SocialGO Owners

 

 

Todays workshop 'Member Billing 2.0, Profile Designer & GOCart' 5:00pm GMT | 12:00 pm EST | 9:00 am PDT. Mail support@socialgo.com to join!!

After our 2 page signup, your network will be live. By following these few simple steps it will be off to a flying start.

You control your network through the SocialGO Admin Centre which can always be found at http://my.socialgo.com, or by clicking on the Admin Centre link in the sidebar to the left, or by clicking on the Admin Centre tool bar located at the top of your screen.

Inside your Admin Centre you have a range of configuration options, allowing you to get things just right before you start inviting your contacts to join.

To get started there are some key areas you may want to look at in the Admin Centre:

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Dear Network Owners,

We recently launched the much anticipated 'Layout Manager'; an advanced system that gives you, our network owners, a vast degree of control over your network's pages. The system is brand new, and, as such, requires feedback as to what you feel you need from it. We appreciate any and all feedback on the system - and we certainly appreciate your interest!

The Layout Manager has been designed to allow maximum flexibility with the minimum amount of fuss and confusion. This is a very fine line to walk, and certain design decisions have been made to make the network lives of our owners easier to manage.

Here is a list of the most commonly asked questions regarding the Zones and Widgets:


Why am I not able to resize the zones on the default pages?

The SocialGO display pages have been created with a specific purpose in mind; this and the fact that some specific HTML does not scale well unfortunately limits the zone re-size capability on our default pages. Enabling re-sizing on all pages would mean that certain widgets would not display correctly, and you, the network owner, would need a way to modify the html for your specific requirements. This is one of the items we are looking for feedback on.

Why can't I move Widget X into Zone Y?

Due to the nature of HTML, certain widgets will not display correctly when placed in a zone that is a) too small or b) too large for its specific display requirements. That being said, all widgets can be re-ordered within the zone that they are in as well as be disabled, so, if you dont like it where it is, you are able to disable it or change its position in the list.

After those 2 limitations, the Layout manager gives you vast control over your custom pages and, with the following powerful tools, provides you with a new horizon of customisation:


Custom HTML Text-Boxes

The Custom HTML text-boxes allow you to add all kinds of html & 3rd party media almost anywhere on your site.

The feature allows you to copy and paste valid html of your own creation or from 3rd parties and use it within your network. Everything from video embedding, javascript, images, mp3 players, scrollers, tickers to Google Gadgets can be placed here.

Limitations: 7 per page. Due to the high security and page load time-risk, and the fact that the more Javascript you add to a page the slower it will load, you are currently only able to place 7 Custom HTML Text-Boxes.

Required Tech Level: Basic-Advanced. This widget is incredibly powerful and as such will allow you to be as advanced as you like; however, if you're a more basic user you can simply use it to paste in videos, music, or even custom announcements, tips, and advice.

Security risk: Low-High. This depends on what you paste into the widget, as some javascript is malicious by nature and could cause problems for you and your users.


iFrames

The iFrame Widget allows you to link in an entire 3rd party website (that allows iFrame linkage) which can then be navigated from within your network.

The website that you select to load in the iframe will load in its entirety; after your main network page has loaded, bear in mind that it will also load in the 3rd party website's javascript.

Limitations: One per page. Overuse of 3rd party sites and the nature of iFrames may cause your page to load more slowly; therefore, only one is allowed per page.

Required Tech Level: Moderate. Selecting the right website to embed in your site can be a challenge; if you don't need to, then you probably shouldn't overuse this widget.

Security risk: Moderate. This depends on the 3rd party site that you link to. We advise that you ONLY link to sites that you have direct control over or are on face-to-face speaking terms with the owner.


RSS Feed Widget

The RSS Feed Widget allows you load in a 3rd party RSS feed and display it in almost any zone; you can even customise the HTML used to display the items in the list.

Requires a valid RSS feed URL.

Limitations: 2 Per Page. As the lists can be quite long (depending on how many items you choose to display) only 2 are allowed per page.

Required Tech Level: Low. Simply enter a valid RSS feed URL and select the number of items you want to show. More advanced users can modify the default html used to display each list item, thus giving you an unprecedented degree of control over your lists

Security risk: Low.

Static SocialGO.com widgets

Some of the default widgets can be customised - you can tell this by clicking on a widget; if the "Edit Widget" button becomes available, you will be able to modify some aspect of that widget's properties.


Coming Soon: The Widget Store

We are currently hard at work developing the SocialGO.com Widget Store - this is very tightly integrated with your site, and, as such, provides developers with the power and flexibility to create the features that are most often requested.

Such tight integration with your site means that developers can seamlessly build extensions, addons, and even full-on applications that integrate so tightly with SocialGO.com that they appear to be (and in fact are) part of your network and not merely appended on.

This is a tough requirement and requires much testing and design. We're proud to say that SocialGO.com and the team at WidgetLaboratory are developing an initial batch of widgets to get you started, with many more widgets to follow as they pass testing and integration requirements.

SocialGo Websites – What is SEO?



Natural Search accounts for over 60% of search traffic

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.


SocialGo Websites – Research

Keyword Research
Target the right terms for your country’s market:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Other publicly available tools for keyword stats include “Keyword Discovery” and “Wordtracker”.

Analyse Competitors
There is ALWAYS a reason sites are ranked where they are -
find out what they are going for (terminology on site, references off of the site).


