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	<title>Search Engine Optimization &#38; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</title>
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		<title>The Content Your Content Could Smell Like</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-content-your-content-could-smell-like</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-content-your-content-could-smell-like#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 14:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Kavanaugh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Organic Search]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2421</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>While taking a quick peak at the analytics of my UpWord blog posts the other day, I noticed something peculiar: one blog was head and shoulders above the rest in pageviews and unique pageviews. It’s titled “Social Media Photo Dimensions &#38; Directives”. In trying to piece together [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-content-your-content-could-smell-like">The Content Your Content Could Smell Like</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While taking a quick peak at the analytics of my UpWord blog posts the other day, I noticed something peculiar: one blog was head and shoulders above the rest in pageviews and unique pageviews. It’s titled <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives" target="_blank">“Social Media Photo Dimensions &amp; Directives”</a>. In trying to piece together the cause of this blog’s success, it occurred to me that social media dimensions for photos are something that a lot of different people will always be searching for.</p>
<p>Content marketing, as it applies to SEO (are they synonymous yet?), at its best accomplishes just that: <b>provide something that people will always be searching for</b>. When we put it like that, it sounds so simple…but it’s not. People are not always searching for today’s news and updates. When Google releases an update, for instance, it’s relevant for a few weeks or a month, and while it’s still fresh, we as marketers try to provide insights, tips, tricks, hacks, and anything else you can think of. But content that won’t expire can generate just as much organic traffic 7 or 10 months from now as it will in its first week of publication. Granted, something like “social media photo dimensions” are not written in stone, but they’re a lot more permanent than most news or commentary in this field.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone  wp-image-2423" alt="good writing" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/good-writing.jpg" width="480" height="320" /></p>
<p>From <a href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11443.aspx" target="_blank">www.prdaily.com</a> (via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/bishop_margaret" target="_blank">@bishop_margaret</a>)</p>
<p>Consider the case of “affect vs. effect”. I alone probably contribute 5 to 7 of the local monthly searches (135,000) on Google to this keyword, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this behavior. I’ve <a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/affect-versus-effect.aspx" target="_blank">returned to the same page</a> a number of times because I know it will refresh my memory on this usage rule. “Affect vs. effect” will continue to befuddle people forever, and therefore people will always be searching for it. A content marketing strategy needs to take this approach: what are the “affect vs. effect” queries in our field, and how can we answer them?</p>
<p>Also consider a good recipe. As far as I can tell, people will always be cooking, and Google searches have supplanted print cookbooks as the place where we turn for ingredients and instructions every night at dinner time. If it wasn’t searched for, it was sent to us from a friend via email or social networks; both are wins from an SEO perspective.</p>
<p>If you can engage a visitor to your site one time, that is fantastic &#8211; and it’s hard to do in this increasingly cluttered environment. But the best kind of content is the kind that will engage the same person continuously. I don’t need to read about mother’s day gift ideas more than once (per year). But something like ‘affect vs. effect’, or a good grilled chicken recipe, is something that I might search for (or bookmark and return to) every week or every month. I know plenty of successful young men who Google “how to tie a tie” an hour or two before every wedding they attend. Providing this type of content is easy. The trick is identifying what that “recipe” type of content is within your space.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone  wp-image-2436" alt="tie search" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/tie-search-650x299.jpg" width="455" height="209" /></p>
<p>“Social Media Dimensions &amp; Directives” out-performed the rest of my blogs because it had a search-friendly, broad focus in a bite-sized package. Anyone who uses Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, which I hear is a lot of people, could in theory seek out that information, and need it more than once if they like to change their photos.</p>
<p>Identifying what people will always need, ideally more than once, is a great start to developing content for search.  <b>Tapping into that user mentality</b> can lead to wins, no matter if you’re showing how to tie a tie, the difference between affect and effect, or any other peculiar query the answer to which the gaggle of internet users love to seek out.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-content-your-content-could-smell-like">The Content Your Content Could Smell Like</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>When Scheduling &amp; Automation Fail</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/when-scheduling-fails</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/when-scheduling-fails#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Kavanaugh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2403</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>In digital marketing, the more automated and integrated a solution is, the better. When a platform is automated, it does things that we can’t do and, just as importantly, things we don’t have the time to do. Anyone could write every tweet manually and post it in [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/when-scheduling-fails">When Scheduling &#038; Automation Fail</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In digital marketing, the more automated and integrated a solution is, the better. When a platform is automated, it does things that we <i>can’t</i> do and, just as importantly, things we don’t have the <i>time </i>to do. Anyone could write every tweet manually and post it in real time, but that might require quitting your day job.</p>
<p>There are platforms out there that allow the user to post a large volume of content on social media, quickly and easily. The user can schedule hundreds or thousands of posts well into the future, so that social media becomes a “set it and forget it” proposition, rather than a nuisance requiring constant attention. Such processes make life easy…but such processes are only good when life is still easy.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2409" alt="boston strong" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/boston-strong1.png" width="337" height="85" /></p>
