Dallas SEO Blog

10 SEO & Social Media Myths on Social Fresh

2012-10-01T09:14:00.001-07:00

SEO is dead.

Social Media has replaced SEO.

Tired of all the confusion?

Not sure where to turn for solid advice?

Let’s try to alleviate the fuzziness and get down to brass tacks.

Check out these 10 Social Media and SEO Myths debunked…

1. Search Engine Optimization is something where we get as much information from as many SEO vendors as possible and hand it off to our IT people to do SEO with that info

FALSE: Your IT guy/girl has email issues, security issues, server updates and social media malware on employees computers, i.e., the health of your Information Technology structure as responsibility, this is not their job.

2. Search Engine Optimization has been replaced by Social Media

FALSE: Search is what you use to find what you are looking for in all the social media content. Search will always be around, it will be more important in the future as more stuff is posted online. hello?

3. Social Media has nothing to do with our Brand

FALSE: Social Media IS your brand, online. Unless you are Nickelback, then someone else is your brand on Facebook.

4. Social Media has nothing to do with Customer Service

FALSE: Social Media IS Customer Service. Wait.. your social media doesn’t have a reporting system to customer service? Ut oh.

5. PR Firms should control ORM and Social Media

DEPENDS: I worked at a PR firm for 6 years, so I know at least one has been for a while, but also know one that doesn’t. ORM utilizes PR, SEO, Social Media and #Mocial, [Mobile Social Networking]. ORM does work without search, social and PR but you also need content, and heavy integration with client’s customer service departments. Oh, It never ends, it’s a consistent battle, daily.

For more info.. see Social Fresh

@StevePlunkett on Google+

Steve Plunkett of Rockfish: Search & Pubcon Las Vegas Highlights

2012-01-09T06:04:00.000-08:00

Steve Plunkett of Rockfish talks Google+ , social media and search engine optimization from Pubcon 2011

StevePlunkett on Dallas SEO Blog @StevePlunkett on StevePlunkett.com

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons

2011-11-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

If you haven't noticed, an abundance of coupon and daily-deal sites have descended upon us with stealth speed. Combine the popular kids of the group like Groupon, Foursquare, and Yelp with the constant rumors of other online players moving into the space and the list goes on and on, and then on some more.

To put it all out on the table -- consumers have grown to expect discounts and are more than willing to switch to brands and products that provide the best deals. But what's really fueling the fire behind the demand and how can brands and retailers regain control of what feels like an out of control discounting spiral?

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. What's driving the consumer to seek discounts?

Here are four factors that are likely the driving forces behind the couponing epidemic (or windfall for you deal addicts):

Economic slowdown
2007 was the year the proverbial music died. The financial bubble-burst left us all in shock, and the after-effects left most people scrambling to adapt. In times like those, the thrifty tend to thrive, and so couponing became a key strategy for consumers looking to stretch their dollars to the limit. Even now, as the economy rebounds, couponing and deal seeking continue to flourish. According to the comScore study below, 66 percent of consumers said they used coupons in July 2010, compared with 59 percent two years earlier. The percentage of respondents who reported shopping online for deals increased from 24 percent in 2008 to 32 percent in 2010.

The explosion of social media
The mass adoption of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and others has created a digitally social audience that has never been seen before. To put this in perspective, keep in mind that Facebook grew from 27 million users in July 2008 to over 150 million in July 2011. That's not just you on a social network -- but your mother, brother, sorority, bowling league, and probably your old eighth-grade math teacher.

What's more important than the quantity of users is that those users are consumers, and consumers are now engaging brands on social media networks. They're also looking for more than just content. Simply put, "likes," retweets, and mayorships aren't enough any longer; it's about added value, and this is where discounts are king. According to a study by Merkle, consumers (aka, social media users) who choose to become a fan of a brand on Facebook most often do so to receive exclusive deals and offers, including coupons.

The digitization of coupons and deals
To capture this movement, more and more brands and retailers made their coupons and deals available online. Daily deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial have helped popularize digital coupons while offering some fun content alongside it.

This led consumers to embrace digital couponing at a staggering rate. eMarketer forecasts that 47 percent of U.S. adult internet users (approximately 88.2 million individuals) will use online coupons in 2011. Another study by Experian Simmons found that the percentage of households using print coupons has not changed much since 2005, but the percentage of households using digital coupons has risen 83.3 percent.

Smartphone usage
With smartphone penetration hovering around 40 percent and with another estimated 10 percent gain for the end of this year, consumers are poised to receive mobile coupons in a massive way. Additionally, while mobile coupons only represent a small share of digital coupons, they have enormous potential to become the couponing medium of choice in the near future. Because mobile coupons influence a consumer in the midst of making a purchase decision, retailers and brands are beginning to experiment with this type of delivery standard. Imagine how great it would be to unlock a 20 percent discount while standing in line at a local restaurant. The best part about it all is that a customer can gain access to said discount with only a quick download of an app or a check-in, which takes only a matter of seconds.

