Artificial intelligence has always instigated curious minds to dig deeper and see how it works and how to use it to assist humans in the most suitable ways. Come 2017 and Google RankBrain has started making rounds in the web world faster than when it came into the picture in 2015.For now, RankBrain is the closest synonym to AI for search engines. AI has already marked its territory in numerous fields like robotics, customer services, medicine, etc., and now, it is high time SEO also benefits from this marvel. Here’s how AI will change the world of SEO for better.

More importance to visual content for SEO optimization

Sam Mallikarjunan of HubSpot Labs (Head of Growth) said that SEO will be tremendously influenced by visual content in coming years. AI has made search engines intelligent enough to know how to analyze visual content, especially in case of videos. Google SERPs give precedence to YouTube videos, and the introduction of AI has made it possible for Google to display the most relevant videos.

Video SEO will now require a video publisher to optimize target keywords, Meta tags, descriptions, video length, a keyword focused & comprehensible caption around the video because RankBrain can “watch” a video and tell what it’s about.

Content quality, relevance and focus is going to take center stage

A search result is said to be successful when the search intent of the user and the results provided for the search are matched. RankBrain, the artificial intelligence system developed by Google has remarkable content analysis capabilities. It is able to understand the context of content and judges it on the basis of relevance with the search query entered by the end user.

Content has always been the king, but now, the king has to work harder than ever before. Keyword density has been a thing of the past, and has made way for things that are more important for users,things such as keyword relevance, contextual coherence and value. Every SEO project is different, and there is a different strategy to execute each of them effectively and efficiently. Take reference from different case studies pertaining to different projects.

More weightage to real time data

Whether we talk about news updates, weather news or live soccer score, results for these kinds of searches have to be real time, unless asked otherwise. Real time data is a major point to focus on for content publishers. Staying updated with news and curating fresh content on the go is important, reorganizing & revising a pre-existing content is also equally vital.

Now the question comes, “How is AI going to help reorganized and revised content?” the answer lies in the limitations of search algorithms. Algorithms run the same query in the same manner every time. But AI, on the other hand, learns and grows with time and does a better, deeper search and thus is capable of driving better results over time on its own.

Related Read: 5 Technologies that will drive entrepreneurship for next few years

More emphasis on niche specific keywords to avoid misclassification

Certain keywords are broad spectrum, which means that they can be easily used for more than one niche. Regular algorithms have a limited capability of classifying the content as per the niche and sometimes, the user also gets results that are nowhere close to the query.

This is where AI will come to save the day. With deep learning and dynamic content, search engine crawlers are not only going to look for the keywords in the content, but also analyze the whole content for ensuring whether the niche of the content matches with that of the user’s query. This is going to be a major game changer.

According to Net Marketshare, 72.62% web traffic originated from Google between January 2018 to September 2018. Hence, to ensure the best performance of the website in search results, search engine optimization (SEO) is important.

As search algorithm becomes smarter, SEO strategy must also be changed. Traffic and leads can no longer be generated using the black hat SEO strategies. That said, search engine optimization strategies have gone through tremendous change in the last few years.

To keep up with changing trends, businesses must update their knowledge about SEO strategies. To help you in this journey, we present you some tips related to advanced SEO strategies, which can make your business future ready.

In this blog post, we will discuss the following:

• How does the website’s Page Speed affect ranking?
• Why Mobile optimization is important?
• How does Visual Elements Help in SEO?
• Does Repurposing content improve ranking?
• Link building strategies to improve SEO
• How Long-tail keywords affect SEO?
• How to build SEO friendly Landing page?
• Reasons Behind Broken Links
• Internal Linking for Ranking
• User Generated Content and SEO

Regularly creating content that is fresh and appealing is a difficult task.

Instead of crafting content from scratch, you can repurpose your existing content to reach more people in less time.

It involves finding new ways to recycle and reuse your existing content. For example, repurposing lets you take an eBook and convert it into a series of blog posts.

In this article, you will know how to repurpose your existing content to not only grow your reach but also improve your SEO.

Let’s start:

Why repurpose content

Repurposing content may seem counterintuitive initially but remember that it’s not the same as republishing.

You can’t just copy content from one medium and paste into another.

Instead, repurposing requires you to format content in a way that appeals to the audience of the platform it’s posted on.   It’s one of the well-known growth hacking tactic businesses use to drive traffic without devoting as much time or effort as goes on creating content from scratch.

With that in mind, here are several reasons why you should repurpose content:

Faster than creating new content

Instead of spending excessive time brainstorming new content ideas, you can take something that exists and turn into ‘new’ content relatively quick.

Gives access to new audiences on different platforms

Repurposing lets you take content meant for a certain platform and audience and expose it to an entirely new audience which otherwise may have never seen it.

You get an opportunity to earn links

Content that resonates with your audience will receive far more backlinks and social shares. Yet, such content is rare and doesn’t come around often.

Repurposing allows you to extend the life of a popular post and squeeze out more backlinks.

You can tap into every learning style

Repurposing opens your content to new audiences who prefer different learning styles.

For example, visual learners prefer looking at an infographic (or watching a video) rather than reading an article.

Also Read: Various Metrics to Measure Content Marketing Success

How to repurpose content for SEO

Before you set off rushing to recycle content, you need to strategize a plan of action.

Not every old post is a good candidate for repurposing and the last thing you want to do is reuse content that failed to elicit any response from your audience.

Here’s a step by step process on how to repurpose content:

1. Find your best performing content

Use tools such as Google Analytics to analyze your site’s entire content archive and determine which posts performed exceptionally well.

Log into Google Analytics and head over to the “Behaviour” tab.

In the sub-dropdown option, click on “Site Content” and then “All Pages”

You should see something like this:

All your posts should be listed chronologically in terms of page views (most popular to least).

2. Determine the best way to repurpose

Now that you know which of your posts performed well, it’s time to filter further in order to select the right kind of post.

Some content formats are naturally easier to repurpose than others.

For example, a subjective or opinion-based article will be hard to repurpose.

Instead of focusing on such posts, pay attention to posts that are listicles, how-to posts or heavy in data since they can be easily repurposed into other formats.

Here are a few ideas of what you can do with each:

A. Listicles

Listicles are articles that appear in the form of a list.

They are commonly used online as they help readers break down and organize information. Each point is often accompanied with an image or meme to help drive the message home

Here’s an example:

Listicles can be easily converted into:

• SlideShare presentation
• Imgur galleries
• Mini-graphics (1 point on the listicle becomes a graphic)

B. How-to posts

How-to posts help your readers achieve a specific task. For example, a blog post might inform its readers how to install a server using their service.

For this reason, how-to style posts receive 55% more views than all other types of blogs.

