SEO Strategy In 2020 - Focus On Content and Links 

Even with all of the SEO trends that have been introduced over the past 25 or so years since its inception in the last decade of the 1900s, SEO in 2020 is still all about content and links. Without amazing content, you’ll never get links, and without link building, you won’t rank on the SERPs, so quality content and links should still be the foundation of any SEO strategy. 

SEO is the acronym Search Engine Optimization however more to the point it should be referred to as Web Presence Optimization, after all, we are optimizing our business and web presence, not the search engine. 

Content marketing and inbound marketing are synonymous as its foundational approach is creating quality content tailored to any given audience thereby acquiring customers, building trust, and loyalty. This type of marketing is not separate from SEO at all and has become an integral part of today’s SEO.

The SEO pre-2011 was a totally different mindset and the tasks were generally farmed out to search engine optimization professionals at a price. The industry became notorious for gaming search engines, particularly Google with the one-upmanship game using tactics like dark link schemes, mass forum posting, comment backlinking, and content stuffed with keywords, etc.   

After one of many of Google's algorithm updates (Panda/Farmer update) in February 2011, things notably changed and Google started viewing content from a truly human perspective. Marketer’s changed the way they approached Google and no longer used the keyword density formula as stuffing keywords throughout every page was a big no-no. Marketers started focusing on content that correlated and that interested their target market. 

Google continues to stay ahead of the game. Today, with their latest algorithm named BERT, which is based on user intent rather than a focus on content/page to keyword matching. It’s a  user-focused optimization, using real people to evaluate websites. These Quality Raters are not SEO professionals but are trained to assess the pages according to the amount of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness of the page’s main content as well as the creator of that content. 

 

Two Factors Determine High-Quality Content In Google 

As we know Google’s algorithm changes constantly, but there are two human inputs that can affect how your content shows up in search results.

Behavioral Analysis: Google looks at user behavior factors like the dwell time and average time on page.

Quality Raters: Google hires humans who manually check their search results using quality rating guidelines.pdf

As it’s all about humans and how they consume content and their effect on search engine rankings, we need to ensure our content satisfies not only the technical but the human requirements also. 

The Human Touch Required For The Pillars

Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, otherwise known as E-A-T are the pillars of Google’s quality rater guidelines and are only used to help Google evaluate changes, and do not directly impact rankings. The guidelines exist to help raters assess “Page Quality” and “Needs Met”, so it is simply a term Google created to teach quality raters what to look for. 

Google emphasizes Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness -  EAT to ensure trust in their search results.

 

Page Quality

Jennifer Slegg, the editor for the SEM Post, explains how Google assesses E-A-T,

“They said that the best-known signal is PageRank — that means links.”

Google may count links from other authoritative sites in your sector as vouching for your page.

Slegg provided as a rule of thumb, 

“You want to make sure that you’re putting out content that other people will feel good about linking to. In addition to amassing backlinks, publishers can bolster their E-A-T by citing their sources, including author bios and credentials, hiring authors that are experts in their field, adding “about” info and contact details, and managing their reputation and reviews.”

Needs Met

“Needs Met” refers to how well your page satisfies the user’s query.

Slegg goes on to explain,

“If you want to get the ‘Fully Meets’ ranking for this, which is the highest-ranking you can possibly get, you need to ensure that your content is completely answered what searchers are looking for,” 

So how can we improve our Needs Met ranking? One way is to see what keywords are getting users to your site and assessing that against your landing page. Also by having all your content on a single page rather than spread across numerous pages that would cause users to have to click on subsequent pages, may lower the likelihood of users returning to the search results only to click on your competitors’ listing. 

Low-quality signals are considered to be pages that are not mobile-friendly, misleading or clickbait titles, ad-blocked content, and intrusive advertisements, so the quality raters are instructed to assign the lowest rating available. 

“Google knows that sites need to have ads to support revenue,” Slegg noted, “it’s more about the types of ads.”

These pieces of content are ranked by their order of usefulness and relevance to the user performing the search.

And that means, in order for your content to have any SEO value at all, it needs to be beneficial to searchers.

How do you make sure it’s beneficial? The infographic below gives you some guidelines recommended by Google.

 

Social Media Now Considered Backlinks

Social relationships are now considered the new backlinks. In other words, you begin following people who have similar topics to yours and when you start building relationships, they will share your content from their social media turf. The more influential content-related people who share your content, the more impact it has on rankings. SEO is becoming a social butterfly that creates a network of substance and purpose.

A Community That Comments Is A Good Thing

Do blog comments help your rankings? According to Google, the answer is YES! 
In fact, Google stated that the community on your site that comments on your blog or article can help “a lot” with ranking.

Subsequently, Gary Illyes from Google said that “Comments are better on-site for engagement signals for SEO than moving to social.” 

In other words, Google now wants to see that you have an active community on your site. 

It’s extremely worthwhile to share "the love" with other social media platforms in terms of creating a greater reach. This is where Markethive excels as fully explained in this article written by the CEO of Markethive, Thomas Prendergast, a master at the art of marketing. 

Markethive is the ecosystem for entrepreneurs from all walks of life that not only includes a comprehensive inbound marketing suite but a social media platform where like-minded individuals network focusing on collaboration, sharing content and ideas, with the added advantage of Blockchain security and financial sovereignty. 

It’s a platform that highlights the cottage industry with sovereign storefronts and oodles of content all pointing to and from the platform.  It’s the perfect umbrella for any business to improve their exposure and reach.

With the classification of the next generation Market Network, Markethive has advanced exponentially in terms of traffic and Alexa Ranking. Thanks to the Markethive community with its professional approach to mastering the basic techniques of SEO, facilitating their individual businesses while engaging on the social platform, there’s little wonder that Markethive is a force and showing all the signs of dominating the Social Inbound Marketing paradigm.

Statistics updated Sept. 29, 2020

Markethive is not totally dependent on Search Engines as an individual marketer going it alone might be. It has built its own society (and continues to do so) so its traffic is contingent to the Markethive membership driving more traffic in, due to the nature of its platform, what it has to offer, the viral aspect, and the rewards system in place. 