While understanding this new phenomenon helps bring some clarity to consumer behavior, it doesn't truly clear the fog when it comes to how brands and retailers can develop an effective coupon/deal strategic plan.

History is telling
As many historians would agree -- it is critical to learn from the past. Believe it or not, there's a rich heritage and history surrounding the appropriate and inappropriate use of coupons and deals. More than 120 years of trial and error, by tens of thousands of brands and retailers, actually holds the secret to how smart coupon and deal offering can be achieved.

Much like how they're used today, coupons were first developed to drive product trial, encourage product use, and gain market share. In 1888, a very clever man by the name of Asa Candler used the first paper ticket coupon for a free glass of Coke to help market the new soda and unknowingly started a revolution, in more ways than one.

By 1909, C.W. Post provided the public with 1-cent coupons to promote Grape Nuts cereal, which was likely considered an epic deal at the time. By 1940, big chain grocery stores jumped on the bandwagon and began using coupons to attract consumers away from purchasing at local markets. Then in the 1990s, customer-centric marketers used coupons to surprise their best customers in an effort create customer loyalty and re-engage valuable customers.

Today, the social media explosion requires brands and retailers to entice their followers with coupons and deals to create positive social sentiment.

Despite many cut-and-dry examples of couponing and deal offering, lots of retailers and brands simply see it as a means to buy future sales and tend to over-coupon. Have you ever heard of too much of a good thing? This is true in the case of coupon saturation because it has created a new breed of deal-seeking consumers. TLC recently launched a series, called "Extreme Couponing," about everyday customers gaming the system and saving hundreds of dollars. While this was not the intent of the brands and retailers that issued the coupons, these die-hard coupon-cutting hustlers provide a powerful example of why coupons and deals should be strategically delivered.

The future
No one can predict the future, but I think it's safe to say that couponing is here to stay. Communication media will evolve and tactics may vary, but brands and retailers will continue to use coupons and deals to drive customers to purchase. Doing this the smart way will require retailers and brands to recognize consumer demand, leverage historical data, and adapt a coupon supply strategy that delivers customer incentives effectively. Now ask yourself: Is your brand winning or losing in the coupon and deal game?

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference - Come See Me Speak

2011-07-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

WEB07 Build New Revenue Streams by Helping Your Clients Market the Websites You’ve Built for Them

Monday, July 11 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM, JW Atrium 3

Session Type: Breakout Session

Track: Web Development

Speaker(s): Bill Bledsoe, duane forrester, Steve Plunkett

Session Details

You create amazing websites? Would you like to create an incremental revenue stream for your business? Learn how other partners have created a business from search. Learn how to drive more traffic (paid and organic) to your customers’ sites and yours with Bing tools.  In this session you will learn the following: •             How partners have created a business helping customers optimize for search.  •             How to create, manage and be successful with search advertising. •             How Bing Webmaster tools can optimize the sites you manage. •             How to leverage the power of the Bing and Yahoo! Search Alliance.

SEO, ORM, Ethics and the greater good of Google

2010-11-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hypothesis:

How long does it take and what effort will it take, to change a misspelling in a Google Search Query? Be it a proper name, Client's Trademarked Brand or Product name?

Ex: "Dawn Maire"

Dawn Maire (Correct spelling) is CSO at @Rockfish - Having recently changed jobs, Dawn is Chief Strategy Officer and since my new title is Sr. Manager, Content Strategy, Search and Social at Rockfish, that would make her my boss.

While getting to know Dawn and while she was getting to know me on a recent visit to the NWA office of @Rockfish, She asked, "Does that mean you can make me pull up on Google for my real name, instead thinking it’s a
misspelling of WWE Diva Dawn Marie?"

Without thinking much, I said "of course, would tomorrow be okay?", She said "That would be great!" After a bit more thinking, I asked, "What do you want to be 1st for your name?" She said, "I dunno, how about my LinkedIn profile?". Knowing this plays well to using my search skills responsibly, I said "Ok, I'll do it right before 10pm"

How Search Works with @mattcutts

2010-11-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Should I be worried about ad servers affecting my site's speed and ranking?

2010-09-28T11:39:00.001-07:00

Does the number of subdirectories in a URL affect its ranking?

2010-09-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Government Seeks Back Door Into All Our Communications

2010-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

"The New York Times reported this morning on a Federal government plan to put government-mandated back doors in all communications systems, including all encryption software. The Times said the Obama administration is drafting a law that would impose a new 'mandate' that all communications services be 'able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages' — including ordering '[d]evelopers of software that enables peer-to-peer communication [to] redesign their service to allow interception'."

