A Few Thoughts Re: Google Quality Content (Part 2)…

A few days ago, I began an editorial with respect to Google Quality Filters and what questions Google asks to assess the quality of a page or an article.  I have been addressing a few questions at a time, providing some insight and explanation as appropriate.  In this post, I will address the areas of the confidence of using credit card on a site; spelling/grammatical errors; and site content as it relates to search engine ranking.

Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?

Before using a credit card online, make sure the Webpage address uses an “https” rather than an “http” address. HTTPS stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).  This is another protocol developed with secure, safe internet transactions in mind.

Also, verify that the browser displays the secure lock – this is usually in the bottom right hand corner or toward the top of the page on other browsers.  Moreover, the Webpage should display a Certification from a trusted site, such as VeriSign.

Does this article have spelling, grammatical, and/or factual errors?

Spelling is important to the credibility of an article and/or Webpage.  Visitors observing an article and/or Webpage with language errors do not inspire trust in our visitors.  They may think if we cannot spell and/or compose sentences correctly, how could anyone trust us to keep their information private and secure?  It would be wise to hire an editor to proofread.

Are the article/page topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

Authentic, credible content matters to search engines.  Individuals respond emotionally to information, and a user’s online experience factors into their decision making – those factors being habit, memory, trust, consistency, credibility, expertise, accuracy just to name a few.

With all the individuals claiming their expertise, how do they validate their claims?  The decision to decide accurate content and credibility lies with the user – they are hoping to trust the author, and point in fact; many individuals marketing online ignore the value of providing substantive information to their target markets.  In forums, blogs with active user comments, LinkedIn group discussions and article-driven web sites, certain cues help determine trust in information: Accuracy, authority, and objectivity (to name a few) are cues that can help a user trust our information.  Sites that are moderated do well because they demand quality discussions by well-intentioned members willing to share expertise and knowledge.

Successful search and social marketing strategies must include understanding how to create and deliver information that is judged to be accurate, trustworthy and authentic. Understanding user intent helps marketers and search engines present relevant information.

Small Business Owner Weekly Review (Week of June 17, 2013)

A Very Pleasant Good Morning -

Our June 17^th edition of “Small Business Owner Weekly Review” has been published as of this morning, and I would welcome those of you reading this message to take a few moments to review the presented material and of course, share your thoughts and insights as appropriate.

http://paper.li/f-1358031356

Below listed are our featured authors; their respective business; and the topic of their compositions.

Please do have a very enjoyable week and with the warmest of regards, we thank you for your kind and thoughtful consideration – we truly do appreciate your kindness and gracious support.

Joe

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• 6 Steps for Effective Change Management (Carlose Lopez);
• 8 Steps Towards Writing a Communication Strategy (Roger Jabaly);
• Business Intelligence (BI): What Is It Good For? (Christian Schmidt – Itelligence);
• Change Models (Hannah Montroy – Improving Business Performance);
• Create a Culture of Learning (Michele Baker – Phase(Two) Learning);
• Finding Your Voice – Social Media Voice That Is (Laura Ledgerwood – Social Media and The Academy);
• ‘Fitting In’ Was Never Going To Be Part Of My Business Plan (Melanie Heath – Inspiring Business Change)
• Forming the Future of Education: A Look at How to Cultivate Change That Lasts (Taking Education Forward);
• How Can I Convince My Team To Try Improving Decision-Making Skills?” (Anya Faingersh – Anya Work Smart);
• How Do I Decide What Level To Make Changes At? (Hannah Montroy – Improving Business Performance);
• How Technology Can Enable Construction Firms To Profit From The PPC (David Bullock);
• How To Change The Minds Of Experienced Professionals (Claudia Licher);
• How To Develop A Dynamic Recovery Plan To Minimize Disaster Downtime (Richard J. Niemeyer, MISM);
• Incorporating Organizational Change Into Your Solutions Marketing Approach (Charlie Born – Crazy Moon Consulting);
• Leading Change: How Focus Creates Sustainable Change (Aad Boot – HRS Business Transformation Services);
• Managing Risk Across The Investment Process (Paul Croft);
• Mobile Business Intelligence (MBI): Fact-Based Decision Making (Ryan McNaught – Slalom Consulting);
• Succession in Private Equity (Matthew Blagg – Criticaleye);
• The Importance of Data Scientists In The Age of Big Data (Open Business MIC – Business For Young Professionals);
• The Most Dangerous Word To Use In The Office (Joyce Kaduki);
• The Nature of Change: Part Two (Patrick Belton – The Belton Report);
• The Origins of Risk Management (Jennifer Martin – Risk In Your Bonnet);
• Top SMB Takeaways: SAP Sapphire 2013 (Laurie McCabe);

