Advanced SEO Book Extract: Considering People’s Motivation

I’m currently working on an Advanced SEO Book. It will open with a number of principles that distinguish the thinking of advanced SEOs, and continue with a large variety of advanced tactics and ideas that illustrate this understanding. The following extract addresses the key question of people’s motivations. This applies equally to each side in a debate.
“What does the person comparison-reviewing these products want? To help, or to leverage their site into higher affiliate commissions?”
These questions illustrate the normal human instinct to use the argument that we think will be most appealing to the other side, or the argument that will make us look the most noble. We might tell a roommate that we did their laundry because we had some extra space [e.g. implying we’re nice guys] and not mention the fact that we’re hoping to have them OK a friend sleeping over on the couch next week.
Ask yourself why a person is arguing the way they are and not in some other way. Some useful questions in this regard are:
- Would it be respectable if they had some other motivation than what they’re presenting?
- Is this argument aimed at appealing to a wider variety of people than some other claims that advance a narrower interest?
- Who benefits from this? What are the consequences of accepting their argument, and how can people benefit from it?
Google’s Example
For example, Google may claim that one of their goals is providing a better user experience.
It’s well-known that humans rely on brands as a short-cut to decision-making. What’s less well-known is that one measure Google uses for the effectiveness of their search results are the speed with which people click through. So by placing brands in the organic results, Google encourages brand-based decision shortcuts.
[Ed: I wrote this before Google made the brand shortcuts idea explicit, so it's funny re-reading this now in light of how things have developed.]
What effect does that have when brands are showing up in ad slots? It’s plausible that the net effect is a greater CTR for brand advertisers, who end up depending more on AdWords traffic and a lot bigger budgets to PPC as a result.
Of course, this is just theorizing about Google’s motivations. I’m not saying I have some inside memo as proof for this. Rather, I’m just demonstrating the application of these questions and the kinds of insights you might derive from such critical thinking.
The Paid Links Example
Perhaps a more obvious and well known example in the realm of search marketing is the battle between Google and paid links. Google has repeatedly put out statements to the effect that they catch paid links and penalize one or both of the parties to the transaction.
To which many SEOs retorted that Google was just trying to fight a competing business model to their own, which is also selling links. For a long time I didn’t find that a convincing argument, because the phrasing was awkward.
Then one day Jordan Glogau explained it to me in these terms. Google sells traffic from the sponsored listings, and text link sellers really sell traffic from the organic listings. That clarified Google’s motives in the war on paid links where I’m concerned.

Are We Putting Ourselves Out of Business With All These “How To” Blog Posts?

I was talking with my business partner, Diane Kinney, today about all the people in this industry that have told me that business has come to a screeching halt recently and others telling me they are merging businesses with friends. Diane pointed out that with all the “how to” blog posts many people think that they can follow the directions/tips on the blog posts and do their own SEO / Social Media / WordPress / Web design work themselves.
I think this is a very interesting perspective. We all write blog posts for rankings, traffic, industry respect and often, hopefully, new business. It is what this industry does, but we need to think about what impact our posts have on small-medium sized businesses. Are we giving them information that will help them make informed decisions or just enough information for them to hurt themselves?
There are many businesses hiring in-house employees to do their SEO and Social Media because they feel they can take the info they find on the Web and give it to their employee and the job will get done. They believe they can educate an employee and save money in the long run. Therefore, many smaller SEO/Social Media/Web design companies, and consultants, are getting less work. This is not good.
I use to write about what businesses needed to know and understand, but didn’t give away what I did because the process was too complex to even start to explain in a blog post. Those type of blog posts were not respected in our industry at the time; people wanted the point-by-point “how to” information. Those that gave it all away were respected and considered knowledgeable and many bloggers wanted that respect…everyone started giving away the bank.
I know it is very possible to educate without making readers feel they can do what we do. My goal has always been to write enough that the reader understands I know my stuff, but not give them enough information to attempt it on their own. This was for their safety more than my own.

This is Our Fault

What readers (outside of our industry) and many businesses do not understand is that although blogs are giving good tips those tips might only equal 2.3% of the information needed to succeed in any marketing effort; there is still 97+% of information we haven’t provided that must be understood to make things work effectively. They also don’t understand that often are posts are aimed at others in our industry that have extensive knowledge on the subject already and can add these tips to their arsenal.
It is not the reader’s fault that they think they can take the information and do it themselves. It is our fault for not pointing out that there is a heck of a lot more that people need to know to do well.

What I Feel Needs to Change

We all need to make it clear that we know what we are doing, we are experts in this field and if you want to attempt to do all of your online marketing yourself to remember that you get what you pay for. We need to change the angle of our posts a bit before we put many of our friends out of business.
I think many of us need to start explaining what businesses need to understand instead of giving what might be perceived as point-by-point instructions. Or, point out that the post is aimed at those that have the knowledge to successfully identify the tips that will work and which won’t. Some readers believe if they follow all the tips and instructions they will have success and they don’t need to hire anyone to help them.

There is a false belief that what we do is easy and can be quickly learned by reading what the experts write.

I know that with personalized search many felt that they had done their SEO just as well as any SEO company could. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen utter astonishment when I showed business owners that they were, in fact, not #1 for whatever amount of phrases.
I have seen businesses small to large believing they are succeeding in social media because they have 20,000 followers, yet they follow more people than follow them. I have seen people start “social media” companies because they have a Facebook account with 3,000+ friends or likes. Who says a follower count equals success?
Both Diane and I consistently (weekly) have people asking for help with WordPress, plugins and Web design because they thought they could do it themselves. Creating a good WordPress site is not easy and cannot be learned after reading the Web for an hour. They might think their site is good, but they don’t have the knowledge to truly evaluate anything.
People offer top 10 plugin posts all the time, but no one explains that there are so many plugin compatibility issues that cause problems all the time. Without experience you don’t know what your options are, where problems begin, what problems to avoid, which themes work with which plugins and what hell you are creating for yourself.
If you offer tips you need to offer true facts as well.

We MUST Stress Quality & Knowledgeable Services

Close to Extinction

Many of us have read and studied our industry for years. We have lived it, tested, failed and succeeded. We know so much information. We need to find a way to point this out in our writings because readers need to understand that people can’t do what we do after reading 3 or 4 articles on a subject.
We need to establish ourselves as experts and we need to make sure we do not drive this industry to near extinction by giving away the knowledge we have all worked so hard to attain.
There has to be a differentiation between the experienced and those just learning. We need to build each other up as well so people can trust those that do have the experience. We need to support each other in this effort.
Let me also say that I am all for educational articles/posts that can help people learn this industry, but we have to make it clear who these articles are aimed at and basing a company’s future on substandard work is not recommended. Substandard work typically comes from ignorance and we don’t want to contribute to that ignorance.

Are We Putting Ourselves Out of Business With All These “How To” Blog Posts?

I was talking with my business partner, Diane Kinney, today about all the people in this industry that have told me that business has come to a screeching halt recently and others telling me they are merging businesses with friends. Diane pointed out that with all the “how to” blog posts many people think that they can follow the directions/tips on the blog posts and do their own SEO / Social Media / WordPress / Web design work themselves.
I think this is a very interesting perspective. We all write blog posts for rankings, traffic, industry respect and often, hopefully, new business. It is what this industry does, but we need to think about what impact our posts have on small-medium sized businesses. Are we giving them information that will help them make informed decisions or just enough information for them to hurt themselves?
There are many businesses hiring in-house employees to do their SEO and Social Media because they feel they can take the info they find on the Web and give it to their employee and the job will get done. They believe they can educate an employee and save money in the long run. Therefore, many smaller SEO/Social Media/Web design companies, and consultants, are getting less work. This is not good.
I use to write about what businesses needed to know and understand, but didn’t give away what I did because the process was too complex to even start to explain in a blog post. Those type of blog posts were not respected in our industry at the time; people wanted the point-by-point “how to” information. Those that gave it all away were respected and considered knowledgeable and many bloggers wanted that respect…everyone started giving away the bank.
I know it is very possible to educate without making readers feel they can do what we do. My goal has always been to write enough that the reader understands I know my stuff, but not give them enough information to attempt it on their own. This was for their safety more than my own.

This is Our Fault

What readers (outside of our industry) and many businesses do not understand is that although blogs are giving good tips those tips might only equal 2.3% of the information needed to succeed in any marketing effort; there is still 97+% of information we haven’t provided that must be understood to make things work effectively. They also don’t understand that often are posts are aimed at others in our industry that have extensive knowledge on the subject already and can add these tips to their arsenal.
It is not the reader’s fault that they think they can take the information and do it themselves. It is our fault for not pointing out that there is a heck of a lot more that people need to know to do well.

