Posts Tagged ‘social media’

8 Tips for getting your Facebook page Noticed

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

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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    Posted in Articles, Online Marketing | No Comments »

    How Google’s Unique Algorithm Dominates Search Engine World

    Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

    Ever wonder how a search engine like Google disseminates web pages on the Internet to produce the best results possible for its searchers?

    This week, engineers, product managers and executives at Google will be meeting to determine how they can make their search engine smarter. As you know from our recent post on the topic, Google has made many changes over the course of its 10+ year history.

    Google has become synonymous with search, commanding around 2/3 of search traffic. But that isn’t making them slow down as they strive to “organize the world’s information” as the company’s mission statement says. None of the upstarts like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and others present a threat to Google in their own right. But going forward, search will not simply be dominated by Google but rather incorporate a combination of services.

    The biggest threat to Google however is Bing, Microsoft’s revamped search engine. They’re trying to fill in places they feel Google’s algorithm falls short, namely in the health, reference and shopping sectors.

    While Bing is increasing market share, Google is still miles ahead of them in the simple task of dissecting a search and returning relevant results. Using contextual signals, Google has been able to master the ability to figure out what a searcher is looking for.

    Google culls data from all of its searchers to achieve these ends by seeing the search terms people use along with what they re-enter into the search if what they’re given isn’t satisfactory.

    And the most incredible thing, Google makes these changes under the radar. Searchers have no idea that their searches are constantly dissected and that the company is always trying new things to improve its algorithm.

    Explore this topic more in this article from Wired Magazine which outlines some of Google’s internal processes. Knowledge like this can be tremendously helpful in optimizing your website for the search engines.

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    Posted in Articles, SEO Technology | No Comments »

    New Webinar Explores State of Inbound Marketing

    Monday, February 22nd, 2010

    Occasionally, we drop in on different presentations circulating online to give us insight into the state of the inbound (i.e. online) marketing industry. HubSpot’s 2010 report gives us some good insights into what’s going on.

    The bottom line is this – inbound marketing techniques cost much less, around 60% in fact, than traditional media (outbound marketing) techniques. Therefore, considering the economic climate in 2009, social media and blogs in particular saw tremendous growth over the course of the year.

    As you will see in the webinar, the cost per sales lead for inbound marketing channels is much lower. To illustrate, 63% of survey respondents say that the cost for generating a lead through blogs and social media came in lower than expectations…compare that to only 34% of respondents who say the same regarding telemarketing.

    Results from HubSpot’s study also indicate that 51% of companies plan to spend more on inbound marketing in 2010. Much of this is due to the poor economy, as companies look to get more for their marketing dollar.

    Another trend you will notice – smaller companies spend a higher proportion of their marketing budget on inbound marketing channels like blogs, social media and SEO.

    The next section of the webinar focused on changes in business blogging and social media. One graph in particular illustrates the importance of good business blogging. As you will see, the more a company posts something on their blog, the higher the chance they will snag a new customer.

    In the end, all inbound marketing channels have to work together in order for your efforts to be successful. You can’t simply focus on your blog without ensuring it is crawled and indexed by the search engines, for example. And you can’t simply focus on SEO without providing timely and valuable content to your readers.

    Check out the webinar from HubSpot here – it takes about 30 minutes to watch the presentation but it’s well worth your time.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology | No Comments »

    Recent Changes Signal Big Transformation with Search Engines Underway

    Monday, February 15th, 2010

    We’ve been discussing over the last few months changes in the online marketing world that can possibly have an effect on how search engines rank and display websites.

    Things like the unveiling of personalized search as a standard feature of Google to the rise of social networking applications are just a couple of examples of such changes. It’s fair to say that based on our research and experience, social networking and bookmarking utilities have gained a big foothold in the online marketing equation.

    Take all of this, along with the release of Google Buzz and some proposed partnership agreements between Google/Bing and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, and you’ve got some indications that a major shift is underway in how the search engines rank and display search results.

    Over the years, search engines have evolved a lot from their beginnings. For example, keywords were the only consideration in ’95 but by ’97, search engines began looking at a site’s links. Next, around 1999 and Google’s inception, the PageRank algorithm was introduced. By ’02, anchor-text links were important and by ’05, temporal data, or when links were obtained and the age of the content, became important ranking factors.

    But with the events of the last couple of years, it’s becoming apparent that a site’s “social graph” is becoming as important a ranking factor as its “link graph.” Search engines, primarily Google and Bing, are relying more on social networking sites to gauge the popularity and usefulness of a website’s content.

    Take a look at SEOMoz’s newest Whiteboard Friday video for more insights into the changing world of search.

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    Posted in Forum Watch, Online Marketing, SEO Technology | No Comments »

    9 Do’s and Don’ts of Building a Social Bookmarking Network

    Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

    Developing a strong presence on social networking and bookmarking sites doesn’t involve complex formulas or algorithms. Sure, sites like Digg and Reddit have algorithms but it would behoove you to focus on the 2 major pillars of success on these sites – great content and a network of users to promote it – rather than focusing on racing to the front page.

    Building your network involves more than just adding users to your friends list. Participation is required and is how you get noticed. Voting for, spreading and commenting on other users’ content shows you’re willing to work hard and contribute to the community.

    Keep reading for a basic outline of 9 do’s and don’ts of building your social bookmarking networks online.

