SEO and Facebook Etiquette

Received an interesting question this week about dealing with people that don’t like you, but before we get to the juicy stuff, some SEO tips…

Question: from Me to Rick Porter in reference to a new fitness site we’re creating:

Rick, one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made is writing on random stuff…I need to be focused and told exactly what to write about…what keywords to tackle for MAXIMUM IMPACT. Can you help me figure out what those would be for our new site?

Rick Porter’s Answer: Yes – between talking with you and Roman I came up with a good idea to add a lot more value to my clients that is going to solve this problem.

One thing I noticed with a lot of the clients I have taken on is they all do the same thing, but with a little focus and direction they can multiply their traffic considerably.

Everyone has the same approach it seems, where they pick 5-7 keywords and focus on those, BUT you can have dozens of keywords that rank on page 1 casting dozens of nets for new potential readers.

So what I am going to provide monthly is new keywords using that SEO cockpit program – also tracking trends to try to give clients a heads up on potential things to write about.

An even better approach is trying to have some structure around writing “mini nets” – sort of like what we did with the Shapeshifter launch.

Anyone could do this, where they create a mini-net of 5-6 articles on their own blog and with some interlinking and backlinks it will create a good amount of steady traffic on a particular topic.

This will be part of our strategy – to go after some big keywords but to create mininets around each one rather than creating a one hit wonder post.

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Thanks Rick.

Now for the “dealing with haters” question…

Question: Hey Craig… I have a question for ya.

I’ve had a few haters and never really know what to do about them.

I don’t want the hateful comment on my wall, but then again, maybe let them dig their own grave by letting it ride?

I’ve made the mistake of trying to explain or engage them in reasonable conversation, and you’re right:

a) it never comes out well and
b) it’s not worth the emotional or physical energy.

So, what DO you do with ‘haters’?

If someone posts something snotty on your blog … or your Facebook… do you let it ride? I hear ya about not engaging them, but do you let the comment stand or do you quietly delete it without incident?

Thanks for you advice- Jackie

Answer: Before I get started in how to deal with them, I have to wonder what behavior is attracting haters to a Facebook page.

After all, FB pages are fan pages or friend pages. What the heck is a hater doing on either of those?

I’m happy to say that I don’t get hateful comments on my FB page. I did get a snide comment from a college kid once, but a TT reader chastised the kid, and nothing bad has been posted since.

That said, I think it helps to have a “Personal Philosophy” set of rules about this stuff as well.

It all starts with how you look at each website/social media you have.

The best description I’ve heard on this is from my friend, Perry Belcher.

He described your blog as communities/parties, where it’s a neutral location…imagine a concert in Central Park as an analogy.

In that scenario, everyone is free to say what they want. If someone wants to be a mean and insult you, that’s fine. You can’t stop them.

So on the blog, I wouldn’t censor anyone.

Exception: Foul language.

I don’t allow any foul language on my site – period. If they swear, it would be deleted.

But a dissenting opinion, or an insult, those are fine. Like the time a guy called me, “a balding skinny little runt”. I let that stand. It’s still somewhere on my blog. Of course it as an anonymous post, but it has had zero effect on my business even though its been online since 2007 – and I still have hair.

Bottom line: Blog comments get buried and forgotten.

So that’s a blog, and it goes for twitter too. Not much you can do there.

But with Facebook, Perry described that as your “back porch”
or your kitchen.

Now if someone was in my house and insulted me, my dog would have them kicked out by the seat of their pants.

No but seriously, they would leave. Not that I would ever have someone in my house who was going to insult me anyways.

By the way, I’m assuming you are talking about a Fanpage.

If you are friends with this person and they are posting it on your profile page, then I’d delete it and un-friend them.

If it’s a Fanpage, you could delete it, or simply “bury” the comment by posting two updates of your own with images in the update.

Finally, if all else fails, change your page so that only you can post updates.

Your kitchen, your rules.

Bottom line: No matter what you choose, it’s probably not gonna kill you or your business. Heck, the 6.3 billion people who are NOT on FB definitely don’t care.

And no matter how dramatic a hater makes your life, or what they say, it’s not going to stop you from being successful.

There are plenty of hate sites devoted to everyone from Justin Bieber to Mother Theresa, and it didn’t stop them.

The bigger you get, the more haters you will have.

Such is life.

So remember…big deep breath, relax, move on.

Nothing matters.

Have a great weekend,

Craig Ballantyne

“It’s never as good as it feels, and it’s never as bad as it seems.”
– Edward Zander