What I Feel Needs to Change

We all need to make it clear that we know what we are doing, we are experts in this field and if you want to attempt to do all of your online marketing yourself to remember that you get what you pay for. We need to change the angle of our posts a bit before we put many of our friends out of business.
I think many of us need to start explaining what businesses need to understand instead of giving what might be perceived as point-by-point instructions. Or, point out that the post is aimed at those that have the knowledge to successfully identify the tips that will work and which won’t. Some readers believe if they follow all the tips and instructions they will have success and they don’t need to hire anyone to help them.

There is a false belief that what we do is easy and can be quickly learned by reading what the experts write.

I know that with personalized search many felt that they had done their SEO just as well as any SEO company could. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen utter astonishment when I showed business owners that they were, in fact, not #1 for whatever amount of phrases.
I have seen businesses small to large believing they are succeeding in social media because they have 20,000 followers, yet they follow more people than follow them. I have seen people start “social media” companies because they have a Facebook account with 3,000+ friends or likes. Who says a follower count equals success?
Both Diane and I consistently (weekly) have people asking for help with WordPress, plugins and Web design because they thought they could do it themselves. Creating a good WordPress site is not easy and cannot be learned after reading the Web for an hour. They might think their site is good, but they don’t have the knowledge to truly evaluate anything.
People offer top 10 plugin posts all the time, but no one explains that there are so many plugin compatibility issues that cause problems all the time. Without experience you don’t know what your options are, where problems begin, what problems to avoid, which themes work with which plugins and what hell you are creating for yourself.
If you offer tips you need to offer true facts as well.

We MUST Stress Quality & Knowledgeable Services

Close to Extinction

Many of us have read and studied our industry for years. We have lived it, tested, failed and succeeded. We know so much information. We need to find a way to point this out in our writings because readers need to understand that people can’t do what we do after reading 3 or 4 articles on a subject.
We need to establish ourselves as experts and we need to make sure we do not drive this industry to near extinction by giving away the knowledge we have all worked so hard to attain.
There has to be a differentiation between the experienced and those just learning. We need to build each other up as well so people can trust those that do have the experience. We need to support each other in this effort.
Let me also say that I am all for educational articles/posts that can help people learn this industry, but we have to make it clear who these articles are aimed at and basing a company’s future on substandard work is not recommended. Substandard work typically comes from ignorance and we don’t want to contribute to that ignorance.

Understanding Earnings Per Share

See More About:searnings per shareforward earnings per sharenet earningsoutstanding sharesfinancial ratios

One of the challenges of evaluating stocks is establishing an “apples to apples” comparison. What I mean by this is setting up a comparison that is meaningful so that the results help you make an investment decision.

Comparing the price of two stocks is meaningless as I point out in my article “Why Per-Share Price is Not Important.”

Similarly, comparing the earnings of one company to another really doesn’t make any sense, if you think about it. Using the raw numbers ignores the fact that the two companies undoubtedly have a different number of outstanding shares.

For example, companies A and B both earn $100, but company A has 10 shares outstanding, while company B has 50 shares outstanding. Which company’s stock do you want to own?

It makes more sense to look at earnings per share (EPS) for use as a comparison tool. You calculate earnings per share by taking the net earnings and divide by the outstanding shares.

EPS = Net Earnings / Outstanding Shares
Using our example above, Company A had earnings of $100 and 10 shares outstanding, which equals an EPS of 10 ($100 / 10 = 10). Company B had earnings of $100 and 50 shares outstanding, which equals an EPS of 2 ($100 / 50 = 2).

So, you should go buy Company A with an EPS of 10, right? Maybe, but not just on the basis of its EPS. The EPS is helpful in comparing one company to another, assuming they are in the same industry, but it doesn’t tell you whether it’s a good stock to buy or what the market thinks of it. For that information, we need to look at some ratios.

Before we move on, you should note that there are three types of EPS numbers:
Trailing EPS – last year’s numbers and the only actual EPS
Current EPS – this year’s numbers, which are still projections
Forward EPS – future numbers, which are obviously projections

Understanding Earnings Per Share

See More About:searnings per shareforward earnings per sharenet earningsoutstanding sharesfinancial ratios

One of the challenges of evaluating stocks is establishing an “apples to apples” comparison. What I mean by this is setting up a comparison that is meaningful so that the results help you make an investment decision.

Comparing the price of two stocks is meaningless as I point out in my article “Why Per-Share Price is Not Important.”

Similarly, comparing the earnings of one company to another really doesn’t make any sense, if you think about it. Using the raw numbers ignores the fact that the two companies undoubtedly have a different number of outstanding shares.

For example, companies A and B both earn $100, but company A has 10 shares outstanding, while company B has 50 shares outstanding. Which company’s stock do you want to own?

It makes more sense to look at earnings per share (EPS) for use as a comparison tool. You calculate earnings per share by taking the net earnings and divide by the outstanding shares.

EPS = Net Earnings / Outstanding Shares
Using our example above, Company A had earnings of $100 and 10 shares outstanding, which equals an EPS of 10 ($100 / 10 = 10). Company B had earnings of $100 and 50 shares outstanding, which equals an EPS of 2 ($100 / 50 = 2).

So, you should go buy Company A with an EPS of 10, right? Maybe, but not just on the basis of its EPS. The EPS is helpful in comparing one company to another, assuming they are in the same industry, but it doesn’t tell you whether it’s a good stock to buy or what the market thinks of it. For that information, we need to look at some ratios.

Before we move on, you should note that there are three types of EPS numbers:
Trailing EPS – last year’s numbers and the only actual EPS
Current EPS – this year’s numbers, which are still projections
Forward EPS – future numbers, which are obviously projections

choose long key phrases, you're getting less traffic.

Now, I want to dwell upon one very important and rather contradictory thing. It's about the length and composition of keyphrases. To make it all simpler, let's use this scheme:

Influence of keyword length on website's conversion

When people make searches in Google or other search engines, most often they type in 2-word phrases, and just a bit less often 3-word phrases. 1-word phrases get fewer searches, and if the keyphrase is longer than 3, it gets fewer uses, with each word added.

So in general, if you choose long keyphrases, you're getting less traffic.

The only exception is 1-word keywords. They also don't get too many searches.

But the coin has its reverse. Let's talk about targeted traffic.

Please think of this: if a person types in headphones, who can guess what exactly one expects to find? Say, my son is in fact interested in inexpensive headphones for running, and you sell professional stereo headphones. So Mike comes to your website, maybe thinks it's well designed — and hits the back button in his browser.

But what if he were looking for 900 MHz wireless stereo headphones and would type it in Yahoo! ? If you sell this kind of headphones, then your chances to get Mike as a purchaser would at least double — and this happens with any visitor.

Here's what we call targeted traffic: people come to your website because they are looking for what you offer.

If they type in a search term, find your site, come to it and buy — this means that the search term they used converts.

If they come to your site after the search, look it through and leave — the keyword does not convert. You only get a visit, but not a sale.

So remember: you need keyphrases that convert.

Now look at the diagram once again. You see an arrow at the bottom and it says there "More targeted traffic and faster results". Here's what this means: normally, the longer and the more precise your keyphrases are, the sooner you'll get your traffic.

Why? Because it's easier to optimize a site for a unique phrase with little competition.

So here's the summary: it's rather hard and not wise to get to the top with a single-word or rather broad-sense keyphrase.

The longer and more precise your keyphrase is, the fewer visitors you get, but the more targeted your traffic is.

The narrower the search term you target, the greater part of visitors convert into real customers.

My recommendation is: try to find the golden mean. If you're not sure, start with two- or three-word keyphrases that better express your customer's needs.

choose long key phrases, you're getting less traffic.

Now, I want to dwell upon one very important and rather contradictory thing. It's about the length and composition of keyphrases. To make it all simpler, let's use this scheme:

Influence of keyword length on website's conversion

When people make searches in Google or other search engines, most often they type in 2-word phrases, and just a bit less often 3-word phrases. 1-word phrases get fewer searches, and if the keyphrase is longer than 3, it gets fewer uses, with each word added.

So in general, if you choose long keyphrases, you're getting less traffic.

The only exception is 1-word keywords. They also don't get too many searches.

But the coin has its reverse. Let's talk about targeted traffic.

Please think of this: if a person types in headphones, who can guess what exactly one expects to find? Say, my son is in fact interested in inexpensive headphones for running, and you sell professional stereo headphones. So Mike comes to your website, maybe thinks it's well designed — and hits the back button in his browser.

