Archive for the ‘SEM’ Category
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 |
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 »
Friday, April 10th, 2009 |
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
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 »
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 |
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.
Some ways to do this….
- "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)
- 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 »
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 |
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
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 »
Friday, April 3rd, 2009 |
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 »
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.
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 »
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 »
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
Journal,
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 »
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 Color
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 Tool.
- 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 »
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 »
