Karl Ribas' Blog: Internet Marketing Strategies

How to Create an Apple Touch Icon for Your Website

2012-05-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

EXCERPT: When browsing online with an Apple mobile device, users have the option of saving web pages directly to their home screen. When a page is saved, an icon is generated to which users may use to access said page without having to launch their browser. Essentially, users are able to create a bookmark that is given priority placement.

When browsing online with an Apple mobile device (iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone), users have the option of saving web pages directly to their home screen. When a page is saved, an icon is generated to which users may use to access said page without having to launch their browser. Essentially, users are able to create a bookmark of sorts that is given priority placement amongst their apps.

Unfortunately, by default, Apple will use a screenshot of the page when creating a home screen icon which will often look hideous and illegible. Thankfully though, website owners have the ability to change this by designating a specific icon graphic, called an Apple Touch Icon, to be used instead.

What is an Apple Touch Icon?

In short, an Apple touch icon is basically a favicon for Apple mobile devices, and, if set, is displayed when a user saves a web page to their home screen. For example, the Apple touch icon for this website looks like this:

How Do I Create an Apple Touch Icon?

To create an Apple touch icon, you will likely need the assistance of a graphic designer or have access to and knowledge of graphic editing software, such as Photoshop. Begin by creating a square graphic that is sized to 129 by 129 pixels, and then saving it in .png format. 129-pixels is the perfect size for the Apple iPad, and will allow other devices to properly resize as needed.

Also, when creating your icon, don’t worry about adding fancy rounded corners or glowing effects. While these are key characteristics of Apple icons, the device will do this automatically.

How Do I Implement My Apple Touch Icon?

You will be pleased to know that Apple has made implementing touch icons very easy to do. You have the following two options:

Option 1: Standard Icon

Standard Apple touch icons are rendered with a gloss effect and rounded corners. To implement a standard icon, apply the following code into the head section of your website:

Option 2: Precomposed Icon

Precomposed Apple touch icons are rendered with rounded corners, but without a gloss effect. To implement a precomposed icon, apply the following code into the head section of your website:

With either option, your icon will need to be hosted online. This means that you will need to edit the code provided above and specify the correct path location of your icon (within the 'HREF' section). Also, you can only implement one of these options, not both.

The following is a side-by-side comparison of what each looks like:

Why Website Owners Should Use an Apple Touch Icon?

Hopefully I’ve been able to give you enough information to create and implement your own Apple touch icon. However, some of you are undoubtedly questioning why it is that you should want to create and implement one. Why not just use the default screenshot that Apple captures, right? I will tell you why not: design and branding.

Creating a Complete, Customized Design

Like most website owners, design is important to you. I imagine that you wish to control every aspect of how your website looks and functions. Let me start by saying that there is nothing at all wrong with this for I feel the same way. Creating an Apple touch icon will not only make users happy (because they won’t be subjected to seeing a lame, generic icon on their home screen), but also help you to provide a more complete, customized website experience through design.

Brand Development

I am a HUGE advocate for branding. Proper use of company and personal branding can have a long lasting effect on one’s ability to grow their business, whatever it may be. I strongly encourage all website owners, if given the opportunity, to tie-in their brand’s logo, color scheme, and messaging whenever possible. Creating an Apple touch icon is one of those opportunities.

Give it a shot. If not for design or branding purposes, create one to help brighten up other people’s iPod, iPhone, and iPad home screens.

Book Review: "Brand Resilience"

2012-04-25T10:15:00.000-05:00

EXCERPT: Brand reputation is more important now than it ever has been before. With social media connecting the world as it does, true and false information about a brand can travel fast. Even the strongest brands can be leveled in a flash - by disgruntled customers, competing companies, and even internal sources. Brand Resilience is an absolute fantastic read!

"While you can manage certain aspects of your brand, you can't control the weather. You can't control the media. You can't control what your competitors do. You can't even control the behavior of your own employees. Which means that the most effective barrier to competition - your trusted brand - is exposed to danger from any number of directions. Even the most loyal customer can change allegiances when the trust that underpins that loyalty is threatened."

Brand reputation is more important now than it ever has been before. With social media connecting the world as it does, true and false information about a brand can travel fast. Even the strongest brands can be leveled in a flash - by disgruntled customers, competing companies, and even internal sources. In Brand Resilience: Managing Risk and Recovery in a High-Speed World, author Jonathon R. Copulsky shows companies (and individuals) how to play brand defense in the twenty-first century.

Copulsky is a veteran marketing executive and consultant working with many of today's leading brands. I first learned of his book last October while attending Search Engine Strategies in Chicago. I was fortunate enough to sit in on a session in which he was speaking and was very much impressed to say the least. In fact, I would venture to say that Copulsky was the most interesting speaker I had the privelege of seeing during that particular conference. He plugged his book, and I bought it.

Book Review

Branding is a topic that has always captivated me. It's the simple idea of a company's perceived value being, at times, greater than its actual value that interests me. Or, that reputation can have more influencing power than price. Or, that consumers can become so passionate about a brand that they'll happily defend it at the drop of a hat.

In my years as an Internet marketing professional, I have given great thought into the ideas behind branding. I've become quite knowledgeable on topics of brand building, brand marketing, and brand advocating. However, not once had I given consideration to idea of brand defense, and the role it might play in a long-term branding strategy. That is, until I read this book.

Brand Resilience is an absolute fantastic read. Copulsky uses real life examples to explain how brand damage even in the smallest sense can mean millions or billions in lost profits. For example, we need look no further than to 2009 and at Tiger Woods whose story is in essence the near-total takedown of man who once held the highest popularity rating of any figure.

Furthermore, Copulsky offers practical advice for managers engaged in building and protecting long term brand value. In fact, one of the biggest takeaways for readers will likely be his 7-step program for managing brand risk and recovery. It features how to access brand risks, how to create and deploy warning systems, how to repel brand attacks, how to adapt brand defenses, and more.

Overall, I found the book to be a short easy read, but filled with remarkable and actionable insights. The author does a terrific job of clearly identifying brand risks and providing a blueprint for proactively managing these risks. Simply put, this book is a must read for anyone involved with shaping and delivering brand strategy.

How to Use the Yahoo! Store Page Redirect Manager

2012-03-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

Page Redirect Manager is a relatively new feature which is designed to assist Yahoo! Store owners with their search engine optimization (SEO) and site management efforts through 301 redirecting. Using this feature, Yahoo! Store owners can now easily create, edit, and delete page-level 301 redirects for their websites.

Page Redirect Manager is a relatively new feature (launched in September, 2011) which is designed to assist Yahoo! Store owners with their search engine optimization (SEO) and site management efforts through 301 redirecting. Using this feature, Yahoo! Store owners can now easily create, edit, and delete page-level 301 redirects for their websites. In addition, one does not need access to hosting nor have programming knowledge to use this tool. I cannot begin to explain how happy this update has made me.

A number of logical reasons exist for why a Yahoo! Store owner would wish to permanently redirect one page to another. However, up until this release, store owners were not able to do so. In fact, not being able to implement a 301 redirect was, in my opinion, one of the biggest shortcomings of the entire Yahoo! Store platform. As an Internet marketing professional who happens to specialize in Yahoo! Store development, I'm sure you can imagine just how frustrating this was.

The Page Redirect Manager is available for all Yahoo! Merchant Solutions and Yahoo! Store accounts. Users can create specific rules for handling 301 redirects either through the redirect table - a friendly, easy-to-use interface - or by uploading a CSV file containing their redirect rules. Page Redirect Manager can be used to create a maximum of 50,000 redirect rules, which should be sufficient for most Yahoo! Store owners.

Before I jump in and begin my tutorial on how to use the Page Redirect Manager tool, I think it might be best if I first outline some of the basics.

What is a 301 Redirect?

A redirect is exactly as it sounds... directing something to a new or different place than where it was originally intended. In this case, I am referring to an Internet user. There are many reasons as to why a website would choose to redirect its visitors, but the most common reason is because a page has either moved or been removed.

A 301 redirect is considered a "permanent redirect". On the surface, a 301 redirect will seamlessly move website visitors from an original location (old page) to a newly specified location (new page). However, below the surface, a 301 redirect informs search engines and other server crawlers that a specific page will no longer be available, and to begin referencing the new URL instead of the old.

Why is Using 301 Redirects Important?

A 301 redirect is extremely important to website owners. A 301 redirect will help to transfer site visitors from point A to point B with little effort and error. In addition, as I alluded to above, a 301 redirect signals to search engines that a switch is being made. Search engines will take this as a queue to remove the old page from their index and direct users to the new URL.

Furthermore, and more to the bigger picture, search engines will also pass along any and all search engine value that the old page has accumulated on to the new page. This includes age merits, value from inbound links, and search engine rankings. Therefore, even though a page might be brand new, through 301 redirecting it can have all the benefits of an already established page.

When to use a 301 Redirect

Once again, a 301 redirect should only be used when the original page location will never be available again. We're talking a permanent redirect from one page to another. While I am sure there are numerous reasons for why a Yahoo! Store owner would wish to use a 301 redirect, the 3 most common examples seem to be:

Example 1: A store owner wishes to optimize their page URLs for better search engine placement thereby recreating an established page so that its URL now includes keywords. Assuming the old URL is already indexed by search engines and ranks well, a 301 redirect will ensure that all previous page value is passed along to the new URL.

Example 2: A store is selling a product that has now been discontinued. If this particular product page has accumulated search engine value and currently ranks well, store owners might opt to transfer this value to a similar product, rather than simply deleting it.

Example 3: An online merchant wishes to transfer their website from their current content management system (CMS) onto the Yahoo! Store platform. If their current pages receive significant traffic and already rank well within search engines, a 301 redirect would help to retain its overall value when moving the website over.

The Yahoo! Store Page Redirect Manager can be used to create 301 redirects to assist with each of these efforts, and others.

How to Use the Yahoo! Store Page Redirect Manager

Creating 301 redirects with the Yahoo! Store Page Redirect Manager is easy. Follow these 6 steps to create a single redirect, one at a time.

Step 1: Navigate to Page Redirect Manager

After logging into your store control panel, locate and click "Page Redirect Manager". This link is located within the "Site Settings" column.

Step 2: Create a New Redirect

Locate and click "Create New Redirect". The button is located above the redirect table, on the left side of the screen. When clicked, a new row will open at the top of the redirect table, where users can create your page redirect.

Step 3: Enter "Old Page URL"

Locate the "Old Page URL" field within the redirect table. Enter the URL of the page you wish to redirect.

Step 4: Enter "New Page URL"

Locate the "New Page URL" field within the redirect table. Enter the URL of the page you wish to redirect to.

Step 5: Save Redirect

Locate and click "save". The button is located on the right side of the New Page URL field. Once saved, the newly created page redirect will appear in the redirect table.

Step 6: Publish Redirects

Locate and click "Publish". The button is located above the redirect table, on the right side of the screen. Follow through by clicking the "Yes" button when a confirmation box appears.

Additional Things to Know

Yahoo! has created an excellent FAQ guide to address commonly asked questions regarding the Page Redirect Manager. In addition, I took the liberty of including the following 4 troubleshooting tips to which I found to be quite helpful in my 301 redirect efforts.

