It is important to keep these differences in mind when blogging. If you're blogging primarily for Canadians, then use the Canadian spelling. If blogging for Americans, use the U.S. spelling. If you're blogging for both, then keep in mind that the U.S. population is roughly 10 times that of Canada.

The following is a list of common spelling differences between Canadian and American words:

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Canadian / American Spelling Differences … Does Your Blog Speak to the Proper Market?

We’ve known for a long time that we’ve got a search marketing “dream team”, so its nice to have that validated by a publication as respected as Profit Magazine! The Profit 100 rankings are based on percentage revenue growth over the previous 5 year period, and upon having attained a minimum revenue level.

Profit Magazine is Canada’s preeminent publication dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. Published six times a year by Rogers Publishing Ltd., PROFIT is distributed almost exclusively to the chief executives of companies with five to 250 employees and annual revenue of $1 million to $25 million, reaching 306,000 readers across Canada.

We’ll now gladly add this award to the Branham award we received in 2006, as one of the “Top 25 Canadian IT Up and Comers” .

I would like to take this post as an opportunity to thank all our valued clients and employees for making this award a reality. Without you all, this would not have been possible!

Below, follows our press release on the topic.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Search Engine People Inc. named one of Canada’s fastest growing companies
–Search marketing ‘dream team’ relies on win-win-win philosophy to fuel success–

Ajax, ON, June 1, 2009—Search Engine People Inc. (SEP), Canada’s premiere search marketing firm, has been named one of Canada’s fastest growing companies. The company ranked 87th in the 21st annual PROFIT 100 ranking of Canada’s fastest-growing companies by PROFIT Magazine.

“Over the last five years, we achieved tremendous revenue growth” says Jeff Quipp, president and CEO of Search Engine People Inc. “This phenomenal growth has been a team effort—we employ dedicated specialists in all aspects of search marketing including a variety of industry experts and renowned consultants.”

Quipp routinely speaks at conferences worldwide on the topic of search engine optimization and is widely recognized as one of the preeminent authorities on search and social media. He is a leading expert on Internet marketing, search engine optimization, paid search management, reputation management and social media marketing.

“Client satisfaction is critical to our success,” Quipp adds. “Happy clients have carried our message of quality and results to their contacts, leading to skyrocketing referrals, self-financed growth and non-existent employee turnover. Our approach has been a win for our clients, a win for Search Engine People and definitely a win for our employees.”

The company expects its growth to continue and plans to open a Vancouver office in August 2009. It was also recently selected to lead the Internet Advertising Board’s “Paid Search” course in cities across the country beginning in July.

Ranking Canada’s fastest-growing companies by five-year revenue growth, the PROFIT 100 profiles the country’s most successful growth companies. Published in the June issue of PROFIT and online at PROFIT100.com, the PROFIT 100 is Canada’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement.

“The PROFIT 100 are an inspiration to entrepreneurs at all stages of growth, from startup to major corporation,” says Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT. “Their business practices and product innovations are exemplary of how businesses can succeed in uncertain times.”

About Profit Magazine
PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success, is Canada’s preeminent publication dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For more than 25 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it’s a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them increase their revenues, boost their profitability and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Published six times a year by Rogers Publishing Ltd., PROFIT is distributed almost exclusively to the chief executives of companies with five to 250 employees and annual revenue of $1 million to $25 million, reaching 306,000 readers across Canada. Visit PROFIT online at http://www.PROFITmagazine.ca.

About Search Engine People
Search Engine People Inc. is a Toronto-based search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) company which began operations in 2001. The company has expertise in organic search, paid search, local search, social media marketing, campaign tracking, and usability. Search Engine People works with a variety of clients from multinational corporations to local businesses including Discovery Channel, MuchMusic, Purolator, Discount Car and Truck Rental, and many more. Search Engine People was selected by the Branham Group as one of the Top 25 Canadian IT Up and Comers for 2006. Visit us at http://www.searchenginepeople.com.

