Tumblr is one of those social networks which is often overlooked, but which has tremendous potential for SEO and social media marketing. I myself was slow to adopt Tumblr as a social media platform, but once I started using it I became hooked by its power and simplicity. Hopefully by the end of this post, you'll feel the same.
In this post today I will be covering 1) What Tumblr is and how it works, 2) The benefits of Tumblr compared to other social networks, and 3) Actionable advice on how you can use Tumblr for online marketing, including specific content ideas.
Why should I care about Tumblr?
As you can see, the numbers are massive. There are now over 130 million Tumblr blogs (known as "tumblrogs"), which makes Tumblr the largest hosted blog platform on the web, compared to the 70 million blogs hosted on Wordpress.com. It has 300 million monthly visitors, basically 15% of all Internet users. And it has a demographic that is unique in that 50% of the users are under 25, many of whom are teenagers (whereas teens are reportedly ditching Facebook in droves).
Clearly, if you're not on Tumblr by now, you're falling behind the curve.
So what the heck is this Tumblr thing anyway? It can be hard to describe Tumblr because it combines the functionality of many different kinds of sites.
First the biggie. Links from Tumblr, unlike most other social networks are dofollow. Tumblr is at its core a blogging platform, and you have full control of how your tumblrog appears, including using dofollow links on your site.
Where things get interesting is when you consider the social aspect of Tumblr. Tumblr has social sharing functionality (called "reblogging" in Tumblr parlance) built right in, and if you have a popular post it will be reposted to many other tumblrogs.
The thing is that each of these reblogs is a dofollow backlink to your original post! That means if you have a post that is reblogged 100 times, your tumblr blog just got 100 dofollow backlinks! For even more fun, you can include a link within the post itself. By doing so, both your original post on Tumblr, and the site linked to within the post will receive the backlinks.
Just imagine if every time your content got shared on Facebook, all those shares were dofollow backlinks. Wouldn't that be nice? With Tumblr, this is the case. The same is also true with Google+ (Pinterest also recently dofollowed their links), but Tumblr has a more active user community and it's much easier to have your content go viral on Tumblr.
The great thing about Tumblr is that people actually use hashtags for content discovery (unlike, say, Facebook). This means that by using relevant and popular tags, it's super easy for your content to get discovered on Tumblr, even if you don't have many followers.
I have literally created brand new tumblrogs from scratch, and received dozens of reblogs for my content, even though I had zero followers. And remember, on Tumblr reblogs are dofollow backlinks. This is definitely not the case on social networks such as Facebook, where your content probably isn't going to get a lot of love unless you already have a large number of followers.
Last, but certainly not least, Tumblr is another tool in your arsenal to promote your brand online. In addition to the other major social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr provides another opportunity for you to establish your web presence. It's another chance for your to engage with fans, build relationships with potential customers, and get your brand name out there, especially if you want to target a younger demographic. As the online marketer Pat Flynn always says, the best marketing strategy online is to Be Everywhere.
Hopefully by now you're convinced of what a great opportunity Tumblr is for link building, content marketing, and branding. You may have even gone ahead and created your own tumblrog. Good work. But what kind of content does well on Tumblr?
Memes are my favorite type of content to promote on social media. Memes are just the ideal type of content for people to consume and share via social media channels, and they're viral almost by definition. You can have a lot of success just by curating funny memes related to your niche that you find across the web, but the greatest potential lies in creating your own. If you want to try your hand at making memes with some serious viral potential, check out this post I wrote for the Moz blog.
As with Pinterest and Facebook, compelling images are some of the most popular pieces of content on Tumblr. This is especially true since there is a huge userbase of teenagers with attention spans that are shorter than even most Twitter addicts.
Creating great photos isn't easy, but it's not impossible to do if you have a access to a DSLR. Even if your camera equipment isn't up to snuff, apps such as Instagram can take your ordinary photos and give them a vintage feel that appeals to the teen and hipster demographic.
Like Google+, Tumblr allows you to use animated GIFs in your posts. These are incredibly popular with Tumblr users.
Tumblr is one of the largest social media and blogging platforms in the world, yet it is often ignored by online marketers. Hopefully this post has showed you why you should add Tumblr to your marketing mix, as well as provided you with concrete content ideas you can use to drive success on your tumblrog.
I have built dozens of Tumblr blogs over the past year, and I can guarantee you that if you use the content ideas above, and post on a consistent basis, you will be able to build up a large following on Tumblr and build some strong backlinks to your sites, as well as promote your content and build your brand online.
If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments or hit me up on Twitter. You can also check out more of my ramblings on my blog. This post was adapted from a presentation I delivered at SMX Toronto.
I had no idea that SEO Ryan Gosling existed... The Internet is finally complete.
I hadn't seriously considered using Tumblr before, but I love your suggestion of using it as a testing ground for new ideas (#3).
Same here. I imagine it's a great testing ground, for ideas that you can use on bigger social network sites such as Facebook.
Great case study! I've never been on Tumblr Radar before! Those are some good tips.
excellent overview and i loved the memes, too. thumbs up.
it's still working? I ask because the item is 3 years.
Thanks for the kind words, Rohit!
Tumblr has many benifets, tumblr allows you to microblog, which means that you can share your posts quickly and easily with your social communities.
Really great post. Tumblr is one of the few platforms I never saw much value in. But after reading this post, I think there's way too much value to overlook it as a viable source of traffic and brand advocates. Thanks!
Great post, I'm a huge advocate on using Tumblr as a traffic source, but yes it can also be beneficial for SEO as well.
I think Tumblr is probably the perfect testing grounds for things that you are still touching up before you release them to the rest of the social media world.
How do I make a post title that seo friendly ?
Hey gregbot, page authority is a metric created by Moz and they don't publish the exact way in which it works, so I don't know for sure how it will be affected. Since the metric is based on inbound links, I don't think it will be affected much by a move.
It's possibe that Moz's PA algorithm takes DA into account. It's a proprietary algorithm, so I'm not sure.
But as far as actually ranking in Google, moving from Tumblr to your own domain name won't have much of an impact on your rankings beyond what you would see with any 301 redirect.
Finally a solid post on tumblr - thanks.I love Tumblr and look at alot of art and photo tumblrs as i run an arts website. Recently ive thought id set up my own tumblr account and use it to tumble some of my images (from posts ive written on my website @ mutantspace.com) and other visual content I find around the internet... to me its a benefit to my users and people who like the art i write and post about.
However I'm very nervous about the follow links as i don't want there to be a tonne of backlinks from my tumblr account to my main site i.e. I don't want search engines to see it as me spamming and creating artificial links. Ive read your answers in the comments section but I guess I'm wondering at what stage does it become spammy. I post art on my website 4 times a day so that would infer id be backlinking from my tumblr account 4 times a day and if you multiply that out it amounts tolot of links. Should I be more conservative in my approach to my own posts? Perhaps once a day and mix it up with new content?
Please note im not interested in my tumblr being indexed or anything I only want to use it as a means to get people interested in the art i post and to visit the main website so if i noindex my tumblr would that help or will the follow links still be counted? Thing is i used to have a few forum signatures and footer site links on a few websites (pointing to my website) and got penalized for it. It was ignorance on my part but i dont want that to happen again especially after all the cleaning up ive had to do. Can you advise? Is it worth the risk? Is there any risk?