And since these articles provide value they have a good chance of becoming evergreen.

Here’s an example from HubSpot:

You can easily convert these posts into:

• Videos
• Slideshare presentations
• Infographics

C. Data heavy posts

Some blog posts tend to reference statistics and data heavily in order to strengthen their case or point of view.

Therefore, blog posts heavy on data can be repurposed into:

• Infographics
• Mini-graphics

3. Ways to repurpose content

Now that you have identified your popular content and narrowed down which amongst them can be easily repurposed, it’s time to get started.

Here are a few ways you can repurpose content:

A. Turn blog posts into SlideShare presentation

SlideShare may not be as popular as Facebook or Twitter, but it has a userbase of over 70 million users which cannot be ignored.

Furthermore, the site also has a very strong domain authority.

In fact, SlideShare presentations routinely show up on the first page of results in various search engines.

For example, check out what happens when you search for “marketing growth hacks”

The above Slideshare shows up on the first page of Google and is ahead of other authority sites such as QuickSprout and Unbounce.

To create a Slideshare, take out key points from your blog post and make each into its own slide. Remember not to make your slide text-heavy.

Also, use tools such as Prezi to make your presentations more dynamic and engaging.

B. Turn blog posts into infographics

Infographics are visually stunning representations of information or data.

They make it easy for your audiences to digest complex information easily.

And with 65% of the population being visual learners, repurposing your blog content into an infographic increases your reach significantly.

Repurposing blog content for social media is a proven growth hacking tactic.

For example, check out this infographic from UKAid

For those interested in an update about the Syria Conflict and the role of UK Aid, this infographic is far more inviting than a lengthy text-based blog.

In addition to increasing reach, infographics work exceptionally well for SEO.

Websites that decide to link to your infographic will belong to the same niche.

For example, a conversion optimization blog will link to infographics on marketing related topics rather than cooking.

This provides you more relevant backlinks than those from unrelated niches.

You can easily create infographics using tools such as Venngageor Piktochart.

Once created, you can distribute your infographic through services such as Visual.ly

C. Turn blog post into mini-graphics

While infographics are great, they are too large to post on social media.

Therefore, to increase your reach on social channels, you need to invest in mini-graphics which are miniature-sized versions of an infographic.

For perspective, think of the size of images you see on Twitter.

Check out this mini-graphic on Jeff Bullas’s Facebook page:

Since mini-graphics are geared for social media, they need to be made to grab attention.

Therefore, go through your blog post (or infographic if you already have one) and rank elements in terms of potential engagement level.

Also, keep in mind that each social platform has its own limit for image size.

For example, Facebook limits images to a maximum size of 470 pixels square. In terms of SEO, mini-graphics are not effective in generating backlinks.

However, you still need to include them on your social channels to increase share count. Content that ranks high on SERPs tend to have a high social share count.

D. Turn blog posts into videos

The popularity of online video continues to grow. In just a span of four years, digital video usage has increased from 1 hour per day to almost 1 hour and 45 minutes.

This growth in video consumption has led YouTube to become the second largest search engine in the world in terms of traffic handling 3 billion queries per month.

And it’s not only marketers who are betting on video.

SERPs from leading search engine operators such as Google, Bing, Yahoo now display video results for many search terms:

Therefore, repurpose your content into video format to reach a growing audience.

People are more likely to watch a video than read text on page (especially if teaches them how-to do something).

For example, check out this how-to video by KissMetrics:

Note how the video is repurposed from a how-to post which is linked in the description section (the link URL also contains keywords).

This is extremely helpful in terms of SEO.

When search engine crawlers scan the page, the video has a good chance of ranking.

Furthermore, uploading videos onto YouTube also helps drive traffic as it serves as a video discovery platform.

Conclusion

Repurposing your popular content allows you to kill two birds with one stone.

Not only will you extend your reach to new audiences who enjoy different content formats but in the process help your SEO campaign.

Follow the tactics in this post to get started right away.

Search engine rules are similar for everyone, big or small, business or individual. Dare to twist and you are at sheer risk of hurting traffic, sales, and brand. Getting straight to the lessons  (implications more appropriately) you most certainly look for right now, let me lead you to a leading English daily of India that we love to read-The Hindu. The site today has made some changes to its website post the demise of Jayalalithaa Jayaraman, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, which are important for everyone concerned about search engine results.

Jayalalithaa, one of India’s most powerful and popular politicians has passed yesterday and since internet is one big medium today in our lives to give vent to various emotions, sorrow, happiness, and grunge, all social networks and new portals, e magazines are recording this unfortunate event religiously.

I too went online today morning to pay my tribute to one of the ladies Indian history will revere for ages. Before it could come about, The Hindu was ready to give a shock of life (view below)

 Commonly, in The Hindu title tags, we see search terms relevant to news readers like : Breaking News, India News, Elections, Bollywood, Cricket, Video, Latest News & Live Updates.

Going to The Hindu today will show you a pack of keywords (Jayalalithaa, Jayalalithaa death Jayalalithaa demise, Jayalalithaa Funeral, Rip amma, AIADMK, Tamil Nadu Politics, Sasikala) added to its title; which as per Google is a bad practice of search engine optimization.

Also Read: How will Google’s RankBrain Impact SEO in the Future?

Up next- The points to take home for businesses and SEO companies that are unaware of the repercussions of twisting Google guidelines for some instant results (which fairly don’t exist).

1. First things first, Adding any term that doesn’t connect with your brand identity is hurtful for your image. For instance, if the title tag of an ecommerce website selling various products reads ‘buy cheap shoes’, it is likely to attract attention of low budget customers only.

And, the brand will lose rest of the buyers due to a price focused impression that doesn’t connect with the shopping interests of quality seekers.

Below are the examples of appropriate titles from the viewpoint of branding:

2. Even though The Hindu is a big brand, changing the title and adding too many keywords didn’t bring it on the top of search engine rankings . It clearly tells, there are no shortcuts to high search engine rankings of Google. All other news sites still rank above for most of the stories related to deceased CM of Tamil Nadu.

3. Not just for you and I, but there’s something for Google too to think through as the search giant has been working hard to toughen up its algorithm. But, such temporary changes (although not very effective from rankings perspective) go unnoticed many a times. Will Google ever be able to have complete  control over search quality?

The aim of analyzing and sharing the results of this title change was to reaffirm whether Google gives you any kind of instant benefit if playing a few of tricks is feasible. The answer is NO, which is a good news for white hat SEO world.

There are no shortcuts; optimizing search engine is a long term investment, which generates certain returns only if you have kept it strictly straight and narrow.

