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Motivation 101: How to Love Your Job More

Posted by Jen Corre on September 13, 2016

” Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do” -Steve Jobs

If every person in the planet was lucky, he or she would be doing what he or she loves best and get paid for it. Unfortunately, some of us are constrained to mediocre jobs that do pay well in order to survive day to day. However, if you loved your job, you would find yourself looking forward to going to work whether you may be working in a retail conglomerate or in seo consulting services .In fact, a wise and popular maxim coined by Confucius has had a rather interesting view on jobs and professional careers. He has said that if a man chooses a job that he loves, he will never have to work a day in his life. Similarly, Simon Sinek has asserted that stress results from working for something we do not care about, while working for something we love is called passion. Without a doubt, a huge fraction of our lives is spent working, so it is only natural for us to desire doing something we do love and get paid for it. Though seeking a job you inherently love is incredibly laudable, albeit a bit hard to do, it is not exactly realistic nor is it practical. People may complain about being discontent with their 9-5 jobs, but you do not exactly see a mass exodus of employees seeking better jobs elsewhere, making radical career changes or doing freelance work all in the name of passion.

Leaving our jobs where we generate steady income to chase our passions is detrimental to stability. Not to mention that it breeds uncertainty for the future and may not exactly provide food for the table to eat. This is not to say that all those who do are not awe-inspiring –they are, but in most cases, we have to be realistic and think about what would serve us better day to day. Fortunately though, there are countless and commendable ways to love your job more and in such a way that would motivate you to work even better.

1.) Realize that the job you have does not define you.

However, realize that how you perform it does. When it comes to your job, there is a lot that can be said for attitude. You can be smart and have the right set of skills, but all this will be for naught if you do not have the right kind of attitude complemented with the right kind of work ethic. Despite what many might think, any job can be done exceptionally well if it is done with compassion and done with care. Your attitude in going about your work has a leverage on what kind of work output you do. How you treat people, your mood does not go unnoticed and it has a profound effect on the people you work with it. Admittedly, there are inevitable scenarios wherein you cannot control the situation but you can always choose how to react and live with it.

2.) Stop focusing on the money

You might be in the job because it pays well, or you might have taken a job you disliked because the salary offer was rather exorbitant. But what you need to keep in mind is that for unfathomable reason, money will never be sufficient enough so stop using it or the lack of it for that matter as an excuse. Whatever income you might have at the end of the day, there will always be things you had wanted to do or you could have done had there been more. If this is the kind of tack you are used to, then try tracking the money you make and see where your money is really going. This can aid you to focus on thing that you really want. Sure, having an income might be one of the biggest lures of a job, but is only one small aspect of what you do. At the end of the day, your work should be more than just a paycheck in order for it to be fulfilling.

3.) Find significance in what you do

Contemplate and do some introspection. Finding meaning and significance in what you do may require you to think outside the box and give some thought about what you have been doing. Take some time to ask yourself pivotal questions as well. Do you provide essential service? Do you get to see the finished product? Do you direct how things are done? Do you feel like you are going anywhere? Then ask yourself this imperative question: How can I make this job better or done differently just because I am the one doing it? Thinking outside the box and asking yourself some reflective questions would put things in perspective. As a result, satisfaction increases as well as a sense of well-being. Remember why you took the job in the first place and what drew you to it.

4.) Ask yourself if it is really worth it

When you have gone through the three phases above and still could not find any aspect in your job that is amiable to you, then consider the reasons why there is nothing in your job that you love. Is it turning you into a person you can never be or dislike? Do you see yourself not going anywhere? Perhaps, you do not need a new job but simply the direction. Do you like the person that you are while doing this job? If the answer is in the negative, then are there changes you can incorporate to change it? Or is the job itself the inherent problem? Maybe it is not the job that you are doing which is unsatisfying, but rather the different course you have taken since you have started. You might have veered off course from your original responsibilities and are constrained to do something you find no value in doing. If this is the case, maybe all you would need to do is to refocus. As much as possible, try to say no in doing things which have nothing whatsoever to do with your current job. Do not simply attend meetings or events because it is expected of you. Attend them because you want to.

Having a self-awareness about your job gives you a realistic view of what you expect of it. It also assist you in warding off feelings of malcontent and dissatisfaction. More often than not, it is not that we no longer love the job we have, but rather we have been so used to it that we no longer appreciate what we do or have lost sight in the value of what we do. At the end of the day, when you are feeling rather unhappy with you job, instead of asking yourself “how can I get the job I love?” ask yourself, “How can I love the job I have?”

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Comments: 0 Tags: motivation, productivity, work productivity

Effective Ways to Stop Your Employees from Wasting Time

Posted by Jen Corre on June 30, 2016

Time is a created thing. To say, ‘I do not have time’, is like saying, ‘I do not want to.’ – Lao Tzu

Time is money.

Yet, we have often found ourselves wasting valuable time doing nothing necessary that would contribute to our work progress or do anything beneficial for our workload. Working in an office with people of diverse background may seem like a fun way to spend your time at work.

However, it is also an avenue for wasting valuable company time through the mindless chatter and gossip or activities that are in no way related to the workload.

More often than not, when employees waste time they tend to procrastinate work-related tasks and would have them pile up by the end of the week. As such, working overtime would ensue which would necessarily translate to employers being constrained to compensating them for the time they would not have needed to make up had they not wasted time in the first place. And yet, time wastage and procrastination remain as two realities in any corporate setting today.