    1. DO friend, IMvite and follow power users but DON’T become a pest

    The best place you can start building your social media presence is by making friends with power users. They have literally hundreds, if not thousands of friends and a vote on your content from them can often translate into additional votes from their followers.

    But remember, people are busy. They don’t have time to digg, vote or retweet 100 links a day or have time for juvenile questions like “How many diggs does it take to hit page one?” Be sure you vote on their content and they will eventually take notice.

    2. DO participate in the SOCIAL part of social bookmarking but DON’T be a troll

    Commenting and participating in conversations on social networking sites isn’t so much about being social as much as it’s about being noticed and showing you take time to look at other’s submissions.

    But don’t be too controversial and don’t reply to something just to disagree. You can be funny but not everyone shares your sense of humor so be careful.

    3. DO embrace multiple social networks but DON’T spread yourself too thin

    There are literally thousands of social media networks and instant messaging utilities out there. Joining multiple social bookmarking sites like Digg and Reddit is a great way to expand your reach. Manage your time wisely though. Creating and maintaining a profile is a lot of work so don’t spread yourself too thin.

    4. DO submit content from community favorite sites but DON’T submit commercial content

    When you’re a part of a social bookmarking community like Digg or Reddit, it’s likely you will notice certain sites producing outstanding content on a regular basis since they’re always on the front page. Being the first to submit new content from these sites is a great way to get noticed.

    On the other hand, submitting content that has no place in the community you’re in is one of the sure-fire ways to fail at social bookmarking. If you appear as a marketer, folks will vote your stuff down and remove you as a friend. Be sure what you’re promoting is worthy of votes!

    5. DO submit content from a variety of sites but DON’T consistently submit content from a single site or short list of sites

    This may seem obvious but a lot of people will only submit their own content and occasionally make comments on or vote on other stuff. This is a red flag that you’re only in it for the marketing, which is something you don’t want to look like.

    The best way to avoid looking like a marketer is to submit articles, etc. from a wide variety of websites.

    6. DO sign in, vote up, retweet and comment regularly. DON’T leave huge lapses of activity in your account(s)

    One of the keys to successful marketing through social bookmarking sites is being a regular. Taking too much time away could mean all of your hard work going to waste. It’s not that you can’t take a well deserved vacation. But the more available you are to vote and spread submissions of others, the more influence you will have in pushing your own stuff.

    7. DO perform favors for your friends but DON’T ask for too much without giving something back

    Help your friends out and they’ll help you! Don’t wait to vote up or retweet your friend’s submissions. If you go out of your way for them, the more likely they’ll do the same for you.

    Don’t ask too much without giving something in return and if you ask someone to vote or retweet something, be sure it’s top quality content. Eventually, people will avoid or ignore you altogether if it’s not.

    8. DO act like a human being, DON’T act like a computer or robot

    The purpose of social media is to be “social”, not just amass hundreds of friends in some desperate attempt to look important. If you’re trying to get content out to as many people as possible, you need to act like a real person. Be friendly and have conversations with others online from time to time.

    9. DO keep at it and DON’T give up

    Like anything, building a network for social bookmarking sites takes a lot of time and hard work. You don’t have to spend all day everyday on social media to be successful. But you need to find a routine you’re comfortable with and stick with. Persistence is the key to success.

    To learn more about developing a strong social networking presence, read Building Social Bookmarking Networks 101 from Search Engine Journal.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day | 1 Comment »

    Where Does Site Traffic Come From?

    Monday, January 11th, 2010

    Of all the online marketing channels – organic search/SEO, referrals and PPC – where does the majority of traffic to a site originate from?

    Does someone do a search on Google using keyword phrases to search for the products and/or services you offer online?

    Or, are they referred to your site from an online directory like YellowPages or Google Maps? Or, do they see your PPC or social network ad?

    Data recently compiled at HubSpot definitively proves that organic search is the primary driver of traffic to websites – which underscores the importance of them being search engine friendly. From the survey of 2,100 of its customers, the company shows that site traffic coming from online searches is 67.2% greater than from referral sites and 156% greater than PPC.

    They further break the data down by industry – traffic from search engines is much higher in manufacturing, medicine/health services and retail. Referrals play a more important role in other industries like technology, software and online marketing but still does not exceed online search as a primary source of traffic.

    So from this data, it really depends on your industry in determining what you allocate to each of these online marketing areas.

    In terms of organic search and SEO, Google is by far the most popular search engine still, handling 71% of online searches this past November according to Hitwise. The two closest were Yahoo! at 15% and Bing at 9%.

    It’s clear though – having a website optimized for the search engines is key to driving traffic.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Site Architecture | 3 Comments »

    8 Predictions for SEO in 2010

    Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

    2009 is almost over and what a year it has been!

    It’s been fun and a pleasure contributing to SEO-e over the course of the year. I’ve certainly learned a lot researching and writing posts on optimizing websites for the search engines and online marketing in an all-encompassing manner.

    Along with our search engine optimization library, SEO-e communicates news, tips and best practices in a range of areas – SEO, copywriting, site architecture, current events at Google affecting webmasters, social media and more. We take a lot of pride in bringing you important information to optimize your site for the search engines in an easy-to-understand fashion.

    We look forward to bringing you the best in 2010…now on to what we’re all here for!