But what if he were looking for 900 MHz wireless stereo headphones and would type it in Yahoo! ? If you sell this kind of headphones, then your chances to get Mike as a purchaser would at least double — and this happens with any visitor.

Here's what we call targeted traffic: people come to your website because they are looking for what you offer.

If they type in a search term, find your site, come to it and buy — this means that the search term they used converts.

If they come to your site after the search, look it through and leave — the keyword does not convert. You only get a visit, but not a sale.

So remember: you need keyphrases that convert.

Now look at the diagram once again. You see an arrow at the bottom and it says there "More targeted traffic and faster results". Here's what this means: normally, the longer and the more precise your keyphrases are, the sooner you'll get your traffic.

Why? Because it's easier to optimize a site for a unique phrase with little competition.

So here's the summary: it's rather hard and not wise to get to the top with a single-word or rather broad-sense keyphrase.

The longer and more precise your keyphrase is, the fewer visitors you get, but the more targeted your traffic is.

The narrower the search term you target, the greater part of visitors convert into real customers.

My recommendation is: try to find the golden mean. If you're not sure, start with two- or three-word keyphrases that better express your customer's needs.

The simple truth about keywords Advanced E Books

Now, I want to dwell upon one very important and rather contradictory thing. It's about the length and composition of keyphrases. To make it all simpler, let's use this scheme:

Influence of keyword length on website's conversion

When people make searches in Google or other search engines, most often they type in 2-word phrases, and just a bit less often 3-word phrases. 1-word phrases get fewer searches, and if the keyphrase is longer than 3, it gets fewer uses, with each word added.

So in general, if you choose long keyphrases, you're getting less traffic.

The only exception is 1-word keywords. They also don't get too many searches.

But the coin has its reverse. Let's talk about targeted traffic.

Please think of this: if a person types in headphones, who can guess what exactly one expects to find? Say, my son is in fact interested in inexpensive headphones for running, and you sell professional stereo headphones. So Mike comes to your website, maybe thinks it's well designed — and hits the back button in his browser.

But what if he were looking for 900 MHz wireless stereo headphones and would type it in Yahoo! ? If you sell this kind of headphones, then your chances to get Mike as a purchaser would at least double — and this happens with any visitor.

Here's what we call targeted traffic: people come to your website because they are looking for what you offer.

If they type in a search term, find your site, come to it and buy — this means that the search term they used converts.

If they come to your site after the search, look it through and leave — the keyword does not convert. You only get a visit, but not a sale.

So remember: you need keyphrases that convert.

Now look at the diagram once again. You see an arrow at the bottom and it says there "More targeted traffic and faster results". Here's what this means: normally, the longer and the more precise your keyphrases are, the sooner you'll get your traffic.

Why? Because it's easier to optimize a site for a unique phrase with little competition.

So here's the summary: it's rather hard and not wise to get to the top with a single-word or rather broad-sense keyphrase.

The longer and more precise your keyphrase is, the fewer visitors you get, but the more targeted your traffic is.

The narrower the search term you target, the greater part of visitors convert into real customers.

My recommendation is: try to find the golden mean. If you're not sure, start with two- or three-word keyphrases that better express your customer's needs.

The simple truth about keywords Advanced E Books

Now, I want to dwell upon one very important and rather contradictory thing. It's about the length and composition of keyphrases. To make it all simpler, let's use this scheme:

Influence of keyword length on website's conversion

When people make searches in Google or other search engines, most often they type in 2-word phrases, and just a bit less often 3-word phrases. 1-word phrases get fewer searches, and if the keyphrase is longer than 3, it gets fewer uses, with each word added.

So in general, if you choose long keyphrases, you're getting less traffic.

The only exception is 1-word keywords. They also don't get too many searches.

But the coin has its reverse. Let's talk about targeted traffic.

Please think of this: if a person types in headphones, who can guess what exactly one expects to find? Say, my son is in fact interested in inexpensive headphones for running, and you sell professional stereo headphones. So Mike comes to your website, maybe thinks it's well designed — and hits the back button in his browser.

But what if he were looking for 900 MHz wireless stereo headphones and would type it in Yahoo! ? If you sell this kind of headphones, then your chances to get Mike as a purchaser would at least double — and this happens with any visitor.

Here's what we call targeted traffic: people come to your website because they are looking for what you offer.

If they type in a search term, find your site, come to it and buy — this means that the search term they used converts.

If they come to your site after the search, look it through and leave — the keyword does not convert. You only get a visit, but not a sale.

So remember: you need keyphrases that convert.

Now look at the diagram once again. You see an arrow at the bottom and it says there "More targeted traffic and faster results". Here's what this means: normally, the longer and the more precise your keyphrases are, the sooner you'll get your traffic.

Why? Because it's easier to optimize a site for a unique phrase with little competition.

So here's the summary: it's rather hard and not wise to get to the top with a single-word or rather broad-sense keyphrase.

The longer and more precise your keyphrase is, the fewer visitors you get, but the more targeted your traffic is.

The narrower the search term you target, the greater part of visitors convert into real customers.

My recommendation is: try to find the golden mean. If you're not sure, start with two- or three-word keyphrases that better express your customer's needs.

China Tests Stealth Fighter During U.S. Visit

Social Marketing SEO E Bookee

SEO Gurus can provide Social Media Marketing solutions from just finding a segmented area to market too in social media for your business to providing a full Social Marketing Campaign.
Social marketing is revolutionary phenomena in online marketing. Social marketing sites like Twitter, FaceBook are used to generate more and more revenue. These social networking sites are the hot places for business promotion. Twitter uses for many purposes like information and media sharing, and for business purposes. Twitter is a social tool that helps connect businesses more meaningfully with the right prospect. These sites are used by business organization as well their customer. Different people use it for different reasons, business organization uses it to connect with their customers, for sharing information, for gathering real time market information or market intelligence and undoubtedly to build relationship with their business environment may be it is internal business environment or external business environment, on the other side twitter is used by customers as well, they use twitter to tell their experience with your product, offer and for gathering more information about the product.
Social Marketing Can be a Wonderful Opportunity
Marketing in social marketing can be a wonderful opportunity for online businesses to reach out to all types of audiences, from teenagers to senior citizens. The online sellers today use this media to reach out to these people and develop their online business. Social marketing can help online sellers get in touch with potential customers. Face to face or direct contact is not a possibility for online businesses and social marketing comes as close to building a relationship with potential customers as it can on the internet. Businesses can use this platform as an alternate way to market their products and services.
How Can Businesses Advertise on Social Marketing Networks?
Marketing in social marketing networks can be done in various different ways. Advertisement messages and banners can be created for attracting the curiosity of the members. Since they advertise in a medium where online conversations are possible, this provides the businesses a way to build up relationships online. Next, the marketers can explain their potential customers about their business, the kind of services and products that they provide. One of the biggest advantages of social marketing is that websites like Facebook have a very large member base and daily visitors running into millions. Businesses can take advantage of this large member base.     
Delivering the Right Message
One of the most important things to remember when using social marketing as a venue for advertising is that the campaigns should be designed with a lot of care. The message that would be delivered by your ad is very important and should be able to attract the attention of the readers. If your message is interesting, it will certainly provide you good results. Messages that fail to attract the attention of a lot of readers will definitely not be successful. If your message or ad is liked by a reader, he/she is likely to send it to friends and acquaintances and so there is an opportunity for viral marketing.
When used wisely, social marketing can be a great way to increase the awareness about your company, your products and your services. Effective marketing in social marketing networks can provide great results, increase traffic on your website and increase your profit levels.Site

