When it comes to citing sources in your web content, there has always been a few different schools of thought. Some people meticulously cite every quote and source in proper MLA format like they are trying to get an A in English Comp 101. Some people throw in a quick link somewhere in the article and call it a day. Finally, some other people eschew sourcing all together and just steal information and content from others because the internet has a very liberal idea about ownership. Some techniques will get you penalized and others will see you rewarded. Wikimotive is here to make sure you make the right decision for your SEO and your audience.

WHAT GOOGLE WANTS

According to Matt Cutts' latest webmaster video, Google does have a preferred method of citation, but it's not as stringent as you might think. Apparently, all that Google needs to be happy is a link to the source somewhere in the body of the piece. It can be in the first paragraph, the last, or anywhere in between, it just needs to be there. You should cite your source every time you bring in new data of course, but try and keep the total count low. One or two sources per post is probably your best bet. If you start ballooning your citations you run the risk of muddling the SEO benefit of your work. You are better off playing it safe and using more original thought and less sourcing.

So that's what Google wants, but that wasn't the end of Matt's video...

WHAT MATT CUTTS WANTS

Matt gives us some additional guidelines that he advises us to follow, not because they will affect your ranking, but because they make you you a better citizen of the web. According to Matt, you should put the citation link as close to the top as possible. For example, in this post, we put the link to his video in the same line as we introduced it. This makes the link a lot more useful than when it is tucked away at the bottom of the post. It may not affect your SEO, but your readers will appreciate it, and if your readers aren't your primary concern, you're doing something wrong.

WHAT IF I JUST DON'T CITE ANYTHING?

Listen, it's a terrible idea to not cite. Not only is it tantamount to plagiarism, it's also looked upon poorly by Google. If they see blog after blog with only links to your own stuff, they essentially assume you are selfish (you are) and suddenly you'll find your blog lacking in power. If you do cite sources, even just one external link per post, Google sees that you are an upstanding citizen of the web and rewards you accordingly. Your audience is happier, your SEO is happier, and you get to sleep with a clean conscience.  

The original post can be found on Wikimotive's blog titled "How Google Wants You to Cite Sources."

What kind of anchor text are you using for your SEO? I was surprised to learn recently that many people are still using only exact match anchor text as part of their strategy. Since the latest round of Panda and Penguin updates, using exact match SEO will get you hammered by Google, so it's time to move on. I've found six exact match anchor text alternatives that will give your SEO company the boost it needs to break onto the first page.

1. Long-tail Keywords

Long-tailed keywords are becoming the popular method. For an example, if you're trying to rank for "used cars Boston",  you can use the long-tailed versions like "cheap used cars Boston MA" or "boston Massachusetts used cars." This gives you another layer of variety fot your anchor text while still containing the exact match terms.

2. Bare URLs

Bare URLs are the simplest and most natural-appearing way to link, but that doesn't mean they can't have variety. www.wikimotive.com, wikimotive.com, and http://www.wikimotive.com all mean the same thing, but are technically different anchor text.

3. Synonym Keywords

Synonym keywords are pretty straightforward. If you're trying to rank for "cheap cars," you can try variations like "discount cars", "affordable cars", "inexpensive cars" and so on.

4. Non-Descriptive Keywords

These are the least proven, but also carry very little risk. They are a good way to round out your link profile without drawing a penalty. A non-descriptive link is something like "read more" or "click here." They may not be as powerful as some of the other techniques, but they are good for overall diversity.

5. Image Links

A properly optimized image can be a wonderful link for you. Make sure the filename and the alt text are both concise and relevant, and then make the image link to your page of choice. In this scenario, the alt text primarily plays the role of anchor text.

6. Branded Keywords

Branded keywords are under-utilized and a great way to add more diversity to your anchor text. To go back to our example of "used cars Boston," you just add the dealership name in front of the text. For instance, "Joe's used cars Boston" or "Joe Automotive for used cars Boston MA."

CONCLUSION

No one anchor text strategy is enough. You need to vary your link profile and include a little from each of these 6 in order to have a well-rounded and successful SEO program.

Original post can be found on Wikimotive's blog. 

 Google has been testing what they call their "Local Carousel" for the past couple months, and today it is officially going live. It's the same top of page scroller you've been seeing on tablets for the past year, but now it's on your browser for your local related searches. Lets take a look at what it is and what it means for your local SEO services.

The new carousel will show up for certain local searches. We've attached a screenshot above to give you an idea what it will look like. As you can see, it displays a thumbnail, rating (out of 30 from Zagat), number of Google+ reviews, price range, and food type. The carousels information will vary slightly based on the industry, but all will have approximately this same look.

Currently, the carousel is only showing up for certain verticals. The only ones we've been able to confirm so far are restaurants, hotels, and colleges. More will be discovered and added as time goes on, and we'll be sure to update when that happens.

So what does this mean for SEO?

