Is Your Content Credible Enough to Share?

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Is Your Content Credible Enough to Share? Posted: 23 Jun 2014 05:14 PM PDT Posted by Carson-Ward Insufficient credibility undermines digital marketing, particularly among SEOs who now produce or promote content as part of their job. People won't share content that isn't credible; they know the things they share reflect on them and impacts their own credibility. While the importance of credibility gets mentioned in passing, little has been said about how to actually build it, until now. Your Guide to Establishing Credibility You build credibility by signaling to the reader that you can be trusted. The signals of trust can come from the author, the site, and from within the content itself. Each signal will appeal to different types of readers in different contexts, but they come together to make content that is credible enough to share. Rand mentioned credibility in his Content Marketing Manifesto as one of the things we need to build familiarity, linkability, and trust. Several studies have also shown credibility's critical role in promoting and sharing. So, let's build some credibility. 1. Establish expert credibility Expert credibility comes from having knowledge others do not. People want experts they can understand and trust, especially when trying to understand complex or ambiguous topics like new technology, engineering, advanced science, or law. Be an expert or hire an expert with insight A Syracuse University study found "insightful" content was most correlated with users' estimation of a blog's credibility. You can't offer interesting insight on a subject you know very little about, so obviously you need to be an expert or hire one. Unless your expert has breaking news, he or she needs to provide quality analysis and opinion to add any value. Most successful non-news content is opinion and/or analysis, whether verbal, graphical, or textual. If you're creating video or text content for your site, the expert should also be able to clearly express complex subjects in a way readers can understand and follow. If he can't then get a content writer to interview the expert and relay the information. Source experts Do not try to give your opinion as an expert in a field where you're not one. It won't work. We've all read non-expert content on subjects where we're knowledgeable. We know what expertly-written content looks like and can easy detect pretenders. If you pretend to be an expert and get one little detail wrong, you'll blow all your credibility with the people who actually understand and influence the discussion. They won't link to or share that piece of content and they may never share any of your content again. Don't take that risk. Rather than trying to fake expertise, try finding experts and incorporating their expertise into your post. Journalists have long understood this tactic. Even journalists who are experts use quotations from other experts in both news and analysis pieces. The front page of the Washington Post's technology print section is usually littered with quotation marks and according-tos. People running blogs can easily get a quote from someone knowledgeable enough to have an opinion that matters. Experts with strong opinions usually want to share them. Be passionate to build trust The Syracuse University study and this University of Pennsylvania study show that passion is key to judgments on credibility and sharing. Readers don't just want an expert who can explain things; they want an expert who cares. Experts who know what they're talking about tend to have nuanced and sophisticated opinions about subjects they understand. Don't undercut that understanding with a shallow piece of content. Expert pieces should be deep and thoughtful. Legal experts who really care about Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission simply wouldn't take the time to write a bland essay on what the ruling said and how it might impact the future of politics. SEO experts don't want to report on the fact that Google penalized guest post networks. They care, and want to explain why it's good or bad. Expert opinion shouldn't be confused with argument, and it doesn't require you to start a firefight with anyone who's taken the other stance. Cite sources Cite the sources for all you expert insight. Citing expert sources is the most obvious way to back up your claims and gain trust. Often citing a source is as simple as linking to the webpage from which you got your information. Don't use weasel words like, "it has been said," or, "many people believe," to skirt the citation responsibility. Experienced writers and editors instinctively close the tab on any content attempting to unnecessarily blur their sources. Show data Sometimes, instead of breaking news, you can add to it with data. Data lends credibility to your post in a unique way because with numbers, your sources and methodology are more important than the author's history and popularity. The data, if it's compiled and analyzed correctly, speaks for itself. For example, when the CableTV team heard about the potential Comcast/Time Warner merger, we knew simply sharing the news would be a waste of time. Every major news outlet would easily drown out our site, and opinion pieces where popping up everywhere. Instead, we crunched some numbers, comparing U.S. Census data with coverage data, producing a coverage and population analysis people could see and understand. A few large news organizations used the data in ongoing analysis, Reddit's founder (Alexis Ohanian) shared the post, and roughly 60,000 people ended up seeing it. JavaScript libraries and HTML 5 tools are springing up everywhere to help non-technical users visualize data in interesting ways. Mapping examples include SimpleMaps (used in our post), MapBox, Google Fusion Tables, etc. Graphing and other data options are all over, but this site is a good place to start. Compile data in-between writing stories related to your niche with Census data or any of these data sources so you're ready to go when news hits. For more tips, Kane Jamison always has tips on data-driven content marketing, including the presentation below: Cost Effective Data-Based Content Marketing from Kane Jamison 2. Harness hierarchical credibility Hierarchical or rank-based credibility comes from a person's position or title. High-ranking members of an organization have a better chance of being taken seriously simply by nature of their perceived authority, especially when the organization is well-known. Have important people write important things People lend more credibility to an article written by an unknown CEO than a writer they don't know—even if the writer knows more about the topic than the CEO. For better or worse, people are simply influenced by official job titles and standing within hierarchy. Your definition of what's important may vary. Almost everything on the popular 42floors blog is written by a founder, while CEOs of larger companies will probably have less time and less interest in regular blogging. Use executives for guest posts I know – I'm the guy who wrote guest posting had gone too far. Google thought so too based on its latest round of penalties. I believe, however, the lack of credibility and expertise in many guest articles was a major cause for Google's (perhaps disproportionate) response to guest blogging networks. Don't waste an executive's time on small unknown sites no one would ever read. Instead, consider pitching an article written by an executive or other well-known figure to well-known sites. Trulia is a good example with high-ranking members adding guest posts for Google, The Wall Street Journal, and interviewing with sites like Business Insider. Moz, of course, is another place to see founders adding posts and video frequently. Better job titles If you want your content to be shared, make your authors experts in both title and in truth. Changing titles for title's sake may sound stupid, but titles like managing editor, [subject] correspondent, [subject expert], or even [subject] writer have more gravitas than a plain "author" or "contributor." Think about what the title says to a person reading your content (or email). The flip side: writers should actually be subject-matter experts. You should also re-think giving quirky titles to everyone, as they can hurt credibility. I can't imagine the Wall Street Journal quoting a "digital ninja" or "marketing cowboy" in their story – unless that story is about job titles. Leadership quotes You can also make use of another person's position to lend credibility to your content. This works especially well if you're looking for insight into a recent news event. Quotes from company executives, government officials, and other high-title positions give you something unique and show you're not just another blogger summarizing the news built on someone else's journalism. 