Accessibile.it, il progetto di Mentine sull’accessibilità del web, riparte tra pochi giorni. Ne parleremo venerdì 11 marzo a Bologna, all’evento organizzato dalla Regione Emilia Romagna OpenPA 2011er, in una delle tre sessioni di barcamp parallele che si svolgeranno nel pomeriggio: “Banda larga, multimedia, mobile e social network: la tecnologia abilita o esclude?“.
A giudicare dall’elenco dei partecipanti, cospicuo per numero e spessore, ci aspettiamo spunti interessanti su questo tema dell’accessibilità a cui vogliamo così bene, come a un geniale figlio vittima del comune senso della tecnologia.
Lo scorso martedì intanto abbiamo avuto modo di partecipare a “Valutare i siti web delle istituzioni“, con la presentazione di alcuni casi di redesign molto interessanti e su come essi sono stati condotti. È stato bello vedere che c’è un dibattito in corso sulla missione della PA e sulla ricerca di quelle che la prof. Lalli chiama le “grammatiche di azione della quotidianità”, ovvero le pratiche che – discendendo da una visione chiara di come usare l’on line – dovrebbero essere così digerite da diventare parte integrante del modo normale di agire.
Per qualche dato in più su accessibile.it, abbiamo scritto qualche tempo fa questo post.
(Come scrivono i giornali, “riceviamo e volentieri pubblichiamo” questo post di Valeria Bigongiali, che abbiamo avuto l’onore di ospitare nell’ultimo trimestre del 2010 per ridare vita al nostro progetto accessibile.it. Grazie ancora Vale per l’ottimo lavoro!)
Che cosa significa accessibilità?
Faccio e mi faccio questa domanda da diversi mesi.
La prima volta è stato studiando i siti web che parlano di Bologna, la città in cui vivo e studio. L’analisi faceva parte del progetto TagBologna (oggi TagEmiliaRomagna), il laboratorio di marketing territoriale nel web 2.0 tenuto da Michele d’Alena all’interno del mio corso di laurea in Scienze della Comunicazione Pubblica e Sociale. Così ho conosciuto il lavoro di Mentine, che si interroga sull’accessibilità da molto più tempo di me e oggi rilancia il progetto accessibile.it, avviato nel 2006.
È proprio alla rinascita di accessibile che ho partecipato negli ultimi mesi, un lavoro durante il quale sono riuscita a cogliere meglio la multidimensionalità di questo concetto.
Da una parte gli aspetti tecnici, i requisiti base necessari a rendere i contenuti fruibili per tutti, anche i disabili: i tentativi di eliminare ogni discriminazione. Dall’altra, l’architettura dell’informazione e la sua presenza: quale impatto hanno gli sforzi tesi a rendere la fruizione dei contenuti possibile se poi quello che manca sono i contenuti stessi?
Il progetto, partendo da queste basi, cerca di capire come tutto questo venga affrontato nel “nostro” territorio di riferimento: Bologna, appunto. E più nello specifico, nei siti dei sessanta Comuni della provincia, delle facoltà universitarie e delle Ausl regionali.
È stata una bella avventura, ricca e preziosa per la tesi di laurea, che gira attorno al complesso e interessante rapporto tra web e cittadinanza. Attualmente in work in progress, vedrà la luce a marzo; nel frattempo, i risultati di accessibile.it verranno pubblicati.
Per tutti questi motivi, ringrazio ancora tutti “i” Mentine per il lavoro stimolante e la piacevolissima compagnia.
If you’re asking what white label SEO is, read what we have below. We’ll tackle what it is, it’s importance, and everything else you need to know about it.
What is White Label SEO?
Also known as private label SEO, this type of search engine optimization service is, in essence, a partnership. A party of at least 2 companies forms an agreement to share the responsibilities in sales and marketing of a product.
Let’s use an example to explain this. Imagine that there’s one company mass producing different kinds of bread. They produce amazing bread, but they don’t know how to sell their products.
This is where the second company comes in. This is where white label SEO outsourcing becomes a crucial step.
They are the experts in marketing different kinds of products. So, the 1st company outsources to them so they don’t have to think of their own marketing campaign.
This is how private label SEO works. One of the companies uses their time to work on the development and SEO of a product while the other company is in charge of selling it.
How does this work if one company does most of the work? This works because they agree that the finished product isn’t branded. This means the other company has no problem calling it their own. A professional SEO white label partner can easily improve your site traffic within couple days.
The Importance of Private Label SEO
Why is private label SEO important today? Why hire a white label SEO reseller? This is because it benefits both the white label SEO agency and their resellers.
