What is Search Engine Optimisation or SEO ?

 Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or web page in a search engine's unpaid results, often referred to as "organic," "natural," or "earned" results. SEO targets different kinds of search, including image search, video search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

SEO is an effective way to improve the quality and quantity of traffic to a website from search engines. SEO can be a complex and ever-evolving field, and it involves a number of different tactics and strategies. These tactics can be grouped into two main categories: on-page optimization and off-page optimization.

On-page optimization refers to the measures that can be taken directly within the website to improve its ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). This includes optimizing the content and HTML source code of the website, as well as improving its performance and user experience. Some common on-page optimization tactics include:

Keyword research and optimization: Identifying the keywords and phrases that people are using to search for the products or services that your website offers, and using those keywords strategically in your website's content and meta tags.

Title tags and meta descriptions: These are the snippets of text that appear in the search results below the title of a webpage. They should be concise and compelling, and should include the target keywords for the page.

Headings and subheadings: Using headings and subheadings with relevant keywords can help to organize and structure the content of a webpage, making it easier for search engines to understand and for users to scan.

Internal linking: Linking to other pages within your own website can help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content, and can also help to spread link equity (the value of a link) throughout your site.

Image optimization: Using descriptive, keyword-rich file names for images and using alt text to describe the image can help search engines understand the content of your images and improve their visibility in image search results.

Off-page optimization refers to the measures that can be taken outside of the website to improve its ranking in search engine results pages. This includes building links from other websites, which can help to increase the authority and credibility of your website in the eyes of search engines. Some common off-page optimization tactics include:

Link building: This refers to the process of acquiring links from other websites to your own. Search engines use links as a way to measure the authority and relevance of a website, so acquiring high-quality links from other reputable websites can help to improve your ranking in search results.

Social media marketing: Building a presence on social media platforms and regularly posting high-quality, relevant content can help to drive traffic to your website and can also lead to the acquisition of links from other websites.

Local SEO: If your business has a physical location or serves a specific geographic area, optimizing for local search can be especially important. This involves optimizing your website for local keywords and phrases, and getting listed in local online directories and review sites.

Mobile optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet, it's important to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly and easy to use on smaller screens. This can include using a responsive design, optimizing images and other media for mobile devices, and using a mobile-friendly website design.

In addition to these tactics, there are a number of other factors that can influence your ranking in search results. These include the quality and relevance of the content on your website, the usability and user experience of your site, and the speed at which your website loads.

It's important to note

What is FUFISM and why should you care?

What is FUFISM and why should you care?

Well FUFISM is a marketing philosophy where social media and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) are the two core elements that dictate how and why many other marketing tactics are used.  As I am sure you know all search engines are gathering as many different signals as they can, so that they may use these to get the highest quality SERP's (Search Engine Results Pages) possible and ensure that their end users are happy and recommend their platform as the best search engine, so that the search engine may sell advertising and marketing space within their SERP's to business.

When Google Introduced the HUMMINGBIRD algorithm in August / September 2013 the world of search changed forever, and the focus shifted from STRINGS to THINGS and many marketers have not yet realized the true implications of these very drastic and far reaching changes.   Before Google introduced the HUMMINGBIRD algorithm key words were the main focal area of all SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and there was just a little supplemental marketing where LINK BUILDING and related issues were aimed at ensuring that the search engines associated your chosen key words with your online content.

The hummingbird algorithm and its cousins in all other search engines changed the focus of their search process, and moved away from pure key words to focus on the context of your online content, as well as all the old SEOVI (Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators) and associated signals to a lesser degree.

What this means, for most search engines,  is that there is now a new set of SEOVI or Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators that carry more weight than key words and all the old or  existing   Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators (SEOVI's), which runs parallel to and enhances all the existing SEOVI that existed prior to Google Humming bird.