I wont be using anchor text - the only links will be from the image URL and the Source URL.
Yes, as long as you avoid keyword-rich anchor text and link only through the image source, you should be fine. It's natural for popular images to get shared across social sites and acquire lots of links. Google isn't going to penalize you for that.
Would I be right in saying that Tumblr feels a lot like my Google+ home page or "What's Hot" page? I find memes, gifs, photos, comments, links; basically the whole nine yards. I must agree, I think Tumblr is probably the perfect testing grounds for things that you are still touching up before you release them to the rest of the social media world.
Yes, it is very much like Google+, but with blog functionality added in as well. Tumblr users are also a lot more engaged than G+ users, and people use hashtags for content discovery a lot more on Tumblr.
We've used Tumblr for a while now, for ourselves and our clients. I think it's a great way to help with company branding, reputation management, get referral traffic and increase the chance for viral social campaigns. Of course it helps that the links are actually indexable too... Not to mention Tumblr is freickin sweet (who doesn't love a grumpy cat meme?).
tumblr is just like wordpress, or blogspot. New tumblr has little effect on the keyword rankings. Facebook is different. You see google gives higher rank for facebook pages.
Yup, that's true. However, in addition to being a blog Tumblr has social functionality built in, which means that it's easier for your content to get discovered and shared, even when your blog is brand new. And because shares on Tumblr are dofollow links, this also builds your link equity.
Hi greg, everything that I covered in the article is still relevant. The only things I would update are the number of Tumblr blogs (240 million) and number of active users (over 420 million).
Though Tumblr seems to be a great tool with many features, but most of the features that you have highlighted are also present in G+ (Essentially Writing Articles + Sharing + Hash Tags, etc.). Apart from that IMHO G+ also has the blessings from Google and would definitely help you in SERPs and SEO.
I am not really too clear on what specific benefit would my brand get by also engaging people on Tumblr.
You are right that Google+ and Tumblr are similar in many ways. One of the key differences between Google+ & Tumblr is engagement. Outside of a few niches such as tech & photography, it can be difficult to get a lot of engagement on Google+. Tumblr has a much more active audience, and depending on your niche it may be easier to promote content on Tumblr.
Another benefit of Tumblr is that people actually use hashtags for content discovery. A lot. So even if you don't have a lot of followers on Tumblr, it's possible to get engagement with the proper hashtags. Google+ also has hashtags, but not many people actually use them to discover new content.
Finally, don't look at it as an either/or proposition. The great thing about Tumblr is that it's quick & free to setup and easy to update. If you're already publishing great content on G+, it makes sense to spend a few extra minutes to post to Tumblr as well for extra engagement and backlinks.
Remember, Tumblr has 300 million unique monthly users. If you have a presence on the other social sites, you need to be on Tumblr as well.
I agree that the for sharing the same content, Tumblr might be a very good idea. Later we can measure if there is better traction, we can shift more focus to it.
Definitely. Also, remember that Tumblr has a big teen & pre-teen demographic. Depending on your brand, Tumblr can be a great place to reach out to younger demographic.
I can't believe you do the SEO Ryan Gosling. One of my friend's shared that on facebook awhile back. It's hysterical! I love it.
Thanks! It's how I got started with Tumblr.
Thanks for the post was a good read. I found Tumblr recently (ish) and found it was really good, still find it a bit of a niche myself though I have to say I do enjoy the .gif feature.
I do feel it's a bit under used compared to other platforms. Could just be more of a functionaility issue as to why its not super popular.
thanks again for the article though.
Definitely give it a try, 300 million monthly unique users is nothing to sneeze at, and the SEO benefits and viral potential makes Tumblr a great place to share content. And you can use the same content you're already sharing on networks like Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest.
Excellent piece, our company has just begun using Tumblr in the past week, using it as a testing ground for listener lock in and retention. We still use the other social media's. But will be interested in Tumblr results.
I was wondering when I was going to start hearing about Favorites and Reblogs for the links. It's especially good because they come from unique domains and not just tumblr.com.
Also, SEO Ryan Gosling is pretty hilarious.
memes are awesome ive gotten a few from 5spot (http://5spot.ca) and there pretty funny i gotta say its one thing when you see them its another when you start designing them because they are a great way to get your message out.
Glad someone agrees with my logic, it only makes sense, however our SEO manager seems to think it's an overused tactic that was more effective back in the earlier days. The likes of LBi use this from what I hear and even they're moving away from it now towards other emerging socialblogging platforms.
I see that now all my tumblr backlinks has changed from mydomain.com to http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http://mydomain.com.
Is that good for SEO.
This sounds like a great question for our Q&A forum!
Tumblr is interesting but I do wonder about the potential vulnerabilities of bad backlinking in a post-Penguin world. It seems to me one could be generating some iffy connections to some of the best content.
I think I would recommend to a client to use Tumblr in a very thoughtful and conservative manner - separate from the main website content - to build brand recognition but not necessarily to gain a ton of referral traffic or new linking opportunities. Not enough control to select quality link affiliations, imo. Of course I am a bit of a conservative SEO dealing with mostly non-profit orgs who simply cannot afford any gray-hat activity and the ensuing recovery when Google recalibrates and turns those edge cases into the subject of the new algorithm..
I worry about Tumblr putting these orgs at some level of risk they may not actually be able to manage well with their largely volunteer staffs that are often not trained and have high turn-over.
In terms of backlinks, Tumblr works exactly like Pinterest or Google+ (which also have dofollow links on shared content). Google understands how these social sites work, and shouldn't penalize you unless you are being spammy with anchor text.
Thanks for shearing your thoughts.
Yes, I also believe tumblr is the best micro blogging platform right now. But making new friends is a bit tricky there.
I use tumblr to create my own blog while the search engines don't index it at all. It has created for almost half a year and most of the posts are unique. I wonder how can I get a Pr 2-4 in several months.
Just consistently (like every day) post content that people like to share on Tumblr, which will result in backlinks to your blog. Memes, quotes, photos, and animated GIFs are all popular types of content on Tumblr that are easy to make and share.
Great stuff. Thanks for sharing such an informational article with us. It is definitely going to help me a lot.
Hi! Great article! I was wondering, we have already have a blog on tumbler but it's not embedded into our corporate website (there is just a menu link to the blog). My question is, would it improve the SEO of our corporate website to have the tumbler blog embedded into it? I know with other companies that've worked with the blog has been a major source of Traffic and SEO and I'm concerned that hosting the blog on tumbler means we are not getting the same impact. What would you recommend?
I always recommend hosting your blog (Tumblr or otherwise) on your main site. That way, your main site will benefit directly from any links that the blog acquires, and the blog will also have a higher domain authority so that its content ranks higher in search.
However, if that is not possible, it's still beneficial to have a separate Tumblr that you can build links to by posting popular content, then linking it back to the main site. Many companies don't want the type of content that does well on Tumblr (memes & animated gifs) directly on their main site, although it depends on your brand & target demos.
and if you click "open image in new window" it goes to: "49.media.tumblr.com/bdf411e6f27847b0115518c7bfd341ad/tumblr_nyxbb20yMC1u3z0ppo1_500.gif"
Here is my concern: who is getting the credit for this gif? "najiboutros.com" or "49.media.tumblr.com"?
