Immerseme.com

The Right Way to Google

Jen — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Google is about as simple as it can get. You go to google.com, there's a big white screen, a rainbow "Google" logo, and a long skinny box to type in. What are you wanting to search for? A great jambalaya recipe? The closest Dairy Queen? Directions to Muskogee, Oklahoma?

The thing is, as simple as Google's set-up is, there is actually a wrong way to Google. And by "wrong" we mean "you're less likely to get the result you're looking for". One of the cardinal rules of Googling is to never ask Google for information in the form of a question. ("What are the Mardi Gras parade routes in New Orleans today?") This ain't Siri on your iPhone, people!

The website HackCollege put together a super-informative infographic geared towards college students as they work on research papers across the country. It's lengthy, but full of handy tricks and tips:

Source: HackCollege

Seriously, send this to every college student or researcher that you know! No one wants to go through 8 pages of search results! You want what you're looking for to be at the very top. The WRONG WAY to use Google is to talk to it like it's a human. The RIGHT WAY to use Google is simply to manipulate it so it gives you exactly what you're looking for.

In Brand Design, Color Matters

Jen — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

You'd think color doesn't really matter when choosing a design for your company branding. The fact is that when it comes to design, everything matters. Just like we strongly advise you not to use clip art for your logo (don't even get us started on that!), we also strongly advise you to seek help from a professional when making branding decisions.

Not convinced? Check out this infographic we found that shows the color choices of the biggest companies out there:

Isn't it interesting how the vast majority of these brands fall into two main color families? We're not saying you have to go blue or red, but we are saying that there is a method behind the design madness.

Why did you choose the design you currently have for your business? How did you come up with the concept? Our graphic designers and branding experts are well-versed and qualified to help your company come up with a brand that appeals to your audience and advances your message. There is a process that we go through to pick the look, the color, the font, EVERYTHING that goes into the design. Don't let clip art happen to you!

Time to Vote!!

Jen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

It’s time! It’s time! IT’S TIME TO VOTE!! The time has finally come to vote for our 2012 Website Giveaway winner. (Want to learn more about our finalists? Check out our blog post about the Top Two!) Voting opens today, January 9, and closes January 31.

There are 3 WAYS TO VOTE:

Facebook

On our Facebook page, you will find 2 photos. One says New Beginnings Church, one says My Life Youth & Family Services. You need to LIKE the photo of the organization that you’re voting for. HOWEVER, you MUST like our Facebook PAGE (www.facebook.com/immerseme) for your vote to count.

Twitter

Send us a Tweet (just mention @ImmersemeWebDev) and tell us who you want to vote for! Again, you have to FOLLOW us for your tweet vote to count! (You can vote on Twitter up to 3 times per day!) Find our Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/immersemewebdev.

Website

Yep, we have a one-button-click voting setup here on our website. Just click HERE to go to the form.

GOOD LUCK to our finalists and be sure to SPREAD THE WORD!!

2012 Website Giveaway: THE FINALISTS!

Jen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

We decided waaaay back in 2011 that we wanted to give away a website to a deserving non-profit organization. Nominations flooded in and after a lot of review and consideration, we are thrilled to announce that we have chosen TWO finalists!

Drum Roll Please.......

Finalist #1: MyLife Youth & Family Services

MyLife Youth & Family Services is a non-profit counseling and psychological treatment center for substance abuse in Downey, California. They provide education, prevention, and intervention services to youth and at-risk families in their community. Their staff is made up of unpaid volunteers who provide group and in-home counseling at no cost. MyLife is currently without a website. With an official, informative and easy to navigate website, they feel they could reach more people in their community. Learn more about MyLife at www.facebook.com/mylifenonprofit

Finalist #2: New Beginnings Church

New Beginnings Church is a growing congregation located in Covington, Louisiana. It's a newer church with a big heart. The church is only about a year old, but they are vibrant and growing in their community. Their motto is "Reach and Teach". They want their church members to not only KNOW, but to GROW! While New Beginnings has a website up and running, they feel that their vision is not communicated as effectively as they would like for it to be. Learn more about New Beginnings at www.nbchurchnorth.com.