FATbit shares the irrepressible grief that the nation goes through today after we have lost Ms. Jayalalithaa, a lady that inspired and impacted masses. May the soul rest in peace.

Over the last decade, there have been many orderly changes brought by Google in the search arena. Most of them have been aimed at offering relevant results to the end user. However, as the technology is evolving, several transformations are coming in.

Many technology evangelists have the view that in the next few years, artificial intelligence will alter the way we look at technology. One of the areas getting affected by machine learning is SEO. Last year, Google confirmed a machine learning artificial intelligence system called Rankbrain. This system has been put in place to help the search engine process search results and provide relevant information to users.

SEO Is Changing For Good

The vitality of RankBrain in search results is evident from the fact that after links and content, it is the third most important factor in ranking algorithm. So what does this mean for Keywords?

Well, as the trend is emerging keywords will become less effective over time. Yes, they will.

Google has already hinted at the move away from keywords with subsequent algorithm updates of Panda and Penguin. The fact of the matter is that within Google, several algorithms exist. The main aim behind the conception of RankBrain is to learn to mix these core algorithms in the best possible way to give most relevant search results. For example, in some search results RankBrain might give META Title the highest preference, while in others it might give PageRank an upper hand. This means that search results will never be the same again.

There are many verticals at play here and Google is making it even harder for SEO managers to manipulate the system. In order to understand the approach being taken by RankBrain in a particular search result, one needs to carefully measure Google Algorithmic Shifts. With careful analysis of this, a pattern might emerge, which could throw some light on which particular algorithm is being promoted or demoted. This knowledge would help you focus on that part of SEO for a particular search result.

It’s All About Relevant Content

Nowadays, rather than looking for relevant content, users are being fed content through respective recommendation engines. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook are also employing the same strategy, where they are highlighting content in accordance to the user preference. As more and more users are going online and accessing information on a larger scale, big data is helping data scientist formulate better machine learning algorithms to find out the next article or video the users would like.

Currently, RankBrain is on a learning spree, going through hoards of data, observing and responding to user behavior when they interact with the SERPs. Google wants to limit the fluctuation of website ranking after every algorithm update. It has always said that website should just focus on serving useful and relevant content, instead of just SEO focused stuff.

Also Read: How to Repurpose Content to Maximize SEO Impact

Nowadays SEO managers are focusing more on long tail keywords, but soon even those will become redundant. Machine learning will give Google a better idea about the authoritative sites for a particular search phrase, regardless of whether that website uses that specific phrase or not.

Bottomline: Stick To Niche

As already discussed, RankBrain is learning what good sites are for a particular search phrase and which are the bad ones. It is learning the ideal setting for each search environment, which will allow it to tweak the prominence of each algorithm. These settings will be unique for each vertical. This means that the parameters for a health-related search phrase would be different from that of technology related search phrase.

This is where niche websites will get benefitted the most. For websites, which work across a range of sectors, only time will tell the way RankBrain affects them. This is where content creators and webmasters need to alter their approach. When the last major algorithm update came from Google, it created huge ripples across the search arena, with many web properties losing their search rankings overnight. The next big change will soon be upon us and we must be ready for it beforehand.

In the words of Moz, keywords define what your content is about. They are the genuine search terms that people use to explore the internet. Without them, it is impossible to take part in the online competition. Keyword optimization is of utmost importance for websites as search engines use keywords to define rankings and bring organic traffic. For those who are unaware, organic traffic is a term that refers to all those visitors who visit a website through search engines.

Organic traffic is essential for a business as it helps in building a reputation, trust and increasing conversions. Suppose, if a merchant that sells smartphones in New York does not optimize its website for queries like ‘Where to buy smartphones in New York?’, the chances are that its website won’t appear in the search results for these particular keywords. The hundreds if not thousands of people who are interested in buying a smartphone in New York, won’t be able to find the merchant on the internet. To them, it will be invisible and will not command high trust. Its sales will also suffer. 

When the choice of keywords is accurate, one can expect to receive high organic traffic due to competitiveness and the sheer number of searches for those keywords. However, there are some keyword research mistakes that have become common due to a lack of updated knowledge about SEO. Focusing on these mistakes, we bring you some solutions below.

Mistake #1: Using Broad Match Instead Of Exact Match

Search volume is one of the most important metrics to take into account when looking for the perfect keywords. This is probably the first thing to check with keyword research tools, and it’s where the next serious mistake may occur.

Most tools offer three types of keyword matching:

• Broad match contains all your keywords in no particular order and may include other words. For example, if your targeted words are “black shoes,” broad match may include “black shoes for men,” “shoes for black suit,” and so on.
• Phrase match includes your keywords in order and may contain other words. For example, “where to buy black shoes,” and “black shoes with high heels.”
• Exact match contains only your keywords in a given order – “black shoes.”

And there is a huge difference in search traffic of all these keywords. If you do not take this into account and neglect using exact match, you’re likely to receive disappointing results.

How to avoid this mistake: When using tools to estimate search volume, avoid using broad and phrase-match figures. Always base your decisions on exact matches.

Mistake #2: Using One-word Keywords

Another mistake is selecting keywords that consist of a single word. It’s really hard to rank for one-word terms – they are too general and too competitive. Besides being highly competitive, short-tailed keywords lack context. For example, a person searching for “fans” may also be looking for a big industrial fan, a fan to ventilate their apartment or even a football fan community.

How to avoid this mistake: Try to compose your keyword list of mostly long-tail keywords, as they provide more context. Every additional word should focus more specifically on user intent – this will bring you closer to your target audience.

Mistake #3: Not Taking The Competition Into Account

Ranking for a specific keyword actually means beating your competitors. So to plan an effective keyword strategy, you need to know the competitive landscape. If you choose your target words without considering the competition, you will likely waste both time and money.

How to avoid this mistake: Type your target query in the search field and take a thorough look at the websites that are on the first results page. What are your actual chances of making your way to the first positions with that particular keyword? If your competitors are ranking too high, you should select some other keywords.

What’s also great about competitor research is that it helps you get fresh ideas and find new additions for your keyword arsenal. There will surely be some keywords that your competitor is ranking for but they are missing on your website. You can find these words with the help of the Domain vs. Domain tool by SEMrush.

Just type in your domain and the domains of up to four of your competitors. Then you will get a Venn diagram visualizing keywords that these domains share, as well as exclusive ones for each domain.

Caption: SEMrush’s Domain vs. Domain tool

This tool provides you with a list of all those keywords that are present on the competitor’s website. You can sort them by search volume, CPC or level of competition and add to your own list of keywords.