China Tests Stealth Fighter During U.S. Visit

Social Marketing SEO E Bookee

SEO Gurus can provide Social Media Marketing solutions from just finding a segmented area to market too in social media for your business to providing a full Social Marketing Campaign.
Social marketing is revolutionary phenomena in online marketing. Social marketing sites like Twitter, FaceBook are used to generate more and more revenue. These social networking sites are the hot places for business promotion. Twitter uses for many purposes like information and media sharing, and for business purposes. Twitter is a social tool that helps connect businesses more meaningfully with the right prospect. These sites are used by business organization as well their customer. Different people use it for different reasons, business organization uses it to connect with their customers, for sharing information, for gathering real time market information or market intelligence and undoubtedly to build relationship with their business environment may be it is internal business environment or external business environment, on the other side twitter is used by customers as well, they use twitter to tell their experience with your product, offer and for gathering more information about the product.
Social Marketing Can be a Wonderful Opportunity
Marketing in social marketing can be a wonderful opportunity for online businesses to reach out to all types of audiences, from teenagers to senior citizens. The online sellers today use this media to reach out to these people and develop their online business. Social marketing can help online sellers get in touch with potential customers. Face to face or direct contact is not a possibility for online businesses and social marketing comes as close to building a relationship with potential customers as it can on the internet. Businesses can use this platform as an alternate way to market their products and services.
How Can Businesses Advertise on Social Marketing Networks?
Marketing in social marketing networks can be done in various different ways. Advertisement messages and banners can be created for attracting the curiosity of the members. Since they advertise in a medium where online conversations are possible, this provides the businesses a way to build up relationships online. Next, the marketers can explain their potential customers about their business, the kind of services and products that they provide. One of the biggest advantages of social marketing is that websites like Facebook have a very large member base and daily visitors running into millions. Businesses can take advantage of this large member base.     
Delivering the Right Message
One of the most important things to remember when using social marketing as a venue for advertising is that the campaigns should be designed with a lot of care. The message that would be delivered by your ad is very important and should be able to attract the attention of the readers. If your message is interesting, it will certainly provide you good results. Messages that fail to attract the attention of a lot of readers will definitely not be successful. If your message or ad is liked by a reader, he/she is likely to send it to friends and acquaintances and so there is an opportunity for viral marketing.
When used wisely, social marketing can be a great way to increase the awareness about your company, your products and your services. Effective marketing in social marketing networks can provide great results, increase traffic on your website and increase your profit levels.Site

Search Engines Adapt to Survive Bookee

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Since the early Internet days of Excite and Webcrawler, the principal goal of search engines has been to help people find what they’re looking for. Google rose to dominate the industry by tracking better indicators of content quality than anyone else. It developed a complex algorithm that measured which websites were “voting” for others by linking to them.
Essentially, it was social media, but for websites rather than people. If your site had lots of links from relevant sites, your Google rank climbed. Plenty of other factors, like putting keywords into headlines and titles, remained in play (and continually evolved), but the game changer of the last decade was links.
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry emerged to help webmasters play the “me rank higher” game with Google. On the one hand, website owners attempt to adhere to Google’s standards and prove they are high quality (creating relevant, high quality content and formatting it to Google’s taste). On the other hand, shadier sites try to trick Google’s secret formula, “pretending” to be good content without having to bother with creating useful stuff.
The spammers have done well for themselves. Over the last few years, searchers have increasingly complained about the number of irrelevant or spammy results returned in searches.
The battle to the top of search keeps search engines on their toes. Every so often Google, makes an abrupt change in its algorithm, like the “Panda Update” of early 2011 that wiped out a significant number of content farm results. Periodically, new search engines launch to try to outdo Google. Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, has climbed to 30% market share since its launch in 2009. Blekko, an “anti-spam” search engine, has climbed to a million searches a day since its launch in 2007.
And now, social media is factoring in to make results even better.

---

Social Media Changes The Game

---

Social networks produce an immense amount of data about what real people like enough to share with their friends.
Today, people share 30 billion pieces of content on Facebook and over 5 billion tweets — about a quarter of which contain links to content — per month.
In an industry where knowing what humans like is crucial to success, search engines have figured out — and taken to heart — a delightfully simple mantra: If people share your content, it’s probably pretty good.
In a white paper called New Signals To Search Engines, Search Engine Strategies Advisory Board chair Mike Grehan says, “End users who previously couldn’t vote for content via links from web pages are now able to vote for content with their clicks, bookmarks, tags and ratings. These are very strong signals to search engines, and best of all, they don’t rely on the elitism of one website owner linking to another or the often mediocre crawl of a dumb bot.”
We’re already seeing proof of search engines taking social data into account when serving results.

---

Social Data Is Personalizing Results

---

Last year, Bing started incorporating Facebook like data into its search results. Results for pages that a searcher’s own friends had liked show up more prominently.
And more recently, Bing announced better results through Facebook data and “collective IQ,” meaning that things popular throughout Facebook (not just among your friends) rank more prominently.

SEE ALSO: Why Web Personalization May Be Damaging Our World View “Search is better when it’s not just based in math and algorithms, but also infused with the opinions of people,” writes the Bing team in a blog post.
Google answered back to the Bing-Facebook deal with its own +1 button, and subsequently Google+. When searching as a logged-in Google user, you now see this social data personalizing your results.
Sullivan recounts how automaker Ford rose in his Google results after he added Ford to his Google+ account. “Ford gets into the top results for cars not because of links, not because of the content on its page, but because I was ‘friends’ with it,” Sullivan says.

---

Shared Content Now Ranks Higher in Organic Search

---

Both Google and Bing have added real-time results to their searches, meaning Twitter (and now Google+) results show up prominently above other content.
In addition, several experiments have shown that sharing stories on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ can dramatically affect regular search results as well.
In July this year, Rand Fishkin of search engine authority SEOmoz.org performed a series of experiments to see if 1) social shares affected Google search results, and 2) how quickly those results appeared. (Find the full details on the experiment here.)
Spoiler Alert: In every test Fishkin performed, tweets and Google+ shares dramatically affected the rank of new, previously unindexed content. The results in most cases were nearly instant.
“We’re experimenting with clicks on +1 buttons as just one of the hundreds of signals that influences the ranking and appearance of websites in search results,” says a Google spokesperson (who wished to remain anonymous), via email. “As with any new ranking signal, for +1’s and other social ranking signals, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals are related to quality.”
A Microsoft spokesperson (who also requested anonymity), says via email that tweets and Facebook Likes do indeed positively affect a URL’s ranking in search results on Bing. “To be candid,” she says, “we are experimenting with placements in order to strike a balance between this new social signal and the other signals we have honed to determine relevance.”
“Social signals that say quality are pretty straight forward,” says the Microsoft spokesperson. “Look to things such as likes, re-tweets, shares, etc. Beyond that, watch for the sentiment surrounding the action. Are people sharing your content via Twitter yet flagging it with #fail? If so, it’s a clue they’re displeased.”
When we go to a search engine, we want to find what we’re looking for, immediately and hassle-free. It’s clear that social media is helping search engines deliver more immediacy and more relevant results. In the long run, this will help SEO-directed businesses focus on what they should be doing: creating content people love.

Search Engines Adapt to Survive Bookee

---

Since the early Internet days of Excite and Webcrawler, the principal goal of search engines has been to help people find what they’re looking for. Google rose to dominate the industry by tracking better indicators of content quality than anyone else. It developed a complex algorithm that measured which websites were “voting” for others by linking to them.
Essentially, it was social media, but for websites rather than people. If your site had lots of links from relevant sites, your Google rank climbed. Plenty of other factors, like putting keywords into headlines and titles, remained in play (and continually evolved), but the game changer of the last decade was links.
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry emerged to help webmasters play the “me rank higher” game with Google. On the one hand, website owners attempt to adhere to Google’s standards and prove they are high quality (creating relevant, high quality content and formatting it to Google’s taste). On the other hand, shadier sites try to trick Google’s secret formula, “pretending” to be good content without having to bother with creating useful stuff.
The spammers have done well for themselves. Over the last few years, searchers have increasingly complained about the number of irrelevant or spammy results returned in searches.
The battle to the top of search keeps search engines on their toes. Every so often Google, makes an abrupt change in its algorithm, like the “Panda Update” of early 2011 that wiped out a significant number of content farm results. Periodically, new search engines launch to try to outdo Google. Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, has climbed to 30% market share since its launch in 2009. Blekko, an “anti-spam” search engine, has climbed to a million searches a day since its launch in 2007.
And now, social media is factoring in to make results even better.

---

Social Media Changes The Game

---

Social networks produce an immense amount of data about what real people like enough to share with their friends.
Today, people share 30 billion pieces of content on Facebook and over 5 billion tweets — about a quarter of which contain links to content — per month.
In an industry where knowing what humans like is crucial to success, search engines have figured out — and taken to heart — a delightfully simple mantra: If people share your content, it’s probably pretty good.
In a white paper called New Signals To Search Engines, Search Engine Strategies Advisory Board chair Mike Grehan says, “End users who previously couldn’t vote for content via links from web pages are now able to vote for content with their clicks, bookmarks, tags and ratings. These are very strong signals to search engines, and best of all, they don’t rely on the elitism of one website owner linking to another or the often mediocre crawl of a dumb bot.”
We’re already seeing proof of search engines taking social data into account when serving results.

---

Social Data Is Personalizing Results

---

Last year, Bing started incorporating Facebook like data into its search results. Results for pages that a searcher’s own friends had liked show up more prominently.
And more recently, Bing announced better results through Facebook data and “collective IQ,” meaning that things popular throughout Facebook (not just among your friends) rank more prominently.