Redirects CAN Be Uploaded in Bulk

In the event users wish to redirect a large number of URLs at one time, a CSV template can be downloaded, edited, and uploaded to create a maximum of 50,000 redirects.

Redirects MUST Be Published

It is important to note that page redirects must be published (Step 6) before they take effect. Simply creating a redirect will not make it live.

Redirects MUST Be Absolute URLs

It is important to note that when entering values for the Old Page URL and New Page URL that they are absolute URLs. Relative URLs (ex: index.html) will not work.

Old Page URLs MUST Already Be Deleted

It is important to note that Old Page URLs must first be deleted prior to setting up a redirect. Redirects will not work while Old Page URLs still exist on the site.

7 Repeat Business Strategies for Small Businesses

2012-02-09T09:50:00.000-06:00

The Internet is no longer an untapped resource of revenue for small businesses, as it once was in the past. Competition is extremely heavy, and it would now seem that every small business on the planet has a website. Yes, being successful online because a company was one of a few in their niche industry with a website are long gone.

The Internet is no longer an untapped resource of revenue for small businesses, as it once was in the past. Competition is extremely heavy, and it would now seem that every small business on the planet has a website. Yes, those early days of being successful online simply because a company was one of a few in their niche industry with a website are long gone.

With so much competition online already and more coming daily, how do small businesses adapt?

There is, of course, no single correct answer to this question. Every company operates differently to achieve different goals, and with that each will have their own strategies for dealing with increased competition. However, one strategy that I believe every small business should consider when dealing with increased competition is Repeat Business Marketing - those strategies focused on generating revenue from current or past customers. Allow me to explain.

As the age old saying suggests, it is much easier to keep a customer than it is to create a new one. This saying exists because the process for finding, attracting, and converting shoppers into customers takes a great deal of time, money, and effort. Simply stocking a product and hoping for the best is not going to be enough in a competitive online world. In addition to this, there are really only a handful of online marketing initiatives available to attract new customers (SEO, PPC, Social, etc.). The chances of a company using the same or similar marketing channels and strategies as their competition are very likely.

The one competitive advantage that every small business has over their competition is the ability to reach out and solicit business from current and past customers. Soliciting repeat business is a viable marketing strategy that every merchant should consider, and for these reasons:

Repeat Business Marketing is Easy
In most cases, a repeat business strategy can be implemented by a company directly, and without the need for outside consulting. With most repeat business strategies, there are no pages to optimize and no bids or ads to manage. In fact, repeat business strategies can be as simple as calling or emailing a past-customer.

Repeat Business Marketing is Cheap
Most repeat business strategies require very little overhead and can be implemented much cheaper than the cost of those geared towards attracting new customers. Also, as previously mentioned, there is little need for a marketing consultant which has the potential to save quite a bit.

Repeat Business Marketing is Targeted Marketing
Repeat business strategies provide merchants with the ability to directly engage a large group of extremely targeted buyers - those that have not only shown interest in a company's products and services, but have also opened up their wallets to purchase said products and services once already.

Repeat Business Marketing Removes the Middle-Man
Repeat business strategies usually feature one-on-one communication between a company and their customers, and because of this, there is no need for a "middle-man" to facilitate the engagement between the two parties, such as a marketing firm, a search engine listing, or an ad.

The following are 7 repeat business strategies that I personally recommend for small businesses with limited budgets. Consider combining a few of these ideas with those of your own to develop a long-term marketing campaign.

Send a Business Card with Every Order

One cheap and easy repeat business strategy is to include a company business card (or refrigerator magnet) with every order shipped. The idea is a simple one; unless a company is a big brand like Amazon or eBay, not every online shopper that decides to buy from them is going to remember their company's name and URL. In fact, most may forget as quickly as 10 minutes after placing their order. A business card (or magnet) is likely to find its way to the customer's fridge where it can serve as both a reference and a reminder for future orders.

Send an Occasional Email Offer

Sending the occasional email offer (Email marketing) is one way in which a company can create a one-on-one engagement with their current and past customers. This engagement, if done correctly, is likely to lead to additional repeat business. Sending an email is both simple and free, and will not only help a business remain top-of-mind with their customers, but a worthwhile promotion may increase sales.

Offer Gift Certificates with all Order Discrepancies

A time will come when a shipping mistake will occur. The most common errors seem to be shipping the wrong size or color of a product, or the wrong product altogether. Mistakes will happen. How a company addresses their mistakes will be key in determining whether or not that specific customer will be back in the future.

In addition to simply correcting the problem, say refunding the buyer or shipping out the correct order, my recommendation is to include a gift certificate that can be used with the customer's next purchase. By doing so, the company is showing that they take order discrepancies very seriously and is committed to customer satisfaction. Also, by providing such an offer, the company is giving their customers a reason to purchase again and themselves another shot at making a great impression. Something as simple as 10% off or $10 off their next purchase can turn a botched order into a life-long customer.

Include Free Samples with Every Order

The word "free" is very rarely said or meant in a world where everything now costs a pretty penny. Offering free samples of products is a great way to not only attract new customers, but to also encourage repeat business as well. A company can use their free sample promotion to introduce customers to something new, such as a different type, brand, size or flavor of the product they ordered. If the products compliment each other well enough, this strategy may encourage customers to not only re-order in the future, but to possible increase their next order to include both products.

Integrate a Login / Password Shopping Cart

This idea is a simple one. For most online shoppers, having an account with an online merchant means not having to enter several lines of billing, shipping, or credit card information with each visit. This convenience ensures that customers receive a head-ache free and speedy check-out process upon future visits, which, by default, encourages repeat business from past customers.

Integrate an Automatic Re-Order Program

This repeat business strategy is perfect for those companies that sell consumables, such as specialty foods, health and beauty products, tobacco products, medications, etc. The idea is to offer customers the option to have their order automatically replenished after a specific amount of time. Customers that enroll into the program, agree to have their credit cards charged and refills shipped at a time they specify. For example, every 2-Weeks or every 2-months.

The benefit to such a system is that the customer no longer needs to continually shop for their products. With regards to the company, the benefit is the promise of future repeat business, as well as the security of not losing a customer because he or she forgets to reorder, forgets the company's name and website address, or finds an alternative supplier with cheaper prices.

Implement a Rewards (Card) Program

This strategy is one that works very well in the offline world, and with a little creativity could be implemented to drive repeat business online. The idea is to reward customers simply for their repeat business. For example, some popular reward programs promote "buy 10 get 1 free" or "5% off every purchase with our rewards card." With a quick brain-storming session, every company should be able to create and implement a rewards program that not only provides value to their customers, but in the end also promotes repeat business.

What Google's "Above Fold" Update Means for SEO

2012-01-25T21:29:00.001-06:00

In an ongoing effort to help users find higher quality websites in search results, Google has launched an algorithmic change that looks at the layout of a web page and the amount of content that is visible once users click on a result. This update is said to impact websites where only a small amount of content above-the-fold is visible.

In an ongoing effort to help users find more high-quality websites in search results, Google has launched an algorithmic change that looks at the layout of a web page and the amount of content that is visible once users click on a result. This new algorithmic update is said to impact websites where there is only a small amount of visible content above-the-fold or when relevant content is persistently pushed down by large blocks of ads.

What does this mean for website owners? In a nutshell, if you maintain a cluttered website above the fold - to the point where site visitors are not able to locate the content that Google has promised they would find - then you risk annoying Google users, and thus Google. And, as we all know, Google doesn't take to well to websites that annoy them. We're talking penalties.

Why the Change?

As I alluded to above, it all comes down to user-experience. If search engine users aren't happy, Google is not happy. Google has said to have received numerous complaints from their users who have become annoyed with not being able to find their desired content after clicking on a listing. Personally, I can relate to this. I cannot begin to count the number of times that I've landed on a website, only to utilize a "Control+F" (find) to locate the information I was originally looking for. Needless to say, this leads to a poor user-experience to which Google is now trying to avoid.

Google is quoted as saying:

"Rather than scrolling down the page past a slew of ads, users want to see content right away. So sites that don't have much content "above-the-fold" can be affected by this change. If you click on a website and the part of the website you see first either doesn't have a lot of visible content above-the-fold or dedicates a large fraction of the site's initial screen real estate to ads, that's not a very good user experience. Such sites may not rank as highly going forward."

What to Do if You Find That Your Site Was Affected

According to Google, this algorithmic change will noticeably affect less than 1% of searches globally - that's less than 1-in-100 searches. However, if you believe that you've been affected by this recent algorithm change, consider how your pages use the area above-the-fold and whether the content on the page is obscured or otherwise hard for users to discern quickly.

If you decide to update your page layout, consider using Google's Browser Size tool, among others, to see how your website will look under different screen resolutions. Find the solution that works for you, and roll with it.

How Should You Move Forward?

First things first, do not just sit back and ignore this update... not if you value your site's high rankings! As an Internet Marketing professional, it is my recommendation to be proactive. Pool the resources of both your design and marketing teams, and create an adequate solution. The goal is simple. Satisfy Google's need for a high quality user-experience by ensuring that each pages' most relevant content is found above the fold.

Furthermore, if you haven't given much thought in the way of user-experience, I'd strongly suggest that you start. Google is hell bound on delivering the best possible search user experience and, as this update proves, that means taking care of their users even after the click. Google has said that this is one of over 500 improvements expected to roll out this year. I'm not a gambler by any means, but I'd wager that "user-experience" will be the basis for more than a few of them.

Making Standout Posts for Small Business Blogs

2012-01-12T11:10:00.000-06:00

Small business bloggers must capture their reader's attention if they want to market their blogs with any lasting effect. If your blog's content doesn't attract a reader's attention, there's no way you can hope to compete with other businesses competing for exposure. I would recommend that you take an honest look at work on your business's blog.

Today's post is from guest author Kimberly Wilson. Kimberly is from accredited online colleges, she writes on topics including career, education, student life, college life, home improvement, time management etc.

Small business bloggers must capture their reader's attention if they want to market their blogs with any lasting effect. If your small business blog's content doesn't attract a reader's attention, there's no way you can hope to compete with other businesses competing for exposure. It should be motivation enough that your business must compete against countless competitors for your customer's attention. There's always another insurance blog or another small business consulting website if yours doesn't look glamorous enough.

If your small business is struggling to establish itself online, I would recommend that you take an honest look at work on your business's blog. Warning signs of a suffering or stagnating blog include the following: low readership on the blog (few unique "hits" on the blog), few to zero comments on blog posts, or returns on advertisements put up alongside the blog, if any. If your blog languishes in neglect from potential customers, you have to do something about it if you expect any kind of online success for your business. Now, I'm not suggesting that you post ridiculous material simply to draw a wider readership. But there are ways to make your posts look fresher, more interesting, and overall more engaging with potential readers and customers without compromising the ethics of your business.

Keep it Fresh

Keeping your content up-to-date is pivotal to remaining relevant in your customer's sphere of interest. You can't expect to build a reliable customer base if you post once every two weeks about issues covered months ago. You can stay on top of things by frequently visiting news sites that feature stories related to your business. You can subscribe to any number of news hubs (CNN, FOX, Huffington Post) for notifications and instant updates on breaking news. If you're not sure about the latest trends, there's nothing wrong with checking out the competition for insight into the hot topics in the blogosphere. Even if a topic has been picked over by everyone else, you can put your own perspective on it to make it feel fresh to your readers. You won't have to worry about recycling current news as you write your content from a new or innovative angle, regardless of your business's specialty. If you continually blog about current events then readers will rely on you for their industry news.