3. Seek referent credibility When someone trustworthy shares something with positive sentiment, we immediately trust the shared item. The referrer lends his or her credibility to the referee. The Moz audience will have no problem understanding referent credibility, as it's the primary method Google uses to prioritize content that seems equally relevant to a user query. People also rely on referent credibility to decide whether a post is worth sharing. Those referrals build more credibility, and viral content is born. How do you get some referent credibility to radiate onto your content? Publish on credible sites This post will receive some measure of credibility simply by being published on the main Moz blog. Anything on or linked to from well-known sites and authors receives referent credibility. Share referrals and testimonials You'll commonly see "as featured on" lists or testimonials from recognizable personalities. Testimonials from anyone at Google or Microsoft with an impressive-sounding position could go a long way for a B2B product. Referent credibility is the reason celebrity endorsements work. Leveraging referent credibility in a press push generally works well if your company is involved in something newsworthy. Consider requesting and using quotes from relevant and well-known people in press releases or even outreach emails if you've done something worth announcing. Analysis pieces are a little trickier: pointing out past coverage can lend some credibility to a blog post or press release, but it can also look a little desperate if done incorrectly. High relevance and low frequency are key. A good offline analogy is that person who mentions that time they met a celebrity every chance they get, whether it's relevant or not. Name-droppers are trying (too hard) to build credibility, but it's actually just sad and annoying. The same celebrity encounter might actually generate interest and credibility if it's relevant to the conversation and you haven't told the story to death. Feel free to talk about times well-known people shared or endorsed you, but make sure it's relevant and don't overdo it. Appeal to credible people When a well-known person shares your content, more links and shares often follow. Find credible people, see what they talk about and share, and then try make something great that appeals to them. This idea has already been covered extensively here on Moz. 4. Take advantage of associative credibility People make associations between one trait and another, creating a Halo effect. For example, several studies (1, 2, 3) have found that attractive people often receive higher pay and are seen as more intelligent, when in reality there is no correlation. Users do the same thing with websites, so making your website look and feel like other credible sites is important. Use trusted design as a guide Don't run in and steal the Times' CSS file. I'm pretty sure that's illegal. It's also probably not going to work unless you're running a national multi-channel newspaper. But you should be aware that people associate design elements on a site with the credibility of the site. You can help or hinder your credibility through web design in hundreds of ways. Start by looking at legitimate sites and incorporating some of their design elements into your own. Then check out some untrustworthy and unknown sites to see the difference and determine what to avoid. Obviously you want your site to be unique, but be carefully unique. If you stray from trusted convention, know why you're doing it. Maybe you want to kill hamburger icons on mobile – just make sure you have a well-considered alternative. When in doubt, test Split tests tend to focus on conversion and sales, and too often the blog/news design gets dragged along for the ride. Given the importance of content and sharing on visibility, testing the impact of site elements on sharing should be as important as the tests we do on sales funnels. You can test different design elements as they relate to sharing by creating posts and pages with a page-level variable and a canonical tag back to the original post. Always test URLs with variables against other URLs with variables to account for site owners manually removing them. This setup may also be useful for testing different content promotion channels and methods. Tracking results externally requires a different URL. You may use a modified URL rather than a variable, but only for single-page tests. Note that results will be a little erratic with variables people might remove, but trends will still emerge. Consider your domain name You have probably read a news article and wanted to share it, but then looked for a more reputable source to post to Reddit or Twitter. Sometimes I'll share content from a site I've never heard of, but usually I want the content I'm sharing to come from a site with a name that evokes trust. Everything in this article goes into a decision on whether to share, but domain name is a surprisingly large factor. When I post an article, I don't want the first response or comment to be something snarky like, "Oh, according to goodbusinessnews4u.com – sounds legit." Domain will also impact click-through on social networks and social sharing sites. A couple years ago I wrote about choosing the right domain for your branding strategy, and I think its message still holds true. Domain name will also influence what content seems appropriate. You don't want people asking, "Why is highspeedintaernet.com writing about cooking recipes?" Make sure content strategy aligns with your domain and branding strategy. Write like a writer; build profiles You must have credibility in your writing if you want your content to be shared. Follow these simple tips: Write clearly, hire writers, or don't waste your time on text content. Even a credible expert will have a hard time being trusted enough to share unless they write clearly with native-level grammar. Build author profiles, use full names, and use author images. Nothing says, "I'm not proud of this" like a partial name without an image. Build a full section about your company. Be as specific as possible, and avoid vague statements on the value your site adds. Craft headlines that are easy to follow, avoid trick/cute headlines unless you have a great reason for tricking or confusing users about what the content will deliver. Be consistent with surrounding articles. Jumbled topics and unrelated surrounding articles make sites look inconsistent. Avoid clip art and stock images Just ask Ian Lurie what he thinks about stock images. When I wrote "How Google's Algorithm Silences Minority Opinions" I had the image in my head of Googlebot placing a gag on a user. Thankfully one of CLEARLINK's talented designers had a better (and less aggressive) idea: A Google logo would have been easy, but boring. The custom image added a strong visual to the argument, emphasizing key points: a computer algorithm silencing a person, the person not caring too much. It also sent the associative message to users that the site is legitimate enough to use unique images. Most of us can't get custom illustrations or photographs for each post, but you should consider it for high-investment pieces or pieces you think have a good shot at success. Final thoughts Unless you have inside information on a rumor or are willing to burn your credibility going forward, your content must project credibility. Smaller sites and lesser-known brands have the most to gain by understanding how users and journalists make judgments on credibility and working to improve those factors. You don't necessarily need to employ every strategy and tactic, but the best coverage and links will always require a high level of credibility.  Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

