Many online marketing experts are recommending the increased use of social services alongside other plans such as search engine optimisation. Other online marketing experts would argue that search optimization is now a lost cause, and reactions from social services have a more significant impact on a website’s natural search engine positioning than any action performed by search engine optimisation consultants. The newest extension to social services is based on location. Facebook is launching Facebook Places as an alternative to Foursquare, a social outlet that is not as well recognised in this country but does already have some fans. It is expected that Google will introduce a similar programme.

The basic premise of a location programme is that when a location client arrives at a location registered in the programme, he “checks in” so that the location operator is aware that a programme member is present. Thus, loyalty bonuses may accrue based on the number of times the client has checked in, or on the number of programme members are present. There is also the assumption that the first thing a client does on entering a bar is use his phone instead of using the location for its primary purpose. For organisation operators who cannot appreciate the benefits of such a location loyalty programme, Foursquare includes case histories documenting how companies have made use of the service.

The sort of organisation that could gain from this has to be social location, such as a nightclub, and it is difficult to appreciate how any other type of organisation location could profit. For example, the home stadium of an ice hockey team has been registered as a location in Foursquare but why? It does not own the an organization on a social network will have a significant search engine positioning on a search query, but they are unlikely to include keywords that have been used for the search query – it will probably be a reference to the organisation name. Similarly, if check-in references appear on a search results listing, how informative will they be? search engine optimisation is more concentrated on the selected keywords that a possible consumer will use who is not aware of your business name. Using search optimization plans will make your organisation more prominent to anyone using a search regardless of their social outlet preferences.

Facebook Places and Foursquare seem to represent alternative ways of operating loyalty programmes if your typical consumer is someone permanently attached to a mobile device and could be interested in your nightclub and feels compelled to inform all his social friends where he is at that exact moment. By providing incentives to location programme members it could be a way of attracting buyers on what would be a quiet night. To many people, these location schemes are just a further invasion of privacy. Online marketing experts have even noticed the opportunity for misuse of these systems. To everyday buyers who prefer to stay away from the social services for whatever reason, and companies that can see no need for a social presence, conventional search optimization plans will still have a bigger impact through an increased natural search engine positioning on a conventional search facility.

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Every so often search advertising specialists will predict the end of search engine optimisation. The latest theory for search optimization ending is the changing nature in which people are using internet services. As more people use mobile devices, there is a leaning towards individual applications such as Facebook and Twitter instead of going to the open web. If that tendency continues, it could be argued that there is no longer any demand to try to develop the natural search engine positioning of your company’s domain.

Single applications are nothing new. CompuServe, the predecessor to AOL, was a dedicated interface but it had to open out to use open web to the point where it was no longer required in that form. The current generation of applications are no different: the application serves a individual need, but for anything else the user has to go outside. The social services such as Facebook have become very important to many people, but the trivial comments that clutter the social services can get in the way of real information. Even the internal search platforms are limited, and do not look beyond the application’s own walls. A search request inside a social network for a business may find an unofficial fan page but no external connection to that a business if it has chosen not to be connected with that social network.

Many so-called applications on mobile devices are effectively a shortcut to a traditional website. They are the equivalent of shortcuts to specific applications visible on the desktop of a PC. Some applications such as newspapers continue to have an arrangement with a search engine such as Google, so it is still possible to make an external search request where a traditional natural search engine positioning is still significant. To make the most of that connection still demands the use of search optimization processes.

Open web used directly from a bookmark or a traditional search engine offers greater flexibility to a business, and is simpler to handle. Any search engine optimisation implemented on the website to develop the natural search engine positioning of its pages will have an impact across all of the search platforms without being particularly aimed at any one or being affected by matters such as the Bing Yahoo agreement. Any marketing through social services has to be duplicated or else be very selective. Facebook may currently be the largest network but is it the best? Some search optimization expert’s blog entry credits contain lists of social service accreditations that are almost as long as the item itself.

As more people use mobile devices then perhaps a tendency towards greater use of individual applications is likely, but one of those applications could just as easily be a traditional search engine. Many people currently use Google as the entry for any internet activity, even to enter a social network. Early service providers were also individual applications that eventually gave way to direct web use. It is very probable that direct web use will continue to survive alongside individual applications, and there will still be a purpose for search engine optimisation.

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The organic search engine positioning of the pages of your organization’s website can be influenced by various factors. The mechanical alterations you can make to emphasise the most relevant keywords in content and on results listing entries will make some difference. To numerous search optimization professionals the most significant stage in the search engine optimisation methodology is still backlink building. Backlinks are still a major constituent in the algorithm used by the search engines to calculate a search engine positioning, and the quality of those backlink connections can make a difference.

Most backlinks develop from promotional items created by your search engine optimisation professionals for publication on reliable article banks. These items include anchor text based on the keywords chosen for promotion, and as this anchor text is coupled to backlinks to the appropriate pages on your website by your own search optimization professionals then the backlinks will be targeted correctly. A sufficient number of this type of feature produced on a regular basis will add to the quantity of backlinks coupled to your organization’s website and add to its ranking factors.

Another stage of the search optimization technique may involve the negotiation of backlink connections with other trusted but relevant websites, something that can be even more time-consuming than the publication of blog items. Problems may arise with backlinks accumulated from exchange requests. It is possible that you have made a backlink connection with another website, but you have decided to change the website URL address or the chosen keywords in the anchor text. You will need to contact the owner of the other website and give him a good reason to make the change. A simple correction to a recent connection is simpler to justify than a change to a long standing backlink. Some owners are more receptive to adjustment requests, while others have been known to simply delete the existing backlink instead of making the requested adjustment.

Any adjustment requires caution – any adjustment to an established backlink must weaken its strength with the search engines, and it must be worthwhile for your exchange partner to make the requested adjustment. A newer backlink may be simpler to change than an older reference, but that may concern the search engines more, as will a high volume of modifications. A good contextual backlink is always worth more to the search engines than a simple home page reference from a doorway page, but to negotiate a replacement backlink from a more importantpage may be very difficult. search engine optimisation is more successful if the right references are made when the backlink is initially made.

Backlinks are arguably still the major constituent in the algorithm used by the search engines to big difference. Where backlink exchanges have been arranged, it can be sensible to review those backlinks to be sure that your website is getting the best out of the backlink – but it is going to be a lot harder to negotiate the changes than it was to acquire the backlink to start with.

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