I'm not at the 500 point benchmark yet. If I don't get the response I need here I'll see what I can do. I think I get points for commenting on blog posts like this, right?
Woof! didn't realize this post was from 2013. Is Takeshi Young even still employed by SEO Moz?
Hi najiboutros, I do still read the comments!
I guess that was my question: Who would google throw up in the image search, "najiboutros.com" or "49.media.tumblr.com"?
Do you think its better to post the link of the content you wish to share on Tumblr? or actually copy and paste the actual content and post is as a contextual blog?
It depends on your audience, but generally the content that does well on Tumblr are things like GIFs, memes, and photos rather than long form text. So I would post a relevant and eye-catching image on Tumblr, and include a link back to your main content for people who want to read more.
Great. So ad the featured image of the article, and put a link in the "comments" (or whatever you want to call it) box so that when it gets reblogged the link goes with it?
Yeah, think of it like you're promoting content on Facebook.
So if you create a photo / meme / gif etc and post it on Tumblr....how do you incorporate a link in it to your website?
It works just like posting to a blog like Wordpress or Blogger, but even simpler. When you go to create your post, there will be an option to add a link to your image or add a separate link the in the body text of the post.
Thank you - so basically you either host the image on your website and then share that on Tumblr....or you host the image on Tumblr and just put a "naked url" when you post it.
Yes, that's one way to think about it. You can also host the image on Tumblr and link the image to your site. It's basically like Pinterest, but you can include links in the body, and all the links are dofollow.
Nice piece of information here Takeshi!
I think I need to make better use of Tumblr at the earliest!
OK so I followed your advice and posted a blog article using a unique photo, It links back to my blog and was reblogged over 6,500 times http://iboommedia.tumblr.com/post/74958626006/jmhhacker it caused a viral effect to the article and still does. Great advice.
I had a terrible experience with tumblr in terms of SEO. One of our articles was linked to on a blog, and then reblogged over 1000 times. You'd think that would help SEO right? NO! We were penalized by Google as they thought this was spam or suspicious content. It wasn't even our link building campaign, just organic SEO. The quote you have from Matt Cutts doesn't talk specifically about Tumblr it's more generic in terms of social networking and to Google +, but be careful with Tumblr. We had to email thousands of blogs requesting they remove our links!
Are you sure there weren't other factors involved? Google understands how Tumblr works (Matt Cutts has specifically talked about Tumblr at search conferences) and it definitely doesn't go around penalizing sites just because their content goes viral on Tumblr.
Tumblr has no place to put url in profile, how do backlinks work? or are you just posting pics and then adding href?
You can include links within the posts themselves as well as on your profile itself. There is no specific place to put URLs in your profile, but you can edit the template of your site however you like, just like in Wordpress or any other CMS.
Very interesting article.. Thank you! Huge thunmbs up.
Most of the times we use Tumblr for logging and your idea is great as it is equal to the blogging and the social media. Whenever we use this type of great tool for our content we always thing for the best content but Tumblr also provide a dofollow link that is more beneficial for us and for the site we are making this content. I like the way you have written this post and there are so many things new for me that I need to know. Thanks for having this great piece of writing.
What kind of logging do you do with Tumblr?
1) We post in instagram and here is an example of how they come in to tumblr. Should I manually change the @s to #s? Or is there an easier way?
2) Can you jing.com or post a lik to do this?
And if you want to switch from using a tumblr.com subdomain to your own domain name, it's easy to switch to a domain name you own in the Tumblr settings. After all you suggested it: "I always recommend hosting your blog (Tumblr or otherwise) on your main site."
3) Can you suggest a GIF making app for iPhone or iPad or a site on which to make GIFs?
4) Can you elaborate on this? "If you consistently post high quality content, it's easy to get these tumblrogs to PR2 - PR4 within a few months." What's PR4 and what's Alex Cardo speaking of whe he says "Nofollow links "transfers" AUTHORITY!"
I have a very interesting question about Tumblr. Tumblr is the best and easiest way to generate back links. So I have a question (idea). For example, if I'll open a Tumblr blog at a subdomain of my site? For example: mysite.com - it's my main domain and tumblr.mysite.com - it's my tumblr blog at a subdomain. It is very simple to get PR3, 4, 5 or even 6 for tumblr.mysite.com. So, my question is: Will my main domain (mysite.com) get any Rank, Trust, PR etc., from tumblr.mysite.com??? Better example is: I have mydomain.com with 0 PR, Trust, etc., and I have tumblr.mydomain.com with PR=6, MozRank for page 45-65, MozRank for domain 65-75...Will this method works to give authority to my main domain mydomain.com or not???
Google treats subdomains as separate from your main domain for purposes of pagerank. So if your subdomain becomes PR4, it won't have any effect on your main domain. Of course you can always include links from your subdomain to your main domain, which should transfer over some of the link value.
Again, subdomains are treated as separate entities by Google. www.tumblr.com has a trust of 97, but mytumblrblog.tumblr.com would start at 0.
Takeshi, I understand what is it subdomain. I'm trying to explain another thing. I need to transfer authority from one "site" to "another". When I'm linking from any .wordpress.com., tumblr.com., opera.com., it doesn't matter, I give authority to my main domain.
I think, that you still don't understand me. Look at the example: http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/just-discovered?site=http%3A%2F%2Fbirthstonesgems.tumblr.com%2F - I've made this blog 2 days ago only. What can you see at "opensiteexplorer"?
That's right: Domain authority: 97/100, page authority 1/100. We don't speak now about page authority. We now speak about the weight of this link to my main domain.
So, what w have now: If I'll open tumblr.mydomain.com - this page will have Domain Authority for example 17/100, as my main domain have. If I'll open (as I did for experiment): http://birthstonesgems.tumblr.com/ - it's automatically has 97/100.
As you'll try to explore any authority domains, you'll see at your first results that it has links from .wordpress.com, .tumblr.com, .blogpost.com, but it will be microsites, private blogs and they gives an authority to this high rating domains!!!
Why this question is too important to me??? Because it can give a back link strategy by using microsites (quality sites, not spam, not satellites, only "white" sites), which will give authority for any of my main domains. I mean only authority, not PR. Pagerank is nothing now, it only 1 of 300 or 500 parameters for google. I have a lot of pages with PR=5 which are not in Google top 300-500, and I have PR=0 pages which are in Google top 10 with "authority" only...And only MOZ metrics can show this authority, no other service!
So, please, read carefully what I've talked about. This is really serious question.
For example, every SEO expert on any forum will tell me that "nofollow" links means nothing., and they will be lie!
MOZ metrics (opensiteexplorer) shows me sites, who've got top 10, only by using "nofollow" links. Do you know why? Nofollow links "transfers" AUTHORITY! There is the secret.
So, please, speak with me as "profi" to "profi", not like "profi" to "student".
You've wrote a perfect post about great link building system "Tumbler". I have now a lot of sites with PR=4 & 5 at this platform and it help me to promote my main domains.
But there are always some "tricks" which every SEO profi don't show or just try to hide. But as I understand, this discussion is for profi only.
So now, I'll ask my question again, moreover, I will make my question as a statement (or assumptions) as you like.
Opensiteexplorer shows me, that LINKS from imadeityesterday.tumblr.com gives more power than imadethis5yearsagowithpr5.com on a tumblr platform.
