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Information Architecture at IMSB - Build it & They will Come

I was fortunate enough to attend the Information Architecture Session at IM Spring Break and I’m so glad I did. This session was another brilliant one as the panel consisted of Steve Plunkett, Todd Malicoat and Carolyn Shelby.

For those of you who don’t already know…. Information Architecture is the way a website is organized to make it user-friendly as well as search-friendly. You want users to not only easily discover the site, but be able to follow the information on the site so they can easily get to their ultimate destination. Without the proper information architecture you might be bringing the wrong kind of viewers to the website. Or, you might be getting the right type of viewers, but they can’t locate what they need once they get there. Could you imagine a viewers frustration if this happened? Trust me…. they would never come back once they have those kind of struggles on your site.

A bad information architecture outcome can be virtual suicide for any website, but with the help of this amazing panel they have brought us all one step closer to Information Architecture Nirvana. So, without further ado…. here is what went down at the Information Architecture Session at IM Spring Break.

First up was Steve Plunkett

Steve spoke about Information Architecture and how it affected Search. The three categories that he went into detail about was…

Collected Data Structure
Search Evolved: File Management – DAO ( Digital Asset Optimization )
Conversions and Forms

Collected Data Structure

Domain authority
Directories, flash and filenames (see Digital Asset Optimization)
Activity within record, references, file changes, relocations.
Bounce rate (www/email/groups)
Segmentation

Search Evolved: File Management & Digital Asset Optimization

Steve when into great detail talking about the fact that Search has changed. No longer is it just about optimizing a website, but also other digital assets such as….

PDFs - There are 25 fields in .pdf that you can optimize for Google.
Spreadsheets
Feeds - RSS Segmentation
Social profiles
- employee cost
- personality research
Video/flash
Podcasts
Whitepapers
Games/widgets
Images
Analytical challenges

** Steve pointed out that EVERYTHING you do points back to domain name. Name all of your files, images, PDF’s with keywords and domain name.

Conversions and Forms

Conversion paths - users answer questions in a form and then they land on a page that delivers tailored content to their specific answers.
Conversion reporting
Email database

Things to Remember

Help search engines find your site by building your website in a search friendly data structure
Leverage content by optimizing digital assets
All search results are not created equal. Always keep the end in mind (conversions) to provide value for SER

Next up is Todd Malicoat

As far as Information architecture goes Todd Malicoat gave us some awesome tips for two different types of websites: The Blog and the eCommerce site….

Blog

Use snippets - Instead of having the entire post on the front page Todd suggests using just snippets. This way there is no duplicate content on the site.
link to your best posts - Put a section on your blog that lists your "best of" posts.
funnel pagerank and anchor text
automated internal linking - Automated internal linking keeps pages themed and helps older posts. Related Posts plugin for WP helps to automate the improvement of building an internal link structure
Tag clouds - Not always great to use - dupe content and dilutes link pop

eCommerce

Link to top selling products - home page, every page, body
Use another word other than "Home" for the Home page…. such as the name of your product.
French Fry Pages - These type of pages offer little value and dilute link population (such as the privacy policy page)
sitemaps- These work great for very large sites work well. They help funnel the juice.

Todd explains that search engines aren’t as smart as some might think…. "Search engines are smart…but not that smart. You really want to spoon feed them the information you want them to have."

Next up was Carolyn shelby

Carolyn talks about how to determine the best architecture model for our needs….

All in One - everything on the homepage
Flat - all pages peers, every one accessible from each
Hub and Spoke (Daisy) - useful for multiple, distinct linear workflows
Strict Hierarchy - lower-level pages can only be accessed via its parent
Multi-Dimensional Hierarchy - many way of browsing to the same content

Content Creation - Create an outline (Yes, a real outline) - She mentions if you don’t know how to do an outline you really need to go back to school to learn. It is just that important.

define the site topic
Do keyword research - pay attention to the phraseology that your audience uses; pay attention to most common search phrases; explore your niche to get ideas for additional topics.
Mingle with the peasants - interview customer service, talk to sales people who deal with the public, read consumer reviews (online, offline, wherever), talk to non-your-industry people about your topic. This where you can get some of the best and clear ideas.

Some tips that Carolyn mentions…

Remember we are not Normal - Carolyn mentions that due to the industry we are in and the experience we have in search …. "We are not normal…we do not search like regular people…we’ve been touched…" So, in order to remedy this we need to think outside of the box when it comes to Content Creation and Research.
Check your 404 logs to see what people are typing in as a "guess". This can help identify the terms the site’s audience uses.
Don’t forget the Logs - As far as Keyword Research goes Carolyn says, "Keep track of internal site search logs. Look for clues in access logs."
Keyword Research Tool - She also mentions a great site to use to get keywords is SeedKeywords.
Don’t forget to Think outside of the Box - Carolyn even mentions that she has even used a more nontraditional method to this that really works. She has her daughter’s friends come over and then she asks them, "If you were to search for "such & such" how would you go about finding information on that?" And, without offering them any help she watches what they enter into search to find the information on that topic. She watches step by step how they go about getting information on that topic. Here she gets a real clear answer on how some people might search for a certain topic.

Carolyn did a recap of both of her IM Spring Break Sessions on SEO 101. So, make sure to check that out.

