Showing posts with label Brian Clark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Clark. Show all posts

Authority


We recently concluded an entire series of articles by our Chief Copywriter Demian Farmworth on the topics of Authorship, Author Rank, and Google+ for the online content creator.


It was a smashing success, which indicates that writers and other online content creators are excited about these topics. And you should be.


But let’s be clear – as best as anyone can tell, Author Rank has not been implemented yet. And that means there’s some chance it may never become an algorithmic aspect of the way Google ranks web pages.


To briefly recap:



  • Authorship is the way Google knows who the creator of a piece of content is, no matter which site that content resides on.

  • Author Rank is the idea – supported by patents filed by Google – that who creates a page of content (and links out from that page), based on their historical reputation for creating content people actually like, would become one of the signals Google relies on when ranking relevant results of a particular topic.

  • Google+ is a massive topical network (as opposed to a traditional social network) that provides Google with direct data about what people like and share when it comes to content on the web.


Authorship and Google+ are the real deal, right now. And they both have demonstrated value to content creators and site owners.


Author Rank is still in the speculation phase. So what happens if it never happens?


It absolutely doesn’t matter.


Everything you need to succeed is already here


During the last 7 years or so, there have been two different approaches to SEO.


One approach was to game the algorithm, get slapped, get back up, and game again.


The other approach was to create great content, attract natural links and social sharing, and focus primarily on pleasing people while also artfully spoon-feeding Google.


Guess which approach won?


You already have the ability to own the search rankings as a savvy content creator. Let’s look at what would matter if Author Rank were actually implemented.



  • Find out what topics people want

  • Create great content that people want

  • Gently tweak that content so Google knows what to do with it

  • Have a strong distribution network (Facebook, Twitter, Google+)

  • Have real-world relationships with influential people in your field

  • Build an authoritative website

  • Write at other authoritative websites


Do all that right now, and you don’t need Author Rank. Because, as AJ Kohn recently pointed out, you’ll have authority.


And authority is all you need.


All You Need is Authority


Since 2006, we’ve been telling you how it is. And we told you 2013 is a tipping point for online writers.


It’s all about authority.


Authority is what people respond to.


Authority is what Google wants.


We’re about to help you get more of it.


Stay tuned.


About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on .



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via Copyblogger http://www.copyblogger.com/author-rank/


Image of Site Sensor Loaded on MacBook and iPhone


Any of this sound familiar?



  • You find out your site has been down for over an hour … from cranky people on Twitter and Facebook.

  • What about missing out on that time-sensitive request for proposal, because your email server wasn’t pulling new mail?

  • Is your payment processer down right now and you don’t have a clue, because the rest of your site is up and looks fine, but no one can buy?


All of that has happened to me more than once over the last 15 years, especially before we took control of our own hosting. But even then, sometimes things go wrong, and you simply have no idea.


For example, a couple weeks ago we discovered that a site map on Copyblogger had been completely borked for who knows how long. It had been created back in 2008, and somewhere along the line it failed, causing significant damage to our search rankings on Bing.


How did we find out about it and fix it? Site Sensor, the new website monitoring service we created to sniff out these very kind of problems.


Website Monitoring for Online Publishers, by Online Publishers


Other website monitoring options out there seem to come from a different era. A time when the “IT department” worried about things such as website uptime, performance and security issues, and third-party vendors whose services were causing mission-critical problems.


We found these monitoring services full of technical gobblygook, cryptic warning indicators, and the kind of customer service that fits every stereotype of the condescending “IT guy” who treats “normal” people like they’re idiots. We weren’t having any of that.


In the real world of today’s Internet, websites are often built and maintained by the very people who create the content for those sites. These people are somewhat technically versed, but fairly far from the propeller-head type.


In other words, people similar to the people on the Copyblogger editorial team.


Even at the enterprise level, it’s the marketing and content staff who have the most to lose when things break. The IT Department is, shall we say, a bit less invested.


So, we decided to have our own propeller heads (heh) create the comprehensive monitoring service that we wanted. And now, we’d like to share Site Sensor with you, no matter what kind of website you have.


Monitor Any Website (Plus a Whole Lot More)


It doesn’t matter if you use WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal. It makes no difference if you’re running a custom enterprise CMS, or a Dreamweaver-spun HTML website from back in the day.


Site Sensor will keep you in the know:



  • Site down? You’ll get instant notification via email, SMS, or iPhone app.

