Blog (Page 2)

The day has finally come where Twitter users can voice their annoyance with the 140 character limit in more detail, now that Twitter has formally verified that they have raised the character limit to 280 per Tweet!

The social networking platform, which was launched in 2006, grew aggressively to become one of the most stylish social media platforms around the world, however recent declines in growth prompted the social media giant to make some adjustments. Twitter differentiates itself from other social media networks with its ‘microblogging’ feature, which is widely distinct to equivalent social media sites like Facebook and Google Plus. Twitter has just over 330 million users that send nearly 6,000 Tweets per second.

Despite the 140 character limit that truly defined the social networking service, Twitter disclosed on November 7 that they want every user around the globe to ‘easily’ express themselves on Twitter. After performing a series of tests over the past couple of months, Twitter determined that they wanted to expand the character limit, but only where needed. Countries like China, Japan, and South Korea will remain at the 140 character limit, simply because there’s no demand for an increase, as sending messages in these languages can be represented in a short amount of characters. Languages like English however, experience jammed Tweets with 9% of English Tweets hitting the previous 140 character limit.

So, why the change?

After performing a number of tests to specific users, Twitter gained valuable results and believed the 240 character limit would be favourable for the majority of users. Due to the fact that 9% of English users were hitting the 140 character mark, many would need to spend time cropping their Tweets to make sure they didn’t have to send several messages. Further, users would now have the ability to readily fit their thought and feelings into a single Tweet, so they could say what was on their mind and send them faster than before.

The question is, what impact will this have for digital marketers and SEO consultants? Here are a few alterations that they can expect to see.

Increased engagement

Since Twitter expanded the character limit, users have encountered a higher level of responses which produced more followers. Certainly, this has been a step in the right direction, as there has been a reported higher satisfaction rate from content producers together with more Likes, Retweets, and Mentions.

Improved user experience for followers.

The increased character limit means that users will have smaller threads of conversations, since they can fit more content into a single message. Users with long threads of conversations stated that it can often be challenging to follow and respond to. Moreover, brands are enjoying the longer Tweets as it allows them to fit more comprehensive information into a single Tweet which creates higher engagement rates.

Increases customer communication

With the surge of firms using social media as a channel to manage customer service issues, customers can now express an issue in more detail on Twitter which is beneficial for both the customer and the business, as communication is substantially improved. Previously, many users would have looked to other platforms like Facebook to report customer service issues given that the character limit was too restraining.

More Creativity

Longer Tweets means that enterprises can enrich the creativity of their communication with their target audience through storytelling, Q&A’s, and more engaging Twitter Chats. Businesses would commonly have to use other social media platforms if they wanted to get creative, however brands can now successfully use longer text to their advantage by reaching out to their audience on a more personal level.

Even though some users have argued that the increase in character limit by Twitter makes them more comparable to other social media sites, the clear majority of users appear to be very satisfied with their latest update. Nothing is set in stone in social media, as making changes to stay up to date with shifting user behaviour is vital for survival. For the time being though, both users and marketing specialists seem to have emerged the winner!

If you need any guidance about how your enterprise can leverage the increased character limit to your advantage on Twitter, simply talk with Internet Marketing Experts by calling 1300 595 013, or alternatively visit their website for more information: https://internetmarketingexperts.net.au

In today’s ever-changing online landscape, it’s paramount that businesses Google’s best practices to ensure they remain competitive in their respective online markets. With Google being the most dynamic and influential company on the internet, it’s imperative for them to keep abreast of all the threats and opportunities that the internet produces. Hence, Google releases a myriad of updates every year: new features, bug fixes, and the majority pertaining to the very secretive Google search ranking algorithm.

What’s important though, is that all online suppliers that use Google-related services (virtually every online business), recognise important changes that may have a bearing on their SEO, performance, and ultimately their bottom-line. The internet is in a constant state of change, so online companies need to be flexible and accustom to new Google updates as soon as possible to ensure they aren’t negatively influenced by these new releases.

The biggest Google update that has recently had an effect on online providers relates to Google Chrome v62, which was released in October of this year. The Google Chrome web browser is used by virtually 50% of all online users, so it’s really important that online providers implement the appropriate changes as swiftly as possible if they aspire to avoid any negative repercussions.

What has changed in Google Chrome v62?

In the Google Chrome v62 update, Google has changed the way in which it marks non-secured (HTTP) pages. If a non-secured (HTTP) page stores passwords and credit card information (which is housed in a plain text file), they are prone to phishing sites that can essentially steal this information from buyers that wrongly believe they are supplying their personal information to a legitimate company. The Google Chrome browser will begin marking any text input field and web address bar as ‘NOT SECURE’ for HTTP pages.

This change will visibly bear upon millions of websites around the world. Before the change, many non-secured websites weren’t impaired by phishing attacks simply because they didn’t have a public-facing member login, and chose PayPal or other offsite payment processors to accept online payments. Now, however, all websites will need to start securing their web pages given that users will become scared of succumbing to malevolent attacks if they enter personal information into fields marked boldly as ‘NOT SECURE’.

How to make web pages secure?

For online providers that would like to secure their previously non-secured (HTTP) web pages, they must encrypt the information being exchanged between their visitors and their web server by integrating an SSL certificate. Google are evidently pushing for a more secure internet than ever before, and they’ve chosen SSL encryption as a vehicle to do this. For website owners who want to enable HTTPS on their web servers, here is an informative guide: https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/security/encrypt-in-transit/enable-https?hl=en. The following link is an additional guide on how you can avoid the ‘NOT SECURE’ warning in Google Chrome which is intended for website developers: https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2016/10/avoid-not-secure-warn.

What this means for online businesses?

The recent Google update denotes that HTTPS and SSL encryption will become the norm across all web pages on the web. Sooner or later, each online provider will need to secure their web pages using SSL encryption whether they like it or not, or users will simply find a competitor that does.

What this also signifies is that not all websites using SSL encryption should be trusted, and there will be a significant increase in phishing sites using HTTPS also. Phishing sites can simply use phony SSL certificates to evade the ‘NOT SECURE’ warning by Google Chrome and make their websites appear authentic. This will make the differentiation between phishing sites and real websites more complicated than ever. Online companies that use an Extended Validation Certificate (EV SSL) will be the most trusted websites on the net because it will be exceptionally difficult for phishing sites to mimic the authenticity that EV SSL provides.

Making all websites use SSL certificates to demonstrate their authenticity will only increase the number of phishing sites that do the same. At the end of the day, however, SSL encryption will inevitably become compulsory, so if you need any support in securing your website with SSL encryption, consult the digital specialists at Internet Marketing Experts by calling 1300 595 013, or visit their website for additional information: https://internetmarketingexperts.net.au