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Google’s Trying to Solve the Fake News Problem

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Fake news is a big problem for Google, and it’s also a major issue for Facebook users as well. The challenge is how to deal with it. How can we teach an algorithm to sort fact from fiction? Project Owl is Google’s attempt at trying to hit fake news where it hurts.

Fake news spreads thanks to signals from friends and family. A friend or family member likes an article, or searches for a topic, and it becomes part of your bubble too. The new update aims to try and tackle the problem of search by addressing Google’s autocomplete feature.

How the Owl Works

When users enter a term into Google’s search engine, or Chrome search bar, a new form will allow them to offer feedback on the suggested terms. This way, if a suggested term is offensive or fake, users have more power to let Google know about it. It won’t remove the term from search immediately, but it does send a signal to Google that something is wrong or off.

Autocomplete Problems

Celebrity hoax deaths have become a popular Internet prank because they are easy to spread. Users just need to convince other users to search for a celebrity’s death enough, and the rumor spirals out of control. Autocomplete is trying to be helpful, but instead it’s contributing to a raging firestorm.

Now, the community will have more tools to police itself. It’s hoped that Google will be able to offer a much higher quality search experience.

Bio: Submit Express, founded by Pierre Zarokian in 1998, is dedicated to helping businesses achieve their best rankings online.

Posted in SEO

The basics of gated and ungated content

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Article Written by : Quadra Design

Gated content is when we ask a visitor for something, like an email address or to fill a form, before allowing access to certain content. You will come across this all over the web, with lots of content behind walls of some form. The gated content is easy to identify, with a button that says “Download Now” or something similar. According to Starfleet Media, respondents to a survey said that they keep 80% of their content gated. The question is, should content be gated?

Supporters of gated content say that it helps generate sales leads, reflects the value of the content and filters out those who are just browsing. This is a common argument many make against
people’s expectation that everything on the internet should come free.

There are those that do not think any content should be gated. They reason that by doing you build trust with prospects and viewers, remove road blocks for consumers and as a side effect will improve SEO.

Then there is the question of what should and should not be gated. Examples of content that could and should be gated are: webinars, demos, live content, white papers, downloadable books, quotes, newsletters, etc. On the other hand content like blogs, videos, podcasts, tips, infographics and archives.

Ultimately, the decision of what to gate and when will depend on the vertical, the content in question and the marketing plan. Regardless, it is a tool that can and should be used to further market the brand.

Machinery and equipment for your Gelato

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Written by Gelato Products

Gelato makers will often be looking out for good quality suppliers to supply wafers, cones, and gelato cups. However, making gelato also requires some equipment to ensure that gelato makers can make good quality gelato. Here is a list of items required for gelato production.

Pasteurizing Machine – It is important to invest in a pasteurizing machine, to produce gelato that is safe and hygienic.

Batch freezer – This stage involves the mixture turning from liquid to solid. The freezer will blend the mixture pushing air through it. The process will make the gelato consistent and creamy.

Blast chillers – It is important to follow batch freezing with blast chilling to freeze the product. A good quality blast chiller should reach temperatures as low as -35°C.

Making, storing and presenting gelato –Once the gelato is made it should be kept in refrigerators. There are two main methods of storage, and they are cabinets and counters (tub units and showcases).

Refrigerator cabinets – A good refrigerator should be set to above or below zero temperature, depending on the temperature outside and the amount of stock inside.

Products for serving gelato – To serve your gelato you will need tasting spoons, plastic yogurt spoons, bowls, tubs, cones, and napkins.

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Gelato Products is one of the premier Los Angeles wholesale frozen yogurt suppliers of gelato cups and spoons and other products for Gelateria owners.

 

The most counter-intuitive SEO facts

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Article Written by : SEO Web Online

With the hundreds and thousands of SEO websites and tips online, most online marketers elect to follow gut feel and guesses to avoid confusion from too many competing ideas. What is even worse are the thousands of case studies showing how a single tactic changed the fortunes of a website. However, there are some SEO truths that seem counter-intuitive, here are some of the more popular ones:

Content promotion

One of the most counter-intuitive facts that exists between marketing and content promotion is that content promotion is more important than the content. People talk about how “all you need is good content” when the truth is that without a similar or greater effort in the promotion, nobody will ever get to see the article. The phrase “content is king”  exemplifies this problem.