White label SEO outsourcing gives high-skilled SEO professionals a job. The current search engine optimization market is volatile and expensive. This makes it hard for some SEO experts to attract new clients.
Outsourcing to them makes it easier for them to receive projects at regular intervals. Doing so also allows them to build relationships with other companies. This makes it possible for them to get even more projects in the long run.
Meanwhile, the company that resells can focus their time on other things. Attracting new clients is their primary concern. These companies tend to dedicate their time thinking of new marketing strategies.
This also allows them to spend more time evaluating their manpower. Search engine optimization tends to take some time. This gives the reselling company a chance to focus on their core competency.
Still not convinced that private labeling is a great option? Here are a few more benefits which private label SEO can bring to the table.
1. Client Gain
Whether you’re in the SEO side or the reselling side, private label SEO benefits you both when it comes to your total number of clients you have and will gain in the future.
SEO professionals gain more clients through their expertise. Many people prefer to hire small groups of experts when they’re looking for SEO services. They prefer individual workers even more so than small groups.
This makes it possible for many SEO experts to band together to be able to make a living. This also makes looking for work easier for those who prefer working alone. Most individuals also couldn’t get in big SEO companies, so this also benefits them a lot.
On the other hand, the marketing side of the coin gains more clients through their output. As mentioned above, outsourcing to SEO experts gives them more time to work on their marketing abilities. Marketing is, after all, one of the reasons people find success in e-commerce.
With their minds focused on marketing, they are able to give more successful output all the time. Consistent output attracts a lot of clients. This gives them more business, thus giving more to the SEO experts, as well.
2. Improved Scalability
Private label SEO improves your brand’s scalability by a considerable amount. With more clients coming to hire you for your services, you’ll need to expand. Private label SEO services allow you to focus on expansion to improve on your strengths.
Think of this as a supplementary company. You will be able to improve what makes your brand unique, while the private label SEO company you outsource to compliments you, covering the area you’re lacking in.
Meanwhile, SEO agencies are able to expand to specialize in more SEO branches. Diversifying SEO specializations allow you to attract more clients in the long run. However, the main benefit of doing this is company growth.
A lot of private label SEO agencies start off small. If you’re looking to expand your SEO team, it’s smart to recruit people who know about other SEO strategies. You can look to expand from basic SEO to lead generation, e-commerce, local SEO, and global SEO.
3. Private Label SEO is Cost Effective
Compared to the usual prices in the SEO market, private label SEO is much cheaper. This is because most private label SEO services don’t brand their finished projects. Having no brand makes it cheaper, you only need to pay for their services.
Also, you have the choice to rebrand the finished piece as your own. This gives you the option to sell it off at a higher price to your clients. This is one of the unseen advantages of this kind of SEO, you get to control the prices which your clients see.
Outsourcing to a white label SEO agency also means you don’t need to invest in making your own SEO team. There will be no need for you to cut out a significant part of your resources anymore. Now, the only expenses you’ll need to spend will be the cost of hiring a separate SEO team.
This also allows you to save up your resources. You can use them in any way you wish instead. For example, improving the areas where your business is lacking.
That said, you should be careful in choosing an SEO company to work with. Most companies have portfolios of their previous works. Look at these instead of their reputation to get a clear picture of who you’re working with.
4. Faster Set-Up Means More Output
A project divided between 2 companies mean it can get completed in a shorter amount of time. This can impress a lot of your clients, thus leading to more recommendations. This is an important part in business because stagnation can lead to the death of a company.
Good strategies to churn out your projects even faster is to talk to the company you’re partnered with. Setting up a clear outline of how the project will go will allow you to spend less time pitching ideas back and forth between one another.
You can also divide your SEO group to work on a specific area of the project. Assign someone to oversee all the others make sure everything goes without a hitch.
Being successful in doing this allows you and your partner to be able to launch more campaigns. Doing this diversifies your client base, allowing you to grow even further as a company.
5. Extend Your and Your Partner’s Reach
Speaking of a diverse client base, you have the ability to extend you and your partner’s reach. Having amazing SEO allows you to reach audiences outside of your target demographic.
You can do this through various SEO strategies, but we’ll touch more on that later. All you need to know is that a good private label SEO affects the website’s design. This makes the website rank higher on search engines like Google.
This gives your partnership the potential of gathering more clients through searches. It can also make your services appear on banner ads, provided you availed for such services.
6. Younger Audiences are Potential Audiences
It’s no secret that social media is one of the reasons people go on the internet. What people don’t know is that search engines dominate over social media sites.
