Having Online Marketing Success in 2014 | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Search engine optimization has been changed forever in 2013. With the continually huge changes that Google implemented through the Penguin and the Panda updates as well as the supplementary programs such as Disavow, there are new tools as well as new pitfalls that must be dealt with in order to create the same success for 2014 that you had in 2013.

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2014 Online Marketing Philosophy

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2014 will see a continued push for the major search engines to perform search indexing more like a human visitor; however, this human visitor has the advantage of being able to remember everything that it comes into contact with as well as instantly access an endless number of examples to compare. The closer that the search engines come to perfecting this technology, the less that black hat techniques that rely on manipulation will work in increasing the search ranking of a website. Content will become more and more prevalent.

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Changes in 2014

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In order to receive the best indexing that your site possibly can, you must first relieve your site of weak links. This can be done through the Google Disavow program, which allows you to disassociate yourself from the spam sites as well as the dead sites that may be taking down your PageRank.

You must make the content that is on your site as dynamic and as up to date as possible. If you do not have the manpower to keep the news on your site up to date, then you can take advantage of many aggregation services to siphon in content from other sources. This is better than a static website, which will always be ranked lower in the search engines than dynamic sites.

You must be sure to make your code conducive to a high search engine rank. There are many standards that the major search engines adhere to – if your code is not one of these standards, then you will suffer in the search engine rankings.

The internal structure of your website should be as perfect as possible. Indexing a site in search engines is much easier if the website is organized in a fashion that makes it easier to index. Imagine having to draw up a table of contents for a book that had no punctuation – this is what an unorganized site looks like to the major search engines. Take the time to properly label all of your pages with tags, link internally to each of your pages from other pages, spell check and grammar check your web copy and cut down the number of pages on your site to only those that are truly necessary.

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Content Remains King

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Above all of the changes on your website will be exclusive content. Exclusive content will be found by the major search engines and always be ranked above synthetic or copied content as long as it is relevant. In order to make sure that it is relevant, perform tests with the free word-web tools that are provided by the major search engines.

One of the most important updates that you must make is that your content cannot be filled with keywords in a spammy fashion. Individual keywords have been downgraded in the formula that the major search engines use in determining the relevance of web copy to a particular subject – what is much more important is the behavior of people who find the website. Make sure that your copy reads well to a human so that the website will be “sticky,” that is, people stay on your site for a long time after visiting.

Aaron Russell, an internet marketing master, is highly dedicated in developing strategies for SEOCompanyGuru.com. The company deals with various techniques used in Search Engine Optimization like SMO, link building, reputation management and much more. If you want higher search rankings for your website, stop waiting and get your desired results.

Having Online Marketing Success in 2014 – Click to Tweet

Having Online Marketing Success in 2014

European Airlines Allow Use of Gadgets during Take-Off | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Oh, how we hate having to switch electronic devices off on a flight. Waiting to be re-connected after you take off or land can be a total bore – but it looks like things are about to change. European travellers will soon be able to use their electronic gadgets for the entire duration of their flights, thanks to changes announced recently by Europe’s air safety agency, otherwise known as EASA.

Currently, we know that passengers are only able to use personal electronic devices once the plane has fully taken off but the EASA has announced that travellers will soon be able to use their gadgets during take-off and landing as well.  It is estimated that a full list of devices able to be used on aeroplanes will be released towards the end of November.

“Hurray!” we hear you cry. This is no doubt very welcome news indeed to frequent travellers.  Gone will be the days of stowing away your e-reader whilst those around you continue to read their paper books.  With e-readers and tablets having taken such a prominent place in many people’s lives, not being able to use them can be very inconvenient and many passengers find themselves sitting and twiddling their thumbs waiting for their plane to take off before they can once again immerse themselves in their latest purchase.  For those who are afraid of flying it might also perhaps provide a welcome distraction.  It will also no doubt be great news for business travellers who will now be able to make the most of their time in the air.

The reason behind these alterations to air safety rules follows extensive research which concluded that the majority of commercial aeroplanes can handle the radio interference signals which electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets and e-readers emit.  If airline companies wish to allow their passengers to use their personal electronic devices they must first assess whether their aeroplanes can tolerate the radio interference.  Once they have done this then they must apply to the UK Civil Aviation Authority to receive the go ahead.  It is thought that the first approvals will start to take place in the next few months.

When an airline has received the necessary approval, passengers will be free to use their smart devices as long as they are in ‘flight mode’.  Ultimately though, the decision over whether passengers can use their devices lies with the individual airline companies and not with the EASA.

The sad news is that no changes are being made to the rules over calls and texts being made during flights, although the EASA have indicated that they are looking into this as a possibility for the future. This is a big factor for many people who want to use their phones during flight for texts and internet. Currently, the plane has to land before being allowed access to connect. This can be a nuisance for business travellers who want to stay in touch with their email service. Providers like www.mobi-data.co.uk will allow you to connect to high speed internet from anywhere in the world as soon as you land, and it would be great to see this service in the air too.

In any case, it is a step in the right direction. It is very exciting to think of the advances being made in aeroplane technology and that making calls during flights might be a tangible possibility in the not too distant future.  Although this may not be welcome news to those looking to travel in peace and quiet!

European Airlines Allow Use of Gadgets during Take-Off – Click to Tweet

European Airlines Allow Use of Gadgets during Take-Off

Social Media Marketing Gone Wrong: Epic Twitter Fails | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Who, in the stream of numerous brands, doesn’t have any Twitter account these days? Whether it’s a multi-national business or a mere start-up, most brands maintain a Twitter account to keep their followers posted regarding new products, services and promotions. There is no doubt that using the micro-blogging site is an effective way to keep in touch with users and potential customers. Being so, there is always a right way to use Twitter and other social networking platforms to promote brand awareness.

As much as there are numerous success stories on the use of Twitter in online marketing efforts, there are still a handful of Twitter marketing fails which can be singled out. Here are some of the most popular social media marketing attempts (via Twitter) gone wrong.

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The Case of Radiohead and Their Scheduled Tweets

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Last 2012, the popular British rock band, Radiohead was scheduled to have a concert in Toronto, Canada. Tickets were sold out and everyone was excited for the show and so as any proactive promoter would do, prescheduled tweets were made for the show. But then, the outdoor stage constructed for the concert gave in before the show and took the life of one person and injured three others. The show was then canceled. However, the tweet that was supposed to be sent during the concert was not.

The scheduled tweet was prompting fans in the concert to take pictures during the concert and compile an album which will be featured on Instagram. The promoter needed to issue an apology after deleting the tweet.

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Celebrities Making Mistakes

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PR agencies were the first ones to adapt social media marketing as a tool in promoting their events and getting people on-the-know about their new campaigns and promotions. In the past, PR firms would ask professional writers to write lengthy press releases for media outlets in order to promote new products or notify people of any upcoming events.

Fast forward today, traditional press releases are slowly becoming a thing of the past, thanks to interactive social media platforms like Twitter. However, one PR company and one careless celebrity proved to be a bad mix. In a PR agency’s desire to promote their event, they asked the famous athlete Desean Jackson to tweet about how cool the event was.

However, carelessness has taken its toll when Jackson tweeted the original message prompting him to tweet about the event as if he was on it even though he was not. Half a million followers received the tweet which became an embarrassing blow towards the PR agency and to the careless actor. Jackson managed to delete the twitter and replaced it with the intended message, but as always, the incident spread like a wildfire thanks to the social media.