SEE ALSO: Why Web Personalization May Be Damaging Our World View “Search is better when it’s not just based in math and algorithms, but also infused with the opinions of people,” writes the Bing team in a blog post.
Google answered back to the Bing-Facebook deal with its own +1 button, and subsequently Google+. When searching as a logged-in Google user, you now see this social data personalizing your results.
Sullivan recounts how automaker Ford rose in his Google results after he added Ford to his Google+ account. “Ford gets into the top results for cars not because of links, not because of the content on its page, but because I was ‘friends’ with it,” Sullivan says.

---

Shared Content Now Ranks Higher in Organic Search

---

Both Google and Bing have added real-time results to their searches, meaning Twitter (and now Google+) results show up prominently above other content.
In addition, several experiments have shown that sharing stories on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ can dramatically affect regular search results as well.
In July this year, Rand Fishkin of search engine authority SEOmoz.org performed a series of experiments to see if 1) social shares affected Google search results, and 2) how quickly those results appeared. (Find the full details on the experiment here.)
Spoiler Alert: In every test Fishkin performed, tweets and Google+ shares dramatically affected the rank of new, previously unindexed content. The results in most cases were nearly instant.
“We’re experimenting with clicks on +1 buttons as just one of the hundreds of signals that influences the ranking and appearance of websites in search results,” says a Google spokesperson (who wished to remain anonymous), via email. “As with any new ranking signal, for +1’s and other social ranking signals, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals are related to quality.”
A Microsoft spokesperson (who also requested anonymity), says via email that tweets and Facebook Likes do indeed positively affect a URL’s ranking in search results on Bing. “To be candid,” she says, “we are experimenting with placements in order to strike a balance between this new social signal and the other signals we have honed to determine relevance.”
“Social signals that say quality are pretty straight forward,” says the Microsoft spokesperson. “Look to things such as likes, re-tweets, shares, etc. Beyond that, watch for the sentiment surrounding the action. Are people sharing your content via Twitter yet flagging it with #fail? If so, it’s a clue they’re displeased.”
When we go to a search engine, we want to find what we’re looking for, immediately and hassle-free. It’s clear that social media is helping search engines deliver more immediacy and more relevant results. In the long run, this will help SEO-directed businesses focus on what they should be doing: creating content people love.

Advanced SEO Book: How To Learn SEO the Right Way

inShare42

It’s true that a lot has been said and written about SEO by now. Experts choose different styles and different ways to put it: some choose to share strategic advice while others (like me) are better at outlining simply DIY SEO tactics and tips.
It is not hard to find well-structured information on the right way to do things: how to do keyword research, craft your web copy, structure your website architecture and interlink parts of it. What’s really hard to learn is to how approach SEO creatively.
Advanced SEO Book by Gabriel Goldenberg is a great tutorial on exactly that: it contains 7 not so obvious rules that enable creativity and powerful SEO – that teach you to create your own SEO tactics that work.
I’ve known Gabe for ages and I have never stopped admiring his desire to learn new things. His restless curiosity is incredibly inspiring.
And this is why he has chosen this specific topic for his book: rules no one else will ever teach you on how to properly learn SEO. This is what Gab is excels at.

The Rules

Basically the book describes the following principles of creative search marketing and critical thinking:

• HOW TO: Learn from others. The question is, how does an intermediate-advanced SEO/webmaster learn from others’ experience?
• HOW TO: Start teaching yourself. Be self-aware when browsing and learning, be ready to work for free to gain knowledge and start sharing what your learn.
  
• HOW TO: Learn to spot and study patterns. Learn by looking for relationships in the data and question the motives.
• HOW TO: Think laterally.
• HOW TO: Define the problem.
• HOW TO: Question the Logic.
• HOW TO: Decide.

The Tactics

Besides, describing the rules, the book also lists 30 tactics that illustrate them. These are broken into the following broad categories:

• Convert (e.g. “Create beautiful headers for conversion and SEO”)
• Build Links (e.g. “3 sources for link prospecting inspiration” and “Selecting more natural anchor text using N-grams”)
• Understand and Discover Keywords (e.g. “Mining fat, juicy keyword lists hidden in plain-view”)
• Perform Other High-ROI SEO Tasks (e.g. “Research your niche beyond keywords”)

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? You can download the free chapter here.
Disclaimer: Gab is an old friend of mine and he did send me the free copy of his his awesome book, although NOT in exchange for this review. My reviewing the book results solely from my desire to share a very useful SEO resource with our readers.

Advanced SEO Book: How To Learn SEO the Right Way

inShare42

It’s true that a lot has been said and written about SEO by now. Experts choose different styles and different ways to put it: some choose to share strategic advice while others (like me) are better at outlining simply DIY SEO tactics and tips.
It is not hard to find well-structured information on the right way to do things: how to do keyword research, craft your web copy, structure your website architecture and interlink parts of it. What’s really hard to learn is to how approach SEO creatively.
Advanced SEO Book by Gabriel Goldenberg is a great tutorial on exactly that: it contains 7 not so obvious rules that enable creativity and powerful SEO – that teach you to create your own SEO tactics that work.
I’ve known Gabe for ages and I have never stopped admiring his desire to learn new things. His restless curiosity is incredibly inspiring.
And this is why he has chosen this specific topic for his book: rules no one else will ever teach you on how to properly learn SEO. This is what Gab is excels at.

The Rules

Basically the book describes the following principles of creative search marketing and critical thinking:

• HOW TO: Learn from others. The question is, how does an intermediate-advanced SEO/webmaster learn from others’ experience?
• HOW TO: Start teaching yourself. Be self-aware when browsing and learning, be ready to work for free to gain knowledge and start sharing what your learn.
  
• HOW TO: Learn to spot and study patterns. Learn by looking for relationships in the data and question the motives.
• HOW TO: Think laterally.
• HOW TO: Define the problem.
• HOW TO: Question the Logic.
• HOW TO: Decide.

The Tactics

Besides, describing the rules, the book also lists 30 tactics that illustrate them. These are broken into the following broad categories:

• Convert (e.g. “Create beautiful headers for conversion and SEO”)
• Build Links (e.g. “3 sources for link prospecting inspiration” and “Selecting more natural anchor text using N-grams”)
• Understand and Discover Keywords (e.g. “Mining fat, juicy keyword lists hidden in plain-view”)
• Perform Other High-ROI SEO Tasks (e.g. “Research your niche beyond keywords”)

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? You can download the free chapter here.
Disclaimer: Gab is an old friend of mine and he did send me the free copy of his his awesome book, although NOT in exchange for this review. My reviewing the book results solely from my desire to share a very useful SEO resource with our readers.

Paris fashion week: so long to Saint Laurent for Stefano Pilati

Pilati marks departure from brand with swansong show featuring chainmail dresses and narrow silhouettes

Designs by Stella McCartney (first and second from left) and Yves Saint Laurent. Stefano Pilati has left YSL after 10 years. Photograph: AFP/Getty/AP/Reuters

Stefano Pilati, who exited the Paris fashion week stage on Monday after a swansong show that brought 10 years designing for Yves Saint Laurent to a close, summed up better than anyone the almost insurmountable challenge of the job which he leaves tantalising vacant.
"Saint Laurent is maybe the most complex brand in the fashion system," he said recently. "Because you have to face people's imagination, which is infinite, just as infinite as Yves's work was." Following in the footsteps of a fashion legend who brought the influences of vintage, menswear and streetstyle onto the Paris catwalks was not easy. "Saint Laurent did everything," Pilati told the New York Times six years ago. "You go to the archives and you feel he thought of any idea I could ever imagine. It's intimidating."
Before his death in 2008, Yves Saint Laurent said of Pilati that "some of what he does is good, some of it is not so good". It was a subtly damning indictment, in an industry where anything less than hyperbole is faint praise indeed. Pilati is well liked and respected in the fashion industry, but his tenure at Yves Saint Laurent, while by no means a disaster, is likely to be remembered as falling short of triumphant.
Pilati's departure was announced in a coolly polite notice from YSL headquarters, thanking him for being "instrumental in the rebuilding and repositioning of an iconic French luxury brand. Under Stefano's guiding vision and artistic direction, the house has become a contemporary reference in high fashion". YSL owners Gucci Group have material reason to be pleased with Pilati's tenure which, thanks in part to commercial successes such as the Muse handbag and the Tribute shoe, saw the YSL label turn from loss-making to profit.
In contrast to the emotional final bow of Raf Simons, who made a teary appearance on the Milan catwalk last week after being dismissed from Jil Sander, Pilati was composed and smiling as he showed his collection of uncompromisingly hard-edged chic, with chainmail dresses and narrow silhouettes. Persistent rumours that cult menswear designer Hedi Slimane will be Pilati's successor are as yet unconfirmed.
A fortnight after a cameo appearance at London fashion week, Stella McCartney was back in her usual slot on the Paris schedule to present her autumn 2012 line, which drew fabrics from an English country house wardrobe and cut them into the sports-influenced silhouette of modern city dressing.
A sensible tweed coat in soft, heathery tones was updated with a blue-and-white ribbed collar of the type found on baseball jackets, and felted Aran-stitch sweater dresses and skirt suits were moulded into an exaggerated hourglass shape at the hips – a wintry take on McCartney's ever-popular hourglass-shaped cocktail dresses. The singer Alicia Keys became the latest celebrity to showcase what has become a signature look for the designer, wearing a trompe l'oeil hourglass dress in the front row.
Stella McCartney's Paris show – in pictures
"The language of sport is always part of my look," said McCartney, rolling her eyes at suggestions of a direct link with this summer's Olympics. But the sports influence, always present in a McCartney show, was noticeably more front-and-centre than in recent seasons. Turtleneck sweaters had wetsuit-style panels around the torso and heavy-duty plastic zips to the nape, while all the models – and the designer herself – wore their hair in gymnasts' buns.

