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SEO and Social Media – What’s their Relationship?

August 31, 2011 By

Lately, I’ve been pondering an important issue many online marketers and search engine optimization pros find themselves having to think about more and more.

That issue of course is the relationship between SEO and social media – should search engine optimization specialists worry about social media and vice versa?

As you can imagine, much debate among the professionals surrounds this question. One side of that debate says the two channels are mutually exclusive. Many businesses in fact aren’t even worrying so much about their website and pouring all their resources into Facebook pages, Twitter profiles and Google Places pages.

According to Stoney deGeyter on Search Engine Guide, you can get a local ranking on Google just by having a ‘Places’ page – no website needed.

While it may seem easy and less expensive to simply put a blog on Blogger.com, build a Facebook and Twitter profile or utilize a myriad of other social media options, you would be remiss if you didn’t invest time and resources into building your main website.

Stoney says – and we agree – that you should definitely NOT neglect your website and focus ALL of your efforts on social media. One of the prime reasons for this – you own your website and the benefits that inevitably come from building it. As long as your site is hosted, your page(s) will appear in search results for the terms you’re targeting.

Social media on the other hand isn’t so permanent – for starters, not all of your followers may see what you post since social media channels, especially Twitter, are in real-time. Meaning if you post something at 3:00 but your follower(s) doesn’t login until 8:00, they may not see what you’ve done.

Search rankings for content on your site are more permanent though (i.e. they have a longer shelf life than social media) – SEO puts your site in front of people when they’re looking, no matter what time of day that is.

In an interview with Social Media Examiner, Copyblogger CEO Brian Clark comments on why SEO and social media work together…all the top SEOs have been using social media to build contacts and share content.

According Brian, the two are intertwined since good search rankings depend on two things – links and traffic. You have to attract traffic and links before you rank well in search engines. Social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter give you that initial boost to build strong search rankings.

See Brain’s interview below for more. His comments on SEO and social media are around the 5:00 minute mark in the video.

In the end, both social media and SEO each have their own benefit. Social media channels provide the opportunity to share content in real time. SEO on the other hand builds a more long-term foundation that’s available whenever someone is searching using your keywords.

It’s important you focus on both – build good keyword targeted content that’s highly shareable through social media. Focusing on one at the expense of the other will certainly leave many opportunities on the table.

sme_bw2010_brian_clark_v1 from Michael A. Stelzner on Vimeo.

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Filed Under: SEO Technology, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , ,

New ‘+1’ Button from Google Now Available for Websites

August 5, 2011 By

Billed as a direct response to Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, Google’s +1 (…pronounced ‘Plus one’) button provides another opportunity for site visitors to share content they like. Including a +1 button on your site’s pages not only opens another avenue for visitors to share your site socially, it carries certain SEO benefits as well.

According to Google, the +1 button is short-hand for “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out.” It allows a user to give something their public stamp of approval – in turn, sharing content, video or any kind of webpage with friends and contacts on Google.

You’re likely seeing +1 buttons starting to appear on many websites.

They’ve been appearing in search results for a while now but only recently have website owners been able to post the small button on their webpages…all that’s required is a short bit of code you paste onto your page. You can also customize how the +1 button appears on your webpage(s).

For users, +1 activity for them and their friends can be set to appear on each page that includes the button. There you can see who has “+1’d” that page. It’s said content recommended by friends is much more valuable than content from a random person…in this atmosphere driven by how sharable your content is, we tend to agree.

This is by far Google’s most ambitious attempt yet to compete with Facebook in the social media realm.

In the last year, the ‘Like’ button has pretty much become the default means by which people share articles, videos and other content online. Google hopes to change this.  Judging from early numbers on +1 and Google’s + network, they may give Facebook a run for its money.

It would behoove you to make sure your content is sharable on all of the popular places people interact online.

Besides social sharing, +1 can also yield some benefit in terms of search engine optimization as well. In an FAQ, the search engine says adding the button will prompt Google to re-crawl your page(s) and store the title and content data for future impressions.

+1 impressions may also serve as a signal on how relevant your page’s content is says Google. Over time, they hope to incorporate this kind of data into their algorithm.

This new development from Google is exciting indeed. We’ve already begun adding +1 buttons to some of our webpages. If you click on one, a login screen will appear where you can sign in to your account.

Considering the ease at which you can add the +1 button, we think it can’t hurt. But considering the SEO benefits and the tremendous popularity from its onset, we think Google +1 is certain to rival Facebook’s ‘Like’ features.

In light of this, we think it’s very important you make sure visitors can easily ‘+1’ your site.

Filed Under: SEO Technology, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Getting Wisdom from the True Masters of Social Media

July 29, 2011 By

Understanding how to use social media to your best advantage requires not only a big investment in time, but lots of reading, watching and testing.

As social media marketers, we’re naturally always looking for who is doing things right…considering how new social media is, finding the big success stories and seeing how you can apply those to your business is, in a way, more important than all the articles, webinars, white papers and so on.