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A Bad Mix of Auto Companies and Auto-response

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Big brands have their fair share of fails when it comes to their social media marketing strategy. It all began when Toyota was prepping up to promote a new model of their Camry line in last year’s Super Bowl. Fans who were merely tweeting about their favorite teams received an auto-response which can be aptly characterized as, well, spammy. Same thing happened when the automobile company Acura attempted to promote their brand in Jazz Fest 2012. Both companies issued an apology following the incident.

Cara Lane Svendsen started with a simple tech blog in the early 2000s and has expanded her scope to cover other emerging and relevant tech issues, more recently, about the use of social media platforms in optimizing and improving business strategies. Cara now works on a freelance basis for essayontime.com, a well-known online essay writing company and is now a senior associate of a successful US-based finance and consultation consultation company. Get in touch with her via Google+

Social Media Marketing Gone Wrong: Epic Twitter Fails – Click to Tweet

Social Media Marketing Gone Wrong: Epic Twitter Fails

How Social Media is Revolutionizing Workplace Learning | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Education, from elementary school to corporate training, is being flipped on its head by technology, and social media has been one of the biggest disruptors of all. When Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media tools first started to take off, teachers and companies tried their hardest to ban students and employees from using them during school/work hours. But today, the value of social media is becoming more recognized in classrooms of all types and instead of trying to get rid of it, educators and employers are embracing it. Social media is revolutionizing how we learn, and as a result we are becoming both more connected and more productive.

Social media is changing workplace learning by making the process of training and development more relevant to employees’ actual needs. It has long been known that formal learning (i.e., what is done in classrooms) accounts for only about 20 percent of our learning experiences, while informal learning, which includes social learning, comprises the rest. Social media tools greatly facilitate social learning, and smart companies are starting to leverage this fact in their training and development departments.

Here are the major areas in which social media are changing workplace learning:

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Personal & Professional Learning Networks

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In the past, it was possible to learn everything about a particular field, but today there is simply too much information in any given area for a person to learn it all. So instead of trying to memorize everything, learners are using social media to build their own personal and professional learning networks. This goes way beyond LinkedIn to include people, communities, content, and other digital resources spread across the web. By accessing these networks, employees can foster relationships with their coworkers, keep up with new innovations, and quickly find answers to complex questions.

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Personalized Learning

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Training and development programs often take a shotgun approach to workplace learning, but social media allows employees to personalize their own learning. This leads to cost savings (not all training needs to be delivered to everyone) as well as better training (employees can ensure they learn the knowledge and skills that are most relevant to them).

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Access to Experts

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Social media, especially Twitter, provides direct access to experts. This has huge advantages for learners, who can now learn from the top experts in their field.

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Just-In-Time Learning

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On-demand, just-in-time learning is replacing in-advance, just-in-case learning. This model has many benefits, as employees can use social media to learn new skills at the moment of need and then apply those skills immediately. For example, a study earlier this year showed that 25 percent of doctors use social media every day to learn something that will help them in their job. 

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Shared Content

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Social media allows both trainers and employees to easily curate and share content outside of formal training environments. This not only facilitates access to information, but also fosters collaboration, helps ensure that all employees are up to speed, and provides a filter for the vast amounts of information found on the web.

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Anytime, Anywhere Learning

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The combination of social media and mobile learning technologies has expanded the classroom way beyond the traditional four walls. Today people can connect with their learning networks anytime and from anywhere. This means that people literally never stop learning.

If you are a business owner or manager, chances are your employees are already using social media to join networks, find and share content, and just generally improve productivity. Here are a few ways you can create a workplace environment that promotes the use of social media for learning:

• Don’t ban Facebook. Banning Facebook deprives employees of a major social learning tool and also suggests you don’t trust them.


• Host Twitter discussions. Twitter chats are not only great opportunities for employees to interact, but they can also promote awareness of your brand.


• Create virtual environments for collaboration. Set up an intranet chat room, an organizational knowledge base, or even some collaborative Google Docs where employees can share resources.

These are just some of the many ways social media tools can be leveraged for workplace learning. If you are unsure how to begin, start by discovering what tools your employees are using already and find a way to support their efforts. By embracing these technologies now, you create a learning environment in which your employees will be better informed, better trained, and more productive.

Sameer Bhatia is founder & CEO of ProProfs.com which is a leading provider of online learning tools for building, testing, and applying knowledge. ProProfs LMS Software offers marketers and trainers powerful-but-simple features without requiring them to download or learn expensive software. Sameer has a background in technology with a Masters in Computer Science from USC (University Of Southern California) and is an ed-tech industry veteran. You can find Sameer on Google+ and Twitter.

How Social Media is Revolutionizing Workplace Learning – Click to Tweet

How Social Media is Revolutionizing Workplace Learning

Organization Recruitment Tools #SocialMedia #MakeItWorkSoYouDon’tHaveTo | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

It’s no secret that everyone and their grandma is using social media. Your organization probably is too. If, however, you haven’t bought into the digital world yet, you ought to ditch those luddite ways and make social media your greatest recruitment weapon (read=strategy). If you are online, you should make you’re your efforts worth your time. Social media offers opportunities to connect with new and existing members in ways that the old-school ways of recruiting just can’t touch. But, you have to do it right.

Here’s how….

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Know Which Outlet(s) Will Work Best

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If you’re new to all this, then the first thing you’ll want to figure out is which social media outlet will work best for you. If, for example, you were a clothing retailer, you’d likely want to use Pinterest, Instagram, or both because they’d allow you to showcase photos of your products. If, however, you were a software company, you’d likely skip the Instagram account and opt instead for an outlet that would allow you to share information, articles, etc., like Facebook, or a blog account. As an organization, you’ll likely want to create a community of followers that you can interact with, so you’ll probably want to explore Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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Use it Well

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One of the side-effects of identifying the purpose and usefulness of different social media outlets is that it will help drive your focus as you use it. If your purpose is to recruit members, you will want to be really present on your account and show that you’re serious and invested in the digital space. You don’t have to share things every hour of every day (in fact, being overly-present can have adverse effects if you aren’t staying intentional with your account), but you ought to update your account regularly and consistently. Don’t forget that one of the best features of social media is that it allows you to interact directly with your followers. Don’t be afraid, then, to respond to their messages or comments on behalf of your brand or organization.

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Create (or Reflect) Your Culture

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Social media accounts are also prime spots to represent or create your organization’s culture for others to see and participate in. Everything from the photos (or videos) you share to the tone of your posts lets people see what you’re about and influences whether or not they want to jump on board your train. Use that to your advantage, and portray yourself as accurately as possible.

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Make it Worth Their While

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Of course, culture and presence are important factors in gaining and keeping people’s interest in your account, but it’s also a good idea to ask yourself what you hope people will get out of interacting with your social media account. Are you sharing helpful information that is in demand? Are you addressing their concerns? Are you using it as a platform for them to share their ideas with you? Are you sharing special “inside information” or promotional deals? Whatever you decide, make sure it fits within your organization’s mission, and don’t be afraid to keep it simple or get creative.

As a final note: it is better to maintain one account well than it is to have only a hand in a few different social media sites. Stay focused and meaningful, and you can’t go wrong.

Victoria Michelson is a freelance writer for Wild Apricot, and when she isn’t blogging about membership software, she is running races to support local nonprofit organizations in Boise, ID.