Contrary to what most employees believe employers are well aware and privy to their time wasting habits. That is why they need to be inordinately creative when it comes to coming up with ways to prevent them from wasting any more time. This is because regardless of whether you are a retail conglomerate or an established SEO company (search engine optimization), any wasted time is potentially wasted profit.

So, if you are an employer looking for another alternative to put a stop finally to all the time wasted in your office, try and incorporate the eight strategies below into your daily work routine and see if you can make any significant difference.

Stop wasting time now

1) Work a daily huddle to your morning routine

If you want to see a spike in productivity in your workplace, work an office huddle into your everyday work routine. They do not have to last very long, but it is imperative that you outline the team’s primary objectives which you expect them to tackle for the entire day. Additionally, this is the ideal time to address any potential challenges your team may encounter, and it helps transmit necessary information your team may find essential. This ten to fifteen-minute discussion in the mornings would keep a team focused, ensure you are all working on the same page and would jump start a more productive day.

2) Manage conflict

Conflicts in the workplace may breed animosity within two employees. This can adversely affect a team’s productivity if two employees who are in conflict with each other are involved in the same group as they would want minimal contact with each other as possible. It is best if the problem is promptly mediated to avoid potential delays in workloads. Be diplomatic when it comes to managing conflicts and address them before they escalate into bigger issues. Take the resolution, find a way to have a healthy compromise and resolve the problems and then move on.

3) Terminate chronic problems

office problems

In any corporate setting, the 80-20 rule is effective in various instances and managing conflict is admittedly one of them. The reality is twenty percent of your staff would case approximately eighty percent of your problem. When this occurs, as an employer and as your employees’ primary supervisor, it is imperative that you confront the problem. If the problem persists, however, and an errant employee continues to stir up trouble consider letting them go.

4) Maintain an open communication

Do not always readily assume that the problem lies ONLY with your employees. Take a step back and contemplate that just maybe, you are the problem. Constantly solicit feedback from your employees regarding how you are doing as their spearhead. Their feedbacks, as well as the essential support you are giving them, are two pivotal components that would aid you in making changes before minor issues are given a chance to escalate. Lend a listening ear to your employees and while doing so, be reasonable as well as supportive.

5) Utilize your employees’ talents and skills

employee skills

Your office is composed of diverse individuals with different abilities and skill sets. In the same vein, they also have their inherent limitation. Know what your employees are capable of and what they are not. Take the time to observe them while they are doing their work. Placing individuals in departments wherein they cannot thrive drives them to waste time and stunt their professional growth. Instead, make sure you have employees working to their strengths rather than trying to overcome their weaknesses.

6) Trust your employees

If you are being constantly assaulted with inquiries from employees who are too anxious to proceed without your approval, you will be overwhelmed. It can also be a cardinal sign that your employees are tip-toeing on their every task and that the stakes might be just a little too high in your office. Acknowledge that mistakes can happen and that there is always room for improvement. Alternatively, you can afford your staff the opportunity for growth by allowing them to fix those mistakes. Trust your employees and do not instill too much fear in them or they will end up bungling event the simplest of tasks.

7) Give your employees a sense of ownership

employee sense of ownership

Give your employees an extra incentive in working by letting the profitability of the company become part of their personal benefit as well. They will be motivated to work better because it would mean that your success is their success as well. Whether the incentive granted may be in the form of a profit-sharing plan or a phantom equity is up to you, regardless, it will motivate them to work harder for you.

8) Praise your staff publicly

No matter what stage of life we are in, it can be universally gleaned that positive reinforcement goes a very long way. In the same way, it would work on your employees by reinforcing positive behaviors they have. Do not just stop at personal compliments and dole out public praises to them now and then. Praising employees publicly would likely encourage other employees to emulate that particular employee’s behavior making this situation a win-win for you. So, appreciate your employees where praise is due, and you see a significant positive change in their working habits.

Lastly, to ensure a productive day at the office, make sure your employees have adequate stimulating activities to enjoy. Provide a fun and enjoyable work environment with ample breaks in between to help them re-energize. Because wasting time boils down to how motivated your employee at work is, it is essential that they are provided with a workplace and work wherein, they can thrive. Incorporate the eight tips above into your daily work routine and see if there are any positive changes in your office environment.

Comments: 0 Tags: 80-20 rule, employee, office environment, productivity, sense of ownership

The Productivity Paradox – Hidden Costs of Being Productive

Posted by Jen Corre on June 3, 2016

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about? – Henry David Thoreau

The answer of which highly depends on your very own definition of what productivity is all about. More often than not, we associate the term ‘being productive’ to something that means doing more. This is technically correct considering how the word ‘productive’ originate from the term ‘produce.’

Lots of people at present, regular employees most especially, believes that being busy – juggling lots of tasks in a day – means that they are producing enough. As to whether or not the output is satisfactory remains debatable.

Mr. Thoreau’s statement echoes the very question many workers have in this digital age. Where more is demanded, more is produced. Yet where is the satisfaction and purpose? Producing more does not always mean you are practicing productivity for the right reason. If any, what you are doing is only depleting your energy for things that do not help you achieve your priorities.