The link from WHICH site will transfer more authority to main domain?
anything.tumblr.com, will gives me more with PR=3, than anysite.com at tumblr platform with PR=5 for AUTHORITY.
Because anything.com with PR=5 will have 65/100 domain authority and 69/100 page authority.
anything.tumblr.com with PR=3 will have 97/100 domain authority and 39/100 page authority.
RESUME: Any site will never have domain authority as Tumblr (if MOZ metrics is right)...So, you'll never get PR=8 or 7 in near future, and you'll never transfer this trust to your main site.
But any microsite on tumblr.com platform can give you "THIS" "TRUST".
So, if I'm wrong, I need the answer from a MOZ team, because, in this case, I have wrong imagination about Opensiteexplorer statistics, or MOZ gives wrong statistics (can't believe in it).
That's why this question TOO important for ME.
To the best of my knowledge, Takeshi is correct. If a site uses sub-domains as a way to split out individual sites (as Tumblr clearly does), then Google typically treats the sub-domain as a stand-alone domain. We do not generally account for this in DA scores, because it's most likely a semi-manual process and it turns out to be fairly complex. So, the high DA of Tumblr's root domain does not mean that your blog on "anything.tumblr.com" will pass more authority than a link from a new domain.
On the one hand, setting up shop on an established domain could help you get indexed more quickly (although that's not really difficult these days). On the other hand, given that people frequently abuse links from these sites and sub-domains on existing sites (like Tumblr) are so easy to set up, Google may even devalue them slightly. It's very unlikely that just setting up links on dozens of new Tumblr's, WordPress blogs, etc. is going to help you - it could even be a path to a penalty, done to extreme.
Ok, this information isn't new for me. I understand Dr. Peter J. Meyers position & Takeshi position.
But, you still can't understand my position to this question.
Do you seriously think, that I call to make "dozens of new Tumblr's, WordPress blogs, etc."???
My question still have no answer. You still discuss about "right" way and "bad" way. But I try to find solutions between 2 "right" ways.
I don't try to find the "easy" way to promote sites.
I'll be short, this time. Thanks to Takeshi Young and Dr. Peter J. Meyers for answers. My question is closed.
awesome stuff. had no idea tumblr was do follow. Gonna use it way more often now.
Thanks for explaining how it all works. I'm just on the point of opening a Tumblr account - I didn't realise just how useful it can be for SEO purposes.
Thanks for throwing a light on Tumblr benefits. Now, I can do a lot more with my new Tumblr account. I think any medium is no less today because we as internet marketers should welcome each and every new concept which helps to grow our business.
I am also using tumblr and undoubtedly it's a great blogging platform with lots of tools..
Nice post and good additional information. I already use Tumblr to post photos and few little articles of my urban art events and connect through the platform with tons of artists.
But now the big question. I run a self-hosted blog for Urban Art (general news, artist features etc.) and post a photo, small excerpt and a link of all my blogposts through different social networks (Facebook Page, Google+ Page, etc.) as a teaser and promo. Its the same excerpt for all social platforms due to lack of time.
If I add tumblr to my social media list to post the blog link incl. an excerpt of the original blogpost, does this hurt my SEO or other things (same content on multiple sites) or doesn't it matter?
It shouldn't cause any issues with duplicate content as long as you're just using an excerpt. The type of content that does the best on Tumblr is images, so you may want to pick a different image for your Tumblr post that is particularly compelling.
Sites like ForGIFS and DeviantArt are really helpful.
Excellent job, I have read your article its quite good sharing here about Tumblr marketing. Thanks for sharing awesome advice and tips.
Great post, learning a lot about tumblr never thought of it. Thanks!
Anyway, I'm proud of Ryan Gosling as an SEO?!
Google understands how social sites work, and shares are not treated as spam. It's the same as if someone were to share a post on Google+ or repin a pin on Pinterest. Both of those are dofollow links, and are just how the sites work, not spam. Same goes for shares on Facebook or retweets on Twitter, although both of these are nofollow.
I would, however, avoid creating a Tumblr that consists entirely of recycled content, as that can be seen as duplicate content by Google. Put some effort into creating your own unique content, whether it be quotes, memes, or blog posts. It doesn't take a lot of effort. At the very least, add your own unique commentary to the content you are curating.
All in all a good article. I didn't know Tumblr made their links crawlable (although you should have mentioned it was only for the posts you write and the posts you get reblogged, not the notes, mentions or reblogging notifications.
I will only comment the one thing I disagree much about your post. I wish you hadn't mentioned memes. From my humble point of view, they might be fun and mildly effective occasionally, but I do believe there are more intelligent ways of promoting a service or product without resorting more to empty humour or human stupidity.
I wish cultural stuff were as popular some day.
Good point about the notes. These actually used to be dofollow as well, but they must have changed this recently since they appear to be nofollow now.
We'll have to agree to disagree about memes, I think they're hilarious! Generally, people on social media have short attention spans, so a funny picture with a caption provides a quickly consumable piece of content that packs the maximum amount of humor in a minimal amount of pixels.
The one most important benefit to use Tumblr its layout for image sharing and it provides "Dofollow" links.
My only concern is with the Penguin update for those do-follow links as you suggested: "Of course, you will want to be careful about what kind of anchor text you're using in this post-Penguin world, but if you're looking for some easy, dofollow backlinks, Tumblr is the place to get them."
How do you suggest we avoid Penguin punishments? How careful should we be? Thanks in advance! Great post!
Glad you found it helpful! To keep clear of Penguin just avoid keyword anchor text if you think a post might go viral. Your brand name, URL, and image links should generally be safe.
Wow! Just Thanks for such a nice post about Tumblr, It's an awesome post because for the first time I got a great information about Tumblr with lots of benefits. Now I'm thinking to go with Tumblr.
Thats a nice post. I usually use tumblr for SEO, less for traffic - tumblr isn't that used in germany for most client topics - but some are going well - design, fotography for that tumblr is also a traffic bringer.
Insightful Post. Thanks for the tips to use tumblr for social media marketing and also for SEO. Amazing Post. Really a worthy post to share.
Yes, very true, although they have been cracking down on adult content since Yahoo acquired Tumblr.
Do it! If your business is on Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest, you should be on Tumblr as well.
I encourage clients as well as my company to be active on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest plus we keep a blog as well as a monthly newsletter. What could the Tumblr offer to the public that the above networks do not?
Basically for all the reasons mentioned in the post: dofollow backlinks, the potential to reach a large audience even if you don't have a lot of followers, a place to test content before posting to other networks, another spot in the SERPs for your brand name, and access to 300 million unique monthly users, many of whom skew younger than the other networks (could be a good or bad thing depending on your industry).
The great thing about tumblr is that it's quick to set up and easy to manage. If you're already posting content to FB, G+, Pinterest etc, its super easy to post the exact same content to tumblr for additional exposure & backlinks.
Nice effort you put in this post. Thanks for sharing!
Great post, its always worth looking at other avenues thanks for pointing this out!
Wow, great overview of Tumblr. I knew it was big, but I've been focusing more on fb & twitter. Never made it a priority to check out Tumblr, but now I guess I do!
When I worked at an ecommerce startup, we had a pretty big team so we were able to manage content for multiple Tumblrs. Since ecommerce is pretty broad, we created a few smaller niche sites such as Shopping Memes, Holiday Memes, Holiday GIFs, etc. in addition to our own brand.