Having said that, there are simple things we can do to optimize our content with the Markethive blogging system and keep within the guidelines of what is accepted or frowned upon on major search engines. 

Adding to that it’s beneficial to be aware of the continuous changes and updates our beloved Google does to its search engine. 

 

How Can You Optimize Your Content In Markethive?

Content optimization doesn’t need to be difficult. It’s certainly one of the easier elements of SEO to understand and since Markethive is in essence an Inbound Marketing platform with content being of paramount importance it makes sense to understand how you can optimize your blogs to improve rankings.

You need to ensure you’re following a process and adhering to best-practice guidelines. However, you first need to understand why certain elements contribute toward an optimized page and also what to do to implement these into your content. 

Content remains one of Google’s strongest ranking signals, but it’s important to create content with a purpose. You should never just publish blog posts or other types of content just for the sake of doing so. 

Typically, you’ll be publishing content to meet one of a number of goals, including: 

• To rank on the SERPs. 
• To earn links. 
• To educate an audience. 
• To drive social engagement. 
• To generate leads. 

11 Elements To Optimize Your Blog

When it comes to creating the perfectly optimized page, there’s a simple checklist which you can follow: 

Be Keyword Targeted 

Keyword research should always be the starting point when writing. It’s important to align the content you create with your keyword research. 

Although search engines have been minimizing the importance of keywords signals for a while now, they still play a role in ranking your content in the SERPs. 

The focus is now more than ever on keyword phrases (long-tail phrases) and the skillful use of these phrases in a manner that is appropriate for the way search engine optimization works today. 

This guide will show you the importance of understanding the authority strategy that aligns with E-A-T.

Shorter URLs Are More Search Engine Friendly

As far back as 2008, Google’s Matt Cutts said that a 3 to 5 word URL is optimal and that, with those which are longer, “Google’s algorithms typically will just weight those words less and just not give you as much credit.” 

Specifically, URLs at position #1 on the first page of Google are on average 9.2 characters shorter than URLs that rank in position #10.

Short URLs may improve SEO in terms of a higher organic click-through rate (CTR) as shown in this study that short URLs have a higher CTR vs. long URLs. Also, short URLs may help Google understand what your page is all about.

So shorter URLs have a correlation with higher rankings. The average URL on Google’s first page is 66 characters long. Be sure to also include your main target keyword in the URL. 

 

Optimize Your Title Tag 

The title tag of a page is one of the most important on-page SEO elements, yet one which is so simple to get right. The best place to start when writing an optimized title tag is your target keyword. 

Most title tags on Google’s first page contain keywords that are an exact or partial match of any given search, so it makes sense to describe what your page is about in your title tag.

Because your title tag gives the people searching and search engines an overview of your content’s overall topic, it should presumably have a significant impact on rankings as pointed out in the Google SEO Guide.

It appears that a keyword-rich title tag may be a “ticket to entry” that can help you get to the first page. However, once you’re on the first page, using the exact keyword in your title doesn’t appear to help you climb the rankings. 

That’s where other factors like backlinks, Domain Authority, and user experience signals (like bounce rate, time on site, organic click-through-rate) appear to play a large role.

Optimize Your H1 Tag 

Your H1 tag is generally the same as the title or at least has the keywords pertaining to the title. When using the Markethive blogging platform this can be found in the editor at the top along with all the other formats available. 

As with title tag optimization, H1s may be a “ticket to entry” factor that can help you crack Google’s first page. But keyword-rich H1s may not be strong enough of a ranking signal to help a page move up the first page results. However, optimizing every aspect of your blog without going overboard can’t hurt.  

 

Target Keyword in the First Paragraph

There is no need to forcefully work your target keyword many times over throughout your entire content. Keyword stuffing is now considered “NOT COOL” and is frowned upon by search engines. 

It is important that you do use your primary keyword within the content, however, it needs to be done so in a natural fashion. It’s recommended that you include this within the first paragraph of content on the page. 

In the case of our Markethive TV article, this could be done easily by opening with something along the lines of what you see in the image above  Notice how it isn’t forced but fits nicely in the opening paragraph? That’s what you need to aim for. You will also notice I have included internal links using anchor text.

 

Optimize Your H2 Tags 

You’ve already wrapped your page heading in an H1 tag, but you need to also make sure you’re wrapping subheadings in H2 tags (or H3 – 6 if there are headings under other subheadings). 

Think of H tags as a hierarchy, where you’re wrapping the most important title in an H1 and work your way down the page. If all your subheadings contextually carry the same weight, use H2 tags for these. If there are clear sections within these, use H3 and so forth in a logical order. 

Don’t fall into the trap of stuffing your target keyword straight into an H2 tag but include variations that make sense to the content. In this example below, you may open the main body of content, after your H1 tag and introductory paragraph, with this variation.

Here, it’s highlighting clearly the overall theme and keyword focus - Markethive TV - however, there is an obvious variant describing what viewers can expect at present and in the future. Keep H2 tags concise and remember you don’t need to have a keyword variant every time as long as your content flows contextually. 

 

Use Of Images & Video 

The use of images and video within content has a positive impact upon dwell time, or how long someone stays on the page. Also, using video and images, which also includes the likes of infographics and charts, makes content easier to read and consume.

It’s a well-known fact that many of us are able to absorb and understand easier when content is visualized through an infographic or listened to via video. Furthermore, it nicely breaks up the text which can be seen as overwhelming to some readers, especially when it’s a comprehensively long article. 

Notably, writing comprehensive, in-depth content can help pages rank higher in Google, and according to this study when it comes to acquiring backlinks, long-form content significantly outperforms short blog posts and articles. Content longer than 3000 words gets an average of 77.2% more referring domains. 

From an SEO perspective, content that engages users more will have a positive impact upon dwell time. From the perspective of search engines, it makes sense that the longer a user spends consuming content on a site, the more useful it is in comparison to one with a much lower dwell time. 

Just be sure to fully optimize images and embed videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia, or other video hosting and streaming platforms. 

 

Outbound Links Do Improve SEO

Not so long ago, SEO professionals were scared to link out to external content. Why? 
The worry of “leaking PageRank.” 

This was based upon a tendency to maintain as much PageRank as possible internally within a website and to avoid linking out. However, from an editorial perspective, that doesn’t make sense. 