Outstanding Post Titles

It sounds like a trite detail, but it makes all the difference in blogging. It's critical that you give your blog posts titles that would interest potential customers. For instance, if your small business is about management consulting, make blog titles that assert your business's expertise. Use snappy, emphatic phrasing like "How to Deal with Terrible Bosses" for posts aimed at HR managers and staff looking for management advice. If you're running a blog for a small, web-based floral service, you might opt for more titles like "3 Badass Birthday Bouquets" to grab a reader's attention. Think of a title that you'd like yourself. You're the best judge of your customer base and their needs.

Engage the Readers

You're trying to attract readers to your business. That means you want them to have a genuine interest in your services, some desire that grows organically from a customer's experience with your site. You do this by offering substantive content that informs the reader and makes them want to know more about how your business works. To run a successful business blog, you must start a dialog with your readers as if they were customers in a real store or during a live consultation. Be personable and engaging with your readers; you don't want your business's blog to read as a giant advertisement. Readers will usually interpret business blogs that appear to be selling something as a spammy website not worth their time.

You can also engage your readers by directly responding to comments and queries that they post on your blog. As you connect with your readers, you'll notice a jump in reader participation and the number of hits on your blog. And once you've earned the trust of your readers, it's only a matter of time until some of those readers turn to your businesses services and become customers.

12 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

2011-12-30T14:29:00.002-06:00

Social marketing provides a challenge like no other marketing strategy does... especially for small businesses with limited resources. In fact, the biggest gripe I often hear from small business owners is that social marketing is too expensive and time consuming to implement. Yes, I will agree. But, that doesn't mean it necessarily has to be.

It's no secret that I work with a lot of small businesses. I absolutely love doing so, too! I believe the reason I enjoy working with small businesses as much as I do is because of the unique challenges that each provides. Some internet marketers view working with a limited budget (and therefore limited resources) as being a headache. I, on the other hand, consider it to be a challenge. As a person who enjoys a good challenge, I view small business marketing as an excuse to go beyond traditional search and social marketing initiatives where one has to utilize creativity and an assortment of different types of strategies to be successful. In other words, a good challenge equals good fun.

For the most part, social media is free to use. Sure, there are tools for sale that do make managing and tracking social media efforts much easier, but necessary, they are not. That alone is an obvious plus for small businesses. As far as time goes, well, there is no getting around it. Social marketing does and will continue to require diligent monitoring and participation. The trick is coming up with a strategy that not only fits your company's needs, but also helps to make social media efforts less daunting.

With the start of a brand new year just days away, it's not uncommon for businesses to set new marketing goals and expectations. In fact, I know of several small businesses that have already committed to starting social media marketing campaigns immediately following the first of the year. With that, I thought it would be both fun and helpful to outline a list of tips, suggestions, and strategies for getting started in social media. I put together a small group of 12 Internet marketers (myself included) and have asked them to share something that would be helpful to the true, blue small business owner. Here are their responses:

Karl Ribas, VP of Search Marketing - All Web Promotion

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to first and foremost create a plan, and then execute it. Like most marketing strategies, social media marketing begins with a plan. Jumping into social media and simply posting everything everywhere is not a valid approach. In addition to first determining which social platforms to use, businesses must also decide on their voice, content, and posting timeline.

Voice: Your voice is the overall tone in which you will use when sharing your content. For example, will you address your followers as the company, or as an individual from within the company? Determining your voice beforehand will eliminate confusion and keep your profiles and updates consistent.

Content: I can't stress how important great content is to social media. Your content is what will set you apart from others in your space, and is the sole reason why your customers will be connecting with you in the first place. It is absolutely imperative that you spend adequate time determining not only the types of content you'll want to share, but the messaging too.

Timeline: A timeline is a detailed schedule for when and how often you will be posting your social media content. It is often suggested that businesses update their profiles daily. I, on the other hand, am a firm believer of posting as frequent as it makes sense to do so. Determine your publish rate and remain as consistent and routine as possible.

Tamar Weinberg, Social Media Strategist - Techipedia

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to work your ass off! Social media is NOT the new 'it' thing. It was in 2007, yes. In 2012, you are vying for attention among millions of other businesses. You can succeed if you work real hard toward it, but if you're going to just spend 5-10 minutes a day here and there, you will never see the benefits. Don't treat social media with a "set it and forget it" mindset. It's definitely something you need to work toward every. single. day.

Taylor Pratt, VP of Product Marketing - Raven Tools

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is if you only have time to do one thing social media related, make it to monitor mentions of your brand. The last thing you want is to miss out on reputation issues because you're out of the loop. You want to be able to answer any questions/problems customers have had to help ease the negative impact those reviews/mentions might have on future customers. A successful social media campaign requires lots of time, so if you don't have that available to you, this is the next best solution. It's also a great way to help promote those positive mentions that come in about your business.

Rob Snell, Owner - Gun Dog Supply

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to be VERY careful to not get distracted by Facebook and Twitter. You can't deny that social media is another killer app of the Internet, but it's important to remember that you don't make payroll by how many followers or friends you have. Allocate the proper amount of marketing time to these channels that they deserve based on REVENUE that they send to your site.

Also, do not forget about all the work left to do on your own website, specifically creating SEO-friendly unique content on product pages, writing reviews, and crafting buyers' guides. Create this conversion-friendly content on YOUR domain first, and then PROMOTE it via the proper social media channels!

Julie Joyce, Director of Operations - Link Fish Media

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to closely investigate how their competitors are using it in order to see not only the types of tweets and Facebook updates but also the general accepted tone. For example, a social work agency probably isn't going to use off-color humor, but someone selling cheeky t-shirts with rude slogans on them would probably do better if they did. You need to know what's unacceptable for your audience or you risk alienating your followers.

Chris Winfield, Chief Marketing Officer - BlueGlass

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to first find out where your customers (or potential customers) are actually spending the most time and concentrate your efforts there. Don't get caught up in the hype about the new 'social media site du jour'. If you customers aren't there, it doesn't matter how hot it is, it will be a waste of your time and money. Check your analytics to see where people are coming from and, even more important, simply talk to your customers and ask them. You'll be shocked at how effective this can be!

Catherine Seven, Founder - SEOwhat.com

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to use social media as a tool to reach, touch, and get into the trends of your customers. Don't simply try and sell them! Instead, interact with them as "friends" and make that social bond. Remember, they are on the social platform to get away so make it fun to be your friend. Give them Q&As, quizzes, and prizes, and in return you'll be building a brand that they'll love to be apart of.

Also, use social media as a way to explore new product offerings. For example, create a poll and let your fans and followers choose the color of your next product. In turn, these types of strategies will help your customers to feel valued, and not solicited! This will help you with getting the conversation right the first time.

Liana ‘Li' Evans, President and CEO - Da Li Social

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to look for opportunities and tools to integrate with your marketing efforts wherever possible. Small business owners shouldn't feel like they need to be on every social channel, that's why the integration and use of tools can be vitally important. Listening tools, such as Trackur, help companies find the most important channels to engage in and can also be extremely helpful in creating an integrated marketing strategy.

Remember, at the end of the day, it's about the value you give to your customers. If you can integrate that value across all your marketing channels, you'll be a lot more successful in your marketing efforts.

CK Chung, SEO Consultant - WEBOSIS

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to get involved in the conversation! They should find the channels where their audience is voicing their opinions and provide feedback. Whether it's a "thanks" to a positive comment or a "how can we help you" to a negative comment, there's a ton of opportunity out there to interact with customers very easily via social media. To take it even further, they can set up keyword searches to find prospects who may not be communicating directly with them. To add to that, small businesses can even monitor responses to competitors to offer their alternative solution. The possibilities are endless!

Dustin Woodard, President - SEO Naturale

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to remember that social media, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Stumble Upon, Google+, or other networks, is about increasing your online brand exposure and influence with real people - this means you need to be actively following and interacting with others in useful or entertaining ways. Unless you are a big brand, simply launching a presence isn't enough to build a following.

Lyndi Thompson, Marketing Buzz Bee - BizeeBee

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to not underestimate your current network. Before you run off and try to network with everyone under the sun reach out to your own network. From leads, feedback to even free labor you will find this network is eager to be supportive and spread the word about your business on and offline.

Additionally, I believe the following tips will also serve small businesses well:

Find Gold in Following Up: Social media is jammed pack with distracting information flying in and out every direction. If you reach out, expect to have to reach out several times in order to get a good response. Try different types of media from Twitter to Email marketing to keep in engaged with your community. Don't have high expectations that one touch is going to get you the results you want.

With Your Channels Combined: If you expected to build a house with just a hammer you will quickly realize it isn't going to happen. Social media is ONE tool at your disposal. Be sure to arm yourself with a variety of tools to get the job done and don't give up on social media because it hasn't been the tool that solves all your problems. Invest time into learning, investing and combing your resources and tools to create a strong marketing strategy for 2012.

Core Goals: It is easy to get excited and run off working on a fun project. However, review your core goals and maximize your time and effort to support your business goals. If you need more customers through the door then make sure you have a way to measure your efforts around that goal. Too tough to measure? Skip that idea until you can.

Keith Weigold, Chief Engagement Evangelist - Nutlug

My advice to small business owners looking to get started with social media marketing is to create a content calendar for your blog, tying it to your social media channels.

A simple way to go about it is to first brainstorm with all employees what your company would do if invited to a party: not about what you sell/make/distribute, etc.... but what you can specially do to HELP a customer. Think of things that are unique to your company - stories that are entertaining, informational, educational, and/or inspirational. That's Nutlug's "Old MacDonald's" method to delivering engaging content: E-I-E-I-O (the O is for objectives-based, meaning all content must address both the customers' and marketer's objectives).

Once you've got a great list of blog ideas, schedule them in a calendar by week for the year. Many find this daunting, so consider at least a quarterly calendar. Then add in all of the other events - sales, promotions, seasonal focus points, holidays, etc. - which will fill the content calendar. Understand the calendar is a fluid thing - if something external pops up (a social media trend, a hot topic, social/cultural/economical/weather events, whatever....be it local, national, or global), know that your content topics can be shifted to allow for reacting to these influences.

Finally, OBEY your calendar. Start working on posts a good two weeks out if you can, so you're not scrambling to catch up with your due date. Work on them when you can - doesn't have to be in the office/at work -- if inspiration and time strikes you at home, go with it!

Content should be created first, then considered for channel. If a post doesn't make sense sharing through LinkedIn, for instance, then don't share it there. Your readers/customers will appreciate that you've used relevant content for relevant channels, and you'll have plenty of other opportunities later to reach them through their channel of choice. I even use a column for each content element to see where it will 'live' (other than the blog itself). Remember that social media is about having a conversation with people/customers that have invited you to THEIR party. Don't be the boor in the corner shouting 'buy me, buy me,' but the engaging guest with a crowd developing around them because of the two-way, relevant stories you're sharing.