<p>Last Monday, as a large majority of Boston enjoyed the day off for Patriots’ Day while the remainder of Boston looked on with envy from their desks, the horrific Marathon bombings happened. Immediately after, I sat in a friend’s apartment glued to the television, but I, like many in my generation, am not always satisfied with the speed at which information is delivered by traditional news media. And at this moment, it couldn’t come fast enough. I took to the second screen, Twitter being my channel of choice, and refreshed and refreshed as the awful news, rumor, and speculation unfolded. But something peculiar happened along my news feed: interspersed among the news coverage and reactions were tweets wholly unrelated to Boston or the explosions.</p>
<p>I won’t use names or examples, but judging by who it was and the nature of the tweets, my guess is that they were scheduled days or weeks in advance. A lot of them were related to content marketing help and tips. As I scrolled through Twitter to see news sources release information, and friends post a prayer or say that they were okay, I couldn’t help but resent these tweets that were going out as if nothing had changed.</p>
<p><a href="http://1.cdn.nhle.com/bruins/v2/ext/images/BostonStrong/BostonStrongRibbon.jpg" rel="wp-prettyPhoto[2403]"><img class="  alignright" alt="" src="http://1.cdn.nhle.com/bruins/v2/ext/images/BostonStrong/BostonStrongRibbon.jpg" width="140" height="226" /></a></p>
<p>These brands and people were <b>not insensitive </b>on Monday. It was simply an issue of timing. In the days that followed, that resentment that I may have felt during the initial confusing hours had faded, but the association was there nonetheless. And it left me wondering, as a content marketer: would I ever want the social media profiles that I manage to be put in that position? Social media during trying times can house powerful – and oftentimes unreasonable – emotions. It may do more harm than good to interfere at times like those with scheduled posts.</p>
<p>What’s the solution to this problem? Days like Monday are the exception, not the rule, and it doesn’t make sense to give up on automated platforms entirely because of a singular instance like this. Still, I think there’s a bigger human role to play. Maybe it’s a constant monitor, or maybe it’s an easy cancellation of all posts should something happen that warrants it. I personally would not want to be bothered about social media on a weekend or on vacation, but what I’d want even more is to avoid my scheduled posts going out during times of serious crisis.</p>
<p>Or maybe the answer is to do nothing. It could be a slippery slope – when do you cancel your social media for a day if you decide to do it at all? Things will eventually return to normal, and it might just not be worth your time to change anything. The risk you always run with scheduled posts, however, is not being tuned in to the mood of the day or the hour. From a branding perspective, there’s always the risk of appearing a little detached if you have a pre-scheduled post while the rest of the world is posting about extreme joy or sadness.</p>
<p>Automated platforms that allow you to create and schedule content on a massive scale are re-defining how we market and interact online. In the most trying times, however, only a human touch will do to alter or cancel social media posts when they will only serve as more clutter to an already confused audience.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Please consider joining UpWord Search Marketing in donating to the T.U.G.G. <a href="https://www.fundraise.com/technology-supports-victims-of-boston-marathon-bombing" target="_blank">efforts to support the people impacted</a> by the Boston Marathon bombings.</p>
<p>BostonStrong logo downloaded at: <a href="http://bruins.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=88532" target="_blank">http://bruins.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=88532</a></p>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/when-scheduling-fails">When Scheduling &#038; Automation Fail</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>SoLoMo Money, Less Problems</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/solomo-money-less-problems</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/solomo-money-less-problems#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Kavanaugh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Local SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mobile Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Organic Search]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Over the last few days, Google has made some ripples in the Social-Local-Mobile world… Go Mo Calculator The Go Mo Full Value of Mobile Calculator is a great new tool built by Google that spells out in detail the matrix of mobile – click to calls, app [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/solomo-money-less-problems">SoLoMo Money, Less Problems</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Over the last few days, Google has made some ripples in the Social-Local-Mobile world…</p>
<p><b>Go Mo Calculator</b></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.howtogomo.com/fvm/en/d/" target="_blank">Go Mo Full Value of Mobile Calculator</a> is a great new tool built by Google that spells out in detail the matrix of mobile – click to calls, app downloads, mobile site purchases, cross device purchases, and in store visits.</p>
<p>The intro video is both smart and simple, as Google product videos and commercials are wont to be. We see a story told in five acts, each one representing a unique purchase path that starts on a smart phone. What resonates is that we all see ourselves in these people from the customer perspective, and therefore understand the value from the business’s perspective. While I have never ordered a new suit from my smartphone on a whim, I have on more than one occasion found delivery pizza this way.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_UncmkfyEJA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>As good as the video is, it’s just a primer for the tool itself. The tool helps you <i>calculate </i>and <i>measure </i>ROI for mobile efforts, based on a number of different factors for each purchase path. We’ve been saying that when it comes to Mobile, “every business is truly different” in terms of where their goals and dollars should lie. This calculator helps shake out those differences and paints a clear picture of the value of a Mobile strategy for search, ads, apps, and more for one unique business.</p>
<p>This tool will prove useful for agencies to guide clients along the Mobile process and to demonstrate the value of the different purchase paths of Mobile.</p>
<p><b>Google+ Local New Design</b></p>