Quintessential Seattle Places to Visit During #MozCon 2014 Posted: 23 Jun 2014 03:00 AM PDT Posted by EricaMcGillivray We're gearing up for all of you to land in Seattle for  MozCon! It's just around the corner, July 14-16th, and as we do every year, we want to make sure you have a great time and get a chance to explore our city. (Or to just find a tasty place for dinner after a long day of learning.) If you haven't bought your ticket for MozCon,  do it now! We're quickly selling the last few tickets, and are over 93+% sold out. Buy your ticket today, and sign up for a 30-day free trial to get your Moz Subscriber best deal. (If you cancel because Moz Pro isn't for you, we'll see you at MozCon regardless.)  What is your quintessential Seattle place? This year, we asked Mozzers to name their quintessential Seattle place. They came up with a bunch of favorites, from breakfast spots to parks and more. Here's what they had to say: Dick's Drive-In Resturants "Delicious hamburgers and fries. It's cash only, and there's almost always a line. How Seattle." -  Joel Day Quinn's Pub "The best burger north of  Father's Office in Santa Monica and always a solid taplist." - David Mihm Editor's note: Quinn's Pub is also on our MozCrawl agenda. The Market Theater Gum Wall "I'm based in Mozlandia, and I love coming to Seattle and experiencing this great city. Gum wall is a truly gross tourist trap—actually, careful, you could indeed get trapped—and in the heart of tourism central, Pike Place Market. Still there's a charm to such an offbeat (though heavily touristed) spot." -  Peter Bray Pie Bar "Pie Bar = pie + booze. An array of whiskies. Local and craft beers on tap. Fresh pies, both savory and sweet, made daily. If they would let me move in, I'd just live there." -  Jess Stipe Black Bottle "Ah-mazing food! Not bad for happy hour. Broccoli blasted - need I say more?" -  Stefanie Riehle Petit Toulouse "Petit Toulouse in Queen Anne is the quintessential Seattle favorite when it comes to Cajun/Creole food. Petit Toulouse does not fail to impress every time I have been there. The atmosphere is superb and the food is out of this world. Additionally, I would recommend the buttermilk beignets after a good meal." - Marcin Narozny La Bete "I feel like it is the secret Cap Hill restaurant that only the neighborhood tends to frequent. The service is always great; the ambiance is always perfect for whatever occasion you are celebrating (romance, friendship, new boots, hunger); and it's a great place to sit at the bar, order a great glass of wine, and read by yourself. It's just good." -  Leah C. Tyler Serious Pie "This is the best pizza in the whole city. The community-style tables make for great conversation with strangers next to you. Great food, good beers. So fun." -  Nicelle Herron Belltown Pizza "If you're looking for pizza and are not into the odd California-style pizzas, this place has the best New York-style pizza in Seattle. Right off downtown, it's the first pizza joint I found in Seattle and is still the best IMHO." -  Phil Hildebrand Kayaking on Lake Union "You really get a feel for the Seattle landscape. Seeing the Space Needle, Gas Works Park, floating homes, wooden boats...all from a kayak on the water. Nothing better." -  Jackie Immel Revel "Some of the best food and drinks you'll find in the city (and that's saying a lot), and their patio in the summer is amazing." -  Rand Fishkin Ballard Locks "It's great to hang out in the sun and watch the boats go through the locks, plus the fish ladder is fun and free! The added bonus is that you're in Ballard so there are about fifty awesome breweries and bars at your fingertips." -  Jamie Seefurth World Spice Market "The proprietor here makes her own blends of spices, and everything is freshly ground or grind-at-home. Best spices. Try the Advieh - yum!" -  Lisa Wildwood Roux "Matt Lewis of the Where Ya At Matt? food truck started a brick and mortar restaurant, and it is good. Very good. With a updated French Creole menu, he has taken it to the next level, and we locals love it. Keep in mind, it's a bit of a trek from downtown, but there is plenty to explore throughout the rest of Fremont making it well worth the trip." -  Ben Simpson Pier 66 "You can see the Space Needle, Puget Sound, Mt. Rainier (on a clear day), and