In closing, it is obvious that social media is far too important of an online marketing strategy for any business, big or small, to simply just ignore. Hopefully, this much is clear. Social marketing, when done correctly, can be very rewarding... especially for small businesses. I hope that my advice plus the advice of those Internet marketing experts mentioned above will in some way prove to be useful to those of you planning to implement social marketing campaigns this coming New Year.

Using Google AdWords' 'See All Keywords' Feature

2011-11-14T15:04:00.003-06:00

I'd like to discuss one of Pay Per Click's most underused tools, the "See All Keywords" feature from Google AdWords. This feature was previously known as the "Search Query Report" in older versions of the Google AdWords interface, and does exactly as its name suggests... shows advertisers all queries that have triggered their ads.

Relevancy is, without a doubt, the most important element of all online marketing. I can't stress this enough. Getting one's marketing message in front of a select group of individuals whom actually welcome it, and at a time and place that is acceptable by them, is absolutely key to any successful online marketing strategy. Also key, is getting that high quality exposure at the best possible price.

Today, I'd like to discuss one of Pay Per Click's most underused tools, the "See All Keywords" feature from Google AdWords. This feature was previously known as the "Search Query Report" in older versions of the Google AdWords interface, and does exactly as its name suggests... shows advertisers all queries that have triggered their ads. For marketers, this information is undeniably irreplaceable!

How to Use the "See All Keyword" Feature

To "See All Keywords", follow these directions:

1. Navigate to the appropriate level within the account. The "See All Keywords" feature can be used on the account, campaign, and adgroup levels.

2. Click the "Keywords" tab.

3. Select the date(s) that you'd like to review. Please note that there is a 2 to 3-day delay when using this feature. For example, Monday's data won't likely be available until Wednesday or Thursday.

4. Select "See All Keywords" from the "See Search Terms" drop-down option.

At this point, I prefer to export my data into Microsoft Excel where I am able to color-code, sort, and organize it to my liking. To do this, click the "Download" button located just above the report, and select your desired options.

Why Use the "See All Keywords" Feature

Why is learning which queries triggered an ad important? Once an advertiser has a clear understanding of how Google will match their ads with the queries it receives, they can then better optimize and fine-tune their campaigns for relevancy, while saving money in the process. For example:

Improving Quality Score

PPC marketers understand that today's Google is all about relevancy, so much so that it utilizes an algorithm, dubbed Quality Score, to determine which ads rank, where, and for how much per click. In fact, Google is so committed to providing relevant results for its users that it promises advertisers top-placement at lower-than-average click fees just for being relevant. Imagine that... pay less to rank higher.

One way in which advertisers can improve their Quality Scores is by improving their Click-Through Rates (CTR) - the number of times an ad is shown versus being clicked. To do this, advertisers will want to be sure that 1) they are in fact bidding on the most appropriate keywords for their business, and 2) that the impressions they do receive are of the highest relevancy. In other words, it does a company no good to display an ad for "Nike Socks" when all they sell is shoes.

By utilizing the "See All Keywords" feature, advertisers will be able to see which keywords they're ranking for and will be able to adjust. In the previous example, a Nike shoe retailer will be able to see that they're being ranked for "sock" related terms and can therefore negative match these terms and any others they deem unfitting. Another option may be to change Match Type for a specific keyword as well. These changes will limit an ads exposure, thereby limiting its impressions and improving their overall CTR - same number of clicks, but shown less. And, as I've already mentioned above, removing unwanted impressions boosts click-through rates, which in-turn boosts relevancy, which in-turn boosts Quality Score, which in turn means getting higher search engine placement at lower costs.

Removing Unwanted Clicks

This is a no-brainer, really. Search engine marketing is unique in that it allows advertisers the ability to market directly to those individuals that want to know more about a company's products and services. With this level of accuracy, why would a company choose to waste their time and, more importantly, their money advertising to anyone else? Well, they wouldn't necessarily.

By utilizing the "See All Keywords" feature, advertisers will be able to determine whether or not a keyword is a good fit for their campaign just by reviewing the many queries related to it. For example, if a campaign includes the keyword "Jack Black", as in the boutique brand of men's skin care, but Google seems to only match it to those queries relating to the actor Jack Black, than this particular keyword will likely need to be removed. Keywords with alternative meanings or interpretations are often at times poor keywords to include within a campaign. There are of course exceptions to this, but in most cases an advertiser can eliminate unwanted, irrelevant clicks by avoiding such terms altogether. By doing so, an advertiser will make their overall campaign cheaper, and better their cost-per-conversion (CPC).

Finding Alternative Keywords

One last incentive to using the "See All Keywords" feature is getting a first-hand look at the exact verbiage used when a company's target audience searches for their products and services. Such insight will pay mass dividends, especially when used in accordance with a company's PPC campaign, as well as other online and offline marketing strategies. Knowing which keywords a company's target audience uses will not only help advertisers to better understand their audience's needs, but also help them to find new, relevant keywords to which they can now bid on... thereby increasing the overall relevancy of their campaign.

Furthermore, any knowledge gained from using this feature can be applied when managing other accounts from other providers. Should you decide to negative-match a keyword on Google, you'll most likely want to do so on Bing as well.

Book Review: "Zero to 100,000"

2011-10-13T09:33:00.003-05:00

Envision 100,000 people who are passionate about you, your business, and your brand! We’re talking about people who buy your stuff, and then tell their friends how incredibly great you are without being paid to do it. Zero to 100,000 is your easy, low-cost social media plan for finding them so they can make you stunningly, incredibly successful

Close your eyes. Now, envision 100,000 people who are passionate about you, your business, and your brand! We’re talking about people who buy your stuff, and then tell their friends how incredibly great you are without being paid to do it. People who follow your every move, look to you for guidance, and can’t wait to hear what you’re up to next.

Your 100,000 people. Your two football stadiums full of cheering fans. They’re out there, looking for you. Zero to 100,000 is your easy, low-cost social media plan for finding them...connecting with them...giving them what they want so they can make you stunningly, incredibly successful!

Technical Editor

In February of this year, I agreed to play a role in the development of an upcoming social media marketing book titled "Zero to 100,000: Social Media Tips and Tricks for Small Businesses". I signed on as the book's technical editor and was asked to review the book, page by page, and ensure the accuracy of the strategies, processes, and information being presented. Today, I am happy to report that the project is complete and the book will be launching later this month.

First of all, I would like to express how proud I am to have played a part in such a project. This was my first experience editing a book, and I am okay with admitting that I was very hesitant to do so. However, after researching the project a bit further and the authors - Sarah-Jayne and Dean Gratton - it was clear to me that this was something I could not pass on. As my wife the teacher would say, "It's time to put on your big boy pants and get to work".

I was responsible for reading each chapter of the book, testing the ideas and strategies illustrated, and making editorial suggestions where necessary. I found the entire editing process to be very rewarding, and I had a lot of fun participating.

Book Review

As the title implies, Zero to 100,000 covers two of my favorite topics, social marketing and small business marketing. I am very familiar with both sets of strategies, as well as how to combine them to create specific marketing opportunities. However, while editing this book, I was finding that I was being introduced to several key concepts, strategies, and ideas that were new to me. As a person who sees himself as an expert in the Internet marketing field, admitting that I don’t know everything already is sometimes difficult to do. However, this is true testament to the authors and the level of knowledge they share in their book.

I feel that this book is perfect for those individuals and small businesses looking to get started in social media marketing. There is a lot to learn when marketing a business through social media, and this book does a fantastic job of covering the basics, as well as the necessities. In fact, Sarah-Jayne and Dean have written Zero to 100,000 to serve as a social marketing playbook of sorts. It will instruct you on everything one needs to know to set-up and manage their social media channels for success.

Furthermore, I’d certainly recommend this book to veteran marketing professionals as well. Zero to 100,000 is a great book for getting the “creative juices” flowing, and may introduce alternative strategies for implementing common social marketing concepts. Additionally, the authors do a remarkable job of highlighting different management strategies for a variety of channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. I feel that there is something to be learned for every level of reader.

"Zero to 100,000: Social Media Tips and Tricks for Small Businesses" launched earlier this month and is now available for purchase. Give it a read!

How Thinking Like Honeybees Can Help Boost SEO

2011-09-23T09:39:00.007-05:00

Honey bees are fascinating. They produce honey by collecting nectar and help pollinate hundreds of plants and vegetation in the process. They are responsible for around 30% of the food we eat. As SEOs, let's take a closer look at the honey bee, and at how thinking like a bee can actually help us to boost our content strategy while providing endless love from the 'Big G'.

Today's post is from guest author Joe Williams. Joe Williams runs SEO courses in London. And he likes to think of fun ways to explain SEO topics.

Honey bees are fascinating. They produce honey by collecting nectar and help pollinate hundreds of plants and vegetation in the process. They are the all-round good guys and are responsible for around 30% of the food we (gratefully) eat. As SEOs, let's take a closer look at the honey bee, and at how thinking like a bee can actually help us to boost our content strategy while providing endless love from the 'Big G'. Shall we?

Just as every bee knows that it needs quality nectar to make quality honey, SEOs know that they need quality content to make a quality pages - those worthy of being ranked by search engines. The problem is, however, websites are in need of 2 different kinds of content and while we mainly focus on one type, we often forget about the other. Websites need content that is capable of selling a product or service, as well as content that is capable of building value through links and social sharing. Allow me to explain.

Honey Content

Honey content, in this analogy, is a reference to the highly optimized content that appears on commercial pages - those pages that sell products and services, and drive business and revenue. These pages usually feature product or service information to which it has been expertly written to meet the needs of an audience and the goals of the publisher. Traditionally, this content is the first place SEOs choose to optimize when starting a strategy, and features top-level relevant keywords.

However, while honey content does indeed play an important role in the online experience, it does feature one major drawback. Honey content is traditionally dry content that is in no way interesting, exciting, or fun. Therefore, in comparison to other forms of online content, honey content does very little to attract links naturally.

As SEOs, we understand that this is a pretty big issue. Inbound links are extremely important to the search engine ranking process, especially for those websites within high volume and competitive markets. Without inbound links, any optimization strategy, basic or otherwise, performed on our honey content is essentially worthless.

What's the solution? Creating "Nectar Content".

Nectar Content

Nectar content is awesome, compelling, and fun content that has more mass appeal and therefore has a greater opportunity to be appreciated by all. This appreciation, of course, leads to more social sharing and inbound linking - two factors in which Google (and other search engines) base their ranking algorithms on.

The goal behind creating nectar content, at least as far as this analogy is concerned, is to capitalize on the value (link love) that is often generated because of it. Indirectly, this value will funnel down to other pages, such as honey content pages, and will help to boost their overall value as well.

The question you should be asking yourself is how can I create nectar content?

How to Create Nectar Content

Creating nectar content is often overlooked by larger companies and is a great opportunity for the little guys to succeed with smaller marketing budgets. The following are 6 tips to consider for when implementing nectar content into your website:

Maintain a Blog

Create a blog and post regularly about your industry's topics.

Conduct Industry Interviews

Interview someone that is influential and well-respected in your industry.

Create Useful Lists

Compile valuable and relevant information and resources in the form of a list.

