Affect Archives - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

How Google Updates Affect Your SEO Campaign

Google updates its algorithms quite often. In fact, if we visit Google’s algorithm update history, it is easy to note they roll out new updates multiple times a month, and several times a year. Some updates include simple changes in the aesthetics of the search results page, whereas others include the introduction of new ranking factors.

We all know performing SEO on a website is continuous work, a routine. Actions made today will only reflect on your traffic down the road, and it takes patience and persistence to continue.

However:

Things out of our control can happen and ruin all the methodical and daily work we’ve done for our website’s SEO: the drastic changes in Google’s algorithm!

Does That Mean I Should Change My SEO Strategy Every Time Google Releases a New Algorithm Update?

While it is good to pay attention to these updates, you shouldn’t worry about having to change your entire SEO campaign.

Google Algorithm updates represent new ranking opportunities and criteria that SEOs should comply with, which is why SEO is a continuous strategy.

So, Why Does Google Update Its Algorithms So Frequently?

Google constantly releases algorithm updates in order to maintain its superb online advertising and search services. Several things can go wrong when running a business online, causing it to shut doors unexpectedly.

When this happens to a brick-and-mortar store, it is easy to see they have officially closed down; however, how can you tell if an online business is still operating or not?

That’s where “Bots” come in!

Google has “crawling robots” that go around discovering and inspecting websites 24/7. If Googlebots can’t get to your website, it will never be indexed. This means if Google can’t see your website content, then it won’t rank your website either.

You can avoid all this stress by performing technical SEO strategies to ensure your website is visible to crawler Bots, loads at fast speed, and depicts a true representation of your brand image.

Once your website is discoverable, Bots will analyze the layout and structure of your business, indicating how Google should be evaluating and ranking your website. Clues such as breadcrumbs, structured markup and sitemap can help guide the Bots through your content, pointing out the most important pages and blocking the ones Google shouldn’t consider.

Why Are Google Algorithm Updates Necessary?

What makes Google better than Bing, among other search engines, is the speed, accuracy and quality of the content it provides in its search results page.

Think about it:

If the search results page displayed links to websites that had little to do with what you actually searched for, or if it took too long to display it results, wouldn’t you try a different service?

We would!

That being said, Google is looking for the best content available online, so it is safe to say that “content is king”! Quality content must be helpful, informational, readable and digestible – not just fluff.

The general rule of thumb here is:

“the better the content, the higher are the chances it will rank on the first page of search engine results.”

Choose Quality Over Quantity – Always!

Since its inception, Google has been fighting off cheating practices of rank manipulation. This includes link schemes, link spamming, hidden keywords and keyword stuffing. Such practices are known as “black-hat SEO” and are used to boost website rankings.

Most people would like to know how long it takes a website to rank on Google, but the truth is there are no pre-determined deadlines for search engines; trying to bypass the process will only work against you.

Understand this:

“More content” doesn’t necessarily mean “better content”,

which is why Google rewards websites that offer value to its users, punishing and removing the schemers from search engine results pages.

What Should I Do When Google Releases Algorithm Updates?

Ultimately, Google relies on a broad network of trust indicators that help determine the most reliable and trustworthy sources available online.

Besides quality content, another main trust indicator is the amount and quality of links pointing back to your website, known as backlinks.

The same rule mentioned above applies here: choose quality over quantity! You can always find people offering hundreds and thousands of “quality” backlinks to your website for very little investment, but if some of them are “spammy” and not trustworthy, Google will mark your website as untrusted, and will remove it from its search engine results page.

Once Google has established your website as spam, it will require double, triple, or quadruple amount of effort to help it bounce back.

Quality backlinks are directly associated with Domain Authority (DA), a metric calculated by evaluating linking root domains, total links and more that helps predict how a website will rank on search engines, like Google.

Thus, for effective SEO strategy, building and managing the link profile of a website is crucial to improve its domain authority.