There’s a paradox at work here – one that is easy to understand yet often ignored by many. It’s the paradox that tells us to take a step back, stop what we are doing, and reevaluate the quality and motivation we have for the task.

Productivity IS NOT always doing MORE.

Experience and researches have proven that being productive could also signify increasing one’s efficiency in performing the same quantity of tasks. It’s not necessarily doing more things, but rather becoming better at what you already do.

For those involved in digital works however, adhering with quantity-based requirement at a regular basis may be the only option. People like those who undergo SEO training Philippines sessions know that for their company to be at par or be ahead of the market competition, constant production of output is a must. This is where mindfulness and motivation comes in.

To continually keep up with the numbers while keeping your motivation up, understanding productivity’s hidden cost will help you prioritize and make the necessary adjustments fit for the values you uphold. Let’s take a quick look.

Time

Whether your job demands you to be stuck at your desk for hours or something more physical and outdoors, deciding to be more productive takes time.

More of which is attributed to the fact that certain habits are difficult to change. If you want to add one more activity to your regular workload for instance, that could mean sacrificing some of the habits to get more time.

Increasing productivity doesn’t have a one-day, instant trick. It’s a process, and it takes time. Those who manage to deal with it are the ones who see progress in the long run.

Motivation (or willpower)

Taking into consideration the fact that productivity takes time, it’s easy to understand why many find themselves discouraged at the lack of any tangible progress. There may come a point when you feel like your motivation to continue is sucked away, making it difficult to continue doing any productive routine.

Decreased motivation over time is nothing new, and it remains one of the most challenging factors among employees who struggle on keeping up their high quality work consistently. There are some general tips on how one could boost his or her self motivation towards work. But at the end of the day, it’s something unique to an individual.

Regardless of one’s personal strategy, experiencing some ups and downs on your willpower level is part of the price you pay for becoming more productive.

Creativity

“The more you do it, the more you get better at it,” so they say.

However, there’s a direct antithesis to this statement that also holds some truth. It’s that one thing that says, “The more you do it, the more you get tired of it.”

Productivity demands you to invest time in doing the similar task on a regular basis. It’s the only way to get you familiar with the task. Sadly, routine is also one thing that usually gets in the way of your creative muse.

Routine demands a process, something you must follow to finish a particular task. Creativity signifies more freedom and flexibility. This can be a real challenge especially for creative people who need a more dynamic environment to work at. In developing productivity, one may find himself holding back from the usual creative process he is accustomed to.

Value

You may be inclined to multitask. In fact, you may find more satisfaction at the thought of doing more. However, randomly juggling different tasks only tires you more than actually focusing on things that matter.

To make every hour of work count, setting up priorities is vital. And how do you exactly do this? You identify the values that matter to you most. For instance, a person who values success, adventure and learning will most likely prioritize different things compared to someone who prioritizes relationships and social life.

Delegating your focus and energy on things that matter most makes work more rewarding. More importantly, it saves you time from going over tasks that will not help you achieve your goal.

Reevaluating your personal values takes time and your list of priorities could go as many as thirty. One cost you pay in wanting to become more productive is to cut off some of those priorities and reduce them to those that matters soonest.

Productivity can have a lot of connotation depending on who you ask. Some define it from the occasional motivation boost they have that makes them perform better than the usual. Others consider it as a fleeting ideal, present now, gone later.

For digital marketers however, being productive has to be a requirement. The online world is so dynamic and information is passed across different channels in a matter of seconds. It doesn’t wait for your dosage of inspiration. Speed matters and productivity is a constant.

It is a choice, and you control how you wish to inspire yourself to work. Overcome the paradox by trying out different strategies and enjoy quality productivity!

Comments: 0 Tags: productivity, workplace

How to be Emotionally Intelligent

Posted by Jen Corre on March 3, 2016

(And Why It Is Important in Increasing Productivity)

Just recently, Google announces that it discovered what really makes a team productive through its Project Aristotle. Dubbed as psychological safety, a team member has to be nice so he or she can work in a team setting minus the misunderstandings and conflicts. Thus, it doesn’t matter if you are working for an SEO company, FMCG firm or online marketing agency. Bottom-line, you can never go wrong with kindness. And, this is where emotional intelligence comes in.

How can you become an emotionally intelligent employee? That’s the question. In a world full of speakers rather than listeners, answering this question can be a real challenge. The workplace is tormented with noises, so how can you even pay attention to your own emotions, let alone other people’s emotions? Stop right there. Haven’t you realized that emotional intelligence (and the lack of it) affects your productivity? Well, it does.

And what better way to combat this and improve productivity than through improving your EQ (emotional quotient). Before we teach you the process, let’s scrutinize what makes an emotionally intelligent staff.

The emotionally intelligent employee

An emotionally intelligent employee is capable of recognizing his emotions and that of others. The person is able to discriminate between his feelings and label such appropriately. Finally, the person uses this information to guide his thoughts and behaviors. According to Daniel Goleman, author of the groundbreaking book ‘Emotional Intelligence,’ an emotionally intelligent individual is personally and socially competent.

Further, the author also identified the five domains of EQ.

1) Knowing your emotions (Self-awareness)
2) Managing your own emotions (Self-regulation)
3) Motivating yourself (Self-motivation)
4) Recognizing and understanding other people’s emotions (Social awareness)
5) Managing relationships (Social skills)

Below is a video of Goleman tackling how and why emotional intelligence becomes the differentiator.

