing and advertising for real estate agents. At some point we got into the discussion of blogging and he firmly believed that “blogging is outdated” and no one goes online to read blogs anymore.

I also read an interesting article in Inc. Magazine entitled “Where Have All the Bloggers Gone?” that concludes the fact that blogging is on decline and not a good marketing tool.

The Truth About Blogging

Despite opinions to the contrary, not only blogging is not dead, it has gotten more and more traction not just among humans but also amongst the spiders and bots of Google and all other major search engines. I wrote an article last month about Google’s newest search engine; Humming Bird, that clearly shows the importance of fresh, updated, relevant content in the calculation of their algorithm. Social sharing (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) doesn’t replace traditional blogging, it actually serves as a catalyst to expose blog content to a broader base of readers. My observation is people who say blogging is dead either already have a blog that died, or they have no blog at all.

Where Are We Now?

Blogging isn’t dying – it’s being refined by those who understand it best, and abandoned by those who don’t have the talent or the ability to sustain their efforts. To be fair, the Inc. Magazine article which triggered this rant did point out those “Companies that do have blogs are very happy with them. 92% of those businesses called the platform a success.” I’m not aware of any other medium/platform where 92% of users view their efforts as a success, are you?

Reasons Why Blogging Won’t Die

Because there is virtually no barrier to entry to a medium which offers global exposure to one’s thoughts and opinions, blogging will never die. While the list of reasons behind why people blog are probably only limited to the confines of one’s imagination. Companies that blog typically have 97% more inbound links than those that don’t, which means more organic search engine traffic.

And the stats get even better from there…

• 70% of consumers learn about a company through its blog versus ads.


• 60% of consumers feel positive about a company after reading its blog.


• 61% of consumers have made a purchase based on a blog post that they read.

If those stats don’t convince you to start a corporate blog, perhaps the below infographic will.

Courtesy of: Quick Sprout

 

The Road Ahead

Blogging is something that I highly recommend any business owner or manager that is thinking about having an internet strategy in place as a part of their long term marketing. Blogging has gotten a bad rap for being too time-consuming and ineffective but in reality if done correctly and consistently it can be an invaluable tool to any business. It’s the only place where you can really be a thought leader in your field and one of the only ways to increase your website’s organic rankings and being found on search engines.

Is Blogging Dead?

Why Mobile Websites are a must for any Small Business?

To put things into perspective we’re going to get started by looking at some exciting numbers around mobile web. We’ve made sure every stat is properly referenced, so feel free to share them in your reports, and on social media.

58% of all US consumers already own a smartphone.    
Source: comScore

Over 1.2 billion people access the web from their mobile devices.
Source: Trinity Digital Marketing

61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience.
Source: Latitude

Global mobile traffic now accounts for 15% of all Internet traffic.
Source: Internet Trends 2013

60% of mobile shoppers use their smartphones while in a store, and another 50% while on their way to a store.
Source: Deloitte Digital

No one screen size has more than 20% of the market share.
Source: Mobify Research & Development

90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal, whether that’s on smartphones, PCs, tablets or TV.
Source: Google

Almost half a billion tablets will ship in 2013 and 2014 alone.
Source: Gartner

Tablet users spend 50% more than PC users.
Source: Adobe

25.85% of all emails are opened on mobile phones, and 10.16% are opened on tablets.
Source: Knotice

Mobile-based searches make up one quarter of all searches.
Source: The Search Agency

95% of smartphone users have searched for local info.
Source: Google

So we know that mobile-friendly sites should be an important part of any small business’s online presence but with all the different solutions and terminologies (i.e. responsive, mobile site, mobile compatible, mobile optimized) how can one know what’s the right solution for them?

Non-Compatible Mobile Sites Vs. Mobile Sites (Optimized & Responsive)

The difference between a non-compatible website and a mobile optimized website continues to be a source of confusion. Mobile optimized website will optimize your site to be more appropriate for smaller screens. They also offer simpler navigation and faster load times. However there are some differences between them.