<p>According to Blumenthals, <a href="http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/04/02/google-local-rolling-out-places-for-business-upgrade/" target="_blank">Google also rolled out a new interface and dashboard for businesses  for Google+ Local</a>. One noteworthy update is that Service Area Businesses can now get a Google+ page. Another is what Google considers improved usability, integration with other Google products, and notifications.</p>
<p>The name of the game with Google+ Local seems to be evolution, not revolution.  And sometimes <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/blackjack-a-metaphor-for-local-search" target="_blank">trying to figure out Local Search can feel like playing blackjack</a>. So there is not one silver bullet strategy that has come to light by any of these updates. Rather, the takeaway is to always keep a close eye on the small updates to Google+ Local in order to capitalize on the opportunities these tiny changes bring, should you view any of these changes as beneficial. One thing that is certain, perhaps evidenced by the Mobile video above, is the need for a strong local search presence.</p>
<p>A good question to consider is: how will this Google+ Local update benefit the different areas of Mobile outlined above?</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/solomo-money-less-problems">SoLoMo Money, Less Problems</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Organizing Keywords (and Thoughts) for Product-based Sites</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/organizing-keywords-and-thoughts-for-product-based-sites</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/organizing-keywords-and-thoughts-for-product-based-sites#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:46:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Kavanaugh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keyword Research]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2347</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Trying to predict customer intent &#38; behavior is nothing new in marketing. Nor is the practice of placing keywords into groups going to turn anyone’s heads in SEO. But recently I started doing both together in such a way that will help make sense of the clutter [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/organizing-keywords-and-thoughts-for-product-based-sites">Organizing Keywords (and Thoughts) for Product-based Sites</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 250px"><a title="My Work" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68842954@N00/3472939701/" target="_blank"><img class=" " title="Microscope" alt="" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3363/3472939701_0704945337.jpg" width="240" height="185" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Put yout product under the microscope</p></div>
<p>Trying to predict customer intent &amp; behavior is nothing new in marketing. Nor is the practice of placing keywords into groups going to turn anyone’s heads in SEO. But recently I started doing both together in such a way that will help make sense of the clutter that is keyword research.<a title="My Work" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68842954@N00/3472939701/" target="_blank"><br />
</a></p>
<p>This process is for websites that feature products or services; whether or not an e-cart is available does not necessarily matter for this exercise, but more can be gained if an e-cart is in place. It helps break out keywords across a sort of “reverse funnel” that can accomplish the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Contextualize Keyword Research</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Work through <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/03/22/google-semantic-search-seo/" target="_blank">Semantic Issues </a>with Keywords</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Identify Targets &amp; Opportunities</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Inform Content Strategy and Editorial Calendars</span></li>
</ul>
<p>Unless you’re selling iPhones, there is always the chance that the customer does not yet know the product that will serve his/her needs. So if they don’t know that, <strong>what do they know?</strong> Let’s try to find out.</p>
<p>The breakout consists of 5 groupings, and they are:</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff9900;"><b>1. </b><b>Product</b></span></p>
<p>What is the product and model name? Does the name carry any other descriptors in it? For instance, “The Power Laptop 540” is a much different product name than the “ZLX 540”, even if they are both computers, and you’ll treat them accordingly.</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff9900;"><b>2. </b><b>What Is it?</b></span></p>
<p>What is it? Is the ZLX 540 a laptop? Is it also a computer, and a notebook computer? This is the right step to address synonyms, and if you’d like to cover a variety of descriptors or just a few. This is also the right step to compare search volumes for synonyms. For example, if you sell perfumes and are referring to them as fragrances, but there are four times as many searches for “perfumes” than there are for “fragrances”, then you may need to start covering for both keywords. Here is where you can bucket those out and make those decisions.</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff9900;"><b>3. </b><b>What Does it Do?</b></span></p>
<p>In the most literal sense, what does it do? It’s important to separate <b>what it does</b> from <b>what benefits it offers</b> in order to identify the opportunities that exist for each. For example, curtains cover your windows from the inside (literally) but block sunlight as an effect, so do you want to rank for “how to cover windows” or “how to block sunlight”? Or both?</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff9900;"><b>4. </b><b>How Does that Help?</b></span></p>
<p>What are the benefits that the product offers? As mentioned above, you’ll want to separate this out from what it actually does.</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff9900;"><b>5. </b><b>End Result</b></span></p>
<p>What stems from the product benefit? Curtains block sunlight from a room, and the <b>end result</b> is you are more comfortable. Would people search “how to be more comfortable within a room?” That’s a vague search, but every product is different. The <b>key is to put your products thru this exercise to identify what is worth targeting and what is not worth targeting.</b></p>
<p>Now let’s run a fake product, ‘Mountain Side Blue curtains’, through the chart. The columns below each of the steps are good places for commentary and actions within that step.</p>
<p><a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/89634/KWchart/image.jpg" rel="wp-prettyPhoto[2347]"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-2355" alt="KW Org Chart" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/easelly_visual-5-650x503.jpg" width="650" height="503" /></a></p>
<p><i>(To utilize the tool, click thru to the <a href="http://www.easel.ly/create/?id=https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels//KWchart&amp;key=pri#" target="_blank">easel.ly</a> template here and input your own info into the middle field in orange.)</i></p>