Users spend a lot of time on social media, but they spend more time searching for data. This is because younger minds are curious, and data is more likely found on search engines than on social media.
They also use search engines more often because it outperforms social media searches. Search engines provide results faster than those from social media sites. Since people nowadays desire fast service, social media doesn’t make the cut for them.
Also, the younger generation like technological convenience. They tend to try out new search engine technologies like voice search. Also, knowing something is in development makes them stick around until it’s finished.
An optimized website means more potential customers will discover your product.
How to Do Effective White Label SEO
Now that you’re convinced that private label SEO is the way, here are some tips to be effective in it.
1. Link Building
This is an important step in SEO. Building successful links to external websites increase your SEO score by a lot. This is because Google places a high value on external links.
However, this doesn’t mean you can link to any external website. You need to know which websites are safe for linking. Failing to determine which is safe may compromise your website and product.
This is because Google updates their algorithm on a regular basis. It does this to answer any exploits people use to increase their SEO. External links are a popular exploit because of how easy it is to spam.
Learn how to build white hat links. Using these sort of link makes sure your links survive any Google update.
2. Guest Blogging
Writing guest blogs are a good way to increase off-page SEO. Using this is also a great way to start of your SEO company.
In essence, it is the same as a private label SEO partnership. The only thing different about this is you don’t have a long-term agreement with the company you’re writing for. This is great practice as an SEO company still starting up.
Guest blogs are also one of the safest options for SEO. Becoming proficient with these will make you look more valuable to future partners.
3. On-Page Keyword Optimization
Keyword optimization relies on a lot of factors. Keyword density, keyword value, and length are a few of them.
Learning how to research keywords will give a big boost to your SEO capabilities. You can expect to run into a lot of competition for keywords. This is because they are one of the main ingredients for successful SEO.
It’s also important to know the proper way to use keywords. Before, you can place as much as you like when writing an article. Now, you need finesse to be able to be efficient with keywords.
4. Content Development
One of your jobs as a white label SEO company is to come up with meaningful content. You have to brush up on how you can provide that service if you want to be successful.
Writing content for SEO is different from writing for creative purposes. You need to be informative to your readers while being concise. Practice writing short, informative sentences when you can.
Another thing you should practice is doing research. More often than not, the projects will be something you’re not familiar with. With time being important, you need to be quick in conducting research to keep up.
“Coraggio ce l’ho. E’ la paura che mi frega”, diceva Totò.
Chi non si è mai scoperto con sintomi da perdita di controllo davanti alle dinamiche del web? Genitori allarmati, aziende, amministrazioni, governi, perfino i più disinvolti davanti al primo social network. In fatto di privacy, gestione dei contenuti, scarsa esposizione, eccessiva esposizione, meccanismi di diffusione, i timori non si placano facilmente.
(Benvenuto al primo post di Valeria su www.mentine.net!)
Secondo voi, chi ha paura della rete? La ghiotta occasione per dire la vostra è il GGD8BolognaCamp, sabato 13 novembre dalle ore 14 12 all’Urban Center di Bologna: un barcamp sul tema “Chi ha paura della rete?” organizzato dalle GGD Bologna in collaborazione con TagBoLab.
Un barcamp è una non-conferenza, ovvero una conferenza dove il contenuto delle sessioni è influenzato e creato dai partecipanti e chiunque può “salire in cattedra” (fonte wikipedia).
Le GGD (Girl Geek Dinners), nate a Londra nel 2005, sono cene e incontri organizzati da e per donne appassionate di tecnologia, Internet e nuovi media. Gli uomini possono partecipare agli eventi solo se invitati da una delle partecipanti. E, inutile dirlo, anche al GGD8BolognaCamp le relatrici saranno tutte donne.
Ma non è tutto: come già sapete ha da poco ripreso vita Accessibile.it. In veste di unica quota rosa di Mentine, nonché studentessa della prima edizione di TagBoLab (che sostiene il progetto), a me l’onore di presentare in anteprima i risultati dell’analisi sull’accessibilità dei circa 60 siti dei comuni della provincia di Bologna. Il titolo dello speech è “PA-URA: il web e la Pubblica Amministrazione”.
Per iscrivervi e partecipare al barcamp trovate tutte le informazioni sul sito delle GGD Bologna. Ci vediamo il 13 novembre!
Il 13 novembre a Bologna si terrà il GGD camp, a tema “chi ha paura della rete?”. Noi non abbiamo paura della rete, almeno non fino a che c’è luce, e il dibattito ci appassiona. Perché la paura è il più delle volte frutto dell’ignoranza – nel senso della non conoscenza.
