So just what are Meta Tags and why are they so very important for your marketing campaign?

To start out, Meta Tags use to hold much more value than today. Nevertheless, they are still critical foundational aspect of SEO, especially to local business search.

The three main Meta Tags are Title Meta, Description, and Keyword.  The Keyword Meta tag is all but obsolete, especially within the Google indexing process; it may still hold value in Bing and Yahoo search engines, but for all practical purposes spending time to fill out your keywords meta tags is better spent in other areas.

How To Use HTML Meta Tags – Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

searchenginewatch.com5/1/12

Meta tags aren’t a magical solution, but they will help ensure your website appears on search engine results pages. This tutorial explains what HTML meta tags are, which meta tags matter, and how to avoid mistakes when …

Meta Tags are considered a foundation “On Page” component of your marketing campaign, falling under Level 1: Preparedness in the SEO Hierarchy of Needs.  They should be one of the first tasks to undertake when building a new site, or redesigning one.  It is also one of the most underrated ways to the top of search engines for local businesses.

10 Reasons Writers Should Claim Their Google Authorship Markup …

www.copyblogger.com3/11/13

Smart writers will want to claim Google authorship for their work online. Here’s why.

Google Authorship and the Fast Track to Better Rankings: A Case …

www.seomoz.org2/11/13

Does Google+ Authorship get you trusted faster? A case study with a brand new domain.

How to Use Google Authorship to Improve Your Local SEO Efforts …

www.ethicalseoconsulting.com2/28/13

People like to hear from people—it’s as simple as that. Nobody wants to click on a Google result and see something that looks like it was written by a robot, and nobody wants to click on a result and see a bunch of ads and …

If you are a small business owner and feel this is a good feature Google came up with, as we do, do yourself a favor and set up Google Authorship for your content.

Other Resources:
Google Authorship: https://plus.google.com/authorship
Google Inside Search – Authorship: http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/authorship/index.html

In short, it depends.  As a general rule of thumb I highly recommend clients stay away from paid links to boost Pagerank or game Google in the keyword ranking game.  Why?  First of all, it’s against Google’s TOS.   Secondly, if you get caught by Google, they will bury you in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) most likely never to be seen or heard from again.  To most that spend years building up their online presence for one website, this is totally unacceptable and quickly becomes a mute issue never posed again.

In fact, Google just reminded us yesterday of their stand on paid links.  Google even provides an outlet of reporting those that violate their TOS on paid links so you you must be very cautious and expect the worst if you venture down this slippery (well defined) slope of buying or selling links.

However, getting paid advertising (links) makes total sense.   This type of paid links look similar on the surface but most assuredly are different under the covers.  The main difference can be summed up as: Paid links manipulate search engine results and ad network links do not. It’s the former that can and does get website owners in trouble.

Paid advertising networks are certainly an acceptable means of attaining a wide breadth of targeted exposure to your site and comes highly recommended by many, myself included.  This avenue certainly makes sense when your website is new and you want to gain traction in the niche providing you have the budget for it.

Win Earned, Owned and Even ‘Paid‘ Links With Content – Search …

searchenginewatch.com2/11/13

Digital marketing is about much more than simply links, but links are the fuel that powers visibility, whether it’s through social, organic, or paid tactics. Here’s how to maximize the value of the content marketing campaigns you …

Is it time to ditch Advertorials as an SEO tactic? – Pete Campbell

www.petecampbell.com2/22/13

Google has slapped 600+ UK regional newspapers on the wrist for selling links. Do advertorials continue to … For the unfamiliar, ‘Advertorials’ is a buzz-word traditionally associated with newspapers and magazines, in which some allow advertisers to insert a paid-for-article within their print publication or online. The real magic … Over the past day, Google decided to slap the PageRank of 600+ regional newspaper websites in the United Kingdom. Snapshot of Google …

Why Do Paid Links Violate Google’s Rules? Matt Cutts Speaks …

blog.flippa.com12/6/12

Matt Cutts Speaks on Paid Links Violating Google’s Rules, a Defense of the Panda Updates, and SEO Tips You Should Avoid Matt Cutts has answered a question many.

Paid links is much too complex of a topic to cover everything in this article.  The objective of this article is to simply make all website owners aware and “leery” of paid links to boost your online presence and to make sure you ask the right questions to the person or company that is recommending it — take extra precautionary measures to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of paid links.  Believe me, it can happen.