So... what now?

We've selected the finalists. The voting will open on Monday, January 9, and close Monday, January 31. Until then, be sure that you've LIKED us on Facebook and FOLLOWED us on Twitter! We'll be sharing more information about these finalists and how they have impacted their communities. We're honored to share their stories.

Happy Voting, and Good Luck to the Finalists!

Immerseme Acquires MinistryWebsites.biz

Jen — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Immerseme is proud to announce that we’ve welcomed some new members to our family.

When we started Immerseme back in 2000, much of our focus was on churches and ministries. As the world was transitioning to online platforms, many churches had no idea how to start, where to go, or what to do to create a dynamic website that would connect with their congregation and community. We’re now in 2012, and while we now create websites for so much more than churches, we still are passionate about church websites and how to advance their message.

Because of this, we are honored and beyond excited to acquire MinistryWebsites.biz. MinistryWebsites.biz has partnered with churches, ministries, missionaries and more for more than 3 years. This company shares so much of our vision. Their goal was to bring ministry online in a format that is effective, relevant, clear, and creative. The values of MinistryWebsites.biz and Immerseme closely aligned, making the acquisition a no-brainer.

MinistryWebsites.biz is a well-built company that fits perfectly into our goals. The founder, Tim Schmoyer, will help us transition as we learn about the great people that use the services of MinistryWebsites.biz. We’re honored to take on the new challenges presented by their clients as we adopt them into our Immerseme family. From the client perspective, not much is changing. We will continue to provide the clients of MinistryWebsites.Biz excellent service and creative solutions to make their website the best we possibly can.

We’re excited to begin work on these great websites and continue doing what we do best: We’re using our skills to help you be seen, heard, and connected with your audience. Reaching people using digital technology. Advancing your message through new media.

Welcome, MinistryWebsites.biz. Let’s get to work!

60 Seconds in Online Activity

Jen — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

In the last 60 seconds, I have opened ImmerseEdit CMS, taken a sip of water, deleted an email, pressed play on iTunes, and began typing this blog. But that's just little ol' me... I'm just one person out of the millions using the internet. And in 60 seconds, everyone using the internet is doing a lot of things. We're a busy little bunch of people.

This week, Business Insider released some great images showing all the things that happen on the internet every 60 seconds. These easy to understand, colorful illustrations are quite fascinating!

And here's another one showing even MORE:

Source: Business Insider

695,000 status updates on Facebook. 950 purchases on eBay, with 180 of those purchases being made using a mobile device. 100 new LinkedIn accounts. 98,000 tweets. $219,000 payments thru PayPal, (with $10,000 paid via a Smartphone.)

New Media is here, traditional media has subsided. We are digital. With every minute that ticks by, we are becoming MORE digital. Our Smartphones are being used as computers and our computers are being used as phones.

Like I said, we're quite busy with our online activity!

We Love the Google Doodles!

Jen — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

One of my favorite things about Google is their doodles. You know what I mean... the days when the Google logo isn't just the typical, colorful Google logo.

According to the Google Doodles page, the team at Google has been doodling since the birth of the company!

"In 1998, before the company was even incorporated, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. They placed a stick figure drawing behind the 2nd "o" in the word Google, and the revised logo was intended as a comical message to Google users that the founders were "out of office". While the first doodle was relatively simple, the idea of decorating the company logo to celebrate notable events was born.

Over time, the demand for doodles has risen in the US and internationally. Creating doodles is now the responsibility of a team of talented illustrators (we call them doodlers) and engineers. For them, creating doodles has become a group effort to enliven the Google homepage and bring smiles to the faces of Google users around the world." Source: Google Doodles

I thought we'd share some of our favorite doodles.

