Your behavior may be considered as SPAM on Facebook

We have all heard that Facebook hates spam, and you can lose your Facebook account if your behavior appears to resemble spamming.


Spam is defined by many as sending unwanted emails, however, did you know that Facebook spamming also includes trying to "friend" people you don't really know and includes messages you send on Facebook? Many people commit two Facebook crimes that are not are not listed specifically in the Terms section, however, you will find the results of these behaviors can cost you the loss of your account.


1. Friending everyone. Many people rush to gather thousands of friends and fans just so they appear very popular and have a larger audience to attempt to sell to.  Facebook strives to control spamming non friends. If you attempt to add someone as a friend, the popup will advise you "(this person) will have to confirm your request. Please only send this request if you know him personally."  or a newer version " If you send a request to a stranger, it will be considered spam and your friend requests will be blocked temporarily. Please only send this request if you know this person" When this person receives your request, they can accept it or alert Facebook that they do not know you.  It only takes a few of these alerts and your account can suddenly disappear with no warning. 


2. Send bulk messages through Facebook. Have you noticed that when you "like" certain pages, or new friends, you suddenly start receiving constant messages? It is a costly mistake to send all of your fans/friends regular emails soliciting your services/products without any personal interaction.  If your followers are truly people you know and have done business with, they most likely will see no problem with receiving your constant messages; however, if you are constantly sending your sales messages to  people who simply "liked" your page and you really don't know them or interact with them, you could be reported as "spamming".


The key to success with social networking, is the social part. Communicate, interact, solve problems, make referrals and ask questions - be the friend or fan someone wants to do business with.

Google New Preview and Star Features

Two new Google features are striking a high note with some people and hitting a bad nerve with others.

THE PREVIEW FEATURE:

On the plus side:

+ Searchers can see a thumbnail of your landing page by simply clicking the magnifying glass next to the search result. If you have multiple pages in the results, the searcher can get a visual idea of which page they want to visit. This may motivate faster decisions in result selection.

+ The thumbnail image may be the deciding factor to the searcher. Visually appealing pages may see an increase in page rank, regardless of SEO efforts. (note: previously used SEO techniques required re-vamping when Google introduced instant search anyway.)

On the minus side:

- If you recently changed, or regularly change your page content, the thumbnail may not match your actual page.

- Some CAPTCHA gateway pages may not be protected, and still show up in Google's thumbnail.

- Adult content only sites may also produce thumbnails, requiring adjustments in parental controls

Some searchers will spend extra time looking at all the previews without having to leave the search page, others will find the thumbnail saves them time.

THE STAR:

You will also notice the star next to the magnifying glass.

On the plus side:

+ Click this star and the next time you perform this same search, your starred web sites will show up at the top - above the ads and above the organic results.

On the minus side:
- Web designers and marketers will have to be more creative on how to keep their websites ranked at the top of the page results.

Have you checked your results to see your your websites show up?

With every change in search algorithms (Google, Bing, etc) new efforts need to be made to keep your website fresh, interesting and findable. The longer your website sits without change, the easier it will be for your competition to rise above you on the page.

Wishing you awesome and continued success.