    Naturally, we all look forward with anticipation to what next year will bring. Our industry is constantly evolving so it’s absolutely necessary we look forward and see where we’re headed. Certainly in any effort, being malleable in adjusting your strategy to changing circumstances is a critical component of success.

    Our friends over at SEOMoz recently compiled their 8 Predictions for SEO in 2010 where they share their insights into where the industry is headed. Some things are out – like real-time search at Google and Bing. Since its hastened introduction last month, reaction to it has been mostly negative. SEOs are concerned about the quality of content searchers bring up for instance.

    But other things like personalized search are here to stay. It’s not clear what affect this will have on optimizing your site for the search engines but we’ll be sure you know when we learn something new.

    There’s other developments in the search engine business world that’s going to affect us in 2010 as well, especially if the feds approve Bing and Yahoo’s proposed merger. We just might be referring to it as “Binghoo” this time next year.

    But take a look at the 8 predictions and see what’s expected for 2010. And of course, check with us into the New Year for the latest events and tips on optimizing your site for the search engines.

    Happy New Year!

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    Posted in SEO Technology, Tip of the Day | No Comments »

    Successful Social Media Marketing Requires Understanding and Targeting the Right Demographics

    Monday, December 14th, 2009

    Knowing the demographics of your target market is one of the necessary steps in any marketing effort – social media marketing is no different.

    Demographics is defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary as “the demographic characteristics of a population, esp. as classified by age, sex, income, etc. for market research, sociological analysis, etc.” Other characteristics of people demographic researchers may consider are race, disabilities, mobility, education level, home ownership, employment status, location and whatever characteristic can be used to describe someone.

    Understanding your demographic is critical to understanding your target market and thus, the social media outlets you use to market your products and services online. Are you targeting men or women? How old are they? What’s their class? (i.e. lower, middle, upper)

    After you have determined your target demographics, you need to research social networks that cater to that group. Wikipedia has a great resource that lists major social networks and also provides each one’s description/focus, estimated number of registered users, registration requirements and also what’s called an Alexa page ranking.

    There are other resources out there that detail social networks and their target audiences.

    Let’s say you specialize in tutoring and study guides for college students. Looking at Wikipedia’s list, you can consider “Classmates.com”, “College Tonight”, “Facebook”, “Ning” and perhaps “Playboy U”. Combined, these networks can probably expose your products and services to nearly ½ billion people.

    So the lesson here, social media marketing has striking similarities…you have to know your target audience’s demographics if you’re going to reach the maximum number of individuals that are conceivably interested in what you offer.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day | No Comments »

    Real Time Search Goes Live at Google!

    Friday, December 11th, 2009

    Here we’ve got a new and interesting development out of Google…one we reported before that could be a revolutionary date in online search. And that is real time search – integration of “tweets” from Twitter, Facebook postings, etc. in search results on Google, Bing, etc.

    Google is partnering with several social media outlets to post real time results for users. Go to Google and type in any popular search term or story of the day. After a few seconds, you will see it constantly update with users’ postings from social networking sites in real time. From my experimenting, you need to click “show options” after you enter your search terms and click latest for the time range.

    As you can see in Google’s promotional video below, this utility may be very useful for learning about things currently happening that have an immediate impact on people’s lives – like the search for traffic update in a large city.

    Many search engine optimization experts conversing about this in a couple of forums – WebMasterWorld and DigitalPoint – seem a bit concerned about this – and I can understand where they’re coming from.

    The consensus is that this clutters up search results and it runs the risk of pushing their hard earned rankings farther down the list. One questions how Google will filter out useless postings that happen to contain the keywords the user searched for.

    In any event, SEOs can adapt by using Twitter and Facebook to ensure their results show up in that area when applicable.

    How will Google’s change affect you? Let us know in the comments field!

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    Posted in Forum Watch, Online Marketing, SEO Technology | No Comments »

    Google’s Zeitgeist 2009 – Fastest Rising and Most Popular Online Searches

    Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

    You may be wondering, “What does this have to do with optimizing my website for the search engines?”

    Well, nothing really – but we like to include things that are of general interest sometimes to keep things interesting. And this term, zeitgeist, caught my attention as it carries certain significance with me.

    Webster’s New World Collegiate Dictionary defines the term zeitgeist as “the spirit of the age; trend of thought and feeling in a period.” Therefore, Google’s use of the term to outline the fastest rising Google searches and the most popular search terms is justifiable.

    So what has captivated the curiosity of web surfers this year?

    Well, searches of Michael Jackson (probably due to his untimely death) topped the Google’s global list of fastest growing search terms. He wasn’t the only entertainer to make the list – sensation Lady Gaga topped many regional lists and landed #9 on the global list.

    2009’s online search zeitgeist also indicates social media is very much alive and well, a sweeping confirmation of its increasing importance. Facebook and Spanish social-networking site Tuenti appeared in the #2 and #3 fastest growing search term spot respectively. Twitter came in at #5 – the first time it has appeared on Google’s zeitgeist list.

    Concerns about the swine flu epidemic also drove individuals looking for information to Google. In the U.S., it had more searches than another major event of the year – the inauguration of President Barack Obama!

    And finally, the sour economy brought out the thrifty consciousness of many as evidenced by the rising popularity of do-it-yourself searches and searches for comfort food recipes to make at home. Chili was the most popular recipe searched for on Google in the U.S.

