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This is a guest post by Eliza Morgan, a full time blogger. If you are interested in writing a guest post, check out our posting guidelines.

Just like they’re name suggests, infographics are “graphics” or illustrations that are able to creatively display a set of information or story in an artistic way. They’re quickly sweeping the internet by storm, over taking sites like Facebook and Pinterest. Not only are they pretty to look at and interesting to read, but infographics are a less aggressive way to organically increase search rankings since anchor texts help generate links back to the target domain every time the infographic is shared on social media sites or blogs. And the better your infographic is, the more likely it will be shared by your target audience and boost SEO efforts.  But in order for an infographic to really be considered an “infographic” there are four principle elements it must contain.

1. Originality

The first is that the infographic has to be original. If you think you’re really on to something, do a quick Google search and see if the concept has been tackled before. If it has it still might be ok to do, but you really need to make sure that you formulate a way to make your infographic better.  “Brainstorming parties” are pretty crucial when trying to come up with an infographic concept. You want it to be timely, perhaps emotionally charge your audience, or explain something that will benefit your target audience in some sort of way—maybe that’s why how-to infographics typically do so well. Whatever you choose as your topic, you need to make sure that the idea can flow like an organized, academic paper. And what is usually included in papers?  A strong set of data, which leads us to our next star-feature—

2. Statistics/Data

They don’t have “info” as part of their name for kicks. Infographics heavily depend on statistics, figures and other facts retrieved from credible sources—domains ending in .gov, .org, and .edu particularly. Scour articles, journals, and other official agency sites when trying to back up your topic’s thesis or concept. The more research your target audience realizes you did to construct the infographic, the more likely the audience will trust you and share it.

3. Eye Candy

Of course, statistics aren’t enough. Infographics are also heavily driven by the second half of its name—graphics. The theme of your illustrations, everything from color and style, will depend on whether your audience will like the infographic. Think of ways the stats can be emphasized through illustrations. A good graphic designer should be able to give you some good pointers. But ask to see his or her previous work before you hire a pricey graphic designer for the gig.

4.  Share Buttons

A link to the domain site you’re promoting needs to automatically be included at the bottom of the infographic. But you also need to make sure that you make it extremely easy for your target audience to be able to post your infographic on to various internet mediums, like social media sites and blogs, so that it can get the exposure and attention that it needs for SEO reasons. Implementing share buttons is a great way to do this.

Does anyone else have any thoughts of what an infographic needs?

Byline:

This is a guest post by Eliza Morgan who is a full time blogger.  She specializes in writing about business credit cards. You can reach her at: elizamorgan856 at gmail dot com.

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Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

This is a guest post by Mariana Ashley, a freelance writer. Interested in writing a guest post? Contact me!

Whether you’re a blogger or online business owner, the way to attract traffic is to create content that feels fresh, is relevant, and is useful to your users. Fortunately, these things represent the bottom line for Google and the final aim of recent algorithm updates. While there are many technical aspects of new Panda updates that will surely affect your standing in Google, the most important thing is to create high-quality, original, and helpful content. Try any of these four tips to give your website a slight makeover and increase your chances of landing higher page ranks.

1. Create an Efficient User-Friendly Layout

The importance of having a layout that benefits the user cannot be stated enough. One of the major no-no’s in the Panda updates this time around is having a homepage without original content, or a template that features advertising more readily than the content of the site. For the most part, your blog will only get better the easier it is for users to navigate it. Put the items that will receive the most traffic on the main page, along with content that your users will be looking for most when they come to your site.

2. Make Your Images Work for You

We all see way to many blogger throw up useless images that have little to nothing to do with their blog content, just to post a photo along with an article. This is monotonous and annoying. It’s also a half-hearted attempt at increasing page rank, as images help optimize search. However, with new Panda updates, if your images are irrelevant or unhelpful, they may hurt your page rank. Always complete a full URL for your images, and use image titles that represent what user would most likely by typing into Google to search for them. Don’t forget to tag images, as well.

3. Share Content from Other Sites

Never underestimate the power of using content from other sites. If the last article you posted was about a rock group, go find a rock-inspired editorial and share it on your blog or website, linking back to the related article. This will help you attract a wider pool of users and get people from other sites hitting your content.

4. Encourage Social Media Connections

The importance of social media participation is probably one of the biggest changes in Panda updates so far. To acquire the best Google rankings, it has never been more necessary to encourage the use of social media on your site. It’s also great to get people sharing and liking your content. Try reaching out to users on Twitter and Facebook to generate an organic social media following. Accepting guest post submissions on a regular basis also expands your social network. You never know you might write a great article for your blog, and that will only enhance your own content while.

By-line:

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.

This is a guest post by Maitreyee Sinha of WebGuru India.

Business cards represent an effective and yet, ignored marketing tool. With the right type of business cards, you can highlight features of your services in brief and create a positive impression on minds of potential customers.

Some people think that a card that includes information on both the sides is more beneficial. Others, however, believe that excessive information can irritate potential clients and create the impression that you are trying too hard. We highlight the respective advantages and disadvantages of two-sided business card design. Thereafter, we will discuss how you can create a powerful two-sided business card.

Advantages of two-sided business cards

• Two-sided business cards allow designers to incorporate more information. Including your contact information on front part of the card can create a messy look. Breaking down the information, on the other hand, creates a neat look.
• Two-sided business card allows you to add a unique touch to the card. For example, you can print an interesting quote or calendar of events on back of the card. This will enhance value of your card.
• With two-sided business cards, you can further strengthen your brand. For example, you can incorporate logo and graphic design that highlight goals of your company in back part of the card. This in turn, will encourage people to remember your brand.

Disadvantages of two-sided business cards

• Some people possess the habit of scribbling notes on business cards, after receiving them. They may have trouble, while using two-sided business card. The reason is that these cards do not have any extra white space, and therefore, one cannot use them for writing notes.
• Many businesspersons these days use card scanners for picking out crucial information. Certain models do not scan back of the cards. This means that if you print vital information on back section of the card, it may not be of any use.
• Two-sided business cards involve higher expenses. Furthermore, it involves greater efforts because you need to prepare content for both parts of the card.
• Two-sided business card is associated with the problem of ink smearing. Certain inks have the tendency to smear on neighboring paper sheets. Now, to prevent this, you need to use varnish (a protective film or finish) on back section of the card. Preparing a two-sided business card, therefore, involves more time. You also need to pay more for varnishing the card.

Two-sided business cards come with respective advantages and disadvantages. To reduce the disadvantages and heighten the advantages, you need to prepare two-sided business cards in the right way. We offer some valuable tips.

• Place vital information, such as your name, company name, and address, contact information only on front section of the card. If you place crucial information on the back section, people may not turn over the card and view it. Additionally, card scanners (as stated earlier) may not scan back part of the card, leaving out critical information.
• Use back part of the card to incorporate taglines, interesting quotes, or even a brief testimonial about your company. You can even incorporate a short description of your services.
• You can also print beautiful graphic designs on back section of the card. They add a stylish touch and leave a memorable impression as well.

Opt for these tips to strengthen the effect of your business card.

Author Bio:  WebGuru India is a website design company based in India, offering high-quality and cost-effective website design and website development solutions to people worldwide. The company has authored several articles on brochure design, logo design,  flash design, SEO services etc, providing updated information on technological developments and advancements.

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.