For more information contact:
Kevin Morrison, Polaris Public Relations Inc., kevin@polarisprinc.com or (416) 856-9807

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Search Engine People Named One of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies by Profit Magazine

To get more familiar with it, here are 29 useful scenario's, ranging from getting a new job to doing market research, and 4 … somewhat unexpected ones

People ask me all the time; "Why in the world would I ever want to use Twitter? I can't see the benefit, and have better things to do with my time than make conversations with strangers."

I've also seen research suggesting that only 40% of Twitter followers stay engaged with the service in the month or months that follow. Both good points, though from a limited perspective.

The reality of the matter is there are many reasons to use Twitter, though different people and organizations have different reasons.

The key is in showing restraint in the early "test month(s)" to try the various possible applications so a potential Twitterer does not 'burn himself out' before finding the true value. Most people don't show this restraint, and burn out in the first month, as the research shows.

With this in mind, I thought I'd commit all the reasons I could think of to paper, so future Twitterers would know what types of reasons and benefits to look for when they "trial" the service. After all, "if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there!"

So, here are the various ways in which you can use Twitter, segmented by primary reason: marketing or personal perspective.

From a Marketer's Perspective:

1. Competitive - to track what competitors are doing and thinking (watch their tweets, who they're conversing with, and so forth). Gain insights!

2. Employee Tracking - See where your employees are, and even what they're doing. eg. If you're a service company with contractors on the road, some have used Twitter to reveal where all their contractors are around a city, which indicates how close they are to their next service call.

3. Market Research - to perform quick polls and research (eg. iphone or BlackBerry?) that will help you plan or implement your business strategy.

4. Networking - to connect with specific media personalities (eg. NY Times reporters), industry figures, politicians, etc., in hopes such relationships can help forward the company's agenda.

5. News - to stay abreast of real-time industry news as its breaking. Twitter propagates news almost immediately after occurring, so provides almost instant notification to well versed Twitterers. The early bird gets the proverbial worm so to speak!

6. Branding - To build awareness, trust, and possibly loyalty. If a company Twitters good information routinely, and isn't overly self-promotional, the profile will gather followers. The profile is then associated with quality industry news and integrity. Frequency and quality of posts then breed familiarity, and eventually trust.

7. Promotion - to promote new content on your website, or perhaps company news (eg. expanding into additional markets). The best content is worthless unless others know that it exists. Twitter helps propagate such messages.

8. Advertising - to advertise your product/service. New services like TwitterHawk are surfacing routinely. The verdict is still out on TwitterHawk as a legitimate advertising method, but the service and possibilities are intriguing.

9. Finding Employees - to find good potential job candidates. Smart job seekers will follow the tweets of the companies they wish to work for, knowing job opportunities will often be tweeted about.

10. Reputation Management - to learn about issues and problems people are having with your company, so that they can be corrected. I'm a firm advocate that every problem is an opportunity, when viewed from the right perspective. Dell managed to do so.

11. Identifying Competitor Weaknesses - to find out about issues and problems people are having with your competitors so you can capitalize on them, and perhaps even gain market share. Just monitor the profiles and set alerts on the profiles of your competitors.

12. Client Relations - to engage in dialogue with clients. While not issues, clients can be encouraged to submit their product/service improvement ideas to companies via Twitter. I would encourage them to do so via Direct Massage however, so competitors cannot track your company's weaknesses, and plans for the future. At the same time, Twitter can be used to put a 'personality' and presence to a company. What a concept! Actually communicating with clients.

13. Business Generation - to find business leads. Some companies are even issuing RFPs via Twitter now. eg. Current puts RFP Call on Twitter.

From a Personal Perspective:

1. Opinions - to glean opinions from trusted friends/sources on particular matters (eg. what clothing colours are 'in' right now?).

2. References - to get references and referrals from trusted sources (eg. best Thai restaurant in Toronto?).

3. Quick Information - to get quick information (eg. what is Joe's girlfriend's name … have to meet with them in 10 minutes?).

4. Advice - to gather input about what others think about a product/service you are considering purchasing. Merely use Twitter Search to scope out what others think about the product.

