What is the Facebook Debugger?

The Facebook Debugger is a free tool that allows you to review, edit, and control how your content is displayed on your Facebook post. For some users, Facebook may incorrectly display the wrong image or text. If this happens to you, you can run the Facebook Debugger to make changes to identify problems so you can fix any issues for your post. This is very helpful for those posting a lot of lead ads on Facebook and many other benefits.

How to Use Facebook Debugger to Fix Posting Issues

If you encounter a problem with your Facebook post preview, the follower steps should be able to help you resolve any issues you have with incorrect content.

1. Run the Facebook Debugger

To access the Facebook Debugger tool, visit the Developer Tools page on the Meta for Developers website. Then select Sharing Debugger. You can also navigate directly to the page here.

If you are already logged into Facebook, you should be immediately taken to the Sharing Debugger tab on the website. If not, you’ll be instructed to enter your login credentials to continue.

On the Sharing Debugger tab, enter the URL of the website you want to check. Press “Debug” once it’s entered.

2. Review the Open Graph Markup

Once the page loads, you’ll see a full report about your site. You’ll also see other pieces of information, including the date of collection, the response code, the canonical URL of the page, and a preview of your blog post or page.

If there are any errors with your post, you’ll see them as well in your report.

• Extraneous Property: This error means that Facebook doesn’t recognize your site’s Open Graph property. It can also mean that the property on your site has expired.
• Inferred Property: You will see this error if Facebook can’t locate your image or if you have too many image properties for your post. This can also occur if your image is too small.
• Parser Mismatched Metadata: This means you have minor mistakes in your text (ex. extra spaces or incorrect date formats).
• Share App ID Missing: You will get this error if you have not correctly entered the app_id on your site.
• Open Graph Errors: If there is a problem pulling information from your site, you will see a list of open graph errors. These errors can be about your site name, description, or page title.

3. Fix the Issues

Once Facebook scrapes your site, you might notice incorrect information on the report. In some cases, the problem could be with your Open Graph tags. Scroll down the report and find the og tag descriptions.

The information shown in the og tags should correspond with the content shown on your Facebook post. If they do not match, you will need to open up your website HTML editor to fix the issue.

Missing images

Your post needs an image before it is set live. If there is no featured image, then Facebook will automatically pull one, which may or may not match what you want to post. To fix this problem, make sure that your blog post or site has a featured image.

Old or Incorrect content

If Facebook shows outdated images or titles, it could be a caching issue. In this situation, you’ll need to clear your WordPress and Facebook Cache.

Image resolution

Facebook requires a featured image at least 200 x 200 pixels in size (although bigger is perfectly acceptable). If the image is too small, it might be blurry or not get pulled in at all. So make sure that you are using an image that is larger than 200 x 200 pixels.

Missing App ID

You may get the Missing fb:app_id when running the Facebook Debugger. This means there’s no app ID associated with your site. Although it’s not required, it can help you analyze your campaign vis Facebook Insights. To add your Facebook app ID, log into WordPress and open YoastSEO. Then navigate to the Facebook tab, and you’ll see a box to enter the app ID.

4. Clear Your WordPress Cache

It’s also important to clear your cache. For example, it’s possible that Facebook is showing the wrong preview based on previously stored data. Therefore, the cache should be cleared on your WordPress site.

5. Scrape Again

Once the issues have been fixed and your WordPress cache has been cleared, you should run the Facebook Debugger once more. In the report, click the button that says “Scrape Again.” You might have to press this button a few times before Facebook is able to load the correct information.

If you correctly fixed the necessary problems, you should now see your preview the exact way you wanted it to look.

6. Publish Your Post

Now you’re ready to publish your post on Facebook. Head back to your account and share your content with the rest of the world!

Conclusion

The Facebook Debugger is a simple and easy-to-use tool that all marketers or business owners should use before sharing content on the site. So, don’t stress if your encounter an issue with your post. As you now know, debugging the problem can be done in just a few steps!

The post How to Use the Facebook Debugger to Fix Your Post appeared first on SiteProNews.

Habits of people are changing rapidly. In this fast-paced world we’re living in, people are quickly adapting to new technological solutions. Due to these innovations, people have moved away from written communication and started embracing video instead. It provides more information than text, it has a higher engagement rate and it increases ROI for many businesses. This form of communication is dominating social media and all digital marketing platforms as well. 

However, to create successful video content you will need more than a high-quality production and a great concept. You will need to optimize your videos for search with SEO (search engine optimization).

Is video SEO the same as regular SEO?

SEO is a marketing discipline which is focused on growing visibility in organic search engine results, according to Moz’s definition. It’s organic content that doesn’t require paying to make your target audience notice it. All you have to do is follow SEO guidelines such as the recommended number of words on a page, number of words per sentence, or the way you or other sites link to each other. The biggest difference between video and regular SEO is in the type of content you’re trying to optimize. With video SEO, you’re optimizing videos to be indexed and to rank on the search engine results pages for specific keywords. 