Create Useful Tools

Create a tool that is useful to those in your target industry. (An accountant providing an online tax calculator)

Design Infographics

Create an easy-to-share graphic that lets your industry knowledge shine through and arouse interest in you industry.

Get Creative

Do something or create something that has never been done before.

4 Unique Skills of a Social Media Marketer

2011-08-30T11:02:00.006-05:00

Search engine optimization and social media marketing are not the same. This much is obvious. However, what is not so obvious are the skill-sets involved with each, and how incredibly different they are from one another. Take social marketing for example. A social marketer does not spend their time studying complex ranking algorithms or tweaking web pages.

Take social marketing for example. A social marketer does not spend their time studying complex ranking algorithms or tweaking web pages. Instead, social marketers focus on people, and specifically on strategies that create engagement and build conversations through insightful content.

While there may be some crossing-over from time-to-time - an SEO that also plays the part of an SMM, and vise verse - for the most part there won't be. Social media marketing requires a unique set of skills in order to perform the necessary tasks associated with it. What skills, exactly? Well, in my opinion, a social media marketer must be these 4 things, in addition to having other personal and professional skills.

A Filing Cabinet (Organizational Skills, Planning Skills)

First and foremost, a social media marketer MUST BE organized. Social marketing entails a lot of strenuous, yet important, day-to-day tasks, and one needs to be able to adequately manage their time to ensure that these tasks are completed according to the campaign's budget, goals, and specifications. Such tasks will include:

1. Creating content.
2. Publishing content.
3. Listening and engaging.
4. Reputation monitoring.
5. Reputation management.
6. Reviewing analytics.

Social media is full of all kinds of wonderful distractions. Knowing what needs to be achieved and being focused enough to stay on path is important. In most cases, a monthly or yearly calendar will need to be created highlighting the dates and times for when specific tasks are to be done and content published. Social media marketers will need to be able to execute their assigned tasks and strategies on time, or risk disrupting a lot of hard work.

A "Peoples" Person (People Skills, Networking Skills)

Since social marketing is a strategy built on the idea of social interaction, social media marketers, by default, need to be "people persons" - that is to thoroughly enjoy conversing and interacting with people. Being genuinely interested in people, and having a strong understanding of what they think, how to help them, and what makes them tick are skills that will help one to become more effective in communicating, networking, and marketing via social media channels.

Building an audience that is active, large in size, and, at the same time, relevant to one's marketing objective is a challenging task. Target audiences aren't gifted; they are built through hours upon hours of social interactions, engagement, and relationship building. If common, everyday interactions with people annoy you, than I'm sorry to say this is not the job for you.

A King of Content (Creative Skills, Resourceful)

As so many search and social marketers before me have said, "Content is King". This is probably the understatement of our industry. Content is, without a doubt, the absolute most important element of a social media marketing campaign. Without it, there is nothing to say, share, or showcase, and therefore there is no campaign.

A social media marketer worth his or her weight must be content-focused, and be able to generate new and exciting content to share on a frequent, ongoing basis. What kinds of content? All kinds of content!

A good social media marketer has to be able to write well. One should expect to author everything from 5-page articles to 500 word blog posts to 140 character tweets and updates. In addition, social marketers must be versatile when creating content. Often, social media marketers are tasked with creating and editing graphics, audio files, photos, and videos for the purpose of distributing and sharing. Having a solid understanding of these technologies and being able to utilize popular forms of Internet media such as photos and videos is essential.

A Social Media Handyman (Technical skills)

Just as a person in the offline world is sometimes called a handyman because of their superb ability to use carpentry tools to complete difficult house remodeling tasks, a social marketer must also be a handyman of sorts. Being a social media marketer means not only knowing about specific Internet tools and technologies, but mastering them in order to complete tasks more efficiently. Some tools of the trade include:

1. Social Media Platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.).
2. Content Publishing Tools (Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Excel, etc).
3. URL Shorteners (bit.ly, TinyURL, owl.ly, etc.).
4. Reputation Management Tools (TrackUR, Google Alerts, etc..
5. Content Automation Tools (TwitterFeed, Yahoo! Pipes, etc).

A social marketer's tool belt constantly changes and improves to feature the latest and greatest in social media management tools and technology. Does yours?

Moving forward, I'd like to once again reiterate that these are only 4 of the necessary skills needed to be a social media marketer. However, they are, in my opinion, the absolute most important. I'd consider them the core-4 of an essential social marketing skill-set. With that, I would certainly agree that other skills and talents are needed to round out one's abilities.

So let me ask you... in your opinion, what other skills should a social media marketer possess if he or she wishes to be successful? Which are absolutely essential?

6 Overlooked Onsite SEO Techniques for Bloggers

2011-07-14T09:02:00.007-05:00

There are two main elements of search engine optimization for blogs - onsite SEO, and offsite. When it comes to onsite SEO tactics, I've found that bloggers may in fact be overlooking a few very basic techniques, yet they are very important. Which techniques? The following is a closer look at 6 important onsite blog optimization tactics that will benefit every blogger.

Today’s post is from guest author Michael Tomlinson. Michael Tomlinson is a professional writer and blogger with a particular interest in online marketing. With a degree in Social Psychology, he has been helping many different companies maintain their professional relationships with clients and business partners since 2007.

There are two main elements of SEO for blogs - onsite and offsite. When it comes to onsite SEO tactics, I've found that bloggers may in fact be overlooking a few very important techniques. Which techniques? The following is a closer look at 6 important onsite SEO tactics that will benefit every blogger.

1. Appropriate Use of rel="nofollow"

In 2005, Google's Matt Cutts and Blogger's Jason Shellen saw how rampant spam was on blogs. They suggested using the nofollow attribute value to address this issue. Using nofollow means that you are blocking the act of giving a vote for the site that a hyperlink points to.

Where and why should you use nofollow? Search engine spiders can't sign-up for a forum or login to an account, so nofollow is useful on those elements. Let Googlebot crawl the pages that benefit most from being indexed. According to a June 2010 YouTube video by Matt Cutts, you should NOT use nofollow on internal links because PageRank judges your site based partly on internal links. If internal links have the nofollow attribute value, they cannot benefit your rank. In other words, they cannot "flow" PageRank.

Matt stated further that it's okay to use nofollow on a login or About page, but that having those pages indexed doesn't hurt. To use nofollow, place rel="nofollow" immediately before the anchor text in a hyperlink, like so:

<a href="http://www.example.org/" rel="nofollow">Anchor text</a>

2. Navigation - Text or JavaScript?

A great number of themes in both the WordPress and Blogger platforms feature JavaScript navigation menus. Javascript menus are more eye catching than plain text, so they are good for human eyes, but search engine spiders cannot read through JavaScript. The navigation links of a blog should always be crawlable.

However, instead of deserting slick JavaScript menus altogether, simply keep them, but add text links that spiders can read. Creating a secondary, text-link navigation along the bottom of a page is one viable solution. Visitors to your blog will see and use the JavaScript option, and search engine spiders can index the other blog pages via the text links. You can have your cake and eat it too.

3. Readable URLs

Blog URLs in the form of "www.myreligion.org/showthread.php?t=18989" are visually displeasing and impossible to remember. A better, clearer version would be "www.myreligion.org/forum/january/sermon3/". This is much easier to recall. In addition, the refined URL also helps search engine spiders categorize pages more effectively. WordPress allows its bloggers to alter URLs, while Blogger does not allow this currently.

4. ALT Image Text

Three events that could preclude a visitor from seeing an image on your blog are SRC attribute errors, a slowed connection, and the use of browsers like Lynx or a screen reader. Naming images appropriately with ALT annotations is considerate to those visitors, and it has SEO benefits. Spiders crawl images, so make sure image file-names reflect what the images portray.

5. Keyword Density Percentage

Keyword density is the ratio of keywords to total text in a given post. For instance, a blog post has 1,000 words. If the same keyword is repeated 20 times within those 1,000 words, that's a density of 2%. So what percentage of total words on your blog should be keywords? Is there an optimal percentage?

In 2006, Matt Cutts wrote a piece about keyword density, and this advice remains true today. The recommended keyword density is between two and eight percent. The longer the post, the greater the density can be.

6. Keywords in Anchor Text

What percentage of anchor text should be keywords? The argument is similar to that of keyword density: if there is a correct percentage, it probably changes.

Some professionals argue that even if an optimal percentage exists, it's a tiny range. The best practice is perhaps to vary your usage: use a combination of keywords and keyword-related text in some links, a mix of keywords and their direct synonyms in other links, and then just keywords for the rest of the links.

Has Blogging Been Replaced by Twitter & Facebook?

2011-06-14T12:42:00.001-05:00

The short answer is no, it has not. However the long answer may surprise you. Ultimately, the amount of time that one puts into their own blog versus other social media channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, should be determined on an individual basis and correspond directly with their goals for the particular industry they occupy.

This is a question that I've been asked several times by both clients and colleagues within the search marketing space, and today I'd like to address it. Has Twitter and Facebook replaced the need for blogging? The short answer is no, it has not. However the long answer may surprise you.

Ultimately, the amount of time that one puts into their own blog versus other social media channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, should be determined on an individual basis and correspond directly with their goals for the particular industry they occupy. In other words... to each their own.

My Blogging vs Social Strategy

With regards to my own personal blogging and social networking goals, I have found Twitter and Facebook to be a much better fit for what I'm trying to accomplish and therefore find it necessary to place the majority of my efforts on updating those channels over my blog. Does this mean that I'm no longer going to blog? I believe the fact that you're reading this suggests otherwise. My plan moving forward, however, is to simply continue spending my time fishing where the fish are, and currently the fish seem to be plentiful on lakes Twitter and Facebook.

Looking out across the search marketing landscape, I'd say I'm not the only blogger to have made the decision to limit time spent on blogging in favor of Facebooking and Tweeting. Sure, the cornerstones of our industry are still heavily blogging, such as Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, SEO Roundtable, and SEOmoz, but one can not ignore the fact that many, once prominent, industry bloggers are no longer doing so... or at least to the extreme that they once were. I'm sure this is the same for a number of other bloggers across a number of other industries.

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Twitter and Facebook make it extremely easy to create, find, share, and receive information. In addition to the timely element, both platforms fit very well into our new, ever-changing, and mobile world. Personally I'd take a 140 character Twitter synopsis over a 2000+ word blog post 9 times out of 10.

In addition, and maybe more importantly, Twitter and Facebook make it so easy to hold a one-on-one conversation where both parties can be as personable as they'd like to be. Have you ever tired having a conversation via a blog's comment section? It's not easy. Being able to converse with my audience as a whole or individually is a primary benefit to sharing an idea via Twitter and Facebook over that of my blog.

So, Where Do Blogs Fit In?

I think we can all agree that there are ideas that are best shared via a blog and those that are best shared via Facebook and Twitter. For me, and I assume many others, blogging is the perfect place to share ideas that require a more in-depth discussion or explanation – more than what Twitter's 140 characters will provide. In addition, blogging allows for the longevity of an idea or discussion. Conversations that happen via Twitter and Facebook are often times done and over and never to be seen again within a matter of days or even minutes. A blog post, thanks to search engines, has the potential to be revisited for as long as it sits, and thus allowing continuous engagement over time.