It was another awesome session at IM Spring Break. Steve, Todd and Carolyn gave us a bunch of really terrific information to insure our success with Information Architecture. Remember, it is your job to make sure that when readers or users come to your website they can quickly find the information they are looking for. One way to lose a user forever is to make finding what they want difficult. Follow the suggestions and tips this amazing panel gave you… and you will be on your way to information architecture bliss.

Above image by Dana Lookadoo

Posted in Conferences, SEM, SEO, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics, Websites | 4 Comments »

IM Business Session at IM Spring Break - The Dream Team

Friday, April 10th, 2009 | im-spring-break

The IM Business panel at IM Spring Break was one of the most anticipated sessions at IM Spring Break. Apparently, it was a favorite from Scary SEO and they were asked to come back and speak again. However, there was one minor change….. Tony Adam was going to speak on the panel along with Christopher Hart and Pamela Lund.

I’m sure Tony must have been a little nervous…. after all there was a lot to live up to. As a matter of fact, Christopher Hart pointed out to me that Tony wouldn’t even be considered to be part of this "team" officially until he passed the test…. the test being making his session rock. Tony was being put on the “Chris Hart probationary period” until he proved himself worthy of this Internet Marketing Dream Team made up of Christopher Hart and Pamela Lund.

So, here is how this session went down. Read on to find out if Tony Adam rocked his session and passed his probationary period.

Chris Hart Begins

Corporate Evolution

Maturing of the proposal process
Many views are represented from the start
Most important is the C-Class Executive, Buy-in from the top Down - "C-class" being Chief Whatever (CEO, CIO, CFO, etc…) The Chief Whatever needs to be part of it from the very beginning.

How Budgets have changed

SEO, SEM, PPC, SMM, SMO and any other A-E-I-O-U styled acronyms were additional budget line items.
Those who embrace change are rewarded those that fight the change will lose out.
SEO, SEM, PPC, SMM, SMO are not specific projects…. They are all part of the business and effort.

Costs

Services are not driven through menu selection
Return on investment is not calculated with a formula

Corporate evolution

The secret of life…

Metamorphosis happens - Corporate Evolution/Budgets/Proposals

Just as wild animals such as the Cicada, Elephant and Blue Whales have metamorphasized to adapt to the World around them to ensure their survival…. we have to do the same as well. Those who embrace change will be rewarded. Those who don’t adapt and instead fight change will have to find new jobs.

Chris reminds us It’s not a big ticket item, it’s all of the things that happen behind the scenes.

Bottom Line….

The old Corporate no longer works … SEO, SEM, PPC, SMM, SMO needs to be considered from the start….. before anything begins. Corporate evolution requires it all to be part of the entire strategy from the very beginning.

Pamela Lund up next

In the beginning

Be confident when quoting
Give realistic expectations
Educate your clients

During the project

Over communicate
Prioritize tasks to appear more productive
Use a project management system

Ongoing communication

Assume nothing
Document verbal communication
Schedule meetings intelligently
Don’t pretend results are good if they aren’t
Don’t lie

**If you lie you will get caught. If they check on something that you had said with another marketer that marketer will be more than happy to throw you under the bus.**

If it hits the fan

Have someone else you can bring in
Don’t use accusatory statements
Don’t get angry or raise your voice
Be prepared to walk away (aka firing clients)

Tony Adams is up next

You want people to get excited about what you are doing.

Step 1: understand the culture - Pay attention to the culture of an organization.
Step 2: Personalities - There are many different personalities. The "always angry"; the "combative type"; the "know it all type; the "disapproving type"…. Tony says you want this.
Step 3: Listen - There are always deadlines…. Everything will always will be urgent!!
Step 4: Relationships - Create relationships and partnerships - make meaningful connections. Get yourself some BFF’s!!
Step 5: Get Involved! Make sure to get involved in every meeting you can.
Step 6: Influencing - This is where your chops don’t mean a thing!! Take a break and knock one back!!

Tony being the amazing person he is….. makes sure to have plenty of Beers for everyone attending this session proving his "take a break and knock one back!!" is an important part of the process.

This is where the high fives come in!!
Step 7: Provide the resources necessary - provide the tools necessary to succeed! Create SEO Guidelines, create avenues of sharing your knowledge.
Step 8 make sure they play by the rules - Review, Review, Review. Pretend you are QA and make sure they play by the rules.
Step 9: continue the evangelism. You now have buy in and relationships. Keep them happy. show them the numbers…show them the results. Keeps them happy.

If you take anything away… relationship + influence and persuading = it will get you there.

Wow!! I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you that not only did Tony pass his probation period per Chris and Pamela, but he NAILED it!! He was amazing as was Chris and Pamela. They are and will forever be the Internet Marketing Dream Team in my book. It was another amazing session at IM Spring Break.

Above image from session taken by Dana Lookadoo.

Posted in Conferences, SEM, SEO, Tips and Tutorials, Websites | 1 Comment »

Building a Brand through Social Media - IM Spring Break

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | im-spring-break

If you wanted to know how to use Build a Brand Using Social Media then this session was the one to attend. Jeff Quipp, Brian Chappell and Li Evans were an amazing combo…. Together they were the perfect mixture of How-to, tips, suggestions, visuals….. absolutely all the facts needed to give you a good start in Branding.

