Now that the dust has settled after the farmer update, it should be time to take stock of what exactly happened to our sites and how they were affected, what happened to their traffic and their search rankings. I think it may also be time to look at a new link building strategy because it looks like article marketing – at least the kind that is applied in content farms – has been shot down, probably never to return. Has Google managed to shake up one of your most constant and reliable source of links? The first thing we learn as Internet marketers is this: you need links to your site and you can get links from the many thousands of article directories. The fact is that directories have been a staple of Internet marketing for so many years; and yet it seems now that the era of article directories has ended. But was it really such a bad thing? – Read the full article
Whether your business has 100 followers or 100,000 fans, you’ve probably already realized that your community needs to be cultivated – and monitored – on social media channels weekly, if not daily. Recent news about the Taco Bell class-action lawsuit, which was filed against Taco Bell for “misrepresenting the contents of its beef,” is nothing surprising. I’m sure most customers don’t expect they are eating wholesome, organic meals at Taco Bell. However, it’s not the lawsuit that is interesting here; it is the way that Taco Bell warded off a potential crisis by being proactive and effectual on social media. Taco Bell has already gotten some previous press for their impressive works on Facebook and Twitter; but this is more impressive, and the way they turned this particular misrepresented beef crisis into something positive is a great lesson for Internet marketers as well as for online reputation management professionals. First step: Address the issue A confident and clear message doesn’t – Read the full article
Paid search is a wonderful advertising platform because it gives you clear-cut analytics for ROI decisions. Twitter, on the other hand, is a wonderful advertising platform because it is still natural and fun. Both paid search and Twitter advertising differ in scope and functional use in the marketing mix; however, Twitter recently announced a tool called the “Follower Dashboard”, which, in conjunction with geo-targeted ads, makes Twitter a very attractive advertising medium. Twitter announced the ability for companies to pay for “Promoted Tweets” earlier in 2010, where Coca-Cola garnered 86 million impressions with a single promoted tweet. Holy! Okay, sure Coca-Cola probably paid out the “Wah-Zoo” for that tweet, but even if they paid half a million dollars (ex: cost-per-engagement, or CPE, at $.10 & $6.06 per 1,000 impressions) for that promoted tweet, it would still be competitive with a paid search of $10 CPA. Okay, Twitter is great, we know. But up until now it was only great for – Read the full article
Before Facebook, before Twitter, there was something called blogging. Remember that? Well, blogging hasn’t exactly gone out of fashion; only, this form of online content publishing has evolved since the time of LiveJournal and Open Diary. (That was so 1998!) And it’s certainly attracted the attention of more and more business owners who have recognized that the interactivity and SEO benefits of blogging go a long way in establishing – and enhancing – their visibility online. Now, any SEO expert will tell you that incoming links are a great way of boosting the popularity of your company or business blog – that they increase your PageRank (PR). But few ever counsel linking out to other sites or blogs, which should actually be just as integral a part of your linking strategy as generating incoming links. Why? Well, here are only some of the reasons: It’s good practice. Bloggers tend to get obsessed about getting as many incoming links as possible. – Read the full article
The E-commerce industry hasn’t only grown bigger than ever. It has also become more social than ever. Thanks to the constant evolution of the Web – and to the popularity of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter – businesses and retailers are now doing more than just catering to individual Internet users and online shoppers. They’re also marketing to the people’s friends, inner circles, and communities, with the aim of bringing in more fans, followers, and dollars. Yes, dollars. In a recent story by Mashable, Jason Taylor, vice president of Platform Strategy at Usablenet, wrote that, when it comes to marketing, it’s “no longer just about ‘liking’ brands.” With a social network like Facebook giving way to new sales opportunities, businesses and online retailers are maximizing their social presence to drive not just marketing and branding campaigns, but also additional revenue. “By integrating purchasing into their branded pages,” Taylor said, “businesses can effectively take advantage of Facebook as a – Read the full article
Say what you will about the power and popularity of social media, but it’s not going to make a number of marketers, business owners, and brand managers stop asking questions about what to do with it. Take Twitter, for instance. Questions about its viability are being asked over and over. If you’re one of those who have to keep asking, don’t be embarrassed. It’s okay to be skeptical. And it’s perfectly natural to scrutinize the immense popularity and business viability of Twitter before you dive in and make it part of your strategy. For the sake of clarity, let’s take on 9 burning questions about Twitter. How can Twitter and its 140-character limit possibly have any real business value? Twitter is more a communications platform than a mere application. And that’s where its value lies. It allows you to easily enter into conversations with other users – conversations where you can listen in, receive precious feedback, share information, and, essentially, – Read the full article
A long time ago, aka a couple years, Social Media had no relevance to your page rank or SEO campaign. Social Media was simply another tool, or middleman to connect your business with your clients. Usually links to social media were rel= nofollowed (tell search robots to not click on link). Up until a few years ago, social websites media sites were not considered as high quality links and did not carry much authority. As of today, the number of Facebook and Twitter users exceed 500 Million! If this isn’t a reason to give a website authority, then I quit this industry. Google and Bing realized that there is quality in Facebook and Twitter and have said they can directly impact you page rank. Fret not friends, your quest for more followers and to get Gaga to retweet you can actually pay off. Twitter: Twitter, while some still call it a ‘new’ phenomenon, it is crucial for successful business today. It has been one – Read the full article
Successful modern businesses know that the best way to cash in on an ever-decreasing post-credit crunch consumer market is to gain trade online. Any entrepreneur who has noted the decline in passing high street trade and dipped their toe into the web market will know that gaining a share of online business is a complex process. One extremely important piece of the Web marketing puzzle is pay-per-click (or PPC) advertising. What is PPC? PPC advertising offers businesses access to an intensely targeted range of online marketing services. Depending on their own needs and the perceived habits of their potential client base, websites can draw in customers using a number of clever targeting techniques. PPC advertising is offered by online giants, such as Google and Yahoo, and by social networking sites like Facebook. It also comes in bespoke form through professional PPC companies, who can place PPC anchor text links in web copy posted on third-party sites and blogs. Choosing a PPC – Read the full article