November 30, 2011: Mark Twain's 176th Birthday

October 8, 2010: John Lennon's 70th Birthday

July 29, 2008: 50th Anniversary of NASA

January 17, 2011: Dr. Martin Luther King Day

November 10, 2009: 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street

Those are just a few... the list goes all the way back through 1998. What a fun and creative way to celebrate so many things in our world. We've gotta admit... being a Google Doodler would be a pretty awesome job!

A Brief History of the Christmas Tree

Jen — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

The internet is a fascinating place, full of fascinating facts and fascinating, useless trivia. In this day and age, if there's something you need to know, you'd be hard-pressed not to find the answer on the world wide web. Oh, the magical powers of search results. :)

We thought we'd share some of our recent findings with you here on our blog. Ladies and gentlemen, straight from the experts at Christmas Tree Market, we give you: The History of the Christmas Tree:

See? Don't you feel smarter?

How Social Search Affects Google Results

Mark Weible, Immerseme, Internet Marketing — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

When a searcher is logged into their GMail or other Google account, they are likely to see search results that are affected by people in their social circles. Since recommendations from friends are trusted 90% of the time, and social search results tend to have much higher click-thru-rates - it is a good idea to get your happy customers talking about your business. Here is a short video that shows how social search works on Google:

Are Google Maps Going Inside?

Jen — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Many of us don't know what we did before we had Google Maps. Who needs to get directions anywhere? We have Google maps! As usual, Google is taking it a step further. This time, Android users are going to get some detailed interior maps of some of the larger places they visit.

According to Search Engine Land, the Google Maps feature will now include interior maps of airports, major malls, and major retailers in the U.S. and Japan. See the photo below of the map of the Mall of America, both interior and exterior:

We predict that this will start to become "the norm" for major retailers. Have you checked out our Immerseme Mobile services?

The History of Search

Mark Weible, Immerseme, Internet Marketing — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Here is a short 6 minute video that shows the evolution of search from Google's perspective. Be sure to check out the timeline posted below the video.

Click the image for a larger view.

The Future of Search 2012

Mark Weible, Immerseme, Internet Marketing — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

The following graphic from SEOMoz shows the factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on website ranking in search engines in the near future. This is according to a panel of 132 search engine optimization experts. The graphic lists ranking factors in order of influence. The ones listed near the top will have the greatest influence with diminishing influence as you go down the list.

To summarize, well-written, high value content that is freely shared across social media will have the greatest impact. Social signals will be relied upon more heavily to determine domain and page authority as linking factors decrease. Usage data, including bounce rate from the landing page back to the search engine, will be a big ranking factor. This indicates whether or not a searcher found what they were looking for. A high bounce rate may indicate that the landing page did not capture the interest of the searcher. Furthermore, a click to a competitor from that same SERP could be an indicator of greater relevancy to the original search query. And as always, good web design is important. Diminishing factors include link anchor text, paid links, and keywords in the domain name.

At Immerseme, we are constantly aware of how search engines are changing and the impact that has on your organization's website. We are practicing SEO in ways that impact search results today and tomorrow.

Google Places Replaced By Google+

Mark Weible, Immerseme, Internet Marketing — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Not yet, but read on...

Over the past two weeks we began to notice that Google was experimenting with Google Places placement on Google's search result pages. We discussed this internally, but could not confirm our hypothesis that Google+ location pages would some day replace Google Places. (After all, Google seems to be getting rid of services that are not a good fit with Google+ while integrating just about all of their other web properties with Google+).

Today, Mike Blumenthal discovered that Google is starting to render search result pages with Google+ local pages integrated into Google Places universal search. See an example below for the search query "transmission servicing lexington ky".

What does this mean for you? Simply, that if you have a physical address for your business, you should consider adding Google+ to your digital marketing strategy. See my previous post for a list of Google+ best practices for businesses. It is complicated, but we've already been down that road and back. Talk to Immersme and let us help you get ahead of your competition.