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The Influential Wisdom and Sustenance of Knowledge Management (Part 1)

Knowledge Management constitutes a tremendous resource, making people far more effective in their jobs, and the sincere commitment to Knowledge Management can truly have a profound influence on the organizational environment and attract more experts to the expanding network of knowledge sharers.

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“Knowledge Management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences.” (1.).

“Knowledge management is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, retrieving, and sharing all of an enterprise’s information assets.  These assets may include databases, documents, policies, procedures, and previously uncaptured expertise and experience in individual workers.” (2.)

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“Many large companies and non-profit organizations have resources dedicated to internal Knowledge Management efforts, often as a part of their business strategy, information technology, or human resource management departments.” (3.)

The purchasing of new technology does not catalyze the type of free-flowing exchange of ideas that many people envision – resulting in the disillusionment of Knowledge Management.

“Organizations and business decision makers spend a great deal of resources and make significant investments in the latest technology, systems and infrastructure to support knowledge management.” (4.)

In many cases, initiatives fall short of expectations and promises because they were based on the false assumption that Knowledge Management (KM) is about a technological solution – not an evolution in organizational learning and knowledge sharing.  When organizational leaders realize the huge investment (both financially and in terms of other resources) and discovered that change was slow to come (if it came at all), interest wanes.

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Real wisdom emerges over time; through experience; and with sustained effort.

• Information needs to be filtered through numerous conversations and communities;
• Issues must be examined from multiple angles;
• Knowledge must be gained and;
• The best ideas must be culled; pushed upward; and tested.

By identifying knowledge champions (people who are energized; enthusiastic; and passionate about this topic), management can encourage these individuals to take a leadership role in managing the organization’s wisdom.  Sustenance of knowledge exchanges requires commitment, and it fosters the environment that the organization is serious about the initiatives; helps employees take it seriously; and overcome deeply ingrained prejudice against sharing knowledge.

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(1.)  “Introduction to Knowledge Management”, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 2013

(2.)  Addicot, Rachel; McGivern, Gerry; Ferlie, Evan, “Networks, Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: NHS Cancer Networks”, Public Money and Management (Volume 26, Number 2), p87-94: 2006.

(3.)  Duhon, B., “It’s All In Our Heads”, Inform, (Volume 12, Number 8), 1998.

(4.)  Nanjappa, Aloka; Grant, Michael M., “Constructing on Constructivism: The Role of Technology”, Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, University of Memphis: 2003.

 

Business Management Tip #1 – Judging Ideas On Merit Rather Than Place of Origin.

Some businesses disdain creative approaches and cutting edge concepts because they were created by a competing company; an individual in another function; or by a group that has no formal responsibility for a particular project.

In many cases, a business owner may unconsciously discredit ideas that arrive from unlikely places, believing that even though the ideas sound great, they could not possibly have value because the individual within the business lacked the authority and/or formal expertise to work on an issue.

Most businesses believe they judge ideas on their merits; however, these businesses often labor under subtle prejudices of which they are unaware.

It takes a conscious effort to evaluate new ideas without favoritism; business politics; and/or the interference of biases.