Sifting through these resources can cause us to overlook the lessons of others, especially those of a well-established company such as Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola is one company who has seen tremendous success with its social media marketing strategy. In their view, content and media is paid, earned, owned and shared according to Wendy Clark, SVP for Integrated Marketing and Communication at Coca-Cola.

See this graphical representation to better understand the breakdown of media and content.

Another important fact regarding Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy – engagement is much more valuable than actual followers.

We’ve explored this concept before vis-à-vis Twitter but it’s a universal principle that Coke has really gone with. The numbers of followers isn’t so important – it’s the time people spent looking, sharing and commenting on your content.

In Coke’s mind, advocacy trumps loyalty as well. Many businesses in the past have viewed loyalty as the top of the ladder.

According to Coke’s Chief Marketing Officer Joe Tripodi – “Awareness is fine, but advocacy will take your business to the next level. I used to think that loyalty was the highest rung on the consumer pyramid until I became the CMO of Allstate Insurance. There, I saw clearly that so much business was driven through personal referrals and advocacy by individuals for their agent.”

Lastly, Coca-Cola has spent much time considering how they can create an emotional relationship with their brand, which is referred to by Clark as ‘extrinsic’ or ‘brand love’ messaging. An example of this methodology can be found in Coke’s Happiness Machine video, which went viral on YouTube with no advertising and on to become a successful (…and economic) TV ad for the company.

‘Brand love’ though must be balanced with ‘brand value’ messaging, which basically refers to intrinsic value, or ‘functioning relationship.’ This concept is more closely aligned with traditional marketing and includes tangible things like coupons or some other means of driving a direct purchase.

Check out this write up on Search Engine Watch for more insights into Coca-Cola’s social media marketing strategies. While they probably have a much larger marketing budget, these concepts can certainly be applied to the smallest of firms.

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Filed Under: Online Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

It’s a Holiday – But We Don’t Want You to Miss a Beat!

July 1, 2011 By

Well we’re halfway through 2011 and what an exciting year it’s been thus far. We’ve been hard at work with numerous projects, one of which is our search marketing blog here at SEO-e.com.

On this July 4th weekend, we’re all rejoicing in a short break from the hustle and bustle of web marketing and search engine optimization. While we love taking a break and spending time with friends and family, we don’t want to leave our loyal readers in a lurch.

Much of the time, entrepreneurs and small businesses don’t get much of a break from their work. That’s why we wanted to include one of our most popular posts for you to check out.

As you know, Facebook has become the dominant social media channel over the last few years. Over a half billion people have Facebook profiles and many of them logon regularly.

Businesses large and small are looking to social media channels like Facebook to interact with customers, share content, run promotions and answer questions.

As with any new innovations, it can be a challenge to understand how to best harness a particular technology to your advantage.

Continue reading to learn 8 ways you can effectively use Facebook to connect with clients – both existing and potential – and drive more leads to your website, and ultimately conversions. While technologies are constantly evolving, these 8 general principles serve as a basis for successfully using Facebook to your advantage.

And check out some related posts below to learn more about the exciting world of Facebook and social media. Channels like Facebook and Twitter have quickly become an important component of marketing a business online.

If you’re not factoring this into your marketing plans, you’re doing yourself an extreme disservice.

8 Tips for getting your Facebook page Noticed

Facebook is by far the largest social networking utility with over 400 million active users worldwide. As far as social networking, especially if you’re a B2C company like an e-retailer or storefront operation, Facebook is the prime social network to focus your efforts on.

It can be a great place to build your brand online and interact with your customers. But many businesses try Facebook just to give up amid frustration and seeming failure.

Following these 8 steps can help make Facebook a worthy investment of your time and resources, helping your build customers and revenues in the long run.

1. Have your own unique brand image for your profile

If you’ve been on Facebook for fun, you know everyone has their own picture of them self. But when you’re marketing your business, it may not look too appealing to just see a picture of you and/or your staff. Create something unique that will look interesting to someone, especially if it’s only a thumbnail size picture.

2. Post relevant interesting content

It’s one of the basics on any online marketing or SEO effort. Interesting, relevant content is required to keep people coming back. Simply post relevant content from other sites or link to custom content on your own site. Petty self promotion isn’t going to work too well in this environment.

3. Participate in the conversation

Utilities like Facebook are meant to be interactive. Participate in discussions on relevant topics or comment on someone else’s postings. Find every opportunity to start a discussion.

4. Increase interaction by adding apps

App devices on Facebook provide an entertainment value for your visitors. And if they invite their friends, you could potentially have a bigger pool of visitors learning about your Facebook profile and business. Pizza Hut put this to good use by creating an app to order a pizza through the utility – but an app can be anything from a game to special discounts. Check out AllFacebook.com Leader Board for ideas.

5. Direct new visitors to a custom page

Facebook automatically sends traffic to your wall, which can be uninviting. They do however let you use any page for your Facebook homepage. Create a custom page for new visitors instead and have an inviting place for people to learn about you. And change it periodically…like Skittles’ Mob the Rainbow entry page, which changes every month.

6. Post tags of your fans in photos and videos

This takes a little effort but include your fans in photos and videos. You could perhaps run a contest and ask fans to submit a picture of them with your product.  After posting the picture, you can “tag” them, which their friends will see on their update.