The productivity of an emotionally intelligent employee

Did you know that when it comes to performance, employees with average IQs outperform people with high IQs 70% of the time? The perfect combination seems like average IQ and high EQ. There are also studies that claim that 90% of top performers have higher EQ, not necessarily high IQ.

EQ is also examined by TalenSmart to determine how it compares to other critical workplace skills. The experiment concludes that EQ is the strongest predictor of performance with 58% success rate. Thus, EQ can be considered as the foundation of the skills since it impacts what a person says and does everyday and while at the workplace.

What’s more, employees with higher levels of EQ make more money compared to those with lower levels of such. A person with high EQ earns $29,000 more. The more that person increases her IQ, the more she will earn. An emotionally intelligent employee earns an additional of $1,300 with every increase in the EQ level.

Indeed, EQ affects performance and productivity and thus the personal and organizational success (read: bottom-line). That’s how important emotional intelligence is.

Becoming an emotionally intelligent employee

Here’s the good news: EQ is a learnable skill. A person can increase his or her emotional intelligence! Nevertheless, you cannot predict the EQ of a person based on how smart he is. Learning is the same regardless if the learner is 15 or 50 years old. EQ is different. Some are born with it. Some are natural at it. Some took years to learn it. Some even took more years to perfect it.

However, if you are going to start doing these things below, you’ll improve your EQ in no time. The items are random but are somehow connected to one another. Warning: Long list.

Observe your emotional tendencies
Understand and express how you feel exactly
Don’t let other people label your emotions for you
Don’t let others judge how you label your own emotions
Be specific with your choice of words to describe how you feel
Pay attention to people, things, events that make you feel that way
Understand how you feel connects with your behavior
Don’t judge your own feelings
Control your negative emotions
Don’t let negative feelings cloud your own judgment
Decide how to behave in face of a negative feeling
Share how you feel with other people
Be honest with what you really feel
Be more responsible for your own reactions
Act calmly and rationally
Be more receptive to feedback
Use criticisms wisely
Sense other people’s emotional needs
Listen more empathetically
Empathize with other individuals around you
Ask questions
Pay attention to other’s body language to uncover their feelings
Observe how your emotions manifest physically
Don’t hurt other people’s feelings
Know when you hurt someone’s feelings and apologize
Be open-minded
Don’t confine yourself to your own feelings and beliefs
Respect other people’s feelings
Appreciate the role of other people in your life
Try to understand where they are coming from
Be trustworthy especially when a person shares his or her feelings with you
Observe how other individuals react to certain situations
Compare other people’s emotions to your own emotions
Show genuine care and concern for people and their experiences
Be willing to help others
Be flexible and adaptable
Channel your emotions creatively
Have a personal strategy so negative emotions won’t get the best of you
Exert self-control by avoiding impulsive actions and expressions
Say no to someone if you really have to
Distance yourself from emotionally draining mistakes
Don’t dwell on negative circumstances
Let go of grudge
Approach toxic people rationally
Don’t let negative emotions fuel the chaos
Disconnect from time to time
Have a strong sense of your own feelings

Before you may put into practice your knowledge, it would be wise to determine your current EQ. There are many EQ assessment tools online, most of which are free. We recommend you assess your EQ first to know the areas that you need to improve best. The result will be your baseline, something to start your EQ improvement journey. Commit to improving the initial results and achieve those competencies that you lack. After all, it is your personal excellence that you are working on.

Good luck!

Comments: 0 Tags: emotional intelligence, eq, negative emotions, productivity

12 Things You Don’t Know True Leaders Do

Posted by Jen Corre on December 18, 2015

There are things that separate a true leader from a mediocre one or the one who claims who be a true leader but is nothing more than just a lip service. To those who claim to be true leaders in every sense of the word: do you even know how true leaders spend their time? Here’s the how. Here are the things that true leaders do that you’re might not be aware of.

True leaders lead

Leadership is about responsibility, not necessarily about power. But, only true leaders know how to empower their people. If a leader has to say, “just follow because I’m your leader,” then he or she is not a true leader. Empowerment means showing the people the way – the way to do things, the way to deal with complaints, the way to combat stress, the way to handle conflicts, etc.

True leaders strategize

Any unit or group needs a framework, a strategy. Only true leaders can push the people in the right direction. They bring not only focus but also the discipline to move onward the determined goals. However, the strategies we are talking about here are not only about the tangibles or the outcomes. They are also applicable to the people. There’s a humane side of every implemented strategy that only true leaders understand.

True leaders communicate

Building on the above, how the group or team members act greatly depend on the conduct of the leader. No team, group or unit can move forward without taking how the staff feels and thinks about the implementation of a particular strategy, for instance. In pulling the group along, the leader needs to communicate with the followers. Most importantly, the leader needs to explain the vision using specifics, not buzzwords.

True leaders establish

Clear expectations, that is. While it is an essential component of leadership, establishing expectations is an often overlooked component. People naturally crave for understanding. They need to know what are expected of them. Otherwise, they won’t make sense of the direction or the goal that you are trying to pursue and achieve. Only true leaders recognize such a need; hence, he or she provides guidance to whoever needs it.