A lot of the content doesn't take a lot of time to produce. For animated GIFs, you just need to find a few funny GIFs and come up with a clever caption for them. Quotes are also simple to do. Memes are my personal favorite, and I've written an in-depth post dedicated to just memes.
There is a scheduling functionality in Tumblr, so you can definitely create a bunch of content in one sitting, and then schedule them out throughout the week. And again, if you are already doing social media promotion on other sites such as Facebook & Google+, you can take a lot of the same content and post it to Tumblr.
Currently, I manage 2 tumblogs for my employer, and maintain about half-a-dozen personal tumblogs. I don't update my blogs that often, but like Pinterest, content on Tumblr has a long "shelf-life" and will continue to be discovered months after originally publishing the content.
Yes this is true i had experience on tumblr to get better traffics and improvements keyword ranks..
I used Tumblr for blogging so many times but don't know about these deep features of this blogging site.
Thanks for this analysis of tumblr and sharing with us..
This is brilliant. I use WordPress a lot for web design and had never considered the advantages of Tumblr for my SEO campaigns.
I am going to put this on the radar for next week and do some testing on the effects. Thanks for such an insightful post.
Nice post and thank u for sharing valuable information.
Actually i have doubt on tumblr but because of ur post all doubt have been resolved.
I also like the fact that the link power passed from social media to tumblr can again be passed from tumblr to your personal blog or ecommerce site. It's a great link wheel so-to-speak. Thanks, great post!
Excellent post! I just recently converted my old wordpress website to Tumblr.
What I like about it is the ability to customize the URL for each post, make a custom theme layout, and the built-in mobile version works perfectly on smartphones.
It is easy to install google analytics in your layout/theme code which is great for monitoring traffic to your site.
What I absolutely love the most is the iphone app! I can upload a photo collage of up to 10 photos directly from my phone. I am able to update my website with just a few swipes thus enabling me to update more often.
Tumblr is a fully featured blog with your own personalized website.
I really like Tumblr and its ease of use. Looking forward to using it a little bit more in the future!
I am using tumblr since long time but i never got any post which described the features of Tumblr in such a manner. I never imagined that Tumblr is having such type of features. Your presentation is outstanding, you have mentioned the features step by step. You have done a great job.. This is the most well described post about Tumblr. I specially liked the Punchline: WordPress+Facebook = Tumblr.
Hey Kesh! I've already used tumblr surely it's a great micro blogging platform with lots of social functioning tools. In spite of the fact I hadn't find any great exposure of that time. Now reviewing your post I'll reconsider it, as you highlighted its features, dofollow and hastags. Beside this content ideas for tumblr is also very impressive. Thank you for sharing the detailed article.
Thanks, I've always spelled it "tumblrog" but it looks like "tumblog" is more common.
Yes, I forgot to mention that the core demographics of tumblr are teenagers, women, and corrupted Maiar.
I've been using Tumblr to promote a lot of things lately, CPA, Adsense, and even a clothing line I got offered a gig with. Tumblr is completely untapped, and if you know how to get followers you can make some good money.
Great post tumblr is a nice site.I used this always.
Yup, you can embed videos on Tumblr.
Really good piece Takeshi! I'll start with disagreeing with you (Don' worry only on 1 point, everything else was excellent!) - "Tumblr is the most popular microblogging platforms on the planet" I'm pretty sure Alexa would disagree when comparing Twitter to Tumblr. Or is this based on user statistics? Also: "it's easy to get these tumblrogs to PR2 - PR4 within a few months." if Google ever actually update their PR now :P I haven't used Tumblr all that much, I setup 2-3 tumblrogs (Thanks for that term) a while back but never delved into it! Thanks for giving me some inspiration and the tips on what to actually post. I didn't realize Tumblr supported animated GIFs, Gif memes do awesomely on Google+ so I see it being a really good method of getting fans back. I still never understood why Facebook doesn't allow Gifs, it'd make fanpages and shares so much better! Though I doubt you could share GIFs to mobile which is where most Facebook users are nowadays.
Twitter is definitely larger than Tumblr, it just depends on whether you categorize it as a microblogging platform. Tumblr is a fully featured blog with your own personalized website, whereas Twitter strikes me more of a communication medium. But if you consider your twitter feed a micro blog, Twitter is definitely bigger.
I enjoy animated GIFs as much as the next person, but would find them annoying if they ended up on Facebook. Maybe if they had a way of preventing them from autoplaying (similar to videos on Instagram) that would be more tolerable.
Still waiting for the PR update as well, I guess we'll just have to go with MozRank for now.
Nice post. I really Appreciate your work of sharing this post.


Milan is a great city for sightseeing, eating delicious Italian food and for shopping – especially designer fashion, shoes and accessories!
You can't miss the 14th century gothic Milan Cathedral, the symbol this city. Also take a tour of Santa Maria delle Grazie to see Da Vinci's famous painting, "The Last Supper".
For Milanese fine dining, book a table at Peck on Via Spadare or try Joia on Via Panfilo Castaldi, Europe's only vegetarian restaurant with a Michelin star.
Short of time, you can shop at some of Milan's most exclusive luxury stores at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, located between Duomo Square and La Scala Opera House.
Milan is a business city and that business is fashion and design. There are several luxury, mid-range and budget hotels in Milan. Deals and discounts are often available to make them affordable at weekends, out of season and when avoiding major trade fairs.
Luxury, 5 star options include the Armani Hotel Milano in the Brera district, or near the cathedral and shopping gallery is the Park Hyatt Milan.
Historic hotels include the 3 star Hotel Palazzo delle Stelline and the 5 star Hotel Principe di Savoia. For budget travelers there are over 200 2 and 3 star hotels in Milan – mostly family run.
These can be found in the areas around the central station and the historic centre (Centro Storico). Options include Zurigo Hotel and Hotel Charly.
Whatever area of Milan you choose you can find hotel accommodation to suit your travel budget.


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Verzameld in Italy 60 DNA profielen
University of Turin and University of Milan Medical School at IRCCS
Project MinE Italy is run by our research partners at University of Turin and University of Milan Medical School at IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano.
The ALS Centre in Milan, at the Department of Neurology-Stroke Unit of the University of Milan Medical School at the IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano has large interests in many aspects of ALS, but specifically, in the past few years, in defining the genetics of both FALS and SALS. Prof. Silani contributed with his large team to the discovery of new genes in FALS (Profilin1, TUBA4A, TBK1, NEK1) and to the finalization of the two largest GWAS in SALS. Project MinE is considered an obligatory step in further defining the genetic basis of ALS, after completing the exome sequence of several hundred ALS patients. Envisioning a future where the therapy for ALS patients is based on a precision medicine approach, stratification of patients according to their genetic risk factors appears an obligatory step to design molecularly tailored interventions.
Our research partners at University of Turin and University of Milan Medical School at IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano.
Adriano Chio
Professor of Neurology, Medical and Scientific Director of the Department of Neuroscience, at the University of Torino and AOU San Giovanni Battista Torino, Italy
Vincenzo Silani
Professor and Chairman of Department of Neurology, Stroke Unit and Laboratory of Neuroscience, University of Milan Medical School at IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano
Vincenzo Silani is Full Professor of Neurology and the Chairman of the Department of Neurology-Stroke Unit and Laboratory of Neuroscience of the University of Milan Medical School at the IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Director of "Dino Ferrari" Centre for Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disease of the University of Milan Medical School and Director of the ALS Centre.