5. News - to keep atop the latest breaking news in topics related to your interests (think SoCal Earthquake).

6. Entertainment - to be entertained. Just make sure you follow entertaining people. Here's a quick tip for finding people you like; enter: site:twitter.com "full stage name of person you find entertaining"

7. Communication - to communicate with numerous others at once without having to make individual phone calls (eg. going to Java Joes for coffee tonite @ 7 … meet me there if interested!).

8. Employment - to find a job merely follow the Twitter accounts of companies you wish to work for, or those of specific headhunters/agencies.

9. Friendship - to make new friends. Follow those with similar interests, and engage them in conversation.

10. Connect - to connect with old friends. Sometimes it's difficult to break the ice after a number of years apart. With Twitter, it's much easier to do.

11. Warnings - to broadcast to as many people as possible when you've been RIPPED OFF by a company, and to warn others to avoid them!

12. Customer Service - to get quicker responses from customer service departments. Typically companies will respond very quickly to negative information about them or their products out on the web.

13. Personal Branding - To monitor your own personal brand online to see how you are perceived. Perform a Twitter Search for your Twitter user name, and your full name in quotations (eg. "Michael Arrington").

14. Reminder Service - as a reminder service, applications exist to send you reminders at specific times and dates (eg. Jennifer's birthday is tomorrow).

15. Alert Service - as an alert service, such as when your house is being robbed.

16. Reputation Management - to help push negative mentions of you that appear in Google, Yahoo, or MSN search results, lower in the rankings, so ultimately fewer people see the embarrasing text, images, or video.

Strange and Odd Benefits

17. Smoking Cessation - Twitter as a smoking cessation aid service..

18. Confession - Twitter to confess your sins anonymously

19. Book Reading - Twitter to have a book read to you .

20. Recipes - Twitter to get recipe options. Need dinner and not sure what to make? Message @Twecipe your ingredients and they will send you back a tasty recipe

Conclusion:
As can be seen from above, Twitter can be very useful for many reasons, and can be fruitful. Again, the key is in showing restraint in the initial months so that one does not 'burn out' on the experience. Instead, consider the various reasons for using Twitter, and gradually test each out. Doing so, will result in a much higher likelihood of finding value in the service!

In the end, Twitter is only as good as you make it!

Sources:

Social Media Trader - 13 Odd Ways to Use Twitter
VerticalMeasures Blog - Weirdest Uses for Twitter

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

33 Reasons to Use Twitter - A Guide to Finding Value in the Service!

Case in point, much of what you do now is captured and shared digitally (either intentionally or unintentionally), and is referred to as your digital footprint. This information is accessible for all to see (think embarrassing videos at the office party, a night experimenting as a teenager, etc.).

I for one, think there is good and bad that comes with this level of accountability.

Good - companies will be held to higher standards, and WILL BE held accountable for their actions
Bad - some individuals will take it too far, and will post false or just embarrassing information

So the question becomes; if this happens to you, what can you do to minimize the visibility of this "information" without having to resort to spending thousands to hire a professional reputation management firm?

Below follows 7 DIY tips and techniques that anyone can employ:

1. write the person or company who posted the negative piece a nice email, or put in a nice phone call, where you politely explain your situation, and ask if they'd consider removing the negative piece.

Legal action is also a possibility, although only in dire situations as it can have the opposite effect to that desired, so use very cautiously.

The rest of these techniques assume that since the negative listing cannot be removed, it must be pushed lower in the search results instead!

2. build links to the sites ranking immediately beneath the negative piece in the search results, in an effort to boost them above the negative piece. Ensure that the desired keyword terms are in the anchor text of the new links. Here's a list of 80+ ways to build links.

3. buy a new domain that includes the keywords you wish to target in the domain name (eg. reputation-management-information.com), put a site on it, and begin promoting it.

4. build social media profiles using the keyword terms you wish to have displace the negative listings. The listings associated with these pages will begin to appear in the search results of major search engines. In the screenshot below of a search for my name on Google, notice the Facebook and Twitter profile listings?

