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Backlinks vs. Reciprocal Links

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:11:27 +0000

I was in a meeting this morning with one of my favorite clients and we entered into a discussion regarding Search Engine Optimization or SEO. In my experience, I have found that SEO in general is confusing, especially since our beloved search engines like Google keep their ranking formula so secret. Backlinks and Reciprocal links are two tools that will help increase your search engine ranking; however, it's important to know the two are different and have different weight on your rank. I am not an expert on this topic, but I did do a little bit of research after my meeting and sum up my findings as follows:

*Backlinks- These are the more valuable of the two types of links. The reason is because they are much harder to get. A backlink is what tells search engines how important your web site content is. If 'web site A' links to your web site as a source it is clear to the search engines that the content provided on your web site is valuable and relevant to the topic. The goal here is to become a encyclopedia web site for your industry and get other web sites to link to you as a source, this will increase the rank for your keywords and therefore, increase your traffic.

*Reciprocal Links- This is a link between two web sites with similar information. Key here is that both web sites have a link to the other. This is different than a backlink since it entails a link back and forth, not just one site linking to another. Because reciprocal links are much easier to get than backlinks, they have a very small effect on your SEO and are not seen as such high quality, credible links by the search engines.

Please feel free to add your comments to support this post, like I said, I am not the expert!

How Secure is Your Facebook Profile?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:55:52 +0000

Many of you may have heard Facebook has responded to the public's outrage over profile privacy and decided to simplify its settings, but do you all know which settings to pay important attention to? I looked into this a little further and found (and installed) a great service from www.reclaimprivacy.org. This is a free tool that really is helpful. Check it out! Click on the Reclaim Privacy logo, it's linked to the site for download and follow the simple directions. Remember you have to be in your Facebook privacy settings when you click on the bookmark in your bookmark bar!

The Art of Racing in the Rain: PR Lesson Illustrated

Wed, 19 May 2010 01:54:33 +0000

I just finished reading, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. When I picked up the book I figured it would be a fun, quick read with a fairly low amount of intellectually stimulating content. But leave it up to me to find something in everything that is useful. I guess you could scold me with that old adage I remember from my time at Alamo Elementary, "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover."

To sum it up without spoiling it for those of you who might like to read it, it is a book written from the perspective of the family dog and through it, one of the most important public relations lessons is illustrated. The art of listening! Once I finished this little paperback and thought about how the story was told by the dog, it dawned on me, this dog educated himself about his masters behavior by doing everything within his power. He watched a lot of television (normally I wouldn't use TV as a good way to learn, but hey this is a dog we're talking about) and he listened very closely to the words of his master. By doing this he was able to learn and gain insight into the human condition.

As a PR and marketing professional I use many of the same tactics with my clients as this dog used with his master to gain insight into my clients business practices, pain points and opportunities. I listen very carefully to everything that is mentioned (verbally or written) even if it's in a quick phone call or email. I do my research on the client and topics of importance, listening to the market, just like the dog researched by watching TV. It's in these conversations and interactions we find important nuggets of information to help recommend, implement and measure strategies for a business. Without listening first there is no way to credibly and successfully direct clients to their goals.

7 Factors to consider for good word of mouth marketing

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:54:00 +0000

I'm borrowing today's post from Bob Reis' book Bootstrapping 101. Reis is a graduate from Columbia University and Harvard Business School, he has been involved with 16 startups and is a three-time INC 500 winner. I'd take his advice any day! I especially like number 6 and want to emphasize the vast difference in the time it takes to earn trust vs. the time it takes to lose it.

Here are seven factors to consider for creating good word of mouth for your company and its products:

Quality: From your first day of business, all company employees must be aware of the importance of maintaining quality, and systems must be put in place to monitor it. Any products or components outsourced must be rigorously inspected to see that your standards are met.
Service: Regardless of whether your product is a high or low service one, customers' problems must be addressed and solved with a minimum of effort on the customer's part and in a timely fashion.
Instructions: Many products need to be assembled or explained. The instructions accompanying the product must be clear and concise. Many companies fail miserably in this area and devote little time and effort to it. Poor instructions can turn off consumers to all your future products and create bad word of mouth. Even if your product doesn't require assembly, customers will appreciate a thorough explanation of its uses and functions.
Communications: All contact with your customers and their inquiries must be courteous and knowledgeable. This starts with the telephone. Have a human answer your phones, not a computer like most large companies do. This simple move will start you on the path to good word of mouth with your customers.
Your receptionist, who I call "The Director of First Impressions," is a more important hire than most employers acknowledge. You want an upbeat, intelligent, pleasant person in that slot. Don't forget that managers' interactions with employees, suppliers and stakeholders affects the word of mouth of your product and brand, also.
Value: The value of the products you deliver to your customers is paramount if you want them to return and spread the good word about you. The value must meet or exceed their expectations. A good maxim to make sure all employees understand is under promise and over deliver.
High integrity: You want all your stakeholders and customers to trust you. This trust must be earned continuously. It takes time to develop, but can be lost in an instant. Customer and client complaints must be addressed and solved quickly. Problems cannot be ducked, delayed, or shifted. Mistakes should be admitted and corrected. People want to do business with and work for trustworthy companies.
Be a good citizen: There is no doubt that a company's prime responsibility is to make money. So do not be embarrassed to earn a profit. However, I believe the company has a responsibility to take actions to enhance the quality of life of its community and employees. This good citizen appellation should not be just empty promises for show. If your intentions are pure, it is also good for your business, your family, and your sleep.