Mistake #4: Not Looking At The Current Search Results

Understanding the search intent is an important part of keyword research. As there are no tools to measure search intent, digital marketers need to be more vigilant. There are three ways they can find out what an internet user is actually searching for and the keywords that will meet that intent.

The first way is by looking at the organic search results. Google is smart and there are likely to be thousands of websites online from the same niche as yours. Meaning, if not all then the majority of them are ranking for the correct search intent. For example, if the SERP is displaying all service pages, it is less likely that the targeted keyword is suitable for a blog. 

Secondly, autosuggestions help in finding the various related keywords and phrases that you can include in your blog. Below is a brilliant example by Ahrefs that also shows what keywords you can consider while writing a general article about Donald Trump.

Lastly, the related searches mentioned below the search results indicate some other terms that users commonly search. For example, look at the image below.

How to avoid this mistake: Taking a look at the current search results can give you a better understanding of the search intent and how you should plan your keywords accordingly. It also suggests related words and phrases that you can include in your webpage.

Mistake #5: Evaluating Keyword Difficulty With Search Tools

Numerous search tools present on the internet provide a keyword difficulty score. However, that score is irrespective of individual rankings and DA of websites. It means that while the score does provide a rough idea of how difficult it will be to rank for a keyword generally, it does not apply to every single site. 

If a website is already ranking high for particular keywords, it is more likely to rank for related high-difficulty keywords fairly easily. On the other hand, even if a high domain authority website writes on an easy-to-rank keyword the first time, the chances are it is not going to do so well against those websites that have covered it before in various topics. 

How to avoid this mistake: While using search tools for keyword research, do not rely blindly on the difficulty score. To actually find how difficult it will be to rank for a particular keyword, you are required to manually audit your website.

Mistake #6: Ignoring Local Keywords

One essential thing that companies tend to overlook is the difference between global and local keywords. If you have a local or regional business, make sure that the traffic for your targeted word comes from your locale. If you only work with customers in a certain geographical location, you don’t need to target keywords that focus or are popular in some other region.

How to avoid this mistake: When doing keyword research with tools like Google’s Keyword Tool, always filter your searches by location.

Also pay attention to geographic search terms. Many searchers will add the name of their city or locale to their query, so optimized keywords will improve your chances of meeting customers.

Conclusion

To get the desired results in terms of online conversions, you will require well-researched keywords that receive tremendous organic traffic. A popular approach for achieving this goal is the keyword optimization of your website’s every page. This work can be intensive and may consume a lot of time. Pages like about us, contact us, portfolio, services, products, are the most important ones on a business website and should be prioritized. When aligned with other digital marketing strategies like social media and paid marketing, keyword optimization can bring impressive results.

IoT – Internet of things, the much discoursed topic of modern lives is bigger than what you can think of. Although the definition is same yet the complete perception of IoT has been changing over last decade. Internet of things, that was merely seen as a domain of comfort devices has evolved into a thrilling world of apps that run on the cloud & interact with multiple devices. Whether you want a cup of coffee right when you wake up or need to monitor your heart rate or want to set an ideal temperature in your bedroom before walking in, all can be done in one click. Your smartphones can control half of your routine activities and it’s no sham. The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly interlacing with every business and consumer product. We have unfolded further, the myths, growth prospects and future of IoT.

Myths clouding IoT

• IoT is all about consumer electronics 
  Half the truth is often a whole lie. The fact of the matter is that the internet of things is a broad genre. It covers consumer as well as enterprise mobility. However, in the past there has not been much headway in the enterprise sector, which is why most of the users limit its possibility to consumer sector only.
• Seamless transition for mobile apps 
  Another big myth surrounding connected devices is that because it runs in the cloud, it would open limitless scope for developers. The reality is, however, complex. IoT is basically the combination of cloud, big data and connect devices. More than 90 percent of the big data is still in the scattered form, making the overall transition difficult.
• The rise of the machines 
  The cult behind Terminator and other sci-fi movies have always targeted technologies like IoT. Many people believe that this has increased our dependence upon machines. Making these devices intelligent will only add fuel to that fire as they would have the capabilities to take a decision on their own and one day take over mankind.
• Privacy & security
  Whenever it comes to the internet there has been a huge debate on the issue of privacy concerns. Most people believe that connected devices would enhance security concerns as these devices would have the capabilities to track all the details related to the users. It is vital to understand that most of the above-mentioned points do concern users, but over the years IoT has evolved only to diminish them. The main aim of IoT is to make the lives of users efficient and deliver faster results with cognitive computing.

Future Prospects of IoT

In next five years, you may see more than 50 billion connected devices globally. Smart appliances, smart thermostats, and smart cars have already become a reality. IoT has created many verticals, using the cloud for the device-as-a-service business line. Capturing the essence of big data, there has been an unprecedented level of control over products for customers and suppliers. According to IDC, the overall IoT market was valued at $655.8 billion in 2014 and was estimated to grow at an annual rate of 16.9 percent.

The fact of the matter is that the advent of Internet of Things technology for a massive number of products will affect the larger product development ecosystem, rather than only confining on the types of products being generated. This will also let vendors make strategies that they require in order to grab the opportunities created by technology. There have been a massive number of products that are connected to the internet as smartphones, computers and various home appliances. The impact of all this data is real and it enhances beyond mobile initiatives.

Do you know the prototypes in IoT world?

While the idea of IoT has been around for years, it’s still in the initial phase and stepping into consumer space swiftly. Following are the prominent IoT devices that have created a huge buzz:

• Google Nest: It is by far the most prominent real world example of connected devices. Owned by Google, Nest has reinvented home products, like the thermostat and the smoke alarm into smart devices that are Wi-Fi-enable, self-learning and programmable.
• Philips lighting: These Wi-Fi-based Led bulbs allow consumers to control mood lighting with their tablet or smartphone. They can even program these bulbs to blink if they detect an intruder and even dim based on the current room lighting.
• Tesla and Ford: These car companies have pioneered smart cars, which can take input from mobile applications. So say goodbye to car keys, when you can open the door, change the music and start a car using your phone.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg and point towards the hidden opportunities surfaced in the world of IoT technologies.Apple as well as Google has already joined the IoT bandwagon with their respective wearable devices. Moreover, Apple has released various API kits for developers on iOS platform in the form of Health kit, Carkit, and Watch kit. Google, on the other hand, is focusing on Brillo, a development platform for connected devices.

How promising is the Future of IoT?

The growth of IoT is undeniable as it would seamlessly improve the standard of living for individuals. The main areas we will see the Internet of Things take hold will include buildings (automation), the energy sector, consumer goods& services, healthcare, industrial & manufacturing, transportation, retail, security and of course all IT networks.

From Bluetooth to Wi-Fi, everything is getting connected and Big Data is at the center of it.