Jeff Quipp discussed the How-to’s of branding by going into great detail on what Social Media can do for Branding. Brian Chapell added his thoughts and tips on monitoring your brand and Li Evans finished off this amazing session on Building a Brand with video and photo sharing.

All three speakers made sure to cover everything from the most basic to more complex. They gave us the social media recipe to whip up the best branding dish for any company…. large or small.

Here how it all went down…

First up was Jeff Quipp

Define Your Brand - How do you want your Brand to stand out?

Many Businesses often wonder what Social Media can do for them. Jeff did a really great job at explaining this in great detail.

Social Media Helps….

Create awareness of the Brand
Communicate the Company’s / Product’s Key Messages
Instill trust in the brand
Naturally propagate the crafted message(s)

He goes on to explain the 3 Steps to Branding via Social Media

List the Key Messages
Determine the best content formats to convey your messages (video, audio, text)
Craft the content - Must support the key messages you wish to convey…. at least for branding purposes.
- "just in time" blogging
- make the news- do something sensational!
- resource/educational posts
- the message must reflect positively on the company!!!
Determine the best Social Media to Employ
Test the Content
- If the Key is in getting others to carry the chosen messages forward…. test it first (if its not news)
  - StumbleUpon Ads
Refine content and retest

Using the solicited feedback, refine the content. Retest, again soliciting feedback.

Network to Promote
- Get involved in the chosen social media
- start befriending others and promoting their GOOD content
- Be sure to promote good content!!!
- Seek out key influencers and particularly support their stuff.

Brian Chappell was up next

Brian immediately reminds us that "You have to make sure you know your target audience…. otherwise you are wasting your time. Social Media is not a salt shaker. You can’t apply social media marketing tactic onto regular strategies to see success. Social media can not be an after thought…. has to be thought of at the core of marketing initiatives."

You need to be creative…. there is no cookie cutter approach to Social Media.

Brian urges us to extend our brand off of our site…. secure names elsewhere so no one tarnishes our brand. He suggests Streko’s site CheckUserNames.com as a good place to do this.

Must Monitor & Interact in Real time

Social Monitoring Benefits:

Product Development
Customer Service
SEO / Marketing Initiatives
Monitor your Competition

Don’t forget about SEO

Empower your customers - Let them build the ad, create your idea and implement new product offerings.

Next up was Li Evans

Building a brand through Social Media - Through Video & Photo Sharing

I love that Li went into using Video & Photo Sharing to build a brand through Social Media. For someone like me who is very visual I can understand the importance of branding this way.

Li starts with, "So you have serps and links….now what? How do you get people to remember you?"

Branding is essential. Even your avatar is important. Li reminds us that our avatar is who we are…this is how people relate to us.

Tips

Make sure your avatar is your brand.
Make sure your pictures are saying things about your brand
Start your own group and encourage people to share their pictures / videos and join the group.
Extend your brand and talk to the people that are part of the group.
Bring influence of the brand into the picture.
Don’t forget the Tags!!
Keep your marketing consistent - ex. icon / logo on videos and photos
Brand your Channels - w/ consistent colors
No matter how small your company Branding Matters!!
Don’t forget about branding even in Local.
Optimizing is fundamental
Research where your audience is.

**YouTube - YouTube beats Yahoo for searches. That’s pretty cool. And, it shows us how important videos can be in Search.**

Li ends with saying that “Branding and Being Social Is Key”

So, as you can see it was another amazing session at IM Spring Break. Follow the Branding Recipe that Jeff Quipp, Brian Chappell and Li Evans suggested and I have no doubt you will be off to a great start with using Social Media for Branding purposes.

Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »

Leveraging Social News and Bookmarking at IM Spring Break

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | im-spring-break

This session was amazing. It reminded me a lot like a baseball line-up. Before you start thinking that I totally lost my mind let me explain a bit why I say this.

First up to speak was Neal Rodriguez. And, speak he did!!

In baseball the first player in the line-up is generally a person that is fast. A player that has a great potential to steal bases. He gets the rest of the line-up motivated and ready to play their hearts out. And, this is what I feel Neal did during this session. He motivated the audience and got them ready for the rest of the game.

Seriously, he could have been talking about cleaning the lint out of my laptop keys and I would have listened intently to everything he said. He had me wanting to stand up and cheer with excitement just by listening to his passion and watching him talk about something he felt strongly about.

Social Media in the Grind ‘09

Neal explains how Social News is directory that’s unbelievable. Social News are the stories that make you go "WTF!"

Unbelievable is part of the ingredients to the entire recipe. Stories need to be compelling and controversial.

Assault the reader!!

Make your reader say, "Hell Yeah!"

To Do that:

Do your homework - Study sites that make the front page frequently. * Di66.net *
Reciprocity - Help your fellow socialites. The Key to any relationship. * Source - DiggStatistics.com *

Neal reminds us that "The More you do the better your will get at it."

In baseball the middle of a line-up has the power hitters. These are the baseball players that have a great chance of getting a home run. These are the players you can count on for giving you what you came to the baseball park to see. In this case that is David Snyder and Todd Malicoat.