Outbound links are one way that people and search engines discover useful content. They are important because they can improve organic traffic, build trust, and even facilitate relationships with other businesses.

Don’t be afraid to link out. If you’re citing a source, go ahead and link to it. It not only helps users to read further into a sub-topic but also allows search engines to better understand relevancy based upon content you’re linking to. 

Derek Gleason at CXL Institute explains how outbound links in your article align with a users-first approach to content, 

“If you really believe that your content marketing is there to benefit your users, I think you have to link to competitor content. They’re the other sites that are most likely to have created authoritative content on topics similar to those you cover. If you feel anxious about doing that, it’s a bit naive. Your users know that competitors exist. They’re going to find their websites one way or another. If anything, a willingness to link to others’ content may even reinforce why you’re the better resource as users know that you’ll give them full, honest answers.”

Just be mindful to link to authoritative sources. Don’t accept money from third-parties to link to their content from your own. Essentially, link to anything that adds value and makes the life of the user easier, so they don’t have to go search out resources themselves.

 

Balance Your Content With Internal Links 

Internally linking through to other key pages on your site is a must. Internal linking is a key way to navigate both users and search engines through your content and help to spread link equity to key pages. 

In the most simplistic form, if you’re mentioning a topic within your content which you have a page or post about, link to it. Don’t be afraid to link using anchor text, either. For example, if content talks about Backlinking and you have a previous relevant article that expands on your topic, by all means, link it, as I’ve done here. 

How many internal links should you add to your content? There’s no hard rule. Don’t go internally linking to anything and everything (and certainly don’t be forcing keywords in just to link), but link where it makes sense, and the target page adds value.

 

Page Speed

Although page speed can be an important factor for the user, and always considered to have a critical impact on digital marketing, and ranking, Backlinko recently analyzed 11.8 million search results to find no correlation between page loading speed (measured by Alexa) and first page Google rankings. However, it’s always best practice to strive for faster page speeds and when it comes to content, image size is a major contributing factor, so it’s important to optimize your images. 

Social Share Buttons 

Social shares are becoming more of an influence when it comes to search results, and social media profiles do rank in search engines. It’s also important that readers are able to share your content. 

Even if organic search is one of the reasons why you’re creating a piece of content, the end result is that you want eyeballs on it which create your reach and hopefully convert into business.

Social share buttons are located at the bottom of each of your blogs on the Markethive Blogging template which will appear as soon as you hit publish. 

 

In Conclusion

In 2020, it’s time to re-evaluate the quality of content and optimizing content for users rather than search engines. The key to staying successful in search marketing 2020 has been consistent throughout, publish good authoritative content, with consistent brand messaging, in all your channels. 

As the search engines adapt more to natural language understanding, the best-written content in all forms will win out. 

When you create content that is highly useful, engaging, or entertaining, and be seen as reliable enough to your audience that they would willingly return again to your site, or even seek you out above others, you’ve most certainly gained authority.

Users and customers are getting smarter and they expect more when it comes to marketing. The more they trust you, the more they are willing to share your content (links), talk about you (value), and buy your products (revenue).” 

Markethive has built a system on the Blockchain to empower the Entrepreneur, offering privacy, freedom of speech, and importantly, autonomy. Markethive with its numerous plugins, different domains, layouts, content, etc, all feeding from Markethive but feeding into them. 

We could literally have hundreds of thousands of websites all interconnected inside through the Blockchain from the outside having no possible connection, each one producing its own unique content. Some can be ranking really high, others not so much, but all feeding back into Markethive.

As Google evolves into a more humanistic search engine along with its updates, could and has resulted in a disruption of other sites’ and their standing in SEO. This will not affect Markethive, in fact, you could say it’s like trying to kill the Hydra.

Markethive, the company, is focused on providing a Universal type of income for aspiring entrepreneurs. We believe in sharing our resources with you as you build your business and seek to reach your goals. 

There is so much involved in the world of SEO, it can be very intimidating, however, Markethive has got you covered and committing to learn and carrying out the basics outlined here can lead to a fruitful association within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

 

Sources: 
https://searchengineland.com/ 
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/
https://backlinko.com/

 

 

Deb Williams
A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

Wishoo Ecoin Social network Explained

Ecoin Official is Launching Wishoo crypto Social network

Wishoo  - Get paid for posting and liking Posts

Wishoo will be the only social media where you get paid to like and also get paid to post , paid instantly in world’s fastest growing token - Ecoin

Want to make Real money online by posting photos, Videos, Movies or Blogs instead of just a bunch of useless likes ?

Look No further and Join  Wishoo where you earn for sharing posts and giving Likes everyday. Post, Like and Transfer your Earnings into to get into your bank account instantly….

Be a part of the Ecoin Influencer Hub to get early access to the social media platform.

Wishoo will be launching in 1 week.

Why choose  Wishoo ?

We are a young and energetic community with a 3 million+ strong user base expected to cross 100 million soon. Wishoo platform can be an  ideal  second social media platform for you if you are an influencer or want to be an influencer.

How Wishoo works?

Here you can post Videos, Photos, Movies, Blogs anything and whenever people like it,  Unlike other social media like Youtube where only Content publishers get paid, Wishoo lets users earn by liking few posts per day ( 5-20  depending on their referral level , people with more referrals can like and earn from more posts )


As there is hard upper limit of 20 posts a person can like per day , we expect an average earning of 25000-50,000 Votes per day per post ( or about $200-400 per post per day )


You need to have 25 Fully valid referrals on http://bit.ly/ecoinairdrop to be eligible to post 1 post per day and 125 FV referrals to post 2 posts per day and 250 FV referrals to post 3 per day

Ready to join Wishoo?
▪️Telegram @wishoolive
▪️Instagram https://bit.ly/wishoo_insta  ( Please follow on instagram, to show your love ) 
▪️Website : Wishoo.ecoinofficial.org ( Not live yet )

Join Ecoin Official

Markethive | A BLOCKCHAIN-ENABLED FUTURE Empowerment Autonomous Trustless

A BLOCKCHAIN-ENABLED FUTURE
Empowerment Autonomous Trustless

Blockchain technology is becoming a tidal wave of innovation and practical blockchain applications are becoming more mainstream. It’s moving beyond the hype of a couple of years ago and now bearing fruit, bringing real benefits to individuals and organizations. 
Blockchain can be a tricky concept to get your head around, but to put it simply it is a tool that offers industries the ability to increase productivity and revenue, cut costs, ensure transparency and reduce wasted time and paperwork. It’s a new foundation underpinning our everyday tasks. 
The pivotal advantage of blockchain is that there is no central hub. It has the transparency of a distributed ledger combined with the cryptographic security of an immutable data chain that makes this technology an ideal instrument for any business to exchange and validate information. Blockchain is a baseline technology that can be configured in various ways to suit different purposes and accommodate individual businesses across the board. 

