Death to the Old SEO Methods

There is a prevailing theme often heard in Internet Marketing that Search Engine Optimization, better known as SEO, is DEAD.  Any number of reasons can be attributed to this idea, and there are many more articles where the author creatively wishes SEO to Rest in Peace. However, this article will take a slightly different approach.

SEO is still alive and stronger than ever. This is especially true with SMBs (small to medium businesses) with cost conscious marketing budgets because even a small budget can go a very long way. However, with the rise of Web 2.0 in the last decade, Internet Marketing methods have had to evolve as well.

People hate Interruption Marketing

Remember the days of Pop-Ups? Turns out people did not like constantly having a million windows pop-up on their screen, especially when they were for products that they had no interest in purchasing (you know what I mean). With the evolution of more precise algorithms on search engines like Google and Bing the need arose for more effective specialization in Internet Marketing, and this specialization gave birth to Search Engine Optimization. This effectively brought the death of Interruption Marketing, and now what you see matches to what you want.

 Google Panda

If you ask me from the SEO point-of-view, “What was the biggest highlight of 2011 by Google,” I would have to say it was the Panda update. The major aim of this update was to improve the quality standards of SERP (search engine results page). The purpose was to improve the rankings of quality searches would out rank and thin out low quality content. This would then put a significant emphasize back on to the content of every site, and how users share you content. The Panda update once again set creative, unique and informative content as its foundation to quality standards for SERPs.

Social Media on SERPs

Google’s social media presence, Google+, is the web’s fastest growing social network with over 90 million users. This has been most notable on the +1 of Google’s Adwords campaigns. Now friends are able to +1 all ads that appear on the Google Display Network. The bottom line, Google cares what others in your network are saying (they even starting indexing comments on Facebook), and the initial data is showing the Google+ is having a positive impact on SERP results. Therefore it is crucial to have as part of your social media and SEO strategies.

These are only some of the impacts to SEO with the evolution of Internet Marketing. If you think SEO is dead, maybe you want to consider your best practices in your strategies. SEO is no longer just link building with good content, but great content partnered with link engineers. The Internet is constantly changing, and as such your SEO strategies must be able to adapt to the new landscape.

 If you share our opinion, please share your thoughts with “SEO is Alive!”

Internet marketing is a broad term that branches off into various methods based on what aspect, design, advertising, sales or content, it focuses on.

More for Less

In terms of the customer reach it can achieve, internet marketing is cost-efficient. For instance, the most straightforward strategy, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) involves advertising by placing banners on third party websites or paying for placement in search engine results or contextual advertising. Though paid for, it works out to be a fraction of conventional advertisements.

Search Engines Optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is arguably the most popular of internet marketing methods that requires studying Search Engine Result Page (SERP), how search engines work and how and what users search for. This information is then used to boost the website’s visibility. It differs from Search Engine Marketing (SEM) significantly as the focus is on enhancing visibility on “natural” search results.

Email Marketing

Sending emails as a marketing strategy is second to search engine marketing as the most effective method. Especially if customers opt in to the service, then businesses that send out emails find that the results are quite beneficial. It’s possible to track and gain high return on investment as most customers that receive and check personalised emails sent to them with product information or new promotions are likely to respond.

Social Media Marketing

Another method to make websites more visible is through Social Media Optimisation (SMO). A company’s reputation facilitates popularity, especially online and SMO is the online equivalent of good word-of-mouth. SMO is promotion through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and is user driven. Increased interaction with customers also provides better insight into customer opinions and improves communication.

Generating Content

Content generation operates, to an extent, on the principles of Inbound Marketing, where the website is “found” by the users. Content on websites can be information on the product, interesting articles and news related to the product that draws customers. It fosters interactivity, especially if it’s a blog, thus making links more important, particularly in the case of Google’s algorithms.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing works on the basis of commissions for websites that refer customers to the business. It tends to overlap a few other marketing strategies as websites that affiliate in turn use the same methods of SEO and social media optimization.

There are quite a few factors that go into deciding what online marketing strategy is suitable or workable for a business, the most important of which is the business model of your business. What works for other website may not work for yours, so looking at similar websites and experimenting to study the results of different strategies would be a smart start to implementing online marketing for your website.

Given below are some of the most effective ways that you can use to increase Facebook post comments.

