According to the Official Google Blog…

Many of the changes we make are so subtle that very few people notice them. But in the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking—a change that noticeably impacts 11.8% of our queries—and we wanted to let people know what’s going on. This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.

So, how did your websites do? Did you feel a “Google Slap” or did it help you?

For most of my own websites I saw a positive result increasing my sites one full PR point and I see other good coming from this.

Most of what I do is focused on helping local business owners who lately for the most part are benefiting from the changes Google is doing with the tweaking of their systems. Google Places pages showing up on page one for keywords in local niches is just one place that Google is helping.

Please post a comment below on how you think Google is doing.

Today on CNBC the Harvard Business School students talked about what their ideas would be for a good business plan for Twitter.com. One concern the Harvard Business School students, as well as other uses of Twitter have is, how might advertising effect or possibly disrupt Twitter uses online and mobile experience.

Twitter along with other Social Media tools like Facebook.com have become a new way for businesses to get their message out to the public, connect with current customers, and to protect their brand by monitoring the talk about their businesses online.

If you are not using Social Media tools like Twitter.com, Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com and others in your business… you are getting left behind. Want to learn how to use these tools for your business? Contact me to arrange a free consultation.

Since the introduction of WordPress in 2003 by two young programmers, Matt Mullenwag and Mike Little, WordPress has truly taken on a life of its own. Early on a key goal for this blogging software was that it would be built on Open Source code making it free for everyone from the smallest home user to major Fortune 500 businesses. The software is an ongoing creation by a community of thousands of developers around the world.

WordPress can be found in three variations on the Internet; WordPress.com, WordPress.org and WordPress MU. WordPress.com is run on a multi-user platform hosted with WordPress MU which is the multi-user version of the software. WordPress.com is a hosted website operated my Automatic.com where many of the WordPress developers work. The focus of this article is on WordPress.org which is the self-hosted version of the platform.

By 2007 WordPress was gaining a following by home based business users because of the free nature of the software, the ease of installation on a virtual server running the associated PHP script files along with MySQL database and the additional tools called plugins and widgets. This combination of simple installation and many add-on tools is one reason that WordPress is popular. Another is the built in SEO, or search engine optimization features of WordPress.

Everyone wants traffic to their website and WordPress bloggers are no different. The big advantage for those using WordPress is that it includes features that help the search engines “read” your website in the way that works best for them to build their databases of content. Search engines do not see your website with eyes like humans but thy read the content and index it.

Because WordPress includes SEO tools like; .htaccess, permalinks, blogrolling and content pinging, search engines can quickly identify the new and updated content on WordPress blogs. This non-static nature of WordPress blogs makes them a great website platform for online business owners. Text and images along with audio and video files can make up the total content of the WordPress website to make it attractive to humans and search engines alike.

Another key feature of WordPress that makes it great for online business is that it is easy to add content to without the need for a highly paid webmaster. Many business owners have paid for beautiful websites, sometimes paying hundreds or thousands of dollars, to find out later that the webmaster is slow to respond to posting changes or may become totally unreachable. It is very easy to add new posts or make page changes with WordPress. No locally installed software is needed to create the posts or pages as the entire website is server based.

Today, because of the system and tools available with WordPress, the ease of editing and updating content and the search engine optimization built into WordPress, it is an excellent platform for businesses large and small to build their online business on.

If you would like to learn more about using WordPress for your home based business, please contact Henry Griner for more information.

This is Part 2 of my 5 part series about you can Generate a Steady Stream of Traffic to Your Website. Even if you plan to outsource many of the tasks of traffic generation you still need to understand the many tools, systems and concepts to see what is best for your niche area.

Organic Traffic

Organic traffic pertains to traffic that is ‘sent’ to the site. Setting up your site to use this traffic route is then the best way of ensuring good organic traffic.

The easiest way of getting organic traffic is through Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic a site receives. (One of the great things about WordPress blogs is that you have SEO tools built right into the system and, you can add “widgets” like the All in One SEO Pack.)

Crawlers, which are small programs, are sent to a site by a search engine when the site is submitted for placement. These crawlers, also called spiders, scout the pages for keywords and tags attached to the site to compile a list of search-related features to generate the site on the search engine’s results page.

Crawlers usually look for keywords, so optimizing their use in the pages is a good way of making sure they are picked up.

Also, the more information available for a page, the easier it is for those programs to reference the page. For example, each page should have its own page name clearly defined, and this should include the title and header, which is also known as the meta tag, which the crawlers look for.

Tags should also be well used, for they allow for broader scope when the crawlers are doing their job.

A good bet would also be to include the most relevant information of the site in the first paragraph of the home page. The first 2-3 lines of this paragraph are usually included in search engine results a page, providing at first glance whether the site has what the person doing the search is looking for. In this way, the inverted pyramid structure of writing, whereby the paragraphs are written in order of most important information to least important, should be followed when writing the content of the page.