    Check out Google’s Zeitgeist 2009 site for the U.S. for some interesting lists and charts on search trends for the year – it’s pretty interesting to see what the global trends are in terms of online search. Perhaps information like this can be helpful – but it’s definitely interesting nonetheless.

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    Being Successful with Social Media Requires Valuable Content

    Monday, November 9th, 2009

    Recent announcement of licensing deals between social media sites Facebook and Twitter and search engines Bing and Google took the online marketing world by storm…indexing and ranking public data on these social networking sties means a new avenue to organically grow your rankings.

    These two forms of online marketing are no longer mutually exclusive from one another.

    A lot of online marketing firms will urge you to create a Facebook profile or start a Twitter account for your small business. However, you need to stop and ask yourself why. Are they simply trying these as tactics to get an angle in the search engines?

    As we’ve discussed here before and what any honest SEO will tell you, unique and valuable content is required for social media to be a successful marketing vehicle. High search engine rankings may be a short-term benefit (if you manage to get there) of simple keyword-rich content.

    This won’t matter too much – in the long-term, online shoppers will look at your products and services as simply another sales pitch they’ve heard a 1000 times.

    What makes content valuable? That’s for your audience to decide. Their needs and pain points may not be the same as yours so that’s why it’s important to diligently research your target audience. Ultimately, they have to decide if your product will solve their problem.

    And content isn’t just text…videos, audio/podcasts and even graphics that show the user how to use your product and how it works is helpful too.

    Consumers who use social media are much more discerning than traditional avenues…traditional advertising practices simply won’t work. Content needs to have value to the reader if there’s any hope you will close sales. Take some time to listen and research social media communities to see what your target audience is thinking before investing a lot of time in creating content.

    And you will know pretty quick if your audience finds what you have is useful to them or not.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Writing for search engines | 1 Comment »

    Getting Lucky with SEO Copywriting and Content Marketing

    Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

    Ever wonder how some people marketing online get all those readers and subscribers to their blogs, e-zines, white papers or articles? Feel like you have to fight to get just a couple of people to read your posts?

    It’s tempting to think it’s just luck but playing the victim never got anyone anywhere. They’re either doing something you’re not, or something you are but much better.

    Read on for some ideas on how to change that (it’s interesting how this Copyblogger post compares this to dating and life)

    Listen before opening your mouth

    It’s a well-known online marketing axiom that SEO writing content needs to provide as much information as possible to potential customers. Especially in today’s environment, consumers need reassurance your product or service can be a solution to their problem.

    People aren’t going to line up to just learn about you and your product.

    Think about this – two guys walk in a bar and spot an attractive woman having a drink.

    The first guy walks up to the woman and begins telling her about his successful job, padded bank accounts, nice car and house. He assumes because of this she’ll just be anxious to go out with him.

    Guy number 2 sits down at the bar and overhears a conversation between the woman and a bartender about her difficulty in finding a good Italian place. When the conversation breaks, the guy eases on in and says “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help overhearing about your bad experience with some of the local Italian restaurants. Have you tried Nero’s? It’s really excellent.”

    Who do you think got a date with the lady?

    Rather than blabbing about himself, guy number 2 started a conversation around a shared interest. He was able to easily capture the woman’s interest and go from there.

    Look to other website copywriting pros for ideas but don’t copy them

    You have to develop your own style…simply copying the style of some veteran website copywriter isn’t going to work. Generic copywriting techniques can be useful if they’re malleable to your market so it’s better to harness these skills into your own style, not copy them.

    We’ve all heard those cheesy pickup lines: “If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put U and I together” or “Are you an angel? I think I just died and went to heaven.” Now these may have worked for some guy somewhere but probably isn’t going to be too effective in getting a date.

    The same idea is applicable to your website copywriting. Just peppering your copy with flattering talk may sound funny and cute to someone, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to jump on the bandwagon.

    Stop talking to yourself

    If your blog gets a few visitors a day, you can’t expect posting the same kind of content will draw anymore readers. You need to get out and meet some new people and get them interested in your blog.

    Let’s say you move to a new town and want to throw a party at your place. Simply sitting at your apartment or condo and shouting that you’re having a party isn’t going to get people to drop by. Instead, going to the next condo or neighborhood association meeting and mingling with your new neighbors is a much better way. You can get to know them a little bit and then invite them over Friday evening for drinks.

    The same concept is in play with your blog – join LinkedIn and get active in social networking. Provide thoughtful comments and develop relationships with other bloggers. Write a guest post for a similar blog.

    These are just a few tips you can employ to enhance your SEO copywriting and content marketing to get a more loyal, and numerous, following.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, Writing for search engines | No Comments »

    Collision of Social Media Marketing and SEO Revolutionizing Online Search

    Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

    It’s long been held that social media marketing and search engine optimization are mutually exclusive – one has nothing to do with the other. Tweets on Twitter or public messages on Facebook have up until now been the exclusive domain of those sites. The only people who could see those messages were friends of the person or company that posted them.

    But that’s changing thanks to some new licensing deals between social networking sites and major search engines. Bing is partnering with both Twitter and Facebook to include public content for crawling and indexing. And Twitter has also secured a deal with Google to include their updates in general search results.

    What does this mean for online marketers and SEO professionals?