True leaders encourage

True leaders ask, and they ask the right questions. Only the amateurish leaders dictate the policies. Instead, true leaders ask the followers how and “why do we need to do it this way and not the other way around.” Other than seeking answers, the leader also encourages his or her people to ask questions, too. True leaders invite open criticism. They ask open-ended questions to provoke insights and actions with the goal of improving current practice and inspiring innovation.

True leaders instill

A leader engages the followers not because he or she is dependent on them, but because they deserve it. Engagement is an essential part of the process. Any leader wants an inspired, committed and motivated follower. That’s why true leaders need to instill a sense of confidence, independence, and assertiveness in them, all of which forms part of empowerment. Only when they feel empowered that your followers will commit.

True leaders support

Followers need to be effective and efficient at all times. However, everyday problems can take a toll on how your people do their respective jobs. The greatest gift of true leaders is making themselves available whenever the followers need him or her. Average leaders tend to distance himself or herself from the others in light of an inevitable problem. No true leader does that. Instead, a true leader becomes the catalyst of solutions.

True leaders anticipate

Part of the leadership job is anticipating potential problems and creating contingencies. Through this, the entire team or group is prepared to handle the impending setbacks. True leaders are proactive, and they take pride in it. They don’t fear the unknown; instead, they face it with courage. True leaders also persuade their followers to the same – overcome their own fears, weaknesses, and limitations.

True leaders inspire

Inspiration is essential; it drives us to be the best that we can be. True leaders draw inspiration from their own lives as well as on the things around him or her. However, their inspiration is also the key to inspiring others, specifically their followers. How can you inspire others if you aren’t inspired yourself?

True leaders decide

A leader’s life revolves around decisions; it comes with the territory. Nevertheless, only true leaders make smart, informed decisions or those decisions that are based on hard and proven facts. They don’t do ‘guesstimates.’ True leaders are aware that every decision they make is equally critical. And they don’t let their followers make decisions so they can take the blame when the going gets tough. True leaders don’t engage in a blame game. They admit their mistakes and correct them since they are fully aware that they are accountable for their own actions and decisions.

True leaders prioritize

While leaders juggle various tasks and responsibilities on a daily basis, they know how to prioritize. True leaders choose their battles, knowing which of the tasks on hand are the most important and require immediate attention. Although some leaders would emphasize multi-tasking, true leaders value mono-tasking that gets the job done faster and at the expected quality. Indeed, they value quality over quantity and completion over perfection.

True leaders build

They build a community of followers. True leaders earn the trust and respect of the people around him or her even that of his or her rivals. True leaders don’t follow the competition. In fact, they are the competition. They are the standards. They set the bar so high that it is very difficult for others to follow suit. Nevertheless, they keep their feet on the ground. They don’t brag. They are humble, noble and sincere.

You think you know what true leaders do, but you have no idea. But, after reading this, perhaps, you’d get a good grasp what makes a true leader in every sense of the word. Now, you can easily pinpoint a true leader from that one person who is painfully yet regretfully claiming to be one but leave the scent of mediocrity when he or she passes by.

Comments: 0 Tags: leadership

Top SEO Faux Pas

Posted by Jen Corre on July 23, 2015

In these current times, websites are no longer considered a luxury, it is a fact that they are now a necessity. Websites are vital to the growth of a business in nearly all industries to remain competitive. And because of this, SEO (search engine optimization) strategists have come up with various ways to stay on top of the business. This may involve optimization that offers link building services and would grant you guaranteed SEO.

So, you have created impactful, information rich, compelling and great engaging content. You value the necessity of responding to a reader and customer feedbacks are an extreme boon for the existence of your website. You make essential adjustments, use correct header tags, utilize and source images legally and write attention grabbing headlines. You have managed to do everything in your capacity and to your knowledge. This should all have been efficacious in giving you exemplary results, right? But you may wonder, what are you still doing wrong?

It may have escaped your attention, but you may have been adopting increasingly aggressive marketing tactics that are more likely to harm your website visibility in search engines instead of helping it. You may be doing this in a misguided attempt at getting more views and in an injudicious competitive spirit. Shall you continue doing so, your website visibility will most likely tank in the long run.

If you think you may have, this article helps you become aware of it. Check the list below and see if you are committing any of the said SEO cardinal faux pas.

Keyword Over-Optimization

Before the advent of Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithms, overuse of keywords (otherwise known as “keyword stuffing”) was a common practice. Yet website owners rarely experienced any adverse ramifications over this. Today however, search engines have become increasingly complex and Google, in particular, is continuously tweaking and altering its algorithms to reward content that is high in quality while penalizing low-quality content.

Nowadays, stuffing a page with keywords in an attempt to make it rank higher for those phrases is not only ineffectual and impractical, but it will tank you rankings as well. This is not only an example of an ineffective tactic that may have negative repercussions but should this particular tactic be identified by Google’s Panda algorithm, the website may be subsequently removed from Google’s search results.

Insufficient and Infrequent Content

Keeping website content short and sweet may have been the primary focus for years. Recently however, this focus has shifted. The current trend among search engines is that they prefer pages with information-rich, in-depth and compelling content. Should a search engine encounter a page without so much content, it would potentially conclude that this page is low in quality. These contents are considered “thin contents,” ensuing to less visibility in search results.

Publish quality, valuable, informative and relevant content in order to ensure that your website remains competitive today. Generally, articles that include properly-formatted images and videos tend to rank better in search engines, have higher engagement with readers and get shared more in social media.

