Although my agency does use a variety of paid and free tools for various purposes, by and large, we do most of our discovery through manually searching the web. If you've done it, you will know that while it's fun and interesting at times, it's also a serious pain. It's inefficient, it's tedious, and you're likely to keep running into the same sites over and over. Sometimes it's nice to sit back and let the link potentials come to you using a variety of free alert tools. Alerts are a great way to stay informed about what's being said. You can use alerts just to monitor your brand or a ke [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To | How To: Links | Link Building | Link Building: General | Link Week

It's a great time to start a company. Incubator labs are springing up all over the place, sponsored by venture capitalists and universities. Universities are teaching entrepreneurial skill, and have programs to sponsor student startups. Massive layoffs over the past two years have forced new college graduates, and experienced former employees to strike out on their own. The emergence of social media and mobile platforms are providing thousands of start-up opportunities, and you can see them showcased at "network and launch" events such as the Web Innovators Group and Mass Innovation Nights. [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To | How To: SEO | Search & Usability

Most small business owners understand that they should be listed on major national search engines such as Google and Bing, but how do they know which local directories and vertical sites are important for improving their SEO? If you’re a dentist in Boston looking for local sites, you could look at the listings of other Boston businesses, such as Boston Standard Plumbing: If you want to find vertical sites, you could look at the listings of other dentists, such as Tribeca Dental Associates in New York: Even better, you would want to look at businesses that are in both your locale a [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To | How To: Links | Small Is Beautiful

Want to feel like a super-spy while learning valuable secrets that can help grow your client’s business? Here’s how you do it:  invest your time and money in PPC competitive intelligence and please shhh ... don’t tell anyone. As the auction grows more expensive and more complex, it’s critical to have a view into your client’s competitors paid search program, otherwise you’re fighting blind. The simple truth is, PPC is a competition. You’re competing for the world’s most valuable inventory and for the top positions in an auction that you can’t just win with a wallet, bu [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC

Most of us in the PPC world know that testing ads is a great idea - almost necessary optimization work. There are plenty of articles around the web expounding the benefits: increase QS, lower costs, boost conversion rate ... all good stuff. In this article, let's tackle the basic block and tackling necessary to get ad testing up and working for you. What Ad Is Better? With ads, as with keywords, this is not always black-and-white. There are many metrics we can measure, but which should we focus on? What is better -- Higher CTR or higher conversion rate? More Revenue or more margin [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | How To | How To: PPC

Many website owners obsess over organic keyword rankings. Our clients often tell us, "We have to improve our rankings for "keyword X!". However, focusing on rankings as the primarily goal of SEO will not likely deliver the results most site owners want which is to increase business from their websites. In this example, we  will use a client’s Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics to choose the best keywords to focus on first, those bringing searchers to the website who are converting into leads. Improving Rankings May Not Lead To Increased Click-Throughs A past client, a media pl [...]

Related Topics: All Things SEO | Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To: SEO

It’s easy to increase brand presence in search... if you have the budget. But more often than not, search marketers feel trapped by their fixed budgets, and wonder how they can possibly increase branded reach without spending more money. However, it can be done. Online visibility is directly related to how many times your ads appear in the search results, which is directly related to your budget and bidding strategy. Usually, the more money you spend, the more often you appear. But there’s a way around this dynamic. One way to overcome this problem is through match types. Match types [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Brand Aid | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC

Because of its intrinsic relationship with the Open Graph protocol, there’s even more compelling reasons to use the Facebook like button than to use the official Tweet button. Like the Tweet button, the Like button is easy to install, and is highly standardized. Furthermore, the Like button is tied directly to Facebook’s analytics platform, Insights, which can provide you with valuable information about each Like button’s performance. Display Type The Like button is available in three formats. Standard, which shows the name of a visitor’s friend that has liked the page (if any f [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To: Facebook | How To: Social Media Marketing

Where the standard Tweet button gives you little control over the button’s appearance, functionality or call-to-action (you can Tweet, Tweet or Tweet) you have virtually unlimited options when encouraging users to follow you on Twitter. This is because the following action takes place on Twitter itself, rather than on your website:  you’re essentially encouraging a user to click on a link. As such, there’s more optimization and testing opportunities. Call-to-Action Your call-to-action can take the form of a text link, a linked graphic or both. This gives you the opportunity to crea [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To: Social Media Marketing | How To: Twitter

The official tweet button from Twitter is easy to implement, aggregates direct tweets and retweets in its counter, and includes a mechanism to encourage following (discussed below). These features almost certainly outweigh the slender benefits of employing third-party tweeting tools (the main benefit being more flexibility in styling the tweet button's appearance). There are a number of things that can be tested in order to improve the number of Tweets a page receives. Display Type The Tweet button is available in three versions, all versions sharing the same color, size and label ("Twee [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To: Social Media Marketing | How To: Twitter

