Monday, December 21, 2009

What You Need To Know About Web 3.0

. Monday, December 21, 2009
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By Michael H. Fleischner

If you're familiar with social media than you know that the social media revolution has often be referred to as Web 2.0. Said another way, the ability to communicate in real time via the web through networks of like-minded people is considered the second iteration of the Internet.

In recent months I have heard countless people talking about what's next for the world wide web. The reality is that Web 3.0 is already here and this is evidenced by those websites who are taking user behavior into consideration when defining an online user experience.

The concept of Web 3.0 really focuses on collecting information about you from a variety of sources and using that data to improve your online experience. This evolution hopes to eliminate the vastness of the Internet and provide you with the information, products, and resources that are most meaningful to who you are and what you want.

What makes this concept of Web 3.0 so appealing is behavior data. The next version of the Internet all types of online behavior will be tracked closely. Everything from on-site behavior to purchase behavior like order size and frequency will be combined with preference to shape your online experience. The more data available the more predictive the experience can become.

Web 3.0 goes beyond real time data by allowing online merchants and other websites the ability to integrate existing data into user profiles. For site that already have behavioral data, generating meaningful predictive models become even easier. Whether you've responded to a one time promotion or have consistently bought from a web site, this information is used to shape recommendations and marketing messages via email and online.

Web 3.0 intelligence anonymously and securely analyzes every customer and web browser to your website. Learning patterns and the context that drives buying decisions will be used to create a highly personalized user experience for each individual. This may be a point of concern for all of you privacy buffs out there but the reality is that web sites track user behavior today and the information becomes more and more sophisticated.

Some individuals are going to be significantly concerned about what data is being tracked and how that information is being used. I believe that all users must give their permission to be fully engaged in a Web 3.0 world. Once information is given, the user experience can be liberating, allowing your past behavior to shape your buying experience. This might actually cut down on much of the inaccurate and unrelated solicitations you receive today.

The concept of Web 3.0 is real and is coming to a store near you. My feeling is that It's inevitable so don't try to resist. Rather embrace the technology and learn how to best utilize it. Doing so may actually improve the buying experience.

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The Top SEO Strategies Of All Time

By Michael Fleischner

As someone who makes a living improving search engine rankings, I can tell you that there is a lot of bad information out there about SEO. What if I were to tell you that the road map for achieving top rankings was within your grasp? The holy grail of rankings is not imaginary. As is true with any major success, it leaves clues.

By working with literally hundreds of small and medium sized websites, I have found that top ranked sites have a number of factors in common. What are they? I'm about to share these factors with you and explain what separates those in the top Google positions and those that are never found on page one of search results.

The first SEO ranking factor that has proven effective time and again is making sure that all inbound links to your web site have keywords in their anchor text. By placing keyword in the anchor text of these links, you are directing search engines to your website and individuals search for a particular keyword. I know that you can't always control what someone names a link to your web site, but where you can, make sure it includes your keywords.

The second most important aspect of search engine factors is to include your keyword or keyword phrase in your title tag. This is important not only for search engines to identify your page but it becomes what is displayed in search engine results lists. In addition to the title tag, make sure to include your keyword and keyword phrases in both the description tag and keywords meta tag.

The third factor of search engine importance is link popularity. How many websites are linking to yours? More importantly, what is the value of those links? This answer is usually a function of Google Page Rank. Page rank is comprised of a large number of factors but essentially provides a weight to the value of each inbound link. The more links you have a greater value pointing to your web site, the higher your link popularity.

The fourth ranking factor to consider is the variety of domains linking to your web site. If you have hundreds of inbound links from a single web site, they carry less weight than only a few inbound links from separate and distinct sites. The key here is that different sites are essentially placing their vote. Focus on diverse link building strategies among many different web sites.

The fifth ranking factor is placing your keywords in your root domain. If you are unable to acquire a domain that has www.yourkeyword.com as the format, don't despair. You can vary your domain by including words before or after your keyword. Short of being able to acquire such a domain, place your keywords using a subdomain structure or placing a folder on your root domain. This can have a positive impact on your overall rankings.

Each of the five factors mentioned above are some of the most effective I have seen over more than a decade of online marketing. Focus on inbound links that are formatted properly, link popularity, and domains. By doing so you can dramatically improve the overall effectiveness of your search engine optimization efforts.

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