<p>The goal is to better understand search behaviors. This understanding will provide a basis for performing keyword research, and a foundation for approaching content creation and building out an editorial calendar.</p>
<p>This chart can be used for every product you may have on a particular site, and from there you can address what is consistent and what is different across products, product families, etc&#8230;</p>
<p>Ultimately, this type of organizational chart can lend structure and clarity to people like me who tend to think in writing terms and in SEO terms simultaneously, and can get confused along the way.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Photo Credit: <a title="Wendell" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68842954@N00/3472939701/" target="_blank">Wendell</a> via <a title="Compfight" href="http://www.compfight.com/">Compfight</a></p>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/organizing-keywords-and-thoughts-for-product-based-sites">Organizing Keywords (and Thoughts) for Product-based Sites</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Venice Update: 1 year later &#8211; Measuring the Impact on Local Search</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/venice-update-local-search</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/venice-update-local-search#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:48:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Schmidt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Analytics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local SEO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2317</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Back in February 2012, you may have noticed fluctuation in your website’s rankings, traffic, or conversions. One of the main reasons for this fluctuation could be due to Google’s Venice Update. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with this update to understand how search engines are becoming more [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/venice-update-local-search">Venice Update: 1 year later &#8211; Measuring the Impact on Local Search</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Back in February 2012, you may have noticed fluctuation in your website’s rankings, traffic, or conversions. One of the main reasons for this fluctuation could be due to Google’s Venice Update. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with this update to understand how <a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/understand-and-rock-the-google-venice-update">search engines are becoming more personalized and local</a>.</p>
<p><b>Have you measured the impact of the Venice update on your website? </b></p>
<p>If you haven&#8217;t explored the impact of Venice on your website&#8217;s SEO performance then use this custom report that looks at overall trends in local keywords coming to your website.</p>
<p><b>This custom report setup looks at changes in visits, conversions, and usage metrics by <span style="text-decoration: underline;">keyword.</span></b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/local-seo-keyword-report.jpg" rel="wp-prettyPhoto[2317]"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-2318" alt="Local SEO Keyword Report" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/local-seo-keyword-report.jpg" width="539" height="344" /></a></p>
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<p><b>This custom report setup looks at changes in visits, conversions, and usage metrics by <span style="text-decoration: underline;">landing/entry page.</span></b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/local-seo-content-report.jpg" rel="wp-prettyPhoto[2317]"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-2321" alt="Local SEO Content Report" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/local-seo-content-report.jpg" width="555" height="332" /></a></p>
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<p>When setting up your custom reports, you’ll need to enter the local information within your report filters. These filters will largely depend on the size of your business (regional, national, international, etc). Here’s an example of report filters for a national-sized US company:</p>
<p><b>Keyword Filters:</b></p>
<p>Alabama| AL |Alaska| AK |Arizona| AZ |Arkansas| AR |California| CA |Colorado| CO |Connecticut| CT |Delaware| DE |District of Columbia| DC |Florida| FL |Georgia| GA |Hawaii| HI |idaho| id |Illinois| IL |Indiana| IN |Iowa| IA |Kansas| KS |Kentucky| KY |Louisiana| LA |Maine| ME |Maryland| MD |Massachusetts| MA |Michigan| MI |Minnesota| MN |Mississippi| MS |Missouri| MO |Montana| MT |Nebraska| NE |Nevada| NV |New Hampshire| NH |New Jersey| NJ |New Mexico| NM |New York| NY |North Carolina| NC |North Dakota| ND |Ohio| OH |Oklahoma| OK |Oregon| OR |Pennsylvania| PA |Rhode Island| RI |South Carolina| SC |South Dakota| SD |Tennessee| TN |Texas| TX |Utah| UT |Vermont| VT |Virginia| VA |Washington| WA |West Virginia| WV |Wisconsin| WI |Wyoming| WY</p>
<p>Copy and Paste this entire block into your filters with these custom report settings.</p>
<p>After saving the report, go through your keyword referrals to make sure that state or regional names/abbreviations aren’t mistakenly filtering in non-local keywords. For example, when we look at the abbreviation for Indiana, IN; this filter would bring in traffic from keywords containing the preposition, “in”, instead of the Indiana state abbreviation. In this case, you would need to remove that from the keyword filter.</p>
<p>Did you notice a bump or drop in performance from search engines since February 2012? Since then, have you made any changes to your site that Google would reward you for being more personalized and local?</p>
<p>If you suffered from this update, you need to think about your local web presence. If you have multiple locations, you might want to create local pages for each of your locations, and make sure each are unique and contain your NAP (business name, address, phone number). Search engines use these types of local signals to make the search experience more personalized at the local level.</p>
<p>Another way to improve your local search presence is to <a href="http://getlisted.org/resources/why-citations-are-important.aspx">build citations to your website</a>. Getlisted.org is great tool to see which major local directories have citations to your business. Use this tool and start building local links/citations today. There are many ways to enhance your local search presence, and now hopefully, you can see the impact of the Venice update on your site to make those enhancements.</p>