Social Signals Verses Link Building

Mark Weible, Immerseme, Internet Marketing — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Update: See Google+ Replacing Google Places

"Link building" is an SEO strategy that is as old as Google itself. Once webmasters realized that Google's PageRank viewed backlinks as votes in determining authority, many scrambled to get as many links in any fashion as they could. In it's simplest form, link building is as easy as asking webmasters to link to your website because you have a legitimate relationship with their company or organization. This includes chambers of commerce, trade associations, vendors, distributors, etc.

In a more complicated form, link building involves paying webmasters to link to your site. This is considered a "black hat" technique that got companies like J.C. Penny, Forbes and Overstock.com in hot water with Google earlier this year. Whether paid or not, massive link-building campaigns are considered unnatural and manipulative by Google.

According to Google's quality guidelines:

The best way to get other sites to create relevant links to yours is to create unique, relevant content that can quickly gain popularity in the Internet community. The more useful content you have, the greater the chances someone else will find that content valuable to their readers and link to it. Before making any single decision, you should ask yourself the question: Is this going to be beneficial for my page's visitors?

Google has always encouraged webmasters to engage in social media. Creating conversations via blogs and engaging other bloggers has always been considered a legitimate way to create content and to develop backlinks. These conversations need to be natural, non-spammy, and engaging authentic conversation.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking websites have quickly become excellent platforms for creating social conversations about brands. Late last year, Google confirmed that "social signals" from Twitter and Facebook have become a factor in their ranking algorithm. Google believes so strongly that social signals are a better way of determining website authority than PageRank, that they developed their own social network in 2011. With the launch of Google +, Google is adding the human element to their ranking algorithm. A central element of Google+ is the +1button .

This little gem allows individuals to cast a vote for website content that they consider to be meaningful or helpful. These votes can be seen by people in their social circles and can actually alter website positions as rendered on the Google search engine results pages. Google is now using social signals to develop authority clues for websites. With the recent launch of Google+ pages for business, brands now have a place to aggregate their social authority from +1 votes, paid ads, and the brand's website. Best practices for gaining social authority for brands now include:

Create a personal profile on Google+
Create multiple pages on Google+ pages for product lines, services, locations, etc.
Become eligible for Google+ Direct Connect by linking each Google+ page to the brand's website and placing a Google+ badge on your website for each Google+ page created.
Link your Google AdWords campaigns to your Google+ pages.

Following these practices will help to verify that your Google+ pages are legitimate and will help you to start earning social rank. But that is not enough, you must be willing to invest the time in creating social content, responding to comments, and creating conversations of your own.

Better than link-building is the practice of engaging in online conversation via social media with individuals who are considered to be authoritative, are widely followed and likely to have strong social rank. None of this is easy. It is very time consuming, but can be very rewarding. Immerseme.com is here to help you navigate the social media jungle. We want you to know that we are on top of the latest SEO strategies and we are always scanning the horizon to find the most effective and ethical ways to promote your business online. You need a digital guide to get you through this and we want to assure you that we are the most equipped company to accomplish you digital marketing goals.

Time is Running Out!

Jen — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Tomorrow is the last day to submit your nominations for our 2011 Non-Profit Website Giveaway! Let's go over the basics here:

What are we giving away?

We're giving away a custom website and Internet Marketing valued at over $5,000 to a qualified non-profit organization. The donation includes a fully custom website design by Immerseme's world-class designers, plus, one year of free hosting on ImmerseEdit CMS, our easy-to-use content manageme software.

The end results will be world-class websites with content that the organizations can manage themselves with easy-to-use tools. Each site includes advanced features like blogs, podcasts, videos, forms, donations, payments, calendars and more.

Who is eligible?

Any registered, non-profit organization with operations based in the United States is eligible to receive the website donation.

How do you nominate?

By filling out this nomination form, silly goose!

Got more questions?

Visit the details page!

Nominate! Submit! One day left!!

Top-Secret Stuff

Jen — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

The curiosity is killing me. I recently read this article from the New York Times and it has me intrigued.

Here's the gist of it: There's apparently a Top-Secret lab in the Bay Area of California where they are coming up with crazy-cool inventions that will potentially make their way into our homes. The lab is called Google X and the details are being held behind sealed lips.