David Snyder spoke about "How not to utilize Social News and Bookmarking"

He reminds us that the keyword is "Social". Social News & Bookmarking exist as a place to center conversations and sharing around content. And, the end user is the most important part of this process.

How Social News and Bookmarking can be used by marketers….

Not an end means, but a tool to increase visibility of content, and conversation around content.
You get what you give from Social Media

DON’T

Hire people for pushes where you pay based on the outcome
"Push" content without first thinking about the community
Approach social bookmarking as a business looking to engage.

The next power hitter up to bat was Todd Mailicoat

He spoke about "How to sell social media marketing for in house SEO’s"

Show a Competitor
- fear
- uncertainty
- doubt
- greed
Show the Stats
- digg
- delicious
- reddit
- stumble
- buzz propeller
Introduce the Concept - The plan
Show the Value
- Explain the Value of the links
  - theme value
  - power source
  - outbound links
  - unique linking domains
  - placement
  - age
- Explain why link baiting and viral marketing
  - global link popularity
  - sometimes anchor text (based on title)
  - Better Rankings
  - Links competitors can’t get
Close the Concept
Add the Bonus - lots of traffic and branding
- such as premium content

So, as you can see this entire session was amazing….. it kept me on my toes wanting to start the wave.. All three speakers hit the ball out of the park and kept the audience happy and cheering for more. No doubt in my mind…. A Win!!

Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »

Creating Content for Social Media Session - IM Spring Break

Friday, April 3rd, 2009 | im-spring-break

The first session of IM Spring Break on Social Media day was "Creating Content for Social Media – How to create the content and make it stick". Kenny Hyder, Greg Finn and Brent Csutoras were on this sessions panel and what a Rock’n job they did. It was an awesome session!!

First up was Ken of PositionTech. He started with "Content is King. And, if your content sucks it won’t go anywhere." And, moved on to explaining that it takes more than just ideas. Your content needs to be compelling. To show this Ken compared the two sites Watch it Shred with Will it Blend. Both of these sites have a very similar type of viral content…. Watch it Shred has videos of many different items that they put through a large shredder to see if it will shred. Will it Blend puts many different types of items into a blender to see if they will blend. They both started their YouTube accounts around the same time, but Watch it Shred has 3,553 subscribers while Will it Blend has 178,164 subscribers. Why such a huge difference? Because of the question, "Will it Blend". And, this question causes the viewer to wonder…. will it in fact blend? See, questions need answers. Viewers watch to find out…. will it blend. The question is compelling.

Kenny offers some tips….

Tips to make your content sticky

Think about what has done well.
Be compelling - how can I intrigue my readers?
Think about your audience

Next up was Brent Csutoras

Brent starts off talking about how Businesses often wonder how social media pertains to them. What should I write about…. how is my product going to work in social? How am I going to participate?

But, Brent assures us it doesn’t have to be the most extreme thing. Social Media can apply to anything.

For a company to come up with things to write about he suggests….

Step back & Identify your:

Social Goals - What do you ultimately want? Do you want more links? More traffic, etc..
Desired Keywords - what do you want to be known for? What do you want people searching for when they find you?
Related Keywords - loosely related terms.

Once that is done the Research begins.

Research social sites for what has worked for others or failed for others, Check competitors and see what they are doing, and Check Search Engines.

Some tips that Brent suggested were…

Tips

Involve your staff - memos. Keep all informed of plans.
Current events - watch them and use them. People love what’s going on right now.
Avoid "10" - Top 10 gets old fast.
Don’t accept crap and don’t push crap either. Throw it in the trash.

Next up Gregg Finn of 10e20 who spoke about Tactics for Creating content.

Gregg starts talking about content and what makes for bad, good, great and pants crappingly awesome content. Yes, I did say, "pants crappingly awesome" content. You are dying to know what that means huh? This is how Gregg defines it…

Pants Crappingly Awesome Content

Content that stands out
Readers Can’t stop reading it
Takes serious man hours to create
Extremely well written
Great looking
Immediately vote and IM friends about it.

Gregg then goes into some detail about the Do’s & Don’ts of Creating Content…

Do’s

Be comprehensive. Make sure your content is inclusive.
Be consumable - Make it so the reader doesn’t have to read every word for them to understand it.
Be Relevant - Make sure your message is on point, content "fits" on your site.
Be Niche - Quality targeted content is better than average general content.
Be Thorough - Make sure all spelling / grammar is on point. Take the time to do it right.
Be Supportive - Provide detailed media, link to sources when necessary.
Be Attractive - Take the time to use well designed images.

Don’t

Don’t be overly linkbaity - Users can see when you are trying too hard.
Don’t be sloppy - Check with others on spelling & grammar.
Don’t be greedy - Keeps ads minimal & make sure pop-ups are non existent

So, as you can see the "Creating Content for Social Media" session was a huge success. The speakers rocked. And, the information I got out of it was amazing. Wait until you hear about the other sessions…. the rest of the Social Media Sessions at IM Spring Break were just as good as this one!!

Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »

Spring is in the Air…. Can you spell Spring Break??

Thursday, March 5th, 2009 |

I’ve been kind of out of the loop for a few months. I’ve been dealing with some family issues and lowered my social media work load a bit so I could deal with the issues. Things are beginning to get easier and I am beginning to be able to find some breathing room. Winter was difficult and long, but happily Spring is on its way and I totally can’t wait for it to arrive.

