Eric Schmidt Says Google Plans To Rank Verified Profiles Higher In Future

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If Eric Schmidt’s book, “The New Digital Age”, is to be believed, Google’s authorship markup is going to play a huge role in search engine result pages before long. Given, as Search Engine Watch points out, Schmidt has a “talk first, think later” habit which has caused some great, though not always reliable, soundbites  but the fact that this is in his upcoming book, rather than a random interview, lends this quite a bit of reliability.

The Wall Street Journal published some excerpts from the book, and it is one in particular which has caught the eye of SEO professionals.

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

Google introduced their authorship markup in 2011, and stated at the time that they were “looking closely at ways this markup could help us highlight authors and rank search results,” but since then it has faded into the background in many ways. Google’s plans for the future bring it very much so back onto the table. Schmidt’s comment has made it very clear that Google wants to implement Google+ as a verification device. On one hand, it would be one of the best combatants against spammers imaginable. On the other, do we really want a future where we are forced to be on Google+ just so people can find your website?

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Understanding Skeuomorphism a Little Better

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I recently wrote about the current debate over skeuomorphism and flat design, but after investigating more into the topic, I don’t feel like I explained skeuomorphism as well as possible. Of particular interest to me was Paula Borowska’s article for Designmodo specifically looking at skeuomorphism.

The biggest misconception about skeuomorphism is also the one I failed to address in my original definition of the concept. Skeuomorphism isn’t simply mimicking the way something looks. It is copying the aesthetic properties of the material, the shape, and most importantly, the functionality. Those apps using faux leather backgrounds aren’t part of skeuomorphic design.

More than anything, Skeuomorphic design is about functionality and shape, not texture. The object doesn’t have to physically do something, but it has to convey the idea of functionality  For example, a paperclip on a “stack” of photos is skeuomorphic design, because it appears to be holding them together.

Apple, always noted for their use of skeuomorphism, have the newsstand, the most famous case of the design technique. It, of course, has the wooden texture of a bookshelf, but it also used the newsstand shape and shelved to organize the magazines like they would be on an actual newsstand. Sure, it looks pretty, but it also uses the idea of a real object to better help you understand and interact with the content.

The debate between skeuomorphism and flat design is most likely just posturing. Despite proponents on either side, neither style is inherently better than the other. Most importantly, the web is not a cohesive entity. Neither style of design is going to eradicate the other, though they may fluctuate in popularity. If the internet can’t seem to completely rid itself of Geocities style pages from 1998, neither of these techniques will be disappearing any time soon.

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How To Craft An Ideal Facebook Ad

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Your ad for Facebook should be different from ads on other platforms. Even if you’re also advertising on other social media sites, your Facebook ad has to be unique, as would an ad for Twitter or Tumblr. That’s because you need to consider not only who is going to encounter this ad, but where they will see it and what mindset they’ll be in when they do. That seems like a lot but it is the key to crafting the ideal ad.

Robin Bresnark has an article at Business2Community that delves into this idea of incredibly specific audience targeting. Although I disagree with some of his finer points, everyone should agree on the core of the article, which is simply to think of who you are selling to before creating your selling tool.

The prevailing thought is ‘Facebook isn’t for selling’ so you’ll need to take a different route. Once you figure out what exactly works for Facebook, you can start trying to work within those parameters to find what works for your key demographic.

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How To Optimize WordPress For SEO

WordPress is easily one of the most popular content management systems available, especially for internet marketers and SEOs. It is easy to use and insanely flexible for a CMS, but it has become the most used by SEOs for the number of tools you can use within the site, and how easy it is to optimize web pages.

WordPress doesn’t just work well with quick and easy optimization techniques though. It is so flexible you can implement almost any more advanced optimization techniques you could want.

Ilan Nass at Search Engine Journal notes three of the more overlooked SEO tweaks you can do with WordPress, and teaches you how to do them in his article. If you want your blog or web page to be as optimized as possible, make sure you are doing these techniques.

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Relying On Grids Can Limit Your Content

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Designing with grids is common practice online. Every template is based around grids which let you input what you want, and most popular websites have their pages broken up along a grid. There are some issues with relying on grids for your design however.

The biggest practical issue with putting your faith into a pre-made grid is that the internet is not static, and boundaries are vague at best. Sure, every device has a set width and height, but those measurements vary wildly and there are uncountable other variables. Images are shown at different densities, text can be resized, and there are constant updates to how the web is processed.

This issue only hints at the bigger problem with relying on templates. If you aren’t making the active decisions of how your content needs to be presented, you are instead molding your content to fit the grids. Web pages are supposed to exist to present information, not the other way around. Your design affects everything on the screen, including the information you are putting out there.

Taking control and shaping your design around your content lets you decide how your design enhances your content. Adhering to a strict grid limits your content by confining it. This isn’t to say using grids in your layouts is bad.

Grids are tools, and should be used to highlight your content, and visually group related items, establish a hierarchy of importance, and create a sense of rhythm on the webpage. The issue is when webpage owners decide that using a premade gridded template rather than trusting a professional. Ben Gremillion thinks grids can even be used to bring new life to webpages, but you have to be actively deciding how to use grids and not simply slapping some information into slots.

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Money Saving Tips For Your Limited AdWords Budget

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Some companies can afford to just throw money at their online marketing campaigns and get results, but if you run a small business with an equally small advertising budget, you’ll want to look into these tips from Business2Community.