<p>How was your website affected by the Venice update? Has your company made efforts on-site or offsite to become more personalized and local for your customer?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/venice-update-local-search">Venice Update: 1 year later &#8211; Measuring the Impact on Local Search</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Meta NoIndex or Robots.txt or NoFollow</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/meta-noindex-robots-nofollow</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/meta-noindex-robots-nofollow#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jan 2013 04:48:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Silver</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2225</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>In the past week alone I have been asked on three separate occasions how to block a webpage from Google: How do I block a search engine from accessing my domain? How do I block Google from indexing my webpage? Is there a way to stop Google [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/meta-noindex-robots-nofollow">Meta NoIndex or Robots.txt or NoFollow</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the past week alone I have been asked on three separate occasions<strong><em> how to block a webpage from Google</em></strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li>How do I block a search engine from accessing my domain?</li>
<li>How do I block Google from indexing my webpage?</li>
<li>Is there a way to stop Google from ranking these pages?</li>
</ul>
<p>First and foremost, you need to be absolutely certain that you no longer want search engines to index or rank the webpage you want to block.  If so, then I typically recommend using the Meta NoIndex method versus Robots.txt or NoFollow.  The Meta NoIndex option is ideal because it instructs search engines to no longer include the URL in its index, however it still allows search engines to crawl the content which is critical in retaining link and trust equity generated by the webpage.  In contrast, both the Robots.txt and NoFollow methods restrict indexing so link juice does not get passed.</p>
<p>Quick comparison of the three methods; Meta NoIndex, NoFollow, Robots.txt:</p>
<p><strong>Meta NoIndex</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Permits robot crawling</li>
<li>Instructs search engines not to display URL in SERPs</li>
<li>Effectively excludes individual pages from search results</li>
<li>Will not appear in SERPs</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Robots.txt</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Designed to restrict search engine robot access to website</li>
<li>Susceptible to indexing via backlinks</li>
<li>May still appear in SERPs</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>NoFollow</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Designed to restrict search engine robot access to specific webpages</li>
<li>Susceptible to indexing via backlinks</li>
<li>May still appear in SERPs</li>
</ul>
<p>The Robots.txt is the approach most people use to accomplish their robot blocking needs.  This is incorrect as search engines may still include the URL within its search results despite the robots.txt file, as illustrated in the screencap below:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Google SERPs shows the page still ranking:</strong></p>
<p><a style="text-align: left;" href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/meta-noindex-robots-nofollow/robots-txt-google-99" rel="attachment wp-att-2293"><img class=" wp-image-2293 aligncenter" alt="robots-txt-google-99" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/robots-txt-google-99-650x239.gif" width="520" height="191" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Although all three methods are intended to keep webpages out of search engine indices, the Meta NoIndex approach is the most effective from an SEO perspective.  Carefully select the method you choose to block content from Google.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/meta-noindex-robots-nofollow">Meta NoIndex or Robots.txt or NoFollow</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Super Bowl Food for Thought</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/super-bowl-food-for-thought</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/super-bowl-food-for-thought#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:02:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Kavanaugh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2221</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The holidays are over, but there’s always another holiday or event right around the corner in the world of search &#38; content marketing. What’s up next? NFL Playoffs, all leading up to marketers’ favorite Sunday Night: The Super Bowl. Seasonal events, holidays, and occasions always provide good [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/super-bowl-food-for-thought">Super Bowl Food for Thought</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a title="Mmm... nachos with" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7927684@N03/5321554857/" target="_blank"><img class="  " title="Nacho Platter" alt="Nacho Platter" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5207/5321554857_187f791cc7.jpg" width="300" height="199" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Unless you&#8217;re selling nacho platters, how will your content add value leading up to the Super Bowl?</p></div>
<p>The holidays are over, but there’s always another holiday or event right around the corner in the world of search &amp; content marketing. What’s up next? NFL Playoffs, all leading up to marketers’ favorite Sunday Night: The Super Bowl.</p>
<p>Seasonal events, holidays, and occasions always provide good topic ideas that have the opportunity to capitalize on time-specific spikes in search terms.  The Super Bowl is no different, and in order to get your content developed, approved, published and deployed, the time to act is now.</p>
<p>Have you ever been to the grocery store during Super Bowl week, and the cheese and cracker platters are in a big display at the front, along with the nachos and salsa and some other snacks? Your content strategy operates on the same principle. You just have to get a bit more creative if you aren&#8217;t in the business of selling snack platters. What you will put at the forefront is content that incorporates the Super Bowl in a creative and natural way – and in the process is useful, entertaining, or both.</p>
<p>For Example, if you were a…</p>
<p><b>Clothing Retailer, </b>you might publish a post like “<em>Fashion Do’s and Don’ts for Attending a Football Watching Party</em>”.</p>
<p><b>Food or Beverage Company, big or small, </b>this would be your time to shine. Get those “gameday recipes” out early and often. In addition, you might publish a post like “<em>10 Faux Pas for Hosting or Attending a Super Bowl party</em>”</p>
<p><b>Perfume or Make Up Company, </b>you might appeal to those who don’t watch football September through December with “<em>10 Super Bowl Talking Points for the Less-Than-Informed</em>”. Or, you might simply turn the topic on its head and post something small on social media like “<em>Escape the Super Bowl Madness and visit our stores for free samples, great savings</em>”</p>
<p><b>Home Interiors/Design Retailer, </b>you might publish “<em>Accessories &amp; Accents Your Guests Will Love This Sunday</em>” or “<em>How to Add Any Team’s Colors to your Home for a Party</em>”.</p>
<p><b>Electronics Company, </b>you might go beyond the expected “Watch the Game on one of our big screens!” and publish something like “<em>Building a Completely Wireless Game Watching Room: A Step-by-Step Guide</em>” where you could put technical language into plain-speak and illustrate it all in a useful infographic.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img class="alignnone" title="Football field" alt="Football field" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/48/105557965_b9555b3c77.jpg" width="300" height="202" /></p>