Paris fashion week: so long to Saint Laurent for Stefano Pilati

Pilati marks departure from brand with swansong show featuring chainmail dresses and narrow silhouettes

Designs by Stella McCartney (first and second from left) and Yves Saint Laurent. Stefano Pilati has left YSL after 10 years. Photograph: AFP/Getty/AP/Reuters

Stefano Pilati, who exited the Paris fashion week stage on Monday after a swansong show that brought 10 years designing for Yves Saint Laurent to a close, summed up better than anyone the almost insurmountable challenge of the job which he leaves tantalising vacant.
"Saint Laurent is maybe the most complex brand in the fashion system," he said recently. "Because you have to face people's imagination, which is infinite, just as infinite as Yves's work was." Following in the footsteps of a fashion legend who brought the influences of vintage, menswear and streetstyle onto the Paris catwalks was not easy. "Saint Laurent did everything," Pilati told the New York Times six years ago. "You go to the archives and you feel he thought of any idea I could ever imagine. It's intimidating."
Before his death in 2008, Yves Saint Laurent said of Pilati that "some of what he does is good, some of it is not so good". It was a subtly damning indictment, in an industry where anything less than hyperbole is faint praise indeed. Pilati is well liked and respected in the fashion industry, but his tenure at Yves Saint Laurent, while by no means a disaster, is likely to be remembered as falling short of triumphant.
Pilati's departure was announced in a coolly polite notice from YSL headquarters, thanking him for being "instrumental in the rebuilding and repositioning of an iconic French luxury brand. Under Stefano's guiding vision and artistic direction, the house has become a contemporary reference in high fashion". YSL owners Gucci Group have material reason to be pleased with Pilati's tenure which, thanks in part to commercial successes such as the Muse handbag and the Tribute shoe, saw the YSL label turn from loss-making to profit.
In contrast to the emotional final bow of Raf Simons, who made a teary appearance on the Milan catwalk last week after being dismissed from Jil Sander, Pilati was composed and smiling as he showed his collection of uncompromisingly hard-edged chic, with chainmail dresses and narrow silhouettes. Persistent rumours that cult menswear designer Hedi Slimane will be Pilati's successor are as yet unconfirmed.
A fortnight after a cameo appearance at London fashion week, Stella McCartney was back in her usual slot on the Paris schedule to present her autumn 2012 line, which drew fabrics from an English country house wardrobe and cut them into the sports-influenced silhouette of modern city dressing.
A sensible tweed coat in soft, heathery tones was updated with a blue-and-white ribbed collar of the type found on baseball jackets, and felted Aran-stitch sweater dresses and skirt suits were moulded into an exaggerated hourglass shape at the hips – a wintry take on McCartney's ever-popular hourglass-shaped cocktail dresses. The singer Alicia Keys became the latest celebrity to showcase what has become a signature look for the designer, wearing a trompe l'oeil hourglass dress in the front row.
Stella McCartney's Paris show – in pictures
"The language of sport is always part of my look," said McCartney, rolling her eyes at suggestions of a direct link with this summer's Olympics. But the sports influence, always present in a McCartney show, was noticeably more front-and-centre than in recent seasons. Turtleneck sweaters had wetsuit-style panels around the torso and heavy-duty plastic zips to the nape, while all the models – and the designer herself – wore their hair in gymnasts' buns.

Meet the models breaking the mould

Bring on the wrinkles... and the spare tyre and the brains, too. Because you don't have to be a silly, skinny teenager to make it in modelling these days

Daphne Selfe: 'Everyone can look lovely.' Photograph: Nick Ballon

The older model: Daphne Selfe

Do models eat biscuits? Daphne Selfe does. "And cake," she says – "Are you sure you won't have a sandwich?" – before we sit down in the living room of her Hertfordshire home.
You may recognise Selfe from the fashion pages of the Guardian, or from Vogue, advertising campaigns and style magazines such as Dazed & Confused. She has been shot by Mario Testino, Rankin and Nick Knight. She is 83, and last year appeared more in demand than ever.
Her long silver hair has become her trademark, though today it's pinned back. "I think it's fine for a woman of my age to have long hair," she says, "but I think we should wear it up." She's happy to talk and talk, so I let her get on with it while I study her face. Her cheekbones are sharp, her blue eyes shine and her skin looks lived-in and luminous. Her secret? "I have an Irish family behind me, which is good for looks," she says with a smile. "But everyone can look lovely. It's what's in your head that counts – your outlook."
As a young woman, Selfe wanted to work with horses and helped run a riding school. Then she moved to Reading and got a job in a department store. When a local photographer organised a modelling competition, the shop girls applied and Selfe won. After that, she trained with an agency – "We were taught how to walk, how to do hair and make-up, because in those days you had to do all that yourself. It's not like now, when you have all these people to transform you."
Around the same time, she met her future husband, Jim. Soon after, they were married with three children, and Selfe gave up modelling. Did she miss it? "No! With three children? That was what you did. You expected to give up work when you got married."
In the 60s, Selfe considered going back to modelling and approached a few agencies. "No way," she says, with a dramatic eye roll. "They didn't like the look of me. It was people like Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton. I just didn't fit." Was it a terrible rejection? "No! As a model you have to learn to be rejected. I know if I do five auditions, I might get one. And if I don't, so what?"
Not until 1998, aged 70, did Selfe – by then a widow – get her big break. The label Red Or Dead was looking for older models for its London fashion week show and Selfe, who had stayed registered with an agent, was cast. The stylist suggested she contact Vogue, which was working on an issue celebrating age. At the shoot, she met a scout for Models 1. "And I haven't looked back."
The fashion world has changed since she first became a model. Then she was a size 12 – "A strapping girl" – but now the standard size is a six or eight. "That's much too thin. If you're very tall, you've got to have some flesh on you. I don't think being too thin is awfully pretty."
She has undoubtedly stood up for diversity in a world that venerates youth. "People now get to 40 and think, 'Oh my God', but so what? Everybody has to get old."
We are not used to seeing older people presented in a sexy way – and Selfe has done some sexy shoots. She nods. "I don't mind. I used to be an artists' model. What upsets me is the way older people don't bother any more. I never go out without make-up. I do my hair."
She would never have cosmetic surgery. "Or Botox. I think it's a shame. Somebody I know went to America and they said, 'All these people with these fabulous faces, then you see them on the beach and they've got wrinkly bodies.' Why?" Selfe puts her good skin down to her genes, exercise, good diet and skincare. Does she mourn her youthful beauty? She shakes her head. "Age just makes you a bit slower." She thinks for a while and then smiles. "I can't wear high heels now, but I'm not bothered."
What makes a good model, and whom do you admire?
Bone structure, attitude – and a good agent. You've got to be very adaptable. I like Gisele Bündchen.
What have you eaten today?
Every morning I put carrot, celery, apple and ginger in my juicer, and I make my own muesli. I'll have a proper lunch – chicken or salmon with rice and lots of vegetables. I don't eat as much red meat as I used to. I'll have a piece of cake at tea, then soup for supper. I drink a lot of water, but I barely drink alcohol now. I might have a quarter of a glass of wine at dinner.
What was your worst job?
An ad I did for Bupa – I was photographed in a swimming pool with no heating.
Would you recommend modelling as a career to your granddaughter?
Yes. It's fine as long as you know what you're letting yourself in for, are strong-minded and take it with a pinch of salt. Some people [in the fashion industry] can be very rude.
Who is your favourite designer?
Etro – it's bohemian but wearable. I like unusual clothes. I don't like to go out looking frumpy.
• Interview by Emine Saner