Businesses are well aware of the benefits of video marketing and they’re increasingly incorporating it in their marketing strategies. Animoto states that 56% of consumers believe if a company has a website, it should have video content on it. However, it’s one thing to create videos, and another one to optimize videos. Luckily, there are a lot of optimization tactics that can ensure your videos have a better ranking.

1. Define your video SEO goals. 

The first thing you should do when thinking about incorporating SEO into your video strategy is to know what you want to achieve with it. Defining goals at the beginning will help in creating video content later. With your clearly defined goals, you will know how to publish and promote the content. From the SEO side, there are two goals to achieve – link building and generating social shares or increasing conversions. To achieve the first one, your videos need exposure to thousands of people who are your target audience. To achieve the second goal, you’ll have to attract more visitors to a website first and then optimize it to convert them into paying customers. Whatever your goal may be, make sure you know it before you start working on the SEO for your videos.

2. Choose the best video hosting platform.

To have a successful video SEO strategy, you will have to choose the best video hosting platform to suit your needs. If you want to drive more traffic to your website and increase your brand awareness, platforms like YouTube and Vimeo are the right choice for you. If you wish to include your videos into your existing website or social media platforms, you can check out some of the popular video platforms such as Wistia or Vidyard which allow you to incorporate video anywhere you want. 

3. Create an engaging thumbnail image for your video. 

When working on your video, make sure your thumbnail image is as engaging as the video itself. It’s the first thing your viewers will see, even before viewing your video. That’s why it’s so crucial that the created thumbnail image is something that will make them want to click the play button. The thumbnail image needs to be clear, easy to understand, relevant and appealing to the viewer’s eye. When creating one for your next video, keep in mind it will directly affect your click-through rates and engagement rates as well.

4. Add the title and description.

When you’re writing articles for a blog, you’re always adding the title and meta description. The same is true with videos. Don’t use the first thing that comes to mind. Take some time to find the right title and description which will engage your target audience and achieve great results. Always include your keywords into titles and descriptions. However, you shouldn’t overuse them! That means your title and description should have keywords that apply to that particular video and not your whole content strategy. 

5. Don’t forget about the captions.

Since the majority of people consume online content from their mobile devices, one trend has become quite popular on social media and elsewhere – muted videos. That’s why marketers came up with the idea of inserting transcripts into videos. For instance, you can watch a whole video online without sound and read the captions below. This allows your video to have a wider reach and is great for SEO as search bots will go through that text as well. Make sure your captions are grammatically correct.

6. Optimize for mobile.

Just a few years ago, desktop usage strongly dominated when compared to mobile in regards to the way people consumed online content. Today, most content is consumed through smartphones which is why mobile optimization has become a priority for video SEO. Of course, nobody denies the benefits of desktop views. They’re still an inevitable factor in driving traffic. Mobile optimization means your website and video player need to be responsive to mobile viewing. The process has become so simplified that now many hosting services automatically offer it for your content. If you optimize your native video for mobile users to enjoy, you will maximize traffic and your ranking in the search engines. 

7. Everything should be optimized for SEO.

Video is not the only content you have on your page. The rest of it should be aligned with your video content and optimized for SEO. If your whole page isn’t SEO friendly, search engine crawlers won’t even bother to crawl the page. Your video can have a poor ranking in the search engine result pages (SERPs) due to lack of SEO content on the page. Did you know that video consumption is expected to increase to around 80% of all internet traffic by 2019? If you’re creating high-quality video content and making sure your page covers all SEO components, your website will gradually move to the top of the result pages.

8. Start with collaborations and partnerships.

You probably already have some content collaborations or marketing partnerships with other professionals or companies to extend your reach to their platforms as well. You can do the same with videos! To increase the exposure of your video, why not include others in your video? A great example of that is a joint webinar from two separate companies, discussing one chosen topic such as ‘Great SEO Tips for Your Video’. Also, link building will help your video get the exposure you want in the same way it helps your blog articles. Your partners can even share the link on their social media channels or include the video in their existing blog content. 

9. SEO is amazing but you will need more.

To ensure your video gets great results, you will need to go beyond optimizing the website content for SEO. With the dynamic changes of a digital world, your video strategy should never rely on one element, even though it’s something as important as SEO. If you do just rely on SEO, be aware that it’s constantly changing and Google is known for their mysterious algorithm shifts. Considering all that, you should be up to date with all the trends in the online world. Also, although organic content may be the majority of your video and digital marketing strategy, don’t forget about paid promotions. Businesses that combine organic and paid content for search engines are most likely to end up on the first result page of search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing.  

The best tools for your video SEO:

1. Animatron offers different solutions such as their online video editor and explainer video maker, and both are very nifty when it comes to editing existing videos or creating new explanatory videos.
2. Google Analytics provides you with detailed information about your audience. Find out where they are active and start promoting your videos there.
3. Canva is a great free graphic design tool. With it, you can easily create a professional and engaging thumbnail image in a minute or two.
4. DrumUp is a helpful tool for those who are publishing their videos on Youtube. It allows you to schedule video distribution to various social media channels.
5. Keyword Tool will help you find those keywords you should include in your title and meta description.
6. 3Play Plugin allows you to create a fully interactive and accessible video experience for your viewers. You can add captions, interactive transcripts and audio description with it. 