the Great Wheel. Such an amazing view!" -  Chiaryn Miranda Staple & Fancy "Fresh ingredients, dishes perfectly made, and an amazing chef's choice option." -  Megan Singley Biscuit Bitch at Caffe Lieto "Whether you need a pick-me-up in the morning or after some late night fun, Biscuit Bitch serves delicious Southern-style, with unique Seattle flare, biscuits and all the toppings you could want. I love their Bitchwitch sandwich. Just be prepared to eat it with a fork. They also have gluten-free options. Also make sure to use your favorite location check-in service and get a free sticker." -  Erica McGillivray Looking for more options? Don't miss our mega post from last year, Rand's personal recommendations, and Jon Colman's Seattle coffee guide. What's new in Seattle? Seattle's Waterfront, photo by Rachel Sarai, creative commons licensed We're always discovering new places to eat and enjoy in Seattle, and here are few that have opened up since last year's MozCon: Bars Chuck's Hop Shop Teachers Lounge Revolver Bar Radiator Whiskey Restaurants  Rhione XIII El Borracho Ramen Man Hanging out in Seattle longer than just for MozCon? There are tons of great Seattle events happening around MozCon. Here are a few, plus some special deals just for MozCon attendees. Want to see the MozPlex for yourself? We have office tours! Come visit the MozPlex and see where all the Moz magic happens. Plus, you'll get some fun swag. Soccer fan? See the Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers The Pacific Northwest's biggest rivalry is on Sunday, July 13th at 7:00 p.m. Get Low-Upper Deck seats (normally $25) for $18. Make sure to join our MozCon Facebook Group and make plans to see the game with other MozCon attendees. More of a baseball fan? See the A's vs. Mariners on Sunday, July 13th at 1:10 p.m. With the link above, get a special discount on Main Level tickets: normally $43-48 and now $25, just for you! Need a ride around town? Uber has some Seattle deals. All UberX rides are 25% off for the summer, and if you're a first time Uber customer, use the code SEAMOZ14 and get up to $30 off your first ride. Code expires 7/30/14. Want to see some local music? Don't miss GeekGirlCon's annual concert, featuring local nerdcore acts, Sunday, July 13th at 6:30pm. Come out an support a Settle nonprofit and enjoy the nerdcore rap of Shubzilla, DJ K91, NY artist Sammus, local trio Death*Star, and Jonny Nero Action Hero, who mixes beats with his Nintendo gaming systems. Love to run? Run or Dye 5k is Saturday, July 12th in nearby Lake Stevens. You can even run with fellow attendees as Dana Tan's organizing a group to run and have some fun. Interested in exploring some of Seattle's neighborhoods and cultural celebrations? Seattle's Chinatown-ID Dragon Fest 2014, Saturday and Sunday, July 12th and 13th 40th Annual Ballard SeafoodFest, Saturday and Sunday, July 12th and 13th Wedgwood Art Festival, Saturday and Sunday, July 12th and 13th West Seattle Summer Fest, Friday through Sunday, July 11-13th Polish Festival Seattle, Saturday, July 12th Bastille Bash, Saturday, July 12th Georgetown Garden Walk, Sunday, July 13th White Center Jubilee Days Street Fair, Saturday and Sunday, July 19-20th Can't get enough beer? Head over to the peninsula for Bremerton Summer BrewFest, Saturday, July 12th. No one loves beer more than the Pacific Northwest (okay, maybe Bavaria...), and if you're looking for local brews, this is your best bet. Wish to experience Etsy offline? Go to Urban Craft Uprising, Seattle's largest indie craft show, for their summer edition, Saturday and Sunday, July 12th and 13th. Shop local and find the perfect Seattle gift to bring home for your loved ones or yourself. A foodie and staying after MozCon? The Bite of Seattle, the Northwest's premier food festival, is Friday through Sunday, July 18-20th. It's a great way to try out a ton of different restaurants from around the area. I'm sure a few are on our must-eat lists. Who doesn't love local 4-H fairs? The King County Fair is Thursday through Sunday, July 17-20th in nearby Enumclaw. Check out the mutton busting, 4-H exhibits, fried food, and the rides. Hope you can find some fun and time to explore Seattle. Don't forget to  buy your MozCon ticket before we sell out! Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