Screenshot: Google Search for Jeff Quipp


5. post articles on powerful sites, using the targeted keywords as the focus of the article (and in the title tag). The YourSEOMentor interview above is an example. That was an article I participated in, and see how effectively it works!

6. if you do not already have 2 pages from your site ranking for the specific key word terms being targeted, build another page with slightly different content about the topic, and promote it and/or include it in your site navigation. Google, Yahoo, MSN all will show 2 pages from a site in the search results, possibly helping to push the negative listing down further in the search results. Case in point again in the screenprint above … notice searchenginepeople.com ranking both in the 1st and 2nd positions in the search results.

7. if you own more than one site, consider adding 2 pages to each of those sites about the topic too. Then, start link building and promoting those sites.

In the vast majority of situations, these do-it-yourself tips will be enough to push the negative listings down in the search results. If not, then you may need to resort to hiring a professional reputation management firm!

Are there any other tactics you've used that do not appear here?

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Do-It-Yourself Online Reputation Management – 7 How To Tips

The concept of "Spring Cleaning" was therefore developed to enable us to rid ourselves of the unneeded items, and is often followed by a 'garage sale' which is our meager attempt to turn refuse trinkets into cash.

Well, the same is true online. Blog posts amass and become dated and irrelevant, unneeded categories persist, links break, and so forth. So, why not apply the same logic to our blogs, and spring clean our blogs? Not only is it necessary, but it can also generate some much needed additional rankings and revenues when done properly … and you won't have to hold a virtual garage sale either!

Here's what I propose. One day every year (propose May 1st), spend some much needed time on your blog. Spring clean it! Some of the tasks you may want to undertake as part of the blog spring cleaning effort:

1. clean up the subject categories - all too often they get wayyyyyy out of hand
2. find and repair broken links
3. upload valuable time saving plugins
4. remove plugins not being utilized
5. upload new widgets/remove outdated widgets
6. respond to comments … its an opportunity to forge relationships
7. update your copyright statement
8. update your blogroll
9. install wp-firewall and Donna's security files to help protect your blog
10. redirect outdated posts, or those posts no longer performing, to focus their link power. Try the Wordpress Blog Link & Traffic Analysis Plugin by SEP

What other tasks do you suggest for inclusion as part of the Blog Spring Cleaning effort? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Sources and Related Resources:
1. Spring Cleaning for Your Blog (Yes I Know Its Winter)

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Official 'Blog Spring Cleaning Day' May 1st - 10 Blog Spring Cleaning Tasks

We have! So we built it!

What Does It Do?
We're calling this plugin the Blog Link and Traffic Analysis Plugin. Its designed to help people understand the performance of their posts, by showing the most relevant stats in a single screen.

The plugin will peruse and track every single post (and page) on your blog, and will display and permit you to sort by the following variables:

a. post date
b. post title
c. author (cannot sort by author)
d. page views per post in the previous 3 months
e. inbound links (drawing from Yahoo Site Explorer using your Yahoo API)
f. Google bot visits:
- last visit
- # of visits
g. Yahoo bot visits:
- last visit
- # of visits
h. MSN bot visits:
- last visit
- # of visits
i. Other bot visits
j. then gives you the ability to 301 redirect easily right from the page

The redirect function is exceptionally easy … merely click the "Add" link associated with the post you wish to reidrect, under the "301 Redirect to" column, and you'll be asked to enter the url you'd like to redirect to (see below). Its that simple!

Benefits:
This is a very powerful plugin!

1. Now you can start to see those posts that get very little traffic, though have great inbound link equity. These are prime candidates for 301 redirection to more "current" posts struggling to rank.

2. There is a great deal more you can learn from analyzing this plugin's data too.

Where to Download it?
Download the Blog Link and Traffic Analysis Plugin for Wordpress

How to Install it?
Here’s a great guide to installing WordPress plugins … How To Install a WordPress Plugin

How To Use it?
Simple:
Step 1: install it
Step 2: enter your Yahoo API ID, or if you do not yet have one (How Do I Get a Yahoo API Key?)
Step 3: Click the "Update Now" link immediately beneath the Yahoo API field, and the plugin will start querying Yahoo Site Explorer for inbound link counts.