Prof. Silani graduated M.D. in 1977 at the University of Milan Medical School and he obtained the Specialties of Neurology (1981) and Neurosurgery (1989). Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Neurology-Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (1979-81), Visiting Professor in Neurology at the Baylor College of Medicine (1999), he was CoChairman (2002-2005) and Chairman (2005-2007) of the European ALS Consortium (EALSC). Director European Neurological Society (ENS) – Subcommittee for Motor Neuron Disease (2008-2013), he is now Co-Director of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Subspeciality Panel ALS and Frontotemporal Dementia (2013-present). Author of more than 240 scientific publications, he was invited lecturer in more than 200 international meetings.
Post Fata Resurgo
Lelio Scardino
Maria Falanga
Lina Raineri
Coco Giusi Giusi
Andrea Caffo
Massimo Di Rienzo
Giuseppe Vaccaro
Maria Montani
laura martino
Francesco Capasso
ALDO Caliandro
ciro armigero
Andrea Gabrie Busne
Andrea Gabriele Busnelli
grant contribution AriSLA

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Postdoctoral researcher LGME, Strasbourg, France, 1988-1992. Assistant professor University Milan, since 1992.
Roberto Mario Mantovani, Italian molecular biologist.
Mantovani, Roberto Mario was born on July 13, 1960 in Cremona, italy. Son of Giovanni and Bianca (Scassa) Mantovani.
Doctor of Medicine, University Milan, 1985. Doctor of Philosophy, University Milan, 1990.
Avocations: history, economics, hiking, motorcycle riding.
Married Christine Marguerite Di Toma, October 11, 1986. Children: Mathilde, Pietro.


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
BBA Announcement on Major Banks' Swaps Payment Suspension Policy
Post date 11 December 2012
Post categories In Banking Law, Borrower Protection, Derivatives, Financial Mis-selling, Financial Services Litigation, News
The British Bankers' Association (the "BBA"), a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector, has announced a policy for 'Major Banks' which suggests such banks will consider rolling over swap payments pending a swaps mis-selling complaint or review.
This is certainly contrary to the past experience of this firm which has regularly seen (i) that clients who have requested a suspension of swaps payments have always been rejected by the banks without any evidence of reasoned careful thought or consideration and (ii) have only been able to stop swap payments by a declaration of rescission and change of banks (resulting in payments being added as an overdraft).
We shall be writing to the 'Major Banks' in due course (on behalf of individual clients) asking them to confirm this BBA press release is a statement of their own bank policy and whether they will suspend payments where clients have suffered financial distress which would continue or be exacerbated if payments were not suspended.
The full text of the BBA press release dated 11 December 2012 follows:
Interest Rate Swaps: Businesses in Financial Distress (major banks review process)
Businesses with interest rate swap arrangements which consider themselves to be in financial distress should contact their bank to discuss the situation.
The banks will review and consider each case carefully, and on a case by case basis, where the bank determines financial distress to be present in relation to meeting ongoing swap payments, the bank, will, at the customers request, suspend the collection of swap payments pending the outcome of the formal review by the independent skilled person being conducted in conjunction with the Financial Services Authority (FSA). In these circumstances when the bank agrees with the business to suspend swap debit payments from the business account, the suspension of payment does not constitute any acknowledgement of wrong doing on the part of the bank and the bank will reserve all its rights including with respect to the suspended payments and/or any other defaults.
The banks remain committed to addressing the Interest Rate Swap review as quickly and as fairly as possible with businesses and are working closely and cooperatively with the FSA and the skilled independent reviewers appointed by the FSA to do so.
Source: http://www.bba.org.uk/media/article/interest-rate-swaps-businesses-in-financial-distress-major-banks-review-pro
Tags Banks, BBA, British Bankers Association, Derivatives, Financial Services, Hedging, Interest Rate Swaps, Litigation, Mis-selling, Swaps Mis-selling
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steamier turn. BxE Summer Short Story with M thru F updates. Rated M.
A ruthless criminal detached from all emotions brought to Las Vegas on a job.
A young woman trying to move on after escaping an abusive relationship.
One drunken night brings them together. Will she be able to melt his frozen heart?
Will he be able to show her the love she so desperately needs?
than anything else. But I like it. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all its characters.
A young woman trying to move on after escaping an abusive relationship .
Bella from Victoria's famous brothel, Victoria's Red Girls.
A ruthless criminal detached from all emotions brought to Las Vegas on a job .
turns dangerous can her boys, now members of the best SWAT team in Chicago save her?
than she'd ever anticipated. He was gorgeous, and she was smitten.
Rated M. Language, lemons, and the rest. (Thank you SunflowerFran).


A fifth-generation Mississippian, Andrew Liles, AIA, LEED AP BD+C owns his own practice in New Orleans, Louisiana and is an adjunct lecturer at the School of Architecture of Tulane University. Liles' education includes a Bachelor of Architecture from Mississippi State University, and a Master of Architecture from Tulane University. Liles focuses practice in the southeast with projects ranging from large commercial to custom residential work. Liles infuses each project with regional relevance and a high degree of creativity.
A LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] Accredited Professional, he is a founding member of the Mississippi Chapter of the US Green Building Council and served on both the Executive Board and the Board of Directors. Now in Louisiana, Liles is on the Board of the Louisiana Chapter and represents the state at the South Central Regional Council of the USGBC. Liles has been a project architect for both award winning and sustainable architecture.
Liles' design prowess and technical expertise provide the opportunity to teach consistently at the School of Architecture. He has taught design studio at all core levels [first, second, and third year], and has coordinated the studio at the second year level. He has taught core lecture courses in technology, and a course in sustainability to the Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development candidates.
is a firm that focuses on custom commercial and residential projects. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, AMLllc infuses each project with regional relevance and a high degree of creativity.
Where possible, AMLllc injects each project with an intent of sustainability. This term is interpreted broadly and manifests itself from reuse of existing materials to simply harvesting daylight. AMLllc makes sustainability far from intimidating, and strives to prove that the client's desired result can look the same sustainable as is would if not.


text:
Home > Movie Stars > P > Paula Prentiss
Paula Prentiss
Paula Prentiss is an Italian American actress probably best known for her roles in The Stepford Wives and The Parallax View.
She was born Paula Ragusa on March 4, 1939, to Sicilian emigrants in San Antonio, Texas. She is also very tall, standing 5'10". Prentiss was most popular in the 1960s and 1970s in such films as Where the Boys Are, Catch-22, Move with Elliott Gould, The World of Henry Orient with Peter Sellers, Man's Favorite Sport? with Rock Hudson, and Follow the Boys.
Her first starring role was in The Horizontal Lieutenant with the late Jim Hutton, father of actor Timothy Hutton.
She is married to actor/director Richard Benjamin, and they live in the Hollywood Hills. They appeared together in the short-lived television series He & She (1967–1968).
Paula's sister Ann is also an actress.
Paula Prentiss Facts
Birth Name Paula Ragusa
Birthday March 4, 1938 (83)
Birthplace San Antonio, Texas, USA
Height 5' 10" (1m78) How tall is Paula Prentiss compared to you?
In Harm's Way
Born To Win
Where the Boys Are
Man's Favorite Sport?