All these help the site have a better chance of ranking among the top spots on the search engine’s results page. 5 to 10% of clicks are generated through higher up placement on results pages.

One thing to steer clear of here – bad links or ‘under construction’ pages on the site. This is a deterrent for crawlers, which may thus not add the site to the results, as the site is not fully functional. Regular maintenance and updates of links and pages help to keep this issue at bay.

Another good option to increase organic traffic is to submit the site to directories and other guides on the Internet. These too will make the site come up through searches in their databases.

Other tips to increase organic traffic are:

•    Increase the number of related phrases that are typed in search engine boxes in the content of the site – this could allow for the site or page to be featured in results.

•    Provide the geographical location of the business – this works mostly for product-based sites, as the likelihood of someone choosing to buy something in their area is enhanced. Providing location, especially if the site is international, helps target more people that could have geographical location as part of their search parameters.

•    Listing products/content topic individually – the more pages on the site, the more a site is considered ‘worthy’ of being included in search engine results. Specific pages for specific content also show in-depth knowledge about the product/content, enhancing the reputation of the site as a good destination.

The above-mentioned options are only the tip of the iceberg where increasing traffic is concerned. Other methods do exist, and shall be considered individually.

Following is a detailed, random listing of the most popular and some of less well-known avenues to generate traffic to a website quickly and on a daily basis. These are in no particular order, and all those tips work in their own right.

SEO: Keyword/Phrase Placement

This feature has already been mentioned above, but it pays to always reiterate this fact – good placement in search engine results pages help to generate more traffic as the exposure and visibility of the site and its offerings are enhanced through such a process.

Using keywords is the key here, no pun intended. Concise and related keywords will help to funnel the search to your site, despite competitors’ presence as it has geared the search to find it more easily.

Keywords should also be well chosen. Generation, locations and slang may play a part in here, as different people may not use the same word to define a product or information. Providing a varied list of keywords helps cover this base nicely.

Optimizing pages themselves for SEO placement (keywords, working links, tags) further enhances the probability of good placement on results pages.

Another option could be to generally increase the number of keywords and their recurrence on the site as a whole.

Tracking Keywords

It is important to scan the data of traffic analysis to find which keywords are more popular and which are allowing the site to receive more visits.

Identifying them can then lead the marketer or business owner to optimize the use of this keyword to make it even stronger in its positioning.

In addition, those less-popular keywords could be identified and then removed from the content, to allow more space for the keywords that should be optimized.

List with Directories

This feature can enhance visibility and exposure on the Net.

Listing with directories that target the same industry or field of the site can also enhance its placement on the web and in clients’ minds.

Social Media Exposure

There are a lot of social networking sites on the web, as well as specific networks for an industry or niche.

Find which networks cater to the sector of the market or industry your site falls in, and register with them. These networks usually allow the registered user to create a profile for himself.

Use this profile to present your site, as well as the products or content offered. Where possible, and if the network allows it, feature a link to your website on your profile page. An intriguing profile coupled with a link to the main site will tickle many potential visitors.

Links

Links work by providing paths from other places and platforms.

Links to your site can be placed on industry-specific or product-specific sites. It is always a good idea to contact the big-name-websites to ask if they are willing to feature a link to your site.

Exchanging links is also another good option. In return to featuring someone’s link, this person features your link too on his site.

Links exchange programs also work upon the same premise.

An aspect often overlooked is the ability to link within the site itself. This increases the likelihood of navigating within the site, thus enhancing page views. This can be extremely useful to content-based sites. Product-based sites can also use the same strategy to present other products that may interest a visitor.

Buying Text Links

Using such links on a page enhances its potential to be picked up by search engines.

Buying Banner Ads

Banner ads are now assimilated within the framework of what a visitor expects on a site.

Buying banner ads on other sites provides exposure for your site. Doing so on industry-related or product-related sites further enhances the potential to generate traffic. Banners usually hold a link back to the site it is promoting.

Also, it helps build brand recognition of the site being promoted. A banner is an advertisement in itself, and people usually pay attention and remember banners. This then represents a wonderful opportunity to brand and present a site.

Participating in Banner Exchange Programs

This premise follows upon the same reasoning as banner ads, and is the easiest effective option to follow.

Banner exchange program increases exposure and visibility on the Net, as well as providing branding opportunities.

Such programs work on a swap ratio of 2:1 usually. Typically, if a banner is being shown on your site, for every 50 views on your site, in return, your own banner will be posted on 25 other sites.

Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs allow for a site to register with them and refer customers to them. For every sale then that is triggered by a referral, the site that sent the customer earns a commission of the sale.

These programs also work on the premise that your site can be associated to a big name and thus earn recognition. Affiliating in your own sector helps broaden the scope of your exposure.

Furthermore, a site that sells products may set up is own affiliate program, whereby other sites will affiliate with it. This is another very good opportunity to create presence, clout, and exposure.