Do URL Shorteners Break Links?
Posted by Alan in Real Time Search, Search Marketing, Social Media on April 28th, 2010
Since communicating on social media went 140-character, there has been a proliferation of url shorteners to help squeeze web addresses into tight status updates and tweets. But can shortened urls break the link chain and ruin some hard-earned links?
If the URL shortening service goes bust, and some have, then the link is broken. When their server is down, those links are broken. Look for url shortening services which are reliable. The ideal choice would be Google’s url shortener, but Goo.gl is currently restricted for the use with Google products.
If a short URL is contained in a followed link, it will pass pagerank. But, if the shortening involves a 301 redirect, most search engines will reduce the authority of the link.
So is there any benefit to link building on Twitter when the links are no-followed? Well while you might have to wait days for a static link or a blog post about your content or activity, Twitter links can spring up immediately, and are increasingly visible in Google results pages:
Note that the BBC gain a link to their Twitter page, the individual Tweet and the shortened URL in the real-time search results
The Real Reasons Marketers Love Twitter
Posted by Kelvin in Social Media on February 11th, 2010
Marketers absolutely luuuuuuuurrrrrrrve Twitter, but whats the real reasons why they are so infatuated with the service…
Is Google’s URL shortener a Trojan Horse to Track the Real Time Web
Posted by Kelvin in Social Media on December 18th, 2009
There’s been plenty of talk about how Twitter and how the proliferation of URL shorteners has broken the link graph. Everyday millions of links pass through URL shorteners, and although some do pass link equity, if one goes under (which plenty have), that leaves thousand of broken links. Not good news if you happen to be a search engine that relies on the link graph.
That seemed like the perfect reason for Google to launch their brand new Goo.gl url shortener service but I think there are alterior motives for them to launch the service.
Real Time Search Might Not Be Good News For Your Brand But It Is For Twitter
Posted by Kelvin in Social Media, Uncategorized on December 17th, 2009
We’ve already talked a little about Twitter tweets appearing prominently in the search engine results pages. It’s open to exploitation that’s for sure…
If you’re a big brand, this is especially worrying, as someone else might be getting the lion’s share of your branded search, but it’s not all bad news. There is one company that’s doing great out of Google rolling out a huge but half-baked change in their search results – Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Real Time Search Matters Even If You Don’t Do SEO
Posted by Rachel in Social Media on December 9th, 2009
Google has started rolling out real time search, which has far-reaching implications for brand reputation monitoring and SEO, particularly for those brands that up to now have largely ignored social media. Those brands that dismiss the need to monitor their online presence, or are just not well equipped to do so could quickly start to see unfortunate results – just ask Tiger Woods. With the inclusion of live Twitter streams in the natural SERPs, brand reputation has never been so important.
Folks who are just Googling for a brand are soon going to know all about the current hot issue for that company, good or bad, live from the people who matter – the actual end users, the customers. One entry into the search box will bring up everything you need to know, and you won’t have to search Twitter for more personal opinions and anecdotal evidence before you choose to buy or book.
Now it’s more crucial than ever to have constant monitoring for potentially tricky situations. Brands need to be ready with quick responses, information and, where possible, solutions and apologies to combat a potential wave of negativity that could spring from one tweet or blog post.
Social Media for Good – Charity Fundraising Social Media Case Study
Posted by Rachel in Social Media on November 30th, 2009
I have spent the past year helping a small group of strangers raise money for the NSPCC. In the wake of the Baby P tragedy, we have collectively walked, ran and bungeed, baked and bellydanced, and many other bonkers activities. OK, nothing unusual about that, except that the main people involved didn’t actually know each other, and still haven’t met in the flesh. We all met via Facebook. I only met my first fundraising friend for real this September, which was a bit like a blind date!
In November 2008 when Baby P first hit the headlines, many people were drawn to the 500+ groups on Facebook to discuss the horrific case. Some were spurred into doing something positive in his name. One such person was Louise Harvey, who founded an official fund via the NSPCC, the Baby Peter Tribute Fund , to raise money for them in Peter’s name. Her original target was £5,000.
The Real Reason Web Designers Think Widgets are the Future
Posted by Kelvin in Social Media on September 23rd, 2009
Though the fuss about widget’s really seems to have quietened down in recent months, there really did seem a strong agenda of pushing them as an elixir of ‘doing social media’, and while I can’t argue with the success stories, it’s not hard to search Facebook and the like and find failed widgets of every shape and size.
And while with every marketing campaign there will be successs and failures, I think there’s definate reasons why some web agencies have been keen to push widgets as the magic wand.
The Unavoidable Reason Social Search Can’t Work Alone
Posted by Kelvin in Social Media on September 2nd, 2009
It’s tempting to think that some kind of social search could topple Google but I don’t think Twitter search or anything similar will ever truely replace traditional search entirely.
I think what will happen is there will be a blurring between what is social and what is search. It’s been around for years already but universal search, I think, was the first big step on what will become an inevitable journey, but I can’t see a purely ’social’ search engine catching on.
Thinking about advertising on Social Networks?
Posted by Jennie in Social Media on August 28th, 2009
As much of the English speaking world seems to be poking, tagging and micro-blogging on a daily basis, is it time to start advertising on social networks?
Fast growing Demographic
People in the UK spend more time on Facebook than any other social network. Surprised? Probably not. What is interesting for marketers though, is the fastest growing demographic are not the kids… but women over 55. The 35-65 year olds now represent a third of all Facebook users. One explanation for females leading the way is they want to view their families’ photos and Facebook has become the biggest online repository of photos in the world.
The Anatomy of the Moonfruit Twitter Success Story
Posted by Kelvin in Social Media on August 28th, 2009
Occasionally a company creates the perfect storm when trying to promote their product or service via a new technique or channel, and inevitably becomes the proto-example used for years to illustrate how to get it right.
The recent success of DIY website provider Moonfruit may very well be the latest of these uber-case-studies. Their recent competition on Twitter increased traffic to their website by over 600% and got their brand over 30k followers on Twitter in a matter of days. Read the rest of this entry »
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