Saturday The 14th
Continue » Find more details on the Paula Prentiss Movies page
Article text released under CC-BY-SA. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Paula Prentiss" (27-Jun-2006)


text:
Although in the past Nine Point had been in arrears up to $85,000, at the time it was shut down it owed $29,000, Smith said.
A message left Friday with owner Gregory Stewart was not immediately returned.
"He would pay and stop, pay and stop," Smith said, noting that the company failed to respond to a Jan. 5 deadline to request a hearing on the closure. "He was offered up an opportunity for a hearing that he didn't take."
Before the closure and seizure Thursday, the company was notified in a Feb 1 letter it could destroy or sell off its stock, but apparently did not.
The company was on the forefront of applicants in the state's fledgling legal marijuana industry, having completed its required application successfully while others needed additional time. Stewart told the Kitsap Sun before its first sale that the company would be ready to sell to retailers as soon as the storefront businesses acquired their licenses.
"We feel like we're in a really good position," Stewart told the Kitsap Sun.
Despite being the second business in the state to acquire a license, the business struggled to pay taxes due, according to documents provided by the board.
In April 2016, the board approved a "global settlement agreement" to resolve three violation notices. Nine Points had been dinged by the board eight times, including five notices for failing to submit monthly tax reports and payments, according to documents.
Records show that from September 2014 through the end of January, Nine Point Growth Industries sold $953,000 worth of product, and owed almost $112,000 in taxes, though starting in the summer of 2015 taxes were terminated on producer businesses such as Nine Point. Instead, lawmakers shifted the tax burden to retail outlets.


text:
Q: PhpStorm and JavaScript: I'm getting "Cannot find declaration to go to" I'm playing with my simple NodeJS project in PhpStorm and suddenly the control-click navigation stopped working. When I click on a required file path, I just get message Cannot find declaration to go to. For example:
var Controller = require('./lib/Controller');

The file is definitely there as the program runs without problems. And if I control-click some global function or object (like "require" itself), the navigation works, the definition of the function/object is opened.
It affects now all my NodeJS/JavaScript projects. Is it possible that I simply disabled some kind of code analysis?
I have recently upgraded from PhpStorm 7 to EAP (to get grunt support) and then to 8.0.1. The problem appeared somewhere during the upgrades. I just can't tell exactly when.

A: The problem was that the NodeJS plugin was disabled and in my case marked as "incompatible" with current PhpStorm version. Apparently, NodeJS is necessary for navigation through require statements.
It wasn't possible to update the plugin for some reason, so I simply reinstalled it and the problem was fixed.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Abortion,Blog:
How Long Does a Surgical Abortion Take?
Our unique, individualized approach to abortion care includes ensuring you're familiar with what to expect from the very beginning. We want to support your experience, especially since patients are required to navigate political obstacles in the form of abortion restrictions that make access more difficult. Not only will you meet with our doctor to discuss any questions and concerns about methods at your first visit, but at your second visit, you'll also meet with a counselor to thoroughly review consent forms, to become familiar with what to expect during the procedure, and to answer any questions that may have come up since your first visit. A common question patients have is, "How long does a surgical abortion take?" In this blog, we'll explain how a surgical abortion is performed, the efficacy rate, possible risks and complications, and how long you can expect the procedure to take.
Surgical Abortions Are Extremely Safe
A surgical abortion is 98% effective in terminating a pregnancy, which means a patient will not remain pregnant 98 out of 100 times. According to medical evidence, it's even safer than a dental or cosmetic procedure. While commonly referred to as a "surgical" abortion, it actually isn't surgery at all—no incisions are made! Some are even moving away from this language as it can be misleading, more intimidating for patients, and even add to the propaganda perpetuated by anti-choice extremists.
How Is A Surgical Abortion Performed?
A surgical abortion is a quick, non-invasive procedure that takes about 5-10 minutes. At Austin Women's Health Center, we offer the use of IV sedation or valium, as well as nitrous oxide, to manage discomfort and anxiety you may have before and during the procedure. But some patients find the procedure is manageable with just ibuprofen beforehand, which we'll administer to you after your counseling session. Before the procedure begins, we'll make sure any sedation management has taken effect, and we'll be checking in with you throughout to offer support and monitor your vital signs.
The procedure with the use of a speculum to separate the vaginal walls in order to see and sterilize the cervix. After injecting the cervix with lidocaine to numb and relax it, we'll dilate your cervix using a dilating rod, and then apply suction by inserting a cannula through the cervix and into the uterus to remove the pregnancy. Both the dilation and suctioning can induce mild to intense cramping, and it's also normal to feel pressure and a pulling or tugging sensation. However, both dilation and suctioning will only take about 1-3 minutes to complete. So, keep in mind that the procedure will be over quickly! If at any point you'd like to take a break, you can ask our nurses and doctor for one before continuing. It can also be helpful to try counting to 50, as generally the procedure will be over soon and counting can help distract ourselves from how we're feeling.
If you'd like to use other relaxation techniques, we recommend practicing deep breathing during the procedure or using our headphones (or your own) to listen to music throughout. If you're using IV sedation, also known as twilight sedation, it includes both medication for pain and anxiety, and it can also create the feeling of being asleep throughout the procedure — even though you're still conscious! Many patients often don't remember the procedure due to this. But it's also normal to still feel aware during a surgical abortion with IV sedation, so if you still experience discomfort, keep in mind that it's normal. We administer the most sedation that we can safely provide you, but not everyone responds to it the same way.
What is Recovery Like For a Surgical Abortion?
The recovery time for surgical abortion is minimal. Compared to medical abortion, or the pill option, postoperative bleeding is generally less, and there is no follow-up visit required. Expect to spend some time in our recovery room before being discharged, though, so we can assess your level of bleeding before you go home. If you're using sedation, we also want to make sure you're able to safely exit the building following IV sedation administration.
Many patients also don't experience bleeding afterward until days three to seven following the procedure. Bleeding can range from mild to intense and can be accompanied by mild to intense cramping as well. You can expect to bleed for up to a week like normal to a heavy period, and we'll make sure you have access to pain medication to manage any discomfort later.
What Are The Possible Complications and Risks of a Surgical Abortion?
Serious complications from a surgical abortion are rare. In fact, abortion is 14 times safer than continuing a pregnancy. According to the National Abortion Federation, in less than 1% of cases, perforation, infection, and excessive bleeding has occurred; all of which would require follow-up management. Additionally, since a surgical abortion is only 98% effective, there's a small chance that the procedure may fail or be incomplete. This can be more of a concern in early pregnancies (less than 7 weeks since last menstrual period, or LMP), but our doctor takes steps to ensure that the procedure is successful. If we have concerns, we'll speak with you about what we recommend as far as follow-up management. While there's always a chance the abortion may fail, this doesn't mean you'll have to stay pregnant.
The History of Abortion
Prior to the late 1800s, abortion was largely unregulated. In fact, if a pregnant person wanted an abortion in the 17th and 18th centuries, there were no restrictions that could stop them. The first English settlers in America focused on community and families were the Puritans, and with them came their progressive take on abortion laws from England; abortion was seen as normal before "quickening" (typically between four and five months into pregnancy), no matter how many times it was needed. Through the help of each other in their communities, colonial women used herbal methods to induce abortions; surgical abortions at the time were considered rare and dangerous, but this was likely due to one Connecticut woman's death resulting from complications of a later-term surgical abortion after a failed attempt at self-inducing an herbal abortion.