A recent finding from IDC predicts that the worldwide IoT market will grow to $7.1 trillion by 2020 with 212 billion connected devices globally. In addition to it, nearly 90% of the cars would be connected to the internet by 2020. These figures are extraordinary and show that some pretty big things are happening in this industry.

When to jump on the IoT bandwagon? (Business Tips for Investors)

Although internet of things has been around for many years now, its adoption is still very meek. A study by cisco has suggested that only .06% of things are connected to the internet. This means that out of 1.5 trillion things that can be connected to the internet just 10 billion things are connected. This brings in the big question related to the adoption of this technology. The fact of the matter is that most of the users, as well as businesses, are getting accustomed to mobility and smartphones and it will take some time for them to get an overview of the future of mobility.

Technology that creates buzz one day becomes redundant as soon as more efficient ways of information sharing come into being. The same is true for internet of things connected devices. It is certainly the future but businesses must be ready to face the challenges that come along. Consider following points before incorporating IoT:

• Mode of connection
  This is one of the most widely debated concerns among developers. While some business owners want their devices to be based on bluetooth technology others want a more robust Wi-Fi technology. Both have pros and cons of their own, but businesses need to factor in their specific requirement for developing mobile apps for IoT
• Hardware Compatibility
  As more and more devices come into existence, it has become vital to focus on the hardware compatibility issues.
  There are many devices which are only compatible with newer iOS based devices. As Apple has changed connection docks of its devices over time, hardware compatibility issues happen quite frequently.
• Platform compatibility
  Both Apple and Google are rigorously pushing IoT over their own platform. Moreover, both these platform have moved away from each other as far as functionality is concerned. This makes it imperative to have a clear line of sight for supporting a particular platform.
• IoT framework
  There are two aspects of IoT, one focuses on hardware while other focuses on software. Most of the businesses confuse Android and iOS platform as the software aspect of the internet of things. These devices, however, work in the cloud and are based on individual frameworks. Businesses have the option to either use an off the shelf framework or create a new framework from scratch. With security aspect of IoT coming into existence, building a framework from scratch is the best possible solution.

Final Thoughts on Internet of Things

If you would have told someone few years back, that everything from watches to coffee makers and cars would be talking to one another one day, then before taking it seriously, one would have gasped for air. But in the current age of connected devices, these are more like the need of the hour.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the combination of connected devices, cloud computing and big data. It is one of the most used phrases in the online business today. While some suggest that it will eventually take over the internet, others feel that its dominance in the current market dynamics has already begun. The debate is on, and it has long way to go. Tell us your first thought on Internet of things viz. privacy issues, comfort, cost of devices, investment or anything that you find missing in our post. Leave your comments below.

If the book ‘History of SEO’ will ever be written, then, Google will probably be mentioned in its every page. Similar will be the case of game changing SEO updates. Google has time and again proved that it’s a company that has a place in far far future. But the search giant was not always this good at search, advertising, or launching self driven cars.

Google has worked restlessly to reach its present envious position. We all have seen Google evolve in the last one decade, and witnessed its glorious evolution. Some innovations introduced by Google however deserve special mention.

To keep things simple, we have categorized the evolutionary milestones in:

• Social Media
• Local Search
• Paid Search
• Web Spam
• SERPs
• Website optimization (ON-page)
• Analytics and Tracking

Let’s see how Google evolved, improved search, and changed SEO on the way, starting with the one we all love, that is Social Media!

Major Google innovations related to social media

Facebook might be the first name to pop up in our heads at mention of social media but the concept is older. Social media, like any other internet phenomena, took time to go mainstream, and become part of our everyday lives.

Google too recognized the influence of social media around 2005, and made it part of its search vision. Here are the major social highlights:

Images & videos in search results – The boring world of links and text focused search results pages got a major upgrade in 2007 with Universal Search. Social media profiles, images, videos and even maps started appearing in Google SERPs (search engine result pages). In October 2006, Google acquired YouTube, world’s largest online video site for $1.65 billion.

Google’s own social network – Realizing it must be part of the social future, Google launched its very own social media network, Google Plus on June 28, 2011. Presently, it has more than 300 million monthly active users, and is quickly creating its place amongst the giants like Facebook and Twitter.

Use of social signals as ranking factor – While Google didn’t take long to recognize the importance of social media related content, it was only in 2010 that it officially stated that it is considering social signals as ranking factor. This means data on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ can influence your performance on Google result pages.

Preference to user generated content – Google understands that internet is powered by people rather than servers. Hence, it gave due importance to online channels where people create and share content. This is the reason why you see blogs, bookmarking sites, document sharing platforms, and discussion communities in search results. The year of high ranking user generated content also began in 2007 with Universal Search.

Outcome of Google’s social efforts

After Google started paying attention to social media, marketers too looked at it in a different light. People started thinking about optimization of:

• Content
• Images
• Videos
• Profiles

Google’s social acceptance opened up new opportunities to market products and made brands rethink their social presence.

Major Google updates related to local search

Google and its products are used all over the world (except China) but despite being one of the few truly global companies, it is a firm believer of ‘local’. For many years now, Google is trying hard to improve experience for local (region based) searches.

Here are the major local leaps Google made:

Local businesses on Maps – Google took its first concrete step towards localization of search in 2005. It came in the form of Google Maps that put small businesses on the search radar and laid down the foundation stone of local ecosystem & future services.

Local businesses in search – Two years after Maps, Google started showing local business information in organic search to answer queries with location factor. This could be called as first draft of the Great Local Search story Google is trying to write with regular updates.

Launch of Google Places – Making business sense of its local strategy, Google launched Google Places in April 20, 2010. Presently known as Google My Business, the product gave businesses the opportunity to take their business online for free, and get business mileage through ads at small investment.

Local focused algorithm updates – The unnamed algorithm update that influenced local search results across the globe came in July, 2014 and was codenamed Pigeon Update by Search Engine Land. The update made major improvements in distance and location ranking parameters. Google’s Hummingbird update, though about synonyms and context, also influenced local search results and benefited local businesses.

Google express advantage – Google confirmed that it stood beside small businesses in the ecommerce war with the announcement of Google Express on March 2013. The company is quickly expanding its same-day delivery service in the USA, giving a major sales boost to local stores and businesses.

Outcome of Google’s local efforts

Google’s local efforts made small and medium businesses aware about marketing opportunities in search results. Businesses with small budgets found a new way to connect with customers and generate sales. This introduced an otherwise uninterested set of people to:

• Internet ads
• Online promotion
• Branding

Major Google updates in Paid Search

Every minute, 2 million searches are made on Google. To keep such behemoth search machinery going every second of the year costs a lot of money. It was in the year 2000 that Google started taking baby steps to generate ad revenue from its quickly growing search product.