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POTUS replies

Hi, all -- Every day, the Office of Presidential Correspondence sorts through thousands of letters. Every night, President Obama reads 10 of them. Some people write to share what his decisions mean in their daily lives, to talk about the economy, or to ask a question about a policy. Others just write in to say hello. Each letter is a chance for President Obama to hear directly from folks across the country about the sorts of issues they face every day. The President makes notes in the margins, and sits down to reply personally. He often sends the letters to the staff as reminder of what we are fighting for or to ask us to follow up on an issue raised in the letter. So when Rebekah, a hardworking mom from Minneapolis, wrote in to share how much harder it's become to get ahead and do right by her family, you can bet the President set that letter aside for a reply. But he's not just doing that. He's meeting Rebekah in person this Thursday to spend a day in her shoes. Watch President Obama tell her story, and find out why he's traveling to her town. When the President travels to Minnesota, he'll launch the first in a series of "day-in-the-life" visits across the country this summer. He'll spend a day with Rebekah -- and he'll meet with her family and community members to discuss the issues that matter to them, host a town hall, and talk about the steps we need to take as a country to help more Americans like Rebekah get ahead. I know the President is excited to talk with her -- and Americans like her. So all this summer, he'll meet with folks who've written in to share what their lives are like. He'll be hitting the road and traveling to communities across the country -- sitting around diner booths and kitchen tables to talk about the issues that matter to them. Rebekah's story is representative of the experiences of millions of Americans: Even though our economy's made a historic comeback, too many middle-class Americans are still stretched too thin, and there's more work to do. Make sure you see Rebekah's story -- and then tune in on Thursday as the President travels to Minnesota. Thanks, Dan Dan Pfeiffer Senior Advisor The White House @Pfeiffer44 This email was sent to e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com. Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

4 steps to measuring the ROI of your SEO campaigns

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4 steps to measuring the ROI of your SEO campaigns Posted: 24 Jun 2014 12:12 AM PDT Calculating the success of your search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts is important in order to assess whether your time, money and efforts are being spent effectively. SEO is a common technique used to drive relevant visitors to your website with the intention of them converting into paying customers. To measure the return on investment or 'ROI' of your SEO campaigns, I'd recommend using the information collected from Google Analytics as it pulls through website data and analyses trends in links, traffic and perhaps most importantly for business owners, increases in revenue. Non-Branded Organic Traffic An increase in traffic to your website is typically a good sign that your company is well-matched for its keyword searches in the search engine results (SERPS). Though it's important to get searched for branded terms, don't forget to pay particular attention on driving traffic for non-branded terms. For example your shoe company may be 'Super shoes' and you may be based in Oxford. Instead of someone searching 'Super Shoes Oxford' into Google, you should also aim to be found by someone searching 'Men's brown leather shoes Oxford'. Browse through the non-branded keywords that drove traffic to your website by viewing the Acquisition > Keywords > Organic Report section in Google Analytics. It's essential to differentiate branded and organic traffic to your website. Non branded searches are typically comprised of new visitors who are unfamiliar with your business but are possibly in need of your products or services. Branded traffic consists of visitors who are familiar with your site and are probably existing customers. Traffic (The high quality kind!) Sending copious amounts of unrelated traffic to your website is useless, but when a professional that practices black hat SEO techniques  is involved, this occurs quite a lot. Traffic in high numbers is important for continuing growth of your company, but it's critical to ensure this traffic is relevant to what your business offers or the visitors will simply bounce off your website shortly after they have arrived. Quality traffic to your website is much more likely to convert into customers as what you offer, is what they are looking for. To access this reporting in Google Analytics and identify the quality of the traffic on your website, visit the Audience section of the dashboard and head to the Behaviour report. How is this measured? By analysing the bounce rate, time spent on the website and number of pages landed on per visit, all of which indicate that a visitor is engaged with your product or service offering. Inbound Links Inbound links are a vital element in SEO. When another website links to yours, Google considers that as a trusting factor to determine what subject a particular company is an expert on and therefore ranks their site accordingly. Increasing the variety of inbound links to your website is an effective way of gaining more visibility in search engines and consequently potential higher revenue through increases in traffic. How do I measure inbound links? An easy method of measuring the amount of inbound links to your site is using the free backlink tool from Majestic SEO. The report will allow you to examine the amount of backlinks pointing to your website. Ah, Revenue! Above rankings, links and other metrics that determine ROI, the one figure businesses pay particular close attention to is revenue. The quality of traffic and links pointing to your website will affect revenue, but alone they are (to a degree) meaningless if they don't convert money for your business. To ensure a worthwhile ROI from SEO, working on driving conversions from traffic that is highly targeted and interested in your company offerings will provide more conversions and therefore higher revenue. Focus on building links to your website from relevant sources where your target audience is active to encourage these conversions. It's all about being strategic. Remember – it's not about the quantity of traffic or links, but more the approach to attracting the right quality of traffic and links. How does your company measure ROI? Which metrics do you tend to pay particular attention to? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments!   Image source     The post 4 steps to measuring the ROI of your SEO campaigns appeared first on White.net.