    These developments are indeed pioneering a new world in search engine marketing. Content from social media sites will now play an increasingly large role in driving traffic to your website. No longer are these two forms of online marketing exclusive to one another.

    Eventually, search will become even more personalized to each user based on their social media activity and their friends’ activity. All of SEO things we talk about here will still be very important but having a strong social media presence will now take on a more critical role in building traffic from search engine results.

    As illustrated by this slide from HubSpot, social media will now become just as important as content creation and inbound links to building search engine rankings. Expect social networking analysis to become an integral part of search engine ranking algorithms going forward.

    Search engine marketing firm SEO Advantage invites you to learn more about social media marketing and how it can be an effective tool to help you reach more people online at our SEO knowledge center.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology | 1 Comment »

    Dramatic Video Documents Impact of Social Media

    Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

    Have any doubts about the current social media craze sweeping the Internet? Think it’s just another fad whose demise hasn’t come yet?

    Well I was quite surprised the other day when I received an email from my dad linking to a YouTube video entitled “Social Media Revolution”. Certainly not something I would expect to get from him (I know, I taught him how to use email and the Internet)

    But I was impressed at his recognition of the facts outlined in this video from SocialnomicsTM, a blog covering the latest trends in social media.

    The speed at which social media sites like Facebook has caught on is impressive – could social media be a new industrial revolution?

    Consider this…social media is now the #1 activity on the web…1 in 8 couples married in 2008 met online…if Facebook was a country, it would be the 4th largest on Earth!

    I don’t want to give anymore away – you have to watch the video below to fully appreciate it.

    But it illustrates the impact social media marketing can have on your business. While it shouldn’t be your entire online marketing strategy, ignoring it could possibly have negative consequences down the road.

    Checkout SEO Advantage on the social media circuit – read our SEO blog and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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    Six Reasons Why Videos on your Website are Valuable

    Monday, August 3rd, 2009

    When someone talks about a video they saw online, most likely they’re referring to a viral video, which is a video clip that gains widespread popularity through email sharing, blogs and social networks. Videos on YouTube for example are viral.

    Videos like this one from a Minnesota wedding choreographing Chris Brown’s “Forever” for example has received over 15 million hits since its posting on July 19th, a dream scenario for marketers…millions of views with very little production and distribution costs.

    Sales of Brown’s song resulting from this video have caused it to skyrocket in the charts even though the song is over a year old.

    Good viral videos are hard to create so many abandon video all together. Reaching millions of people in just a few short weeks is an extraordinary feat.

    But videos don’t need to be viral to have an impact on your business. Any search engine optimization and marketing effort should include video. Read on for six reasons why videos on your website are beneficial.

    1. Give your company a voice with videos

    Websites are often loaded with impersonal text about a company or cause. Reading a paragraph about a company is one thing but a quick video explaining a company’s vision and purpose for instance is much more personable.

    2. Videos are marketing assets

    Like blog posts, videos on your site are there to stay. Once the initial burst of traffic fades, you will still receive good SEO benefits indefinitely.

    3. Videos build company culture

    Videos can serve as a morale booster for your employees. They are fun to produce and show your company can relax, giving it a more personable side as well.

    4. Video is another channel for your content

    Effective inbound marketing requires content come in different file formats. Some things are best communicated through a blog, some as photos or a graphic and others with video.

    5. Videos are easy to produce

    It’s true…videos are pretty simple and quick to make as long as you don’t get bogged down in production details. Simply plan it and schedule some time to shoot it. It doesn’t need to be completely perfect.

    6. More videos means more likelihood for success

    Online marketing is a portfolio business like artists and professional filmmakers.  No smart producer or artist bets their success on a single product but instead works hard on all their projects in the hope one will be a money-maker. Approach your online videos like this.

    Watch this free video webinar from HubSpot to learn how to use video and podcasts to build your brand and drive more traffic to your website.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day | 1 Comment »

    There IS a Limit to Social Media

    Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

    It seems these days social media is greatest thing since sliced bread…online marketers tout how Twitter and Facebook are not only useful, but a necessary component of your Internet presence.

    In fact, social media can be deadly to your business and is over-hyped at best. Not that it’s useless, but too many seem to be relying on it for their online marketing these days. As I’ve said here, social media can be a wonderful tool but it shouldn’t be the focus of your efforts.

    Focus on your website and take care of the only place that matters. A few minutes ago, I watched this video by Loren Feldman…he does use profanity and blunt language but if you have 15 minutes, I invite you to watch it.

    At the end of the day, consistent blogging and content posting to your site will in due time develop a strong following…numbers of “friends” or visitors isn’t so important as the quality of those friends. Same is true in life – the number of friends you have isn’t a measure of the quality of those relationships.

    But social media certainly isn’t dead or useless. Actually, blogging has improved since micro-blogging tools like Twitter didn’t exist five years ago.  I can attest to this since many blogs I see these days are at least marginally professional and not senseless ramblings of someone looking for attention.

    Now people just looking to share random thoughts about a hobby or whatever can put it on their Twitter or Facebook profile and get comments, sometimes in mere minutes, from friends, etc.

    See the video, it’s quite the classic. Don’t be discouraged, building a following takes time. But in the end, the relationships will be much deeper than simply amassing thousands of friends on a social network.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Writing for search engines | No Comments »

    Can Twitter Realistically Accomplish Business Goals?

