The Search Marketing Advisor Newsletter Article: February 2007, Volume 6, Issue 2
Say Hello to Web 2.0
by Alan Rothstein, Algorithmic Search Analyst, iProspect
The volume of consumer-generated content on the Web today is mushrooming. The multitude of new websites that are popping up each week whose foundations are built upon that consumer-generated content, or upon content that is being tagged for its relevancy by website users, has been dubbed by many as “Web 2.0”
So, if up until now marketers have supposedly been working with Web 1.0 (or perhaps we’re really up to Web 1.99), do we have to change the way we work? Are there new rules to the game? Are there differences in the way these new “social” sites work that require us to think, plan and act differently?
The Short Answer – “Yes”
Social search sites like Del.icio.us and Digg have introduced the technique of tagging. A tag is a keyword or phrase that is associated with or assigned to a relevant piece of information such as a Web page, graphic, article, or video. The tag is implemented by users to provide a simple description, allowing for keyword-based classification of the information. The process of tagging offers yet another way of finding and connecting information on the Web. As such, Web 2.0 is providing online marketers with another avenue for building awareness and driving customers to their products or services.
Rather than using a hierarchical system of categorizing Web pages, such as DMOZ or Yahoo! Directory, social search sites allow users to simply apply relevant keywords to a Web page. Pages of a website are indexed within social search sites collectively, without treating the home page or another high-level domain as the authority. Each and every page of a site may be tagged by visitors with unlimited keywords that explain what the page is about. Users may also tag internal pages of a website if the pages contain information that they care about and wish to easily find later.
So, How Can You Get in on the Action?
It is important to understand that visitors must find the information on a specific Web page interesting enough to tag. Therefore, it is important to implement “link bait.” Link bait is content that is interesting enough to catch potential visitors’ attention, such as useful tools or up-to-date news and information. This will also persuade visitors to place links to your page from other websites, which should also drive more traffic to the site. As the page builds in popularity, and nets more traffic, it has the opportunity to become more prominent to searchers because social search sites place more value on pages that have gained more “votes” or tags from visitors.
Don’t Forget the Meta Data
Every page on your website that you wish to be tagged within the social search sites should contain relevant meta data. When people tag their favorite pages on your domain, search engine spiders will be able to more easily categorize your pages with the correct tags (or keywords) and link the individual pages back to your high-level pages. Every page on a website can attain value (authority) and share value to every other page on your website, with the help of social tagging. The new style of social search indexing will treat every URL as important and unique.
The most important meta data in your site’s source code are the title and description meta tags. When a page is indexed within a social search site, the listing description is often pulled directly from the source code. Therefore, make sure the title and description tags associated with the page are relevant and on topic and the tags are unique to each URL. Remember, multiple URLs with the same content or meta data can be seen as spam by traditional search engines. Also make sure that each individual URL is informative and increases the knowledge of a person reading a specific topic.
Don’t Get Carried Away
It is critical to understand that social search sites and tagging does not outweigh the importance of implementing traditional search engine optimization techniques for building visibility on key pages of your website. For example, Google still considers link popularity a key factor in determining the placement of your website among their search results. Also consider the importance of keyword-rich content and hyper-links on your Web pages.
Final Word
The more interesting information and tools offered on your website, the more opportunities you will have to get your pages tagged, and linked to, by visitors. The more of these your Web pages receive, the more authority those pages will gain on the Internet. Now that Web 2.0 has made this possible, don’t fail to take advantage of the ability of social sites to impart authority onto pages deep within your site.