The feminist model: Charlotte Free

Charlotte Free: 'It’s ridiculous that women have to shave their armpits and legs every day. I don’t have time.' Photograph: Getty (3); Camera Press (2) Which came first, I ask Charlotte Free, the attitude or the superhero surname? "It's my real name!" she laughs. "All my family are crazy Frees. It's something I take a lot of pride in. Since I was a tiny kid, people were always saying, 'You're a free spirit.' I couldn't think of a better word to define me."
Charlotte Free has bright pink hair and unshaven armpits. Not so strange for a teenager making electronic music, staying out all night clubbing and playing video games; slightly more unusual for the supermodel of the moment, walking for Vivienne Westwood and Chanel, shooting for Vogue, V and Wonderland. There's even a Fuck Yeah Charlotte Free Tumblr fan page, where teenage girls (and probably grown women) around the world lust over her "yeah, so what?" style.
And Free is for real. There's no crack styling team behind her punky hairdo. "I've had pink hair since I was 15," she says in her sleepy Californian accent. So is it a punk statement? "It wasn't really about that. Ever since I was a kid I've wanted rainbow hair."
Free, now 19, grew up in the suburbs of LA, and you get a sense of a bohemian, rather laissez-faire upbringing. She describes her family as "working people" who are highly intelligent and creative. Her teens were spent going out dancing to electronic music, getting into trouble and "being wild". Did her parents mind? "My parents met while they were out. They've always been heavily involved in the music community, so it was kind of inevitable that I would inherit that."
A year and a half ago, a photographer spotted her in an arcade playing video games – a story that could come straight from a Lana Del Rey song. He took her to the IMG offices in New York and said, "This girl with pink hair is going to be a model." They signed her straight away.
But the fashion industry isn't about being free. Models are clothes horses, pummelled into shape to suit the whims of bookers, designers, make-up artists and hair stylists. I ask Free if she thinks she can survive. "I'm strong, and I've become stronger. I've turned down jobs because they've told me to bleach my hair. I shouldn't have to. If they don't like me, they can find another blond, blue-eyed girl – there's thousands of them." So she really won't lose her pink hair? "I might stop dyeing it because it's in pretty poor condition. I may go blond again, but it will be because I want to."
Free knows that women's hair is a battleground, and she's fighting for control on all fronts. The photographer Terry Richardson recently posted some photos on his website: close-ups of Free, pink-lipsticked, tongue out, arms in the air and armpits defiantly unshaven. It's a powerful image. Is it a feminist statement? "Absolutely!" Free says, shocked that I would wonder. "It's an equal rights thing. It's ridiculous that women have to shave their armpits and legs every day. I don't have time. I think it's asinine that men have this standard that women should be perfectly shaven." But how can she keep it up in fashion? "I only shave them once in a blue moon for a really big job. I like to keep my body hair. It's a symbol of how I'm not going to conform to something that's so ridiculous."
Free insists she won't compromise her beliefs. "I'm not scared of anyone. I stand up for other girls in the industry. If I see someone taking pictures backstage, I'll grab their camera, expose their film or delete all the photos. If you're taking photos of 16-year-old girls naked, you will not get away with it. It's paedophilic."
But if the fashion industry gets sick of her attitude, does she has a plan B? "I don't know. I love science and I've always wanted to study botany, but before modelling I had nothing. I had no money, I wasn't doing anything. Even so, I've always told myself I would go back to that if it meant being able to stand my ground. Nothing is worth changing who I am, or doing something I don't feel I should do.
What makes a good model?
Someone who can be themself.
What have you eaten today?
I haven't eaten yet because I haven't had a chance. I'm going to pig out this afternoon. I eat a lot of pizza and fast food, I don't weigh myself and I don't diet. I don't think my weight matters.
What is the worst thing anybody has said to you?
Vice magazine posted that I had only a week or two left because I looked so thin that I would die. I got in touch with the writer on Facebook and told them personally that was a wrong thing to do.
Who is your favourite designer?
I love Vivienne Westwood. She's original and a good person.
• Interview by Becky Barnicoat

The male/female model: Andrej Pejic

Andrej Pejic: 'Women’s clothes are less restrictive; I definitely have more fun with womenswear.' Photograph: Mert and Marcus/Art Partner At the age of 14, Andrej Pejic liberated himself. For years, he had tried to be a conventional boy – he'd stopped playing with Barbies, he'd started to wear baggy clothes and caps, he'd even had a go at Aussie rules football. But it just didn't seem right, and the more laddish he tried to be, the more the other boys called him gay or a girl.
So he went with his instincts. "Liberation came in a bottle of bleach," he laughs. Out went the sandy-brown hair, in came the blond bombshell. To some he was a ridiculously beautiful girl, to others he was an even more ridiculously beautiful boy. He was happy to occupy an androgynous halfway house that defied definition.
Pejic has always felt something of an outsider. He was born in Bosnia to a Bosnian Serb mother and Croat father. When he was two months old, civil war and ethnic cleansing ruptured the country. His father's family no longer welcomed his mother, his mother's family no longer welcomed his father. His mother (then a judge, now a teacher) fled to Serbia with Andrej, his older brother and their grandmother, where they lived in a refugee camp. Meanwhile, his father, an economist, obtained a divorce without their knowing.
"The most traumatic thing I remember is the Nato bombings," he says. "I was seven and there were bombs falling close to us. Everybody lived in fear."
At eight, the family moved to Australia. He was a girly boy in the ultimate macho land. "As I got older, I saw the differences in the way men behaved, and I tried to suppress my feminine side – but it wasn't a perfect act. People noticed that in the playground."
It was when he dropped the act that Pejic began to feel at ease with himself. "I acquired a lot more friends, became more social and I didn't get bullied. So the way I look now is the way I looked from 14/15."
How did his mum react when he adopted his androgynous look? "I wouldn't say she was the most forward-thinking, modern woman. In the beginning she was scared for my safety. But the most important thing to her was for me to be happy and healthy."
Do lots of straight men accidentally hit on him? "Story of my life! Never really gay men. I think I was always too feminine." How do heterosexual men react when they realise he is a man? "A lot are shocked. They're never aggressive and a good percentage are even more interested." Do girls fancy him? "Yeah. I definitely get both sides."
He thinks of himself neither as gay nor straight. "For me, love has no boundaries. I'm not an extremely sexual person, but I am romantic." He doesn't object to the word transgender, but says it isn't accurate – he has no desire to be a woman. Androgynous, he says, best sums it up. "I'm pretty happy with how I am now." When Pejic was growing up, David Bowie was an influence, as were British new romantics such as Boy George and Pete Burns. Pejic turned down a place at law school to pursue modelling. At some point he hopes to take up law again.
In the two years he has been modelling, Pejic has created his own niche – he can model as man, woman or nonspecific. He was discovered when working at McDonald's. Did the agent think he was a man or woman? "I don't know – he never said." Although the Australian agency signed Pejic, they had trouble convincing others there was a future for him. "All these agencies in London said no because they didn't know how to market me. I was too feminine for menswear, but there was never a boy who had made a lot of money doing womenswear, so it was a financial thing. I still have to prove myself to be commercially viable."
It was in Paris that his career took off, when he worked in both men's and women's shows for Jean Paul Gaultier and in the men's shows for Marc Jacobs. "That's when I got a huge amount of recognition. It was very high end. The downside was I'd never make a lot of money from it, but the plus was I got more media attention." Pejic is currently ranked 18 on models.com's top 50 male models list.
Does he prefer women's or men's clothes? "Women's clothes are less restrictive; I definitely have more fun with womenswear."
How would he describe himself to somebody who's never seen him before? "A hot tall blond!" he says with a giggle.
What makes a good model, and whom do you admire?
Somebody who just lets go and becomes a canvas for art or fashion. I admire Kristen McMenamy.
What have you eaten today?
Cereal, then a pumpkin sandwich for lunch and sushi for tea. To maintain a 25-inch waist, you can't go round eating cakes and chocolate.
What was your worst job?
I was working in Finland on a nature shoot in a swamp, and I fell in the water and really hurt myself. We kept on shooting, and I later discovered I'd fractured a rib.
What is the worst thing anybody has said to you?
I'm not easily offended.
Would you recommend modelling to your children?
If I think they could do it, yes.
Who is your favourite designer?
Alexander McQueen and Thierry Mugler.
• Interview by Simon Hattenstone

