Month: November 2018

Categories
Digital Marketing

Web Images and Copyright: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Site

I’m going to preface today’s article with a quick disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, nor do I play one on television. Please be sure to contact your lawyer or a legal service if you have questions about copyright, trademark, and using images you find on the web for your business website, social media pages, or other online properties.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk turkey. There seems to be a misconception about images found on the web that just won’t die and stay buried. People frequently believe that you are free to use any image you find on the internet, be it from an image search, social media, or some other platform, for just about anything at all. The reality is much different: common law copyright protections apply at the very moment of creation, and limit how and when you can use images – especially without permission.

Before you dig up the first “free photo” website and start cobbling together images for your new company presence, have a look at this article. If you’re already aware of the laws, this should still be a much-needed refresher.

Images and Copyright

The photographer or owner of an image retains all copyrights to that image. The owner can publish it on the web, in a book, or in any form they’d like, with or without attributing it by name. They also maintain the right to create derivatives, sell their work product, rent it out, or display it. Basically, the owner can do whatever the heck they want with it.

The only exception here is true fair use, the definition of which also seems to be fuzzy to a lot of people. Fair use only allows you to use a photo for “criticism, commenting, teaching, scholarships, research, or news reporting.” Most people who claim “fair use” of photos on the internet are misinterpreting the permissions granted, and are actually using the images far beyond the scope of the definition.

Reviews are a great example of permissible “fair use.” Let’s say you purchased an ebook and want to review it on your blog. You might go to the writer’s website, find a picture of the book cover, save it, and use it in your review. The photo doesn’t preview the actual text of the book, so it won’t have an impact on the creator’s rights. This is a legitimate form of fair use, especially since you’re delivering criticism (good or bad) of the book.

But fair use can be much more restrictive. As noted, the photographer has the right to sell full or limited-use rights to their work. That’s why photo studios will sell you a disc with a limited release; even though they took the snaps of you, they still technically own the photos. They just give you permission to print them and use them within their license.

This is also the case in the commercial world. A freelance web designer may come to your business, take photos of your product, and include the rights to those photos in your contract. You’ll need to read and understand the terms to ensure you’re protected.

What action or license a photographer or image owner takes if and when you steal their images really depends on their preferences. Some will simply ask you to remove the image; others will ask you to pay a small fee toward their sales pages. Some will report you to your hosting provider and have your domain and hosting account suspended, while others will jump directly to a lawyer, demand money for damages, or even start a high-stakes lawsuit.

Intent and Copyright

Most bloggers and website owners don’t intentionally use images illegally. Many are genuinely misinformed or misinterpret their rights to use what they find. That said, a lack of intent isn’t a legal defense; you can still be charged or sued for using images that don’t belong to you.

Take, for example, the story that Chrystie of Living for Naptime shared on her blog. She took what she believed to be a simple image of a green pepper from a Google image search and placed it within a blog post. Eight months later she received an email from a lawyer with a huge legal attachment. She thought she needed to simply remove the image from her blog – but the photographer wanted “damages.” He was selling the image for $750 on his website. After just eight months of illegal use, he calculated those damages at an insane rate of $7,500!

This story is a bit more complicated. Chrystie’s research showed that the photographer was distributing his images and building links so they’d show higher in search engine image results. She believes he was monitoring the web for his images, and that the photographer was intentionally trapping people to sue them. And the frightening thing here is that this is not only a highly common tactic, but also perfectly legal (albeit totally unethical).

When Chrystie did speak to a lawyer, he told her to settle. If not, her court costs may have skyrocketed from just $7,500 to as much as $50,000 to $100,000. That’s one expensive mistake you don’t want to make. Ouch!

What About Memes?

You’re not going to like the answer to this question. Technically, a meme is derivative work, and copyright law says that only the original owner can create a derivative. That said, a lot of people who create memes do so with the intent of making them fair use, but there really isn’t a clear way to find that out.

I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but memes definitely fall into a very grey area. Were they created as satire? If so, they may be protected. Will you make money sharing them? If not, you might be OK. Can sharing the meme cause damage to the copyright holder or to the brand features within it? Maybe, maybe not. The safest thing you can do is not share memes (and/or create your own).

If you’re insistent on using memes anyway, use them in a limited fashion. Using an extremely common meme once on a Facebook page is probably less risky than littering your website with memes the moment they come up. Try to include a credit with a link whenever you can.