Organization Recruitment Tools #SocialMedia #MakeItWorkSoYouDon’tHaveTo – Click to Tweet

Organization Recruitment Tools #SocialMedia #MakeItWorkSoYouDon’tHaveTo

WebRTC Peer to Peer VoIP Video Marketing | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

WebRTC is an increasing standard founded in the capability to perform peer-to-peer and real time video and voice communications, implemented through the use of a browser. There is no plug-ins needed in this regard. This has ultimately resulted to a buzz in the united communications industry. While the earlier applications offer a lower quality of video and voice communications from different vendors, the step to looking at the next level may seem too risky for many companies.

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Introduction to WebRTC

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Since the emergence of the idea revolving around the use of WebRTC, many industries and companies are eagerly anticipating the use of its functionalities. At the same time, there are also misconceptions created along the way. For one, this protocol will not be an alternative or a replacement of the VoIP infrastructure, or the video conferencing systems. The earlier applications for WebRTC are now beginning to influence companies, offering cheaper and simpler real time communications options.

To understand fully how WebRTC works, it is vital to understand the truth and the misunderstandings behind its overall implementation. The following will promptly describe what WebRTC can do, and what it cannot do.

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What it CAN do

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In a nutshell, WebRTC has the capability to:

• Be effective especially for consumer facing companies

These days, customer facing websites thank WebRTC functionalities in the success of their enterprise. This allows different businesses to improve their abilities with capabilities such as click-to-call for their customers. The best part is that, enterprises do not have to pay and invest in toll free services, since the calls come from the Internet.

• Eliminating the need to download different plugins for video calls

This pre-standardized and open source protocol is enabled in Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers. While WebRTC is not being supported in all browsers, there is still a need to use plugins.

Microsoft is already planning to provide support to WebRTC, while meeting its needs. Apple will most likely support it after its finalization. One of WebRTC’s capabilities is to host both external and internal meetings with the use of the web browser rather than using an installed plugin or client.

Once WebRTC becomes more stable and fully completed, enterprises will become more familiar with all the standards that it will introduce. As a matter of fact, there is a tendency that businesses will begin to write their own applications in order to take advantage of cost savings and functionality.

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What it CANNOT do

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• Create security issues revolving around video calling

Encrypting capabilities when using WebRTC video or audio session are able to be implemented. However, the clients who are supporting video conferencing will also need to negotiate whether they support encryption or not. Video conferencing is still a different protocol, and WebRTC is not an alternative option.

• Create an alternative infrastructure for VoIP/video conferencing

These days, development of software revolving around WebRTC applications is reaching a new level. However, the fact remains that not all enterprises jump to completely replace their standard systems. The idea is still the same wherein all the currently existing infrastructures will serve as a support to the WebRTC infrastructure. It will not become as an alternative to such existing structures.

It is clear to note then, however, that while these WebRTC applications are not created to replace the currently existing technology, they can assist in filling the gaps. A lot of companies have been focusing on the advantages that WebRTC is offering. It offers customer engagement while incorporating its infrastructure to the existing workflow. Since there are encryption capabilities that are closely associated with the current protocol, even organizations such as healthcare and financial companies are also interested in using WebRTC.

Michelle Patterson is an avid technology blogger and writes extensively about IP/VoIP and Unified Communication. She works with some leading companies to understand the trends of these modern communication technologies.

WebRTC Peer to Peer VoIP Video Marketing – Click to Tweet

WebRTC Peer to Peer VoIP Video Marketing

Costly SEO Mistakes to Avoid in 2014 | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

With Google’s algorithm constantly on the move, it’s hard to keep up with what’s considered right and wrong in the world of Internet and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Barricades between offline and online business have broken down and the rapid shifts in technology, and the way customers adapt to it has transformed businesses significantly.

Most of us are well aware of how vital SEO is to any successful blogging or marketing campaign and therefore be implemented using the right methods. Now, with companies so heavily dependent on major search engines like Google because their customers congregate there, SEO is fast moving from optional to mandatory.

SEO is intricate for numerous of reasons, from sudden rank changes to mysterious algorithm updates, Google takes several factors into account when ranking a webpage – and just to throw marketing types into a complete spin every now and then, they keep changing it.

So how do you stay on your toes and avoid making costly SEO mistakes? We delve into a few to avoid for 2014, and how implementing these suggestions will not only bring you more traffic, but also strengthen your company and speed you toward your strategic goals – at a lower cost of course.

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No Content Focus

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It’s no secret that content is super important in the eyes of both Google and consumers, but the focus on useful and relevant information is still the number one costly SEO mistake. 2014 is the year to forget over-the-top heroic content and shift your focus to something that listens to your target audience and reaches out through the screen to entertain, influence and solve the problems that keeps them tossing and turning at night.

Content is just that – content, until it has the ability to entice a group of listeners, wriggle its way into something that is sharable and create discussion or debate. Companies that spew out content simply like its advertising will not go far in the New Year, each article needs to have a specific focus and deliver on the promise of your email headlines and landing pages.

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Content Isn’t Diverse Enough

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On that note, varied content is more likely going to boost your website’s ranking. When we think of content marketing, it’s easy to get into the mindset of just using words but content that mixes between text, images and videos will fuel your audience’s hunger for visual impact much more.

Whilst the saying a picture can paint a thousand words is very much true in this case, that’s not to say it’s an ideal method to replace text with images. Visually appealing content is encouraged by Google and consumers but because the search engine spiders crawl text much easier, include both so the message and keywords are read by all.

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Being Stuck in a Rut

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Google moves quickly, and with new developments constantly evolving it’s easy to get left behind so having your finger on the pulse is even more crucial than ever. Businesses that are clinging on the past and what used to work aren’t keeping up and in term, getting stuck in a serious rut.

If each financial year your budget goes solely to the same investments as the year before, you’re fast missing the benefits claimed through effective SEO. Planning for tomorrow and being two steps in front (well, maybe not of Google!) has never been so important to implement and embrace the constant technology advances and changes. If you haven’t done so already, invest in Google analytics and hire a SEO expert to help you concentrate on the important factors. Everything in marketing can be measured, so if you forking out money for something that’s not tracking your valuable time and efforts, it’s the perfect interval to stop looking in the rear-view mirror and sticking to the ‘old ways’.

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Anchor Text Keywords Not Diverse Enough

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2014 is all about mixing it up and your anchor text keywords are no different. If a single keyword is being used over and over again when linking to your content, not only will Google deem this as spammy but readers that follow your work are going to lose interest – fast.

If your anchor keyword is ‘timber flooring’ think outside the box and try combinations like ‘benefits of timber flooring’, ‘timber flooring for outside’ or ‘timber flooring decking’ to broaden the horizon a little.

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Not Understanding the Importance of Social Media Popularity

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If content is useful, enticing, fresh and interesting, it gives people a reason to share it. To Google, well, to anyone in fact – the more social media shares a piece have the more valuable that content appears.

Social engagement and popularity is one of those crucial factors we can’t seem to avoid, regardless of whether or not we want to jump on the social media bandwagon. Having your content shared all over social media sites helps to obtain better SERP (Search Engine Results Page) rankings. For 2014, aim to include social media buttons to your website and at the bottom of any articles or blogs – this will encourage readers to share the information and help build your social media and Google popularity.

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Writing Little Content

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With Google rolling out an algorithm update to feature websites in its search results consisting of detailed content, it’s clear that writing 300-400 word blogs is just not going to cut it anymore. Nowadays, people are hungry for information and many websites are suffering from posts that are simply too short and not fueling the fire.