  • Email not working? You’ll know instantly to tell others about alternative ways to contact you.

  • Search engines not able to process your site properly? Site Sensor is on it.


Plus, all these other great functions:



  • Uptime and response time statistics for each monitored site.

  • Website monitoring from locations in North America and Europe ensures accurate results across the globe.

  • Checks that your RSS feed is current and resolving properly.

  • Ensures that your sitemap includes your most recent post.

  • Checks the up/down status of any device that responds to pings.

  • Knows if your vital third-party services, like payment processing, are up.

  • Lets you know if you accidently blocked search engines from indexing your site.

  • Gives you unlimited email site status notifications directly to your inbox.

  • Tracks your sites via iPhone from anywhere, and receive push notifications when sites go down and back up.

  • Alerts you via SMS text message when sites go down or up (international SMS available).

  • Optionally receive automated calls when your sites go down or up (billed at 3¢ per call).


Two Ways to Get Your Site Sensor On


Option One: Free Website Monitoring for all Synthesis WordPress Hosting Clients


Anyone in the web hosting business would say you’d have to be insane to empower customers to know each time their site goes down, whether they notice or not. Stark, raving, crazy.


We prefer the word confident.


In other words, we don’t claim superior uptime like everyone else in the hosting industry. We demonstrate it.


That’s why every Synthesis hosting account comes with Site Sensor for one site, absolutely free. If you use WordPress, you really owe it to yourself and your business to be treated better.


Check out Synthesis today.


Option Two: Shockingly Affordable Website Monitoring for Any Site


I’ll admit it: I think Site Sensor is the best choice out there for peace of mind and revenue rescue from undiscovered downtime and other tech fails. And that’s worth a lot.


Think about it, how much money do you lose when you don’t realize your site is down? When you can’t take payments? When your search engine rankings suffer because of some stupid thing that no one noticed?


Well, don’t worry about me draining your bank account based on the number that just made your brain cringe. Site Sensor is more affordable than anything we’ve looked at as an alternative option.


Again, this isn’t a WordPress thing. It’s a website thing.


Monitor any site and all those other mission critical Internet functions for $2 a month (yes, that’s just two bucks a month on our quarterly plan). Choose our annual plan and it’s even less than that.


I’m pretty sure I can get you an excellent return on those two dollars. And as always, we guarantee it.


Get Site Sensor for your site today.


About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on .




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via Copyblogger http://www.copyblogger.com/site-sensor-website-monitoring/

image of Google+


Does any of this sound familiar?



  • That’s just dumb.

  • No one’s over there.

  • Who needs another social network?


Yep, many people, including me, were saying that about Twitter in 2008. Seems we were wrong.


Now, some people are saying the same things about Google+. Some of those people owe their current careers to being Twitter early adopters.


Threatened much?


Here’s the deal. Google+ in early 2013 is way ahead of Twitter circa 2008. And it’s much more important for content creators and marketers than Twitter … and that’s saying a lot.


Let’s look at why Google+ is more inevitable than ever for content marketers.


Google+ Passes Up Twitter


Google+ is now the second largest social network in terms of active users, passing Twitter and ranking only second to Facebook. So much for the “ghost town” theory, huh?


Where did all that ghost town talk come from, anyway? How about Facebook’s PR department and snarky bloggers who’ve invested too heavily in other platforms?


Be careful who you listen to.


Author Rank is the Real Deal


We’ve told you how to set up Google authorship on your WordPress site. But is it really that important?


Let’s listen to Google’s famously loose-lipped former CEO Eric Schmidt:



Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance.



Any questions?


It’s All About Content


Facebook is downright hostile to content marketers unless you want to pay to reach your own audience. Twitter looks like it wants to be a content player itself.


Google+ isn’t a typical social network. It’s a topical network, organized around content, not who you went to high school with.


When an organization’s stated purpose is to organize the world’s information, it makes sense that Google+ has developed as a topical network. And instead of resisting, any content creator should be sprinting over to Google+ and building an audience there.


Let Us Help


We’re going to do our best to drag you over to Google+ for your own good.



  • First, head over there and add me to your circles. I’ll give you smart online marketing content and groovy 80s music videos.

  • We’ll also be doing live Hangouts (video presentations) including question and answer sessions.

  • We’ll be starting up online communities about content creation for everyone to participate in.


Cool?


About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on Twitter and .


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via Copyblogger http://www.copyblogger.com/get-on-google-plus/