Common Questions?
1. Why does it store only 3 months of page view information?
Answer: this application is designed to show how your blog post is performing at the current time, which means eliminating its "all-time" history which would skew the results. It is thought that page views over the previous 3 month period would provide a good indication of activity and potential!

2. Inbound links are only updated when you click the "Update Now" link. It may take a few days to weeks for the weeks to begin to show within Yahoo Site Explorer, so be patient.

Stay tuned also. We'll make many changes to this plugin in the coming years that will make it much more valuable yet.

If you use it, please consider giving it a mention of your blog, so others can also benefit from it also. Let us know if there are some additions or changes you'd like to see us make!

Enjoy.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Wordpress Blog Link & Traffic Analysis Plugin

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle

Offline:
In the offline world, when we no longer have use for a product, most of us try to find some way to reuse or recycle it. Consider the example of children's clothing. Once the child has outgrown it, clothing is often passed along to a relative or donated to charity. Families just do not have the extra space to store outgrown clothes indefinitely in the event someone in the family will eventually find a new use for them.

Online:
Online, however, space constraints are minor to near limitless. Accordingly, we leave old and outdated blog posts to wallow in obscurity, and feel no particular pressure to take action. Blogs become virtual landfills. Many of these old posts are ultimately forgotten, never surfacing in site analytics reports, and not really contributing to the cause of the company.

What a waste! In reality, there is exceptional value finding way to make better use of these old and outdated blog posts? While they appear to offer no value on the surface, we may unlock hidden value by taking action.

In some cases, we can aggregate and focus the link power of numerous posts into one page, resulting in better rankings for specific terms, and providing opportunities to rank for more competitive terms than otherwise possible. In yet other cases, we can tweak or rewrite the piece to perform better against specific objectives, such as driving newsletter sign-ups or product sales.

The Blog Recycling Process:

STEP 1: Set Goals for Blog Posts -
The first step is to set goals for each post, even old ones. This means some soul-searching to determine exactly what you need each old blog post to accomplish for you on an ongoing basis to continue justifying its presence. Keep in mind there are really only two types of costs:

- opportunity costs, which are the costs of opportunities lost by not making changes to the blog and leaving it as is.
- The second are the costs of making changes, which include losing the benefits already realized by the post as it currently exists.

These two are competing costs. Accordingly, great care must be given to determining precisely what the objectives are.

Example of objectives include having a post attract at least 20 visitors per month, and at least 3 new RSS subscribers per month (track Feedburner Signups Using Google Analytics), or generate a minimum of 3 sales per month. The possibilities are numerous - the key is having a measurable objective to judge all blog posts against.

Different types of posts may have different objectives, especially relating to the realm of SEO. Some posts may be designed to attract links from external sites, which helps the post and entire site rank better for specific terms. Other posts may be designed to secure more RSS feed subscribers, or to spike ComScore or Alexa rankings and ratings. This means being flexible enough to consider that more than one objective may exist.

STEP 2: Identify Underperforming Blog Posts
Once objectives are set, the second step of the process is to identify which blog posts on a site do not meet one or more of the objectives. This can be a time-consuming and arduous task. It means compiling a list of all blog posts, digging into your site's analytics data, assessing each post on the merits being measured, and determining which posts are performing below standard.

If you have set more than one objective, all posts will also have to be measured against each objective individually. If one of your goals is that each post needs to generate 100 visitors, then list all those that do not generate at least 100 visitors per month. If the goal is 3 RSS subscriptions per month, then list those that do not meet expectations. Then, and only then, can you consider taking action.

STEP 3: Redirect, Reuse, or Recycle Old Blog Posts
The third step of the process is to determine what actions to take with the posts that you have determined are underperforming. As in the offline world, there are essentially three options. Online, however, the terminology is slightly different (although the purpose is similar) - redirect, reuse, or recycle.