The Business Value With Blockchain

There are a few key areas where blockchain can add value to businesses and individuals, 
Cost Reduction
Businesses no longer have to pour profits into logistics, intermediaries, and administrative paper trails. The blockchain can streamline supply chains, cutting out the middleman and banishing processes that slow efficiency and eat profits.
Revenue Creation
The blockchain does away with administrative and collaborative boundaries, allowing for innovative strategies that simply weren’t viable before the advent of Blockchain technology. This is a new freedom, where distributed ledgers and cryptography pave the way for new infrastructure and revenue models. 
Consumer Impact
New business models provide the opportunity to meet the previously overlooked needs of consumers and communities. In the medical field, for example, where remote patient care and record-keeping may have been an issue in the past, blockchain advances provide ways to overcome those barriers using synchronized records and smart care devices on the network.
Freedom And Equality
Entrepreneurs, writers, and all types of creative artists are able to attain recognition, financial sovereignty, data privacy, and autonomy now that Blockchain has been utilized and is what drives the next generation social market network. Working online is at an all-time high and with the rise in social media and online marketing activity, blockchain makes it more equitable bringing true freedom for the individual. 

Blockchain Disruption

Blockchain is already making waves in financial services, tech companies, healthcare, social market network, and digital media. Below are two infographics from Visual Capitalist that were inspired by a McKinsey study researching a combined industry analysis with more than 90 distinct use cases. 

The Problem with Centralized Infrastructure

Today on the Internet, we must constantly trust one another with sensitive data, transactions, and records. Most of our interactions on the Internet run on centralized web servers, and massive amounts of user data often exist in a single database. Current databases are designed to be controlled by “trusted” admins who can read, alter, block, and even delete data. The centralized architecture of the Internet today is not only inefficient but vulnerable to censorship and targeted attacks by both hackers and internal bad actors.

The Value of Decentralization

The decentralized architecture of a blockchain is a global network of computers simultaneously running the software and validating the chain of transactions is what ensures that the transaction record is never compromised. Decentralization is critical as an architectural principle. It makes a blockchain network less likely to fail, harder to attack, and harder for bad actors to game the system.
As blockchain adoption spreads, it can become a driving force for promoting equitable societies, solving complex economic issues, and transforming how we live and work every day.

Two Practical Applications Of Blockchain

1. Smart Contracts
Blockchain and smart contract technologies function well in instances where legal contracts are required to maintain ownership rights and data privacy laws. These customizable, self-executing smart contracts on the blockchain can be easily managed by all parties. Smart contracts allow the decentralization of trustless transactions, worldwide and on a large scale. These can encompass different kinds of interaction, not only human-to-human but also human-to-machine and machine-to-machine.

Issues with ownership rights and royalties are commonplace within the entertainment industry. To navigate these issues, blockchain technology offers an unchangeable, traceable, real-time distribution, and reporting network for all involved. Ujomusic is one such application that is helping artists track their royalties worldwide. In the music industry, blockchain technology can bring artists and fans closer together, allowing listeners to pay micropayments to artists for listening to their songs directly.
Artists are not always paid in a reasonable time by major players who control the music industry, sometimes even waiting years to receive their earning for their work. By utilizing smart contracts, artists and studios can ensure that intellectual property agreements are met by other parties and smart contracts could be implemented that instantly pay artists once certain requirements are met.

Image credit Disruptor Daily

Data privacy issues, massive scale surveillance, also known as dataveillance and lack of freedom of speech in the social media realm have become a distinct problem. Markethive, a social media, and inbound marketing platform have not only addressed these issues to empower the individual, but it has also utilized smart contract technology.  
This is in the form of the Markethive Coin (MHV) which is a fungible cryptocurrency consumer coin, and the Incentivized Loan Program (ILP – Smart Contract). This enables all users to generate an income by just using the platform and the first-mover advantage of share acquisitions consisting of 20% of the company’s net revenue.  Markethive is a collaborative decentralized platform where its Entrepreneurial members can achieve viability and self-sovereignty. 

The Framework Of A Smart Contract 

Smart contracts help you exchange money, property, shares, or anything of value in a transparent, conflict-free way while avoiding the services of a middleman. Built upon the blockchain, a smart contract is usually:

1. Pre-written logic in the form of computer code
2. Stored and replicated on the blockchain
3. Executed and run by the network of computers running the blockchain
4. Can result in updates to accounts on the ledger (i.e. payment for an executed contract)

Using the Ethereum platform, smart contracts can be programmed using basic logic. On the most basic level, they can:

• Perform calculations (i.e. calculating interest)
• Store information (i.e. membership records)
• Send transactions to other accounts (i.e. payment for a good or service)

But most importantly, it is important to know that smart contracts are autonomous. They are not controlled by anyone – instead, they self-execute based on a set of instructions that two parties have agreed to, which is the code.

Image credit Visual Capitalist

Benefits of Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are appealing for a variety of reasons:

• Autonomy: There is no need to rely on third parties, which could be biased or not have your interests at heart.
• Trust: Your documents are encrypted on a shared ledger, and all parties can have access to them.
• Redundancy: Documents are duplicated many times over on the blockchain, and can’t ever be “lost”.
• Safety: Documents are encrypted, making them near-impenetrable by hackers.
• Speed: These contracts automatically self-execute, saving you precious time.
• Savings: Smart contracts save you money by taking out the middleman.
• Precision: Smart contracts execute the exact code provided, ensuring zero errors.
• Transparency: For organizations like governments, they could add another level of transparency to dealings. Blockchain technology can set up a decentralized system that prevents any form of voting fraud or suspicious movements in the network.