<p>WHY IT WILL WORK</p>
<p>These are just a few industry-specific examples to illustrate the thought behind making a great Super Bowl piece of content. Posts like the ones mentioned above have a lot of potential for success because, with a little keyword research, you can expect the volume of certain Super Bowl-related search terms to rise during the month of January. Couple that with deployment on social media channels, where you can expect a solid click-thru rate from your audience for something time-specific like the Super Bowl, and your post can make it in front of alot of eyes. That is an accomplishment all unto itself. Should your post get shared once it is in front of all those eyes, it will only help in terms of brand awareness and how Google values the individual post and your site as a whole.  <small> </small></p>
<p>The Super Bowl seems an especially opportune time to connect with your audience, as people won’t be “shutting down” from the internet or taking vacations during this time like they would during traditional holiday times. If you’re like me and are also interested in the old, traditional, and expensive  ways in which brands connect with audiences for the Super Bowl, read the <a href="http://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/buying-super-bowl-2013/238489/" target="_blank">full lineup of Advertisers in Super Bowl XLVII</a> provided by Advertising Age, and check back with us periodically on all that is developing leading up to the big game.</p>
<p><a title="Attribution License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank"><img title="Creative Commons License" alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/plugins/compfight/images/cc.png" width="16" height="16" border="0" /></a> <a title="jeffreyw" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7927684@N03/5321554857/" target="_blank">jeffreyw</a> via <a title="Compfight" href="http://www.compfight.com/">Compfight</a></p>
<p><a title="Attribution License" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank"><img title="Creative Commons License" alt="Creative Commons License" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/plugins/compfight/images/cc.png" width="16" height="16" border="0" /></a>Jeff Croft via <a title="Compfight" href="http://www.compfight.com/">Compfight</a></p>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/super-bowl-food-for-thought">Super Bowl Food for Thought</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Year In Search 2012</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-year-in-search-2012</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-year-in-search-2012#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:23:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Kavanaugh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2124</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>We spent the year in Search, and compiled a bite-sized recap of major changes along with a few links for further reading. Here are but a few important highlights of an eventful year&#8230; January Google starts to devalue sites with too much ad space above the fold, [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-year-in-search-2012">The Year In Search 2012</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We spent the year in Search, and compiled a bite-sized recap of major changes along with a few links for further reading. Here are but a few important highlights of an eventful year&#8230;</p>
<p><b>January </b>Google starts to devalue sites with too much ad space above the fold, further highlighting the push for quality content websites. From the <a href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/01/page-layout-algorithm-improvement.html" target="_blank">Google blog</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">“Sites that don’t have much content “above-the-fold” can be affected by this change. If you click on a website and the part of the website you see first either doesn&#8217;t have a lot of visible content above-the-fold or dedicates a large fraction of the site’s initial screen real estate to ads, that’s not a very good user experience.Such sites may not rank as highly going forward.”</p>
<p><b>February</b> Google Venice introduced. Local search results now applied to universal search terms. If you search “T.G.I. Fridays”, you will be shown the closest two or three Friday’s restaurants based on your location, along with the T.G.I. Friday’s corporate site and social media channels.</p>
<p><b>March </b>Panda 3.4, a data refresh, impacts around 1.6 % of queries. This is just one in a series of regular updates and data refreshes to the Panda update as Google continuously tries to hone in on providing the best quality content &amp; websites available.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 235px"><img class=" " title="Links" alt="Links" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/214/477134291_2c8ec496c1.jpg" width="225" height="300" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Penguin: Strong, natural links can lift your site authority to new heights, but unnatural links could potentially send your site into a free-fall.</p></div>
<p><b>April </b>Google Penguin Update announced. It was a landmark update intended to penalize webspam techniques, such as keyword stuffing and link farms. Penguin was another step for Google’s effort to promote high qualitycontent that pleases the user, not just the algorithm. The Penguin update was not released in a vacuum; it serves as the precursor to unnatural link warnings and the disavow tool being released later in 2012.</p>
<p><b>May </b>Google Knowledge Graph rolled out. The Knowledge Graph is Google feeding you a lot of useful information for a single query. It becomes especially helpful for search terms with multiple meanings. So if you search “tigers”, you might get the Wikipedia page on the species of large cats, and also the home page for the Detroit Tigers baseball team, with images, schedules, and useful resources related to each. Check out the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=mmQl6VGvX-c#!" target="_blank">video introducing Knowledge Graph</a> .</p>
<p><b>May </b>Facebook goes public, very publicly. The famous social network opened  around $38 per share, the third-largest IPO in U.S. History. 2012 saw major movements in the convergence of Search and Social, so those that have always  kept a keen eye on Google are now keeping one on Zuckerberg &amp; Co. as well.</p>
<p><b>June </b>Google+ integrates Local&#8230;or did Google Maps just integrate Google+? In  any case, they&#8217;re connected.<b> </b>Now your reviews, your company info, and your    map location are all housed under the same Google roof. Since Google now populates universal search terms with local results by way of the Venice update, the need for a Google+ listing becomes paramount. Optimizing for Local Search as a whole, however, still seems to be more of an <a title="Local Search" href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/blackjack-a-metaphor-for-local-search" target="_blank">evolving art </a>than an exact science at this point</p>