1. Redirect - Redirecting a post involves employing a 301 redirect, or permanent type of redirect (here's a simple 301 Redirect Plugin for Wordpress). In essence you are saying "this page no longer exists, so we will redirect you automatically to the next most relevant page." This type of redirect is particularly useful when an old blog post receives less than the target level of monthly traffic, yet has a number of good inbound links.

Alternately, if a post has a limited shelf life, as many stories do, but has some good inbound links, it's also a good candidate for a 301 redirect. The inbound links hold the key to better rankings. In this way, posts that are already attracting adequate traffic can perform even better.

Please note: we have recently released a brand new Wordpress plugin (called Blog Link & Traffic Analysis Plugin) to simplify this process. The plugin indexes all blog posts on a site, tracks how many visitors each gets over the previous 3 month period, the number of inbound links to each from external sites, which then helps you measure the ongoing success of each post. Finally, the plugin then gives you the option to 301 redirect each post to another post. This is a very powerful tool!

2. Reuse - The second alternative is to reuse a post. In fact, any and all posts can be reused, unless their content is incorrect or out-of-date. Posts about to be 301-redirected, underperforming posts, adequately and exceptionally performing posts, and even those being recycled - all can be reused.

In essence, it's best to make slight modifications to the article to ensure it is up-to-date, but then to syndicate the post via article directories and related sites looking for content. These sites will then place the article in the appropriate spot, leave credits and links in place, and expose this content to their user bases. This approach will increase the number of relevant links pointing back to a site, improving its ranking. This approach will also raise awareness of your site, increase its readership, and you may even see the article pages ranking for a few longer tail terms. It's a win-win situation.

3. Recycle - The last alternative is to recycle old posts. As with plastic bottles and cans, this means melting posts down to their core elements, and reassembling them as something new and productive. Use this approach when your analysis shows that a post is attracting reasonable traffic, but is not meeting other conversion-type objectives. In such cases, you can surmise that the topic is adequate, but the content needs work.

Begin by tweaking the contents, adding a call to action, changing images, and so forth. If the post still does not achieve the desired objective(s), then progressively make more encompassing changes. Ultimately you may find yourself rewriting the post from the ground up. This is the essence of recycling - "the act of processing used or abandoned materials for use in creating new products."

CONCLUSION
In the end, the same principles that guide us offline are often those that can be used online. Yes, the "3 Rs" have a slightly different meaning, but the core concept is the same - don't let anything go to waste. Find ways to make use of all the blog posts at your disposal, rather than tossing them into a virtual landfill. Many of us have been practicing this mentality offline for a lot of years - even if it's as self-serving as cashing in your pop cans for a mocha cappuccino at your favorite coffee bar. Moving this 3Rs mentality online should be as easy as shaking some cinnamon on the top!

end Note: This post is a reused variation of the article I wrote for the Search Marketing Standard, Spring 2009 edition.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

3Rs of Blogging - Redirect, Reuse, Recycle

Here are 12 different types of content (not necessarily mutually exclusive) that when implemented properly, can drive tremendous volumes of visitors, links, and even business:

1. widgets/badges - for those unfamiliar with widgets, a widget is typically an interactive tool, that can be embedded in a web page. Since they're interactive, often they can help potential clients find solutions quicker than they otherwise might have, making them a very powerful online marketing tool. Sometimes widgets are also made available for download to other websites, making them a powerful link acquisition tool too. Below is an example of one such widget.

2. videos - a good video is difficult to beat. People like to hear and see things for themselves, as opposed to reading about them, or being told about them. Video makes this possible, and accordingly is very popular. At the same time, video can be instructional, entertaining, and/or informational. When well done, videos will drive tremendous volumes of traffic, links, and/or potential clients to a site … and offers additional opportunities to appear in the search results

3. images - if a picture can say a 1000 words, then its also possible for images to generate 1000 visitors or links. We've seen many client sites, who's images drive 20%+ of their overall website traffic volumes. In many cases, images are the reason people visit websites … they need to see what they're buying! All that to say, do not underestimate the power of good quality images!