#1. Ask Questions
One of the easiest ways to get fans commenting in good numbers is to ask them questions of different styles and types. Some good examples would include ‘yes or no’ questions, ‘true or false’ questions and ‘fill in the blanks’ type of questions. Asking poll questions is also an excellent idea to add some extra fuel to your business page and get your Facebook fans to comment.

#2. Post Photos & Videos
Users have a natural tendency to react to photos and videos more actively as compared to text-based posts. Whether you post a photo or a video, make sure they are informative, interesting and funny.

#3. Go Off Topic at Times
Allow your fans to have some fun time while they interact with your business page on Facebook. Talking about off-topic things does a great job to add some personal touch to your page. When you discuss things that you fans can relate to personally, you actually establish an emotional connection, an essential ingredient for getting more comments on Facbook wall posts.

#4. Increase Posting Frequency
A proven strategy to increase the degree of engagement with your Facebook fans and get them to comment is by increasing the number of times you share posts on your Facebook page. Posting frequently doesn’t only make your business page look fresh, but it also enhances the likeliness of getting viewed by a large number of Facebook users.

#5. Add Call-to-Action to Posts
Even when your Facebook posts are relevant or interesting, you need to add a call-to-action to increase participation. Therefore, don’t forget to ask your fans to leave comments.

#6. Be on Time
Timing plays a vital role in terms of engaging more fans. Mornings and evenings are best time periods to share posts with Facebook fans via your business page. In addition, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to connect with your fans at the weekends. If you post at the right time, you can easily get more comments on your Facebook posts.

#7. Comment Back
Do you respond to your fan’s comments? Yes, you can never expect to increase commenting on your fan pages, if you don’t reply. When fans post answers, reply a question or comment, you need to acknowledge their participation. Commenting back fuels the conversation further and bolsters connection with your Facebook fans.

Do you have some more tips in mind? Please feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Here’s why you should start using them right away.

#1. Build a Diverse Backlink Profile
Though Google’s last year’s Panda update hit many Q&A websites, there are several others that are still going quite strong. This is simply because these sites run around an excellent concept – answer, ask and discover. If you’re looking to build a diverse backlinks profile (yes, diversity is an important factor in link building), you can never ignore the potential that such sites offer. More importantly, the backlinks that you generate by using Q&A websites will be natural. So, that’s a great SEO benefit that you can leverage.

#2. Get Targeted Traffic (= Higher Conversion)
Apart from link build the natural way, Q&A websites can also bring a lot of targeted traffic. Millions of people log on to these sites to find solutions to their specific problems. Depending on the niche you cater to, you can leave detailed (and highly useful) answers to their questions along with placing a link to your blog or website. In this way, you can drive a good amount of targeted traffic, which definitely means higher conversions as well.

#3. Use Them for Keyword Research
One of the biggest reasons for which you should use Q&A websites is that they provide you a useful insight into users’ search behavior and trends. Question queries (long tail keywords) have high search volumes. In many cases, the search volume of question queries is higher than generic primary keywords belonging to the same topic. If you’re conducting a keyword research for your blog or website, Q&A sites can provide you with excellent ideas.

#4. Connect with Industry Experts
Great answers come from experts or influential people. You can easily find a lot of industry experts by locating insightful answers to questions that relate to your niche. An excellent idea would be to approach them for getting permission on including their insights on your blog. And if you include a link pointing back to their own blog with the answers that you publish, you’ve all the chances to build good relationships in the industry (as well as have the favors returned in some way or the other).

#5.  Know about the Competition (Competitive Intelligence)
If you’re in a business, you always need to keep abreast of what your competition is doing. Q&A sites can be efficiently used to conduct competitive research. All you need to do is search for questions related to your competitors’ brands, services, products etc. Evaluating answers to such questions can really prove to be an eye-opener.

Do you use Q&A websites? Please feel free to talk about your own experiences, thoughts and views.

Where Should Place the Buttons?

Social buttons have the same functionality as call to action buttons in that they lead to higher conversions. These conversions come in the form of shares of your blog content or a new Facebook fan.

Here are some strategies for social button placement:

1. Experiment

Just because your social button placement works well in one area doesn’t mean it will in another. Experiment with button placement and a/b test the social action over these pages to see which works best.

2. Keep It Minimal

Don’t put too many social buttons on your site. You may find three key sharing locations works fine, but test it out to see which works best on your site. Keep in mind too many social buttons can overwhelm and thus lead to lower conversions.