However, in the 19th century, the acceptance of abortion changed and by 1910 abortion was illegal in every circumstance except to save the pregnant person's life — a result of several factors including changes in "social, class, and family dynamics." In the Victorian era, it was thought that abortion was an issue caused by "upper-class white women who were choosing to start their families later and limit their size." This independence from women was perceived as a threat to the patriarchy. By the mid-1900s, American doctors started battling "irregular" doctors, like midwives, who safely performed abortions in an attempt to assert the "legitimacy of male-dominated scientific medicine", and illegitimate this form of healthcare entirely; emphasizing these "irregular" doctors were "unscientific."
There was also systemic racism and xenophobia at play, as "white men were also concerned by shifting ethnic and racial dynamics in the United States, worrying that the low birthrate of the white upper class would lead to racial inferiors and un-American immigrants overrunning the country." Not long after, a coalition of white, male doctors backed by the American Medical Association and the Catholic Church campaigned for the criminalization of abortion, and they "largely succeeded" in restricting a pregnant person's access to abortion. One historian said restricting abortion was the only way white male physicians could "assert clear authority" over their female patients, and the Victorian anti-abortion movement demonized women who had abortions as "unnatural, selfish and undermining the expected, patriotic, and godly role of the American woman—that of wife and mother."
Abortion remained criminalized until 1973 when Roe v. Wade established our protected right to have an abortion as we know it today. Under Roe, abortion is legal until at least 20 weeks except in cases of rape, incest, or if the pregnant person's life is at risk. Several states have their own gestational limits that permit abortion beyond 20 weeks. Not long after Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, federal funding was banned from going towards most abortions under the Hyde amendment.
At Austin Women's Health Center, we know all too well that our right to an abortion doesn't mean much if we can't access it, and as we've discussed before, Texas has the most cities 100 miles or more from an abortion clinic. And since most patients cannot use their public insurance, like Medicaid, to pay for their abortions, the out-of-pocket costs and long distances make accessing an abortion an impossibility for many. We have continued to provide the Austin area with abortion care for decades, including when Texas HB2 closed over half the state's abortion providers—like our sister clinic Killeen Women's Health Center—and when Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton banned abortions temporarily earlier this year, deeming them non-essential during a global pandemic. And we'll continue to provide it as the political landscape of abortion rights continues to shift.


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Lake Volta, Ghana: The Biggest Reservoir in the World by Surface Area
Africa > Ghana
Lake Volta, located in the South-Eastern part of Ghana, is the largest man-made lake in the world. Covering 8,502 km2, it is the biggest reservoir by surface area, and the fourth largest on the planet by volume (148 km3).
If you've been to Lake Volta, please write your impressions about it by using the form below.
Lake Volta Stats
Lake Name Lake Volta
Country Ghana
Lake type Reservoir
Catchment area 404374.90
Altitude 75.0
Inflows White Volta River, Black Volta River
Outflows Volta River
Age 10000
Mixing type Polymictic
Settlements Accra
Dam height 20
Dam year 1981
Origin Human Made
Average discharge 1372.072
Lake Volta Accommodation
Geography, Hydrology and Climate
The reservoir starts from the Volta Basin, situated in the Central part of Ghana and extends over half the length of the country. It occupies more than 3.5% of Ghana's entire land area, featuring 4,800 kilometers of shoreline.
The two primary inflows of the reservoir are the Black Volta and White Volta rivers, which unite their waters in the lake and exit it together, forming the mighty Volta River, which makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean. Plenty of islands are located on the lake, of which Dodi, Dwarf and Kporve islands are well-known. Because the reservoir is situated in a tropical area, its waters stay warm throughout the entire year.
The Kwahu Plateau, on the Southern end of the basin, is characterized by poor soil, and because of this, there aren't many inhabitants in this particular area. The annual rainfall average is between 1,000-1,140 millimeters. The primary vegetation here is mostly savannah, with some woodlands, characterized mainly by Red Ironwood and Shea wood.
The Afram Plains area, located south to Digya National park, is Kwahu Plateau's opposite. Here, the terrain is lower (between 50 and 150 meters), and the average rainfall is between 1,140-1,400 millimeters annually. The countryside is usually flooded or swampy during the rainy season and much of it is submerged into the lake. Transportation is poor on both the plateau and the plain.
Digya National Park is the oldest and the second largest reserve in Ghana. It protects more than 6 primates and is home to 236 bird species. It was proclaimed a protected area in 1900 and became a national park in 1971.
History of the Dam
The dam holding back the lake is called Akosombo dam, and was first proposed by Albert Ernest Kitson, a British-Australian geologist in 1915. The build-up process to the execution of the dam started 8 years before Ghana gained its independence, and was supported by Kwame Nkrumah, who would eventually become the first president in the country.
The plan was to harness the power of the river and use it to provide electricity for the Tema aluminum smelter, located 25 kilometers east of the country's capital city, Accra. The factory would use up to 80% of the power created by the dam and the rest would go out to the people of Ghana for domestic usage. The earnings of this operation would then be expended on establishing new local bauxite mines.
Because of the many technical difficulties, the construction of the dam only began in 1961, with the help of funds raised by the managing company and loans from the Unites states and the United Kingdom. The barrage was completed 4 years later.
The densely populated area where the dam was planned had to be evacuated, and more than 78,000 people and 200,000 animals were relocated from the basin to surrounding areas. A total of 7,800 km2 was flooded and more than 120 buildings were destroyed during the process (not including small residential houses).
15 years later, the Akosombo dam couldn't keep up with the industrialization and development of Ghana, so Kpong Dam was constructed in 1981. The two dams together provide 70% of the country's electricity, and they also export it to Togo and Benin.
Consequences and Local Problems
Although the man-made lake has its benefits, such as being advantageous for the local industry, one mustn't forget that it wiped out much of the rural life and economy in Eastern Ghana. Because locals lost the ability and circumstances to farm, many of them have moved on to work as fishermen.
A lot of families had to give up their children because of poverty issues, and actually sold them into bondage, encouraging children trafficking and illegal child labor. There are up to 10,000 children working in the fishing industry 12-17 hours every day in harsh conditions as slaves. Because the lake is being overfished, the region is getting even more problematic, which will not stop until the economic situation improves. There are also cases of prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases circulating along the lake's shoreline, making the area not too appealing to tourists.
Importance of Lake Volta
The reservoir plays a key role in local transportation, providing an easily maneuverable waterway to both ferries and cargo ships. The body of water is navigable from Akosombo through Yeji, making it easy to get from one side of the reservoir to the other. Tourism is not very popular in the region, although some cruises include the island of Dodi in their itineraries.
A large-scale enterprise is set to harvest timber from the forests which are flooded under the reservoir, instead of destroying existing forests. There would be many advantages to this plan, if it were to succeed. It would drastically upgrade and improve the conditions of navigating on the lake. The plan could generate foreign currency for the whole region which could eventually lead to economic growth and an increase the standard of living, also reducing the dependence of locals on the fishing industry.
This business idea of the enterprise could produce the largest amount of sustainable tropical hardwood in the World, with benefits both for the surrounding environment and its locals.
Lake Volta Map
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