When it comes to websites and SEO, there are a couple of ways that crowdsourcing can be used for testing and link building purposes. By making an “open call” to qualified people on the internet, you can solicit site designers, conversion optimizers, and SEO experts who will sometimes offer free advice, or who may actually perform part of the project for a fee. There are even overseas developers and programmers who bid on projects that include site design, logo creation, and shopping cart integration, and who may make a sample site “on spec” for you approval.
How can you use the “mind of the mob” to improve your optimization? First and foremost, you can offer an incentive for the person(s) who first discovers major SEO issues, or the most problems. This can give you a lot of input, some of which may uncover a set of minor issues that can blur your overall SEO picture. Crowdsourcing is also a good way to solicit links, but only if your crowdsource is relevant to the topic at hand. You can even create link bait that would be of interest to such a group, and solicit improvements or “things you’d like to see” in the form of online tools, information, templates, or code. With SEO crowdsourcing, you have the potential to make your virtual focus group into a great potential source of links.
The Google PageRank Algorithm can be considered analogous to crowdsourcing. In its most basic form, the algorithm spiders the internet for links and measures the relationship between them, assigning values to each site based on link popularity. In a manner of speaking, the “crowd” in this case has been surveyed, unwittingly, and has presented a result back to the search engine, which then uses that information to improve its results. You could even say that search engines are the biggest users of crowd-based input, and have turned the preferences of Netizens into the most business model in the online world.
Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages when it comes to crowdsourcing. Unpaid “experts” may be novices who are trying to rack up experience. It also may be difficult to find experienced members of the crowd, or you may get people who are trolling for a better payment once part of the work is complete. On the plus side, you can get more honest input on design choices, since semi-anonymous members of the “crowd” aren’t bothered by the political implications of telling you that your site is a mess, and that its SEO functionality is questionable. You can even take some of the toughest criticism you get on a “dev site” and ask yourself if the general public would amplify the same thoughts. Finally, you can use tools like Google Analytics and ClickTale to see how your crowd really interacts with a site, which will give you input on potential hangups in usability and conversion.
The collaborative nature of crowdsourcing means that you can also become a member of the crowd, which can improve your own company’s credibility and online reputation. If you have time to offer input on other people’s sites, SEO functionality, or even give advice on usability, then your own position in the online world is enhanced. The Web 2.0 community may have a lot of members, but there are plenty of “crowd groups” which are trusted to deliver input on specific questions, and finding the answers to some of these questions can improve your ability to find solutions to similar problems down the road. In the meantime, you can develop relationships with fellow crowd members and potential clients, which can certainly work to your advantage the next time a tough question comes up and people are looking for the “expert” in the crowd.
Tags: crowdsourcing