    Sunday, June 28th, 2009

    We’ve all heard the rage these days about Twitter and how it’s the must have online marketing tool. But how can Twitter contribute to an overall online marketing strategy that yields results?

    Marketing Experiments has a concise study on just that – teaming up with other marketing professionals to review research studies, evaluate companies who harness Twitter successfully and explore different ways small businesses should be using Twitter.

    Of all the research the team reviewed, one fact stands out…Twitter and other social networking utilities cater primarily to the early-adopter audience, or tech-savvy people who are the first, and most prolific users.

    Many people who claim to be proficient in social media have no experience in actual social media marketing, which is a completely different rubrics cube to solve. Research from Nielsen Online showed 60% of Twitter users in the U.S. do not return the month after sign-up.

    But research also shows Twitter is valuable at live events…social media service Pathable analyzed nearly 800 “tweets” from a Wordcamp conference and found that 1/3 of them were useful to attendees.

    At a minimum, monitor Twitter to see what others are saying about your brand…nearly 2/3 of marketers do not monitor social media or response to negative critique according to MarketingSherpa. This represents a missed opportunity to learn what customers are saying and manage customer issues.

    Use it in the right ways, and Twitter can become a valuable online marketing tool. Use it to impact your bottom line in one of three ways: increase revenue, build brand or equity, decrease costs.

    If you can’t see how Twitter helps your organization accomplish at least one of those three goals, now may not be the time.

    But even if this is the case and you don’t plan on immediately building a social networking presence, create an account for your brand or business on Twitter and other major social networking utilites so that option stays open to you in the future.

    See the presentation or simply review the synopsis at Marketing Experiments and learn more about how you can use Twitter to impact your bottom line along with examples of real world success.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day | 1 Comment »

    Leading Facebook Authority Gives Insightful Tips

    Friday, June 5th, 2009

    We’ve reported here in the SEO-e blog and search engine optimization knowledge center about the usefulness of Facebook in marketing your business.

    Mari Smith, a leading authority on Facebook marketing, gave a 10-minute interview where she laid out different insights into utilizing the #1 social media tool on the Internet.

    One thing that needs to be stressed and is a common misconception – do not depend on Facebook for your entire marketing efforts.

    However, developing a “fan” page can be quite useful in getting your content indexed in the search engines…all content on fan pages is indexed by Google. Static FBML is a tool that allows you to put HTML on your fan page. You can even change wording in the tabs and create targeted landing pages.

    See the video below and become a fan of SEO Advantage on Facebook today!

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    Online Marketing Tools for Small Businesses – The Best in Each Category, from Email Marketing to SEO, Content Sharing and Social Media

    Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

    Marketing your small business online requires finding the right tools to make the greatest impact. But there are so many out there – and more cropping up all the time. Finding which marketing tools to use can take weeks of research.

    This small business marketing article shortlists the best of the best when it comes to online marketing tools. We have already researched and used most of them ourselves, so we can point out the strengths and why we recommend them. You’ll find listed free marketing tools as well as those that require investment.

    Here’s a sampling of the 39 recommended online marketing tools for small businesses:

    Press Releases

    Marketwire offers traditional wire service distribution and exceptional online benefits at cost savings over PRNewswire and BusinessWire. We recommend PRLog for free press release distribution due to the long-lasting, high visibility of releases and great site features like dedicated press rooms.

    Social Networking
    Create a page on Facebook and think about MySpace, even though it’s no longer the center of focus for the media (a large percentage of this crowd may still be in your target market). LinkedIn is essential, now allowing you to create a profile for your business in addition to your own professional page.

    Email Marketing
    AWeber lets you start building your email marketing list for under $20/month. You get unlimited autoresponders and email blasts, where most providers only offer one or the other.

    Continue reading all 39 Essential Tools for Marketing Your
    Small Business Online >>

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    Posted in Articles, Online Marketing | No Comments »

    Organic Search Increasingly Important as a Traffic Driver

    Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

    An interesting article from Hitwise Intelligence explores specific industries and how organic search affects traffic to their websites – which is increasingly a driver of traffic.

    In general, visits to search engines were 8% greater in April, 2009 than they were a year ago. Ratio of clicks from paid search has declined due to reduced spending caused by the global recession.

    The data suggests companies are getting better about optimizing their sites for the search engines. Also, the growing popularity of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and even blogs produce quick pages on websites that are quickly indexed, resulting in higher organic search rankings.

    Read the full article on Hitwise’s blog here.

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    Reach over 200 Million with Facebook Advertising

    Thursday, May 14th, 2009

    Facebook is one of the most popular, and fastest growing, social networks on the Internet. Users create profiles and interact with friends online – trading articles, playing games, chatting etc.

    With over 200,000,000 active users, opportunities abound for everyone from local small businesses to large corporations – the fastest demographic is those over 30, the average user has 120 friends and there are over 850 million photos uploaded each month.

    Many well known brands have “fan” pages on Facebook…Krispy Kreme Donuts for example has over 280,000 “fans”. You can even become a “fan” of our search engine optimization firm SEO Advantage!

    But advertising holds the most promise – targeted ads appear on a user’s page whenever they’re on Facebook. Ads are targeted not only from interests and hometown listed on a user’s profile but more and more from items users post on their “wall”.