The blockchain is already a disruptive technology, and with these benefits, the potentiality of smart contracts is an amazing step forward for fairer, faster, more lucrative, and trustworthy systems for the companies, organizations, and individuals who embrace it. 

2. Digital IDs
Reportedly, over 1.1 billion people worldwide still have no way to prove their identity according to the World Bank. Simultaneously, companies and financial institutions in both traditional and digital markets are being required to follow more stringent know-your-customer (KYC) initiatives.
Despite this, many providers are still not sufficiently meeting these standards; to further complicate things, regulations vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Markethive have migrated to the blockchain to securely and privately verify users. 
Blockchain’s multi-factor verification process eclipses the levels of security that traditional password protection offers. Identities are secured for the decentralized web, for example, data sharing by third party companies has resulted in intrusive advertising. Blockchain-based identification means that no third parties can access your personal data without your consent.   
The thing to be aware of is companies and platforms that claim to be blockchain-based but have a centralized identification protocol. There will be resistance from these entities that profit from the current system where people have no control over their personal data. Big companies manipulate data, so they are not very interested in decentralizing that type of information.  
The existence of blockchain-based, yet centralized ID platforms could cause confusion among organizations and the general public. However, it's likely that the advantages of the best decentralized platforms possessing enough reach will inevitably make themselves known to the masses, so that eventually a few dominant platforms will emerge. As we move forward the majority will realize the advantages of a completely decentralized system that offers security, transparency, privacy, and gives control back to the users. 

Image credit Disruptor Daily

Conclusion

The world is waking up to the impressive capabilities of the blockchain. As a foundational technology that anything can be developed and augmented on top of it, the potential applications of the blockchain go way beyond just payments or cryptocurrencies. In fact, the blockchain will revolutionize how we interact with intellectual property, capital markets, insurance, healthcare, government, social media, and internet marketing, along with many other sectors. 
Forward-looking companies that convert to the blockchain to improve the privacy and security of their data and create an environment that is unfettered from political and nefarious agendas, will be the winners on top. 
Just about every company that migrates to the blockchain and new companies launched built upon the blockchain, will prosper, as long as they deliver and make their prime agenda to benefit their customers.





Deb Williams
A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

How Markethive Engines are propelling the Blockchain based Platform ?

MARKETHIVE amazing growth is propelled by Traffic and Subscribers Engines

Markethive is a mighty light on the mountain attracting the multitudes, the millions into our city to prepare for financial sovereignty, and be free in this world of suppression and authoritarianism. The next-generation market network is expanding daily as more and more people see the magnificent vision as Markethive progresses with the many integrations, various platforms, and money-making systems that make up the complete ecosystem for entrepreneurs. 

The Two Primary Engines

Markethive has two engines driving it and working simultaneously bringing millions of entrepreneurs into this safe haven which is the central hub and gateway to the internet universe. Social media and online marketing platforms or digital media sites typically only have one engine. LinkedIn, for example, only has a subscriber engine meaning they get their traffic through people subscribing to them so basically you have to log in to LinkedIn to see their platform. CoinTelegraph, a high profile digital media site, is predominantly a traffic engine. 
Both the subscriber and traffic engines’ speed and power are measured by Alexa and WorthOfWeb and in the case of Markethive, they are growing daily in an exponential fashion. Just to give you an idea the infographic below shows how Markethive has grown in the last 2 years. It consists of a combination of internal and external statistics: 
On the left is Markethive’s traffic engine where it shows 28% of traffic is coming through external referral sites which is incredible numbers. 7% search traffic and 3% social traffic is very significant along with 62% direct traffic that is coming from the subscriber engine. So the growth rate of Markethive since 2017 is a whopping 2,849%.

On the right are the current statistics of the subscriber engine with the members’ growth in the last 6 months now tipping 90.8K. New subscribers in the last month are up by 227%. These are all validated accounts as Markethive has negated any issues of individual members creating numerous accounts. It delivers real people into the system using OAuth, KYC, and SMS. 
These numbers are not static, they are always increasing but this infographic is a good indication and illustration of both engines.  



Markethive is now present in every country worldwide, in every nation with people from every race, creed, age group, professional and personal interests. With all the spectrums of all the things that many platforms use to divide us Markethive is using to unite us because what we all have in common in Markethive is liberty, freedom, economic sovereignty, and entrepreneurialism. That is our common, binding factor and is very powerful. Markethive is rising to become the world leader for entrepreneurs of every language, every religion, and every kingdom and nation.
The Markethive Reach is currently at 12.9 Million Monthly unique visitors. 64.9 Million monthly page views. Our social following is at 63.2 K and Markethive subscribers at 90.8 K and growing daily. 

An Engine Within The Engine

Through our social network and blogging platform, we connect with entrepreneurs, techies, crypto nerds, artists, innovators, musicians, and business professionals, both subscribers, and traffic. Below are just a few social networks (there are many more) Markethive has integrated enabling automatic subscribing and sharing and as we grow, this will create a reach into the billions. For example, If only 42% of 10 million with an average of 5000 followers subscribe to your blog, that equates to 21 billion people that you have reached and are able to read your blog. What a great engine to have within an engine! It’s coming alive with tremendous power. 

The Next Stage Will Evoke More Growth 

The Apprentice Program, which is an entry-level membership will be launching soon at a very low cost allowing members to benefit from a matching bonus airdrop of 100 MHV for the first three referrals they bring into Markethive. The Apprentice membership will also be able to buy and resell banner impressions from the Entrepreneur One members, which really accelerates the cottage industry process. 
The Apprentice and Journeyman upgrades are not money machines per se, but they do contain benefits that will become more clear to you, closer to the roll-out of these memberships. Another benefit being considered is that 50% of the price of these upgrades can be paid in MHV, and the other 50% to be paid via CC or PayPal at launch. This next stage will cause Markethive’s growth to explode even more.  