When it comes to SEO rankings, these short articles are considered low quality, so to tempt people too write more meaty content – Google is rewarding you with higher search rankings. A recent study shows the increase in search traffic listed in the “in-depth articles” section of popular content, effectively promoting articles that are on broader topics with comprehensive information. Whilst it can be hard to consistently write articles with 2,000+ words, the dedication and helpful content you’re providing will definitely be noticed – so staying away from writing short, basic posts is an ideal option for 2014.

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Lack of Mobile Compatibility to your Website

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The rapid rise of people using mobile internet or IPads as opposed to desktop computer is no new information, yet so many websites we visit aren’t compatible for it – why is that? Not only is it frustrating for the user, but it makes you question why companies are so far behind the times.

A responsive web design that caters for this technology advance is so vital, unless of course you do want to be left behind. For 2014, ensure your website is perfectly viewed and accessible from various devices, whether it’s a tablet, desktop computer or smart phone – this will encourage a positive user experience and help boost your SEO rankings.

So, what will your New Year’s resolutions be?

This article is written by Jayde Ferguson, who writes for White Chalk Road, Perth’s SEO experts.

Costly SEO Mistakes to Avoid in 2014 – Click to Tweet

Costly SEO Mistakes to Avoid in 2014

How Zeen is Changing the Digital Media World | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

This year saw the introduction of Zeen, a website that serves as an online publishing platform. Created by the founders of YouTube, Zeen allows users to create rich content collections that redefine the common definition of the term “web magazine”. Whereas traditional mediums such as blogs and web magazines publishers limit the types of content you can use, Zeen makes it possible to pull items from numerous sources on the internet.

For individuals and businesses alike, Zeen presents itself as a promising new content creator. People can develop collections of the things they are interested in while businesses can publish multifaceted promotional content. Below is a summary of Zeen itself and its relevance for casual users and professionals.

About Zeen

Zeen opens the door for integrating video content, photos, written content and links into individual collections, or “Zeens”. By utilizing preexisting content, Zeen makes it possible to develop multi-media stories and articles. This means that you can weave videos, music, social media posts and other content types in with your own written words.

Basic Use

Upon visiting the Zeen homepage you have the option to view Zeens created by other users or to begin creating your own Zeen. When you choose the “create” option you are prompted to choose a title for your new content piece. Based on this title Zeen produces a template with a theme related to your topic.

For instance if you choose the title “soccer”, Zeen generates a theme with images and a style relevant to the sport. From there you can begin adding your own written text and various types of content from the internet. You also have the option to change this generic theme if you have another background image or color scheme you’d prefer. Once you’re satisfied with the appearance of your Zeen and its content you can publish it for the world to see.

Issues

While Zeen certainly expands upon the previous limits of other blogs, it still has limitations. The inability to upload content is a strange, yet disappointing shortcoming that was noted by Digital Trends. This means that users can’t utilize word documents, photos or other media files currently stored on their computers (however, Zeen is still labeled as Beta and has implemented some of these features since the late 2012 article).

Although posting content to sites such as Flickr and YouTube and then pulling it into Zeen is a way around this issue, it still represents an obstacle to user’s content creation. Zeen is still stuck on the content curating model that sites such as Pinterest currently utilize. There’s no question that Zeen has elaborated upon current blogging platforms, but allowing for content uploading would certainly take user control and creativity a step further.

Relevance for Bloggers

Despite being limited to content that is already present on the web, Zeen can be leveraged as a valuable tool for bloggers and businesses alike. From the perspective of a blogger, Zeen gives you more freedom than other sites as you tell your story and share your interests.

For instance, a music blogger could share their experiences at various concerts. Each week, their concert-focused Zeen could incorporate videos and photos from the event, a written summary, interviews with fellow attendees and links to the band’s other music. A common strategy seems to be making videos and artsy forms of media. Also, reviews tend to perform well. For example; turning a hashtag tools review into a video can increase your reach; YouTube, Vimeo, and now, Zeen.

On the other hand, photographers may create Zeens to help categorize their Instagram and Flickr content. A user interested in employing Zeen in this matter might create collections of their travel photos, family photos and nature photos from these sites. These collections could then be complimented with written explanations, creating a coherent, multimedia story of the user’s online image collection. Regardless of your focus or interests, Zeen makes it possible to share the things you love in one place with a variety of media.

Professional Value

As for business professionals, Zeen presents itself as an excellent vehicle for delivering content to potential customers. Considering that Zeens can be posted to social media sites and blogs, they make an excellent addition to any content marketing campaign. Examples of business implementation include Zeens highlighting product lines, upcoming events and other company news.

A product related Zeen could feature videos of the product in action, examples of customer reviews from social media and product images pulled directly from you’re your company’s website. On the other end of the spectrum, an event-focused Zeen can compile links to news articles featuring the event, a link to the event’s page on your site and promotional media.

Whether you wish to utilize them as daily, weekly or monthly content pieces, Zeens can serve as multimedia newsletters for your business. It’s essentially the manifestation of turning banner stands into digital forms, as an additional advertising/marketing channel. Rather than simply presenting your business materials in words, Zeen allows you to create sharable content featuring a variety of mediums.

The arrival of Zeen represents another step forward in terms of web content creation and blogging. No longer do people have to keep their content separated across a multitude of social media channels, websites and blogs. Individuals can now share content collections via one cumulative, concise medium and businesses can present their brand in a similar fashion. While it may have its shortcomings, Zeen takes content curating a step further and puts more control in the hands of the user

Written by Jesse Aaron. Jesse is a professional blogger with a passion for homebrewing. He writes on a variety of topics on his blog Mashbout. Follow Jesse on Google Plus

How Zeen is Changing the Digital Media World – Click to Tweet

How Zeen is Changing the Digital Media World

What Makes a Great Backlink? | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

What makes a great backlink?

Is it Page Rank?

Domain Authority?

How about niche relevancy?

While all those are important SEO metrics, they ignore one of the most important factors to consider when evaluating a potential link opportunity: referral traffic.

In fact, when you put these 5 link building strategies into practice, you’ll find that — due to the increase in traffic you get from a diverse set of sources — that you actually become less reliant on Big G. And with Google rolling out update after update, you definitely want traffic coming from as many different non-search sources as you can.

#1: Infographics

The link building potential of infographics are well known in the SEO community.

But you may not know that — when done right — you can get thousands of targeted visitors from a single infographic. To do that, you’ll need to approach your infographic marketing a bit differently than most SEOs.

Instead of submitting your infographic to hundreds of infographic directories, put that time and energy towards targeted blogger outreach. That means you’ll have to email top bloggers in your industry (and authority sites like LifeHacker and Mashable) to give them a heads up about your infographic.

Sure, most will say “no”. But even one infographic placement on a popular authority site is enough to send you server-melting traffic.

#2: PR and Press Releases

Google may not value backlinks from press releases as they once did (even though there’s evidence they still pass on some value to your site).

But that doesn’t mean press releases are completely dead. In fact, when you write an SEO and press friendly press release, you can often get your release picked up by bloggers and major news sites. This is where more of the SEO — and referral traffic — benefits come into play.

The key here, again, is what you do after the press release is published. If you submit it to 25 free press release distribution sites, you’re probably going to find yourself with a trickle of traffic (if any at all). But if you let industry-leading bloggers know about your legit news piece, you’re likely to get mentions on high-traffic sites in your niche.

#3: Guest Posting

You may have seen that Google recently updated their guidelines to discourage “large-scale” guest posting. If you’ve ever published a guest post on a site with zero comments, social shares or engagement, you’ve probably seen that the post brings in a grand total of zero visitors.