A Few Thoughts Re: Google Quality Content (Part 1)…

When analyzing the content of a page and/or article, Google incorporates the use of quality filters.

What is a Quality Filter?  The simple answer is evaluating the quality of a page or article.  What questions does Google ask to assess the quality of a page or an article?  I have found numerous points of reference and generally, there are a couple dozen questions, of which I will address a few at a time per post.

Is the page/article information trustworthy?

Everyone has an opinion – most reliable sources are direct in how and why they are reporting.  Books are considered more trustworthy due to their stability – online articles can be edited at any given moment while a book is published with a specific identifiable time and date.

Is this article written by an expert or is it shallow in content?

We could see if the article provides a list of sources; is published by a reputable research organization; and/or a respected professor at a reputable university.  Peer-reviewed articles are trustworthy.

Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?

Pages and articles with duplicity and redundancy will likely be demoted in search rankings. Page #1 sites are pushed down several spots, perhaps several pages – being replaced with sites that are rich with quality, original content.

How can we apply this to our Web Pages and articles?  Different people absorb information differently – perhaps through the About Us page; Testimonials; or Products/Services.  We should think about supplemental methods of communicating our message to increase the odds the message is received by your audience.  Redundant Web Page navigation systems and task completion (such as ordering products) will help our visitors find their way and achieve their (and our) goals.

Another suggestion is to discuss and eliminate any redundancy in the programming code wherever possible with your Web Page developer – doing so will improve system performance and maintainability.

Again, these are just a few suggestions – clearly there are others who will have differing opinions.  I will try my best to forward a supplemental article within the next couple days highlighting a few more questions.  For now, I hope this helps and as always, I encourage input and comments…

Small Business Owner Weekly Review (Week of June 10, 2013)

Good Morning –

How are each of you this morning?

Our June 10^th edition of “Small Business Owner Weekly Review” has been published as of this morning, and I would welcome those of you reading this message to take a few moments to review the presented material and of course, share your thoughts and insights as appropriate.

http://paper.li/f-1358031356

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Below listed are our featured authors; their respective business; and the topic of their compositions.

Please do have a very enjoyable week and with the warmest of regards, we thank you for your kind and thoughtful consideration – I truly do appreciate your kindness and gracious support.