It's going to be a great equalizer for the first page. Businesses that were previously below the fold will now be included in the carousel, meaning increased visibility and near equal footing with the top result. To make this happen, you still need to be ranked highly though. This means going over your Google business page and ensuring you have all the best info and a picture that is truly eye-catching, even at thumbnail size.

If you fall into one of the currently active verticals, you should do some searching and see where your listing is turning up. Google hasn't disclosed how they're ranking the order of the carousel, but the rule of thumb they gave is that if you showed up on Google Maps, you should show up in the carousel too. Of course, if you don't show up on maps, you may need some optimization and Google+ Local help.

Take the carousel for a whirl and let us know what you find!  

Original post on Wikimotive's blog titled, "Google Local Carousel."

Blogging is the engine that drives your digital marketing activities. It is the content generation that bolsters your SEO, the posts you share to your social media accounts, and the voice of your company on the internet. If you don't pay the proper amount of respect to your blog, you're going to suffer for it in the long run. A truly successful digital marketing strategy involves blogging well, and blogging often.

Wikimotive has written a limited-edition eBook called ‘10 Business Blogging Blunders’. This eBook gives you an overview on blogging techniques including common mistakes and how to fix them. It's a quick read and it'll get your blogging back on track in no time. eBooks—for those who are unfamiliar—are short, downloadable booklets that exist in a digital PDF form. In this one, you’ll learn:

• Some blogging best practices
• Blogging blunders to avoid
• Effective techniques you can use instead
• And More!

So if you want to know what the top 10 business blogging blunders are, or if you just want some idea on how to freshen up your current blogging strategy, then you’re in luck! Follow this link to get your free copy of our ebook.

Originally found on Wikimotive's blog.

Short post today! We wanted to let you all know that we are completely rebuilding our Facebook presence from the ground up. We're actually moving away from the old page and working on the Wikimotive LLC Facebook page from here on out, so be sure to add us today. We'll be focusing on marketing blogs, facts, infographics, and anything else we think may be of use to you. Click the link here to follow the brand spankin' new, world-class digital marketing Facebook page.

All too often when we sit at the computer, we aren't writing, we're typing. It's a subtle distinction but it's an important one. Do you ever stare at your screen and know you need to get something down so you just hammer it out? Worse yet, do you ever stare at the screen, knowing you need to get something down, and then open a new tab and start reading the news or something? Writing isn't always easy, anyone who says otherwise is selling something. You know that blogging is one of the best low cost SEO services, you know that you need to get it done, so let me suggest a little trick that may help you get those old synapses firing once again.

Try to write your blog longhand.

It seems crazy. Why break out the paper and pen when you have a perfectly good computer sitting right in front of you? There are two major reasons:

1.  First drafts
2.  No distractions

FIRST DRAFTS

Answer honestly, how often do you write multiple drafts of a blog post? If you're like most people (myself included) it's pretty much never. We're so busy with a million different projects that all we can do it write the thing and then post it. Writing longhand forces you to slow down. First, it's not as permanent seeming when you're writing on paper, it will FEEL like a first draft. This will let your brain open up and get things down on paper. Second, when you write on paper, you still need to type the thing. When you start typing up your longhand work, you'll invariably tweak and correct your own writing, giving you what amounts to an edited second draft without a lot of extra time wasted.

NO DISTRACTIONS

The biggest reason to go longhand is simple: no distractions. Sit yourself down somewhere nice (and kindly turn off your electronics) and start writing. You'll quickly find that a pen and paper together present a very limited range of activities. You can use one (the pen) to make marks on the other (the paper) and not much else. Struck by a sudden desire to see what your friends are up to on Facebook? Too bad. Want to shoot off a quick email? Nope. Have an intense, burning curiosity to know what year Ziggy Stardust hit the scene?

Sorry Starman, you'll just have to wait.

That's the beauty of it. Even for people with chronic procrastination problems, there just isn't much you can be distracted with when writing longhand. Sure, you could always get lost in thought, but we have it on pretty good authority that thinking never killed anyone. Just take a couple aspirin before hand and trust me, you'll be fine.

Original post can be found on Wikimotive's blog under the title, "Blogging Longhand" by Daniel Hinds.

Content is the SEO method of choice in 2013. Spam and content spinning are way, way out, and original content that has value to the reader is in. It's not enough to just create the content though. Even if it's amazing and insightful, you still need to market your own content, at least a little bit, to get it off the ground. There are a lot of great ways to do this, and today we're going to talk to you about one of our favorites. It's a little website called Slideshare, and it will really boost your social SEO.

It's surprising to me how split people are on Slideshare. Half of the people I asked knew about Slideshare and liked it, the other half had absolutely no idea what the heck it was. In case you fall into the later group, let me give a brief explanation.

Slideshare is a slideshow hosting service, essentially the YouTube of slideshows. You can upload slideshows in PDF, Powerpoint, Keynote, and other slide formats. These slideshows can then be viewed on Slideshare.net or (even more usefully for you) embedded into other sites via iframe. As you can see, we've embedded our latest slideshow below. Slideshare also provides metrics so you can see which of your slideshows are doing well (being viewed, shared and downloaded) and which ones are falling flat.