McGwire's steroid admission

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:52:52 +0000

OK so it might seem crazy for me to be taking my blog to the sports scene, but read further and you'll see I have two reasons to post this today, (1) this is related to public relations and (2) this is an important piece of news for one of my clients.

I'll start on the PR front. This is what I would call a public relations nightmare for Mark McGwire. In his interview on Monday, McGwire claims he was counseled "not to discuss the past" in the 2005 hearing. I don't doubt that this is true, but looking back his counsel must see this as bad advice, especially now that McGwire finds his desire to be hitting coach for the Cardinals worth bringing to light his steroid riddled past. The advice to come clean about his steroid use is good advice; however, a sincere apology wouldn't include denial of the reason he used the drugs in the first place i.e. his refusal to admit that steroids made him a better hitter. This fact alone cancels out his apology in my book and probably many others.

The fact is that it is always the best advice to admit faults and mistakes openly and before an accusation or conflicting opportunity requires you to do so. Mark McGwire is human just like the rest of us. It would have been far easier to understand he made a mistake and was sorry about it back in 2005, than it is to understand he made a mistake, lied about it and would now like to change his story in order to be accepted back into baseball today.

Now for my second reason, in 2005 McGwire did not just sit in front of Congress and declare his desire not to "discuss the past." He also sat in front of my clients Frank and Brenda Marrero, founders of The Efrain Anthony Marrero Foundation, who lost their son to the consequences of steroid use. McGwire's testimony that day would have helped feed the mission of this Foundation. Now, almost five years later, I hope it will lend additional momentum and impact to the work this Foundation does with parents, coaches and most importantly youth across the nation. For more information about the Foundation visit its web site www.nosteroids.org.

Which club are you in, The Twenty Ten Club or The Two Thousand Ten Club?

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:52:18 +0000

While I have been away from my computer for the New Year's holiday and ahem my birthday, I have been subject to some long and drawn out discussions about the proper way to pronounce our new year 2010. (How did you just say it?). While wondering just how long two people could argue/discuss this topic, I realized that the answer to this question will not only set the rules for this year and the ones to come but it will also change how people pronounce the last ten years when referencing them. If twenty ten wins the debate, the year 2000 will be known as twenty hundred just as 1900 was pronounced nineteen hundred. My guess is that several of you have had the same conversations so I thought I'd offer up an article from SF Gate using the National Association of Good Grammar as one of its sources. Personally, I am a member of The Twenty Ten Club and now have good grammar to back me up.

2010: 'Twenty ten' vs. 'two thousand ten'

By, Nanette Asimov

SF Gate

January 1, 2010

How do you say "2010"?

Coming off of "two thousand nine," you'll probably say "two thousand ten." In fact, 4 out of 5 YouTube videos randomly reviewed by The Chronicle have people pronouncing it that way.

But you would be wrong, so wrong, according to the National Association of Good Grammar.

"NAGG has decided to step in and decree that (2010) should officially be pronounced 'twenty ten,' and all subsequent years should be pronounced as 'twenty eleven,' 'twenty twelve,' etc.," proclaims the association's news release.

The National Association of Good Grammar - essentially a guy named Tom Torriglia and some friends who also paid attention in English class - say people have been mispronouncing the year for 10 years.

"NAGG is here to put everybody back on the correct path," Torriglia said by phone from his home in San Francisco. "We lost the battle when we went from 1999 to 2000 - but now we're hoping to win the war."

The "20" should have been pronounced "twenty" all along, he said, pointing out that every year in the 20th century was pronounced "nineteen something."

" 'Twenty' follows 'nineteen.' 'Two thousand' does not follow 'nineteen.' It's logical."