The fact is, there are hundreds of blogs out there that exist for the sole purpose of accepting guest posts. They’re not what you (or Google) would consider a “real site”.

On the other hand, guest posting on a top site in your industry will land you a much more powerful backlink…and will send you a boatload of targeted visitors.

It’s also important to note that — because visitors that come through guest post links have just read your content — they’re much more likely to convert than the average visitor. However, getting your content placed on massively popular authority sites isn’t easy. This guide has some handy email outreach and guest posting tips that you can use to increase the odds of getting your content published on authority sites.

#4: Broken Link Building

Broken link building is a link building strategy that’s growing in popularity in the SEO community.

And why not?

It’s one of the few scalable, white hat link building strategies out there.

However, most people approach broken link building as a pure link building exercise. And while there’s nothing wrong with getting backlinks from broken link building, it can also be leveraged for serious traffic.

Here are two strategies that work well:

Find resource pages on popular sites in your niche (resource pages are usually some of the most heavily-trafficked pages on any site). Then check for broken links using a program like Check My Links. Finally, reach out to the site owner to let them know about their broken links…and offer yours as a replacement. This way, when people visit the page, they’ll see your site listed as a helpful resource and click through.

Use a program like Screaming Frog SEO Spider to analyze an entire site for broken links. Instead of offering your link as a replacement, use your outreach as a way to build a relationship with the site owner.

#5: Create a Linkable Asset

A linkable asset is essentially an amazing piece of content — like a tool, ultimate guide or great resource — on your site that naturally acquire backlinks.

They’re not easy to make. But when you invest the resources necessary to put out an amazing linkable asset on your site, the long-term SEO benefit is very real.

Linkable assets should also be called “traffic assets”, because they tend to generate repeat visitors and referral traffic via blog links, email newsletters and forum mentions. If you need some inspiration, here are 9 examples of linkable assets published from a post published at Moz.

Image via Flikr

What Makes a Great Backlink? – Click to Tweet

What Makes a Great Backlink?

Constructing Compelling Content: Top 5 Marketing Tips | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

In an industry where competition is constantly growing, it’s getting increasingly difficult to shine through the rest of the crowd and build an audience that boots your business. Creating and sharing valuable, fresh, engaging and free content is crucial in attracting people to your brand and driving results.

Every second over 5,700 tweets are tweeted, every minute 100 hours of video uploaded and according to Google, there are 527 million ways to make ice cream.

With such an extreme overflow of content being produced and pouring in at such a rapid rate, the question stands – how on earth do you make your content and online marketing stand out? Grab an ice cream (or make one) and think back to your inner child-like mentality.

1. Be Curious and Open Minded

If you are ever around children, you would know they ask a great deal of questions. Children are curious, their brains are constantly developing and by always asking questions like “how” or “why”, they learn. Curious people create useful and fascinating content because they are constantly seeking answers, researching and working out why something is the way it is and how exactly it works.

In your content and online marketing research, make sure you take into account what information your audience wants or needs. Social media monitoring tools and Google trends can help with this.

2. Be Witty

Children love to make people laugh, there is a certain rush you feel when you can put a smile on someone’s face. When constructing great marketing content, learn to engage your audience with the occasional smile whilst still providing clear and informative information.

3. Be Bold, Be Fearless

Some of the best and most unique content stems from addressing a question or topic that your competitors may be too afraid discuss. The greatest thing about children is they are fearless and not afraid to speak their minds. As we move into adulthood, we spend so much time contemplating and analysing the details, what ever happened to just saying it how it is? Whilst our brains are better trained these days than to be too bold, sometimes the best content and marketing ideas come from taking a little more control and stepping in a different direction.

4. Be In It All The Way

It’s all very well though to create great content, but really it has no use if you don’t do the second part of the job right either. It’s one thing to write winning content, but to get it published in the right spots is a whole new game ball.

After you have found an effective outreach placement for your content, make sure you promote it. Use social media to share it around and ask friends and employees to do the same.

5. See through Google’s Eyes

Whilst great content is written for people to read it also needs to be search engine friendly. Optimising content for Google is essential for good rankings. Make sure you are identifying and using relevant keywords and external and internal links. It’s also important to give an appropriate heading, title and description.

As adults we strive to lose our childish behaviours in order to fit into a grown up world. There are, however, characteristics that help us in our professions and enable us to have a certain edge not everyone is brave enough to go for.

This article is written by Jayde Ferguson, who writes for White Chalk Road, a leading SEO and Online Marketing Perth Company.

Constructing Compelling Content: Top 5 Marketing Tips – Click to Tweet

Constructing Compelling Content: Top 5 Marketing Tips

Apple iOS 7 App Development Market Changes | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Apple has been redefining the dynamics of the smartphone market since its inception. Almost every Apple product has brought a revolution along with its release. Every new iPhone has set new records for the sale of iPhones across the globe. The reason for this success is not too difficult to decipher. With the excellence that Apple offers, this success is only obvious. Nevertheless, along with the users’ experience of smartphones, there is something else too that is greatly impacted by every new release of the Apple industry- it is the application development industry.

With the popularization of smartphones in the last five years, a new industry emerged- the industry for application development for different mobile operating systems. These applications have changes the way the people think, work, act, and entertain themselves. You can today find an application for practically everything.

With the change in the operating system, the application development industry also sees a massive change. In September 2013, Apple came out with its latest developments- the iOS 7, the iPhone 5c, and the iPhone 5S. The two new iPhones- iPhone 5c and iPhone 5S both carry the new iOS 7. Therefore, it is the iOS 7 that will change the game now. With some additions and other changes, the iTunes would see a hustle of new applications and many apps being upgraded for the new operating system. Since 2007, Apple always made a few minor changes to the operating systems, which did not greatly disturb the app development world. This time however, the iOS 7 includes a number of features that can make hundreds of applications outright redundant. Just a facelift for the apps won’t be sufficient.

Let’s have a look as to how the iOS 7 will impact the app development world-

Camera features- The iOS 7 gives you the option to sort your photos on the basis of time or location. There were hundreds of applications that were just doing the same. Now that the feature is there in the phone itself, we do not need to download applications to do the same.

Siri- One of the most interesting features of the iPhone, Siri has also been upgraded with the iOS 7. With the integration of Siri with websites like Wikipedia, Twitter, and Bing and the photos in the phone, the applications relating to Siri also have a lot to look forward to.

Call block- Blocking unwanted people from calling or messaging you was a major app development avenue. Thousands of applications allowed you to block people from calling you. From blocking few specific numbers to blocking unknown numbers to blocking your entire contact list- you could do everything. Now, the iOS 7 gives you this easy option.

Security- the iOS 7 has significantly improved on the features relating to the security of the phone. With inclusion of a number of anti-theft features, iOS 7 has made useless the plethora of applications providing similar features.

Flashlight- The iOS 7 has an integrated flashlight. Earlier you needed to download an application for this.

New apps- However, the iOS 7 is not only bad news for the app developers. A number of features have opened grand new avenues for application development. One such area to look forward to is the AirDrop API. Be it an online internet advertising company in Melbourne or a social networking site in the Middle East or a fashion house in Europe, every business has a lot to gain from the latest operating system from Apple for their applications.

Ella rich is an advertising expert with specific knowledge in business development, online internet advertising company in Melbourne.It is important to get business the right exposure and that is why Ella has been exploring a lot about potentials of online business directories like My Business Central. She believes that business directories have great possibilities for businesses to grow.