A few concepts mentioned in the article are enough to blow my mind. A robot goes to the office for you. Your refrigerator is connected to the internet. Cars drive themselves. Lightbulbs in your home that you could turn on from your smartphone.

"Although most of the ideas on the list are in the conceptual stage, nowhere near reality, two people briefed on the project said one product would be released by the end of the year, although they would not say what it was." Source: New York Times

Please, let it be the robots.

10 Google Algorithm Changes: They Did it Again

Jen — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Google has announced another round of algorithm changes. No, this isn't the same blog we wrote last week. It's a different one. Google has changed the algorithm. Again. (They do that a lot, you know.) (It's a lot to keep up with.) (That's why we keep up with it for you.)

Let's get some basics out of the way: The Google algorithm is the way Google finds it's search results. You type in your search criteria, Google's algorithm "does its thang" and then, voila, you have search results. Google is a little bit of an overachiever and wants to make sure you have the best results. The most relevant results. So it is CONSTANTLY (like, several times a day) changing the algorithm to be the best little algorithm there ever was. (And let's be frank, the algorithm ain't little.)

(We're using a lot of parenthesis today.)

Why does this apply to you? If you have a website, and you want Google to put your website in search results, than it is best to make sure your website is in-line with Google's search criteria. In other words, if Google said "our new algorithm will only bring up web pages that have puppies on them", then you would want to make sure your web page had some pretty cute puppies. Get it?

So, we were reading a super duper article from Search Engine Land detailing the 10 new Google algorithm changes. I know, I know, it's overwhelming. You don't have to get all of it, but this is just a basic idea of some of the changes:

Improved Snippets
Rich Snippets, More Often
Better Page Titles By Using Anchor Text Less
Auto-Complete Fix for IME Queries
Cross-language Information Retrieval
Better "Official" Page-Detection and Boosting
Image Search Loses a Ranking Signal
Better Date-Based Search Results
Fresher Results

The article has a significantly higher amount of detail, but these bullet points should give you an idea of what you need to change on your website to fit the Google algorithm criteria. Right? Wait.... you're confused? Yeah, we're SEO experts and even we feel like this is a lot to do. Let's be honest, it is a lot to keep up with. However, the good thing is, our clients who use us for on-going, turnkey message advancement don't have to worry about all this. They know we're handling it for them. We'll make adjustments to their websites to make sure they're getting a good ranking in Google.

For more on our (awesome) proactive turnkey message management, check out Our Services.

Benefits of Google+ for business and non-profits

Mark Weible, Immerseme, Internet Marketing — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Earlier this week, Google launched Google+ Pages for businesses and organizations. If you have a Facebook page, do you need Google+ ? You do! If you don't have to time to set up and manage another social networking account - we will do it for you.

Forget about the number of members that Google+ has vs Facebook. Google+ is a platform for publishing to the Google search engine result pages. Your Google+ posts may get indexed and displayed in real time.

Checkout this short video by Rand Fishkin on 5 Ways to Get Immediate Value Using Google+ and then take a look at the new Immerseme Google + Page.

We're on Our Smartphones ALL THE TIME

Jen — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 06:00:00 GMT

It's an addictive little thing, isn't it? That smartphone. Always in our hand. We can't go anywhere without it, and many of us refuse to let any significant amount of time go by before we make sure we're not missing anything.

Waiting at an airport? You're on your smartphone. Alone in a restaurant? You look cooler if you're browsing the web on your smartphone. Commercial break on television? You guessed it: Smartphone.

"As many as 80% of people multitask on a mobile device while watching TV, finds a new study. Using a laptop in front of the TV is no new behavior, yet few TV spots capitalize on the fact many consumers hold an Internet-enabled device in their hands as commercials air. The DVR presented hurdles for advertisers a decade ago as viewers were able to fast forward through ads. Today, tablets and smartphones introduce a new challenge: A more engaged yet distracted consumer." Source: Mashable

The fact of the matter is, our smartphones are with us ALL. THE. TIME. It is one of our culture's main sources of information. Immerseme recognizes this and knows that our clients need to reach their customers where they are. And where are their customers? On their smartphones.