Fighting for grammar

Companies pay Torriglia, who has written technical manuals for two decades, to be logical and clear in explaining the least clear concepts, like how to use their own computer software. He's also taught writing to aspiring technical writers and to junior college students.

Torriglia created NAGG in 1986 when he found himself calling publications about their grammatically incorrect ads.

"I would nag them," he said.

Torriglia, who is writing a book he calls "The Grammar Police Never Sleep," believes the time has come to nag again.

To punctuate the idea that "two thousand ten" is the wrong way to say it, Torriglia, 56, pointed out that no one would ever say, "I was born in one thousand nine hundred and fifty-three."

Yet that's how people keep saying "2010." In one YouTube video, a preteen promises to make more YouTube videos in "two thousand ten." Another has a guy on a yellow dirt bike saying he's "amped about the all-new 'two thousand ten' " model. A third features people trying to design novelty eyeglasses in the shape of "two thousand ten."

To Torriglia, it's relentless.

"I'm hearing it on TV commercials. I heard an announcer say it during 'Monday Night Football.' You cringe."

Torriglia cringes, anyway. But he's the kind of guy who cringes at the Safeway checkout line where the sign reads "10 items or less."

"It should be fewer."

He's right.

Maybe not

But what choice did anyone really have this past decade? Were they going to start off the new millennium with a "twenty oh oh" hiccup, while avoiding the melodious "two thousand"?

There's a reason Arthur C. Clarke didn't call his book "Twenty Oh One: A Space Odyssey."

It's been a difficult decade for Torriglia, phonologically speaking.

"It was never 'two thousand nine' for me," he sighed. "It was always 'twenty aught nine.' "

So the people hawking next year's car models, the newscasters on TV and anyone else with a reason to say "2010" aloud should embrace good grammar and say "twenty ten" right now, Torriglia said.

Not exactly, according to noted linguistics Professor George Lakoff of UC Berkeley.

"It's not wrong to say 'two thousand ten,' " Lakoff said. "And it's not like 'twenty ten' is the right way."

His explanation involves cognitive reference points, standards of speech and recognizing as anachronistic the notion that grammar can be right or wrong as people and cultures evolve.

Nevertheless, Lakoff predicted, " 'Twenty-ten' is gonna take over. It's shortest. It's easiest to understand."

On that point - if not on the syntax - the master linguist and the grammar police agree.

5 Marketing Lessons from Rudolph from The Marketing Minute

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:51:41 +0000

I ran across Drew McLellan's post today on his blog The Marketing Minute and loved it! It's so timely and yet so informative. Thanks Drew!!

We've sung the song, teared up at the movie...but have we really considered what marketing messages are woven into the classic Christmas story -- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?

I think not. So let's correct that mistake right now. (And enjoy the film's original trailer)

Marketing lesson #1: You can't hide the truth.

Rudolph did not embrace the fact that he was different from all the other reindeer. He just wanted to have a cute little black nose and the chance to play some reindeer games.

You can fool people for a little while, but if you cannot walk the talk...don't say it in the first place. Your consumers know you're not perfect. They just want you to be straight about it.

Marketing lesson #2: Never make assumptions about how your consumers feel. Far better to ask directly.

One of the main reasons Rudolph took a hike was because he assumed Clarice wouldn't love him now that his nose so bright was common knowledge. Think of the grief he could have saved everyone if he had just checked in with her.

You are going to be hard pressed to find a more insightful marketing tool than a customer survey. Sometimes the news is tough to hear, but I guarantee you -- you can make some simple changes to significantly increase your customer loyalty and retention.

Marketing lesson #3: Your worst enemy can turn into your greatest ally.

Sure...the Abominable SnowMonster (or The Bumble as Yukon Cornelius called him) tried to eat his girlfriend but Rudolph came to see him as a buddy -- even letting him put the star atop the Christmas tree. All it took was someone (Hermey the elf) listening to the Bumble and finding his pain (tooth ache) to turn the grumbling beast into a helpful and happy pal.

When someone clearly dislikes or even hates your company, product or services' shortcomings, listen. If you really work towards understanding their perspective -- you can not only save the relationship but you can turn that negative word of mouth risk into an advocate.

Marketing lesson #4: Create raving fans and a community by giving first.

Rudolph didn't have to promise the Misfit Toys anything. At that moment, they couldn't help him. But with a generous heart, he promised them he'd try to find them good homes with children who would love them.

When you do something without regard for "re-payment" of any kind, you create value. When you create value...people keep coming back. When they do that, you begin to build a relationship and a sense of loyalty and no one has even tried to buy or sell yet. Which makes the selling a whole lot easier.