Spring brings new hope for me and also brings warmer weather, beautiful flowers, leaves on the trees, fresh air and the sounds of children playing outside. April brings May flowers. But, there is something else that April will bring to the Search and Internet Marketing community… A conference that is one of the most talked about, anticipated and affordable conferences in Search. Not sure what I’m referring to??? Well, let me spell it out for you….

I - Internet Marketing - Three days of Internet Marketing focused education and networking in beautiful Florida. Sounds good to me.

M - Money - This Search Conference is only $370, but is packed with 3 days of awesome sessions and great parties. At this cost it’s a steal!!

S - Social Media and SEO Days. A day will be spent on each. And the Speakers on those days Rock. Speakers include Kenny Hyder, Greg Finn, Brent Csutoras, Reg Saddler, Todd Mailcoat, Neal Rodriguez, Li Evans, Jeff Quipp, Brian Chappell, Carolyn Shelby, Wil Reynolds, Rhea Drysdale, Steve Plunkett and Rae Hoffman. Day 1 Moderator - Jordan Kasteler and Day 2 Moderator – Loren Baker. I told you they rocked, didn’t I?!

P - Poker Tournament - There is a Poker Tournament on the first night. You never know how that will turn out, but you know it will be a good time!!

R - Rhea Drysdale - She will be speaking during SEO day and I’m totally looking forward to this. Not just because I’m hoping that she will appear as SheRa, but also because I was lucky enough to meet Rhea a few months back and I think she’s wonderful, but have yet to hear her speak. So, I can’t wait for that.

I - Information - You can count on learning plenty of new and useful information from the speakers who happen to be some of the best-of-the-best in our industry.

N - Networking - Oh, Yeah!! This conference will have tons of chances to network with the speakers, monitors and other colleagues in our field. This conference is small, only a few hundred attendees, that makes the chances you will be able to spend some time with the speakers quite likely.

G - Goals - They have two main Goals with their events. 1. be the best value in Internet Marketing conferences and events; 2. to provide the best education and networking mix available in an Internet Marketing conference. Sounds great to me.

B - Beerlympics - Okay, I’ll admit it….. I have no idea what this actually is, but I’m dying to find out. I have no doubt that the Beerlympics will be one of the highlights of the entire event.

R - Rae Hoffman - I have yet to have heard Rae Hoffman speak nor have I been fortunate enough to meet her at any other conference. But, I love her blog and I’m hoping to get to meet her at this event. Not only is she speaking at this conference she is also doing the Keynote on day 3.

E - Entire Event - Hello?! Have you not been paying attention?? Check out what I mentioned thus far….. This event ROCKS!!

A - Affiliate Marketing Day - Affiliate Marketing Day is day 3 of this conference and it is sure to be a great day of sessions!! Check out the speakers…. Michael Streko, Aaron Chronister, Rae Hoffman, Frank Watson, Brandy Eddings, David Szetela, Chris Hart , Pamela Lund and Tony Adam. Moderator – David Snyder

C - Community - Many of the attendees are part of the online communities that you frequent on a daily basis. This is your chance to network with these members face-to-face. And, meet other members of the community that you have yet got a chance to get to know online. This is a great way to build up your friends in the online community…. by meeting them face-to-face.

K - Keynotes - 3 Amazing Keynotes by impressive members of the Search and Internet Marketing Community.

Day 1- Chris Winfield
Day 2 - Neil Patel
Day 3 - Rae Hoffman will be giving the NDA Keynote

I-M S-P-R-I-N-G B-R-E-A-K

So, if you haven’t figured it out already….. I am talking about the IM Spring Break Conference coming up next Month. It takes place from April 2-4 in beautiful Boca Raton, Florida. Like I mentioned earlier the cost is so reasonable at $370 for the entire 3 day conference. And, if you use the code SEO when booking the hotel it will only cost you $119.00 per night. Totally an awesome price.

Check out the IM Spring Break Sessions….. they sound wonderful, don’t they?!

So what are you waiting for? Go buy your tickets now for IM Spring Break!! Hope to see you there.

Posted in Conferences, Parties, SEM, SEO, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Sphinn, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 7 Comments »

Interview with Amanda Watlington on Podcast & Audio Search Optimization

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 |

Right now SES Chicago is going on….. the only major Search Marketing Conference and Expo in the Midwest. I had the good fortune of being able to interview Amanda Watlington of Searching for Profit…. She was on the panel of the Podcast & Audio Search Optimization session. Here is my interview with Amanda.

Q. Why Podcast? Who Should be Podcasting….. And who shouldn’t be?

A. Podcasting allows the brand owner/entrepreneur to extend the brand’s reach with the powerful medium of sound. The entire media landscape is very fragmented, and interrupt advertising is increasingly ineffective. A podcast lets the medium bring the message without interruptions or noise. Because of the portability of podcasts, there is a unique opportunity to develop deep brand engagement and loyalty from time-shifting listeners downloading the podcast for at their convenience listening. We are preconditioned to tune in our radio dials to favorite shows. Now we can essentially tune in to our favorite podcasts, download them and listen at any time.