Can you see why this is useful to you? It's a great way to share your content (Slideshare has millions of active users) but it's also a great way to repurpose your content. When you release an eBook or similar paginated content, you can upload it to Slideshare and then embed it right on the site. In the end, it all adds up to more eyes on your content, which is the name of the game in 2013. Now, you just have to make sure it's GOOD!

Original post about Slideshare can be found on Wikimotive's blog titled, "Slideshare is for Lovers."

Social media and search are again colliding, and for once, the news isn't about Google and Facebook. No, today's news is about the little brothers of search and social, the ones who aren't quite as successful but certainly give it there all. Let us here at Wikimotive tell you about it, and how it can affect your small business SEO.

The two new bedfellows are Bing and Pinterest. When you do an image search in Bing, it delivers its tiled results. If you click one of the tiles, it expands, and at the bottom of the image, you'll get a little "Pin It" button. Click the button, pin the image. That's all there is to it.

Bing is integrating Pinterest as a ploy (are ploys always negative?) to attract more of the blogging and social obsessive crowd. When people are using image search, Bing reckons that a high percentage of the time they are looking for something to share on their blog, Pinterest, or other social media. By facilitating this sharing above and beyond what Google offers, they're hoping to edge out Google in at least one sector of search.

Will this actually make a difference?

Maybe, eventually.

Bing's percentage of the search share is still growing, but not exactly by leaps and bounds. Still, they are beginning to get recognition for their image and video searches, which are arguably more robust than Google's own.

Do you have a preference? Can you imagine a time where you are using multiple search engines depending on what you're looking for?  

Original post about Pinterest and Bing can be found on Wikimotive's blog titled, "Pinterest Hooks Up With Bing" by Zach Billings.

Let's forget for a moment that the overwhelming majority of SEO companies the average small business owner will encounter provide a service of no value whatsoever. Let's pretend that the majority of SEO providers are not outright scam artists.

I'm only going to address the small percentage of us that provide a real service capable of producing ROI in some form for our clients (I'd wager less than 1% of the industry). For those SEO agencies in the 1%, what tangible evidence can one find that might separate the good from the great? Or maybe, more importantly, is there a single key indicator that could be used to dismiss most of the pack right off the bat when shopping for an SEO firm? Most of what one might write here as proof of a good search engine optimization strategy would be obsolete in a couple of weeks to a month. I could tell you to watch out for companies that still put 50 links in the footer of every page on the websites they manage. I could tell you to stay away from companies that build landing pages with multiple or duplicate title tags or stuff meta keywords. I could say, "BEWARE OF SPUN CONTENT!" until I'm blue in the face, and while all of that is true, there is no greatness to be found in that good advice.

I could take the other route and tell you what is good. I could tell you why original content is so valuable. I could preach to you the merits of having your blog posts shared in social media or pinning your great artwork or infographics. I could explain, in-depth, why using one title tag per page along with a perfectly written meta description, designed not just for SEO but for conversion, isn't just a good idea, but a formula for success every time. I could explain the balance between the value of traditional backlinks from web pages and the ratio those backlinks in relation to the all powerful domain lifting social backlinks...and none of that would signify greatness in my SEO knowledge.

I know what you're thinking... The proof is in the results! I could show you reports of creating monstrous year over year and month over month traffic for our clients. I could show you keyword lists that grew to hundreds of terms in a short time. I could show you high volume, extremely competitive position 1 rankings for keywords even we weren't sure we could achieve for our clients. Hell, I could tell you how we even went so far as to create a proprietary analytics tool that gives us insights that nary another SEO service provider could possibly compete against...but alas, still greatness is not found here.

So what makes an SEO business great?

The greatness is in the changes. Did you know that Google changed its algorithm on average about 1.4 times a day last year? Now, to be fair, many of these changes were merely tweaks to better focus overarching themes based on sound logic, but let's face it, the SEO game is in constant flux. When is the last time your SEO company changed their SEO process? How often do they typically change their SEO process? What specifically did they change about their SEO process when they made their last change? What was the last major change? Does your rep know when Google made its last update of any significance? What corresponding change was made to the SEO strategy?

Now, I could get a little crazy with the questions one could or should ask. It's not particularly important that you as a business owner  know what the answers should be for all of those questions. The point is, I know a lot of "good" SEO providers out there who would stutter and stammer and have no answer of any kind for those questions. I know even more that would hide behind some kind of "proprietary" technology that they can't share. That is complete nonsense.

In case you are wondering, Wikimotive has made a significant change to our SEO strategy every month so far in 2013. On average, we make 2-3 tweaks to those significant monthly changes during each month. That's an average of one change every 1.67 weeks. Change for the sake of change, of course, is not beneficial; it just so happens that Google has been on a tear for the last 14 months.

What then makes a great SEO company? T

he willingness and fearlessness to change, as often as necessary.

Original post on SEO can be found on Wikimotive's blog under the title, "Good vs Great SEO Company."