Marketing lesson #5: When you find what makes you unique, it can be your ticket to new heights.

When Rudolph began to see his nose as an asset and recognized it was what set him apart from all the other reindeer, he suddenly got asked by Santa to take a leadership position. From then on, it was his calling card. People told others about his nose and pretty soon, he was known from coast to coast. That's branding!

Companies like Apple and Disney rise to the top because they are proud of what makes them different. They don't try to be everything to everyone. They recognize that having a niche means you can create brand loyalty as opposed to being lost in a sea of sameness.

Shorter sentences are better for comprehension

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:50:18 +0000

I saw the results of a recent study by the American Press Institute this week. The institute studied 410 newspapers and correlated the average number of words in a sentence with reader comprehension. Guess what they found! The longer the sentences, the less readers understand.

Take a look at the results:

When the average sentence length was fewer than eight words, readers understood 100 percent of the story.
Even at nine to 14 words, readers could understand more than 90 percent of the information.
But move up to 43-word sentences, and comprehension dropped to less than 10 percent.

At first this seemed like a no-brainer to me. Obviously the longer the sentence the longer you have to hold the reader's attention thus giving their brain a chance to drift off. Then I thought, wow this is sad. Knowledge of the english language has reached a depth so low that people can't understand what they just read!??! However, after looking more closely at the results I realized just how long a 43-word sentence really is. I imagine they are fairly hard to find in everyday reading (unless you're reading something technical) and if they are not, they probably should be.

While my thoughts may be true about a shrinking understanding of our language, it is important to point out that today's world of short attention spans demands more concise sentences. There will always be a warm place for literary works and technical reading. However, it's best to leave the longer (43-word plus) sentences to those wishing to research a topic or spend the time to enjoy a great book, not the everyday newspaper reader looking to get in, get out and get to work.

Great Things About PR

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:48:07 +0000

You can shift the public’s opinion on any topic, depending on how you communicate the fact

In Public Relations, when you write copy that is sent out to members of the media, posted on the Internet, etc. you are responsible for the tone in which your message is conveyed. You create the way your clients are portrayed by the public. Something completely harmless can be written in a way that pushes people away, and vice-a-versa. Many times, PR representatives are brought in to do damage control. In this situation it is the representatives obligation to have any negative opinions make a complete 360 degree turn around, taking the negative and turning it into a positive.

Working in P.R. is new and exciting everyday.

Although working as a Public Relations Representative entails much of the same tasks, the tone in which you write or speak, the audience in which you are targeting, and your client’s needs are all different. Therefore, while doing much of the same daily tasks, you never know what will come before you on any given day. From press releases to crisis control, the ultimate goal of a PR representative is forever changing and execution of that goal is very fast paced.

There are many divisions of PR depending on your personal interests.

When many people think of Public Relations they immediately picture one person representing another person or organization in front of the media. However, in actuality there are many different aspects of PR that one can become involved with. Some examples include politics, crisis management, and media relations. Depending on your area of interest a PR representative can specialize in different aspects of the service and be hired based on that specialization.

You know the latest news before almost everyone else.

Keeping up on all the latest news, in any industry, is an important and necessary part of being a Public Relations representative. It is essential to keep a close eye on the industries in which your clients are in, not only for news that could effect them, but to stay up to date on what your clients’ competitors are doing. By doing this, you are almost guaranteed to be in the know about important and eye-catching issues before the everyday consumer.

"Hometown" Newspaper Content

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:47:20 +0000

A piece appeared in this week's opinion pages in our beloved local Vacaville paper about a subscriber calling in to find out where the paper's national news came from and when told it was from the Associated Press (AP), he/she canceled their subscription. The editor writing this recap guessed that the subscriber's concern was with one of the following:

1. The AP is part of the left-wing media conspiracy.

2. The AP is part of the right-wing conspiracy.

3. The AP went against a family’s wishes (in August) concerning a photograph of a mortally wounded soldier.

Maybe it was for another reason? Maybe this subscriber canceled because he/she is looking for their hometown paper to include more news about its hometown and surrounding areas. Today, more and more national content from the AP and other newswire services is appearing in The Reporter and many other local papers. These same local papers are not even featuring a local business news page each day and this is not because there isn’t enough news to cover. With the economy the way it is and the newspaper industry where it is I’m sure this has to do with the papers being short staffed and not being able to cover all of the local pieces. So I’ll agree a small increase in the amount of AP content must appear; however, people are more likely to read newspapers like USA Today if they are looking for national content and big picture stories. Our local paper should cover the news the local people are involved in and interested in and continue to have the World and National news sections separate from local. Hey, this might even increase interest in the local papers and positively impact subscriptions?