Here's a few things that our ImmersemeMobile solution can do:

Appointment Reminders: If your business or service depends on appointments or reservations, mobile text reminders can reduce missed appointments and increase revenue.
Mobile Coupons: The BEST way to get coupons from the store sent directly to the customers phone.
Mobile Voting: Create fun and engaging SMS polls for your customers
.
Mobile Contests: Our mobile platform features text contests, also known as text to win, mobile contests and text sweepstakes. All people who enter go in your database.

There are many more things our handy little mobile marketing service offers. If you're a business owner, make sure your customers are able to access your business on their own time and on their own turf.

Plus, everything looks cooler on a smartphone. :)

Another Algorithm Update for Google

Jen — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Google brings you search results based on a very tricky and ever-changing algorithm. The goal of Google is to bring you exactly what you're looking for, and bring you the most relevant items at the very top of the list. The search results have gotten more comprehensive. If you type "Coldplay's New Album" into Google, they are going to do more than search for websites that have those words somewhere in the content. If that were the case, you would have years of content that is no longer relevant. Rather than finding websites discussing Coldplay's new album in 2005, X&Y, Google is going to assume that you are referring to their newest album released just last week.

Because of this, Google is constantly changing its algorithm to make sure that they are making your search easier. Their most recent update, as detailed by Tech Crunch, brings you the most recent and the most relevant content into your results.

According to the Tech Crunch article, this new algorithm update will affect 35% of searches.

"Google says that the new algorithm knows that different types of searches have different freshness needs, and weighs them accordingly. For example, a search for a favorite recipe posted a few years ago may still be popular enough to rank highly, but searches for an unfolding news story or the latest review of the iPhone 4S should bring the newer, fresher content first, followed by older results."

To put it frankly, Google doesn't like a hermit. They are more likely to rank newer and more current content higher than others. Also, if you're talking about a current event or something that is happening in the moment, you're more likely to turn up in search results. To bring more traffic, talk about what's going on in the world. Don't create content and then not update it for months at a time. Google wants to find fresh, recent information. They'll even post things in their search results that are less than 10 minutes old.

We have a whole team dedicated to keeping your business visible by your target audience, and by the search engines. Not only do we build great websites, we have a total turnkey message advancement process where you don't have to do anything. We'll make sure your websites are always updated, always current, always relevant, and not lost in the crowd.

Website Giveaway: Now Accepting Nominations!

Jen — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! We are thrilled, ecstatic, overjoyed, and honored to start accepting nominations for our custom website giveaway! A deserving non-profit organization will be chosen by vote to receive a year of hosting and a custom website designed by our team of professionals.

Here's the timeline of how this will all play out:

Nominations begin November 1, 2011. (That's TODAY!) :)
 Nominations accepted through November 22, 2011.
 Semi-Finalists will be announced December 1, 2011.
Stories of interest will be collected through December 20, 2011
Finalists selected and announced at Facebook.com/Immerseme on January 3, 2012
Public vote for finalists at Facebook.com/Immerseme from January 1 - January 31, 2012
Winner announced February 1, 2012 (HOORAY!!)

We want to give back to those who give, so we are excited to find the non-profit organizations that are most deserving of this custom website. Over the next few weeks, you'll see our finalists, hear stories about them, and help us vote for the final winner.

Check out the Website Giveaway page for more details, frequently asked questions, the nomination form, and ways to spread the word!

Let the nominations begin!

More About Mobile Marketing

Jen — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Immerseme has recently launched Immerseme Mobile, our mobile marketing platform to take your business to the next level. We are passionate about helping our clients, both existing and future, reach their audience in ways that are relevant and necessary.