Whereas Twitter direct follow buttons are not easy to implement, Facebook makes it simple to "Like" a Page on Facebook (i.e., to become a "fan" of the person or organization represented by that Facebook Page) without actually needing to visit Facebook. The alternate method of enticing visitors to become fans is simply to link to the Page on Facebook, where there is a prominent Like button at the top of the Page. There are advantages and drawbacks to each method. The obvious benefit of a direct Like is that the user is connected in one step, without the danger of failing to click on th [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To: Facebook | How To: Social Media Marketing

When you successfully encourage a visitor to share content they discover on your website, that action strongly recommends your website to that visitor’s friends, extends its reach, and increases its visibility in the search engines. That same visitor may also be persuaded to make a long-term connection with you or your business, forging an incredibly valuable bond with you or your brand. For these reasons, the structure of almost any contemporary website should advance the goal of converting casual visitors into engaged participants. For Twitter sharing a resource directly from its [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Analytics | How To | How To: Facebook | How To: Social Media Marketing | How To: Twitter | Search & Conversion

In-house search marketers are often struggling to find ways to grow their responsibilities. For many, the search engine marketing program itself will only get so big or complicated before it settles into a healthy size for the organization that runs like a well-oiled machine. In-house marketers who are looking to grow their skills, expand their responsibilities and experiment with something new should make a case for testing paid social media marketing. Here are some ways you can put in-house marketing skills to work on campaigns to drive direct sales, fans, likes, and followers! Test The [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To: Social Media Marketing | In House Search Marketing

Unlike the 100% voting based social aggregation sites like Digg and Reddit, the website Fark.com (Fark) has articles chosen by editors, not the Fark members. Much like Search Engine Land’s social news site, Sphinn.com, Fark allows for users to submit articles for consideration, and the best submitted are selected. With a monthly traffic ranging between 700,000 and 1 million unique visitors, Fark is a social site can help to drive traffic and links. Unlike many of the up-and-coming social sites, Fark is tested and true, operating since 1999 and still staying strong. So how can you b [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To | How To: Social Media Marketing | Search & Social

When you have two or more keywords that can be triggered in your AdWords account from a search query, Google tries to show the most restrictive option. The constraints go beyond just match type to include geography, time of day, etc. However, Google does not always show exact match over phrase match and phrase match over broad match. They also look at ad rank (max CPC x Quality Score). If you have an exact match term bid at $0.25 and the broad match bid at $1, Google will generally show the broad match term. As an advertiser, you will likely find that your exact match converts higher tha [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | How To | How To: PPC | Paid Search

Even though the importance of choosing the best words for every tweet and bio has probably been discussed at length on Search Engine Land and others, paying attention to exactly how these carefully chosen keywords can be used is the second half of the equation. There are many places on Twitter that may be the last thing to think about when it comes to starting a Twitter account. However, because Bing and Google now count tweets, Facebook posts, and other social media activity in their search results, search engine optimization is more important than ever. The SEO'd Twitter Profile The pro [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To: Twitter | Search & Social

Every month, I get a reminder email from the team at Search Engine Land to tell me that my post is due. Most months I already have a clear idea of what I want to cover, but some times I find myself staring at the screen, not sure where to start. And in many ways, that's a similar situation to the one that marketers find themselves in when asked to start integrating social into the communications mix. It's for this reason that we at Mindshare developed a very simple process for planning, implementing and reviewing social marketing, with each step handily beginning with the letter A. Aim [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Social | How To: Social Media Marketing | Search & Social

Some business books aim to teach you how to take your game to the next level. Others, how to delight your customers and increase profits. Still others coach you on interacting with your peers, boss and other key "stakeholders" who are key to your success. Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by marketing maven and former Apple chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki seeks to offer enlightenment on all these areas, by suggesting that the overall goal for anything you're trying to accomplish is to enchant others. For marketers, this is a compelling notion—maybe even obviou [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: Other | Features: Book Reviews

I’ve lived by this rule since 1997: If you name your products using the keywords customers search for to find and buy what you sell, you’ll do better selling online than if you use the manufacturer's name or industry jargon for your product names. I’ve been working on product pages on online stores for a long time, and I don’t get too excited about new techniques or tricks for boosting sales by optimizing product pages. I think I’ve near ‘bout tried everything I’ve read about or seen online. We’re always testing stuff, and trying new things, but every once in awhile s [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEO | How To: SEO | Search & Retail

A good referral may still be the best way to find a consumer driven business. However, with more and more decisions being made online, it is increasingly important for marketers to manage their client’s images. Outside of reputation management, there's an opportunity for a first impression to be made in paid search ads; but advertisers must keep a couple of things in mind when delivering a first impression on behalf of their clients. Online businesses don't have the luxury of second chances. Today, ads are often the first impression a consumer may get of a business. It is important to beg [...]

Related Topics: Beginner | Channel: SEM | How To: PPC