3. Only Use Them Where Necessary

If you run an e-commerce site, avoid using social buttons on the checkout page, as this could distract the customer from the checkout process. Products pages, blog posts, and the homepage are a few good places to place them as these places attract the most amount of traffic.

Optimizing Your Profile

First impressions are important and this is especially relevant when you’re trying to attract new fans and followers. The first step in optimizing your profile is to have a professional image of yourself to include on all you profile pages. Secondly, make sure to include a bio and description, as these things contribute to higher search engine rankings.

You can start the optimization process by monitoring your profile’s performance for a couple weeks. Gather how many fans/followers/members you have accrued during this time. Afterwards, change your bio or profile picture and see how these figures adjust. Repeat as necessary

Knowing When to Share Content

The next aspect of sharing content is knowing when to do so. You want to identify when your followers are online so your content is seen and the chance of conversions, retweets, and reshares are increased exponentially.

The following tools are available to help you identify when to share in getting the most retweets or impressions:

• Tweriod
• Crowdbooster

These tools allow you to find out when your followers are online so you can tweet when it’s most advantageous to you.

Conclusion

Social media is a crucial element of today’s web landscape. Before you jump into this multi-faceted marketing channel, it’s important to step back and analyze what is the best strategy for reaching your audience in the simplest way possible. In this article I’ve presented key elements for you to consider in getting the most out of your social profile and attracting the most fans and followers to your business.

Do you have methods of attracting fans to your business through social means? Let us know in the comments.

Motivate Your Customers

Business owners can motivate their customers to post their recent purchases by offering them discounts. With just one post, a single sale can influence future sales with minimal effort on your part. In order for businesses to do this, they can include buttons on their websites that will allow users to share content posted to their friends in Twitter and Facebook. There are a number of blogging platforms which allow businesses to easily come up with their own social media buttons. Some of these platforms include Blogger and WordPress.

Leveraging Social Media for Word of Mouth

At the same time, when you are using your website to sell products, schedule appointments or book rooms, then you should give your customers the ability to announce what they have just done through your website directly on their social networks through your website. By allowing your customers to do this your business benefits from free publicity and advertising.

Another situation wherein you can use social media to promote your business is by motivating your customers to “like” your deals online. You can launch various promotional deals which they can “like”. For instance, you can announce HD-TV discounts in time for the football season. When customers “like” these deals online, their activity is shared to all of their friends online informing every one of your current deals.

Be Where Your Customers Are

Why should business owners capitalize on social media? This is because experts are convinced that people have already begun sharing their lives through these social networking sites, primarily through Facebook. 40 to 50 percent of U.S. residents have Facebook accounts and each person has an average of 130 friends on the social networking site.

A number of companies have already cashed in on Facebook. In fact, whenever their customers purchase something from any of these company’s websites, they give their customers exclusive discounts which they must share to their Facebook and Twitter friends. When a friend makes use of this discount, the original customer gets rewarded with the discount as well. This system is called the post-purchase referral system. Some companies make use of coupons which has limited validity that customers can share to their online friends.

Start Immediately If Not Sooner
First, a small business should immediately create an online presence instead of waiting for several months. Doing this immediately will attract new customers and create conversation among interested, potential customers. In addition, having a social media circle will greatly help when the business expands and begins marketing through email. This will also give the business itself the ability to see what competitors are doing in their community and what the trend is within their business sector.

Engage Locally
Secondly, it is vital to work closely within one’s own community. This is especially important for virtual businesses. Large businesses may be able to create inroads throughout the state, region or even nation; however, small businesses must concentrate on their locale to gather a viable customer base. As local consumers notice a new business, they will begin to tell their friends, family and coworkers who will then be able to search for it online.

Connect to Other Pros
Thirdly, a great way to create a consumer base even faster is to reach out to other area businesses. This will show that the intent of the business is to reach out to the community and to build a close-knit, friendly group. These businesses will then do the same in return by spotlighting the small business on their website or social media page. This especially applies to those who are making use of another’s information. Giving credit to the originator or author is always the best option.

Cover All Platforms
Fourthly, a small business should become involved in as many social media networks as it feasibly can. Since a large number of people have access to high speed internet service, they can easily check multiple sites quickly. Creating business pages on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter will make the business more accessible and visible in the virtual community. Many social groups have search engines that will allow similar businesses to find each other and interact together.