7. Create customized “tabs” on your Facebook page

Many large companies who use Facebook to their advantage have custom tabs at the top of their profile, which further personalizes your profile. You can use these tabs when introducing a new product or embedding a new poll or announcing an event, like the Threadless t-shirt company, who  allows fans to vote on new design, comment and even buy their shirts directly through Facebook.

8. Consider Facebook ads to jump start your profile

It may be worth the investment to purchase some advertising on Facebook to give your profile the initial jump it needs. Getting subscribers to anything is a slow process in the early stages. Facebook ads generate qualified traffic by refining its subscribers by keyword, demographics and category, putting your profile in front of millions of people.

We can’t all have the millions of Facebook fans like Starbucks or Coca-Cola. But it is possible, using these 8 steps, to harness the power of Facebook effectively and draw in a large number of fans. According to Sysomos, over 77% of companies with a fan page have less than a 1000 fans.

Make your Facebook profile the best in your industry by considering these 8 steps.

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Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Driving Higher Leads and Free Promotion for a Fraction of the Cost

June 22, 2011 By

How companies can engage online followers and evaluate performance to build product awareness and a loyal following

 

In today’s uncertain economy, many companies are looking for lower cost ways to reach new customers. Many traditional advertising venues like TV, print and radio – known as ‘outbound marketing’ – not only carry a high cost, but simply don’t yield the benefits they once did.

In fact, HubSpot compared the average cost-per-lead for inbound vs. outbound marketing in a recently published e-book and found the average cost for inbound, or online channels, was 62% lower than traditional marketing channels.

If you’re reading this web marketing blog, you’re probably already aware of the vast potential the web offers entrepreneurs, small businesses and even large companies. You’ve certainly seen the cultural & technological shift toward smart phones and other devices that facilitate web-based commerce, information and relationships.

Understanding the myriad of options for harnessing these online channels is a big challenge for many, even professionals

In terms of your business, just how do you go about successfully using the web to drive leads, revenues and engagement?

Well that’s a pretty broad question that could take all day. But going a step further and as the title of this post says, how can you better engage online followers and turn them into ‘evangelists,’ which if pursued in a methodical way, can yield tremendous results.

Many large brands like Coca-Cola and M&Ms are able to do this on a large scale.

In fact any company, be it they’re a well known brand or a small enterprise, can capture much more traffic and engagement by doing a few simple things…data in fact shows companies who blog see 79% more Twitter followers.

Data also shows company’s who blog see, on average, 55% more website visitors.

What methods should I use to meet these kinds of goals?

The general consensus and methodology for accomplishing more web traffic, Twitter followers and general engagement online is to:

1.       Create outstanding content that’s timely and informative

2.       Optimize content for both search engines and people

3.       Promote this content strategically through various channels and analyze the results

Content itself can come in many forms – articles, e-books, blog posts, video, white papers, press releases, photos and so on. Content in fact can be re-packaged and distributed in other ways (i.e. take a series of blog posts and make a ‘podcast,’ which you can eventually turn into an e-book).

One important part of your content should be a blog. Blogging gives you the opportunity to talk about more appealing topics with your audience and make interesting correlations. Your blog is where you can target long-tail keywords, attract more inbound links and generate conversations in your comment section.

But to really drive conversions, you can’t just write something and throw it up there. While you will see increased traffic, conversions are what you really desire. To boost this number, you should also include what’s known as a ‘call-to-action’ at the end of each of your blog posts. As you will see at the end here shortly, we will include some instruction, suggestion or invitation on what you can do next.

Now that we’ve covered traffic and conversions, what about the free promotion part?

Here’s where it can get a little tricky but with persistence, many companies have seen tremendous benefit from actual social media engagement.

Before you do anything though, you need to listen to the groups of people talking about your industry…this ‘buzz’ is important to understanding where and how you can engage people online.

There are many tools available like Google Alerts, Twilert (Twitter), TweetDeck (Twitter) and others to help you do this.

Once you’ve evaluated where the ‘buzz’ in your industry, it’s time to go engage these prospective and current customers. For B2C companies, Twitter is a commonly used tool where companies can easily build a following. Sometimes, these followers post ‘thank you’ messages or other promotional type language talking about their experience.

But in order to make this happen effectively, you need to – be responsive, answer questions and respond to complaints in a timely and respectful matter

Being a good ambassador, sharing good content and carefully evaluating the ‘buzz’ on your company and industry will certainly yield a strong online following.  Some of these followers will in turn praise your products and services to their friends online.

As you can probably tell, this new type of ‘word-of-mouth’ advertising is quite powerful.

In the old days (…and even still today), many successful enterprises thrived on word-of-mouth advertising, which hardly costs anything except a good reputation and quality work.

Today, social media, blogs and discussion boards are changing the way people find information. Having your own ‘evangelists’ out there who share their good experiences will have big impacts on new customers seeing if what you offer suits their needs.

To learn more about these tactics for social media engagement, check back with us again or take a little while to review the e-book from HubSpot. And check out related posts below to see how this all ties together with other elements of marketing a business online.

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Filed Under: Online Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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