J.R. Farr - Keep it real.

This is a quick overview of what universal search is and I’ll follow up on several sub-topic posts on how to optimize for universal search. The idea hasn’t been around for long but it’s slowly becoming more useful & popular among the search engines. Are you optimizing for it?

I remember almost a year ago, I was in San Jose, CA sitting in a SES (Search Engine Strategies) session that was all about universal search and where it was going. I sat there and listened to a panel that consisted of high-end engineers from the major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN & Ask.

Hearing it first hand from the “source” was very interesting and they talked about plans that would improve universal search. It’s been neat to watch it evolve and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned from real experiences since then.

First things first, What is Universal Search?

The funny thing is, you’re using it everyday and probably don’t even notice. This is something that has slowly come into play throughout all the major engines over the past few years. I guess they call that Web 2.0ish or something like that.

Anyway, take a quick look at an example below:

You’ll see in the example above there’s more than just text links. Essentially, universal search blends different types of mediums together. These mediums range from:

• Images
• Videos
• Blogs
• News
• Products
• And the list goes on.

I searched the term “Michael Jackson“, (I know, I know…) and the search engines didn’t know if I was looking for videos, albums, images, etc. Therefore, the results range from news sources and a mix of images & videos to attempt the most relevancy possible. Since launching these type of SERPS, there has been more diversity and they have expanded to become more blended & relevant.

The Question is… How do you Optimize for it?

Funny you should ask

This is just a brief introduction to universal search. I wanted to be sure I explained what the concept was before I really got into it in my next posts. Over the next few Rockstar SEO installments, I’ll be sharing some great tips & tricks on how to rank for more than just a text link. Obviously, being ranked for a text link is a bad thing either.

I’ll cover these main points:

• How to Rank well for Image Search
• Video Search Optimization
• Google Base Optimization Tips & Tricks

Stay tuned…

Be sure that your either following me on Twitter (@jrfarr) or you’re subscribed to my RSS Feed because you don’t want to miss this.

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This mouth watering & appetizing SEO goodness is another component to the “Rockstar SEO Series” brought to you by JR Farr. If you’re loving it, be sure to share it to everyone you think would find value in it!

Now let’s dive right in!

Are you Paying Attention to What’s Happening Off your Site?

If you’re not, you should be. If you are, well… good on ya With the emergence of Social Media, anyone and everyone can talk about your brand or product. This can be looked at in a negative or positive way. I think it’s all positive.

For one, you now have the customer feedback you’ve always wanted at your fingertips and you can interact with them in seconds. Secondly, it’s now making it possible for anyone to build up one of the single most important aspects of SEO. What am I referring to? Drum roll please…

Backlinks my fellow Rockstars, Backlinks.

Most people that have danced in the SEO arena would argue that “backlinks” (sites linking back to your site) are in fact, one of the single most important aspects to your SEO campaigns.

Why are backlinks so important?

For starters, backlinks are important because search engines like Google, will give more credit to websites that have a good number of quality backlinks. Google then considers those websites more relevant among the results of any given search query. Just remember it’s not always the quantity but the quality of the backlinks your site has. Getting links back to your site does a number of things:

• Raising your page rank.
• Building your site as an authority.
• And of course, gives you more exposure.

So how does Social Media Create Backlinks to my site?

Well in a way, your readers use Social Media to sort of guide the search engines to what content is really unique & fresh.

With the new social media component, your readers now have a vote in telling the search engines if your content is all that and a bag of chips. When you create something valuable, those votes (e.g. links, tweets, bookmarks) really get your SEO efforts cookin’.

In other words, your readers have loads of platforms to re-syndicate your content in a viral way.What are these platforms?

• They can use social bookmarking sites like Digg, Stumble Upon, Delicious and more to share your content with more viewers. Creating a link back to your original content and giving you exposure to thousands.
• They can tweet or re-tweet it via Twitter.
• Bloggers & publishers can link to your article from their site, blog or forum. Gotta love that

Ok, so what control do I have in using Social Media do to boost my SEO efforts?

Well here’s a live example. From a personal branding standpoint, look what happens when you Google “JR Farr”. Starting from the first ranking, my brand name is fortunately taking up the entire first page of Google. Now, I know that example was pretty simple but even Social Media at it’s simplest form can be very powerful.

There’s more backlinking strategies that this Rockstar SEO Series will cover so I don’t want to go too far off subject.

What about you? Have you seen a boost in SEO rankings from Social Media?

I sure hope you’re already enjoying the Rockstar SEO Series. Don’t be afraid to chime in or leave feedback on how you’re using Social Media to boost SEO. Remember to Follow JR Farr on Twitter or Subscribe to my RSS Feed so you don’t miss a post!

A component of the Rockstar Marketing Series – Custom crafted by JR Farr.

SEO is changing constantly & this my friends, is SEO for today’s world… 2009.

Changes are always taking place within the webmaster guidelines, search engine algorithms, etc. which ultimately shifts our SEO techniques. In fact, a big change happened in 2006 when Social Media started making waves.

Not too long ago, SEO (search engine optimization) use to consist of stuffing keywords into your sites content while completely negelecting keyword density & frequency. Writing quality content & keyword density was an after thought and the internet was already being polluted at such a young age. This same technique is still being practiced today and sadly, the pollution of ridiculous content continues. *Sigh*

Let’s change that.

Right now, most are still trying to adjust to the new web 2.0 phase, so you need to make sure you’re adjusting your SEO strategies as well. That’s exactly what Rockstar SEO will cover.

The Techniques You’ll Learn – On Site SEO & Off Site SEO

When executing proper SEO campaigns or techniques it is actually split up in two different types.

• On-site SEO & Off-site SEO

Nowadays, because of Social Media, I believe a big part of your SEO success is actually what’s happening “off your site” (off-site seo).

Often times, most people think SEO success only comes from what SEO strategies you’re deploying “on your site”. Yes, this is a large part to your success but it’s only some of the ingredients to the SEO stew. A few on-site strategies to consider:

• Well Structured Content
• Semantic Web Markup
• SEO-Friendly URL’s
• Unique & Fresh content

We’ll go into these in future parts of this series

So… What’s Next in the Rockstar SEO Series

This Rockstar SEO Series is for today’s world, 2009. With that being said,  my plan is to talk about best strategies right now and how to leverage the new “Web 2.0″. Here are more topics you’ll be sinking your teeth into. These aren’t quite set in stone… yet, so don’t hold me to them.

• How to use Social Media to Boost SEO.
• Creating Killer Content that Search Engines Love
• Creating Killer Content that your Readers Love
• Never underestimate the <title> of your posts.
• Social Media and How it Effect’s SEO.
• Semantic Web Markup
• Unique & Fresh Content

Check back soon for new posts on these topics as this series gets underway.

How do I hop on this Rockstar SEO Series train?

What do you have to do to get your hands on this series?  Pretty simple really. Just follow me, JR Farr on Twitter or simply subscribe to my RSS Feed and witness some insane content about to be published right in front of your eyeballs. Not too painful right?

What do I get out of this?

I’m providing this quality content because I believe in providing more value then you consume. I’m putting myself out there and sharing my knowledge because this is my passion. You’ll see it through my series and on the chance you’re diggin’ it… I just want you to share it with everyone! Oh and comments are nice too