<div id="attachment_2133" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 602px"><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-year-in-search-2012/google-local" rel="attachment wp-att-2133"><img class=" wp-image-2133 " alt="Google Local" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Google-Local-650x287.png" width="592" height="261" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Find a business on Google Maps, and click to its Google+ page for reviews and information. Or vice versa.</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>July </b>Google sends out unnatural link warnings, making good on their word to target unethical linking practices. That is one email that you never want to receive, but if you’re in the white-hat SEO business, you never had reason to worry.</p>
<p><b>July </b>Marissa Mayer hired as Yahoo! CEO. Once a search giant, Yahoo! made a splash with this hiring and hopes that the splashes continue and that, with Mayer at the helm, they can enjoy some of the success of her former employer: Google. In case you had lost sight of Yahoo!, 2013 will be a good year to check back up on them.</p>
<p><b>August </b>Google moves to 7 search results from 10 for many queries, altering our definition of “first-page”.</p>
<p><b>October </b>Google Disavow Tool introduced.Google allows those webmasters who have gotten unnatural link warnings, and those who suspect they may be in danger of one, to take action. This tool disavows links from the site, but is best used only when all manual attempts to get rid of the link have been exhausted.</p>
<p>The Search continues in 2013. Stay tuned with us for all the new developments in Search, Social, and beyond. And a very Happy New Year to all.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Photo: </em><a title="Matt" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86226435@N00/477134291/" target="_blank">Matt</a> via <a title="Compfight" href="http://www.compfight.com/">Compfight</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/the-year-in-search-2012">The Year In Search 2012</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Rediscover Your Audience through Social Listening: Search &amp; Social Integration</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/search-social-integration-rediscover-your-audience-through-social-listening</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/search-social-integration-rediscover-your-audience-through-social-listening#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:42:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Silver</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keyword Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Organic Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2086</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The integration of Social Media into Search &#8212; it&#8217;s a concept that everyone is talking about, but few are doing &#8230; One real life example of how we are integrating Social Media and SEO  is through social listening. In its simplest form, social listening  is the process [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/search-social-integration-rediscover-your-audience-through-social-listening">Rediscover Your Audience through Social Listening: Search &#038; Social Integration</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The integration of Social Media into Search &#8212; it&#8217;s a concept that everyone is talking about, but few are doing &#8230; One real life example of how we are integrating Social Media and SEO  is through <strong>social listening</strong>.<a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/search-social-integration-rediscover-your-audience-through-social-listening/listening2-3" rel="attachment wp-att-2112"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2112" style="margin: 12px;" title="social listening" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/listening22-300x116.jpg" alt="social listening" width="300" height="116" /></a></p>
<p>In its simplest form, social listening  is the process of monitoring conversations and discussions on a specific keyword or topic occurring online across forums, blogs, and social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Google+).  From an SEO perspective, social listening is the ideal compliment to keyword research as it provides context around the keyword phrases for which an audience is searching.  Social listening helps us to gauge search intent as well as brand sentiment so that we can build our editorial calendars and develop content that appropriately matches user expectation with user experiences.</p>
<p>The opportunity to measure intent and sentiment has revolutionized the way we conduct keyword research.  Prior to the social bubble, the keywords used within a search query were the only insight we had into our audience&#8217;s mind, but it was a limited window as keywords are impersonal by nature.  With only keywords to guide us, we were left to wonder: <em>Who is searching for this?</em>  <em>Why are they searching for this, what kind of content are they actually looking for?</em>  <em>What else are they searching for relevant to this?  </em></p>
<p><em></em>Search volume and relevance are still the foundation for mining our keyword lists, but social listening lets us dig a little deeper into individual keyword buckets to understand more about the motivation behind a search.  We already know <strong>what</strong> they are searching for, social listening enlightens us on <strong>why</strong> they are searching for it.  Armed with this information, we can develop content that best <strong><em>matches user expectation with user experience and meets the needs of our audience</em></strong>.</p>
<p>To rediscover your audience through social listening on keywords relevant to your brand, product, service, or industry, consider the following:</p>
<ul>
<li> Who is talking about your brand, product, or topics related to each?</li>
<li> What do you know about this segment? Demographics, psychographics, how do they consume/share information online?</li>
<li> What are their pain points?  What is their motivation?</li>
<li> What stage of the buying cycle are they in? Research, consideration, purchase?</li>
</ul>
<p>If you can gain some perspective on these elements then think about how much better you can tailor your message and content to your users.  And if your content is better suited to match your users&#8217; intent then think about how much more engaged they&#8217;ll be with your brand.  And with usage metrics increasing its influence on organic rankings then think about the impact that more engaged visitors will have on your organic visibility.</p>
<p>Make social listening a part of your keyword research process and let search intent guide your content expansion.</p>
<p>Stay tuned for a follow up post on my favorite social listening tools.</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/search-social-integration-rediscover-your-audience-through-social-listening">Rediscover Your Audience through Social Listening: Search &#038; Social Integration</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Social Media Photo Dimensions &amp; Directives</title>