Money Machines And Strategies To Reach Our Audience

CPM Display
Right now we have the banners and the Banner Impressions Exchange (BIX) is part of that and projected to be delivered on May 15, 2020. Banners are still a very good source of advertising in the online world and the banners are displayed across the many domains Markethive has, resulting in maximum exposure. 
Social Newsfeed Boost
This is the only form of advertising on LinkedIn and Twitter. Unlike Markethive they don’t have banner ads or video ads, it’s all done through their newsfeed. It is a great way to market to a social media audience, and Markethive will be integrating this with the expected release in the 2nd quarter of 2020.
Newsletter Sponsorship 
Markethive is an inbound marketing and digital media platform and it is also a subscription-based social network. All members have validated email and phone numbers so this is a very effective way to raise brand a product awareness among the global subscribers. This is more expensive for people to utilize, however, Markethive is able to offer this as just another way to market your brand. Development is forecast to begin the 2nd quarter of 2020.  
Press Release
Markethive receives large traffic to its many sites along with major followers in all social media accounts and also delivers a Wordpress Plugin that allows members to publish from Markethive to their WP sites and beyond. The Markethive press release system publishes to 1,700+ news sites, our social followers, all Markethive’s heavily trafficked sites, and to 15,000+ members’ WP sites. Development is forecast to begin in the 2nd quarter of 2020. 
Sponsored Articles
Sponsored articles are very similar to the Press Release service but instead of an announcement the Press release delivers, it can be an article to bring awareness on any brand, topic, news, or otherwise, you care to share. Markethive is a digital media publishing platform where many writers and bloggers, as well as Markethive’s own writing staff, publish their content creating a following, thereby attracting traffic  These articles are published to Markethive front pages, broadcasted to the Markethive social networks and Word Press distribution. This makes Markethive thousand times more powerful than other news sites and platforms. 
Gamified Video Advertising 
Markethive makes video advertising compelling, effective, and well distributed. Your sponsored video will randomly float across the members’ dashboard on Markethive. If a member catches and watches the video until the end, they will be rewarded with MHV coins and prizes.  Gamification and rewards for watching the videos and also perks for responding and sharing to their social networks do inspire people to participate making it fun and rewarding for all.

 The BIX Exchange. The 1st Of Many Money Machines And Another Engine
  

MHV To Become A Very Popular Currency

The Markethive Coin will be listed on a number of exchanges where positive relationships are currently being established. Yobit.net is most likely to be the first one that MHV will be listed, so go there and open an account, get familiar with the site, see the trading activity of a multitude of other coins and be ready for the next step on your journey with Markethive. The site gives away free coins along with games to earn more coins. 
The Markethive Coin (MHV) will also be offered for free on Yobit and upon clicking to get the free coins they will need to subscribe to Markethive where they will receive the MHV airdrop as well. 



But, before we go full throttle, Markethive will have several ways to utilize MHV ensuring its increase in value including building relationships with the various digital media sites integrating API plugins where MHV can be used to advertise, thereby creating a market place outside of the Markethive ecosystem that accepts our coin. 
This is just the first layer, the tip of the iceberg of Markethive’s vision and plans. The more money machines we produce, the more security and financial sovereignty we spread, the more uses for our coin. Ultimately, MHV will be the only transactor or form of payment for any of the services and products Markethive or the entrepreneurs within Markethive offer. 
Although everyone will be able to earn MHV on the Markethive platform continuously, there will always be the option to buy the coin from the exchanges and bring it in and utilize it for the services which are legitimate and highly sought after in the online world of business and marketing. 

What Does The Markethive Audience Consist Of? 

It’s entrepreneurs, a very powerful, vertical audience. They are people that are looking for the services that the majority of the people on the internet sell. Training, ebooks, live mentoring, software enhancements, SEO services, and tracking, etc. So essentially we are producing this tremendous target for 3rd party advertisers to want to advertise on the Markethive platform and related domains. 
No other system out there utilizes their coin that they produce to pay for advertising on their platform. They only accept other coins as a form of payment. Markethive will be the first and one where other sites and forums will take an interest in by implementing API’s to be able to transact with MHV Coin across various platforms. 
MHV will become very popular because it represents a vertical, unique set of engines, a traffic engine, and a subscriber engine and Markethive subscribers are the world’s entrepreneurs.  So we accumulate, hold, and spend, then let the free market do the rest and watch the Markethive Consumer Coin increase in value. 

As CEO, Founder, and Visionary, Thomas Prendergast says,

“The true value of the coin will become apparent when we are listed in a real exchange like Yobit, Binance, Kraken, and the wallets are in place. But I can tell you no other coin has the magnitude of use and demand for real-world services. No other coin has as big a community like us. No other coin has nearly the traffic we have.”

Conclusion

No other social, marketing, or digital media company has incorporated  Blockchain technology, with its own financial economy along with every tool and portal imaginable to make Markethive an all-encompassing system that entrepreneurs and companies overall et al, will embrace when they see its power. 
Markethive is delivering a ‘state of the art platform’ to you, but it is your company. It’s been built for the community and brings self-sovereignty, privacy, autonomy to every individual with a genuine opportunity to be in control of your future, peace of mind, fulfilling your potential, creating wealth, and able to prosper in so many ways. 
With its two main engines at the helm and secondary engines such as the MHV coin and exchange as well as all cottage businesses within Markethive reaching out to all other platforms is fundamentally the core, the epicenter where we all work in collaboration ensuring everyone’s success. Markethive is its name, Entrepreneurialism is its game. 

Deb Williams
A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

Cryptocurrency In A League Of Its Own

There’s an expanding global community that believes in cryptocurrency as an alternative to the traditional financial system. Bitcoin, being the first and still with the highest market cap is deemed as “digital gold” However the true nature of Bitcoin would suggest it is a class all of its own. Gold’s history as a medium of exchange dates back to 700BC and in modern-day, up until 1971, the gold standard, (where paper money was directly linked to gold which determined the value of any given currencies globally) led the world to believe that gold was a reliable form of money to fall back on. 
Historically, the “fiat” currency was born. Fiat comes from Latin and is often translated as the decree “it shall be done” or “let it be done”. So Fiat money is any currency lacking in intrinsic value as it is not backed by the precious metal, gold. It is declared as legal tender by governments and followed through by people’s faith and belief and use of the paper money made legal tender by government decree.  We collectively invest in paper currency because a government entity tells us it is credible, saying “it shall be” currency, prints it, and accepts it as the only valid form of tax payment.
Bitcoin’s advent was realized in the financial crisis of 2008 when society was hit hard by the big bank’s questionable decisions and business practice. Consequently, the bailout was orchestrated by printing more money which causes the money to devalue. The more money around the less it is worth resulting in hyperinflation.