In closing, the need for blogging, at least in my opinion, has not been and will never be replaced by Twitter, Facebook, or any other future social media channel to come. Blogging should always have a role in one's social media strategy... how much of a role should depend on an individual's or company's own social marketing goals.

How Google's +1 Will Affect Paid Search

2011-05-11T11:51:00.009-05:00

Giving something a +1 is the same as giving it your public stamp of approval, and sharing it with friends, contacts, and others. In almost all cases, Google's +1 is exactly like Facebook's 'Like' feature with one major difference; Google plans to use +1 to not only share different types of content, but also to improve the quality of their own search engine results.

For starters and because this idea is still relatively new, allow me to first explain what Google's +1 (pronounced "Plus One") is. According to Google:

"The +1 button is shorthand for 'this is pretty cool' or 'you should check this out."

The idea is simple, and one that most of us are already familiar with. Giving something a +1 is the same as giving it your public stamp of approval, and sharing it with friends, contacts, and others. In almost all cases, Google's +1 is exactly like Facebook's 'Like' feature with one major difference; Google plans to use +1 to not only share different types of content, but also to improve the quality of their own search engine results. And that folks is the genius of it all.

As you'll see from this example to follow, the +1 button sits just right of each listing's title. When a user is logged in, they will be able to click on the +1 button to show their approval of the listing being provided.

Users, while logged in, will also see which of the available listings have been +1'd by those within their social circle. These enhanced listings feature a photo and a name, as shown here:

Google, as well as consumers, understands that there is great value and relevance that is generated from a personal recommendation. In fact, that value grows exponentially when such an endorsement comes from a close friend, or someone within our social circle. For example, I consult my good friend Trey before I purchase any kind of home improvement tool. He's very knowledgeable on the topic and therefore I completely trust his opinion on such matters. As I am sure you do, I have "go-to people" for all sorts of things. Google's +1 feature is going to attempt to bridge the gap between a person's searches and their go-to people.

As both a search marketer and a Google search user, I absolutely love this idea. Seeing search results that have been endorsed by friends and colleagues (who have ultimately had the same question) seems like the next logical course for providing a quality search engine experience. Does it not?

Google +1 and Paid Search

Aside from Google's organic search listings and more to the point of this article, Google is also adding their +1 feature to sponsored listings. Similar to Google's organic listings, sponsored listings will feature the +1 button, as well as the photo and name of those that have +1'd it.

Here's a quick Q&A to help you to better understand how Google's +1 is affecting your Google AdWords Pay Per Click efforts:

Which advertisers and ads have +1 buttons?

All advertisers running sponsored text-ads have a +1 button next to their ad. At the time of this article, +1 buttons are only available on sponsored text-ads that appear within Google's search results. However, I've been doing this long enough to know that this is likely to change. I'd expect that before long we'll be seeing +1 buttons on display text-ads, display image ads, product listings ads, product extension ads, and media ads.

Can advertisers opt-out of the +1 program?

No, there is no way for an advertiser to remove the +1 button from their ad. The +1 button, as well as any additional personalization feature being shown in the search results, is dependent on each individual Google user and their settings.

Do clicks on an ad's +1 button count as a paid ad click?

No, absolutely not. Ad clicks and +1 button clicks are completely separate. However, I wouldn't be surprised if click-through-rates (CTR) and ad-spend increase due to users accidentally clicking an ad's link when trying to click the +1 button.

Do +1's effect an ads quality score?

No, it does not... at least not directly anyway. The way that Google measures Quality Score for your ads has not changed. However, because Quality Score is a direct result of an ad's performance in relation to that of other ads competing for the same query and position AND because +1 is likely to increase an ad's CTR, ads with +1's may see a boost.

Does changing an ad's destination URL result in a loss of +1's?

Yes. +1's are associated with an ad's individual URL. For this reason, if you change the destination URL +1s on your old URL will not be applied to the new URL. Also, because AdWords looks at the final destination URL and not the path in which a user arrives on a page, ads having tracking parameters will not interfere with +1's.

Can Advertisers see +1's stats?

While I haven't been able to personally confirm this, Google states, "Advertisers will be able to see stats about which ads are getting the most +1's". I imagine that these stats will be built into the Google AdWords interface some time soon if not already.

So Where Does This Leave Us?

Well, in my opinion, in a better place.

I know, as I'm sure Google knows, that just as relationships are nuanced, the way relationships affect paid search will be nuanced. What I mean to say is that not every social connection has equal weight, nor should it, and not every social connection is useful for the same information. Accounting for these types of differences will be +1's biggest challenge and quite frankly the key to its long-term success. However, as it sits today, I believe Google is on the right track for integrating social media into its search results.

Social media is founded on relationships. Relationships help us to discover new things, remove risk from our decisions, and affirm our choices. Paid search advertising is about satisfying intent as efficiently as possible. And, Google's new +1 feature on paid ads is the layer that integrates relationships with paid search.

Does Google AdWords Favor Bigger Companies?

2010-11-02T14:21:00.008-05:00

Does Google play favorites when it comes to paid search advertisers and large brands/companies? The short answer is probably not. However, it is something I've often speculated. While performing a couple of vanity searches on behalf of my client I happen to notice that a competitor's ad was featuring a slightly larger than normal ad-title.

Google AdWords enforces a 25-character limit for all ad-titles, or so I've been told. This is to say that an advertisement's title can be no longer than 25-characters, including spaces. If this were true, than how is possible that Amazon is able to display a paid search ad featuring a 27-character title?

I will give Google AdWords the benefit of the doubt and suggest that this is none other than an editorial oversight, or a glitch that has occurred with the use of their 'Keyword Implementation' feature. However, I still can't help but wonder if these additional 2-characters aren't a part of a special privilege given to bigger brands like Amazon. What else do they get a way with that others aren't able to? Conspiracy theorists unite!

Thoughts?

Book Review: "Social Media Marketing"

2010-09-06T17:48:00.003-05:00

Twitter? Facebook? MySpace? Foursquare? There's no question that social media is all the rage these days, but with all of the hype surrounding this new marketing channel, where's a company to begin? Well, let me offer some advice. I'd highly suggest checking out "Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter, & Other Social Media".

"Using new social media marketing techniques, you can deepen relationships with your most passionate, profitable customers - and create more of them than ever before! In this 100% practical book, world-renowned expert Li Evans shows exactly how to make the most of social media - in any company, in any industry."

Twitter? Facebook? MySpace? Foursquare? There's no question that social media is all the rage these days, but with all of the hype surrounding this new marketing channel, where's a company to begin? Well, let me offer some advice. If you're new to the idea of using social networking sites as marketing vehicles for your business and would like a little handholding on this brand new adventure, I'd highly suggest checking out "Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter, & Other Social Media"

Social Media Marketing is is authored by my friend and marketing expert Liana "Li" Evans. Li is a true veteran when it comes to search and social marketing, and is one person that I personally admire and look up to in our field. Li has been marketing websites for 10+ years, and is very much respected in the online marketing world.

Book Review

This book is absolutely amazing. Li does a great job introducing unique social media strategies, and providing what seems like an unlimited amount of powerful and actionable insights. In addition, this book was easy-to-read (just over 300 pages), and is perfect for both novice and expert social marketing enthusiasts.

Social Media Marketing will help readers to develop social media marketing strategies and goals that are specific to their business, to find conversations that are happening around their company, products, and services, to engage, and to define and measure success. These are all important elements of the social marketing process, and Li's expertise is dead on.

My favorite chapter in the book came pretty early. Chapter 3, "Goals need to Be Defined", features valuable insights on ways companies can measure the success of their social marketing efforts. In my opinion, setting predefined goals and measuring success according to those goals is the most important detail when running a social marketing campaign. However, it is also the one detail that I believe is most overlooked. In this chapter, Li does a superb job breaking down what seemed like an unlimited number of metrics a company could use to measure social media - several of which were even new to me.

I 100% endorse this book, and recommend it be added to your marketing library.

My Blogger Migration Experience

2010-03-23T20:12:00.003-05:00

Google is mandating that all Blogger blogs now be hosted on Google's servers. With that, I've decided to move forward with the migration process which is something I've been dreading since first learning of it back in early February. However, with the deadline vastly approaching, I needed to knock it out with enough time to troubleshoot any potential problems.

Like so many other users, I am not at all happy about Google's recent decision to remove FTP publishing capabilities from Blogger. Google is mandating that all Blogger blogs now be hosted on Google's servers, which is something I believe to be a huge mistake. Eliminating FTP capabilities will only limit the options that users have when managing their blogs. In my mind, eliminating options is always a bad thing. However, according to Google, having FTP capabilities is a significant drain on their ability to improve the platform.

"Only .5% of active blogs are published via FTP — yet the percentage of our engineering resources devoted to supporting FTP vastly exceeds that. On top of this, critical infrastructure that our FTP support relies on at Google will soon become unavailable, which would require that we completely rewrite the code that handles our FTP processing."

I'll just have to take Google's word on this, and assume they had no other option but to completely cut-out their FTP program. Well, that's not true. I could have jumped ship and went to another blog provider, but I've been dedicated to the Blogger platform since day one and would really hate to leave now. I'll just have to roll with the punches for the time being.

My Blogger Migration Experience

Last Friday, I decided to move forward with the migration process. I had been dreading it since first learning of it back in early February. However, with the deadline vastly approaching (May 1st, 2010), I needed to knock it out with enough time to troubleshoot any potential problems I might run into. I also wanted to make sure I had enough time to assist my company and clients with their migration efforts too.

Surprisingly, the process itself was not at all difficult. The Blogger team created what they refer to as a "Migration Tool", which made the whole experience extremely easy to handle... even for non-programmers. This tool handled all of the file transferring from my current hosting to Google's hosting. More importantly, the tool also handled all of the necessary page redirects using rel=canonical and meta-refresh tags. This means that all the SEO value that I've built up from the past 5+ years of blogging won't be disappearing. Blogger also created a secondary tool / option to assist users with correcting links, files, and images that may become broken during the migration process.

I'd say that from start to finish, the Blogger migration process took me somewhere in the neighborhood of about 45 to 60 minutes - 90% of that time was sitting back and waiting Blogger to do its thing. I imagine that times will vary depending on the size of your blog.

In addition to the Migration tool, Google also provided some very helpful resources to assist with the migration process. They created a video walk-through, a blog, and even a forum to address specific problems one might be having. I found each of these resources to be extremely helpful, and would encourage everyone to keep them handy.

Overall, I'd say I'm very pleased with the migration process the Blogger team has put together. While migrating itself isn't something I completely agree with, they made the whole experience fast and easy. Kudos to you, Blogger. However, in closing, I will say that I have yet to see a major difference between the 2 styles of publishing. Other than being able to instantly publish with zero wait time and a few minor design issues I'm dealing with, not much has changed. And you know, I'm not sure that's such bad thing either.

Book Review: "Facebook Marketing"

2010-03-12T10:41:00.005-06:00

In the last hundred years, the way to advertise was to get into the mass media and push out your content. In the next hundred years information won't be pushed out to people, it will be shared among the millions of connections people have. Advertising will change. You will need to get into these connections. Enter "Facebook Marketing."

