How To Deal With Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is a term used in the field of search engine optimization to describe content that appears on more than one web page, even on different web sites. When multiple pages contain essentially the same content, search engines such as Google prefer to only display one of those pages in their search results.

Based on Google’s definition of duplicate content:

Duplicate content generally refers to substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely match other content or are appreciably similar. Most of the time when we see this, it’s unintentional or at least not malicious in origin: forums that generate both regular and stripped-down mobile-targeted pages, store items shown (and — worse yet — linked) via multiple distinct URLs, and so on. In some cases, content is duplicated across domains in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings or garner more traffic via popular or long-tail queries. (1)

Now, how you are going to deal with duplicate content? Here is a video-tutorial from SEOMoz CEO; Rand Fishkin; about on how to deal with duplicate content:

SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday – Dealing with Duplicate Content.

Get Help In Building Links With Social Influencers

Social influencers are individuals who have influence over your online target audience and placed the most powerful and credible links on the internet. Often, these are bloggers, editors, industry experts who tend to like you and help your promote your stuff by mentioning your business to his or her numerous social media followers. In many cases, that’s the magic touch a business needs to step up to the next level.

Social media sites can be a great source for identifying these key individuals. They act as a virtual trade show, streamlining your ability to “meet” and build a relationship, and win them over to actually promote your ideas to their audience(s). If you’re in the sports industry, it’s kind of like having Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods (for example) say good things about you. When this happens, you will have many new relationships, followers and links to your site. Here are some of the keys to build relationships with social influencers online:

1. Know what the influencer likes or wants before you introduce yourself. The fastest way to get ignored by the influencer is to try to sell them your idea before they even know who you are. (Think spam filters). Instead, get involved in the group and listen to what’s being said. If it’s appropriate, provide interesting, thought-provoking comments or responses. Some influencers aren’t a bit shy and will tell you flat-out what they are looking for. If you possess what the influencer is looking for, it’s time to make your introduction.

2. Introduce yourself by letting them know that you have something they might want and then give some details in a respectful way. Remember: you want to pique their interest, not bury them in details. If they’re interested, you’ll know it soon enough.

3. Wait for their response. If they don’t respond in a reasonable timeframe, find another way to introduce yourself: phone calls often work, but it’s best to speak face-to-face.

4. At this point, it’s assumed that you really do have what they want and that the influencer will act on it immediately. Otherwise, it’s back to step one again; in some cases, it’s over for your shot with that influencer.

Chinese Hacker Attacks: Target Google Gmail Accounts

A sophisticated attack targeting the corporate infrastructures of up to 33 Silicon Valley tech firms is believed to have originated in China and may be an attempt by Chinese government agents to track down Chinese human rights activists, according to a disclosure issued Tuesday by search engine giant Google.

In the announcement, Google said a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack” resulted in the theft of intellectual property from its systems. The company said it planned to enter talks with the Chinese government and would stop censoring its search results in the country. Google has been in a battle with Chinese search engine Baidu. Google was criticized in 2006 when it entered the Chinese market and began censoring some search engine results, blocking websites owned by Chinese human rights activists. Google said it may pull its operations out of China altogether.

According to Google, two Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists were hacked and it believed the goal of the Gmail attacks was to gather information against people that it deemed a threat. The company said it would notify the other tech firms that have been targeted in the wave of attacks.

“We have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties,” Google said in a post on the Official Google Blog. “These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users’ computers.”

Read the full story here.

Rules of Engagement For Social Media Optimization Campaign

Ongoing content creation, tagging and bookmarking, attracting inbound links by being a resource for your audience – these are essential elements for pushing your website higher in the search engines’ listings. Social media optimization leverages a new set of tools to accomplish the same goal as SEO: more exposure for your site on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The challenge is knowing how to use these tools effectively.

If you want to boost your exposure in the search engines’ listings, consider social media optimization a priority. There are several rules of engagement for launching and executing a social media optimisation campaign. If you ignore them, your SMO efforts will be far less effective than otherwise.

Rule No.1: You should do everything possible to encourage your audience to link to your site. Integrating a blog is valuable because your content can continually be updated, attracting loyal readers. Encourage readers to bookmark, tag and “Tweet” your blog posts by installing a button plug-in.

Rule No.2: Link liberally as a resource for your visitors. Social media optimization is dependent on assisting others achieve what they’re trying to do. Once you engage your audience, help them find the resources they need by linking to them. Eventually, your site will become regarded as a resource hub, which will help you attract inbound links. That’s a vital component of SEO.

Rule No.3: You must be able to identify your market. Social media optimization relies upon the connections you establish with niche communities. You need to target them properly in order to generate content and engage them. This is true whether you’re engaging them through YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, or your blog.

Rule No.4: Integrate tracking tools to monitor and measure the success of your social media optimization campaign. Track mentions of your site and company. Watch your site’s progress in the natural listings for your main keywords. Generate linking reports showing inbound links pointing to your domain and specific pages. Tracking your metrics is crucial in order to determine whether your SMO campaign is effective.

Social Media Optimization: Influencing Your Search Engine Marketing

Social Media Optimization (SMO) is one of the important ingredients within your SEO and SEM campaigns. Before, social networking sites (like Friendster, Multiply, My Space, Hi5, etc.) were not much more than an oddity. Nowaday, many of them have received highly fair ranking authority from the major search engines. If you are not leveraging these sites to increase your exposure and communicate with your niche consumer, your search engine positions are vulnerable to your competitors. Now, let us describe the current influence of Social Media Optimization on search engine marketing.

Search engine marketing has always relied upon exposure in the search engines to drive targeted traffic. For many years, gaining that exposure was based solely upon the development of your site and generating links pointing to your site. Both are still important today. However, social media optimization has shifted the landscape of search engine marketing. Google once maintained several disparate search platforms for blogs, videos, news, and similar types of “social” content. Each functioned as a separate search engine with its own set of organic listings.

Just a few years ago, Google blended the listings from each platform into a system called Universal Search. Yahoo and Bing have since incorporated similar systems. Universal Search is now used as the primary index. That means blogs, videos, and news have been incorporated into the natural listings, pushing many sites off the first page. This is one of the reasons social media optimization has become a critical piece of search. Another factor that has influenced search marketing is the increased ranking authority given to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and similar sites. These too, have quickly gained control of a significant amount of search territory

Social media optimization preserves your current natural listings while helping you to gain even more search exposure. By using blogs, videos, and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, you can capture a greater number of organic positions.