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Seth's Blog : Don't blow it (the secret of b2b)

 

Don't blow it (the secret of b2b)

If you sell to businesses, you're either calling on unsuccessful companies, who are panicking and afraid and don't have a lot of resources to spend on new things...

Or you're selling to successful businesses. And in those organizations, most people walk around with a three-word mantra imprinted on their arm: Don't blow it.

Far more points are awarded to people who keep things moving and defend the status quo. If you're the gambler, the one who risked and failed, well, it's understood at many places that this isn't good, that you're at risk and off the track.

So, the story that resonates more often than not is a story that's built around those three words. 

       

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Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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• Is There a Climate Bubble?
• French Private Sector Contracts Second Month; Eurozone Composite Growth Weakest in 6-Months
• Robot Truck Convoy Tests in Nevada; Driverless Trucks Before Cars, and Before the End of the Decade

Is There a Climate Bubble? Posted: 23 Jun 2014 08:32 PM PDT Here's the question of the day: Is there a climate bubble? In a New York Times op-ed, former treasury secretary Hank Paulson says there is. He calls it The Coming Climate Crash. For too many years, we failed to rein in the excesses building up in the nation's financial markets. When the credit bubble burst in 2008, the damage was devastating. Millions suffered. Many still do. We're making the same mistake today with climate change. We're staring down a climate bubble that poses enormous risks to both our environment and economy. The warning signs are clear and growing more urgent as the risks go unchecked. This is a crisis we can't afford to ignore. I feel as if I'm watching as we fly in slow motion on a collision course toward a giant mountain. We can see the crash coming, and yet we're sitting on our hands rather than altering course. We need to act now, even though there is much disagreement, including from members of my own Republican Party, on how to address this issue while remaining economically competitive. They're right to consider the economic implications. But we must not lose sight of the profound economic risks of doing nothing. The solution can be a fundamentally conservative one that will empower the marketplace to find the most efficient response. We can do this by putting a price on emissions of carbon dioxide — a carbon tax. Fewer than 10 years ago, the best analysis projected that melting Arctic sea ice would mean nearly ice-free summers by the end of the 21st century. Now the ice is melting so rapidly that virtually ice-free Arctic summers could be here in the next decade or two. The lack of reflective ice will mean that more of the sun's heat will be absorbed by the oceans, accelerating warming of both the oceans and the atmosphere, and ultimately raising sea levels. Even worse, in May, two separate studies discovered that one of the biggest thresholds has already been reached. The West Antarctic ice sheet has begun to melt, a process that scientists estimate may take centuries but that could eventually raise sea levels by as much as 14 feet. Now that this process has begun, there is nothing we can do to undo the underlying dynamics, which scientists say are "baked in." Some members of my political party worry that pricing carbon is a "big government" intervention. In fact, it will reduce the role of government, which, on our present course, increasingly will be called on to help communities and regions affected by climate-related disasters like floods, drought-related crop failures and extreme weather like tornadoes, hurricanes and other violent storms. Ironies Abound Pauslon argues along the lines of "to reduce big government, we need more of it". This is of course similar to the Vietnam war analogy "we must destroy the village to save it", or George Bush's famous solution: "I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system". Curiously,  Paulson believes there is nothing we can do to undo the underlying dynamics, which scientists say are "baked in.". If indeed global warming is baked in, why spend billions of dollars in a foolish attempt to prevent the inevitable? Wouldn't it be better to spend billions of dollars on something else? Apparently not.  Let's now answer the original question: Is there a climate bubble? Yes, Virginia, of course there is. When people think man can stop climate change patterns that last tens of millions of years, when people think a map of the last 100 or even 1000 years of climate change predicts the futures, and when Republicans tout big government  to stop big government even though the results are "baked in", the appropriate words to describe the setup  are indeed "climate bubble". Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