Almost any business can podcast, but this does not mean that everyone should. Podcasting has been embraced by indie musicians as a means of getting a wider audience for their music, technologists eager to stay in touch with the changes to occur almost daily in fast-moving technology fields and by those who provide spiritual counsel, advice and prayer. These types of podcasts dominate the directories. There are also a wide range of podshows that feature business advice, quirky humorists or political pundits of every type.

The most important point in deciding whether to podcast or not is to decide whether the user will find your audio content valuable and interesting. Another key decision point is to decide whether the podcast will be a one-off or part of a longer series. It takes a lot of effort and preparation to develop a series that has a broad following. Sustaining the effort at the same level of interest is very hard. If, for a moment, you question whether you can sustain the effort, step back and reconsider.

Q. Why is Podcast & Audio Search Optimization so important?

A. Search is the single best tool on line for capturing potential interested listeners. In looking at search and podcasting, I try to look across the continuum of interested parties. The media site, an aggregator of audio content, search can be a powerful tool for bringing in those looking for “mp3 download.” A site with a number of features on “techno music” would want to target keywords that included “techno music” and “download techno music.” An artist’s site would want to expand its reach by using search keywords that included the band’s name and the genre. Search connects the audio and the user.

Audio search optimization is really multi-part. The site page describing the audio will be found on search engines so it is important to do SEO on the page to ensure its relevance for the keywords that describe the podcast content. An RSS feed is a vital distribution mechanism for the podcast content, so this must be optimized. Finally, the audio file itself must be optimized since the ID3 information is useful to listeners who might want the information contained to relocate you or to learn more about the podcast – information that you can encode in the ID3 tags. Whether you are optimizing the podcast episode’s landing page, the feed or the ID3 tags the goal is the same – to make the podcast findable to users of the various types of search technologies that provide information on audio.

Q. Is search optimization for Podcasts and Audio much different than the search optimization one would do to a Web Page?

A. It is only different in that you must essentially optimize three different entities, each of which has its own tactical requirements. It is not difficult to optimize the landing page. It is basic SEO. Optimization of the RSS feed is very slightly different in that it requires astute attention to how the TITLE and DESCRIPTION are written. It is also a technical implementation – not a difficult one I might note. Optimizing the audio file similarly requires doing a few easy steps meticulously and carefully.

Q. I noticed that most Podcasts on blogs that they also had the content written out in readable form…. Is this a must for SEO?

A. The discussion of whether to include a full or partial transcript is a topic often debated among audio content optimizers. One school of thought is to put entire transcript on the landing page and in the ID3 tags of the audio file. Another school contends that a keyword-rich summary should suffice. In my opinion there is no really right answer since it is often impractical to create a transcript both in terms of time and cost, so it becomes beyond the resources available. In those cases, a keyword-rich summary would suffice. The summary and transcript are for the user and for search engines. The summary is the minimum level. The ideal for both user and search engine is to include a full transcript in the page content and in audio file. Is a full transcript a must for SEO? Not really. For a long rambling podcast, it is possible to create a rich summary that may perform better in search than a diffuse transcript. There is no hard fast rule.

Audio optimization is really a matter of simply remembering how the optimization elements will be used. The key elements are the audio file, the landing page, and the RSS feed. Attention must be paid the unique requirements of each of these constituencies; otherwise it neither complex nor difficult.

Thank you so much for your wonderful interview, Amanda. It totally was a pleasure to interview you. Podcasting is an area I would love to try and this interview just makes me want it even more.

For the rest of you Marketers, SEO professionals, Webmasters, Business Owners or anyone interested in Search… if you are in the Chicago area the rest of this week SES Chicago is still going on. And, it is definitely a must attend.

Posted in Interviews, SEM, SEO, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 5 Comments »

Help the Children by Attending the Internet Marketers Charity Party

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 |

Are you attending SMX East on October 6th? If you are make sure to attend the Internet Marketers Charity Party on October 6th. It is sure to be an awesome event!!

The Internet Marketers Charity Party is being hosted by We Build Pages & sponsored by BestOfTheWeb, 10e20, SugarRae, Search Engine Journa l, and Sure Hits. The money they raise that night will help to support the Ronald McDonald House. Ronald McDonald House has been supporting and creating programs that improve the health and well being of children all over the world for more than 30 years. The party costs $50.00 and not only does your money go to support this amazing charity, but you get open bar for 3 hours. Plus, you get to party with some of the best Internet Marketers around the World.

So, come raise money for a good cause as well as shmooze with some of the best Internet Marketers around….. I will be there.

Internet Marketer’s Charity Party Details

When: Monday, October 6th 8:00 - 11:00

Cost: $50.00 donation to Ronald McDonald House

Where: Social Bar - 795 8th Avenue, NYC

Need more details?? Check out the Internet Marketers Charity Party website.

Posted in Parties, SEM, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking | No Comments »

A Recap of my 1st Wonderful Year using StumbleUpon

Monday, August 4th, 2008 |

Happy 1st Anniversary StumbleUpon

July marked my first anniversary being a member of the StumbleUpon Community. It has been an incredible year for me. I have met some wonderful, wonderful people. And, I have stumbled across and discovered some truly amazing websites. Sites that if it wasn’t for StumbleUpon I probably wouldn’t have come across them in the first place.