Where to Find Legal Images

You have two options for finding legal images for your website or blog: stock image sites or royalty-free image sites. Here are a few sites with totally free images:

These sites are relatively reliable, but you should be aware that there have been instances where stolen images made it onto the platform. Consider them mid-risk.

If you’re not keen on taking any risks at all, buying royalty-free images from a stock image marketplace is much, much easier. Sure, you will pay a small fee to use the images, but because you have a license, you will also have a defense. Options include:

There are dozens of other choices in both categories, but these will get you started. No matter where you explore, it’s good to be aware that some sites are better for deep niches than others. For example, Pixabay has a large library, but the photos are relatively generic. Unsplash is great for very natural looking models and gorgeous background landscapes. Most paid sites have extensive libraries, but the one you end up using will most likely depend on your budget.

This bears repeating: when in doubt, always consult a lawyer. A short call or email to your retained legal counsel or service will ultimately cost you a whole lot less than damages if you are sued. Just don’t take the risk!

Categories
Social Media

Breathing New Life into Your Twitter Feed

So many people discount Twitter as a busy platform for socialization, rather than an important platform for marketers and businesses. They often choose to focus on Facebook and other social media outlets instead, assuming Twitter marketing is just too hard or too frustrating.

Maybe it’s the 280-character limit, or the fact that Twitter is proliferated by people under the age of 30. Or, maybe it’s just the fact that hashtag targeting can be a complex and confusing topic at first, especially if you’re just entering the game for the first time. Either way, it’s really a mistake because the platform is a gold mine when used in the right manner.

In short, Twitter is for business owners…

…But only if you’re willing to put in the work needed to use it the right way.

Have a dormant Twitter feed? Whether it is totally abandoned or you just post once in a while as an afterthought, that profile isn’t a lost cause. Here are a few ways to breathe new life into your feed and gain traction.

Tweak Your Username/Handle

Your username and handle can actually impact how and where you show up in Twitter searches. Unfortunately, silly names chosen on a whim years ago aren’t likely to get you where you need to be. Instead, you need to align it with your goals.

Make sure your Twitter account username or handle closely matches your current brand. You can change your display name as well as your @twitterhandle within your profile’s settings; don’t start a whole new account just to fix this one issue.

As for what you should pick, aim for something that really represents your brand or goals on Twitter. Make your handle and username easy to recognize and try to use the same branded keyword s across different social platforms to strengthen your brand’s presence.

Update Your Profile Photos

Photos matter, especially on sites like Twitter where character messages are so short. Be sure your profile photo is a clear representation of your brand, image, or at least products and services. If you’re a self-branded professional, this is a good place for a crisp, professional headshot or your brand’s logo. If you’re a business, a logo or a representative image (such as a shot of your location) is the better choice.

As for your header image, you have a bit more creative license there. The header image is a perfect zone for highlighting your personality or showcasing your current campaign message, and can even be a fun place to show off subtle ads. Don’t be afraid to swap this image out regularly, especially as seasons or special events happen.

Be Creative with Your Bio

Your bio needs to be short and sweet – a maximum of 160 characters or less. The overall goal is to use a few words to describe what you do, brag on an accomplishment, or just plain appeal to your audience by being relatable.

Bios don’t need to be cold and boring, even though some people think that’s the case. Unless you work in an industry where strict professionalism is preferred (e.g., healthcare, legal), it’s okay to sprinkle some humor in to keep it interesting. You can even throw in a couple of relevant hashtags to make your account more visible.

Purpose and Passion

Please don’t put your business on Twitter and then start tweeting about everything under the sun. That’s just contributing to the current problem of users feeling overwhelmed by the sheer avalanche of useless posts they filter through every single day.

Instead, make your Twitter feed a place where people can truly absorb information about your passion, services, or products. Stick to a single focus and you’ll attract more like-minded folks (read: your target audience) instead of temporary visitors who bounce away never to be seen again. It should be almost immediately clear (within two posts or less) what you’re about and why, as that’s what catches visitors and keeps them coming back.

Incorporate Hashtags

Hashtags are important on Twitter – important enough that search engines are using them in search results. There is good evidence that they may improve overall brand SEO or even bring in organic outside traffic, too, so it makes sense to use them and use them well.