CRYPTO - A Hedge Against Authoritarianism 

So arguably, Bitcoin is not a hedge against monetary manipulation, it’s a hedge against authoritarianism. Bitcoin and other altcoins cannot be confiscated and have a strong resistance to governmental powers, unlike gold which is confiscatable and was commandeered from private citizens by the U.S. government back in 1933. 
At present cryptocurrency lacks confidence amongst the general population as a form of money, but it certainly acts as a political hedge and is substantiated by the market. As the new financial ecosystem evolves it will be a viable alternative to the traditional money system for consumers and there will no longer be a need to rely on the unscrupulous centralized financial system.  
For Cryptocurrency to be adopted in the mainstream and truly taken seriously as money it needs to be a medium of exchange with value and viability. So we have a better chance of understanding the future value of cryptocurrencies let’s see how value is derived. Value is measured by its “goodness” of any given thing. There are certain things that are instrumental goods, in other words, they are goods that we can use to access other goods. Intrinsic goods are valuable in and of themselves and they are the things we work to attain.  
It has been said that money can serve no purpose other than purchasing goods. Currencies are instrumental goods. To be effective currencies have to be mediums of exchange and stores of value. So, the value of a currency is in its ability to do those things efficiently and effectively: facilitate transactions and act as stores of value. Can cryptocurrency be both? 

Mediums of Exchange Can Become Stores of Value

If a currency is going to be a store of value, the value of it has to be stable. For a currency to have a stable value, it has to be an effective facilitator of transactions. For a currency to be a medium of exchange, it has to be universal. The ubiquity of a currency, and the increase of value that comes with it, corresponds to the network effect. The more widely a currency is used, the more flexibility that currency has to facilitate transactions, which stabilizes its value because simply, the more people accept it as a valid form of payment, the more people will use it as a form of payment. And as a currency’s popularity increases, its value increases. 
It also increases when demand is more than supply. Unlike fiat, which can be printed when needed by authorities to pay for things, cryptocurrency has a finite amount and cannot be increased at will, so the more people that use it the higher the value. So we have evolved beginning with trade and barter, then came paper money because it was then a more efficient medium of exchange, however, overtime trust and reciprocity issues have developed and now the new kid on the block, cryptocurrency.
If the value of a currency is affirmed by its flexibility and universal usage, then that currency’s viability depends on its users’ understanding that it is a better facilitator of transactions than other mediums of exchange. For a cryptocurrency to replace paper money users need to believe that instruments like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and MHV are better at facilitating transactions.  

What Ways Does Crypto Improve On The Technology Of Paper Money? 

Cryptocurrency is a more effective facilitator of transactions than paper money. It’s more flexible, and its flexibility will increase as the network grows. It’s digital, it can be used for international transactions, and particularly for the unbanked. Furthermore, there are no conversion fees, and transaction fees are substantially lower. 
The technology of all cryptocurrency is the Blockchain, which is decentralized and deals more effectively with issues of trust and reciprocity than a central bank. Moreover, the distributed nature of the blockchain increases the security of the currency and makes it less susceptible to manipulation or attack than a central bank. 

Characteristics of Cryptocurrencies

Why are cryptocurrencies important for the future of digital finance?

• Borderless - Drastically reduces fees and processing times due to a lack of cross-border restrictions
• Censorship-free - Prevents governments or major institutions from blocking financial activities at a whim
• Greater financial control - Individuals can have total control of their funds
• Greater security - Prevents fraudulent alterations from third parties
• Lower costs - Lower transaction fees thanks to fewer third parties
• Greater Accessibility - Reduces or eliminates traditional barriers to capital markets

Much like the internet has forever altered how we live and work, cryptocurrencies have the potential to change how people participate in global financial markets.

The Major Challenge

Right now cryptocurrencies’ major challenge is to overcome the mainstream of prospective users’ suspicion and become known as a legitimate medium of exchange for legal purposes. It took a long time for paper money to be accepted. The idea of a piece of paper in return for something of real value couldn’t be comprehended. Today’s cryptocurrencies go beyond replacing cash. This new token-based economy is evolving, with unique solutions emerging in finance, security, identification, social engagement, and ownership.
An NYU Stern Professor of Finance, Aswath Damordan is pro-crypto in general and predicts cryptocurrencies will eventually be as important as major paper currencies. 

“I think there is going to be a digital currency sooner or later that competes with major currencies” 

Damordan wrote a blog post, The Crypto Currency Debate: The Future of Money or Speculative Hype? In it, he discusses that the future of cryptocurrencies, as a legitimate form of payment, will have to shake off some of the attributes that make crypto such an alluring and speculative asset especially for the trader. This is because the things that make them so exciting like their price swings, their volatility, their potentially lucrative payoff actually make them terrible currencies.
Ultimately, Damordan says that the cryptocurrency that has the brightest future is the one that thinks about itself “as a transaction medium, and acts accordingly.”

The Real Investment 

Investing in cryptocurrencies might be a prudent investment, but which one should it be? Considering there are over 2000 cryptocurrencies some underpinned with a solid workable concept but most are just speculative with not a lot backing it. This makes it hard especially for the individual just entering the crypto space.  
The real investment opportunity in this field might be not only cryptocurrencies but innovative applications on the blockchain. 
2020 so far has been a precarious year worldwide with the financial markets and has affected several economies due to the COVID-19 outbreak. But in terms of adoption, cryptocurrencies have been gaining momentum globally. 