		<link>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives</link>
		<comments>http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:45:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Kavanaugh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.upwordsem.com/?p=2040</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The proper dimensions and guidelines for social media profile images are like a good Halloween costume or Christmas present idea: always around except for the one time when you really need them. You can find any of this info by a simple search, but sometimes it takes time [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives">Social Media Photo Dimensions &#038; Directives</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The <strong>proper dimensions and guidelines for social media profile images</strong> are like a good Halloween costume or Christmas present idea: always around except for the one time when you really need them. You can find any of this info by a simple search, but sometimes it takes time and it’s not all in the same place. And since these platforms have changed a lot in recent years, if you unwittingly get info that’s from last year, you’ll be wasting your time making images that won’t fit. So for 2013 and the foreseeable future, bookmark this page and just keep it in the back of your brain for the next time you’re sizing an image to be your next social media profile or header. So here are the major social media profile image dimensions, and for more detailed information, check out this <a href="http://www.lunametrics.com/blog/2012/11/12/final-social-media-sizing-cheat-sheet/" target="_blank">comprehensive infographic by Lunametrics<span style="text-decoration: underline;">.</span></a></p>
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<p><em><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives/twitter" rel="attachment wp-att-2044"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2044" title="twitter" alt="" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/twitter.png" width="128" height="128" /></a> Twitter*</em></p>
<p>Profile Picture – 81 x 81 pixels</p>
<p>Header Image – 520 x 260 pixels</p>
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<p><em> Facebook <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives/facebook" rel="attachment wp-att-2041"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2041" title="facebook" alt="" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/facebook.png" width="128" height="128" /></a></em></p>
<p>Profile Picture  &#8211; 160 x 160 pixels</p>
<p>Cover Photo – 851 x 315 pixels</p>
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<p><em><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives/eco_green_google_plus_icon" rel="attachment wp-att-2046"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2046" title="Google Plus Eco" alt="" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/eco_green_google_plus_icon.png" width="128" height="128" /></a> Google+</em></p>
<p>Profile Picture – 250 x 250 pixels</p>
<p>Cover Photo – 890 x 180 pixels</p>
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<p>And for what it’s worth, here are a few unsolicited thoughts and tips on these social media photos…</p>
<p><strong>Don’t Lose Your Twitter Description in the Header Photo</strong></p>
<p>The Bad:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives/bad-twitter-pics-1" rel="attachment wp-att-2051"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2051" title="Bad Twitter pic" alt="" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Bad-Twitter-pics-1.jpg" width="519" height="257" /></a></p>
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<p><strong>Vs.</strong></p>
<p>The Good:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives/good-twitter-pics-1" rel="attachment wp-att-2052"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2052" title="good twitter pic" alt="" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/good-twitter-pics-1.jpg" width="519" height="258" /></a></p>
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<p>Your Twitter description lies on top of your header photo in white, so plan accordingly. Make your 160-character-or-less description stand out against a darker, more solid background to avoid losing words to a busy image.</p>
<p><strong>Google+ will Cut off the Right End of the Header Photo</strong></p>
<p>As the Lunametrics infographic illustrates, a small portion of the the Google+ header photo is covered by the profile photo, so plan accordingly:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives/google-profile-2" rel="attachment wp-att-2071"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2071" title="Google+ profile" alt="" src="http://www.upwordsem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Google+-profile1-650x155.jpg" width="650" height="155" /></a></p>
<p>The Google Plus header photo is thin, and with a portion being hidden, it’s important to keep it simple. A landscape image or any image that will look good from “far away”, or without having to see the details, would fit nicely here.</p>
<p><strong>Facebook Warns Against Sales Language</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/help/276329115767498/?q=cover%20guidelines&amp;sid=0kiB4CMycea8ItXk3" target="_blank">Facebook cover photo guidelines</a>  prohibit the inclusion of most marketing language and calls to action in the cover photo, and I would say that’s a good rule to follow for all social channels. Sounding too “salesy” can be a major turn-off, and besides, if a picture is truly worth a thousand words, than why would you ever limit yourself to a few words instead of a compelling picture?</p>
<p><strong>Don’t Get Blurred into Oblivion</strong></p>
<p>This one may seem obvious, but it’s important to resist the temptation to just “go with it” when a picture comes out a little blurry after resizing. It’s actually better to have an average photo with proper pixels and sizing than to have an amazing photo that looks blurry. Microsoft Paint does a lot for resizing for a free tool, and of course Adobe Photoshop will do the trick as well. If you’re serious about having a compelling and engaging social media page, it might be worth your money to contact a designer and have custom, branded images made.</p>
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<p>Good luck in building your social media page and keeping it engaging. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you might have.</p>
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<p>*Social Media icons downloaded from http://findicons.com/search/social</p>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com/blog/social-media-dimensions-directives">Social Media Photo Dimensions &#038; Directives</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.upwordsem.com">Search Engine Optimization &amp; Marketing- UpWord Search Marketing</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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