Government Seeks Back Door Into All Our Communications | Electronic Frontier Foundation

PubCon Update Blog : steve plunkett

2010-09-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

PubCon Update Blog:: "Plunkett will be speaking on the much-anticipated analytics and measurement sub-conference session entitled 'Competitors From the Dark Side: Rogue SEO Tactics,' where he will be joined by CSHEL.com principal Carolyn Shelby, Gallucci, and WebmasterWorld founder and chief executive Brett Tabke.

“I'm looking forward to the great brains that are going to PubCon,” said Plunkett. “From social media to search, this is the conference of the year,' added Plunkett."

Easy PHP Blackhole Trap with WHOIS Lookup for Bad Bots

2010-09-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

"One of my favorite security measures here at Perishable Press is the site’s virtual Blackhole trap for bad bots. The concept is simple: include a hidden link to a robots.txt-forbidden directory somewhere on your pages. Bots that ignore or disobey your robots rules will crawl the link and fall into the trap, which then performs a WHOIS Lookup and records the event in the blackhole data file."

Easy PHP Blackhole Trap with WHOIS Lookup for Bad Bots • Perishable Press

The Future of Ad Agencies and Social Media

2010-09-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

"To keep up with ever-changing advertising and marketing options, ad agencies are rapidly adopting new strategies and outlooks on how consumers interact with brands. While many ad agencies have been slow to adopt social media, others have been keeping up with the trends quite well."

The Future of Ad Agencies and Social Media

Saying Thank You for ReTweets, and Signal v Noise

2010-09-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

"On Friday, @StevePlunkett and I started a small column on this blog called “Steve’s Shorts.” It grew out of my admiration for Steve’s view of the social web and an idea that small observations can be powerful and worth talking about.

That first post had an interesting result. Apparently a behavior on Twitter can go unnoticed, a statement said in 140 characters on Twitter can float by without response, but point out that behavior or that comment and put it on blog and suddenly it has a new importance. In this case, some of that response seems made without consideration to the bigger picture or the reputation and generosity of the person who offered the original comment."

@StevePlunkett, Saying Thank You for ReTweets, and Signal v Noise | Liz Strauss at Successful Blog:

Matt Cutts on Big Brand BlackHat Sites

2010-09-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

How determines what Black Hat is? this guy.. @MattCutts head of Google Webspam

PubCon Las Vegas 2010 Black Hat Session and Discount registration code

2010-09-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaBelow is a 20% off coupon to PubCon Vegas
Enter Code: rc-3099415 when you register and get 20% off.
I'm Speaking on the Black Hat SEO panel.. it's going to be fun.. i'm going to out some famous websites doing stuff that @mattcutts and @google could remove them for.
(you better hope it's not one of your clients...)

How should I configure If-Modified-Since on database-driven pages?

2010-08-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

How Do You Find High-quality SEO Services?

2010-08-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

"Beware of SEOs using techniques that put you at risk. This includes buying links, cloaking with an intent to deceive users and/or search engines, stealing content, etc. Find out and be assured that the partner you choose doesn't mess around with any tricks that could harm your company."

How Do You Find High-quality SEO Services? - Search Engine Watch (SEW)

Is SEO Integrated Into Your Localization Process?

2010-08-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

"For many, the question posed in the title of this post seems silly, often resulting in either a confused expression, or a “how dare you ask that question” look from localization managers. Yet over the past few weeks I have spoken to a number of localization and SEO managers at Fortune 500 companies who still could not answer that question. I recently had the localization manger tell me, “Well of course I understand SEO and we go to great lengths to ensure all the keywords are translated and put into the meta keywords tag!” He was shocked when I told him the engines have ignored that tag for years, and that his efforts were wasted."

Is SEO Integrated Into Your Localization Process?

Search Engine Heat Maps

2010-08-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Heat Maps

"Our screenshots have a resolution of 1024x768 pixels and the whole resolution (SERP that the user notices on its screen) had on principle a perception of 100 percent. Some regions of each SERP that we analyzed go from strength to strength while others don't.

For example, Google owns the most effective sponsored link area when compared to all others. The regions of interest are all equal, but of course based on different parts of a website,

which made it much harder to answer all those questions

mentioned earlier in the post.

Are all Results on Search Engines Equal? A Surprising Journey Within the SERPs - Search Engine Watch (SEW)

This is what the direct comparison looks like. All areas (Logo, Search results, Searchbox and Button, and Adbox) we will analyze separately, too. We saw some points within our analysis that are strong or weak within a search engine, which is quite interesting."

Steve Shorts: ReTweets and Cranking on Gmail?

2010-08-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

"Why I Don’t Thank for Retweet
by Steve Plunkett.

