The Distinct SEO Web Marketing Blog
Discuss the latest topics on web marketing, SEO, branding, and organizational development.
Adult Colouring Book by Calgary Artists
Our publication wing, RoBarry Publications, recently published an adult colouring book made and created in Calgary.
We thought we’d give them some love with a shout out for the book:
Soul Coats: Restoration – Adult Colouring Book
You can pick it up at a few retail stores in Calgary, or online at Amazon. The book is on par with the top books on the market in terms of premium construction and beautiful art. It features 7 different illustrators, all from Calgary’s own ACAD!
Have a great holiday!
Google Index Mobile First – Time to Update Desktop Only Websites
Google has announced continued focus on providing search results to the primary used devices–which are mobile devices.
To make our results more useful, we’ve begun experiments to make our index mobile-first. Although our search index will continue to be a single index of websites and apps, our algorithms will eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages from that site, to understand structured data, and to show snippets from those pages in our results. Of course, while our index will be built from mobile documents, we’re going to continue to build a great search experience for all users, whether they come from mobile or desktop devices. – https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/11/mobile-first-indexing.html
What does this mean? If your website is not mobile compliant you’re in trouble. Static websites built in HTML for desktops will slowly become less prominent in search results (in many ways they already have).
Setting up a new website, however, doesn’t have to be difficult. Many of the websites that still remain non-mobile compliant tend to be simple websites with only basic company information within. Having someone install a CMS of say, WordPress, and using an existing theme that suits your preference, is a quick and easy way to keep your information, have an updated website, and become mobile compliant. Depending on how many content you have, this change could be done within an hour.
So don’t wait any longer!
Google Penguin Algo Goes Real Time
Over 700 days later, the codenamed ‘Penguin’ algorithm update is now live in real-time influencing the SERPs on a now ongoing basis.
Historically, the Penguin filter caught spammy website (usually due to poor manipulative incoming web links). Those sites would remain penalized even until the next Penguin update, months, to sometimes years. Now we’ll see ongoing updates that impact daily rankings, but may enable sites caught with their proverbial pants down, a chance to clean up their act and reclaim rankings faster.
The official announcement from Google:
https://webmasters.googleblog.
10, 000 What?
Question is what 10,000 would you choose?
10,000 Facebook likes? 10,000 Twitter followers? 10,000 Instagram followers?
10,000 is the loose magic number that many marketers vie for. 10,000 people, when they are part of the same tribe, are included in that kind of stuff woodwork. enough foundation to permanently fund/fuel/purchase your product, service, or value.
Usually, however, even 10,000 followers won’t translate into regular sales.
But something else will.
10,000 people in your email list, a list that you have developed through hard work and years–will pay off in spades. Email lists continue to be one of the highest converting and most profitable ways to connect with your tribe. Are you building your email list? Are you generating value for people to build ’email’ trust? If not, you’re missing out.
Web Directories Still Valid SEO Tactic…Sort of
As one of the moderators of the SEOChat forums I used to see daily spam from entry level ‘SEOs’ who think they can make a buck online by undercutting legitimate consultants by 80-95% off price points. The primary tactics used by inexperienced SEOs (not I’m not even referring to them as marketers in any sense) include directory submissions much to the chagrin to the industry. Directory submissions are an archaic strategy to acquire incoming web links. However, there is an exception.
New Print Project for Distinct Enterprises
The parent company of Distinct SEO, Distinct Enterprises, has ventured into the realm of print publication. Robarry Publications was launched largely to direct a new project called ‘Soul Coats’.
The rage in softcover art books right now is ‘adult coloring’. You’ve probably noticed the mass appeal this past Christmas. During that time our team was developing a concept for a niche market in the ‘adult coloring book’ world and are now thrilled to announce our own book coming out later this Spring!
Geared towards the Christian market, but broad enough to include all avid colorists, ‘Soul Coats: Restoration’ is a Christian adult coloring book coming in at 64 pages full of restorative scenes and scripture taken from the Bible. The art will rival the top books currently on the market. The concept will provide a unique book to a sub-market that may have a number of alternatives, but the quality just isn’t there. It was/is our intent to create a beautifully made project that will thrill creative inkers and pencilers.