Do… Not… Spam
Fifthly, businesses should refrain from using anything that sounds like spam. The biggest culprit here is automated replies. There are a number of applications online that can create automated replies to personal comments or messages. However, most of them produce messages that sound positively fake or that misinterpret the original message. Seeing these sorts of replies on a business’s social media page is an immediate deterrent to potential clients.

All consumers respond more positively to personalized messages and replies. Of course, there are times when some automation is perfectly acceptable. For example, some businesses choose to schedule updates to their pages even when they are not online themselves. Others post RSS feeds from one of their sites to another site.

Separate Business and Pleasure
Sixthly, a business’s social media page should be completely separate from the owner’s personal page. While many beginners believe that their business will grow even more quickly if they link with their personal friends first, new clients will distrust the professionalism of the business. A business should be marketed as such if it is expected to grow.

These are six of the best ways to create a strong business presence by using social media. Most consumers begin their search for a particular business online now that high speed internet service is available in the majority of areas across the country. A small business should never underestimate the power of virtual networking as they engage with its community.

Note: Photo courtesy of gavinjllewellyn via FlickR Creative Commons.

Traditionally QR Codes are just scannable versions of lengthy URLs that would be impractical to try and market in the real world. As a result many marketers don’t see the need to place QR Codes on the Internet when they already have clickable URLs available for online users.

Although, this does not mean that QR Codes can’t have an impact online. In fact they’ve actually began to converge with Internet video in an exceptionally strong way. With this bond only getting stronger and more popular on the web, this article aims to find out precisely how best to use QR Codes to market Internet video.

Using QR Codes Within Internet Video
There are two key uses of QR Codes with Internet video; using QR Codes within Internet video and Using QR Codes to market Internet video.

There’s much debate over the inclusion of QR codes within Internet videos due to that fact that QR Codes can be easily swapped for URLs to achieve the exact same result. However, QR Codes are for a Smart Phone market, and Smart Phones are yet to become universal. That means that there’s still users out there getting a new Smart Phone who will excitedly want to use the features it provides, such as QR Code scanning.

Never underestimate the power of novelty value that’s surrounding the tools of Smart Phones. It’s a concept that will stay with the device until it reaches worldwide saturation, which it’s further away from doing then some might think.

By playing on this unique nature of QR Codes, marketers can ensure that users scanning their codes within Internet videos will pay close attention to the material that generates as a result of the scan.

The guys and gals at Mighty Wallet used this unique power of QR Codes in the Internet video marketing campaigns of their wallets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPjq8qdpgeI&feature=player_embedded

Now the downside to this Mighty Wallet ad is that it’s a repurposed Television ad rather than a specific online ad. The repurposed ad was made to reach a wider online audience, not just regional TV viewership. The concept to note is the clever call to action for the QR Code, which means that users will be even more inclined to scan the code than perhaps they would were it just a typical QR Code placement.

Hyundai also take this approach in a far more creative QR Code creation, whilst promoting the codes placement in the local newspaper. Unfortunately the indication of where to look out for the code is severely stunted by showing the code already in the video. Regardless of that slip up the viral potential this video has with its creation of the code, will certainly have boosted the awareness of the campaign and generated a substantial amount of QR Code scans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U53YWmleTGs&feature=player_embedded

Eventually the novelty of QR Code scanning may wear off, which will make its placement within Internet videos very rare. Unique ways of using the codes within videos will perhaps still be able to create a large amount of scans, but in time the relationship between QR Codes and Internet video will shift towards the second key use of QR Codes – marketing Internet video using QR Codes.
Using QR Codes To Market Internet Video
QR Codes are used to market just about anything, from events and special offers to websites and of course videos. The use of the QR Code differs here because the code is being used on and offline to promote certain media. Although the essence of using QR Codes because they are new, exciting and quirky ways to get users to check out online media is still the same. In time this quirkiness may fade, but for now QR Codes are marketing Internet videos in some very innovative ways:

Musician Jessica Lea Mayfield uses QR Codes on concert posters to ensure audiences come and check out her performances by linking the code to her music video. By using the popularity of Internet video and the effortless nature of the QR Code scan, the performer has helped to strengthen the power of her print-based campaign:

http://tommartin.typepad.com/positive_disruption/2011/05/how-to-use-qr-codes-in-marketing.html

It’s not just DIY performers who are utilising the powerful convergence of QR Codes and Internet video, so too are Calvin Klein Jeans:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_N559yMLZc

Three similar QR Code billboards were created to get users to check out the ‘uncensored’ version of their Jeans advertisement on the web. A large placement of a QR Code like this will certainly boost brand awareness and maximise the amount of scans, which will in turn optimise the amount of views for their Internet video ad.