Here are the major highlights of Google’s advertising journey:

First text ads – In the very first month of 21st century, Google introduced text ads that were sold on CPM basis. Google certainly was only testing the waters by selling ads through sales representatives. The product advertising service that will change its fortunes followed two years later.

Arrival of AdWords – Year 2002 marked the birth of Google’s main source of revenue, Google AdWords . It gave marketers the power to manage ad campaigns on their own. The service launch was monumental in itself as it changed the face of online advertising and search marketing. Google interestingly didn’t invent the pay-per-click auction model it presently works with. It was borrowed from Overture but never returned.

Evolution of AdWords – Google may have taken a cue from Overture for its PPC advertising model but the company deserves full marks for making it the mighty machinery it is today. Very soon it addressed the ad relevancy factor with click through rate. Year 2008 witnessed the arrival of Quality Score. Such regular updates made Google AdWords more bankable for advertisers.

Smart Remarketing – In March 2010, Google made it easier for advertisers to lure website visitors that left without purchasing. Remarketing not only gave marketers the opportunity to connect with potential buyers but also brought useful ads for internet users. While Google uses the Remarketing term, others use Retargeting for the same marketing technique.

Google AdSense launched – After monetizing its search engine through ads, Google turned to websites owned by others in June 18, 2003. By acquiring Applied Semantics, and rebranding it as Google AdSense, the company achieved that goal as well. It empowered website owners to make money through ads.

Above the fold update – Website owners eventually realized the money making potential of their online assets, and forgot about user experience. This led to clutter of ads and zero focus on content. Google addressed this ad menace in 2012 by penalizing websites that abused ads in above the fold. This was yet another step towards making websites fall in line with its guidelines.

Outcome of Google’s paid search

Google’s efforts in the field of advertising made Google more fascinating for marketers. Google services not only gave small businesses advertising platforms that didn’t ask for big investment but also gave major boost to:

• Online ad spending
• Advertiser confidence
• Performance driven marketing

Major Google updates in tracking

Advertisers and marketers are only concerned with return to their investment. To paint them a clearer picture, Google launched vast range of products and services in last 10 years. Below services were path breaking in terms of data analysis and management:

Google Analytics – Google AdWords excited marketers but they still need proof of its effectiveness. Google knew this and required a product to show that its advertising product made sense. Enter Google Analytics, a service that tracks and reports site traffic. Introduced in 2005, the service was result of multiple acquisitions and upgrades.

Universal Analytics upgrade – True to its evolution roots, Google was ready to give a major overhaul to Google Analytics in 2012. This upgrade came in the form of Universal Analytics that addressed a vast range of tracking, connectivity, ecommerce, and backend issues.

Google Webmaster Tools – While marketers are only concerned with returns, webmasters have other priorities as well. They like to keep a check on their website’s health. Google launched Google Webmaster Tools service for webmasters so that they can generate & analyze website data and make necessary changes.

AdWords editor, tracking apps and more – Google launched AdWords Editor for marketers managing large accounts with ease. In 2012 came another app named SDK for conversion tracking and remarketing. Shifting gears from desktop to mobile, Google introduced official Google Analytics mobile app for Android and iPhone users in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

Outcome of Google’s tracking efforts

Though challenging, tracking and data analysis is the key to running successful campaigns and
undertaking crucial site changes. In the last decade, Google has made data analysis and management less tiresome with platform additions, changes and apps. This lead to:

• Campaign performance measurement
• Boost in marketers’ confidence
• Simpler campaign management
• Mobility and engagement

Major Google innovations in web spam

Spam not only ruined the quality of Google search results but also posed a major challenge to Google’s technological prowess. The firm headed some brutal attacks on web spam with updates like Boston, Florida, Cassandra, Jagger, and Bourbon. But Google declared full-fledged war with Panda and Penguin updates.

Let’s roll back the clock for some interesting tidbits:

Boston and other updates – If backlink data was crucial to counter future spam, hidden-text problem also needed immediate attention. Boston update of 2003 was targeted towards backlink data analysis. In the same year, Google addressed the hidden text issue with Florida and Cassandra.

Google Panda unleashed – After updates like Bourbon, Austin, and Jagger, Google set sky-high standards of content quality with Panda Update. The update witnessed in 2011 affected search results across the globe and made webmasters realize the importance of unique & quality content.

Exact match punishment – Few years ago, exact match domains had a very high chance of occupying topb positions in Google search results. This changed in 2012 when Google noticed the vile practice and took action to prevent poor quality sites from taking domain name advantage.

Attack of the Penguin – Year 2012 was noteworthy in Google’s action plan for web spam. It launched Penguin update to dilute value of backlinks and penalize webmasters indulging in black hat SEO techniques. Google also emphasized on brand building rather than obsessing over links.

Outcome of Google’s fight against web spam

Google’s commitment to address the plague of spam resulted in major change in the attitude of website owners. Penguin and Panda update not only made website owners think seriously about Google Guidelines but also started discussions on:

• Brand building
• Quality content
• User experience

More importantly, the fight against web spam checked the practice of Black Hat SEO.

Major Google innovations to improve UX of SERPs

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Google has changed a lot since 1998 but search is still its most valuable asset. This is the reason why Google is always making efforts to improve its search results. In the last 5 years, it has taken major leaps in returning result pages that answers queries without even clicking a link!
We have listed the most remarkable search result updates for you:

Introduction of Rich Snippets – Not every link that appears in search result page is helpful. Google realized this back in 2009, and introduced rich snippets (short summaries of the page) to help searchers identify the links that are worth a click.

Quicker results with Caffeine – Content was being generated at lightning pace, and with Caffeine update, Google tried to catch up. The new web indexing system enabled Google to return new and relevant content sooner than earlier.

The age of Knowledge Graph – Google eliminated the need to click on search results to get answers by introducing Knowledge Graph. The update came in 2012 and also addressed the language ambiguity during search. Check out this link to get to know Knowledge Graph!

Evolution of ads – Ads on search result pages have changed a lot in the last decade. From displaying ratings to almost merging into search results, Google ads have been going through their own evolutionary phase.

Google instant searches – From the day of its launch, Google’s team is working hard to make the search engine smarter. In September 08, 2010, it crossed a major milestone by announcing Google Instant that saved search time by showing results as you type.