What I am trying to say is that all the existing search engine optimisation techniques that existed prior to the implementation of the Google Humming Bird Algorithm are still in play, and are still vitally important, as the Google Hummingbird algorithm uses these as the basis of its efforts,  and just adds extra value to these existing signals through manipulating them,  using the NEW SEOVI that are  associated with the context of your content, and how the social media and other OPSEOVI (OFF PAGE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION VALUE INDICATORS) impact on the context of your IPSEOVI (IN PAGE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION VALUE INDICATORS)

Read more about these three sectors of SEO here 

The next issue to consider is the impact of your so called SEMANTIC FOOTPRINT and the SEOVI (Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators) associated with the SEMANTIC FOOTPRINT of all the digital entities that are connected to your In Page Search Engine Optimisation efforts.    The semantic footprints of all the digital entities associated with your online content are an awful lot more valuable in terms of your SEO than most people realise.  Here we are talking of things like, but not limited to: --

• general author values of individual contributors to your original online content
• publisher values where you online content is exposed to the public
• individual niche authority issues of all identifiable contributors
• niche authority of digital entities connected to your online content that you are marketing
• niche authority of digital entities that comment or interact with your social media posts marketing your online content
• niche authority of the domain where your social media marketing is exposed as embedded content
• The semantic similarity  and the semantic connectedness between linked content and you In Page content.
• the relationship between the semantic footprints of your online content and any linked content which may show that you are expanding the conversation with that specific link.

BUT WHAT IS FUFISM

 FUFISM or Functional User Friendly Integrated Social Media is a marketing philosophy where SEO and SOCIAL MEDIA are married, and act as the parents to all your marketing projects, both online and off line.  The Value of SEO to your company needs to be clearly understood, and the part that Social media plays in expanding the value of your In Page SEO must be put into perspective, especially since the Google Hummingbird algorithm has entered the picture.

FUFISM based marketing is thus just the well managed use of all your resources to ensure that your intended target market find your online content when searching for your products, services or related information online.

FUFISM based marketing ensures that all your different marketing elements speak to each other, are supportive of each other across platforms, and across different marketing media.  This means that the three SEO elements need to be aligned and integrated in ways that both search engines and your intended target market can recognize and make use of.

The first element is #IPSEO or In Page SEO, and this consists of all the HTML code and associated files which are listed, displayed and / or  activated within the page, such as but not limited to

• text files
• data base files
• image files
• audio files
• video files
• scripts

The second element is #OPSEO or Off Page but online SEO, which is all the supplemental online marketing and linked URL's (Uniform Resource Locators or online resources)  including but not limited to

• Landing pages where in page links point
• links in your  navigation structure
• author pages  -- REL = AUTHOR
• publisher pages --  REL = PUBLISHER
• contributor pages  -- REL = CONTRIBUTOR
• pages that expand the conversation
• internal links
• external links
• pages identified as landing pages by your web design or blog design team
• Link building efforts that result in inbound links
• Social media marketing
• blog posts discussing your online content
• influencer marketing
• email marketing with embedded links
• business directories and online classified marketing
• good old fashioned editorial links from other domains

The third element is #OLSEO or  Off Line SEO, which is the area where you ensure that your intended target market know what your key words are, so that they will use your key words in their search queries.  Here you need to remember that SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is the toolkit that you supply to the search engines so that they may build bridges between your online content and your intended target market audience.  These bridges are the connections between search queries and key words, as determined by search engines following their many different algorithms. This OLSEO is done in many areas including but not limited to

• your print media marketing / advertising
• news papers
• magazines
• flyers
• billboards
• your radio marketing advertising
• when attending trade shows 
• when attending public speaking events
• at conferences or industry specific events
• cold calling by your marketing staff
• in house personal discussions with your customers by your sales staff

These three elements of SEO need to be well managed and properly integrated to ensure that all your marketing staff understand how they are related, and how these three separate SEO tactics  influence each other.  All marketing staff need to be aware of ALL the In page issues such as the Schema markup, hash tags, videos, audio clips, Hangouts On air and other issues, so that they can incorporate these within their own personal interactions with your customers, clients and general target market audience, both within the online environment as well as the off line environment.