In the last hundred years... the way to advertise was to get into the mass media and push out your content. In the next hundred years information won't be pushed out to people, it will be shared among the millions of connections people have. Advertising will change. You will need to get into these connections.

Let me start by saying that I'm not one for bad-mouthing a book or its author. His or her opinion on what is relevant enough to include in their writing and what to leave out will almost always conflict with what I believe. I'm ok with this. However, just as important as reviewing which books I think my readers would be interested in, is informing them of books I believe they should avoid. This makes sense, right? Today's book review is one that I believe all Internet Marketers should avoid.

Book Review

Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business by Steven Holzner was not at all what I had expected it to be. For starters, the material and screen shots were outdated - understandably there is little that the author could have done to prevent this - and the entire book seemed like a general rehash of Facebook's navigation menus. This is quite lame if you ask me.

I purchased this book expecting to read things like "how to build a bigger, better company brand with Facebook", "getting started with Facebook ads and advanced targeting" and "tips for building a more relevant fan-base". These topics are not only timely, but very important in today's Facebook marketing initiatives. Instead, there were no such chapters. I forced myself to sift through 288 paperback pages of nothing but the very basics of Facebook - notice I didn't say "Marketing" either.

In my opinion, this book is better suited to be a manual for someone who doesn't know how to create a basic Facebook profile. There is very little marketing information or strategy in this book, and I would only recommend it to someone who is an absolute beginner. If this is not you, then pass on buying this book. In fact, I believe that just by signing up for a Facebook account and clicking around will not only be a cheaper alternative to reading this book, but one that will be more interesting and effective.

I'm Sorry Steven. I do not endorse this book.

Facebook Page Analytics: Insights

2010-02-16T18:37:00.002-06:00

Facebook Insights provides Facebook Page owners with metrics on the performance of their Page. Facebook believes that by understanding and analyzing trends within user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content, Page owners are better equipped to improve their business with Facebook. I couldn't agree more.

My Experience with Facebook Insights

As most of you know, last month I created a Facebook Ppage where my goal was simply to segment my personal and professional relationships. I am happy to report that my experience thus far has been absolutely great. I’ve managed to build up a following of 200+ very supportive fans, and have been able to contribute at least once every day.

In fact, the best part about this whole experience, is that I am no longer annoying my audiences with content that isn't meant for them. Prior to creating my Page, I was finding that I was annoying personal friends with posts pertaining to work, as well as annoying work friends with updates pertaining to my personal life. This new arrangement works so much better for me, and the people I connect with.

I am finding Insights to be very useful. I am able to better understand who my Page audience is and which kinds of content they prefer. Specifically, I am able to see the number of followers that I have, their age and sex, how they have grown over a period of time, how they interact with the content that I share, and a multitude of other details that are specific to my page and followers.

The following are a few snap-shots of my Insights data:

On the surface, this level of information would seem raw or incomplete, maybe even worthless. However, when I analyze this data side-by-side with my post calendar - a document that highlights what I've posted and when - I am able to see 'big picture' statistics. For example, I now know that my posts attract the greatest interactions and engagement when they are questions or highly opinionated statements.

Furthermore, if my goal is to create follower interactions and engagement, which it is, I should revamp my strategy to include more questions and opinion posts and less industry facts, news, tips, and links.

Of course, this is just one detail that I've learned with the help of Facebook Insights. I promise there is much, much more.

Where to Begin with Facebook Insights

To see metrics on your Facebook Page, go to the Insights Dashboard. Only Page admins and developers can view insights. To view comprehensive insights on your specific Page, application or website, click on it in the left navigation bar.

6 Ideas for Making Hootsuite Better

2010-02-10T18:46:00.007-06:00

Hootsuite is an amazing social networking tool that simplifies the need of managing multiple social media channels across multiple client campaigns. Hootsuite users can update their Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts from their Hootsuite dashboard, as opposed to using a separate source for each, making the managing of multiple clients much easier.

Hootsuite is an amazing social networking tool that simplifies the need of managing multiple social media channels across multiple client campaigns. Hootsuite users can update their Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ping.FM and WordPress accounts from their Hootsuite dashboard, as opposed to using a separate source for each. This, of course, makes the managing of multiple clients and accounts much, much easier.

When asked, most users will say their favorite feature is the ability to update multiple social channels at one time and from one location, and rightfully so. However, Hootsuite offers additional features that alone make the tool worth using. For example, Hootsuite provides users the ability to create personalized Twitter and Facebook streams for monitoring updates, the ability to schedule future tweets, the ability to see click and interaction analytics, and the ability to auto-publish using RSS feeds. What once took several tools to do, now only takes Hootsuite.

My Recommendations for Making Hootsuite Better

I would like to state that I am proud user of Hootsuite, and have been for more than a year. In fact, I use Hootsuite every day to manage my personal social marketing initiatives, as well as those of my clients. I highly recommend others give it a try. Regardless if you're managing a single campaign or many, Hootsuite will simplify the social marketing process.

As is the case with any tool, program, or application, there is always room for improvements. The following are 6 ideas that I'd very much like to see added to Hootsuite for I know these updates will greatly improve the overall value of the tool.

Automatic Private Message to New Followers

I would love the ability to send a direct message to every new Twitter follower I receive automatically. For example, "thanks for following me" or "I'm an Internet marketer and post on these topics". I feel this feature would help to build engagement and spark conversations between users and their new followers.

Furthermore, this feature could also be used to fulfill direct marketing offers. For example, following us on Twitter and receive 10% off of your next sale. Hootsuite could then be set up to automatically send new followers the necessary coupon code when a user receives a new follow.

Allow for more than 10 RSS/Atom Feeds

Hootsuite has this amazing feature that allows users to link RSS feeds to their account and create custom messaging so that when an RSS feed is updated a tweet or update is automatically generated and published to selected social networks. This is a great tool for syndicating a company blog and/or an industry news site directly into one's twitter or Facebook stream.

However, the problem that I have with this feature is that Hootsuite limits users to only 10 feeds. Obviously, having an unlimited number of feeds is probably out of the question, but I strongly feel that 10 feeds is too limiting, especially when considering that their platform was built to help social marketers manage multiple campaigns at the same time. I would love to see Hootsuite extend this limit to something like 20 or 30 feeds per account.

Provide a Post After or Post-fix Option for RSS/Atom Feeds

When customizing RSS syndication for your account, Hootsuite allows users to enter a 20 character prefix that will be added to each of their auto tweets/updates. What I'd like to see provided is an option that will allow users the ability to also add a 20 character post-fix to each tweet/update. This option is currently available with TwitterFeed, and I love using it. I use this feature to better customize my auto-messaging by appending a "call to action" or a closing statement to each of my RSS updates.

Create a Full Version iPhone App

Yes, Hootsuite has a downloadable iPhone app and yes it is extremely cool. The app syncs directly with the main web application, and provides users with the ability to manage their Hootsuite account via an iPhone. However, the problem that I have with the Hootsuite iPhone app and one I'd like to see addressed is that it is very limiting in that it only works with Twitter, and none of the other social networking channels the main platform works with. I'd gladly pay for a full version iPhone app - one that allowed me to access all my tabs and publish to multiple social networks.

Side-ways Keyboard compatibility with iPhone

This would seem like a no-brainer, but for whatever reason Hootsuite doesn't utilize the iPhone's side-ways keyboard compatibility - where if the phone is turned on its side the keyboard and message area also turn and become wider. This feature would make it easier for fat-thumbed individuals, like myself, to enter updates.

Spreadsheet Upload for Future Tweets

One of the coolest features, if not the coolest, that Hootsuite offers is the ability to create tweets / updates and schedule them to be posted at any day and time in the future. This is great tool for say small businesses that wish to participate on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook, but are very limited in the amount of time they can allocate to doing so. Small business can create their Twitter and Facebook messaging when time allows, and schedule them to be posted during those times that aren't convenient to do so.

With that, I'd like the ability to create and upload future tweets/updates via a spreadsheet. I currently use a spreadsheet now to manage my messaging (as I imagine most people do when planning social marketing campaigns using Twitter and Facebook), and it would be amazing if users had the option to simply upload their excel file directly to Hootsuite. This would eliminate having to copy and paste each update separately, which would make me and other users extremely happy.

Thoughts?

What do you think? If you're a current Hootsuite user, which ideas and features do you have or want to see implemented?

Why It Makes Sense to Create a Facebook Page

2010-01-18T19:09:00.006-06:00

I understand that for some businesses it just makes sense to create a Facebook page. However, what if you’re like me? I’m not really a “business” in the traditional sense, but rather a consultant within a specific industry. Is it necessary for me to have my own page? At first, I didn’t believe so. However, I now believe it was the best decision for all of those involved.

I understand that for some businesses it just makes sense to create a Facebook page. However, what if you’re like me? I’m not really a “business” in the traditional sense, but rather a consultant within a specific industry. Is it necessary for me to have my own page? At first, I didn’t believe so. However, after much consideration I now believe it was the best decision for all of those involved. Allow me to explain.

Why I Created a Facebook Page

In the Internet marketing industry, "friend requests" and "follows" from colleagues, conference buds, or even from people you've never heard of before but share the same job description as is quite common. I've learned to accept this. I understand that building up social profiles is a big part of what it is we do for ourselves and our clients, and therefore I play ball. However, I've always felt that Facebook was a different animal altogether.

For me personally, Facebook isn't a social media platform where I feel that numbers even matter - at least when it comes to personal pages. I would much rather have a smaller, more relevant list of friends that know me, interact with me on regular basis, and understand my need for privacy, than to have my personal life syndicated to individuals that don't, or otherwise became my friend to learn and share work-related information.

My problem, up until a few days ago, was determining where to draw the line. I didn't want to snub my fellow marketers by ignoring their friend requests, but at the same time I knew my personal page was not the appropriate medium to share "work-related" updates. This is where the Facebook Page comes in.

Why You Should Create a Facebook Page

I created a Facebook Page to segment my audiences: personal and professional. While there is of course going to be some crossover from time to time, I feel that keeping these 2 audiences separate is the best solution for me.

Furthermore, I would certainly encourage others to consider this solution for the following 3 reasons:

1. A Facebook Page allows owners the ability to engage their business contacts on a professional level, without annoying their family and friends. In my case, friends and family will no longer be annoyed with website design and marketing related tips, tricks, ideas, and updates.

2. A Facebook Page provides an owner’s professional contacts with a way to connect with them that doesn't otherwise subject them to updates regarding their personal life. In my case, my professional contacts will no longer be annoyed with updates regarding my videogame, TV, and movie experiences, nor with updates pertaining to the food I’m cooking or eating.

3. A Facebook Page allows users the freedom of being both personal and professional on Facebook. Users will no longer have to second guess their updates wondering if they were too personal, or too business related for their stream.

Book Review: "Twitter: Tips, Tricks, and Tweets"

2010-01-02T12:10:00.003-06:00

If Twitter can influence our political opinions, could it also determine what we buy? Some of the world's biggest brands hope so, and many have jumped into Twitterland with both feet. Some use the service for product announcements, while others post responses to questions and complaints from customers; some even hosts contests to win free products and services.

"If Twitter can influence our political opinions, could it also determine what we buy? Some of the world's biggest brands hope so, and many have jumped into Twitterland with both feet. Some use the service for product announcements, while others post responses to questions and complaints from customers; some even hosts contests to win free products and services."