SocialGo Websites – Site configuration

Domain Name
Premium Users can benefit from their own domain.
Can choose a keyword relevant domain name.
“Link strength” is all yours, site can be submitted to more directories, etc.

Site Configuration
Control Panels allow users to name navigation tabs and customise various aspects of the page.
Use free tools such as Google Webmasters and Google Analytics.
SocialGo sites are built with indexation in mind (CSS usage)
URL optimisation (discussed later).

SocialGo Websites – On Site Optimisation





SocialGo Websites – Content Optimisation

The right level of content
Not just about using the right keywords, but not overdoing it.
General theme to your site (and towards your site).

Navigation and Integration
Tabs of your site (make each page unique, add custom tabbed content related to your theme).
Connecting discussions and blogs, linking within your own site.
Making some or all content public (more visitors can result in other ways of generating income, such as adsense or “members only” content).

SocialGo is currently working on making your websites more customisable and “SEO friendly” – along with additional opportunities to be more visible online, via channels such as a user site directory.

But its not just about optimising content on your own site


SocialGo Websites – Link Building

Key component in Search Algorithms
Part of the “pagerank” theory, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank
Quality of links, not just quantity.
Relevance of links to your site (similar sector, anchor text, etc.).
Can be maximised for users who have their own domain name.

Types of Link Building
Directories (Dmoz, Botw, Yahoo . . . And a wide range of others).
Blog directories such as Blogcatalog.
Write content outside the site (Press releases, Articles that mention your site).
Network with other sites in your niche, be active on blogs and forums in your sector.
Find out who links to your competitors, look for trigger sites that can index your domain, too.


SocialGo Websites – Integration

Share content with your friends
Integrate with Social Networking (StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc.).
Connect from your old sites (if available).
Working on maintaining forwarding when URL’s are updated.

Folder and page structure amends (e.g: URLs such as members/profile/1/blog-view/blog_101.htm – are not ideal for SEO, but we are working on ways to make user sites more SEO friendly by default, while maintaining server efficiency).

Already underway to some extent
“Magazine” URL’s are keyword related based on article name (still tweaking scripts such as advanced character replacement though).
Title tags on Groups start with individual group section first (example)
Looking at setting your root page to a domain default, alowing forums to have unique title parameters carried over, AND many other tweaks to come!


SocialGo Websites – Ongoing SEO

Long Term Strategy
Algorithms constantly evolve.
Other sites enter the ring.
A preference for sites that consistently add content and link strength (new sites may initially struggle).

Our Approach
We are continuously looking at ways of optimising our website for users.
Our own site has started to become more visible for target keyterms.
We also analyse returns in PPC, as both campaigns can compliment each other.

1) The first step is to sign up to Google Adsense HERE

2) Watch the GoogleAdsense video tutorial to find out where to find the Adcode.


3) Once you have the addcode loging to your admin panel



4) You then need to scroll down to the 'advert code' and paste in the code you received from Google


5) Save changes and it could take up to 10 minutes before the add's start to work.



*** Adsense tips ***


If you have any other questions to do with the GoogleAdsense setup its best if you go to  either

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpPX4A78jqg for indepth videos

https://www.google.com/support/adsense for adsense support

Here is a quick 3 simple step tutorial on how to delete your group


1) Sign into your network


2a) Select your groups tab.
2b) Select 'my groups'


3) Click on the group you wish to delete, and press 'delete group'.

Emptying your cache been be useful for removing old info that may be being stored by your browser and preventing your network from working properly.

• In Firefox, you can do this by going to Tools->Clear Private Data...
• Uncheck everything except for Cache

• In Internet Explorer, you can do this by going to Tools->Internet Options..
• Under 'Browsing History', choose 'Delete...', then uncheck everything except Temporary Internet Files

Then revist or refresh your web page.

We found a great post about the best tips and tricks of Google AdSense

By Glen Stansberry and Smashing Magazine Editorial Team

Google AdSense is a simple and low-risk way for publishers to quickly monetize their content. The pay-per-click ad system has created an opportunity for anyone to instantly have advertising on their website, without the hassle of having to actively sell ad space. AdSense makes up a good portion of the advertising revenue for many websites, and other websites may use AdSense to earn the bulk of their revenues. Either way, AdSense is an excellent system for monetizing your content.

In this post we present an ultimate collection of resources, tools and tips to help you make the most out of Google AdSense. Among other things, this post covers various Google AdSense tools, Firefox-extensions, WordPress-plugins and related resources.

Please feel free to suggest related tools in the comments to this post. You may also be interested in our post Google AdSense: Facts, FAQs and Tools that was published two years ago.

Read More Here...

A transparent header allows for seamless integration of your network’s background image into the header area. If employed wisely, this can make for an awsome look for your network.

Here is what you need to do:

1.      Create a transparent image (or you can download my image from http://drop.io/transbg): in Photoshop click on file—new, change the width to 1600 and the height to 180, change background content to transparent.

2.      Save as .png file (don’t save as .jpg)

3.      Launch your SocialGo admin and go to Network Designer

4.      Under the header tab click on the header image upload button, upload your file.

5.      Remember to choose ‘full width’ as header image width.

6.      Go to the body tab and play with the background image settings (image tiling and image start position) until you find a setting that works -'tile along y axis' and 'top center' is a good starting point.

7.      You can also uncheck ‘show main content background color’ if you want the full effect :)

Check out my site: wiipa.socialgo.com for an example of how I implemented this idea.