Google wants to display content in its search results that people will appreciate and like. So give your website a closer inspection and see if anyone would really love it. If not, remove the offending content or combine it with other content to create something better that would be valuable and shareable.

Apart from sufficient and compelling content, a lot of website owners do not quite understand just how essential consistency and frequency is when it comes to content publication. Succinctly put, there is a definitive link between publication frequency and search engine rankings.

Broken Links

“Broken link” is the term given to a hyperlink that no longer redirects you to its intended destination. This is rather cumbersome for readers who were already won over by your lengthy spiel and your promise to deliver. Furthermore, it makes your site unreliable as well.

Sites naturally accumulate broken links but this can be a major nuisance to your visitors and Google does not appreciate them either. But if they are supposedly natural, why would Google penalize you for them? Well, the simple reason is that bad links will earn you a bad reputation which would cause a ripple effect. Online, people or businesses with adverse reputations are not viewed as authorities on anything.

And along with that, Google downgrades rankings on sites with many issues such as this. So clean up your site and make sure broken links are remedied.

Unnatural Link Building

A common mistake among website owners is having the misguided impression that buying links is a speedy and effective way to boost their site’s search engine rankings. While quantity and quality of inbound links are a major factor in the search ranking algorithm, unnatural inbound links can trigger devastating penalties on your website.

Fact is, Google has been rather clear regarding their stance when it comes to the purchase of links. Simply put, Google does not like it and are quick to punish any site found to be building unnatural links. The bottom line is learning how to build your links naturally.

Building Too Many Links on Your Homepage

A website would look contrived if it only links back to the homepage. One of your SEO goals should you want results is to make the backlinks profile look as natural as possible. A lot of online businesses get too excited about ranking their homepage, making them forget to build backlinks to other pages.

Instead of building hundreds of links to your homepage, you should split these links to your blog posts as well. This factor would make your website rank better in Google.

To conclude…

Managing a website along with a business is not exactly an easy feat and it is extremely time-consuming. Furthermore, with the added responsibility of keeping up with changes in the SEO industry, it is rather difficult to keep up with the changes in the SEO industry. It is also difficult for business owners to have a clear idea of what to do when it comes to implementing a good SEO campaign. It might be easy to understand why business owners commit these mistakes, but it does not excuse them all the time. By now, business owners should exercise more caution and be more proactive in the pursuit of beneficial SEO techniques.

Comments: 0 Tags: Guaranteed SEO, Link building services, seo, SEO Company, SEO errors

Does Keyword Encryption Mean The Death of SEO?

Posted by Jen Corre on July 14, 2015

www.idyeah.com

So roughly four years ago, Google made the announcement that stated they were going to start encrypting search results for logged-in Google users—this includes any Google-owned product such as Google+, Youtube, Gmail and etc. Approximately two years ago, Google delivered that promise making search engine companies all over the world shake their heads in disappointment and clamor for an acceptable reason behind this move. By 2013, Search Engine Land had reported that Google has made this change, which was aimed at encrypting all search activity save for clicks on ads. Additionally, Google confirmed that it was encrypting searches from the Chrome Omnibox their reason being the protection of a substantial amount of users who were not even signed in. This translated to marketers not being able to get the keyword. Naturally, SEO companies were enraged as this was basically the nightmare of every SEO company that finally took form in reality.

So why is this happening?

According to Google’s assertion, the reason for this dreaded switch was to provide that much needed “extra protection” for searchers. NSA might have contributed to Google’s pivotal decision though as Search Engine Land suspects that Google might also be attempting to block their spy activity considering that Google was accused of giving the National Security Agency access to its search data back in June 2013. Though Google strongly denied this, it is a plausible assumption considering the timeliness of their decision. This move also strongly suggests that Google is utilizing this move to get more people to use Google adwords considering that they encrypt all search activity for everything with the sole exception of ad clicks.

What this could potentially mean?

So what does this mean to marketers? In a nutshell, it means that marketers would no longer be able to identify which keywords a person who was logged into Google.com searched for before they came upon your website. This is true even if they would be using a web or marketing analytics platform. These keywords are vital as these keyword insights would provide marketers the much needed information on what keywords to target to achieve greater visibility in search. Google encrypting all keyword data translates to not just losing some of their Google keyword insights for marketers but rather, this would mean they would lose all of them. As a result, this would cause a lot of concern for marketers particularly in addressing the dilemma of finding out how searchers would find and arrive at their websites. Furthermore, this would mean content strategies are affected and might have to be revamped.

So how does a Marketer address this?

A few SEO experts weighed in on the situation and offered varied opinions but it all boils down to creating great content. According to Aaron Aders, a Co-founder of digitalrelevance, secure searches, while frustrating to many SEO marketers, is actually a great move for the SEO industry. To him, it would mean that great SEO is great content with powerful digital endorsements from relevant and authoritative websites which would result in business results that transcend keyword conversation.
While Larry Kim, Founder and CTO of Wordstream says that since as SEO optimized content is already themed content which generally focuses around a specific topic, tracking the SEO performance of all of your URL’s is still very much possible. While Andre Pitre, a HubSpot Analytics Product Manager asserts that marketers should be accustomed to living in a world where only bits and pieces of information are offered and are given access to information that is largely incomplete. Furthermore, he added that it is a big part of a marketer’s job to interpret the incomplete data and make the best decisions out of that.