Outcome of Google’s UX focused SERP efforts

Google today is wise enough to answer queries on its own, and has made the search process more humane. In addition to that, it has generated various other benefits such as:

• Quicker results
• Instant solution to queries
• Relevant results

Google updates regarding ON-Page Website Optimization

Google can only do so much in improving results without putting webmasters in line with its vision. Hence, it introduced algorithm changes and updates that put website owners to work. We bring for you the most notable ON-page changes announced by Google in the last one decade:

No follow tag – This link attribute though started for unmoderated content evolved into something bigger over time. With this tag, Google gave webmasters a way to distinguish paid and reference links from regular links.

Hreflang tag – Google has a reputation for identifying real problems faced by webmasters. Introduced in 2011, this tag solved the issue of irrelevant language pages in search results faced by websites that catered to international audience.

Arrival of Canonical tag – Duplicate content is sometimes unavoidable (think ecommerce sites with very similar products). Google acknowledged this in 2009 with the launch of canonical tag, giving website owners the power to mark duplicate content.

Rank with Page speed – While above two updates intended to protect websites from unwarranted ranking loss, making Page Speed a ranking factor was an incentive to create smarter websites. This brought a sea change in perception of website owners. Google also launched Page Speed Insight tool in 2013 to help webmasters discover actual site speed status.

Rank with HTTPs/SSL – Google realizes that webmasters love nothing more than higher ranking. Hence, it announced HTTP/SSL as ranking factor. With this step taken in 2014, Google gave preference to websites with enhanced security.

Outcome of Google’s troubleshooting efforts

Earlier, websites ranked by indulging in keyword stuffing, hidden text, and paid links but Google’s regular ON-page updates handled this situation very aptly. By stating ranking factors clearly and addressing genuine problems, Google made webmasters part of its big plan.

• Check on content duplicacy
• Page indexing control
• Content translation for multi location pages
• Better search results for mobile devices

Google and Years Ahead

Though Google has given us some remarkable products, search tools, and services, it didn’t tasted success in every project it undertook. Here are some Google projects that didn’t make business sense in the long run:

• Google Authorship
• Google Reader
• Page Rank
• Google Notebook
• Social media ventures like Buzz, Orkut, and Slide.com

Google pulled the plug on above listed products and their lesser known siblings. But this is true of every company under the sun; so, let’s not get much into that.

Google certainly did a lot more than we have wrote about in this post. Though we are sure we coveredall the major details under the covered sections, tell us if we missed something interesting.

Did you find this post helpful? Post a comment!

Be it man on the street or company with hundreds of offices, local search is important to all. But ever since Google’s Pigeon update rolled out in 2014, local search as we knew it transformed significantly. These changes made local businesses think that ranking on top Google pages now requires rocket science techniques. However, this is not true. The formula to succeed in local SEO has changed but not completely.

Our team of local ranking specialists has gathered points that will help you in evolving local SEO strategy that will bring your business in the forefront of Google search results in 2015.

So, let’s get down to business, and discuss some handy SEO tips & techniques for super local search strategy:

Run a website and social audit

Before you begin experimenting with local SEO techniques, you should have a strategy. And to formulate the right strategy, you must count your strengths and discover hidden weaknesses. Conduct a local SEO audit to discover website issues related to UX, Meta details, content, URL structure, and navigation. Also check if your online business assets like social media profiles, business pages, and listings are optimized correctly or not.

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Get listed on local business directories

You must be like, ‘okay, I’ve heard that one before’. But just listing your business on lots of business directories is not part of effective local SEO strategy. The trick is to get your business listed with the most relevant local business listing sites.

Most will say ‘list your business on Google Local, Yelp, Bing Places, or Facebook for Business’. That’s fine but more critical is to list your business with business directories that have strong presence in your geographic area and industry. And that’s exactly what most businesses overlook.

Run ad campaign to support SEO efforts

Certainly, your best option here is to run a PPC campaign on Google AdWords. Other options include Bing ads, BuySellAds, and AdRoll. To generate local business mileage from Pay-per-click marketing and advertising, you need to give special attention to keywords. You can begin with targeting three keyword types – brand name, product/service, and location.

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Leverage the power of blogging

Blogging feeds the craving that today’s internet savvy generation has for information. Opportunely, it also feeds web crawlers and improves search engine ranking. Blog regularly, remain relevant, and get visibility on search results. But plain blogging is not the best local SEO tip.

Before you begin, make up your mind for the groundwork required. For instance, market research to understand the needs of target audience, building email list, cataloging information, keyword research and paraphrasing the content in compliance with Google norms.

Make your brand more social

Your target audience is present on social media, and that makes leveraging it crucial for your local SEO plan 2015. With active presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram and other popular social media platforms, you will have more channels to engage your audience.

Social media sites have high domain authority, which eventually improves your visibility on the search results. Plus, in contrast to the traditional email marketing, social media marketing is more engaging.

Optimize Meta details smartly

As a website owner, you must have come across suggestions like ‘each and every page on your website should have unique title tags and meta descriptions’. Assuming that part to be covered, the next thing is to optimize title tags and Meta descriptions.

Here again, it comes down to appropriate keyword usage. The approach we recommend is: a) optimize the title tag for both users and search engines, and b) make the Meta description informative for users but don’t forget to add your most important keyword in it.

We accept that local SEO tips mentioned in this section are a bit technical. If terms like Meta details and schema markups make little sense to you, then, take assistance of an expert SEO firm.

Make your website responsive

Local business and mobile search go hand in hand. Considering the same, Google rolled out its algorithm for mobile search results a few weeks ago. The so-called “Mobilegeddon” update will show only mobile friendly sites on Google’s mobile searches.

So in the post-mobilegeddon era, a responsive website isn’t just an option for local businesses but an obligation. In addition to responsive design, you also need to optimize your website for mobile devices, since mobile-friendliness is also a ranking factor.

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According to realtor.org, 31% home buyers belong to Generation Y which means born between 1980 & 1995, at ease with internet usage. This single fact is making online marketing fascinating for realtors & real estate companies all over the world.

Online ads and social media promotion are becoming favorite business generators for realtors. If you still think internet marketing is not that important for real estate firms, then, here are some more facts;

Big real estate agencies realize the business advantages of online marketing, and thus are allocating funds for it. But small & medium agencies often have a hard time figuring out how to market real estate service online for best results.

For such aspiring property firms, FATbit brings expert tips that helped us improve conversion rate for our clients by at least 31%. Read on to learn how to create online marketing strategy for you real estate agency and manage social media communications effectively.

We have categorized the post in three sections for the sake of simplicity;

• Things to do before creating online marketing strategy
• Best online marketing platforms
• Content development tips

So, let’s start from the start!

Things to do before creating online marketing strategy

To create an effective real estate internet marketing strategy, you first need to take care of some basic points. Taking care of following points will not only maximize marketing returns but also drastically improve your online prospects;

Get a professional website: The first step towards internet marketing is a professional website that can be consulted by leads for additional business information. The basic rules don’t change for real estate industry. Get a professional website that clearly states your, real estate experience, area of operation and expertise. Get an idea about website design cost.