4. research - people often buy from websites they've heard about before, because familiarity breeds loyalty and trust. One means of breeding familiarity and trust is to perform and publish unique research that others in your industry or potential clients will find useful. When well thought out, timely, and topical, such research can generate thousands of links, visitors, and potential clients. Good research also helps to establish you as an authority in your space.

5. awards - everyone likes to receive cudos, or acknowledgement of a job well done! Now image that you as a site owner offer the ability for others to take those cudos, and post them on their site for all to see. Its a powerful tool, often generating thousands of visitors and/or links.

6. contests - while not for every business, contests can generate alot of relevant links, and accordingly help a site rank much better. The key is to ensure that the contest somehow relates to your business.

7. news - sites that are routinely first to publish industry news, are often visited more frequently, generate more links, and are viewed more as industry authorities. Alternatively, those running news stories after the fact, typically don't experience all these benefits, unless they add some value or unique intepretation angle. Of course, one way to ensure the news is new and fresh is to make the news (aka a publicity stunt) … so get creative!

8. blog posts - perhaps one of the most popular techniques to create content, and one of the most poorly done! Most don't understand the subtle nuances of creating blog content. I've posted about it previously (12 Common Blogging Mistakes to Avoid) as have many others, but the majority still continue to write blog content as if it were for another form of offline media.

Blog content generally consists of one of the four types listed below:

a. editorial/opinion based
b. entertaining
c. resource/educational
d. news (see #7 above)

The type you choose should be based on your objectives.

9. do something "remarkable" - if a company truly does something remarkable and unique, and publishes it on their site, the content will take on a life of its own. What does this mean? Well, if you're a sausage manufacturer, manufacture the largest sausage on the planet. If you own a burger joint, offer a $2700 burger on the menu. Even if no one ever orders it, its something to mention on your website, and something interesting that others will notice and talk about (which results in links, visitors, and often clients). Consider this term alone "most expensive martini" … there are 1200 mentions on it in Google, and presumably a good number of those mentions link to it!

10. create an ebook - much easier said than done, but creating a ebook can result in perceived authority, visitors, links, and …. business!



11. make and distribute applications - if you can find a way to make potential clients lives easier (online or offline), it can have a profound impact. Creating an online application such as a WordPress plugin, a calculator, or industry software, and hosting it for download via your site, can increase awareness of your site, your perceived authority in the industry, attract large volumes of visitors, links, and yes, even business.


12. user generated content - content added by others, is content that you didn't have to add yourself. With most business owner's arguing they don't have the time or budget for content, user generated content (UGC) would appear to be a logical solution. Although, most business owners then become concerned with their inability to control the content. Precautions can be taken however in most situations, making UGC a solution worth investigating.

If you know of other types of content strategies not encompassed in this list, please let me know, and I'll gladly add it with proper attribution to you.

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

12 Types of Content Strategies SEOs Should Know and Use

The Problem With Current Definitions:
The reality is, most people and companies define it differently. Some define it as modifying in-page elements only. Others expand on that and define it as including off-page elements and services such as link building. I'll argue its this lack of clarity and consistency that is helping to give our industry a bad name, as it enables companies or individuals to point their fingers at others and say "you're not getting business from organic search because someone else did not do their job … its not me!". Companies then get caught in the finger pointing confusion, frustrated with the entire experience, and begin look at the entire industry through tainted glasses.

At the same time, its hilarious really. Time and time again I listen to many in the industry try to define SEO. Inevitably, they always try to define SEO as a set of activities, practices or tasks. To me, this shows tremendous fault in both their logic and their company business models. After all, who really cares about the tasks that you engage in, if they do not produce RESULTS! Is there no expectation? I draw an analogy to employees who want paid for their time, when in that time they produce absolutely nothing. Purchasing a trampoline that won't bounce. Buying a new car that won't move, a pen that won't write, a shoe with no sole. You get the point. Isn't defining SEO as a set of tasks or activities really just a means of transferring responsibility and blame to someone else when the desired results are not achieved.