The use of smartphones in our everyday lives is skyrocketing, and not stopping. Our smartphones are so much more than phones and a tool to communicate with our contacts. Microsoft Tag spells it out in this Infographic:

Coupon usage is one thing that we think will sharply increase over the next couple of years. The ease in which you can obtain coupons and present them is going to be a major pull for people. We offer Mobile Coupons as part of Immerseme Mobile. Are you making things as easy as possible for you and your customers?

Mobile Marketing for the Smartphone Consumer

Jen — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Earlier this week, we announced the exciting news about our mobile marketing services. With Immerseme Mobile, we are working with you to help your optimize your business for the smartphone user.

Did you know that 9 out of 10 smartphone users will take action after doing a search on a smartphone? Check out this video:

Smartphone usage is here to stay, and studies show that the usage will increase significantly this year. Local search is HUGE. Some companies have reported up to 35% of their hits come from smartphones. Beyond that, 74% of people surveyed made a purchase based on a smartphone search. To take it a step further, 88% will take action in the same day!

If someone searches for your business on a smartphone, what will they find?

Big News: Part II

Jen — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Giving makes the world ‘round. And, here at Immerseme, much has been given to us. We’ve been blessed. So, you know what we decided?

We decided we want to give back!

There are so many wonderful organizations that do amazing things for amazing people. Often these jobs are thankless and pay next to nothing. Sadly, many of these organizations have to dedicate so much of their time to fundraising to keep themselves at a functional level of operation when they should be focusing their efforts on doing what they do best.

We put our brains together and came up with an idea that we are MEGA excited about:

We’re gonna give away a website.

A really, really cool website.

A website valued at more than $5,000.

A website for a non-profit organization.

And then we decided to make it fun and decided to make it a CONTEST!

Because we love contests.

So, we’re calling on the troops. (And by “troops” we mean “YOU”.)

We’re gonna need your help. We want to know who you think should get this website.

(A super cool, over $5,000 custom website for a non-profit organization.)

(Plus a year of hosting.)

(For reals.)

I know what you’re thinking.

You’re thinking that you want to know how you can get your favorite non-profit organization nominated. Here’s what I can tell you for now:

Over the next few days and weeks you’ll start to see how you can nominate one of these super awesome non-profit organizations for one of our super-awesome websites.

So put your thinkin’ caps on. Get ready.

IT’S CONTEST TIME!

Stand by for now, troops. Instructions to come shortly.

Big News: Part I

Jen Isaminger — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

We're so excited to tell you about some exciting developments we have going on at Immerseme. As New Media continues to grow and evolve, we know our clients have new demands from their customers as we walk through the digital age. Your customers have different needs, and we consider it our responsibility to make sure our clients don't have to worry about keeping up with the times. We're doing that for you.

One thing that is definitely growing and changing is the use of Smartphones by your customers. Here's an example of what people are starting to look for:

You're trying to check movie times using your phone and the theater's website hasn't been optimized for smartphone usage. Translation: It's appearing on your phone exactly how it would appear on your computer monitor. Problem is: You're not using a computer monitor. You're using a tiny little smartphone. It looks different. You're having to zoom in on everything and scroll to the right for what feels like 2 miles.

The fact of the matter is, enough people are using smartphones now that we should be making darn sure that our websites look great on mobile phones.

Check out this great infographic from Socialcast:

Is your business viewable and usable from a smartphone?

"In any case, it's clear that the era of smartphones is no longer on the horizon. It's right here. Android has seen a 379 percent increase in sales when compared to just one year ago, and Android and iOS, when tallied together, hold more than two-thirds of the market." Source: Search Engine Watch

According to an article from Search Engine Watch, Google Android has skyrocketed past iPhone and has 48% of the global market share. iPhone is no longer the smart phone king. We shouldn't be customizing our smartphone pages and apps for iPhone alone. If you have an app for iPhone, you MUST have an app for Android.

Additionally, Google has now reported that Local searches account for 40% of Google searches from Smartphones. People in your community are searching for you when they're on the go.

So, how is Immerseme going to help you with this?