The black model: Jourdan Dunn

Jourdan Dunn: 'There are loads of new black faces on the runways.' Photograph: Camera Press When Jourdan Dunn was 16, she and some friends were in Primark, mucking around trying on sunglasses, when Dunn noticed a woman staring. "She kept looking at us, and I got a bit paranoid that she thought we were going to steal them. But then she asked if I'd ever thought about modelling." The scout gave Dunn a card and told her to call her agency. "It was Storm and I knew they represented Kate Moss. As soon as she'd gone, I called my mum. I was screaming. She was screaming. I couldn't believe it."
That was six years ago, and today Dunn is an established cover girl, catwalk star and face of Burberry. When we speak, she's in the middle of Milan fashion week. Today she did a Fendi show, had a casting and two fittings. "It was pretty chilled – sometimes I finish at midnight and have a 6am call the next morning."
As one of the few black supermodels, Dunn is pleased to see more models of colour at the shows these days. "There are loads of new black faces on the runways, which is a great thing. When I started out, it was different. I did experience some issues with the colour of my skin – I used to get a list of castings and there would be notes saying they just wanted blondes. I think hair and make-up played a part – obviously, black hair and skin are different, and some stylists don't know what to do with it. Maybe they're scared it won't look good." As she was about to go into one casting, her agent called and said, "Turn back – they decided they don't want any black models."
But Dunn had a breakthrough in 2008 when she became the first black model to walk a Prada runway in more than a decade. "I was really nervous because everyone was hyping it, but Prada are famous for pulling you out of shows at the last minute, so backstage I was waiting for them to tap me on the shoulder and tell me I wasn't going on. On the runway I wasn't thinking about following in Naomi's footsteps, I was thinking about not falling over."
That year the teenager from Ealing also made the cover of the historic "black issue" of Italian Vogue, shot by Steven Meisel, alongside Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks. Does she resent such special treatment? "I understand the arguments against, but I think it was a step forward. After that, you did see more black models in Vogue."
Still, she concedes, there seemed to be a belief in the industry that there was room for only one black face at the top, an idea that almost ended her friendship with fellow supermodel Chanel Iman. "It was weird because, [in] my first season, she came up to me and said, 'It's really good seeing another black model doing good.' But then she had people in her ear, saying, 'Stay away from Jourdan, because she's trying to steal your spot', and I had people in my ear saying, 'Don't trust Chanel', and after a while we just stopped talking. We weren't horrible to each other, but we stopped telling each other what we'd been booked for."
But they became sick of being pitted against each other. "We just sat down and said, 'This is so stupid.' I hate it that people feel black models have to be nasty to each other."
In 2009, Dunn became pregnant. "I was thinking, 'This baby is going to ruin my career.' But then I thought, 'I want this baby. We're going to have to make it work.' "
Single motherhood didn't prove to be the career death she'd feared. In fact, when she was seven months pregnant, Jean Paul Gaultier cast her in his show. "He made a special look for me – a shield around my bump. Everyone had fake tattoos, and mine was 'Jourdan plus one'."
Her son is now two, and Dunn's mother looks after him when she's away working. Travelling, she says, is both the best and worst part of the job. "Being away from my son kills me, but I do get to go to amazing places. The other annoying things are the lack of sleep and the rubbish catering. I will scream if I see another sandwich. I'm a food lover. My family are Jamaican and I grew up in the kitchen. I am not a snacker, I like to have a proper meal, but at the shows I have to grab what I can."
Dunn says she's never been pressured by her agency to lose weight; if anything, it has been the other way around. "I am naturally thin. My dad was 6ft 5in and skinny as a stick, and I'm the same. But I find my metabolism annoying. I'd like a bit more weight on me."
What makes a good model, and whom do you admire?
Personality plays a much bigger role now than it did. Someone I'd look up to would be Naomi – she's a black girl from London, and so am I.
What have you eaten today?
For breakfast I had a couple of strawberries, a banana and a cup of tea. Lunch was a McChicken sandwich. After that, I had some chocolate. And in a minute I'm going for dinner – I'm looking forward to a nice steak and fries. I like an occasional glass of wine, though I don't drink before a shoot or a show – blotchy skin is not a good idea, however good your make-up artist.
What was your worst job?
It's not much fun standing around for hours in shoes that don't fit.
What is the worst thing anybody has said to you?
A make-up artist said, "I don't feel comfortable doing her make-up because I'm white and she's black." Then she started doing it anyway and I said, "I'd rather you didn't."
Would you recommend modelling to your children?
That's a tough one. If you're young and going around New York on your own, it can be really scary. It can damage you. Getting told at a young age that you're too skinny or have big hips could kill your self-esteem. So, no, not under 16. And I'd want to be there with them every minute.
Who is your favourite designer?
I love Burberry. I love their collection this season – I walked it and it's really wearable. The other designers I like are the same: Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Alexander Wang, Isabel Marant.
• Interview by Liese Spencer

The plus-size model: Tara Lynn

Tara Lynn: 'It's been full-time all the way.' Photograph: Solve Sundsbo/Art + Commerce When Tara Lynn walked into a modelling agency in Seattle on a whim four and a half years ago, they signed her on the spot. Of course they did – she is ridiculously, deliciously beautiful. But what makes someone who, at a UK size 16, had felt alienated by the fashion industry for years put themselves in a position where their body is going to be judged? Partly, Lynn needed the money while studying, but it also becomes clear, after speaking to her, that she is highly self-confident and feels that, while her size might not be considered "right" by the usual standards of the fashion industry, it is right for her.
After graduating in linguistics in 2009, Lynn was cast for influential style magazine V. "From there, it skyrocketed," she says. "And it's been full-time all the way."
By 2010 she was on the cover of Italian Vogue and last month she appeared on the cover of French Elle. Getting editorial work in style magazines – as opposed to commercial work – is still rare for a plus-size model, but Lynn thinks that's changing. "We're getting cast a little bit more and starting to see a diversified body image in shoots."
Lynn is 29, but looks much younger. Growing up, she says, "It was impossible not to look at magazines and look at my body and think, 'If only I was skinnier' or, 'If only my legs weren't so muscular.' Then, one day, I remember seeing this brunette, plus-sized model in a homecoming shoot. It was amazing. Seeing that one image during my adolescence was such a relief. I wish there had been more." The idea that young women might see a picture of her and be inspired to be more accepting of themselves is "so exciting", Lynn says.
During her teens, Lynn gained "a little too much weight. By then, I knew I was different from the magazine ideal and was never going to be as skinny or petite as my girlfriends. But I gained weight due to not eating a nutritious diet and not doing enough exercise. I remember feeling awful in my body, and it took until I was about 21 or 22 to take control of my habits."
At the time, she was living in France, working as an au pair. "The little girl I was watching came to me one day and said, 'The kids at my school make fun of you because you're fat, but I don't care because I love you anyway.' And she gave me a hug. I started crying, first of all because she was so sweet, but also because of what these children at school had said." She laughs. "When five-year-olds are hurting your feelings, you have to do something about it."
There was a period, a few years before Lynn became a model, when she was working out six days a week. "It wasn't grotesque, but my collarbones were visible, my hips were sticking out, you could see my ribs," she says. Even so, she was still a UK size 12: "I'm just made big." Now, she says, she eats well, exercises regularly (she likes to hike and do yoga) and has allowed her body to find its natural, healthy shape.
Has the fashion industry really changed its attitude to size? After the aesthetic for waiflike beauty took off in the 1990s, models got thinner and thinner, culminating in the size zero debate in 2006, prompted by the deaths of two models from anorexia. "It was terrible for our health, not just our body image," Lynn says. "It's such a normal part of human socialisation to measure ourselves against our peers, thinking, 'Do I fit into that?' But it's valuable to have diversity. We have to celebrate our bodies. There is no reason to hate what you live in – the only choice is to take care of it."
What makes a good model, and whom do you admire?
Adaptability and physical fitness. Lara Stone is lovely.
What have you eaten today?
I had a fresh detox juice for breakfast and a coffee. For lunch I went to a vegan cafe in Seattle called Plum and had a beet salad and a pumpkin and tofu crepe. I had a vegetarian arepa [a south American cornmeal patty] for dinner and a glass of Ardbeg whisky for a nightcap.
What is the worst thing anybody has said to you?
I remember one photographer saying, "Who did the casting for this?"
Would you recommend modelling to your children?
If they just wanted to be recognised for being pretty, then no. I hope my future children will not want to model. It's kind of a brutal industry.
Who is your favourite designer?
So little fits me! There are things that look good on other people, but I can't say it's my favourite because I don't get to wear it. I like Céline bags.