Image source visualcapitalist.com
Bitcoin (BTC) is the first that comes to mind for many wanting to get into crypto as it was the first and remains the largest by market cap. However, it is still considered very volatile which you might say is a traders’ dream. From a traders perspective, there are 90% of buyers and only 10% sellers which indicate the majority are buying and holding BTC particularly ahead of the halving event. Historically, the halving event was followed by a bull run, and traders are optimistic 2020 will be no different.  
No matter what Bitcoin’s role will be in the future, it will always be seen as the granddaddy and as it stands now, all other altcoins are correlated with Bitcoins price. Currency (as in Bitcoin)  is just one use-case in the bigger scheme of things. Some have argued that other strong cryptos will take over in due course. 



Image source visualcapitalist.com

Ethereum (ETH) is the second-largest crypto by market cap and remains the most widely used altcoin. Unlike Bitcoin, the Ethereum network uses a proof of stake system to verify transactions, as opposed to Bitcoin’s proof of work and said to be a more diplomatic format, and cost-effective. This means the Ether Coin is staked instead of mined. 
The platform was developed by Vitalik Buterin, the company’s co-founder, in 2011. In establishing Ethereum, he wanted to address the issues of the Bitcoin network, mainly that its approaches were individualistic and create a more multifunctional blockchain solution.

The Ethereum Blockchain has some extraordinary capabilities. Just one of those is the Smart Contracts. It’s a contract that completely handles the enforcement, the management also performance, and payment. A smart contract is a phrase used and is described as a computer code that can facilitate the exchange of money, content, property, shares, or anything of value.
As smart contracts are run on the Blockchain, they run exactly as programmed and are not subject to censorship, fraud, downtime, or 3rd party interference. Ethereum is also being used as a platform to launch other cryptocurrencies/altcoins. This is known as an ERC20 token and allows individual companies and developers to issue their own coin. 




 Markethive Coin (MHV) is an ERC20 token and the company Markethive has made good use of the Smart Contract.  This is in the form of the Markethive Coin (MHV) which is an actual Consumer Coin, not a token, and the Incentivized Loan Program (ILP – Smart Contract). Markethive being the first Social, Market, and Digital Media Network built on Blockchain Technology is attracting and gaining high-level exposure due to the nature and fabric of what Markethive stands for and delivers.

Markethive is a completely autonomous ecosystem consisting of three components. Community, Technology, and Liquidity. Markethive has all three groups to bring this collaborative decentralized platform to life as a viable and lucrative platform where not only can they share in the success of the company, but also where its Entrepreneurial members can make a difference, not only in their lives but in the world. 

Conclusion

The cryptocurrencies with a true purpose will make their mark in crypto industry history. The ones that are a medium of exchange with the transactional capability that is utilized within and outside the ecosystem which in turn creates a store of value.  Given the nature, utility, and consumer value of Markethive will ensure a healthy combination of transactional, and holding activity. 
Markethive has in place, numerous velocity stabilizers including staking, (The Vault), network utility expansion, and the fact it is a cryptocurrency consumer coin, will keep the balance of velocity. This ensures that the velocity is maintained for the initial and long term price of MHV and is indicative of a healthy ecosystem. A strong economy will in turn sustainably increase MHV’s price.
   
Coins or Tokens that are structured to capture a significant portion of the economic value generated by the network will reward both the investors who took on early-stage risk as well as the platform who can continue to fund development through the retention of now valuable tokens. 
There is a huge market looking for what Markethive does. You’re not just buying or earning on the platform to accumulate a coin, your using and transacting with it. Markethive is an eternal economy that has more demand than supply, therefore, the demand will continue to outstrip the supply. The bottom line being the Markethive Consumer Coin (MHV) and Incentivized Loan Program or ILP Token (HFS) will only become increasingly more valuable. 
Bitcoin and other respected altcoins will play a big part when it comes to liquidity and the ability to transfer and exchange to whatever currency you desire. So, in fact, they can work in synergy with each other, all with a similar but different purpose.

Deb Williams
A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

Ecoin Begins Migration of 1.5 Million Users to the Telos Network

Ecoin Sets Sights on Reaching 100 Million Users, Moves to Telos for Its Leading Ease of Use, Performance and Scalability.
Ecoin, a startup focused on referral marketing and digital identity, is bringing to the Telos network its vision of a world with much wider use of blockchain technology.
To ease the setup of crypto accounts, Ecoin has built a system that allows a user to sign up with just their email address, then receive a small airdrop of Ecoin’s native token. The company enables these features by using what it describes as “an email-based proxy identity engine” driven by artificial intelligence.
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“Our system mimics a normal website, where you can sign up with your email,” says Krishna Yogi, CEO and co-founder of Ecoin. “The idea here is to build the network, to get an initial 100 million users or more into the ecosystem. In turn, this should help crypto as a whole move beyond just the audience of more technical folks who have been involved so far.”
According to Ecoin’s website, its airdrop process has three key parts:

• Distribution of some free Ecoins to each user who signs up with an email address. The current airdrop is 600 Ecoins per user, but that will decline over time to incentivize early adopters.
• Simple referral process that earns the user additional Ecoins when their friends sign up.
• Advanced fraud detection engine ensures a single person cannot claim with dozens of emails.

Ecoin initially began building on EOS but recently decided to move to the Telos chain because of its low operating costs and capacity to handle hundreds of millions of transactions per day. The Telos governance system and community have allowed the chain to successfully address problems like RAM speculation, expensive account creation, and network congestion that have plagued EOS.
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The initial version of Ecoin’s platform launched Feb. 28 and has so far seen more than 1.5 million unique users sign up, Yogi said.
Ecoin is expected to expose millions of new users to the rapidly growing list of Telos-based dapps. Ecoin will also be performing an airdrop of Ecoin tokens to active Telos accounts to better integrate with the strong Telos community.
A steady stream of dapps are moving to Telos due, in part, to its strong lead in capacity — currently number two on Blocktivity’s list of highest performing chains — as well as very low congestion and costs. Telos is also among the most advanced chains in terms of governance, which its community has used to swiftly address issues as they arise.
As a Telos dapp, Ecoin will be able to use the Telos Decide governance engine to easily evolve its own governance features in the future, adding to Ecoin’s power, resiliency and community empowerment.

Original Article Source  : https://www.aithority.com/technology/cryptocurrency/ecoin-begins-migration-of-1-5-million-users-to-the-telos-network/