Undertake website upgrades: If you already have a real estate site, then, make sure it is ready to entertain inflow of traffic. Update “About” section and make sure all the business details are correct. Add correct business address and contact details so that your business location is automatically integrated with Google map.

Build Futuristic Mobile Apps: With an increasing number of smartphone users across the world, the importance of mobile applications in the real estate industry has skyrocketed. By adding a competitive edge to your real estate business, an interactive mobile app can help you engage and retain your customer interest effortlessly.

Create business profiles: People love to search local service providers on business listing sites like Yelp and Yellowpages. So, your real estate agency needs to be on all popular local business listing sites before starting online marketing. While at it, create a Facebook business page as well to target social media traffic.

Pro Tip: Recommended size for Facebook cover image is 851 x 315 pixels, Google+ cover photo should be 1080 x 608 pixels and Twitter: 1500 x 500 pixels.

Determine online marketing budget: While various online marketing activities are free, some require financial investment. PPC ads, retargeting, and SEO require monetary investment. So, think how much you want to spend in the digital marketing of your real estate firm. Consulting online marketing service provider about cost is a good idea.
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While above tips will help you creating an effective online real estate marketing strategy, you still need to think about the social media platforms best suited to your needs.

Best online marketing platforms

The list of online marketing platforms is quite long but only a handful dominates the psyche of web users. For marketing your real estate business online, you need to focus only on such sites. Below are the most critical online marketing platforms along with some ideas about using them:

Facebook: Build a SEO optimized Facebook business page for your real estate agency. Use ad manager to run effective promotional campaigns. Share images, blog posts, promotional videos, company milestones, and special events to reach wider audience.

Twitter: Use the 140-character message publishing service to connect with property buyers, industry influencers, and other home service providers. Use company specific background for profile, high resolution hero image, and an attractive profile image. Twitter also started a new highly qualified lead generation toll called Twitter Cards. Realtors can use these cards to capture leads.

Google+: This social network is extremely useful for business communication & lead generation. Being a Google product, it quickly attains ranking if optimized correctly. Google+ is also a great place to participate in community discussions. Don’t forget to create a separate company profile with quality images & relevant information.

Pinterest: The visual discovery tool helps create interest focused boards. Use Pinterest to create distinctive boards for properties on sale, rent, and inspiration. Here are some more board ideas for Pinterest marketing:

• Neighborhood amenities
• Historical architecture
• Home décor
• Local properties

Quora: The question answering site has appeared as a prominent online destination to connect with experts in a particular field. Be active on Quora and answer questions to help property buyers and investors. Because relevant questions also appear on search results, the advantage could be huge.
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YouTube and Vine: Reports suggested that real estate marketers are using camera drones to capture full view of properties to provide property searchers with exact details. Such videos can be shared on YouTube & Vimeo. Videos can also be created with property images to give a property overview to interested parties. Create an official YouTube channel to share quality short videos (Average time 2-3 minutes).

Google Glass: Wearable devices like Google Glass are the buzz of real estate industry. It allows you to provide virtual tours of properties to buyers. Glass provides two-way communication so that buyers can ask the agent to elaborate on certain features or ask questions. However, it is an expensive investment and required technical knowhow.

Blogs: People search for real estate information, investment tips and ideas online. Blogging in best way to connect with such potential buyers by sharing your knowledge. You can start an official blog on your real estate website itself or create an independent one. Share informative posts without real estate jargon to build a readership and generate genuine enquires. Get more content marketing tips.

Above social marketing platforms have the potential to attract property buyers but you need to share the right content to make that happen. Below points will help you plan & create posts that will maximize chances of lead generation.

Content development tips for real estate industry

Working in the digital marketing space for almost a decade has given FATbit critical insights in planning, developing and publishing online marketing material. Our team of online marketing experts regularly deploy following points to plan content for real estate & various other industries:

Informative posts: Share informative blog posts and helpful tips to help home buyers and sellers in making better decisions. Use your own experience to share real estate tips and tricks with your audience. Use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to share posts and run value generating campaigns.

Follow 80-20 rule: In the field of internet marketing, follow the golden rule of 80-20 while undertaking promotion. 80% of the total content being shared must provide some information or help building a relationship with the customers. The remaining 20% can be related to direct product promotion and sales pitch.

Visual content: Online marketing works best with visual content. Use top quality images that people would like to share. Invest in infographics, GIFs, collages, and videos to generate added benefits. In short, make visual content an intrinsic part of your real estate digital marketing strategy.

Also Read: What Makes Visual Content So Critical in a Digital Marketing Campaign?

Pro tip: Custom images create better brand connection and have higher brand recall.

Share real estate updates: Give property searchers a reason to stay connected with you via social profiles. Share posts about new real estate projects, market performance, statistics, and valuation tools that can help in making better real estate decision. Such ideas can work magic for your real estate internet marketing.

Run Contests: Engagement is a crucial factor of digital marketing. Make your social followers engage in direct interactions by running contests and QA sessions. Established real estate brands usually hire online marketers to manage such activities on their social profiles.
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Diversify content: Do not focus on one kind of content format. Plan, create and share content in form of a blogs, images, videos, presentations, webinars, documents and any other format that you think could help connect with your audience. Just lengthy blog posts or plain images will disappoint followers.

Third party sharing: It is always suggested to share fresh content. This reflects your understanding of your industry and helps build confidence in your offerings. However, sharing content from other users, pages, and other external websites also helps as it connects your profiles with other reputed names of the industry.

Use hashtags & important search phrases: Hashtags are a great way to target particular groups and become part of bigger conversations. Use combination of trending, branded, location specific and basic hashtags to get better response. While hashtags work effectively on Twitter, Facebook & Tumblr, use relevant search phrases in blog posts to make them appear in search results.

Recommended Reading: How to Use Hashtags in Your Social Media Marketing

Time your posts: Timing is very crucial to get initial likes and shares. Track high traffic time range for individual platforms through inbuilt or third party apps. Also analyze geographical regions that you want to target for sales and track average high traffic time for them. Post your well planned content in this time duration.

Our marketing team regularly writes about real estate industry to help realtors generate more online benefits. Below are links to some of our most popular posts;

• Content marketing for real estate industry
• How realtors can fight negative online reviews

Above listed online real estate marketing tools and techniques are put into practice on daily basis by our marketing experts. However, best results are generated when they are made part of a detailed online marketing plan for real estate.

Make sure your chosen online marketing agency includes above listed points in its recommended strategy.
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