Apple iOS 7 App Development Market Changes – Click to Tweet

Apple iOS 7 App Development Market Changes

How to Leverage Infographics for Any Industry | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Infographics are helpful for an abundance of people who are looking to increase and monopolize on their information. For many, it seems unlikely that infographics would contribute more than regular text pages. However, the appeal lies within the pictures, charts and bar graphs with minimalized and “straight-to-the-point” text.

For many standard and complex businesses, infographics will greatly assist their web presence by allowing them an alternative method of translating specific information regarding company products or services. Additionally, the sheer act of creating an infographic helps separate you from competitors that are still afraid of social media.

Why Infographics Work Well

Infographics contain specific data that is difficult for people to comprehend when written out in regular text-form. Companies should create and utilize infographics for the following reasons:

1. Prevents short attention spans from clicking elsewhere. Infographics work well for people who have ADD and ADHD because it combats their short attention spans. On average, people determine within the first 2-4 seconds if they will continue to read further or go elsewhere. Infographics grabs the reader’s attention with large, bolded font and pictures.


2. Consumers remember 80-percent of what they see. Contrarily, they remember only 20-percent of what they read. Therefore, anything placed in a visual context will be easily remembered versus something placed in textual context. For a company, it is pertinent that a consumer remembers as much information about their company as possible.


3. Gives readers the opportunity to be engaged more often. Optimizing content to be more engaging is a key marketing strategy for any business that operates online. Consumers like to feel as though they have a way of interacting with the business and amongst one another. Visually appealing content will make the consumer feel like they are engaged.


4. Prevent information overload for readers. Since the rise of the internet, information distribution is doubling every two years. This means that if there were only 50 GB worth of information back in 2000, there would now be 2,400 GB worth of information by 2014. Statistically, there is more data available in 2013 than a single computer can even handle. For this reason, companies must find a way not to overwhelm their consumers with information. Infographics allow a person to easily read and comprehend information without feeling the overload.


5. Easier and more interesting for consumers to share. Since infographics are loaded with an abundance of information and are in picture-form, consumers have more accessibility and desire to share infographics. Written text contains only a minimal amount of re-sharing potential.

Can Any Company Create Infographics?

Companies or businesses tend to ask themselves, “Can infographics benefit my type of business?”

The answer to the question is simple – yes.

Any company can create infographics and receive these benefits for several reasons. The following are three reasons justifying the utility of infographics for any industry followed by an example of a diverse industry – not your typical social media savvy company.

Infographics are easily embeddable for WordPress and other website formats. Most bloggers and companies utilize WordPress since it is easily accessible and simple to use. Since infographics are saved in picture form, usually as a .jpg, .bmp or .png, they can easily be embedded in as an “added media” on WordPress.

Example:  CJ Pony Parts infographic | mustang auto-parts industry

Any company that has a following, whether big or small, will see results from showing infographics. Since infographics are easily shareable, they tend to be transferred and shared from one page to the next. Search engine optimization will soon kick in and as soon as Google crawl bots notice the influx of links back to your page, telling Google, “Hey, this site is pretty popular right now.” This helps boost up your PageRank.

Example:  12 Keys Rehab infographic | rehabilitation and recovery industry

Gain brand awareness by sharing infographics. Like a domino effect, companies that create infographics with their logo and brand name attached will no later see an influx in traffic then a higher page ranking and, lastly, more mentions on social media. For any company looking to make themselves into a potential high-profile client, infographics will play a large part in it.

Example:  Maxwell Systems infographic | construction software industry

Strategically Promote Infographics

Companies should not monopolize in infographics, but should use them accordingly. In addition to creative, neatly structured text and website formats – a company can create a wide viral spread of their brand.

Due to the “infographic movement” there are hundreds and hundreds of infographic directory sites to submit infographics for free backlinks and sharing.  These directories will help pass link juice to your site. More importantly,

On a Final Note

Keep in mind that creating an awesome infographic can be pricey if you don’t have an in-house designer. The average price for a professionally made infographic is about $400-$700. If you think that money can be put to better use in other facets of your business then steer away from infographics until you’re comfortable being a little flexible with the marketing budget.

It’s also important to remember that infographics are beneficial in the long-term. However, use them accordingly to get the most satisfactory results for sales, SEO, and brand awareness.

Written by Jesse Aaron. Jesse is a professional blogger with a passion for homebrewing. He writes on a variety of topics on his blog Mashbout. Follow Jesse on Twitter.

How to Leverage Infographics for Any Industry – Click to Tweet

How to Leverage Infographics for Any Industry

Googles Changes to Maps & Waze Localization | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

The location information displayed on your website just got a lot more important with Google’s most recent update of its Maps application. Google just added Waze, a controversial startup the search giant is still in the process of acquiring. The Israeli-based navigation system provides users with turn-by-turn directions and real-time traffic and incident statistics.

Google already does some of this, using Android GPS to track movement speed and determine a rough estimate of traffic routes, but Waze uses user input to provide more accurate feedback. This results in more real-time coverage of the world around you, helping you navigate in cities you are unfamiliar with.

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Impact on Blogging

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Luis Miguel Dorador Andalon, a thought leader in the publishing space, recommends that writers establish a firm connection with their audience by physically meeting them. Google has now enabled bloggers to offer more location sensitive information to readers, allowing them to broadcast their coverage of events across the globe. Google’s changes to maps will connect readers to those events, show them how to arrive and give them tips on how to get there in real time.

That location data also plays into Google’s plans for your places page, and how important it is that you verify locations you visit and places you work. The more webmasters participate in this exchange of data, the more likely we are to see a service in the future that curates these events.

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Localization

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The change to Maps is also part of Google’s broader focus on localizing search. Google knows that mobile users are more likely to take action, like visiting a physical location, if that information is provided. Use HTML markup to add a telephone number and address that Google can display to a user from its search page. It might seem counter intuitive to direct people away from your site, but think about the end result.

Google has also begun displaying much of this data for businesses in the margin of its search page. When a user conducts a query, the business phone number, address, logo and map location are all visible.

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Design Principles of Localization

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Localizing your site comes down to making sure that your contact information is visible and marked up properly. Refer to the Schema database for business addresses, and add that contact information to your page. You can also code other elements, like events or sales, depending on what you want to show to users who visit your page.

Further than SEO, Schema actually changes what your listing looks like on the search page. Update the listing for your Google Places page as well by connecting your Webmaster Tools account to your business domain name. Once you have access, and have verified ownership of your website, you can correct incorrectly localized listings and make sure visitors can find you.

Googles Changes to Maps & Waze Localization – Click to Tweet

Googles Changes to Maps & Waze Localization

Fake Facebook Likes Are Killing Social Media | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

There will always be some people in any system that will try to game that system and ruin it for everybody else, half the time without really gaining anything for themselves in the long run, though some companies can profit in the short term. But in the end, it will always fall apart and the negative publicity will sink anyone who tries to cheat.

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Recent Examples

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A recent example of fake Facebook likes had to do with a particular charity. It’s been common practice for a while now for hackers to gain access to Facebook accounts and then use those accounts to “like” businesses that the individual didn’t have any interest in.  Some businesses, and charities, will pay marketers for generating Facebook likes. The problem is that some other ‘businesses’ take advantage of this by using shady and illegal approaches like hacking people’s accounts.  A recent organization called the “Charity Engine” fell afoul of this problem recently.