In Conclusion

While rankings will constantly oscillate, your position on search engines results pages should not shift drastically if you follow these principles.

Whatever you do, DO NOT panic: poorly constructed ideas and actions will negatively affect your SEO strategy; if you are applying white-hat SEO strategies, just be patient.

The Hidden Secret on Logo Colors, and How They Affect Your Customers

Could you imagine if the “Golden Arches” were purple, or if IBM’s colors were red and green? You may have wondered who, how and why they came up with the colors that they did.

Why is it that so many restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Subway all use red, orange, yellow or green, but you don’t see a lot of blue or purple.

Chances are there’s a lot more to the process than you might imagine. And if you haven’t wondered but you are thinking of creating a logo or hiring someone to do it for you, this is something you’ll want to read.

It sounds absurd, but choosing the right colors for your business image

and logotype can mean the difference between success and failure. Take

the example above, did you know that research shows that people eat more in a

room painted with warm colors like yellow and red, versus cold color? Yep, it’s

true.

We are all affected by the color we see — both physiologically and psychologically;

your customers are no different.

In fact, your customers instantly make assumptions about your company; it’s quality and service based on your logo and the colors you’ve associated with it. Most of the time they aren’t even aware if it, but trust me, your customers make very quick assumptions about your company based on your identity and the colors you’ve chosen to use.

It’s simple; choose the right colors that are pleasing to your target market and you win. You’re one step ahead of the competition.

So how do you choose the right colors? If you’re working with a knowledgeable designer to create your corporate image you’ve got a huge advantage over a business owner going it alone. Make sure you work with a business savvy designer that thoroughly understands color theory and how it affects consumers.

If you go it alone there’s good news and bad: the bad news is that there is no color combination that works for all industries and business. The good news is scientific studies have concluded that there are some basic theories on how certain colors can affect our behavior. If you use the information in these studies you can select the color ranges that might work more effectively for your business and industry. Here are a few findings from one such study:

RED This is food color. Ever notice that restaurants use red

a lot? It makes you hungry by increasing your body’s metabolism. Red suggests

aggression, hostility, heat, stop, error, warning, danger, error, fire, lushness

and passion. Here’s the Red Challenge – see if you can find an air conditioning

company with a lot of red in their logo, you probably won’t.

YELLOW Yellow suggests the sun, expansiveness, happiness and

high spirits. Yellow commands attention and suggests caution. It can be used successfully

as a highlight. Here’s the Yellow Challenge – see if you can find a financial

company with a lot of yellow in their logo.

BLUE Not a good color for hospitals. Blue suggests the peaceful,

the sad and water. Blue is often associated with the male. Blue is a cool color

and can visually expand a room. It does not compliment most foods. Blue goes well

with warm colors and materials. Here’s the Blue Challenge – see if you can

find a fast-food restaurant with a lot of blue in their logo, you’ll have to look

hard.

GREEN Associated with nature the pastoral and general well-being.

Green also suggests envy and jealousy. Green should not be overused. Too much

can affect skin tones and the appearance of some foods. Here’s the Green Challenge

– see how many headlines you see in green, you can – but you’ll see a lot more

red.

BLACK Black can have negative sociological connotations like

evil, mourning, ghostly, night, death and fear. However, black can be very stylish

and modern. Black works well as an accent with other colors. Here’s the Black

Challenge – see if you can find health care organizations with a lot of black

in their logo.

Sure, you’ll be able to find some exceptions to my challenges; I know there are always exceptions to the rule. Some of the exceptions may even work, but your best bet is to either to study and learn color theory or work with a business savvy designer that understands it.

What Is Net Neutrality and How It Can Affect Your Business

The subject of net neutrality has been the topic of many discussions on the U.S. forums and discussion boards since long now. To first understand why many businesses are so upset about the subject, you have to understand what net neutrality is.