That said, you do need to avoid common Twitter hashtag pitfalls. Use them carefully and sparingly; two per tweet is really enough. Long strings of hashtags begin to look spammy and can amount to a wall of text for users, but you’re also limited to 280 characters. Thus, the terms you choose need to be relevant to your brand. Don’t reuse existing popular hashtags without researching their origin and what they mean.

Tweet Often, Tweet Regularly

While it may not matter as much on your personal profile, it’s important to tweet often. Not everyone you want to reach will be online at the same time and Twitter’s feed moves very fast. The more frequently you post, the better your odds of being seen.

There are hundreds of articles and infographics that claim they know what time of day is best for posting. The reality is that you need to test different options and see which work best for your brand. Every audience and demographic slice is slightly different.

Think of it this way: white collar businesses are most likely to view posts early in the morning, at lunch, or after work. That’s because most are either sitting at a desk, commuting, or taking a lunch break at these specific times. Millennials in the entertainment industry, however, may be more likely to seek out fun at night, after they leave school or work to head home.

Experiment with morning posts, afternoon posts, and with weekend posts. Identify which schedule best boosts your CTR and push forth with that to get the most out of your efforts.

Engage with Your Followers

Want to build your brand? You need to spend more time engaging on other people’s content than you spend broadcasting your own. Participate in public conversations, take part in polls from other users, comment on the posts that show up in your feed, and generally keep your eye out for trending topics and their hashtags. Just make sure you’re participating in conversations that loosely align with your brand. Moreover, do your best to avoid anything political or controversial, because a PR disaster is not your goal.

Build Your Network

Your goal on Twitter is to increase your follower-base organically. What does that mean? Essentially, you want to attract people naturally, without paying for likes or follows, and get to a point where you attract those people residually over time.

One of the best strategies is to follow people and then watch to see who follows you back, later unfollowing those who do not return the favor. This method works well, but there is a catch. You have to remember you are limited to the amount of people you can follow. Twitter doesn’t publish its specific followers/following ratio limits, but it’s safe to say you want the numbers to be as close together as possible for continued growth.

Another great way to build your network is to offer something in exchange for the follow. For example, you might have an infographic or ebook that potential followers may find helpful. While messenger bots are typically frowned upon in terms of general use, consider using them to automatically send your free gift to a new follower right away.

Size Graphics Specifically for Twitter

Here’s an enormous social media no-no: creating graphics sized for one platform, then attempting to port them over to other platforms unadjusted. This just doesn’t work. A square graphic designed for Instagram or Facebook ends up cut off and cropped when uploaded to Twitter – not what you want or what other users want, either.

Instead, size your graphics individually for each site. Hire a designer to create a suite of branded products, use your in-house team, or save money by using a site like Canva to create your own images. Add a border and your logo; then, swap in your own unique images or quotes as your needs for branded graphics come up.

Utilize Email Notifications

Twitter has more than 20 different features you can choose from in the email notifications section of your profile. Creating a custom setting system will help you to keep track of the actions and changes that are most important to you. Use these options to your advantage and ensure you always receive the right notifications.

Here’s a quick glimpse at what you can receive notifications for:

  • Replies to your tweets
  • Mentions from other users
  • Retweets or reposts
  • New follows
  • Likes, loves, etc.

Making an impact on Twitter takes more time and effort than other platforms, but it can be a lucrative part of your marketing strategy when it’s given the focus it truly deserves. This is doubly true if your target audience is hipsters or Millennials.

Remember, it’s better to master one platform before adding a new one to the mix. You should never add a new platform until you can give it the time and attention it deserves. Make your Twitter account work for you every single day and that consistency will deliver real results.

Categories
SEO

7 Keyword Research Tips for Marketers

It doesn’t matter if you are marketing for a large national brand, a small local business, or a privately owned blog that’s just looking to gain a little bit of traction. One of the first things you need to do before starting any sort of campaign – paid or organic – is keyword research.

While we’d all like to think we’re naturals when it comes to marketing, keyword knowledge really does require research. The information you find will help you to better utilize the keywords that are actually relevant, as opposed to terms we thought or hoped were relevant but really aren’t helpful at all.

To help you wrap your head around this complex topic, I’m going to go over the basics and then touch on a few more advanced strategies. I think you’ll really get a lot of use out of this!

