But that’s not all there is to Brad, which is why he’s so cool.  He’s a really successful serial entrepreneur, and – more to the point of THIS post – he’s also a really forward-thinking and skilled SEO specialist.

He recently posted this video on his blog, commentating on an interview Wired magazine did with a selection of Googles’ engineers.  It’s really good info!

It’s closed captioned, so you can play it at work with the sound off if you need to, and I’ve also transcribed it below the embed, so if you’d like to read it that way, you can.

TRANSCRIPTION: Some of you have probably heard me say that print medium is dead, and I’m a firm believer in that for the most part.  I don’t believe in newspapers, I’m not a big fan of magazines anymore.  I’m probably going to end up getting a Kindle or an iPad this year, so I’m not a big fan of printed medium, but I wanted to share with you one.

I still subscribe to a handful of magazines.  I refer to them as my “crapper content” because I read them on the toilet.  But…”Wired” magazine.  I’ve been getting this magazine for like…since, like, since the first issue came out I’ve been getting this magazine.  I don’t think I’ve ever missed an issue.

In face, one of the highlights of my business career was when they wrote one of my start-ups up in Wired, I was pretty excited.  That’s another story.

In this month’s issue, there’s a really big article about Google’s algorithm, and it’s called Inside the Box.  Here’s a bit of a cover page for it (shows centerfold art in magazine).  Anyway, I highly recommend you go pick this up, it’s this latest issue of Wired, there’s also a really good article in here about how money flows online.

But, I wanted to share with you a couple of things that I pulled out of this Google algorithm article, because it’s an interview with Google’s engineers, it’s not some guesswork article like most of the pieces that you find online,  when they talk about Google’s algorithm.  This is straight from the horse, so it’s good information.

The number one thing that I picked up from this is a prediction that I made last year, and if you follow my blog you will probably remember me making this prediction – that Google is going to start to lower link popularity ranking against social media presence.   So when your link is mentioned on Twitter by someone who has a lot of followers, whether it’s put through a shortener or not it’s irrelevant, it’s going to get more ranking on Google when that happens.

And Google knows the difference between automated Twitter accounts and bots and all that other kind of stuff, so if you think you’re gonna cheat the system early, forget it, they’re already ahead of the game.  So you need to make sure that you’re putting out really good content that people want to spread – the more you do that, the better you’re gonna do on Google.

The number two I’m gonna share with you out of this article, that I pulled out of this, is that – we have a lot of SEO clients that work with us, and one of the biggest struggles we’ve had to deal with over the last year or so is, you know, a client will call me and they’ll  say, “Why is it that I’m number 5 on my browser, but when I go to work, I’m number 2?”  And they’re getting all these different results.

Or, “I call my friend and I’m on page two, but I’m on page one, and why is that happening?”  And we used, you know, we used to guess.  “Well, we think it’s because you’re logged in and he’s not,” or “Because you’re pulling from a different data center that’s got a newer update or an older update than yours.”  And all these other things.

What I found out is, Google is constantly testing upwards of 200 integrations into their algorithm at any given time, so what they are doing is that they are using 60% of Google as the control group, it uses the standard algorithm, and at any given time 40% of the user base on Google, which could easily be you or me on any given day, is in a guinea pig test stage where our results are being calibrated or calculated against how long we stay on their website, and how quickly we click through, or how many times we re-enter a search to get to the right results.

And they are using all that data as a way to find out whether or not the new changes to the algorithm are worth propagating into their main database.

So, whenever you see a different result – and this is a really big thing for us, because now we finally know the answer – if you see a different result from your friend, or if you are a client of mine and you see a different result to what I see, it’s because one of us, or both of us, is a guinea pig on Google’s algorithm, and they’re testing some new search feature.

So, that’s a bit of an eye opener, for me anyway, to know that about Google.

It’s a four page article, there’s a lot more information.  I’m not going to share it all with you because I’m a firm believer in supporting good content.  Wired is a great magazine, I think you should pick it up.  So, that’s all I have to say about Google’s algorithm and Wired magazine.

Well, the answer to the first question is a resounding YES!  As to the second, there are many ways.  First of all, let’s get over the whole “Twitter redirects links and adds no follow.”  Yes, that’s true, but it doesn’t mean we can’t use Twitter for SEO, there are a few methods that can be implemented to wild success.

First, just because Twitter itself no follows your link doesn’t mean anyone who syndicates your feed will.  This is where the whole “be interesting, be follow-worthy” thing comes in.  Make your feed WORTH syndicating!  Therefore, when you tweet a link, it will get published (with a 301 permanent redirect if it’s been shortened) on all the sites that have syndicated you.

Next, remember that, even though it may seem as if the “big T” has been taken over by celebs, it is still largely the playground of bloggers and social media addicts…er…i mean…EXPERTS!    If you post links to really good content, it’s almost a biological imperative for these folks to share it.  And not only by retweeting it, either – many of them will blog about it and throw you a link in the process.

Lastly – and this is my favorite – don’t forget that Twitter ITSELF has a lot of power in the search engines.  Twitter SEO value is HUGE.  Are you a Bum Marketer who is frustrated with Ezine Articles shutting you down or taking forever to approve your articles?  Or possibly you’re frustrated because every time you search a “golden” Bum keyword there’s already an Ezine Article on the front page?

Try this – create a Twitter profile based on the keyword.  Use a shortened version as the address, use the keyword itself as the name, and then write keyword optimized text, including a call to action, as your “Bio.”  Include your link in the “Website” box.  Put in a default photo (respecting copyright!), and change the default theme.  Last, put in five to ten tweets on the subject – little tips, hints, or pieces of trivia.  Remember, it’s not the same as an article.  It’s bite size pieces of information.  Include your link in some of the tweets, but not all.

Throw some backlinks at that puppy and see what happens!  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The great thing about this method is that it doesn’t have to stop there.  You can ALSO gather targeted traffic directly from Twitter, and continue to communicate with your group as it grows.   Try to do THAT with an article, why don’tcha?

To learn more about marketing on Twitter, and taking it to the next level in a “Fill It and Forget It” kind of way, check out Kelly Verge’s The Tweeder Method.   I LOVE this method.  Much like the tip I described above, it teaches you how to market on Twitter in a way that’s not the normal “Gather a huge following and then spam your links at them! But make sure you include a bunch of tweets about what you’re eating for dinner in between the spam so it doesn’t look spammy!” that everyone and their brother is pushing.

Rather, it teaches you how to figure out what you should promote on Twitter – and it’s not the same lame CPA offers that spammers are pushing, I assure you!  It teaches you how to locate people on Twitter who are truly in a buying mindset, how to connect with them in a way that is helpful and welcome, and lastly – THE BEST PART! – how to automate a lot of it using free tools.

I use The Tweeder Method myself.  To give you an idea – I spent about a day setting it up (six or seven hours), and spend about 20 minutes a week maintaining it.  I have 7 accounts, or “modules” as Kelly calls them.  I earn between $400 and $500 a month, almost entirely hands-free.  I could easily scale it, and I plan to do that with outsourcing, I just need to set aside the time to do the research.  But, even at this level, it basically pays for all my article writing each month, and that’s awesome!

If you’ve been thinking Twitter seems like a goldmine, but you just don’t know how to get started, CLICK HERE to check out Kelly’s book.   It really is super-cool. 

*melanie