    When I’m on Facebook for instance, I see ads for Tom Clancy novels since I have that listed as one of my book interests…or ads for local businesses here in Gainesville, Florida…and even ads related to my job as a copywriter. I just found out about an interesting documentary coming on soon that I hope to watch.

    Facebook advertising is still in its infancy though – especially compared to Google advertising – but, this means many untapped opportunities are out there. Easily create image and text based ads and target them on the basis of age, gender, location and more – or consult with someone experienced in social media optimization & marketing.

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    New Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Performance Standards Proposed

    Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

    Webtrends is currently proposing The Digital Marketing Maturity Model (DM3) to help organizations accurately assess the effectiveness of their online marketing activities according to this blog post at Search Engine Watch.

    2009 may well be a turn-key year in respect to how businesses advertise their products and services. A study by the Chief Marketing Officer Council found that spending on social media and search engine optimization will exceed traditional media by 50% this year.

    The DM3 model aims looks at 6 core areas in assessing online marketing efforts across all online channels – which include measurement strategy, analytics resources and domain expertise, data integration and visualization, data analysis and insight, adoption and governance and ongoing optimization.

    Each of these areas is scored on a 1 to 4, low to high scale.

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    Posted in Online Marketing, Search Engine Watch Articles, Tip of the Day | No Comments »

    Big Changes Happening at YouTube

    Friday, April 17th, 2009

    It’s being reported today in my local newspaper here in Gainesville, Fla. – Google’s YouTube is announcing the addition of full-length TV shows and movies, some of which is now available on a unique page – http://www.youtube.com/shows. The company also announced it is teaming up with Universal Music Group in an online music venture

    Their most recent attempt to boost revenue, YouTube’s new offerings signals a major expansion from the homemade, short length video clips that have made YouTube popular.

    The company stated it will add to its movie/TV show collection over time – hundreds of different TV shows will be offered for free, including “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Married with Children”. This new service expands YouTube’s relationship with many studios, whose parent companies include Sony, CBS, MGM, etc.

    And on Thursday, partnerships with smaller companies like Discovery, National Geographic and Snagfilms to carry their content was announced. Google will share advertising revenue with these partner companies – it was also announced they were creating Google TV Ads Online, where advertisers can target online video viewers.

    This may represent another great opportunity to get your website out there and further establish your brand online – in addition to organic search (search engine optimization) efforts – some paid advertising is also a good idea, as recently explained at our search engine optimization blog.

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    Usability Expert Lends SEO Expertise

    Thursday, December 11th, 2008

    One thing to constantly keep in mind with Search Engine Optimization is that it is constantly changing and ongoing support and coaching is a must.

    The mindset that “…you can set it and forget it” is the biggest misconception of SEO according to Thomas W. Petty, associate SEO educator at Search Engine Academy Associates. In order to maintain top search engine rankings, content must be constantly added and updated.

    Petty explains how SEO requires ongoing support and coaching, especially since the playing field changes daily. In 2009, traditional SEO will become less important as more and more are figuring out how to lock in high rankings and search engines expand beyond strict SEO guidelines.

    Perhaps the biggest change is in the Web 2.0 arena. Social media outlets such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are “…taking the world by storm” according to Petty and companies that do not consider that will be missing out. All marketing outlets (YellowPages, radio, TV), now more than ever, must be tied into the Internet and tracked in order to be useful.

    Above all, Petty advises that a client must understand their customer base and goals before even considering the tools they will use. Through Search Engine Academy Associates, Petty offers Search Engine Optimization training courses in the San Francisco Bay area.

    Is your site in need of a revolution of sorts? Enlist a
    knowledgeable SEO company to help you achieve top search engine rankings and increase sales.

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    Social Media and SEO

    Monday, August 11th, 2008

    There seems to be a lot of debate among hard-core SEO specialists as to just what benefits from which social media sites are worth pursuing when it comes to optimizing a client’s core web site.

    No matter how you slice it, social media itself gains much of its power from SEO with its already-optimized platforms. Digg entries (and other social bookmarking sites) show up independently in search results, blog entries give you inbound linking power as well as another means to have your content dominate in top results, direct-to-buyers optimized news releases also work the inbound links while building online authority for your site, social networking can lead to new client leads and press mentions (more links and credibility), and on and on.

    Put together, a solid online marketing mix should include social media, whether it’s your SEO firm driving it or it’s handled by a separate department. HubSpot is looking to provide social media marketers with a set of tools that help empower the online PR function of today. I attended one of their social media webinars on Friday, and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of information presented. I should have known. I believe David Meerman Scott who wrote “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” is affiliated in some manner, and his thought leadership is always high calibre.

    If you’re an SEO company (like us) and/or social media marketing firm, I’d recommend you check out HubSpot’s PR in a Social Media World webinar for a fantastic overview of the basics of what every online marketer should be doing.

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    Launching Your Own Social Network – Some Things to Consider

    Friday, June 13th, 2008

    When you think of social networks, the first to come to mind are usually general social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.

    However, there has been a rise in niche social networks, branded networks that are built for specific users to connect and communicate about topics related to their industries. Examples include Shelfari.com for book enthusiasts and ImSaturn for Saturn owners.

    With the rise of niche social networks, many business owners are considering whether a specifically branded social network will be a worthwile investment for their business and industry.

    A branded network can be a good idea to foster discussion about your industry and promote more traffic to your site. When beginning, there are some factors that you need to address in order for the benefits to outweigh the costs in time and money.