We are proud to introduce: Immerseme Mobile

Here, you will find all things mobile marketing. From mobile coupons, mobile voting, mobile contests, appointments and reservations, text to screen, bulk sms-campaigns, we take care of everything. You can view our features here.

It really is a whole new world, and we're honored to serve our customers in such a relevant way!

What is Siri?

Jen — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last couple weeks, you've probably heard a lot of people talking about Siri.

What is it?

It's a new program from Apple on the new iPhone 4S that talks to you. Well, it's more than that. It's a personal assistant of sorts that recognizes your voice and can have pretty complex conversations with you. In fact, she can be a little bit sassy!

It's an application that features a very advanced speech-recognition program that is useful AND fun to play with. Here's an example of a Siri conversation:

Stephen Colbert even tried to have Siri write his show, but he didn't get very far!

All in all, it's quite fantastic. The most obvious use is for texting while driving. Who needs to wait for a stoplight when you can just tell Siri to send the text?

Why Fresh Content and Social Networks are Important to SEO

Mark Weible, Immerseme, Internet Marketing — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The following infographic from Brafton underscores the importance of having well-written, fresh, relevant and sociable content on your website. Let's face it, people use search engines to find information. Your website is a source of information about your business or organization. Content helps people to decide whether or not they will do business with you, join your organization or refer you to their friends. It just so happens that the websites with the most compelling content get more links, likes, +1's, and tweets than the dull, boring ones. They usually rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPS) too. If you don't have a lot of time or don't consider yourself an expert copy writer, we can help. Immerseme can manage your copy, search engine optimization and social networking for you. Contact us to start the conversation.

Can Google Take Down iTunes?

Jen — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

There's a rumor going around that Google is going to launch a cloud-based music store of its very own.

In this article from Search Engine Land, it sounds like the discussions may not be going so well:

"One of the issues that may hinder a potential Google music store is the way in which Google Music currently works. Unlike Apple, Google (and Amazon) basically allow users to store music, then listen to it via a variety of devices. This means that all songs have to be uploaded; they can’t be streamed from the service."

Honestly, iTunes is so big and has been the standard for so long, we're just not sure that Google could sway people over to their side. But then again, if anyone could accomplish such a feat, it's Google.

Google has also announced that they have now shut down Google Buzz in order to put all their eggs in the Google+ basket which has seen a surge of activity since the Facebook changes made everyone throw a hissy fit. (Speaking of the Facebook changes- we are staying on top of everything and are here to help if you have any questions whatsoever about how to make sure you and your company are staying visible!)

So, here's our question: Would you switch from iTunes?

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things

Jen — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Here at Immerseme, we love our jobs. We love what we do. And we love to utilize the tools that are made available to us to make our jobs (and your job) easier! I thought we'd share some of our favorite things.

Let's give a big blanket statement to start out with: WE LOVE APPLE. Our jobs would be a royal mess if it weren't for the Mac arsenal and all that Steve Jobs created. We honestly would have gone crazy by now.

That being said, I can now separate out our most favorite things! We LOVE iChat. We use it all the time to talk to one another throughout the week. Especially if we just have a quick question and don't feel like making a phone call, iChat makes our lives easier!

We love our ImmerseEdit CMS. CMS stands for Content Management Software. It's how we put everything on our website. Our clients also use it to update and add things to their own websites, and they love it to. It's so easy and functional and pretty self-explanatory. We're really proud of it!

We also love the mega-functional toolkit that is 37 Signals. This is where we keep our contacts, share files, communicate about projects, calendar our deadlines, go back and forth with clients to create their perfect website, chat with one another, and record our conference calls.

And let's face it, we love YouTube if for no other reason then we get to see 7 seconds of hilarity like this:

More of our favorite things to come! We have lots of cool tricks up our sleeve :)

Two New Tablets

Jen — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMT

If you had to choose between the potential "iPad killer" Amazon Fire.....

..... OR the Dunder Mifflin-Sabre PYRAMID....

...which would you pick?

We're leaning towards the Pyramid.