SEO is …
There I said it … my definition of SEO is about getting the desired results from organic search. Organic Search is the medium, just as are newspapers, radio, television. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) however is the process of getting the desired results from organic search using whatever tactics you feel comfortable using … so long as you achieve the desired results! Merely improving results is insufficient, as it still does not necessarily mean generating any real results … instead it has to be the achievement of the desired results.

I know this type of definition is a great departure from how all other marketing media are defined (eg. newspaper advertising, radio, television, etc.), but we're not like any other media? Also, in this new information age economy, its time we started to define marketing by success and results, rather than by tactics and tasks. Clients do not care what goes into an effort … only what results. Products already do this … when you buy a product typically, you buy it knowing what it will do ie. what the result will be.

So, for those of you who argue SEO is about in-page elements only, ask yourself this question; does your client think he's investing in your time, or does he expect something more like results? Keep in mind of course that results need not be defined as 'rankings', and that we as SEOs can never absolutely guarantee anything. We can set expectations though ie. desired results. And I'll bet he's investing to get those desired results!

Conclusion:
In summary, to those of you who define SEO as anything other than the achievement of desired results … stop pointing fingers. You know the old saying … while there's one finger pointing at someone else, 3 are pointing right back at you!

Just my humble opinion!

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

A New Definition for SEO: SEO = RESULTS!

How Could This Be?
Easy … the search industry is growing faster than the economy is shrinking. At the same time, colleges and universities are still training people to manufacture buggy whips and trans fats, and few if any have incorporated any sort of REAL search training into their curriculums. This makes for a great deal of opportunity for those with the required skills, and the desire to make a meaningful impact!

On that note, if you're reading this and you work for a college or university … HELP! We'll even help you to develop course curriculums. Just please consider creating such courses. You will be training people for jobs … jobs they can find immediately upon graduation!

What Kinds of Jobs Are Available?
The reality of the matter is, there are many types of positions available. Almost a position for anyone … save those looking for government types positions, or who expect the world as a signing bonus. Note to those looking for work … attitudes of entitlement need to be checked at the door.

Some of the positions currently available at Search companies worldwide are:
1. Sales People
2. Account Managers
3. Business Analysts
4. Link Developers (Link Ninjas)
5. Usability Specialists
6. In-Page SEOs
7. Paid Search Specialists
8. Content Developers
9. Videographers
10. Coders
Further specialization within each of these fields is also possible for the truly talented.

Obviously different companies classify positions differently, so the titles and responsibilities will vary from company to company, but the general skills sets are the same.

What Skills Will I Need?
Once again, most companies hire for personality, knowing skills can be taught! Personality cannot be taught! That said, individuals can give themselves a tremendous advantage if they take the initiative to train themselves for a career in search. The industry is frantically hiring, but will definitely give preference to someone who:
a. demonstrates initiative
b. has industry knowledge
c. has PERSONALITY
Notice I didn't say technical skills. Search is more about marketing than technical skills.

How Can I Retrain for Search?
Do yourself a favour! Search companies ideally want to hire people who show initiative. We're growing too fast to employ people who need too much hand holding. You as a job seeker, can show this initiative by training yourself in the ways of search. Do it at night if you have to, or if you're underemployed, through the day. At the same time, preference in the job interview process will go to those who show they already know the basics of the industry. Even if you're interested in a Sales, Account Management, or Analyst role … knowing the specifics of the industry will go along way. So, here are a few good places to look for training:

Some places for training:
1. Search Engine College run by my good friend Kalena Jordan
2. SEMPO Institute
3. SEOBook Training

Some good books to read to begin the training process:
1. SEOBook.com
2. The SEO Handbook
3. How To SEO Your Site in 60 Minutes
4. Winning Results With Google Adwords
5. Landing Page Optimization
6. Persuasive Online Copywriting

Another great way to learn is to frequent industry blogs, sites like Sphinn.com, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Journal, our very own Search Engine People Blog, and many others.

In any case, if you've got personality, initiative, and you're looking for a growth career, you've got opportunities. Retrain now for a career in search!

Post from: Search Engine People SEO Blog

Jobs Opportunities Currently Available in the Search Industry! Job Seekers Retrain Now!