    The first and most important issue to address is to ensure there are enough active users before even considering beginning a networking site. To achieve this, you will need to offer a wide platform of topics beyond just your brand and include discussions on how your industry affects the world at large.

    Once a cadre of dedicated users is secured, you can move on to obtaining the needed software. There are a few companies out there that specialize in social networking platforms, such as Ning and ONEsite, and offers wide ranging options from inexpensive basic software plug-ins to entire Web 2.0 platforms. You can cut some costs by establishing a revenue-sharing agreement with the provider or by including ads.

    Finally, integrating the networking site into your main website will take a little more effort. Don’t forget the power of search engine optimization to help attract more traffic and users to your social network. Enlist an SEO company that can help you make the most of this endeavor.

    Once you have everything up and running, engage your community through blog posts, networking with your community, and sharing information with other sites!

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    Squidoo – does your small business have a lens yet?

    Monday, August 6th, 2007

    Last week I started an online incorporation lens for our client MaxFilings on Squidoo (a very informative, addictive social media/marketing site).

    Squidoo is adding to the touch points and opportunities available to dominate for your area of expertise, letting you become a lens master for your subject. Not only expanding your “footprint”, your lens can also help improve Page Rank for your other sites when incorporated into your online media strategy effectively.

    Stay posted, and we’ll update you on how this lens is working as the latest component of the MaxFilings SEOBuzz Marketing Program…

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    Coming Back to the Long-Term, Lower-Cost Approach: Organic SEO

    Wednesday, July 19th, 2006

    Glad to see in my latest BtoB magazine that they’re reporting marketers are recognizing again the benefits of organic SEO, thanks to the rising costs of the pay-per-click model. I guess the attention had waned for a bit with the short-term results a company could achieve with PPC. But when you consider all the benefits that SEO offers, it’s crazy to have let it drop to the wayside at all.

    Imagine, it’s getting too expensive to build crappy sites and pay for every click that goes to them… instead of creating a site that serves customers properly and finds its way to them naturally…

    In order to experience the full benefits of SEO, like Matt Naeger says, “Marketers are building sites that accomplish all the things necessary to be successful in the online world – sites that are creative, deliver on what they promise and have been built to maximize accessibility by search engines.”

    Isn’t that what it’s all about?

    Track results to make most of organic SEO

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    Catching up on Buzzwords – “Web 2.0″

    Friday, July 7th, 2006

    I just loved this article from Dianna Huff! Web 2.0 is one of those buzzwords that simply refers to something marketers already know about. The first time you hear the term it’s like “Yeah! That makes sense!” Here’s Dianna’s take, plus some information on where the term Web 2.0 came from. Enjoy!

    I Thought I Missed the Web 2.0 On-Ramp
    By Dianna Huff

    Driving in Boston is never easy but it gets even worse when the tunnel that takes you to your major highway is closed — and you’re dumped onto a downtown surface street in the middle of a construction project with no clue where you are. Yes, that was my exact experience a few weeks ago.

    Fortunately, prominently placed detour signs pointed the way to the highway. I carefully followed the signs, which after a couple of miles, suddenly stopped. “Oh no,” I panicked, “how do I get back to the highway?”

    Long story short, after driving lost for a good 20 minutes, I called my version of a GPS — my husband. He determined I was heading in the right direction, and a few minutes later, I was cruising along the highway.

    I had a similar experience when I attended Anne Holland’s (publisher of MarketingSherpa) Web 2.0 keynote address at the New England Direct Marketing Association’s conference.

    I take great effort to stay up-to-date on trends and technologies: RSS (re: news feeds and syndicated content) — I’m there. Wikis and blogs — love them. Podcasts — I’m thinking about it. YouTube and MySpace — thank goodness my son is only nine years old.

    But Web 2.0? Like driving in Boston, when I heard about Web 2.0 I felt like I had been following the signs but missed the on-ramp. Fortunately, minutes into Holland’s talk, I realized I’ve been traveling the right highway, I just didn’t know it.

    Web 2.0, a term coined by O’Reilly and MediaLive International, refers to those activities most of us do online every day: reading news, “Googling,” buying things on eBay, selling things on Craigslist, writing or posting to blogs, editing Wikis, listening to podcasts, and watching video.

    In a nutshell, Web 2.0 is “power to the people” on steroids. It’s no longer enough to build a Website, blog, or “killer app.” Now you have to ensure people can find it, that it’s relevant to their lives and/or jobs, and that they tell everyone else about it.

    Which means, copywriters and their skills will be in great demand in the coming years. Why?

    Because someone will have to write the content that gets people to not only visit a site, blog, or landing page but actually do something once they arrive — whether it’s downloading information, building a link back to the content, or editing or commenting on the content that’s already there.

    I know it’s a bit naïve given the hype of the dotcom era, but I’m actually very excited about what’s taking place online right now. While writing this newsletter I checked out Debbie Weil’s Website, pre-ordered her book, emailed her, and received a nice email in return — all in the space of about 20 minutes. Without her blog I would have never known about her upcoming book . . . or about the other services she’s offering, such as blog coaching for CEOs like Bill Gates!

    That, my friends, is Web 2.0 in action.

    Dianna Huff specializes in B-to-B marketing communications consulting and copywriting. You can subscribe to her e-newsletter at www.dhcommunications.com.

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