Understand What Keyword Research Is (and Isn’t)

Keyword research is basically the work you do to determine what words people are commonly using in the search engines to find content like yours. A well-developed keyword strategy will have a set series of keywords for each of the relevant topics for a business website. While these keywords are used in both paid and organic campaigns, they may also be used to help you name product features and generally optimize your website as well.

Keyword research is not simply sitting down and brainstorming a list of terms that relate to your content, product, or service. You’re an expert in your field, so you are already familiar with common terms that relate to what you have to offer. Those common terms are usually not what the average person types into Google.

Plan Your Keyword Research

When you start your keyword research, your goal is to identify what words you are already ranking well for so that you can understand their position. You also need to identify which words you’d like to rank for in the future, but aren’t succeeding with right now.

The keywords you end up with need to be sorted into three main categories. The first is organic terms that help with search engine visibility. The second is the low-hanging fruit you want to improve upon. And last, but not least, are the keywords you’d like to use in PPC campaigns because they aren’t getting the search engine visibility you’d like yet.

Choose Your Tools

There are dozens of keyword research tools on the market today, but sometimes the best ones are the free ones offered right at the source. The Google Keyword Planner is offered within the AdWords dashboard and is considered one of the best places to get started. You can use it to create keyword lists, groups, traffic forecasts, and plenty of new keyword ideas. This is a great tool to use if you plan on incorporating both PPC and organic SEO at the same time.

Moz’s Keyword Explorer, Market Samurai, SEMrush, and Keyword Tool are also useful tools for keyword research. Some can be used in conjunction with Google’s Keyword Planner. This is especially useful if you need to find more long-tail keywords to incorporate into your campaign.

Utilize Google Suggest

Not sure where to start with your keyword research? Simply start typing a keyword into the search engine and see what comes up in the dropdown box of suggestions from Google. These are real options based on things that already exist on the web, so they’re worth paying attention to. You can use these terms to jumpstart your keyword research and to create new content ideas for your website pages.

Don’t just rely on exact phrases or phrases that start with the phrase you are typing. For example, I could type “best Philadelphia” and get results like best Philadelphia restaurants, best Philadelphia cheesesteak, best Philadelphia suburbs, best Philadelphia museums, and so much more. You need to drill down further to get at the real meat.

If you want to expand on those options, try typing “best _ in Philadelphia.” You’ll likely get some similar results, but you’ll also see different options as well, like best pizza in Philadelphia, best brunch in Philadelphia, and best breakfast in Philadelphia. You can insert the underscore in different spots in long-tail phrases for a wide variety of results.

Look at Your Competitors

You really need to understand what your competitors are doing in order to rise above them. Try using Keyword Planner to spy on what those in your niche are doing – especially those that always seem to be doing well. Just swap in your competitor’s URL instead of your own to get ideas from the keyword tab. You can also use the group ideas tab to get a better idea of what topic themes you should be building upon.

Focus on the Seasons

The term “seasonality” generally refers to the time of year your business does best. In terms of keyword research, it involves finding ways to make common terms that are incredibly competitive a little more viable for your business. For example, let’s say you are marketing coffee beverages.

What type of coffee beverage can you market during the cool winter months as opposed to the hot summer months? What recipes work best for each season? Different seasonings and flavors are more popular at different times of the year, but not just the meteorological seasons or the holidays. What groups of people focus on coffee consumption throughout the year (think freelancers, office workers, etc). What long-tail keywords would help you to focus your coffee product towards specific groups or seasonal events?

Explore Branded Keywords

Believe it or not, branded keywords do pretty well on Google. You don’t necessarily need to be a major brand to take advantage of this type of keyword creation. For example, if you sell running shoes you might search for keywords based on specific brands, like “Saucony running shoes” or “Hoka running shoes.” When you search for those terms you’d hope the big brands rank on the first pages, but you may just find a lot of smaller stores who carry their products are ranking very high as well.

Keyword research takes time, but if you do it right, it will help you to create a wealth of usable, searchable, popular content for your website, PPC campaigns, and organic marketing strategies. Never be afraid to experiment with or change up your keyword choices. While some keywords are standard go-to phrases, others may change month-to-month or season-to-season. Stay on top of your research, and don’t be afraid to reach out when you need a little help.

Categories
SEO

Link Building 101: How to Soothe the Skeptics

I’m not going to lie; link building isn’t as easy as it was a couple of years ago. Of course, that’s not really bad news – we’re now better focused on creating quality backlinks on relevant websites in the industry than ever before.