Conclusion

There isn’t a success formula for your video strategy. When used the right way, videos are a strong, powerful form of content and will greatly contribute to your SEO and digital marketing strategy. Implementing these strategies will certainly improve the ranking of your videos. Be sure not to skip any of them and enjoy your recordings!

The post Video SEO – 9 Ways to Improve Your Search Ranking appeared first on SiteProNews.

SEO has always been a crucial marketing discipline and it remains strong today. It’s the best way to increase your SERPs and gain lots of valuable organic traffic. However, everyone does SEO now, making it difficult to compete for valuable keywords. 

One of the most important SEO tactics that will get you the edge you need to outrank your competitors in the SERPs is link building. However, link building is not only about having the technical skills to create good links. This method is a combination of content marketing, old-school marketing knowledge, sales, and even physiology. 

Today we are going to introduce you to five ways to improve link building and outrank your competition. 

1. Guest Posting

Google’s former member, Matt Cutts, wrote this in 2014: “Okay, I’m calling it: if you’re using guest blogging as a way to gain links in 2014, you should probably stop. Why? Because over time it’s become a more and more spammy practice, and if you’re doing a lot of guest blogging then you’re hanging out with really bad company.” 

Be that as it may, there are still reasons to guest post, but in a certain way. It’s important to ensure a couple of things: 

• Get dofollow links. 
• Get links to and from related sites. 
• Avoid sites that only publish guest posts and don’t have any content of their own. 
• Avoid creating posts with exact match anchor texts.
• Ensure that the links are leading people to relevant posts/pages. 

If you want to go deeper, read my article on How to choose a website for guest blogging.

Many marketers are still able to get a lot of success with guest posting if they don’t do them in a spammy way.

The CEO of Devrix, Mario Peshev shares his experience: “Roundups and interviews are insanely successful. Once you feature micro influencers or other industry experts, you’re not only gaining some traction on mobile, but land a few backlinks along the way – from industry-related blogs and sites. For a roundup with 20 experts, we get about 5-7 targeted links from their sites and portfolios.”

2. Resource Pages

Resource pages are the backlink heaven. This is where linking to other similar organizations which might be relevant to your visitors is completely acceptable and welcomed. These pages are sources of information where you can give your visitors directions to services, businesses, blogs, organizations, and “resources” that they might have interest in. 

It’s essential to ensure that the information you provide is relevant to your target audience and that you don’t simply spam outbound links to pages that are willing to do the same in return for you. Instead, focus on organizations and people you truly have respect for and that might be able to help your audience in any way. 

3. Testimonials

Testimonials might not be as visually appealing as infographics but they are a trusted source that can also be used for building links. Unlike a resource page that is very static, testimonials and even reviews can be a constant source of fresh content. With consistent quality reviews, you will send out clear signals that your page is being updated. This means that it will get crawled over and over again. 

In the crawling process, your links will be checked as well. However, these are not just empty links, as testimonials give credibility and offer real, insightful information about a brand. At the same time, creating a testimonials page will suit your customers as well, since they’ll be able to link to their websites or simply get more mentions online. 

4. Forums and Q&A discussions

A lot of brands struggle with showing their real voice and engaging in real conversations. One of the last standing bastions where professionals and organizations can talk to people who have similar interests are forums. All forums ask their members to create profiles that contain relevant information about themselves and this includes links. 

Even though these links don’t offer a lot of value, there is an opportunity to create value through your membership. By appearing in discussions and Q&A sections at forums, people will engage with your posts and with your link as well. You will get natural mentions that will further increase the value of your presence and you might even get linked. 

At the same time, this is a great opportunity to show your expertise, offer non-promotional comments, and tap into your target audience to learn more about their issues, preferences, and potential solutions. You can even research your competition and see where they are active so that you can also get in on the action.  

5. Link and Image Reclamation

A proper link building strategy is not only about getting as many valuable links as you possibly can. It also involves link maintenance and this is what link reclamation focuses on. Over time, links get broken for various reasons: 

• The content to which a link is leading is removed.
• Sites change their URL addresses.
• Websites get redesigned.
• The address holds different content.

Whatever the case, you cannot allow these links to stay like that, as they will start damaging your ranking efforts rather than helping them. Use an SEO tool such as Ahrefs, or whichever you are using, to check all the links on your site. You should also check those leading to your site and create a list of broken links so that you can start fixing them one at a time. 

Links are essential in SEO and search results. You need to have a consistent strategy and work on it as often as you can. Make sure that you use these five ways of building links that we mentioned and include them in your strategy to beat your competition and rise to the top. 

The post 5 Creative Ways to Build Links & Outrank Your Competitors appeared first on SiteProNews.