So what should you do?

Well, with all this you should not feel completely left in the dark about how search impacts and influences your marketing strategy. Here are some of the ways you can utilize in order to measure and use search data:
*Do not disregard other search engines! Search engines such as Bing and Yahoo still continue to pass along keyword data. Though it will not provide marketers the full picture, analytics tool such as HubSpot can still show keywords for the thirty three percent of searches that come from search engines like Bing, Yahoo, AOL and etc. This would at least give marketers an indication of which keywords are the most useful.
*Organic search still works and it is still possible to tell how much traffic your website is receiving from this. You might not exactly know the exact keywords but you can still very much correlate the work you do to optimize your site and create content to increase or decrease your organic search.
*Rank still continues to play a role in helping measure the results of search engine optimization and content creation.
* Setting up Adwords will still give you access to keyword insights and Google Analytics so it is best to take advantage of those.
*Social Media becomes even more prominent so utilize it. Link your blog, website, newsletter and other information across all social media platforms and channels. This is a great way to get your content noticed by social media followers.
* With Google encrypting its keywords, it is high time to produce more compelling content and get serious about quality content. It is no question that Google is placing a much higher premium on quality content rather than just the text that has only given a number of keywords. Furthermore, you can think of various ways to get your content seen and read through Google’s innovation though you have to be incredibly creative to get this done. As a result, this would be the opportune time for focusing in creating content that provides information, advice, tutorials, and tips that solve commonplace and not so commonplace dilemmas. You can also choose to answer real questions and engage with your website visitors more through a comment section. Emphasis, according to Google, is placed on the ability to inform actual users.

Comments: 0

A Guide to Making Effective Articles for SEO Use

Posted by Jen Corre on June 22, 2015

www.textboss.com

Content is the crux of every marketer’s business website, it is what gets the product noticed and herds in potential customers and clients. It also gets the word out about your business. As marketers, content creation is a large part of what we do and writing well-optimized content that is not only rich in information but effective as well is imperative. With so many competitors online and with SEO Philippines progressively getting better, it can be quite difficult to be a top SEO Company, which is why great content is necessary to stay at the top of the SEO chain.

Creating content that is search engine optimized is essential as it helps Google and other search engines rank it on search engine results pages. Failing to do so would result to a diminished visibility, which in turn will cause a negative impact on the ability of potential customers and clients to find you. Fact is, poorly written less optimized content can render you invisible on the web. Writing articles in no easy task, but writing articles for SEO use is even more difficult. Among the new terms you will often hear when it comes to web content, SEO is probably the most common. Understanding it is the first step but putting it into practice is an entirely different story. However, you do not need to be an expert in SEO in order to create SEO-optimized content. All that you have to keep in mind is that you are writing for people and not robots.

Furthermore, it is important to consider that writing content for people means that your writing should deliver the things your potential customers and clients and prospects are looking for. It should not just be a whole block of words with keyword stuffed content that reads more like a random jumble of terms than a cohesive content. No, it should be a riveting read that is rich in information. Balance is key. Search engines want to serve quality search results that highlight fresh, informative and authentic content. They want to deliver answers that fit the context of what it is that searchers are trying to seek. Use this to your advantage.

Here are 6 tips you can try for writing effective SEO content.

I. Use captivating titles that capture your readers attention

Much like how the cover of a book gives its readers its first impression of the contents inside, your title should be able to convey what your article is about at a glance. Take note, your title is a brief summary of your entire piece. Though titles should be able to capture your readers’ attention, avoid being gimmicky. You may attract readers initially but if they see you are being deceitful as a strategy to grab their attention, you will lose readers in the long run.

II. Utilize attractive visuals and images to give life to your content

Images and visuals are the spice of every content; they give your article a personal touch and a bit of life. They give your otherwise boring looking article colour so your readers would not be staring at a plain block of words while reading your content. Add pictures, slide shows, artwork and infographic to your written pieces. This will not only break the text portion of your article but make your article more visually appealing as well.

It is ideal to use visuals that are your own creations but if this is not possible, make sure you get permission to use them from the original owners of the graphics and give credit where it’s due.

III. Strategic placement of keywords

More than ever, quality content is really the core of getting your webpage noticed which is why you should know how to utilize your keywords. Do keyword research and know what people are searching for in relation to your content then use that information to guide the creation of key content areas. Don’t use too many keywords or repeat the same ones over and over because this would compromise your content and will make it difficult for search engines as well.

IV. Lists are your friend

Giving your article a brief description then elaborating the finer points through the form a list will make your content not only easily readable but scannable (meaning it makes it easier for search engines to find). It will also draw in readers as they are easy to comprehend and the thoughts you convey are presented in a direct and concise manner. Lists will tailor your content to be succinct, your thoughts neat and organized. Blog posts are not meant to be long-winded essays; so keeping your ideas short and direct keep your post on point so that you can focus solely on one topic (and keywords) without going off tangent.

List would also entice your readers to finish perusing your article entirely as lists are relatively short and easy to comprehend, appealing to both readers and search engines.

V. Content should be easily shareable

One of the main goals of writing articles and posts for SEO is to garner traffic onto your website. You may have written the most information rich post, the most entertaining and dazzling piece that’s perfectly optimized for search engines yet all this would be rendered useless if the post is not being shared defeating the purpose of writing the article in the first place.