Today’s business environment has turned into a geographical mash up of employees spread across remote areas making it extremely difficult to effectively communicate. Email is essential, but certainly does not project a communication tool other than basic exchange of information. Sure you can incur additional cost and Go To Meeting, which is many times overkill to express ideas and opinions that require a visual tool.  Then there’s Jing — a free tool that provides you all the necessary graphical representation to get your point across!  I am very confident that once you try Jing, you will not go without it.

Below, are some resources to get started with Jing along with a short video that covers some of the basics.

Essential Resources:
Download Jing for Free: http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/default.asp
Store your files at Screencast for Free: http://screencast.com
Video on Jing Features: http://www.techsmith.com/jing-features.html
Video on how Jing is used: http://www.techsmith.com/jing-uses.html
Video overview on setting up Screencast: http://www.techsmith.com/screencastcom.html

The short answer is it depends.

If you were using the EMD method exclusively to rank for geo-targeted keywords, chances are pretty good you are still picking out the shrapnel, maybe even damaged beyond repair.

Will Your Business Be Hurt By This Latest Google Update?

www.tinyandmighty.com10/9/12

The EMD portion of the algorithm intends to display ‘chicagolawfirm.com’ for the query ‘chicago law firm‘ because they believe I am looking for the proper business, Chicago Law Firm, not searching generally for a law firm in …

Google’s Newest Target is Your Law Firm’s Domain Name » SEO …

www.seolawfirm.com10/10/12

If a law firm provides the same care and attention to their keyword-rich domain as they would a domain based on the firms’ name, this algorithm change shouldn’t penalize them. The problem is when an exact match domain …

I have never been a proponent of the EMD model for my clients.  As a supplement to traffic or additional branding, I found them semi-useful at best.  The inherent problem with EMD’s is that perception is not reality.  Unless the client is prepared to market it as a real site, with real content, chances are good that the only keyword you would ever rank for would be the exact match keyword.  From a local standpoint, this means nothing more than trickles of traffic (bigger cities being the exception).  On top of that, many times you have to go up against Google Maps.  So at best, you end up bottom feeding scraps.  

I found the only way to get the EMD strategy to work effectively is on a large scale, essentially playing the numbers game.  Where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  Therefore, unless you have the time and/or deep pockets, it simply does not work on a small scale.

With the latest Google stand on EMD’s, my professional advice to clients and others, went from “sure, let’s use it on a small scale for some additional branding,” to one that strongly recommends staying clear of it.  Unless, there is a strategic reason for building EMD sites or there is a willingness to make the website authoritative within the niche which means applying a content strategy, you are better off putting resources toward your main site.  Simply scooping up EMD’s with the intent on ranking them is no longer an effective strategy in the post September 28th era.

Are You Ready For The Coming SMB Marketing Boom?

searchengineland.com10/1/12

Without a doubt, 2012 has been an insane year for small business marketing on the Web. Most companies I know providing digital marketing services to SMBs have been up to their eyeballs in work. What’s going on? Aren’t …

2013′s Top Market Trends

headexposed.com10/4/12

Even government contracting is a field that’s continually being open to new possibilities, paving the way for more small businesses to come out of their shells. In 2013, a brand new horizon awaits marketing and business in …

If you are a small business owner about to make plans for 2013′, be sure to include online marketing a driving force.  Moving forward with a “business as usual” attitude with no plans to make your online presence a strong one, may make your business vulnerable.

Some good tips for all businesses!

Image source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/…

From Yahoo! Finance: NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Small business owners face an ongoing challenge of competing with the major players in their industries without the luxury of their big budgets, but by incorporating …

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This is a major problem plaguing many businesses trying to kick start their Internet marketing presence. It has been our experience that “under categorization” is more prevalent than miscategorization. However both exist. Businesses must look at not only Google Plus Local (formerly Google Places), but throughout the Internet where citations exist that lead back to your business/website.

Image source: http://searchengineland.com/in…

Local businesses are often mystified as to why they don’t appear prominently in local search. Yet, when their online marketing is audited from a local SEO

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BIA/Kelsey has the pulse on the SMB market.

Image source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/…

From Yahoo! Finance: CHANTILLY, Va., July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –  BIA/Kelsey is gathering top digital media and marketing leaders at SMB Digital Marketing 2012 , Sept. 17-19 in Chicago, to examine the latest business models, …

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