So coming back to the "WHY SHOULD YOU CARE"  issue... you should care because this will influence how your target market uses your key words in their search queries.  If you are successful in all three sectors of SEO then your intended target market will use your desired key words in their search queries, and search engines will easily match the intent of the search with the intent of your online content,  then place your online content at the top of the SERP's, as well as in the many new SERP displays such as the local pack, the instant answer box or other display options.

The value of HUMOR as a semantic search marketing tool

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This post is a reworked comment on the HOA embedded at the bottom of the post.

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Humor within your online marketing is always a personal; choice, and for many business owners and managers this is a serious affair, and there should not be any humor, in the office or within their marketing... This  bad attitude also flows through in CORPORATE THINKING where most marketing is done in SILOS with each marketing department doing their own thing.

 

This thinking by corporate business and most C-SUIT teams (Chief Something officers)  is purely because (at east in my mind) these people do not understand that SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is the CORE ELEMENT in your total marketing plan.

You need to remember,  that from a #FUFISM  based marketing perspective  SEO or Search Engine Optimisation has three major sections which are

1)  #IPSEO or inpage search engine optimisation
2)   #OPSEO or Off page search engine Optimisation
3)  #OLSEO  or *Off Line Search Engine Optimisation*

You also need to remember that these three SEO elements, IPSEO,  OPSEO and OLSEO  need to be properly aligned, and that your basic target market research and related key words apply to all three of these separate  but co-dependent marketing strategies.

Humor, especially within the OFF LINE ENVIRONMENT is very effective.

We all know about IPSEO  which is where all the sneaky and devious in-page stuff is housed within the HTML code and related files such as image files, data base files, video files, audio files, CCS files  and text files amongst many others.     Stuff like out bound links and the REL = AUTHOR tag as well as all the META DATA both within the <HEAD> and <body> sections including the the navigation structure of your pages are relevant here.  There are many other sneaky and devious things that can be done, as part of IPSEO, some of them suspect or Black hat, and some of them directly related to SEMANTIC SEARCH

It should be noted here that most OPSEO is still within the ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

OPSEO or off page SEO is where you add semantic value to your online content through the associations of your social media posts discussing your online content through the direct links within your social media posts to your online content.  Then there are the issues of Link building, inbound marketing, search marketing and so many other deviously hidden off page SEO tactics.  These off page SEO tactics  add value to your online content in a number of different ways, mostly due to the links that connect them together and the related *SEMANTIC FOOTPRINTS* of each digital entity which references your online content or is referenced by those who discuss your online contentment in some or other way.

The last one in the list OLSEO  is a bit tricky and also one of the most vital components of your TOTAL SEO STRATEGY    This is where you PHYSIOLOGICALLY ATTACK .  your intended target market audience through all offline means available to you such as but not limited to:

in the news papers
in magazines
in flyers and billboard advertising
in your radio marketing
at road shows or speaking at industry specific events

The purpose of these PHYSIOLOGICAL ATTACKS  is to  PLANT SEMANTIC SEEDS that will grow and blossom into a welcome fruit called SEARCH QUERIES that have the most relevant search terms for your online content.

 

These search terms as used by your intended target market audience in their online search queries are the key to great SERP's (Search Engine Results Pages)  You can have the best results within the SERP's for your selected keywords, but if your intended target market does not use your KEYWORDS as a search terms within their SEARCH QUERIES your IPSEO and OPSEO has been most wasteful and ineffective.

*HUMOR* has many strange hooks  that sneak their way into the memory and associate your *SEMANTIC SEEDS* with your work, your products, your service, your events and related issues.  These are the best and most valuable semantic seeds that you need to germinate, nurture and fertilize as time goes along to ensure that your intended target market uses these SEMANTIC SEEDS to grow a great semantically related vocabulary so that they may use them within their search queries.

You must remember that,  from a marketing perspective,  the function of a search engine is to match SEARCH QUERIES  to your KEYWORDS  this implies that you need to take control of your intended target markets thinking patterns and ensure that your keywords surface in their thought processes.