When people say “Thanks for the RT,”, I always shoot back, “Thanks for the good info”.. I read it, I may have even blogged it. It was good info, so I passed it along, you don’t need to thank me for sharing and trusting your credibility. Believing in you enough to click on a link? That you earned anyways via engagement and professionalism. But you are welcome, again, thanks for the info. When you retweet me, you are saying “Thanks for the info”."

Steve Shorts: ReTweets and Cranking on Gmail? | Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

SXSW 2011 PanelPicker - SEO - Optimize EVERYTHING!

2010-08-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

"Steve Plunkett, M/C/C
Description 'Digital Asset Optimization' - Search affects every part of every job for every client, are you offering all the SEO services or leaving money on the table? - Steve Plunkett, M/C/C Inc. Pr, podcasts, images, blogs, social Media, Video, PDFs, what digital assets are you forgetting to utilize that could bring your client business.

Questions Answered :
What is a list of EVERYTHING I can optimize for search?

What are ways to grow my client's business and increase their presence in search?

I'm working with an ad agency, what else can i do for them?

i'm sub contractor for Pr Firm, how can i make more money with them?

I am in-house SEO for Fortune 500, what am i missing?"

SXSW 2011 PanelPicker - SEO - Optimize EVERYTHING!

User Behavior and Digital Asset Optimization

2010-06-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

"Internet user behavior is always changing, but recent surveys by Nielsen and Pew show a significant shift underway. The average amount of time an individual spent online dropped from 57 hours in April to 54 hours in May, marking the second consecutive month-to-month decline. The number of Web pages a user visited also dropped, however the number of sessions per person held steady and the number of domains visited per person increased. As for how users are spending their time online, video viewing continues to rise, as does time spent on social networks or blogs. Almost one quarter of the time an average user is online is spent on social sites. Bruce, Susan and Virginia hypothesize what’s at the root of the behavioral changes and what that means for businesses online."

SEM Synergy - User Behavior & Digital Asset Optimization

PubCon Vegas 2010

2010-06-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

"PubCon, the premier search and social media conference and expo will hold its multi-track Las Vegas event on November 8 - 11, 2010 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada.

PubCon Las Vegas 2010, supported by the industry's leading businesses, speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors involved in social media, Internet marketing, search engines, and online advertising, will offer a week-long look at the future of technology presented by many of the world's top speakers." - Like Me! =)

WebmasterWorld PubCon Conference Vegas 2010

PubCon Social Media and Search Marketing Conferences 2010

2010-06-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

PubCon Social Media and Search Marketing Conferences 2010 steveplunkett: "PubCon Classic is a fantastic informal networking event giving attendees a chance to rub elbows with friends both new and old in a relaxed environment, and this year we're holding it on the first night of PubCon Las Vegas to get the week off to a great start."

Ruud Questions: Steve Plunkett on Google Is Our Friend | Search Engine People | Toronto

2010-05-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

"@steveplunkett contacted me on Twitter to explain just how he disagreed with me [yes, see, you should be on Twitter too and follow @ruudhein as well -- you not only get to be hip & happening but also get to join the conversation and tell me just how wrong I am]."

Ruud Questions: Steve Plunkett on Google Is Our Friend | Search Engine People | Toronto

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SEO, ORM, Ethics and the greater good of Google

So, two blog posts back at the hotel, linking back to her LinkedIn Profile. Just to test the waters, which resulted in her LinkedIn profile being #3 (#1 for her name), below the most commonly clicked on links for the person Google thought the query, "Dawn Maire" applied to.

With the initial testing phase done, we soon realized it would take more "signal" to overcome the frequent misspelling.

Phase 1. Use #whitecoatseo testing group to tweet "Dawn Maire - (linkedin profile link)"

Phase 2. Use Blogs to add "discussions" about the keyword and the link.

You will see Phase 3 listed, but after Phase 2 the situation "almost" corrected itself..

So, mission accomplished? Dawn Maire's LinkedIn profile listed #1 for her name, but we still have the spelling error, does that mean we are not finished yet?

ORM, SEO and Ethics:

We have proven that we can manipulate Google's spell check to make "Dawn Maire" come up first for her name, (SEO for ORM), but how many people actually type in "Dawn Maire" when they really mean "Dawn Marie, the WWE Diva"?

Ethically, is this the place to stop? Should we continue with ORM/SEO and take this until we can overcome the Did you mean: dawn marie ??

Or, would we be doing a disservice to the quality of results in a Google search if we kept going?

What if this is a client's copyrighted/trademarked name? registered trademark for a product name, or Brand? How far is too far? Or when it's absolute, like ABSOLUT, will Google no longer see it as a misspelled word?

(comments are moderated due to spam)

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