French Private Sector Contracts Second Month; Eurozone Composite Growth Weakest in 6-Months Posted: 23 Jun 2014 12:00 PM PDT The Markit Flash Eurozone PMI shows Eurozone growth slows to six-month low despite strengthening periphery. Key Points Flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index at 52.8 (53.5 in May). 6-month low. Flash Eurozone Services PMI Activity Index at 52.8 (53.2 in May). 3-month low. Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI at 51.9 (52.2 in May). 7-month low. Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI Output Index at 52.8 (54.3 in May). 9-month low. Eurozone economic growth slowed for a second month running in June, easing to the weakest since December, according to the flash reading of the Markit Eurozone PMI. Growth remained robust in Germany despite weakening slightly, and France‟s downturn deepened. Elsewhere across the region, however, growth was the strongest since August 2007. The headline index covering output of both manufacturing and services fell from 53.5 in May to 52.8, dropping further from April‟s 35-month high. Despite the slowdown, the average PMI reading for the second quarter as a whole was the highest since the second quarter of 2011. Output has also now risen for 12 consecutive months. Output rose at identical rates in manufacturing and services, but the rates of growth slowed in both cases to nine- and three-month lows respectively. In a sign that activity may reaccelerate, the survey's measure of new orders rose to its highest since May 2011, driven by the service sector. A slowing in growth of manufacturing new orders to the weakest since October pointed to ongoing sluggish production growth in coming months, while service sector companies report ed the largest inflow of new business for three years. The service sector also saw business expectations about the year ahead improve to the second-est seen over the past three years. French Private Sector Contracts Second Month The Markit Flash France PMI shows French Private Sector Contracts Again in June. Key Points Flash France Composite Output Index down to 48.0 (49.3 in May), 4-month low Flash France Services Activity Index falls to 48.2 (49.1 in May), 4-month low Flash France Manufacturing Output Index falls to 47.1 (50.3 in May ), 6-month low Flash France Manufacturing PMI drops to 47.8 (49.6 in May), 6-month low Summary June's flash PMI data painted another picture of subdued economic performance in France, with output down for a second successive month, orders falling slightly and the sharpest cut in staffing levels for four months. After accounting for seasonal factors, the Markit Flash France Composite Output Index, based on around 85% of normal monthly survey replies, posted a reading of 48.0 in June. That was down from May's 49.3 and a four-month low. The decline in output was broad-based, with both manufacturers and service providers registering reductions since May. Goods-producers saw output decline to the sharpest degree in half-a-year; services companies the greatest in four months. Weighing on total output was a marginal fall in new orders. The continuation of soft trends in output and new orders weighed on staffing levels in June, with a net decline in private sector employment recorded for the eighth month in a row. Latest data marked the sharpest overall fall for four months, with manufacturers recording a relatively sharper fall in headcounts than service providers. Further signs of excess capacity in the private sector were provided by the latest backlogs of work data, which showed a marginal contraction for the second month in a row. On the price front, input price inflation accelerated in June to a five-month high. Manufacturing costs rose for the first time since January, while service sector input price inflation rose to a stronger degree. In contrast, competitive pressures and soft underlying demand continued to weigh on the pricing power of firms in June. Average output charges were cut for a twenty-sixth month in a row, with service providers registering the more marked reduction (manufacturing output prices were lowered to a modest degree). France GDP Analysis France is back in recession, with rising costs and falling output prices as well. Thank the socialist policies of Francois Hollande for this result. Government spending accounts for close to 57 percent of French GDP, a truly inane percentage. IBTimes reports Francois Hollande: France Faces €50bn More Public Spending Cuts. Now? Of course not! Hollande's spending cuts will amount to 4% of French GDP and will take place between 2015 and 2017. As a whole, public spending accounts for 57% of GDP, one of the highest rates in Europe. The country's finance ministry has a budget deficit equivalent to 4.1% of GDP, well above the 3% level agreed by the European Union under the Maastricht Treaty. French public debt is also in breach of Maastricht standards, which dictate it must not get above 60% of GDP. It is forecast to hit 95.1% in 2014. Just servicing the debt will cost €46.7bn (£39bn, $64bn) a year. Periphery Will Not Carry Europe While growth returns to the periphery, the periphery is not going to carry Europe. Growth in Germany will turn negative says Saxo Bank chief economist Steen Jakobsen, and I agree. For details, please see Coming Major Slowdown in Germany - How to Play It. Also see Steen's Wine Country Conference II presentation, touching the same subject. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Robot Truck Convoy Tests in Nevada; Driverless Trucks Before Cars, and Before the End of the Decade Posted: 23 Jun 2014 02:28 AM PDT I have discussed driverless trucks before, but the timeline keeps speeding up. Self-driving trucks before the end of this decade used to seem like a remote possibility. It now seems very likely, if not a given. Moreover, driverless truck convoys will be safer and more fuel efficient than human-driven trucks. "The technology, developed by Peloton Tech, uses radar and a wireless link so that the following trucks travel at the same speed, braking simultaneously for safety, and doing so on an automated system that doesn't have the delays of human reaction time. In addition, the drivers of both vehicles also have a video display, expanding both drivers' vision and reducing blind spots," reports Popular Science in Robot Truck Convoy Tested In Nevada Trucks Before Cars Tech Hive reports The First Driverless Cars Will Actually be a Bunch of Trucks. The future of driverless driving is all about trucks. So forget about that sensor-equipped Volkswagen Passat, and get ready for a 40-ton Peterbuilt 18-wheeler. In the wake of new U.S. Department of Transportation guidelines for automated-vehicle testing, experts such as Ümit Özguner, a professor with Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research, are predicting that the first wave of operational autonomous vehicles will be devoted to long-haul deliveries. This is about moving cargo, not people. "The trucking industry is very interested