I recently read an article in our local paper about people in Florida that had made a career out of cleaning up foreclosed homes. Does anyone really think no one in Solano County makes a living doing this? Stories like this would be more impactful and interesting if written about folks in our hometown.

The piece ends with the editor remarking, “[it will be] difficult for the gentleman who objects to The AP to find a reputable newspaper that doesn’t carry it.” Now, this is true but I think this editor should consider that this subscriber’s hometown paper could definitely carry less of it.

5 Brand-Busting Mistakes to Avoid

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:46:41 +0000

While perusing the latest copy of Entrepreneur Magazine, I came across a great set of tips for better branding. The writer, branding consultant Lynn Parker points our 5 all too common mistakes. Pay special attention to #2. This is a mistake many companies are making right now. While it's important be competitive in your pricing, don't focus so much on being the low price leader, instead focus on being the best quality at a great price. Brand yourself to support your pricing and sustain your business in the long term.

Ms. Parker, take it away...

Mistake No. 1:Equating branding with communications. Yes, branding includes communications. But if your branding strategy is all about messaging and advertising and nothing about business strategy or people, then you won't be able to deliver on your communications. If you have lousy customer service, telling people it's great will only drive customers away faster. But investing in training and infrastructure to improve service will enable you to market your great service and still look yourself in the mirror As more information about companies and products is available online, a great company and product are your brand's only defense.

Mistake No. 2:Branding on price. Don't do it. Basing your brand on your low price is a race to the bottom--and someone will always beat you there. Even if your prices are the same as your competitors' prices, you need to give clients compelling reasons beyond price to buy from you. The difference between the product offered by Morton Salt and a supermarket's house brand? Not much. The difference in pricing? Fourteen percent. That margin is due to how well Morton has built up the intangible parts of its brand. Establish trust with your customers, and you can breathe a lot easier when the newest competitor undercuts your price.

Mistake No. 3:Changing your promise. Like a dog sniffing at a fire hydrant, every time a new marketing vice president is brought into a company, there's a risk she'll try to change the brand, or put her mark on it. While your brand promise should be relevant and up-to-date, making a wholesale change from, say, being the educational leader to being the innovation leader will only confuse your market.

Are you ready to change your tagline or logo? Companies get tired of their own marketing way before the market does. (You live with it day in and day out. They see it only once in a while.) Remember when Jack in the Box killed its ping-pong-ball-headed CEO? Customer sentiment brought him back, but the company was smart enough to do so in a new, updated way. Whatever you do, don't let your visual brand identity and messaging force changes in your brand promise (see Mistake No. 1).

Mistake No. 4: Overpromising. The least expensive way to brand yourself is to have your customers do it for you. How do you get them to become evangelists? By underpromising and overdelivering. Fight the temptation to sound better than you are: Promise what you can deliver, then do it to the nth degree. Are you the fastest? Then don't give customers a long voice-mail message to listen to before they can act. Are you the friendliest? Don't let your employees bad-mouth clients behind their backs. Are you the coolest? Then make sure your lobby looks awesome and has wow power.
Alongside this advice, I recommend that you focus your brand message--don't try to be all things to all people. Figure out the most compelling part of your promise and build that up, rather than try to communicate 10 different elements of your brand promise.

Mistake No. 5:Me-too branding. I can't tell you how many entrepreneurs have said, "If I only get x percent of the market, I'll be rich." You have to give consumers a compelling reason to give you their business to get that percentage. You can't expect to siphon off business from the market leader without a substantive reason. Don't try to be like other companies: Be yourself. There will be a subsegment of the market that likes what you do better than what the market leader does, and that's the percentage of the market you can skim off. Instead of emulating competitors, be different. If you're competing against Starbucks, zig when it zags. Make your décor unique, encourage customers to play board games, roast beans on site or have coffee-tasting parties. Get your own buzz on.

Biggest mistake in the book

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:41:29 +0000

That's right, I did it. I committed the oldest marketing mistake in the "book." I've been so focused on marketing for my clients that I took waaay longer than I should have to get my own web site up, running and filled with content. However, now that it is I promise not to fall behind again.

I can't stress enough the importance of keeping marketing priorities top of mind, especially in today's business environment. It is always a goal to retain satisfied clients while impressing new ones and this feat is even harder when marketing budgets are being cut and even eliminated in some cases. So here's to consistent efforts from all of us. Together, we'll work hard and often to get the job done successfully.