More content

Another one that is counter-intuitive is that when it comes to content, less is more. Too many believe the myth that You need to create content on a regular basis to rank better. To that end, some sites will create hundreds of articles when they should doing an audit and cleaning up. There are blogs that get millions of visitors posting just once a month. Quality and promotion are the keys.

SEO

Probably the most counter-intuitive truth about SEO is that not everyone needs it. There are sites and business categories that do need it. At the same time, there are sites, categories, and niches that would gain more from putting that money into promotion and other outlets.

 

Google Ranking system

Google’s top three ranking factors

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Article Written by : Web Marketing Tutorials

An entire an industry has been built on ranking better on Google. For years, every SEO professional has speculated and theorized as to what matters most to ranking well. Is it the number of links? Is it the anchor text? Well, for the first time, we actually know the top three ranking factors and it came from Google itself.

Google previously revealed that RankBrain was the third most important ranking factor. At the time, however, nobody would say what the first two were. Until now. In a Q&A, Andrey Lipattsev, a Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google said the following: “I can tell you what they are. It is content. And its links pointing to your site.” He did not elaborate which one was more important, but we have the top three now.

LINKS

Many SEO professionals still rate links above content. Mostly due to Google’s own patent filings. In addition, links are still the best indicator of what others consider good content. More links from authoritative sources will lead to higher rankings. There is no evidence that a well-written article will outrank a well-linked one.

CONTENT

There is a high likelihood that content and links work well together as ranking factors. It is not difficult to imagine that the content score is a way to differentiate similarly authoritative sites.

RANKBRAIN

RankBrain is a machine learning-based system that identifies similar keywords and serves the results from the better one. The easiest way to understand this is to think of two searches. One is a long tail search and the other is a normal two-word search. RankBrain identifies which major keyword phrase should be shown for which other combination of keywords.

Email tactics for revenue growth

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Article Written by  : WSX Hosting

There are many different ways to promote revenue growth. There are strategies related to price increases, customer segmentation etc. The one strategy that can be automated the easiest is an email campaign. Here are a few set-it-and-forget-it email strategies that can be used to good effect:

Basket abandonment

According to the Baymard Institute, the average shopping cart abandonment rate is 68%. That is a lot of opportunity for regaining lost sales. Often the cart is abandoned due to other issues and is simply forgotten. A simple reminder email can have the customer back on the purchase process before they go elsewhere for the purchase.

Last day email

When running a sale or discount period, make sure to send an email reminder on the last day of the offer. The urgency of the ending special offer can motivate the customer to make a purchase. The reminder email causes them to make a decision quickly.

Upsell email

Upgrade reminder emails actually work when converting free users to paid users. Even when users sign up for a free trial, there is a sense of ownership. A reminder email that the trial period is ending triggers a loss-aversion that makes them want to sign up for the higher-tier in order not to lose access to the service.

Back in stock

The system should be set up that if a customer viewed an out-of-stock product, that they should get an email as soon as the product is back in stock. Research has shown that there is a 22% increase in sales when back-in-stock emails are utilized.

Production of yogurt

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Written by Gelato Products

Yogurt is made using fermented milk created by the lactic acid bacteria, which often is lactobacillus bulgarius and Streptococcus thermophilus.

To make sure that yogurt is safe to eat, the milk is heat treated, homogenized and then cooled. As the milk cools, a bacteria or starter culture is added. If the right temperature and moisture are provided, the fermented milk produces lactic acid. After which the milk ferments and sets to form yogurt. As the milk ferments, it forms a colorless liquid, called acetaldehyde, which gives yogurt its distinctive taste.

To form yogurt, manufacturers use different types of milk from skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole, evaporated or powdered forms.

Apart from these varieties, yogurt now comes in a variety of textures from smooth to set and luxury to fat-free. Manufacturers have also added flavors like natural, fruit, cereal and created frozen yogurt cups, which compete with ice cream on the supermarket shelves.

There are also other fermenting yogurts with different microorganisms, that provide good bacteria for your gut. These include live yogurts, which have live harmless bacteria and probiotic yogurts, which contain live probiotic microorganisms.