1. Google Search

Surprisingly, they suggest those with a limited budget limiting their options to search only. While it is likely the most efficient platform, I would argue that, depending on your business, you could yield great results with other options as well. But, it is a great place to start and if your budget is extremely limited, maybe also a great place to stop.

2. Keywords

You get a high conversion rate at a low cost-per-click. Keywords are a huge money saver and hone in on the users who are most likely to be looking for you. Also, be sure to learn about “long tail keywords” to get the most out of your ads.

3. Geotargeting

Chances are, if you have a small business and limited budget, you are only interested in those consumers living in your area. Use Google’s tools to only show ads to those in your vicinity. You can set parameters by city, zip code or even a mile radius around your physical address.

4. Day Parting

This one requires some legwork on your part. Check into your campaigns and find out when the peak hours are for conversions. You can then choose to either turn ads off during down times, or turn ads off during some of these peak hours when costs are at their highest. Either way, it is an opportunity to save some coin.

I do not endorse turning off ads simply because your business is closed for the day, however. Many consumers do conduct searches outside of normal business hours, which means you could be missing out on a large part of the market.

5. Device Targeting

The main reason to use this tool is to ensure ads ideal for mobile devices are shown only on mobile devices, while ads ideal for laptops, or not ideal for mobile, are only shown to laptops and tablets.

 

 

 

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Why You Should Be Using Web IDEs For Your Coding

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Think about the programs you use for design. You probably think of Photoshop, Illustrator, or one of a few prominent desktop code editors. You probably didn’t immediately think of your web browser, and the numerous online tools you can use that a large amount of your workflow relies on. While there aren’t any web based graphic design tools that rival Photoshop (yet), the same can’t be said for the code editors that developers use.

While in the past, the web was just where you went to see simple HTML and find the vast number of programs you would have to use offline, now only extremely specific things require actually installing programs. Web development is one of the few arenas that has been slow on taking up web integrated tools, but that has changed significantly over the past year.

Now, I understand anyone’s reluctance to shift from a program they have been using for years to a web based coding interface, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Online tools allow for faster and easier collaboration, and they can help keep things much more organized than the endless folders could ever do. Matt Pass breaks down why you should make the switch over at Webdesigner Depot. Change is hard, but sometimes it is very worth it.

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Matt Cutts Explains Negative SEO

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There is more than enough talk out there about negative SEO, and how to prevent it or fight back against it, but Matt Cutts says the actual number of occurrences of people trying to use negative SEO is extremely low. He explains that Google designs their algorithms to try to ensure that they can avoid penalizing innocent sites and now that Google has added the Disavow Links tool to their repertoire, it is very easy to shut down “black hat” SEO if it does happen to you.

Cutts, the head of the Google Webspam team took to YouTube to answer the huge number of questions he has received about negative SEO, and also further explain the Disavow Links tool, clearing up any misconceptions there could be. Cutts doesn’t think negative SEO should be a concern for the vast amount of website owners out there, unless you are in extremely competitive spheres. “There’s a lot of people who talk about negative SEO, but very few people who actually try it, and fewer still who actually succeed,” he said.

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Your New Social Media Strategy: Visualize and Attack

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In case you haven’t noticed, Pinterest has exploded over the past year and a half. In fact, it is now the fourth largest driver of traffic worldwide. The lesson to learn is that visual content moves the masses. Ryan Wilson at Business2Community has some clever ways to  increase social media engagement by using more images in your posts.

1. Create your own Meme

They are easy to create and give a fun, lighthearted vibe rather than a more desperate, “we want your business” type of message that drives away social media users. And they are literally everywhere.

2. Infographics

We’ve used quite a few on this very blog. They contain a ton of information that you would never read an entire article to glean.

3. Regular Photos

Old school and timeless. Whether it’s of customers, your store or your new product, take a picture and share it with the masses.

4. Take Submissions

Ask your audience to send in their own pics of them utilizing your products. They do the heavy lifting but you reap the benefits.

The point is, be creative and visual. You’ll see a remarkable difference.

 

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jQuery Plugins To Make Typography Easier

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Source: Flickr

Web typography is blossoming right now thanks to new font solutions like @font-face and Google Fonts, but we still often feel limited by how much control we have over the typography in designs and publishing apps. There are some jQuery plugins out there however that are beginning to catch up to the other new font solutions gaining popularity.

Chris Spooner compiled some of the best jQuery plugins for web typography that help offer the precise control designers desire, and any designer concerned about their text can benefit from them.

The Lettering.js plugin is a super simple plugin, and that simplicity has also assisted it in gaining huge popularity. The plugin splits up text and wraps each letter in a custom <span> element giving you exact control over kerning, or even customizing CSS styles for individual letters.

Other plugins like FitText.js help solve issues that responsive design has created for typography. Responsive design changes the containers for text, which makes the text reformat to match the size, but that often makes headings and titles looking worse for wear. The FitText.js plugin allows you to scale your headings and titles just like responsive images, keeping everything on the same line.

My favorite plug Spooner has found is great for its name as well as its function. Bacon is a plug in the allows you to shape your text around a bezier curve directly within the design. InDesign has allowed designers to easily shape text around images, but HTML and CSS has traditionally made text flow in square blocks. Now, rather than using tedious and dirty HTML markups, Bacon makes it easy to easily, and cleanly, design your text around shapes with just a series of coordinates.

If you are a stickler about typography like I am, all of the plugins offered in Spooner’s article will seem like life-savers, as well as huge time-savers. Designers have struggled to take control over fonts and text since the invention of the internet, but only recently has web typography become fun rather than tiresome.

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