I spent this past weekend going through my stumbles over the past year. It was a lot of fun to see the sites and my reviews over the past year. There were tons and tons of Stumble-Reviews to go through…. After all, at the time of me writing this post I had stumbled 7,357 pages, 27 videos and 876 photos. It truly has been an amazing year.

I love StumbleUpon. I love it for so many reasons. Here you will find 113 things I have learned from using StumbleUpon

113 Things I have Learned from using StumbleUpon

Inspect all food before you purchase.

We could learn a lot if we listen to the wisdom of children.
That a Nintendo System can be completely homemade.
That Business Strategy Can Be About Love
Helped me Learn Sign Language
Learned to Identify where I was Sacrificing my Freedom
Multiplication Songs & Raps to help me teach my Children.
Mother Nature is AMAZING & Beautiful!!

That I can use my Local Newspapers to Promote my Blog Offline
That even the Busiest of People will Lend a Helping Hand to a Newbie
100 Painless Ways to Cut Calories
I can be a Positive Parent
You and I can Erase our Fears.
I can find awesome recipes using only what little ingredients I have at home.
How to Relieve a Bee Sting in under 30 Seconds.
I found out what Tarot Card I am. What Tarot Card are you??
Found Tips to Immediately Increase my Confidence.
There are certain things I need to remember when launching a new site.
That it only takes 90 minutes a day to become a better blogger.
There are special ways to draw StumbleUpon Users into your blog.
How to Run a StumbleUpon Advertising Campaign for my Blog.
How even Blogging can make a Difference in the World.
That a 5-year old can Deliver a Baby.
10 Things You Can Blog About On The Weekends
Creating a Sneeze Page can Propel Readers Deep Within my Blog
There is actually a time when Getting Lots Of Visitors To Your Website Isn’t Good.
There are at least 5 essential things you ought to know about StumbleUpon
PageRank can be explained with a Cool Graph.
Why Top 10 Lists are still the Best
Found out that there are 7 Easy ways to get more Weekend Traffic to my Website.
Tons of Fun Activities that Moms and Dads can do with their kids.
What it would look like if SEO’s mated.
Learned that I need a Seasonal Search Engine Optimization Strategy.
Found out that Social Media has a Direct Influence on Search Engine Ranking.
A Splash of Colo r can make me Smile

I learned that even I can open a Beer with a Lighter. Thanks for that Pat…. I love showing off to men in the Bar.
Saw what Google Search would look like if it was designed in Comic Sans.
Found Sphinn shortly after it was born…. another turning point in my professional life.
Avatar Optimization - Why Top Sphinners have photo avatars while top Diggers have graphic ones.
How I can deal with Criticism.
That there are unusual ways that I can use StumbleUpon.
I found that I love to learn SEO from Patrick with the Hitchiker’s Guide to Linkless SEO.
It sucks to be on top - the downside of Social Media.
I learned there are 10 Steps to Building an Online Media Empire
Muhammad showed me 4 reasons I should be blogging on weekend.
Found out how to get traffic & links from Popular Blogs…. thank you Maki.
Apparently, random funny pictures are good for my health.
Brian Wallace taught me taught me the Ode to StumbleUpon.
That I can become a Success in Online Networking.
5 StumbleUpon BuzzKills
That I can get help for Writer’s Block.
I even learned How to Read a Painting.
I found out that my good friend Brian Wallace thinks my StumbleUpon reviews are verbose. No worries, Brian…. I still love ya.
What I already thought was reinforced when I read that a Blogger can be successful by being nice.
I learned there is such a thing as Time Management when it comes to Social Media.
Learned to Optimize for Universal Search.
Kind of Morbid, but I found a web page that tells me how many people died the day I was born. Approximately 130,755 people died worldwide on my birthday.
The difference between SEO & SMO.
Pictures can help explain The Difference Between Marketing, PR, Advertising, and Personal Branding
I was reminded what makes for a successful Blog.
Logos can be freaken funny!!
Which Hook Attracts the Right Fish?….. in regards to Link Baiting.
Dosh Dosh has taught me so much about the Importance of Social Media Marketing.
I learned that blogging is a lot like Sex.
I had no idea until I can across this page that there are 23 types of Social Media Users.
I learned that People in the SEO & Marketing Industries are some of the Funniest People I know.
Kim of Cre8pc showed me how to build a better website by writing about her son’s challenges with his sport, football. Such a loving post…. absolutely unforgettable.
There are ways to build traffic that have nothing to do with Google or SEO.
A Web Page of Words that Feel Good. Thanks Michael.
Found that Others Felt the Same Way about Sphinn that I did.
Tips to writing my Best Post Ever.
Tons of Free SEO Tools
Found out there was such a thing as "Social Media Hangovers".
Darren showed me how my StumbleUpon Profile put me on his Radar.
Learned how to divide my time for maximum exposure.
Size does matter when it comes to blog posts.
Stumbled across the best explanation of what it feels like to live with a chronic illness (PDF file).
A simple workout for Bloggers.
Why some pages don’t get stumbled.
The Importance of StumbleUpon categories.
I learned Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to babies.