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Stealing from Charities

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The Charity Engine has an aim of trying to raise money for charities by taking advantage of unused processing power in people’s PCs and then selling that ability to other organizations that would need it.  The company spent tens of thousands of dollars getting to half a million likes.  Then, it turned out that many people who had liked the charities page didn’t have any personal information, and had just wandered around Facebook, liking random pages. It soon became obvious that the likes weren’t real, that they didn’t represent interest in any serious way, and instead were just a way for criminals to scam money from those who though they were getting real marketing.

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Fake Marketing is Bad for Everyone

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The problem is, scams like this one hurt anyone connected to social media marketing, including the criminals who perpetrate it since they destroy directly the credibility of the system. Measures like “likes” on Facebook are supposed to be an accurate way to measure interest in a particular product or brand. If people start to doubt that this is the case, then social media marketing quickly becomes ruined. If no one believes these measures have any power or any truth to them, then marketing becomes impossible. Marketers can’t sell their efforts to businesses, and businesses can’t benefit from the advertising.

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The Best Approach

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The truth is that people won’t ultimately stand for cheap tricks. Many people have developed ways to tell when “likes” on Facebook are happening naturally and when someone is trying to game the system. That’s why sites like Webds and others can be of help. They do things the old fashioned way, by actually creating real support, real hits, and real traffic. This leads to real increases in sales. However you do it, you can’t trick your way into real interest in the end, and you can only do the hard work to reveal the inherent value of a site and product. This is exactly why having a trustworthy company, with a proven record to do marketing is so important in the face of events like these.

This is a guest post by Lilly Sheperd, a freelance writer who shares her thoughts on various blogs. When not blogging she likes to play netball, ravel and read a lot, especially about technology and social media.

How Are Facebook Likes Are Killing Social Media? – Click to Tweet

Fake Facebook Likes Are Killing Social Media

How To Use Facebook Hashtags Effectively | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

The jury’s still out as to the effectiveness of Facebook hashtags, but regardless of whether or not they change the face of social media marketing, you can still harness the power of this new tool to help you build and promote your business.

By bookmarking relevant hashtags, you can keep a finger on the pulse of topics relevant to your company.

Research on your customer base and demographic is key for knowing what they’re talking about right now, what’s trending for them, their likes and dislikes. Track hashtags that are relevant to your company and your target audience to listen in on the conversation.

You can easily monitor consumers’ responses to the latest campaigns, promotions, and products, or services by creating unique hashtags for each new program and monitoring thoseindividual feeds rather than parsing through each timeline or wall post.

Additionally, you can listen in on what your competitors are doing by following their hashtags.

Be cautious selecting a hashtag, however. Do a little hashtag research prior to committing to one for a particular launch. You don’t want to accidentally step into a conversation that isn’t appropriate for your brand or image.

Hashtags on Facebook are a good way to source user-generated content.

If someone posts something pertaining to one of your brand’s hashtags—either one you created for a campaign or product, or one that you’re following because it relates to the brand—you might be able to repost that picture to your company’s page (depending on legal guidelines). This is a great way to let your fans see that you’re listening to them and/or generate new fans by promoting their content. It also adds fresh content to your brand’s Facebook page—important for keeping your page fresh and at the top of your followers’ feeds.

Facebook hashtags can expose your business to a previously untapped audience.

Depending on privacy settings, you don’t need to be a friend, follower, or fan to see a brand’s hashtagged post. This means that your post can be seen by the entire Facebook community, and potential customers who previously might not have heard of your company may suddenly become a fan due to an interest in a trending hashtag topic.

Be judicious in the use of hashtags—they’re better for a targeted approach than shotgun style.

Hashtags are best used wisely—a scattershot approach to hashtags (tagging every post with every keyword tag that you can think of) will result in alienating fans and potential followers alike. Too many hashtags, and they become little more than spam. Remember that your content is king and hashtags are just the PR machines designed to draw people in. Make sure the hashtags are ones specific to the conversation and not just generic keywords.

Be aware of the hashtag’s limitations and keep that in mind when gathering your data.

Right now, hashtag search applies only to public posts. As the majority of Facebook posts are private, you may not be seeing the whole conversation when following a hashtag feed as many of the posts may be hidden due to privacy settings.

Additionally, hashtags search only applies to status updates and not comments (yet), so if a fan or follower responds to someone else with a hashtag, it won’t show up in the feed. So while hashtags are a good way to gauge trends and impressions, it doesn’t quite show the whole story.

Created as a way to quickly follow topics of interest on Twitter, hashtags are a great way to follow a conversation on any social media platform. Used wisely, Facebook’s newest tool can help you build your brand and improve your exposure.

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer in Southern California and currently writes for PlanetTelex. As the founder of Gryffin Media, she understands how important it is for companies to use social media to engage with their audience.

How To Use Facebook Hashtags Effectively – Click to Tweet

How To Use Facebook Hashtags Effectively

Doing the Mompreneur Time-Juggle: 5 Apps to Make Your Life Easier | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

With little ones underfoot and a thriving small business to run, you likely feel so pressed for time that even 10 more minutes in a day would be a relief. In the past decade, the number of women owning small businesses grew 40 percent, according to Denken Research. Many of these women are working mothers struggling to balance their passion for their careers with the challenges of raising a family. In a situation where every second is precious, structuring your work day with efficiency-boosting apps is a smart way to free up time to spend with your kids.

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Toggl

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The first step in streamlining your work is to know exactly where your time goes. Enter Toggl, a free app available for Android devices or your desktop. Toggl enables you to keep track of every minute of your day by providing reports of what tasks you spent the most time performing. This helps you spot trends in time mismanagement. Perhaps you take a “quick” break after lunch that turns into 30 minutes of surfing the Web. Or, you think that you’re starting each work day at 8 a.m., when you really don’t get anything productive done until 8:45 a.m. Use Toggl to identify areas where you can change your routine and recapture lost time.

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Evernote

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Rather than leaving a trail of sticky notes or scribbled messages in your wake, gather all of your thoughts in one place with Evernote. This free app, available for Windows Phone, iPhone, Android and Blackberry, is the ultimate note-taking helper. Any information you save in Evernote is automatically shared with all synced devices. Record audio messages, save important Web pages, share notes with work colleagues or even sync your grocery list with your husband’s mobile device. By keeping all of your important information in one place, you’ll be able to access old meeting notes or your daughter’s report card all at the tips of your fingers.

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Mint.com

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Tracking business finances can be a nightmare, but Mint.com makes it easy to know where your money is going. The popular personal finance website is a favorite among small business owners for its ability to track income and expenses. Mint will import every transaction from your cash back cards, allowing you to cash in those rewards to reinvest in your business. The site also creates handy graphs to help you visualize your business growth. A free Mint.com app is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

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Universal Password Manager

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As the complexity of your business grows, you have more and more passwords to manage. Each time you sign up for a new online account, you’re prompted to enter a unique password. More capital letters! Remember numbers! Include a symbol! Keeping track of each password is a major hassle and drain on your time. Universal Password Manager, available for Android, allows you to set a single password to access your diverse account information. The free app uses a secure, encrypted connection to ensure that all of your data remains safe.

Doing the Mompreneur Time-Juggle: 5 Apps to Make Your Life Easier – Click to Tweet

Doing the Mompreneur Time-Juggle: 5 Apps to Make Your Life Easier

Why Links Within Google Webmaster Tools May Or May Not Be Enough | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

If Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) Link data is worthy enough for a for having a successful link cleanup is not relatively new topic in the SEO industry. To understand the point in a better way it is essential to go into the background of the topic.