Structuring a mobile-friendly website means rethinking the design process for a variety of screens across multiple mobile platforms. While tablets may be able to handle your full website; smartphones are limited in terms of space and screen size.

The experience of a non-optimized website can negatively impact a consumer’s likeliness to book and overall perception of the brand. Many businesses are aware of this consequence but are still struggling to understand what characterizes a mobile optimized website.

What is a non-compatible site?

A non-compatible website is a website that doesn’t contain Flash. It means that a website is viewable on a Smartphones or Tablets, but it is not optimized for these devices. These websites have been designed for web browsers on PCs with much larger screens and navigation using a mouse.

You will notice a few things about these websites when you attempt to browse them on your Smartphone or Tablet – you have to scroll left, right, up or down to navigate different areas of the site, multimedia may load slower, text is small so you have to zoom in to read it and the links are difficult to click with your fingertip.

What are mobile optimized and responsive sites?

A mobile optimized website is designed specifically for Smartphones and Tablets, not a PC or laptop. A mobile optimized website doesn’t require the user to zoom in to read text and view the content. On a mobile optimized site the navigation is built for efficiency, the images and media are optimized for quick loading and the content is succinct for maximum effectiveness. In addition, mobile-only functionality includes click-to-call, click-to-email and map and directions.

If your website has been optimized for mobile devices you will know – not only because it is much easier to navigate and use compared to the experience of a compatible website but because you will likely see less bounce rates, higher engagement levels and improved conversions.

Below is an image that compares the difference between mobile compatible sites and a non-compatible website.

As you can see an optimized mobile websites provide a much more appealing browsing experience that users have come to expect and enjoy. Mobile internet browsing and shopping has become a trend of the present and are only expected to increase in the years to come.

Why Mobile Websites are a must for any Small Business?

ARE YOU DOING YOUR SEO WRONG?

Get a free and quick evaluation by clicking the link below and simply placing your website url in the search box:

http://www.quicksprout.com/

ARE YOU DOING YOUR SEO WRONG?

Here Comes "Hummingbird"

Google has recently introduced their newest search algorithm it uses to sort through information it has when you search and come back with answers. It’s called “Hummingbird” and here’s what we know about it so far.

For those that are not familiar with search engine “algorithm”; the term for what you can think of as a recipe that Google uses to sort through the billions of websites and information it has, in order to return what it believes to be the best and most relevant results.

What’s “Hummingbird?”

It’s the name of the new search algorithm that Google is using in it’s latest edition that is suppose to give the best and most relevant results. The Hummingbird update was different from the other algorithm updates like Panda and penguin, revising core aspects of how Google understands what it finds on the pages it crawls. Google has informed us that the name comes from being “precise and fast.”

With this latest update, Google is claiming that they’re now able to:

1. To better understand the intent of a query and broaden the pool of web docs that may answer that query


2. To simplify how it delivers information


3. To offer a better search experience, because expanding the query and better understanding the relationships between search entities


4. As a consequence, Google may present better SERPs also in terms of better ads, because in 99% of the cases, verbose queries were not presenting ads in their SERPs before Hummingbird.

What can you do to be Hummingbird-friendly?

1. When creating and optimizing your site keep only your audience in mind


2. When performing on-page optimization for your site,  use a clear and not overly complex information architecture


3. Avoiding thin-content issues


4. Topically optimizing the content of the site on a page-by-page basis, using natural and semantically rich language


5. Creating useful content using several formats, that you yourself would like to share with your friends and link to


6. Implementing Schema.org, Open Graph and semantic mark-ups.


7. Make sure that your link building objectives are to topically related sites and/or topically related sections of a more generalist site (News site)


8. Make sure that all the data is shared through your social media channels


9. Overall make sure that you’re not using ANY manipulation tactics and that you only have your audience in mind when writing, building links and sharing information

Below we present the results of Moz’s 2013 Correlation Study. Select one of the 10 categories at the top of the chart to focus on those characteristics.

Here Comes "Hummingbird"

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