Scientists now say that yogurt is a great way to include calcium and maintain a healthy weight. In addition, yogurt’s bacteria can help to ease stomach indigestion and to promote a healthy digestive tract. Therefore, pick up a white paper cup of this healthy, tasty, super food and make it part of your daily meal plan.

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Gelato Products has everything you need for your ice cream parlor, including frozen yogurt cups and other ice cream shop supplies.

 

Segmentation 101

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Segmentation is the process of grouping visitors to a website. Once the different segments have been identified and the traffic has been grouped then campaigns can be run targeting different segments. There are limitations here. The targeting is done at the group level, not at the individual. Although a custom first name and last name is used in such campaigns there is no reliable mechanism to individually target people. The good news is that with the level of segmentation that is in use, the visitors will feel more valued due to the targeting of their interests. Here are a few examples of segmentation:

First-time visitors and returning customers

In order to make first-time visitors into customers, a discount code could be offered as a popup as soon as they arrive or browse product pages. At the same time, you do not want to offer the same code to a customer who has already completed the first purchase any maybe used the very same discount code.

Early stage and late stage visitors

Again, offers can be made to visitors who are in the early stage of purchase such as placing items in the cart. While someone in the later stages of checking out might be offered a different incentive to continue. These two stages can also be sent different reminders if there was some form of abandonment.

Subscribers

This segmentation is to provide subscribers with special offers and incentives which we do not want to offer to non-members and casual visitors.

Learn More about the 2017 Search and Reputation Management Marketing Trends

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Recently, Pierre Zarokian of Submit Express sat down with DealCrunch writer Sean Garrity to look at some of the big trends coming to Internet marketing in 2017. Since 1998, Submit Express has helped thousands of businesses improve their reputation and search engine rankings online.

In this brief guide, you’ll learn which trends will bring the biggest impact to your efforts throughout the new year.

Reviews

The importance of reviews cannot be understated. Reviews directly affect your search engine standing, and have a huge impact on what potential customers think about you before they come to your store. Restaurants and retailers stand to gain the most from having a positive review score in Google, but really anyone benefits.

Zarokian’s approach is twofold: monitor reviews, looking for (and addressing) negatives and promoting positives, while creating your own feedback loop. This way, you control the flow of information on your Yelp page, and you’re better equipped to handle challenges as they occur. Customers will think it’s better to use your system since the feedback goes directly to you.

Search Marketing

Submit Express also utilizes SEO, but it doesn’t just mean search anymore. Zarokian’s team performs a full site audit, updates your content and then performs offsite work to help improve your site’s standing in search. This can include pitching to unique blogs to host content about you, or working on social media to improve your follower count.

Mobile optimization is another important component to 2017, as more and more of your customers switch to mobile devices to find stores in their local area.

Final Thoughts

Local search, and local businesses, can gain a lot in 2017. If you’re savvy, and you can stay on top of Google’s changes, you can improve your ranking and get better reviews.

Getting visitors to buy a post-purchase upsell

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Upselling is one of the many tricks that e-commerce websites use to sell more goods and services. It is basically getting the customer to make a purchase or take an action that they did not initially plan on. This is usually done by offering the customer added value by making them aware of a product that is complementary to what they are purchasing. The post-purchase upsell is done after the initial transaction has completed. There are several ways that this can be achieved:

The first is to offer an upgrade after the checkout has been completed. This is popular for subscription services. As soon as the visitor has successfully signed up for the package, a popup box on exit would offer an upgrade to the next level, at a lower cost than advertised.

The next is to offer add-ons. In this case, an offer is made to augment the order with additional items. As an example, let’s say that the shopper purchased a razor. After checkout, an offer is made to add items such as razor cartridges, shaving foam, aftershave etc. to the same completed order. This becomes more attractive if there is no additional shipping charge.

Another method is to upsell the same product that was sold but at a slightly discounted rate. In this offer, the shopper is shown the same product they just purchased. They are given the option to purchase more of the same, for example, they can buy two more for the price of one. Some sites have seen an increase of as much as 20% with this tactic.

The advantage to any of these methods is that the original transaction is complete and as a result, is not at risk.