Background History

From various discussions and debates held on the topic last year it emerged that it was enough if one used the GWT data. Another point that came into focus was that the links which went missing from the report were not significant enough.

Later it was also added that using the third party tool was not necessarily a bad idea,  as by using the same a greater ability to process the link data can be achieved and it becomes relatively easy to look out for problematic areas. These problematic areas might include issues as spammy patterns and anchor text abuse issues.

The Present Scenario

Since the introduction of Manual Action sections, the debate over GWT data reliability has been re ignited and this at times shows webmaster offending links which were earlier not a part of the GWT link report.

Google is showing examples of manipulative links

Google’s Manual Action Page examples have been used to give one an idea of the type of links that have been used in breach of the guidelines. This can be perceived as an educational device that helps one recognize bad devices as one sees them.

It has happened that on more than one occasions the Google’s search quality team has been able to lift the manual penalty for various websites that have shown great progress in the cleanup program.

The best course of action to follow is to document the link cleanup process and give genuine results to the Google’s web spam team when one thinks of filing the reconsideration report. Even if one or two links are missing from sample link report, this would not be a problem for the Google web spam team.

The Real Challenge

The real challenge that still persists is the issue of link data for large websites. Efforts are always on to bullet proofing big websites so as to ensure that links remain clean all the while. It emerges from all the research conducted that the sample of links that Google provides is less in proportion to the true link profile of the gigantic task at hand.

The need of the hour is to scale the amount of links present in the Google Webmaster tools and to make them in line with the real size of that particular website’s link profile to ensure that enough data for working on is available.

However, despite all these assumptions one might consider that links within webmaster tools are not sufficient. It can be safely said that links within webmaster tools are sufficient enough as now Google has dumped much of three quarters of link profile as is evident from the latest link report that has come in Google webmaster tools.

However this link cut by Google does not seem to be intentional. It is more likely due to presence of a bug in Google Webmaster Tools rather than link cut that has been done intentionally.

Another relevant question that arises here is if using Google Webmaster tools for link clean up is enough. It emerged that finding all the links that one needs for algorithmic reasons or webspam are available in webmaster tools. Ant third party or external tool is therefore not required for the same.

However an interesting fact that has come to notice is that Google does ignore some links even at times when the website is not being penalized.

Link Cleanup Tips

One this that definitely can be done is Link Cleanup. One needs to identify suspicious or shady links through GWT and look for some usual suspects that can come in form of article, comments, forums, directory or comments.

One might need to dwell a further deep and if it is found that GWT is not solving the problem. In such cases alternate tools as Majestic SEO and moz can be used. Specifically one needs to look for anchor text over optimization and other related aspects.

One should also be looking for grey areas and removing anything suspicious that one might find. You can also consider flagging low level links focusing much attention to those that come with commercialized key phrases.

Links within Google Webmaster tools may be enough considering the kind of scenario in which one might be operating. Follow the above listed cleanup tips regularly and is safe.

Guest Post by Alyssa, a writer/blogger. She writes articles on Technology, social media, WordPress, Gamification, website development and online development etc. These days she contributes on seomorpheus

Why Links Within Google Webmaster Tools May Or May Not Be Enough – Click to Tweet

Why Links Within Google Webmaster Tools May Or May Not Be Enough

6 Productivity Tips for Bloggers | Bosmol - Social Media & Web 2.0 Internet Marketing News

Are you having difficulty meeting schedules? Are you struggling with time, feeling frustrated and worn out feeling that there’s too much to do with so little time? Do you find yourself unable to finish projects or lagging behind schedules? Are you getting tired of not meeting deadlines? Or maybe you are tired of the feeling that you are not accomplishing enough in a day. If you are, then be assured that you are not the only one going through such difficulty. Many bloggers are also experiencing some down time when it comes to meeting deadlines and schedules. Truly, being in this situation is really frustrating, but there’s a way out, but only if you want it bad enough. Below are some tips on how to effectively improve your productivity as a blogger.

Tip #1 Plan Ahead and Make a Schedule

This may be cliche but it’s true: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So if you want to succeed, say on a daily basis as a blogger, plan your days well. How will you do this? Well, start making plans for tomorrow the night before. Successful people are known to make plans before they go to bed at night. They think about what they want to accomplish the following day and they come up with a written to-do list and a written schedule to follow. So as a blogger, plan well what you want to accomplish the following day, and put your plan in writing.

Tip #2 Follow Your Schedule to the Letter

It is important that a set schedule is followed to the letter, or else why make a schedule in the first place? Thus it is important that when making a schedule, the time allocation must be realistic and achievable. For example, when doing research for a particular topic that needs to be written, bloggers allocate a specific amount of time for the research process. Stick to the schedule prepared.

Tip #3 Schedule the More Urgent Tasks First

Bloggers have to attend to so many things online hence it is essential to know which of the activities are urgent and important, important but not really urgent, not urgent and not important, etc. For example, it is just normal for bloggers, at the beginning of the day, to start opening emails and checking which emails need immediate response and which of them can wait later. Now whether doing this task early in the morning is wise or not really depends on the blogger.

Tip #4 Avoid Social Media Early in the Morning

For so many bloggers, social media is one of the culprit why there seems to be “not enough time to finish tasks” on time. This is a sad fact but it is true and very rampant. Bloggers simply lose themselves and their valuable time checking out profiles and updates in Facebook, Twitter, and other social media that before they know it, so much time has passed by. Social media is important, but it can wait, and it’s not urgent (unless the social media is part of a job responsibility) and it can be given a good ‘time slot’ in a person’s schedule within a day. Some bloggers who have overcome social networking site addiction have shifted from ‘first-thing-in-the-morning Facebook’ to ‘last-thing-in-the-evening Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook’, and this move helped their work productivity a lot. In a nutshell, it simply means setting priorities straight.

Tip #5 Set Your Mood Right

Think about this for a moment: what time of the day do you function best? Are you a morning person or a night person? People are wired differently; there are people who work well when it’s nighttime and then there are those who work well during daytime. How about you? Knowing when you are most productive can help you arrange your work schedule so that you can maximize your productivity. For example, if you are a night person, do all your writing in the evenings where your brain will function the most. Schedule all your other chores during the day so by the time evening comes, you’re free from burdens and you can start writing or blogging without any unfinished business. If, on the other hand you are a day person, then there’s not much challenge on your part. Morning or daytime people are known to manage well even when there’s noise or other distractions around him or her.

Tip # 6 Turn Off Chat, Skype, and Messenger

When you’re writing or blogging, make a schedule to turn off your chat, Skype, or messenger, at least for a period of time. For example, some bloggers say that when they begin blogging in the morning (or whatever time they have set for themselves), the turn off their chat, messenger, or Skype for 4 or 5 hours straight. They do this so they can go about their tasks without interruptions. In order to avoid offending others, they inform their associates and friends when they will be available for chat or Skype or Messenger during the day. They follow this schedule religiously and its working wonders for them. These 6 tips are not really difficult to follow. They are guaranteed to improve blogger’s productivity as long as they are followed conscientiously. Visit http://manifestconnection.com/ for more productivity tips that really work. Image Credit: 1, 2, 3. About the author: Anna Fox adores traveling and hiking. Also she is running a blog about productivity and self-improvement. For making her blogging process more productive she is using free high quality photos and graphics from Smart Photo Stock.

6 Productivity Tips for Bloggers – Click to Tweet

6 Productivity Tips for Bloggers