Joe

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• 25 Free Small Business Lessons (Clovia Hamilton – Lemongrass Consulting, Inc.)
• 7 Hurdles to Well-Managed Inventory / How to Top Them (Ken Cottrill – MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics)
• A New Letter To A Friend: Strategy, Education and Knowledge… And What Might Come Next (Charles-Henri Ravony)
• Change Management and Communication (Manish Sinha)
• Change-Management In The 21st Century – Best Practices (Georgette Sutton)
• Content Marketing Strategy Increasingly Vital For Businesses (Horizon – Marketing Made Easy)
• Decision Making In Project Management (Dave Carter – Projects and Programs)
• Embedding Digital Literacies and Enabling Change (Eleni Zazani)
• Enterprise Architecture – A Measure of Success! (Kim Parker – Anorien – The Knowledge Economy)
• Enterprise Architecture – Enabling Business Maturity (Kim Parker, Anorien – The Knowledge Economy)
• From Value Chain and Processes to Strategy Execution (Javier Gonzalez Montane – Supply Chain Turnaround)
• Get Unstuck Part 3 of 3 – Step Back and See the Big Picture (Sara O. Speicher – VBM Pro)
• Getting From Here To There – Why Change Is So Hard (Eaglepoint Advisors – In Partnership with Kurt Salmon)
• Help Me Fight Senioritis — 5 Reasons Why Excellence Matters (Lynn Morstead)
• How To Build A Roadmap – Define End State (James Parnitzke – Applied Enterprise Architecture)
• How To Choose Your Creativity (Jeremy Suisted – Creativate)
• How to Start Planning Your Social Media Content Strategy (Abstract Advertising)
• Is Having a Strong Offense or a Strong Defense the Best Way to Build a Business? (Anne-Marie Paquette)
• IT Filled With Teams “Preserving Knowledge” Is Doing It Wrong (Bruce Stewart – Getting Value From IT)
• Leadership and Change (Manish Bhansali – Business IT Leadership)
• Make Your LOB Systems Work Harder for Your Organization (Point Beyond)
• Master Limited Partnerships: Looking Back And Looking Ahead (Roger S. Conrad – Energy and Income Advisor)
• Our Lessons in Change and Improvement (Steven Mugglestone – MGC Hayles)
• Seeking Respect (John M. Greco)
• Six Imperatives to Successfully Implement Agile (Elspeth Chasser – Change Logic)
• Strategic Sales 101 for Tech Startups (Vikram Kumar)
• Ten Reasons People Resist Change (Rosabeth Moss Kanter – FB Management Society)
• The “Click To Publish” Conundrum (Kris Mausser – The Discontented Company)
• The Benefits of Higher Education (John Harris – Online Advisor)
• The Changing Workforce in Canada (Patrick Belton – The Belton Report)
• The Nature of Change: Part One (Patrick Belton)
• The Neuroscience of Strategy: Do You Really Know Your (Future) Self? (Geoff Grahl – NeuroCapability)
• The Problem Solving Cycle – An Effective Step-By-Step Approach To Find Viable Solutions (Kerstin Petrick)
• The Six Simple Rules of Brand Strategy (Stephen Abbott)
• Top 10 Tips For Effective Change Management (Anita Rao)
• What Is My Private Company Worth?  Most CEOs and Buyers Of Them Don’t Know (Mike Rogers)
• Why Collaborative Innovation Leads to Successful Change Management Initiatives (Michele McConomy)
• Working-Out-An-Seo-Strategy-For-The-Future (Jean Paul Cavaletti – Webace)

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Business Brief – The Entanglement of Business Relationships…

As used in physics, the term “entanglement, “was first introduced by the physicist Erwin Schrodinger in 1935.  At the time, there were many profound discussions and interpretations of the revolutionary new science of quantum mechanics and its implications, and Schrodinger believed that entanglement was one of the most important aspects of the quantum world, describing it as “the characteristic trait of quantum mechanics, the one that enforces its entire departure from classical lines of thought.”

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It is the subject of entanglement I wish to present, and the question for discussion is:

“Why is Entanglement of Business Relationships Important?”

We can begin by interpreting Entanglement as, “The condition of being deeply involved.” (1.)

If we entice our customers and clients into complex relationships, they will be reluctant to go through the hassle of undoing these relationships in order to leave, and as a result, we will have taken a giant step toward client Base Retention.

• By entangling our customers, we create enough immediate economic value for them that no competitor will be able to come up with a big enough offer to outweigh their switching costs;

• Customers are far more conscious of the benefits of each new strand of the tangle than they are of its potential penalties in some distant future;

• Switching costs tend to be perceived as a deferred expense that can be deferred indefinitely.

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When individuals interact, the complexity of the occurrence includes:

• The interaction can potentially have as much influence on every single decision and action of human beings as rules and role descriptions;

• There is a chance that they will feel sympathy and start to like each other – making communication easier and gives way to new possibilities;

• It creates new diversion and places importance on traits like matching ethics, likes and dislikes.

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One of my standard business practices is to provide complementary telephone client assistance and advice to improve their operations – this action provides me the opportunity to help set the management agenda for change; offer high quality in house educational programs; and to take part in implementing process and technology based improvements.

The benefits of this decision includes improving the total impact I have on customer results and to give myself a privileged position that grows out of an ever more tangled business relationship; the obtainment of information allows for shaping my clients value criteria – reducing the alternatives a customer can make when making a purchasing decision; and the complexity of services create many opportunities to assist our clients.

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(1.)  Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Inc, 1983): 415.

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