Book Review

As the title clearly implies, Twitter: Tips, Tricks, and Tweets by Paul McFedries is a book featuring the many different ways users can use Twitter better, and more efficiently.

I happen to be an avid Twitter user and have been tweeting since June 2008. I am very familiar with Twitter, and use the application for both personal and professional purposes. I purchased this book not because I needed a crash-course on Twitter, but rather because learning as much as I can about Twitter currently interests me. In addition, I am also a firm believer that no matter how knowledgeable or experienced a person is over a given subject, there is always something new that be learned. One only has to look in the right places.

Was I looking in the right place when I selected this book? I was. The book highlighted a couple of things that were new for me. For example, I learned that Twitter accounts can be downloaded via a hidden XML feed and imported into excel for evaluation. I also read about all the exciting things that twitter bots are capable of, that there is an entire directory of twitter text commands for mobile use, and that apps such as TweetBeep and TweetVolume can be leveraged for competitive analysis and brand management.

Furthermore, I feel that others can benefit from reading this book. Overall, Twitter: Tips, Tricks, and Tweets is an easy read, and was written in a way that helps simplify the many social quirks of using Twitter. I certainly recommend this book to those just getting started in Twitter. However, at the same time, I wouldn't discourage veteran Twitter users from also picking up a copy of this book either.

Using Google Voice: Review & Suggestions

2009-11-28T19:53:00.005-06:00

Google Voice is a newer service offering from Google that provides users with a phone number to which they can use to tie-in all of their other phone numbers. The primary idea behind this service is that users can simply give out the same, single number to family, friends, and clients, and depending on their settings, one can forward all calls directly to the number of their choice.

Google Voice is a newer service offering from Google that provides users with a phone number (new, free, and your choice) to which they can use to tie-in all of their other phone numbers. The primary idea behind this service is that users can simply give out the same, single number to family, friends, and clients, and depending on their settings, one can forward all calls directly to the number of their choice - mobile, office, or home phone.

Furthermore, Google voice also offers a digital voice-mail box feature, as well as the ability to transcribe voice-mails to a text message or email.

My Thoughts

I've had the opportunity to test Google Voice for the last few months, and am happy to say that I am very pleased with how well it works. Google Voice is a great service, and fills the needs users have when managing multiple contact numbers. However, as with any tool or service, there is always room for improvement. I compiled the following list of 5 suggestions for making the Google Voice service better.

Implement Day-Parting Features

Day-Parting will give users even greater control for when handling their calls throughout the week, and even hours of the day. For example, I, like most, work a 40-hour work week in an office. However, on nights and weekends, I am at home with my family. It would be great if Google Voice could be set to transfer my calls to the most appropriate contact number based on the schedule that I provide.

Implement Caller ID Rules

Having the ability to create individual Caller ID rules for specific people or groups of people would be a top-notch feature. If I could first segment my contacts into groups, Google Voice can then screen my calls, and handle them according to the rules I've set for each group. For example, I'd very much wish to receive all calls from 'Group A' (friends, and family), have calls from 'Group B' (old clients, and colleagues) sent to voice-mail, and have calls from 'Group C' (sales calls, and others who can't seem to take a hint) go nowhere - let it ring, but do not notify me or provide them with voice-mail options. I believe this feature, integrated well with my day-parting idea, would be amazing. Users would no longer be bothered with work calls during "off" hours, or personal calls during "on" hours... if they should choose to.

Implement Analytics and Reporting

Having access to basic usage analytics would be a great feature for businesses wishing to monitor their phone usage. For example, I'd very much like to see a reporting section that featured such stats as the total number of calls received, a breakdown of where calls were being transferred, and the average talk time of each call. These stats, and others, will help users to better understand their time, and time-management needs.

Implement Multiple Voice-Mail Introductions

Having the ability to create multiple voice-mail introductions for individuals or groups of people is a simple idea, and one that can be appreciated by all. For example, I'd like the ability to create a more personal introduction for when my friends and family call, but a more a professional introduction for when colleagues, clients, and vendors call. Their are obvious benefits for wanting this.

Implement Better Voice Translation

Google Voice's voice-translation is a great feature when it works. It really is. However, it is extremely annoying when it doesn't, which seems to be more often than not. I find that translation problems exist when callers speak with an accent, or use words that are easily mistaken for other words. I like the idea of voice-to-text translation because it means not having to take time checking and listening to voice messages. But, when it doesn't work or the message is not clear, it defeats the purpose.

Overall, I enjoyed using Google Voice and will continue to do so. It's a tool that simplifies my need for passing out multiple contact numbers, and would encourage others with similar needs to give it a try.

Ask's 'Sponsored Listings' Program Sucks

2009-09-09T20:01:00.002-05:00

In my 6-year tenure as a search marketing professional, I have not once come across a PPC interface as difficult to use as Ask's is. If I didn't know any better I'd suggest that Ask took a long, hard look at what other paid search providers were doing with their interfaces and decided to do the complete opposite. Ask simply dropped the ball here.

I'm sorry if the title comes off a little strong. As bad as it sounds, know that there is no other way in which I can politely stress my point all the while still express the frustration that I have for the Ask Sponsored Listings platform. It's time for a rant.

I'd like to first begin by stating that I have no problems with Ask's technology or even their sponsored search network. I happen to think that Ask has done very well on both of these fronts. However, the problem I do have is with the platform's interface. I find their interface to be extremely difficult to use which in turn makes managing a paid campaign very difficult. In fact, I am at the point where I'm recommending that my clients don't advertise on Ask because of these interface issues. If I can't easily and efficiently manage a paid-search account, than I simply choose not to do it. This is a problem and it needs to be addressed.

In my 6-year tenure as a search marketing professional, I have not once come across a PPC interface as difficult to use as Ask's is. Not Google. Not Yahoo!. Not MSN. Not Kanoodle. Not Enhance. Not 7Search. Not FindWhat. Not anyone. If I didn't know any better I'd suggest that Ask took a long, hard look at what other paid search providers were doing with their interfaces and decided to do the complete opposite. It simply sucks... there is no nicer way to say it.

Furthermore, I can appreciate one's need to be unique, especially in a space as competitive as search is. However, Ask dropped the ball here. They ignored industry standards when creating their Sponsored Listings interface, and because of that, navigating the platform and creating and editing campaigns is extremely difficult to do.

I would very much love to see Ask redesign their Sponsored Listings program, starting specifically with it's interface. I'd like to see a model that is more standardized and of course easier to use. Functionality is key. However, until then, I am boycotting the use of Ask's paid search program.

Review: New Wordtracker Keyword Research Tool

2009-08-31T11:54:00.010-05:00

Wordtracker launched an updated version of their keyword research tool to which I've been able to test for the past few months. I am happy to report that I'm quite impressed with its new look and functionality. The new version is easy to use and understand. Believe me when I say that Wordtracker has come a long way from their past versions.

Keyword research is a big part of the search marketing process. Without significant keyword research, marketers would not know which keywords to buy in their paid-search efforts, nor which terms to optimize for in their organic-search efforts. Simply put, keyword research is important.

It goes without saying that because keyword research is important, the tools that assist with keyword research are also important. Keyword research tools help us to learn all we need to know about a keyword prior to integrating it into our marketing campaigns. For example, some tools will provide related keyword suggestions, search counts, popularity stats, and a series of other metrics geared toward helping marketers to select the most appropriate keywords for the project at hand.

Today, I'd like to discuss one particular keyword research tool, Wordtracker. Recently, Wordtracker launched an updated version of their keyword research tool to which I've been able to test for the past few months. I am happy to report that I'm quite impressed with its new look and functionality. The new version is much better then previous models, and its interface is easy to use and understand. If you've used previous versions of Wordtracker, than you know that this is a huge step in the right direction.

New Features

In order to fully understand my excite for the following features now added to Wordtracker, you would likely have had to use the previous versions of their keyword research tool, or a similar tool. Believe me when I say that Wordtracker has come a long way from their past versions. Features that are often considered standard among keyword research tools, weren't available on Wordtracker. It is for this reason that I am very excited to see so many new features being added to the tool, with future updates coming every day.

So what are some of these new features? The following is a list of 6 new updates that I feel have helped Wordtracker to stand out among other keyword research tools.

1. Finding Keywords.

The process for starting a keyword research project hasn't changed. One still needs to enter "starter" keywords (image #1) to find alternative relevant search terms. However, the number of options a user has available to them has increased. Users can now control match types, misspellings, plurals, and adult related keywords.

In addition, users now have the ability to select suggested keywords individually, and can choose to add or not add them to a project. A list is generated according to the settings set forth by the user, in which users can then "keep" or "discard" keywords at ease by selecting the associated check box next to the term.

2. Selecting / Deselecting Keywords Results.

As the previous picture highlights, users have the ability to keep or discard keywords by simply clicking on the check box next to each search term. One new add-on that really helped to sell this feature for me was the the 'select / deselect' keyword feature. This feature is exactly how it sounds. It is a list of options that allow users to quickly manage their research results.

I for one appreciate having the ability to remove all non-relevant variations of keywords in one quick swoop. For instance, let's say your company sells pickles but not pickle recipes. To quickly remove "pickle recipe" keyword combinations from your list, simply type "recipe" in the box and click "Deselect". It's as easy as pie.

3. Integrating Google Counts for Each Keyword.

I'm really pleased that Wordtracker has the ability to reference Google results along side search counts. Google results is a metric that can make the keyword research and keyword selection processes easier.

Knowing the number of pages that Google has indexed for each particular keyword phrase can be a great indicator as to how competitive or even how difficult achieving top rankings is going to be for specific keywords. Having this information readily available across thousands of keywords can really help users to make better decisions when it comes to choosing the most appropriate keywords for their project.

4. Saving, Editing and Downloading Projects.

While it seems simple enough, having the ability to save keyword research projects for future editing and use is new per this recent update. Honestly, it is easily my favorite of all the new updates. Under previous versions, users were not given the option to save their work, and therefore had to scrap previous research data before starting a new project.

5. Organizing Keyword Lists within Projects.

Wordtracker now offers the ability to create, save, and edit multiple keyword lists for each of your projects. I found that this feature is really helpful when performing keyword research for a site that sells multiple types of products or even brands. Users can now segment their keyword findings, and organize them into separate lists. For example, a shoe store webmaster might opt to create multiple lists breaking out "Nike", "Reebok", "dress", and "casual" related keywords.

6. Downloading Projects to Excel.

Wordtracker now allows users to download their keyword research directly into excel. This feature is not only essential, but one that was long overdue. I for one am thrilled about this particular update and use it all the time.

Several months ago, I gave up on Wordtracker for my keyword research needs. At that time, the tool wasn't doing enough for me and certainly didn't compare to other research tools that were made available to me. However, after hearing about the launch of there new update, I decided to give Wordtracker another chance. I am so glad that I did.

Wordtracker's new updates, as well as those that remain on the back-burner, have made all the difference. The innovation and wrench work that their teams put into this update have more than paid off. Wordtracker is a great keyword research tool, and one that I would recommend to anyone in the market for easy-to-use, affordable, and relevant keyword research solution.