Visit the website to keep track of production updates and to capture a few sneak peaks of upcoming scenes and art.
Good luck to the Soul Coats team!
Why Non Profit Orgs Don’t Need Custom Websites
There is a common misconception in the world of nonprofits when it comes to company websites: custom development is the only option. There are times, especially for large organizations with significant and specific needs, that custom websites are needed, but for the vast majority out of the box/free solutions are the best option if you can get over the fear of new technology. Your organization will be better off going down the route of self-management because, a) you’ll own and have power over all of your data, b) you won’t expend unnecessary resources/money on things you can complete in house quickly, c) the learning curve isn’t as high as you think, d) you won’t have to wait for someone else to make changes.
What many don’t realize, the goals and purpose of a website can easily be handled with free options currently on the market (and have been for almost a decade). I know what you may be thinking, but free doesn’t mean cheap in this case. In the realm of the internet, open-source (free) is in fact a power worth taking advantage of.
Here’s why non-profits do not need to spend the money on custom websites and how to use free alternatives, namely, the implementation of WordPress.
Google Alert for Searches Never Seen Before
Those primary keywords you’re after probably aren’t as popular as you may think.
Although this image is over a year old (can’t track down source), it gave me a chuckle. It’s actually a really interesting and neat idea, I wish Google would implement it.
But I’m willing to bet you’d get the alert quite often, more than you would expect. Google sees a sizeable minority of searches they’ve never encountered daily. The nature of search is we use all sorts of parameters and words to find the information we’re looking for.
Quick Website Update – Website Revitalization
With any kind of web work there are always different levels of investment. On one hand, when it comes to web design, you can hire designers and artists and create custom works for everything. On the other hand, you can update and revitalize your website relatively quickly and easily for a fraction of the cost.
There are many different options, particularly in free CMS (content management systems) like WordPress, that offer robust tools and ‘themes’ that provide out-of-the-box solutions for webmasters offering professional looks that are easy to install. Best of all many are free. With enough customizing options you can take a free theme and tweak it so it looks unique.
We work with many clients who want to update the look of their website. They have all the existing content and pictures, and simply need us to come in create something updated and new. These changes can be done relatively quickly, sometimes within a day to complete an updated website that meets all the latest standards and guidelines for the search engines.
How Google WIll Treat new TLDs
With new generic top level domains (gTLDs), becoming options for web owners, the number questions on numbers regarding how Google will treat these domains. A recent FAQ from the Google Webmaster team confirms that Google will continue to handle TLDs in the same way they have in the past.
That means there’re no negative or positive connotations with any gTLDs. You can get a benefit nor can you be penalized. It’s supposedly in neutral factor in ranking websites. However, ccTLDs (country specific like .uk) Will a bias towards their referring country of origin. .UK indicates to Google that the content is likely to be geared towards a UK audience.
Oil Patch Layoffs Leads to More Consulting Firm Startups
As energy dependent Alberta and other provinces that rely on oil royalty revenues continue to struggle with depressed prices, layoffs particularly for contract workers are making people think harder about starting their own consulting firms.
Starting a new consultancy firm is well within the realm of possibility after some initial hard work. The reason why many may think twice about branching out on their own is a fear they won’t be able to make enough money to make ends meet. There is an inherent risk, but new ideas can be started using free time without the need to quit your job (of course this is a moot point if you were laid-off). Here are some tips on how to test a new business idea in your field.
The Stunning Way to Handle Failure in Organizations – Case of SpaceX
Watch this stunning video.
In case you’re wondering, SpaceX is trying to LAND a rocket that went to space. Usually rockets are used once and then jettisoned off into the void of space. (Actually, they don’t disappear, the rockets, along with other space junk, sits in orbit.) But here we have, within days of the attempt, the company SpaceX sharing what is ultimately the failure to land the rocket safely on a barge in the middle of the ocean.
The rocket literally blew up on attempt.
But this is actually a success, and the attention SpaceX has garnered through their platform and strategy of sharing their success, secrets, and failures, has done wonders for their brand, but also the industry as a whole.
How does your business handle failure?