It is important to make sure your site has push buttons for social media sharing for all the social media platforms. If you are working on a piece for press release, include links so people can conveniently access images and more information.

VI. Storytelling is a creative way to craft articles

Mix it up once in a while, do a content that is not only creative and a riveting read but a different one as well. Tell a story; captivate your readers. No matter the topic, it is always best to start your piece with a short but otherwise creative story to engage your readers and keep them reading. After all, nothing beats quality content that is well written and houses interesting and relevant information.

It is always possible to go back and tweak your content to optimize it for search results. But as the core of garnering website traffic, one should not compromise compelling and entertaining content for optimization. Even when you harness all the optimization techniques in the world, if your content is not read, shared and discussed, it would be not much help. So in sum, write quality content not only for SEO use but for your readers as well. Remember you are writing for people, not machines.

Comments: 0 Tags: seo, SEO Articles, seo philippines

INCREASING WEB TRAFFIC: THE BASICS

Posted by Jen Corre on June 16, 2015

Any person running an online business would tell you that what they want most for their business is simply more customers. And why ever not? More customers would translate to more income generated for the online business venture. Most online businesses strive for this as it is good for the brand and would herd in potential customers their way basically making diminished web traffic an obstacle. Furthermore, this is also one of the many reasons why an online business would fail, which is why it is of utmost importance to generate the proper traffic towards your website. But with thousands of webpages already in existence online, it seems rather difficult to get the high viewership and traffic for your website. Even more challenging is driving the appropriate audience to your web content. This is where SEO Consulting Services come in where they provide various link building services.

Although there is no hard and fast rule to garnering the appropriate and desired website traffic and just in case, you have not availed yourself to SEO services just yet, this article will serve as your guide to increasing web traffic to your website. There are innumerable ways of generating more web traffic, but if you are at a loss for ideas, here are some that may initially help:

I. ADVERTISE

This one is pretty obvious but it bears stressing that advertising gets both your content and your website seen. It draws in the right audience and generates a considerable amount of viewership as well as traffic. Of course, advertising is not to be taken lightly and should never be watered down either. You cannot simply go to different social media platforms and just broadcast your content on several comment sections, or flood walls basically announcing the same post, or plowing through Twitter with endless redundant tweets. At the very least, people who would view your form of advertisement would choose to ignore it. Worst case scenario would be them getting miffed at your clearly pervasive abuse of getting your content seen.

Instead, online business owners should focus on effective advertising methods such as paid search, social media advertising and display advertising. These are just some of the top notch ways of attracting visitors, getting your brand recognized and putting your website out there. If you are looking to convert the high traffic in your site to more sales, you will need to target high commercial intent keywords as part of your paid search strategies. Competition may be stiff and fierce but the payoffs are well worth it.

II. SOCIALIZE ONLINE

Exemplary and information rich content is essential for generating more traffic, but having great content alone will not get it noticed if it stays stagnant and unannounced. It does not bode well for your website if all you manage to do is write competent content and hope that people would find it. No, to increase web traffic, you need to be proactive. With various social media platforms available, it is not only easy to get your web content noticed, but extremely convenient as well. When you promote your web content on social media, the chances of it getting seen (and perhaps shared) are higher and the prospect of increasing web traffic (and enticing potential customers) are likely. As there is a diversity of social media platforms available at your disposal, choosing the best one to advertise your content should be taken into consideration.

Twitter is suitable for short, direct and snappy (tempting as well) links, Google+ promotion helps you in getting your site to show up in personalized search results. If you would rather entice possible buyers with photos then it would be wiser to utilize social sites where images do most of the talking such as Pinterest and Instagram.

III. ENRICH WITH AESTHETIC MULTIMEDIA

Although many would argue that the key to getting more web traffic is to produce compelling and entertaining content, this alone will not suffice. There are millions of pages online and when a user is just passing by or skimming through pages, his/her attention span is akin to that of a goldfish. This means that thanks to social media, an average user has the attention span of 9 seconds in total. This means that you should let those 9 precious seconds count.

This is the reason why expertly and information rich content should be complemented with aesthetic and attention grabbing media. Think of you website as a stark white canvass, if written content is all you are going to post, or perhaps videos without enhancing its interface, your website is comparable to an unfinished painting. And more often than not, you are likely to bore your website visitors, losing website traffic and potential customers in the process.

You can start simply by using eye-catching photos and graphics to invite attention to your posts. Upload several videos to Youtube with a link to your content found in the description or convert some of your content into a presentation and upload it on Slideshare. These are just a few of the ways to make your website visually appealing but the important thing to consider is to create a website that does not come of as visually bare.

With unlimited multimedia content online, accomplishing this should not be too difficult.

IV. USE ALLURING HEADLINES

In order to beckon a user to read your content, it is essential that you compose original, crafty and alluring headlines. Contrary to popular belief that the written content is the most important, it is the headlines that catch attention and entices your readers to stay on your webpage for a while longer. While other content is just as important, it is the headlines that have the driving power to get a user or a reader to stay on your webpage and navigate through it. Without a compelling headline, even the most comprehensive written articles are left unread. In brief, written content is just as important as the headlines that lure users to read it. So before hitting the publish button, polish your headline first. Remember capturing the user’s attention is key, the more captivating a headline is, the better.