By Alyssa Udall (@udallyss)

Tinyurl, Bit.ly, tr.im, ju.mp… anyone who’s used Twitter recognizes these names as common URL shortening services that people use to turn long links into short, convenient links.  These are also used in other social media networks like Facebook.

The question is… can URL shorteners affect your SEO?  The answer is, yes, they most certainly can.

Consider the above tweet we made using the bit.ly URL shortener to link to one of our blog posts.  Does this link provide any SEO value? Would it have been different if we used another shortening service?

In order to answer these mystifying questions, Search Engine Land has created a useful chart detailing the basic differences between URL shorteners.

Here is the most important factor when it comes to URL shorteners and SEO: 301 and 302 redirects.

301 versus 302 Redirects:

301 redirects are highly preferable in a URL shortener, because they tell search engines to give link credit to your long URL, rather than the shortened one! This is also permanent and really helps give credit to your links. Luckily, the most commonly used URL shorteners like bit.ly and tinyurl use 301 redirects.

302 redirects, on the other hand, give only temporary link credit to your long links.  This tells search engines that the more powerful and important link is the shortened one, not yours! Here are some URL shorteners that use this dreaded 302 redirect: Hex.io, twurl.in, and eweri.

So next time you go to shorten that amazing link, be sure to pick a URL shortener that uses a 301 redirect. This will help you create inbound links to your site or blog, which will in turn increase your rankings in search engines!

By Alyssa Udall (@udallyss)

Yes, the title of this post may seem a bit depressing, but just hear me out.

I’m here to talk about the top mistakes that people make in SEO in relation to keywords, which in turn, basically guarantee that they will never reach the top of Google.

Let’s say that I’m starting an online shop focusing on baby products.  The problem that most people encounter in relation to keywords, is that they use terms  like “baby products” without recognizing their popularity or exploring other options.  There are many problems with using generic, short phrases like “baby products” as your main keyword that you would like to market to search engines.  For example, consider online entities like Babies-R-Us and Graco that have hundreds of thousands of dollars to commit to online marketing.  Large companies like these dominate the online marketing world because they have almost unlimited resources while, sadly, you do not.

Also, consider how search engines like Google rank sites: the shorter the keyword, the more searches you will have.  Therefore, the shorter the keyword or phrase, the harder it is for you to rank number one in Google, for they understand that shorter phrases are more popular, and therefore more desirable for online businesses.

Basically, when people start a site (or start optimizing their site), they tend to choose keywords that are all wrong for them.  In order to avoid this, use the Google Adwords Keyword Research Tool to research key terms and phrases.  First, I would make a list similar to this:

baby products

designer baby products

baby items

baby gifts

These are common key phrases that others with similiar online stores will use to generate traffic to their site.  Once I enter in these keywords (and check the “use synonyms” box), Google will generate information on these terms and other similar phrases.  You can use this information to pick keywords that are popular, but not over-saturated with competition, such as “baby products”.

By using what are called “long tail keywords” (phrases of three or more words) you will have a much higher chance of getting a great ranking in Google.  This works to smaller online businesses’ advantage, because longer keyword phrases have less competition and will allow them to rank in Google’s top page.  Although the traffic generated from these words is quite a bit less than the traditional two-word phrase, it’s better to be at the top of Google for “cheap handmade baby products” than on page 24 for “baby products”.

By Britnee Nguyen

Search engine optimization tends to have a lot of different aspects about it that businesses need to be aware of in order to see results. There are so many things that can be done when optimizing a website that it’s important to let experts in the field work on the SEO for your business.

Google is the search engine that most businesses want to be top ranked, but Google is regularly changing their search results formula which makes it more difficult to stay on top. Internet marketing experts who work with SEO everyday, such as those at Submit Solution, stay up-to-date on these changes.

There are several things that need to be kept up on an updated basis for businesses to succeed on Google. For example, the local results feature on Google helps target certain areas for results. So if your business wants to do more in a local geographical area, Google can get you more traffic from those in that area. You just need to make sure you write some local information when optimizing your website. To boost your local ranking, use local keywords when you’re writing directions on how to find your business with a map included.

You also want to take advantage of recent results. Some of those who use search engines only want to read about the most recent and updated information. This means you should be constantly updating the content on your website or blog to make sure you’re fresh to show up on recent results. Google also offers searchers to look for related results to their original search. This is where variations of your target keywords will benefit you. Your website will be more likely to show up if you have more related keywords on the niche you are in.

Google has been one of the top search engines for many years and businesses have continually found success when they’re ranking high on it. There are many other ways to strategize your SEO to get ranked high on Google, but hopefully the above tips will help you get started.

By Britnee Nguyen

Google and Bing have both announced that they are going to start including Facebook and Twitter posts into their search results. They also claim these will be real-time searches. Social media has so many internet users that Bing and Google want part of that action in their search engines.

They have said that they will start letting users search for Twitter tweets and Facebook statuses on the general search engine sites. In addition, Google is going to include a social search tool that shows a user’s friend’s posted information on various social sites. Google is also partnering with La La music to start offering music downloads on their site as well.

Lately, there have been many on-line social media sites where more people are going towards to get their information from instead of through the traditional on-line searches. It sounds like Google and Bing are trying to steer that group back to their own websites with this new strategy.

According to reports, web traffic to search engines increased by 15 percent in the past year with Twitter increasing tenfold and Facebook tripling its numbers. So they are all growing immensely, but Google and Bing still want to remain the main place to go for information.

This is great and all that the search engines are still working hard to keep business thriving, but I haven’t found out yet how those who don’t want to be included in the search results to opt out.

Personally, Facebook is my private space and I don’t want everybody to be reading my statuses. Which is why on Facebook, no one is allowed to look at your profile unless you make them your friend. Allowing access to this through search engines interferes with this privacy.

Twitter on the other hand is okay to do so. Most everyone’s T

witter accounts are open to the public that anyone can view. When I write something on Twitter, I write knowingly that anyone could see it. With Facebook, it’s more private. This is from a personal opinion, from a business opinion this is great news. It means more coverage and chances to get your name out there through search results.

It’s great that search engines are being innovative and offering new services, but I do hope they provide a way for personal social media users to block the search results if they want that option.

By Alyssa Udall (@udallyss)

Many people do not understand the art of linkbait.  In fact, the term is most often associated with negative connotations!  However, there are many classy ways to use linkbait principles to gain inbound links to your blog.

Inbound links are extremely important for SEO.  The links that are pointing to your blog, and the greatest variety of links at that, will greatly increase your organic rankings in search engines like Google or Bing.

The negative connotations surrounding linkbait are usually generated from spammers, as usual.  Here are some great ways you can use linkbait to optimize your blog rankings:

1.  Have an activity: Create an activity relevant to your niche.  For example, a quiz or interactive generator of some kind.  Then, have the ability for those that complete the activity to post the results on their blog or website.  This is a fun way to create inbound links!
2.  Socialize: Being involved in social media can also create valuable inbound links.  Try picking one or two social networks that appeal most to your genre and interests.  Be sure to spend time interacting with others and not just promoting your own content!  This will help you create influence in that community and will power up the links you post.

These are just a few thought-starters!  Try coming up with other ideas of how you can create inbound links to your blog through linkbait.  This is one of the essentials of SEO and is often overlooked!