in going from single trucks to convoys of trucks. One human driver with perhaps three other trucks behind it," Özguner told TechHive. "Those three wouldn't necessarily have a driver in them. Eventually you could imagine removing the first driver too." [above]: A Japanese government research program is now testing driverless truck convoys that are designed to improve fuel economy. In late May, the U.S. Department of Transportation opened the door for road-testing self-driving trucks by publishing policies for the three states that currently allow driverless vehicles: California, Nevada, and Florida. These guidelines open the door for driverless tests of all kinds. Overseas, meanwhile, experiments with driverless truck convoys—also known as "platoons"—have been under way for years. "[Long-haul trucking] is the most realistic starting point for the commercial adoption of the technology. The long-haul vehicles have the most to gain, both in terms of safety and economic benefits," says Mike Baker, the chief engineer at Ricardo UK Ltd, the lead firm of SARTRE. "The fuel savings witnessed by trucks in a platoon has a significant impact on the operating profits of the operator, not to mention the environmental impact of reduced CO2 and emissions." In the future, cars will be driving themselves through all sorts of environments, "but that's quite a ways off," says Dan Flores, General Motors' advanced-technology spokesperson. "We're [developing semiautonomous technologies] only with highways in mind because you have the ability to stay in one lane for a long period of time. There's a lot more predictability there." In the coming years, car manufacturers will continue to introduce incremental, semiautomated technologies designed for situations that don't require interacting with too many other drivers (examples already include automated parallel-parking systems and cruise control). Flores told TechHive that before the end of the decade, GM hopes to release a technology called Super Cruise that will marry adaptive cruise and lane controls, and will allow any vehicle to safely navigate itself over long stretches of highway. Millions of Trucking Jobs Will Vanish Supply Chain also says Trucks Will Drive Themselves Before Cars Do. Driverless truck experiments are already underway in Japan and Europe, and now testing of semi-autonomous trucks has begun in Nevada. Here are the reasons why they're destined to succeed — and why you'll probably pass a driverless semi before you ever see a self-driving car. Computers Are Cheaper and More Flexible Than Humans The most immediate reason why driverless technology will doom truckers is the same reason it'll be the end for cab drivers: the cost of a machine operating a vehicle will be dramatically cheaper than the cost of a human. One of the things that drive up the cost of drivers is the simple fact that long-haul trucking is a much more unpleasant lifestyle than driving a cab. Many drivers spend five or six days a week on the road, which is why trucking has such an extraordinarily high turnover rate (about 98 percent annually) and why the industry constantly struggles to find enough drivers, even when unemployment is high. Obviously, machines won't care about these lifestyle difficulties. In fact, the Australian mining company Rio Tinto has already begun implementing autonomous trucks at its remote iron ore mines, partly because it's so expensive to get drivers to come live in those places. Driverless Technology Will Be Ready For Highways First Engineering a vehicle that can drive at a constant speed on a predictable highway is a much simpler problem than designing one that can drive on city streets, which are filled with traffic lights, pedestrians, and other sudden obstacles. Between 20 and 40 percent of the cost of shipping something by truck goes to fuel. A large amount of this fuel is simply burned as the engine fights air resistance, because trailers are so boxy and unaerodynamic. One way of cutting down on it is driving trucks in tight packs, so one can draft behind another. Of course, it's not safe for human drivers to draft off each other in this way, because it doesn't allow for enough reaction time if the truck in front stops suddenly. But computers can do it, and recent tests in Nevada showed just how much fuel they can save. The experiments by Peloton, a company that's developing truck caravan technology in partnership with the Department of Transportation, showed that while traveling at 65 miles per hour 36 feet apart, two trucks packed together saved seven percent on fuel. This was the average for just two trucks (the lead saved 4.5 percent, and the rear saved 10 percent), so it should increase as trains get longer. What Obstacles Need To Be Overcome For Driverless Trucks? The factors that block a broad rollout of self-driving trucks fall mainly into two categories. One is safety. People are understandably concerned about the idea of computers driving cars around on the roads, and those worries are amplified for tractor-trailers that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded. But experts actually predict that automated systems will make trucking safer, by eliminating distracted driving and human error. And Google's driverless cars, at least, have now gone more than 700,000 miles without an accident. The other problem is legal. Right now, just a few states (including California, Nevada, and Florida) have laws on the books regarding driverless cars, and their legal status as a whole is murky. For driverless trucking on Interstates to be practical, all states would need to explicitly allow these vehicles on public roads. Advocates are hopeful that national legislation will solve this problem. It's all very uncertain, but in 2012, Google's Sergey Brin predicted the Department of Transportation would begin regulating autonomous vehicles nationally as early as 2017. Last Mile I first wrote about driverless trucks on August 5, 2013, in Message to 5.7 Million Truck Drivers "No Drivers Needed" Your Job is About to Vanish. On May 25, 2014 I discussed "last mile" and objections by truck drivers in denial about what is going to happen. Let's assume someone has to load the truck. Let's also assume an actual skilled driver has to dock the truck and make the final delivery (arguably a bad assumption). Yet, even if those assumptions are true, nothing stops a trucking company from having distribution facilities right off an interstate near major cities, where local drivers deliver the goods the last mile. Why can't all but the last few miles be driverless even if a skilled driver is needed some step of the way for safety reasons? Technology marches on at a breathtaking pace. We might actually see commercial driverless vehicles on the roads within a few years. Driverless trucks are looking more and more likely before the end of the decade. Millions of jobs will vanish when it happens. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

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