With out this vital connection between your keywords and a search query your online work may never be anywhere near the top of the SERP's.

I blogged about this the other day  http://4ubrand.blogspot.com/2015/04/what-is-olseo-and-why-should-you-know.html title = "blog post discussing OLSEO by Frank Gainaford (yours truly)" where I discussed what is OLSEO and why you should use it.

link to HOA comment stream

What is OLSEO and why should you know how to use it?

OLSEO or OFF LINE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION is a new way of thinking about search queries as part of the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) industry.

In the past SEO was only about key words, then the Google HUMMINGBIRD algorithm stepped into the picture and turned all search issues upside down and inside out.  The Google HUMMINGBIRD algorithm introduced a whole host of new search engine optimisation value indicators or variables that search engines use to match a search query to an online resource, and then display that as an item in the SERP or Search Engine Results page.

Many of the new SEOVI or Search Engine Optimisation value inductors that came along with GOOGLE HUMMINGBIRD, and the related SEMANTIC SEARCH issues,  are not within the original source information within the page. These Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators  live within the social media based  #OPSEO (Off Page Search Engine Optimization) efforts of your Search Engine Optimization team, as well as related comment streams and other semantically linked content.

SEO or search engine optimisation suddenly had to be  re-invented and tackled from a very different perspective.  We at the INFO4U team thus introduced a marketing philosophy called FUFISM or Functional User Friendly Integrated Social media.   When practicing FUFISM based marketing the social media  plays a vital role within the Search Engine Optimisation industry by delivering most of the new OPSEOVI or Off Page Search Engine Optimization Value Indicators to the search engines through their direct associations with the online content in question.  This delivery of the new SEOVI;s  is done through the  links within the social media posts to the content in question.  The many semantic connections and associated social media network signals are also factored in and these social media driven SEOVI  (Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators) are becoming ever more valuable to search engines as they learn how to manage and interpret these new SEOVI

It should also be noted here that search engines view each social media post as a stand alone web page that has all the standard old school Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators such as but not limited to :

Page rank
site rank
domain rank
key word values
page title values
page description values

These SEOVI are thus passed along to the SEA's (Search Engine Algorithms) which process them and store the results  in data bases for future use in determining SERP's.  The info in these data bases is used in   the application of deeper level algorithms that match this data to search queries in meaningful and managed ways. Each social media post that links to your online content thus adds extra semantic value and associated Search engine Optimisation Value indicators to your online content, thus improving your chances of having your online content matched to a search query.

From our FUFISM based marketing perspective SEO or search engine optimisation is now divided into two sections with three categories. The first or primary section is #IPSEO or In Page Search Engine Optimisation, and the second section is #OPSEO or Off Page Search Engine Optimisation.

OPSEO is divided into two categories and the first is On Line Off Page Search engine Optimization while the second is Off Line Off Page Search Engine Optimisation

the categories that we at INFO4U use and have named as part of our FUFISM based marketing strategies are thus

1) #IPSEO or In Page Search Engine Optimization
2) #OPSEO or Off Page Search Engine Optimisation
3) #OLSEO or Off Line Search Engine Optimisation.
 
We have previously discussed both IPSEO and OPSEO at length in many different places, but OLSEO has not been discussed any where.  Before we discuss OLSEO we will need to define SEO in a manner that makes the conversation that follows more meaningful.  There are many definitions of SEO and they are actually quite different, as these definitions of SEO have been framed to suit the marketing concept being discussed.  So we would like to use the following definition of SEO.

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is all the work done by your marketing team and their partners to ensure that your online content is found by your intended target market audience when they search online for your content or any semantically related content.

 

With this definition in mind how would you classify or describe the  adverting or marketing work done within the Off line environment such as in the print media, radio or other off line environment in terms of your SEO?

To many the linkages are not immediately clear, as they view SEO as stuff done to influence search engines, and how search engines view your key words and related online content.  with this in mind how do you interpret the difference between a query and  key words?