What is net neutrality? According to an article in Business Insider, net neutrality prevents Internet providers from dictating the kinds of content users would be able to access online. Instead, Internet providers are required to treat all traffic sources equally. Why is this topic so controversial that the U.S. Court of Appeals had to weigh-in? Because Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast want to charge for use of their networks. Meaning, these providers will have the ability to pick and choose what consumers see online and to then charge content providers.

The internet speed is basically a fixed sum game. If your competition can afford to pay to drive on the fast lane, then by default your small business gets put in the slow lane. The deeper the pockets of the company, the more competition they can speed past on the way to new customers. Right now many small bloggers and start up websites are afforded the exact same opportunity to reach an audience as the big corporations. However, it is important that you understand what net neutrality is and how it can affect you. When you boil it down, net neutrality means that all data is equally accessible via the Internet. This means that regardless of whether you are a small accounting firm or one of the big name international firms, you have equal access to placing information and accessing other information via the web. You must also factor in things like advertising and marketing budgets to get the word out, but in terms of accessibility, you’re on a level playing field with the big dogs. If net neutrality goes out the window, so does that equal accessibility. Some things to consider:

Paying More For Better Access:

No net neutrality means that Internet service providers (ISPs) will be able to create tiers of accessibility, meaning they can start demanding more money for better accessibility. Smaller businesses with tiny budgets won’t be able to compete for access with the larger companies who can afford to pay the new fees. It also means that there’s nothing to stop big companies or competitors from paying ISPs to slow access to other sites, thus effectively putting them out of business.

Limited Access to Content:

ISPs will be able to limit what you have access to base on their own corporate interests. From Business Insider: “For example, Comcast would probably like to promote NBC’s content over ABC’s to its Internet subscribers. That’s because Comcast and NBC are affiliated. But net neutrality prevents Comcast from being able to discriminate, and it must display both NBC’s and ABC’s content evenly as a result. That means no slower load time for ABC, and definitely no blocking of ABC altogether.” If net neutrality is gone, there’s nothing to prevent corporate discrimination like this, meaning your window shopping for vendors may be limited to just those on Rodeo Drive. Your favorite information sources may not be as fully available to you as they are now.

Limited Access For Potential Clients:

While the previous example explained how you would be limited in what you could access (potentially increasing costs for your business as your options dwindle), it works the other way as well. Prospects will now have a harder time finding you as well. Entrepreneur likens this to when you buy cable TV: “Instead of being able to sell to anyone with an internet connection… entrepreneurs would find their customers limited to those who paid for the ‘internet package’ that covers access to their particular website. It would be like your cable TV plan: The more you pay, the more channels you receive.” In essence, your clients may only be directed to window shop Rodeo Drive and not realize there are more efficient and equally effective options like you out there.

Slower Load Times:

So let’s say ISPs don’t altogether block access to those sites that aren’t part of their approved network. That doesn’t mean they won’t try to incentivize you to visit their preferred sites. They can do this by interrupting streaming or slowing load times on websites that don’t pay a premium. The speed and reliability of a site can make or break you. Admit it, you’ve just decided to leave a page when it took more than a couple of seconds to load. That impatience is universal and could affect traffic on your website. And if you wanted to engage in video marketing and stream on your website, you might be up the creek without a paddle (slowly, very slowly drifting).

Leveraging Video Marketing:

SMBs that depend on video (such as YouTube, Netflix, etc.) as part of their marketing strategy could be impacted if net neutrality is eliminated. For instance, if your company streams videos to homes across the country, or if you want customers to view your company’s product videos, then there’s a probability you might be affected. Similarly, if SMBs can’t afford to pay ISPs to share their content, their prospective customers may be unable to view the product videos and may not be enticed to purchase their products. Moreover, the investment on producing and optimizing the videos will result in a financial loss. The FCC decision, thus, could have an impact on your SMB and how you are able to access the internet in the future.

As a small business owner, it’s important to understand net neutrality. The decisions being made could possibly have an impact on your small business and how you are able to access the Internet in the future.