Search Engine Optimization

Some people sign up for Twitter, look at it once or twice, and give up in exasperation. They just do not get the premise, or the popularity of the site. This is not their fault, it is not until you fully engage will you begin to understand why it’s so popular, and also to receive some of the benefits it offers.

Link Juice

Additionally, everyone is aware that your Twitter profile URL is a nofollow link, so it doesn’t pass on any link juice. However, it is useful for attracting some nice links to your Twitter account, and your blog, and other websites you might have. Also take a look at Twitter search results whenever you are on Google, and you likely will be quite amazed at what you find there—it might even set the wheels turning as to how to rank higher for some longtail keywords.

With the crazy growth of micro blogging sites like Jaiku, and the largest, Twitter, these sites might be the next great area to look at when attempting to optimize the site better advantage. Sure, it’s great for sending messages, but it’s also superb for generating traffic for your websites. Twitter allows you to post your links in your messages. Another plus about Twitter is that the status pages are beginning to get indexed by search engines, and likely getting good page ranks on their own. For instance, as of the time of writing this post, my own personal Twitter page is ranked a PR4, and I have done nothing special to cause that sort of a page rank. I must say it was much easier to get this page to that rating than it is a blog. Some aspects of Twitter make it a better choice than Jaiku; Twitter statuses and user pages are made sub-directories, which are set up as totally different sites altogether. The SEO benefits of Twitter, however, will trickle into all of the sub-folders. Twitter allows links in tweets, so you should definitely use its PR 9 status to boost your blog post or other writing.

Tools

There are now lots of Twitter tools available that automate some of your Twitter tasks, and allow you to look at Twitter once in a while and schedule Tweets for days at a time. These tools generally will allow you to answer direct messages and also retweet interesting information that you find from those people you follow. Also, if you have more than one Twitter account, there are tools which enable you to work with all of them at one time, cutting down the time it takes you to actively engage with others on the site. Twitter user directories add benefits for your SEO efforts by giving you a dofollow link, and also helping you grow your followers list and raise your ranking in the serps. Your followers, of course, are your Twitter audience– so the bigger that list is, the better. Newer business directories are also popping up and they seem to be growing rapidly.

Tweets

People often ask what to Tweet about. Well, you can regale your followers with what you had for breakfast this morning, but you might end up with less followers if you do that. Most of your followers will likely be in your niche, or similar niches. When you Tweet, you want it to be information that can help your followers in some way. Of course, people promote their own blogs, websites, businesses and services on Twitter. However, you don’t want to blast people with a marketing message all the time. The soft sell works much better in Social Media. A good rule of thumb is one self-promoting post out of ten. That means you are giving a lot of yourself before you ask for anything in return.

The use of social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, have proven to be excellent resources for small businesses to use to drive niche traffic to their sites and, especially, their related blogs. Blogging, too, has proven to be a powerful way for business owners to communicate with their customers, improve their SEO, and create a presence online. Mastering Twitter can be challenging, there really are no easy shortcuts, and it is easy to mess things up. However, by following these tips, which have been gleaned by the old fashioned trial and error method, you should be able to send lots of targeted Twitter traffic to your blog.

Brand your Twitter

Many owners believe they can set up a Twitter account, and the business will come. Nothing could be further from the truth. The very first step is to change the default picture to your logo or a personal picture of yourself and effectively ‘brand’ your business on Twitter. Likewise, fill out your Twitter bio, which is a short and sweet “about” mini-page. Take things one step further and build a Twitter background that builds your business’s image. Like other online methods of marketing, Twitter can be impersonal if you do not take the time to build the necessary relationships with potential clients and customers. Therefore, you want them to feel that they are conversing with real people, and personalizing your space helps. The profile picture is likely the first thing followers look at, and if it is compelling, they may go further and look at your profile or check out your business’s blog.

Engage Consistently

In other words, be sure that you show up and actually use your Twitter account! This may seem like a no-brainer statement, but many people just do not get it. In fact, some recent studies have shown that less than 20 percent of Twitter account owners utilized their account last month, and that 60 percent don’t use it continually, month after month. Many small business owners don’t know what to Tweet about, so they show up and put up a blatantly ‘salesy’ pitch—“come to my site and buy from me.” This is exactly the wrong way to handle a Twitter account, as most people will ignore it, or worse, it will completely turn them off. Many owners think they are wasting time if they don’t get any @ responses right away, but Twitter is the type of tool that takes long range planning, daily consistent effort, and lots of persistence to pay off.

Social Proof

With Twitter, the more followers you have, the more you will get. If you follow more people, more people will naturally follow you, and so on. Now, add in the fact that you are consistently Tweeting out relevant messages in your niche, and you should quite a considerable amount of attention, which in turn will lead to even more followers. This doesn’t mean you should wait until you have 1,000 followers before you send out any Tweets. You should be consistently working on all of these things…find people and organizations in your niche to follow and Tweet about things those people would be interested in. Do not attempt to promote your business blog, however, until you have a decent following and have ‘been around the block’ a few times… in other words, you’ve had an account for a reasonable period and have tweeted quite a bit. The first thing your fingers type should NOT be an ad!

Sincerity

Be friendly and sincere in your daily interactions. Initially, it may feel that you are only talking to yourself; however, you are slowly gaining a following that will be directed to your business’s blog. Try starting each morning with a friendly hello. Find a relevant post that would be of interest to your followers and retweet it. Twitter should be mostly about giving and just a little bit about taking in order to be successful. If you hear something interesting about someone who is on Twitter, definitely @mention it so that they’ll know you gave them some exposure. Likewise, if you want to talk about something or start a conversation, #subject is the way to go. Every so often, it is okay to promote your business and yourself…but go easy, perhaps 10% of your posts at any time should be self-promoting.

Twitter newbies can be successful, and following these simple tips should help. Remember, only promote yourself or your business in one post out of every ten, retweet other’s posts, mention others, be sincere, show up every day, and tweet about relevant things that are interesting and compelling to your audience.