Think about this and write down you answer before reading further..

Key words are used by SEO practitioners to influence search engine's interpretations of the online content that they are trying to optimize for better SERP's (Search Engine Results Pages)

Search queries are used by the public when they search online for information that would solve a problem for them, or allow them to perform a task, such as watch a specific video, listen to music by their favorite artist or gather information for a presentation that they may need to deliver at a meeting.

The question thus becomes how do you as an information provider ensure that your intended target market audience uses specific words (your key words) in their search queries?

This is where OLSEO or Off Line Search Engine Optimisation steps into the search engine optimisation industry and becomes a very valuable part of the SEO  tactics and tool box that you have available at your disposal.

This sounds a bit strange as we have always viewed SEO as the online stuff that impacts on how a search engine interprets your online content.  Nobody ever tells you that your intended target market audience need to use your selected key words in their search queries.  Nobody ever tells you, that you have the power to influence which words your intended target market audience will use in their search query, when searching online.

There are two avenues to influence what words your intended target market use, as search queries, the first is by ensuring that they discover these words and related semantic terminology within your OPSEO (Off Page Search Engine Optimisation) and the second is your OLSEO or Off Line Search Engine Optimisation.

OLSEO or Off Line Search Engine Optimisation is the process of using PHYSIOLOGICAL TACTICS  to plant the SEMANTIC SEEDS,   which will grow and blossom into SEARCH QUERIES, within the thinking patterns and thought processes,  that your intended target market will use when searching online.

The tools that you use to manage these PHYSIOLOGICAL TACTICS are already in use by most companies and organizations, where many already use these tools quite effectively,  with out understanding that they are actually using these very sneaky and devious OLSEOT's or Off Line Search Engine  Optimisation Tactics.

I am sure  that you are asking yourself what tools is this dude talking about, and how does he think that I am using PHYSIOLOGICAL WARFARE  on my online audience, or my intended target market audience within the off line environment?

The tools I am talking about here are very basic and elementary. these tools that you would use to PHYSIOLOGICALLY ATTACK your intended target market are the off line marketing avenues suchas but not limited to

The print media, such as news paper adverting , magazines marketing and flyers

radio marketing and TV if you can afford it

Road shows and speaking opportunities at industry events

How you use these tactics to plant the semantic seeds within your intended target audiences thinking patterns and thought processes  will vary from industry to industry, but the idea is still the same.  You need to get the attention of your intended target market audience, and use your selected key words, which will appear in the copy of your online content, in ways that have a lasting or long term impact.  You will further elaborate on this within your online social media platforms and thus re-enforce the associations of these specific words with your brand, your products or your information.

The process starts within the off line space, and is slowly extended into the online environment of the social media where the seeds planted within the off line environment are nurtured, fertilized and expanded on.  This is where #HASHTAG marketing flourishes so well, as you can introduce your own unique product or event hashtag within the print media, then expand it very easily into the social media and have well optimized and properly placed landing pages for these hashtags on your blog and your web site, where you would display  appropriate information expanding your hash tag in meaningful and productive ways.

It is thus important for your SEO that you understand your intended target market audience, and know where and how to introduce your key words and associated semantically linked terminology into their thinking patterns and thought processes, so as to co-inside with your online marketing efforts.

 

Online marketing has changed very drastically with the introduction of SEMANTIC SEARCH and the marketing industry now needs to realise that online marketing, and associated SEO  does not operate in isolation, but is intertwined with so many new variables, and the Off Line Arena of news papers, magazines and radio also feature as SEO variables.  These SEO variables are not seen by search engines, but are the physiological elements that influence the search query, which your intended target market audience will use when searching online.

It is the function of a search engine to match the end user's (your intended target market)  SEARCH QUERY  to your KEYWORDS

Keywords are used by your SEO team to influence a search engine to take cognizance of your online content. 

Search queries are used by your intended target market audience to locate information within the online environment.

It thus follows that both search queries and key words are important to surface your content for your intended target audience when they search online.