The majority of Smart Phones that scan a link directly for a YouTube video will instantly bring up the video on screen allowing the user to go from scan to view extremely quickly. This speed allows users to see a brand and pick up its message easily and effectively. This will make the connection between the brand and the viewer much stronger as a result of the quick, user-friendly interface.

With Internet video being one of the most popular forms of media on the web, linking QR Codes to videos is quite possibly the most powerful combination of QR Code and media out there. Websites and text based media could potentially be far too daunting to digest on a small Smart Phone screen, whereas a video is a perfect fit for the Smart Phone platform.

Summary
The powerful convergence between QR Codes and Internet video essentially comes down to the popularity of the video media, videos ability to fit perfectly onto a Smart Phone screen, the ease of use to go from QR Code scan to video content, and the curiosity both QR Codes and video play buttons provide to a viewer. Utilising this connection both inside Internet videos and in order to market Internet videos will be an exceptional marketing benefit for any blog, brand or business in any niche.

About The Author
Andy Havard is a Marketing Executive at Skeleton Productions, a UK based Internet video production company.

However, the rapidly increasing growth of social media has also given rise to multiple misconceptions or myths. You, as a smart business owner, need to break out of these myths as quickly as possible.

Given below are 3 biggest myths about social media marketing that you should reject right away to realize the true potential of powerful social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Linked, YouTube and the recently launched Google Plus.

#1. Social Media is Optional

Thinking that social media marketing is only optional is a huge mistake that businesses can make. As mentioned above, around 43% of all online consumers use one social media website or another.

If you think social media is optional, you should consider these mind-bending statistics –

According to HarpSocial, 53% of people who use Twitter recommend a service or product while tweeting. An Econsultancy report, on the other hand, indicates that around 200 million Facebook users use this social media site via a mobile device. Nuvvo finds out that 1.4 million new blog posts are published everyday.

Businesses should, therefore, quickly reject the myth that social media is not mandatory. No matter what the size of your business is, you can always find and target your audience on the popular social platforms.

#2. Social Media is Tough

Certainly, social media is not going to give you results overnight. Social media marketing is all about connecting with consumers on a personal level. To engage your target audience, you really need to earn their trust, provide solutions to their day-to-day problems and gain credibility for your brand. If you aren’t ready to dedicate yourself to building a community of loyal followers around your brand, you shouldn’t use social media.

#3. Social Media is Free

Anyone who thinks social media is free has, most probably, not used social media yet. If you own a business and want to grow it through social media marketing, you should quickly reject this myth.

Definitely, social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus are free to use. However, social media marketing requires an adequate investment of both time and money. Whether you are a small business with just two employees or a company with a thousand employees, you’ll need to spend time on social media. You may also need to spend thousands of dollars on social media marketing depending on the business objectives you want to fulfill.

Beware; such myths can prevent you from using the social media tools effectively! What other social media fears are you still holding onto? Please feel free to share your views and comments below.

The user can edit the already uploaded videos and the videos will retain the same video IDs so that the counts and comments are not lost. All the links remain the same as well. The user has to click on the “Edit Video” button on his video’s page or the My Videos page. This feature enables the user to edit the videos in a shorter time frame.

YouTube wants that the users be given the ability to polish their videos and the edit feature is part of that initiative. A majority of the YouTube videos are rough amateur footage and this will give the amateur enthusiasts to add a touch of professionalism to their work.

The Edit option enables the user to stabilize hand-held footage, rotate the videos and enhance the colors and contrast. There is an “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature as well that enables one click colour correction.

The team has worked with the Picnik (the online image editing tool) team which Google acquired last year to add artistic effects that enable the user to add filters such as black and white and cartoon effects to the videos. The user can even swap the audio and can chose from a selection of available tracks. The user has the option of trimming the video as well if it is too lengthy ay the beginning or the end.

Once the editing is complete, the user can click on the save button and the processing will start. If you are not happy with the results, you can go back to the original version. There is an option to of saving multiple versions as well.  But videos that have more than 1000 views or third party content, can only be saved in the new version.