The problem is that your average website owner or blogger (someone involved in business but not necessarily SEO) may not realize the value of a backlink. And let’s face it, some of them are downright skeptical when approached by other business owners asking for links.

So what’s a good link builder to do?

Let’s explore this topic!

What is Link Building?

To review, true link building is simply the act of getting other websites to create hyperlinks that direct back to your website. All of the search engines use links to “crawl” between websites. The more they find a website is being linked to from outside sources, the more important and credible that site becomes.

Sometimes, search engines discover new pages on your site (or brand-new sites) thanks to links pointing back to them. In the past, search engines would simply count the number of inbound links a site had.

Why is this an issue? Ultimately, building links became more about volume and less about quality. Link farms and link directories cropped up, giving grey and black-hat SEO experts the ability to game the system. Google was flooded with spammers for a short time and it became obvious that this is why we can’t have nice things.

Later changes to Google’s algorithms ended up hurting sites that practiced this form of trickery, especially if they had a lot of irrelevant links, and doubly especially if they were coming from sites that had no credibility of their own.

Today, link-building is more about strategizing, building relationships, and making logical connections within industries. It’s harder, but it’s also more powerful than ever.

Developing a Link Outreach Strategy

So we know that link-building is harder, and that it just isn’t as simple as slapping down links on sites anymore. All of this is to say that link building is still important, but it’s probably going to be one of the most challenging components of your overall SEO campaign. You need to have a separate, ongoing link outreach strategy to slowly and securely build an arsenal of valuable links over a period of time.

The problem with outreach is that it is similar to sales. You need to reach out to people you don’t know and essentially ask them for something. Awkward, right?

But very easy with a few of the right skills.

The better you become at outreach, the easier it will be to build partnerships with other site owners. The ongoing relationship you create is just as important as the end result you achieve in getting the link. These relationships may open the doors to future partnership or joint venture opportunities.

Assess Your Own Value

The first thing to remember is that you are not just asking for a link; you should be offering something of value that the other website’s users would find useful. The other site owner needs a reason to link back to your content. What information can you share that isn’t already on the site you are targeting?

This usually means creating a unique piece of content that you’d like your backlinks to point to. Save the short, sweet blog posts for your everyday audience; now’s the time to flex your content creation muscles and put together something truly special. It might be a long blog post, an infographic, an ebook you link to from a site page, or even a case study showcasing some of your company research. Make it amazing and worth sharing.

Building Relationships

Only after you are sure you have something great to share should you start looking for sites to contact. These sites or companies should be somehow related to your niche, but not necessarily competitors. Connect with the CEO on LinkedIn, follow their social media pages, and start reading their blogs. Begin building a relationship by making your name known. Leave thoughtful comments, share their content, and tag them in your own social posts.

Do not dive right in and ask for a link.

Building relationships and starting conversations takes time. Make sure your interactions are being noticed before you reach out to offer your own informational piece or ask for a link.

Sending the Link Outreach Email

Confident your relationship building strategies are on the right track? Now it’s time to prepare your email. Here are some things to remember as you craft your request:

  • Thank the person for connecting with you on their blog or social platforms. Or, compliment one of their blog posts by saying something thoughtful about the content.
  • Mention your content and how it relates to theirs; ask if they might consider including it as a reference in their own piece.
  • Consider not asking for a link at all. Instead, ask a question that may prompt a reply. Then, relate a piece you wrote back to the conversation you initiated.
  • If they don’t have something related enough, suggest a topic and explain how it relates to their other content. Ask if you can submit the piece as a guest post.
  • Never use a blanket template when sending link outreach emails. They read like templates and they are often ignored.
  • Consider what you can offer the site owner in exchange for the review, guest post, or link. Could you offer a coupon code their readers can use on your site?
  • Consider asking for a share instead of a website link. You may end up being shared on social media, but a lot of times they’ll share the link on their website as well. Even if they don’t build a link, social proof is still valuable and could result in a nice surge in traffic.

The number one guideline: never take a link and run. Continue to be social and comment on that site’s posts and social platforms. Remember, ongoing relationships are key and could even result in referrals to other sites later on down the line.

Lastly, always remember what link building definitely isn’t about: building web directory links, commenting in strange forums, and forcing links where they don’t belong.

Need advice on your link-building campaign? Book a consultation and we’ll find the perfect way for you to move forward.

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