How to find out if I am a Social Media Addict.
I can now say, "I Love You" in 100 different languages.
10 Commandments of Social Media
Chris Brogan reminds me that I need to recognize when to scale back…. I don’t need to say "yes" to everybody.
I found out Why Guys like Girls.
I came across a Comprehensive Guide to Keyword Research for Bloggers
Finally I learned how to fold a fitted sheet correctly. Normally I use my arms to wound it up.
I learned how to Go with the Flow.
How to write a report that a client will "get".
I learned how to blog and work-off 600 calories at the same time.
That photos can say so much more than words. What do you think this photo is saying??

I learned that there is a difference between healthy and toxic love.
How to simplify my life with kids.
Even Digg can play some April Fool’s Jokes.
Found out ways to reduce stress.
Food can taste as good as it looks.
I located a bunch of great moms on Twitter thanks to Wendy.
I was shown a bunch of reasons why Twitter is a great Social Media Too l.
I was surprised to learn that it wasn’t only MY children who don’t recognize when the bathroom door is closed.
How to make a dollar stretch during a recession.
How to bury negative posts about you or your company.
Tamar with the help of Weezer shows me a thing or two about Viral Marketing.
More ways I came across to say, "I Love You".
StumbleUpon gets my mind thinking with a question that stumps me.

Little did I know that there was something called, "Blogger Imposter Syndrome". You can even take a test to see if you suffer from it.
How to Find the Perfect Image for your Blog Post.
I had no idea that cigarettes could teach me something about branding.
Kids can teach us how to be happy.
Learned that there are certain techniques that will make your blog or website sticky.
I stumbled across a thing or two about Link Building Optimization.
That I can actually SEO my site in less than 60 minutes.
And, apparently I will stumble into the happiness of my life.

Posted in Blogging, Humor, Link Love, Parenting, SEM, SEO, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Time Management, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 Basics | 21 Comments »

Selling versus Telling - Does your site convert?

Sunday, July 6th, 2008 |

This Featured Guest Post is by Edward Beckett of Florida Search Engine Optimization.

Image by jakeliefer

It would be interesting to know just how many people in Internet marketing actually had professional sales experience before marketing on the web. Having had a bit of experience in several sales sectors, I had my share of small paychecks before I decided that I really needed to learn what turned prospects into clients – pain, is a great motivator. That being said, I see many web sites that do not produce sales and I believe that one of the main reasons for these site’s lack of success is due to sending the readers the wrong message. To sell a product or service, a prospective client normally needs to have trust in the seller. If trust is not established from the message on the web site, the prospective client will simply move on to a site that captures their attention, and wins their trust.

To elaborate a bit, I’m going to describe some methods that Hollywood uses to keep their audience’s attention. I entertain quite a fascination for movies such as The Zeitgeist Movie, The Bourne Identity and The Matrix. In all three of these movies, the one thing I noticed that kept my mind in suspense was the constant state of flux between believing and disbelieving what is being implied in the movie’s story lines. In the Matrix reloaded, The Merovingian retorted when Morpheus stated, “You know why we are here.” with,” I am a trafficker of information, I know everything I can. The question is, do you know why you are here?”

With this question, the direction of the dialogue centers on the implied message that the Merovingian probably knows … a lot. This question sets the stage for the rest of the conversations that develop for that scene. But what’s important to us here is that he established credibility by the way he framed his question – he did not have to show proof of his knowledge, and no one was led to doubt what he said. He simply assumed control of the conversation by positioning himself with a question that would poise him as an authority. The point is that by asking the right questions, you may imply authority on a matter without having to “sell” someone on it. Your position may be established by the questions that you ask. Once you have established credibility … then you might gain your clients trust. Attempting to sell what you have without first gaining their trust … will usually fail.

But credibility and trust alone are not enough to keep people interested in what you have to say. Curiosity keeps people interested in what you have to say … and to keep them “listening to your questions”, (a subtle hint?) you have to find something that “they are interested in.” An old but still effective acronym in consultative sales is: WIIFM, which means, What’s In It For Me? To let the potential client know what “they are getting” from what you have to offer. Here is a news flash which may shock some egomaniac salesmen (and women). Your potential clients don’t care about you or your product, if it doesn’t satisfy a need for them. For example, let’s go back to the scene with The Merovingian and see how Hollywood keeps the audience’s curiosity and attention after intellectualizing the viewers in a conversation that parallels a logical labyrinth.

To add an element of curiosity (and excitement) to the conversation, the viewing audience was kept quite amused as The Merovingian went on to describe the climactic scene which transpires from a dessert he sent to a lady across the room … He seduced the lady through a programmatically orgasmic dessert. Watching that lady eat her dessert gave me a sudden urge to speak to my college counselor about modifying my computer science degree to include a specialty in culinary programming. Though I didn’t perform eye tracking analytics on the rest of the audience in the theater with me, I think it’s safe to say that of the males in the theater we can safely estimate that better than half of the guy’s eyes were looking at the lower half of the screen as that lady enjoyed her dessert. Though this is an extreme example, through delivering well structured questions to your readers, you may open up opportunities to uncover needs by making your potential clients curious – And if you’re really good, you might even make them hungry for what you have to offer.

Want some more info on what I can do for ya? Send me a message on my blog or pay me a visit at Florida Search Engine Optimization.

Posted in Guest Posts, SEM, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Tips and Tutorials | 2 Comments »