Author Archive
Infographic on Creating Successful Landing Pages
Posted by: | CommentsI love the folks at Pardot and the infographic they put together on successful landing pages. They really get the concept of Content Marketing (here is a free downloadable document on how to develop a content marketing solution from the Altimeter group).
Check it out – but more importantly implement this as soon as possible. Also, great landing pages aren’t the end of the cycle – They are the beginning. Everyone has their own ideas on what good landing pages look like and the best content and graphics to put on them; however, who is it best for? Your ego or for your customers? So I always like to test, test and test some more – use visual website optimizer to see if your idea is the winner or your customers pick you CFO’s idea instead. Because lets face it folks everyone thinks they are a marketer – so now you can “test” to see what they really know 
Check out this cool Infographic on Successful Landing Pages below:
If you liked this infographic on creating successful landing pages you should check out this one about the basics of SEO.
Viral Video – 3 Steps to Success by YouTube Trend Manager Kevin Allocca
Posted by: | CommentsI do have an obsession with the moniker “Let’s make it go viral” but not in a good sense. I hate those five words “Let’s make it go viral” – the leading word that spurns the hate for this moniker is “make”. I don’t think you can make anything go viral much less a viral video – see my last post on viral video and the research that supports this. Yes there some exceptions but how much did you pay to “make” a video go viral?
Enter the Expert from YouTube on Viral Video:
Kevin Allocca is YouTube’s trends manager. He watches video – that’s his job (sounds like my son’s job since he seems to live on YouTube). Kevin has identified the 3 steps for a viral video:
- Tastemakers
- Communities of participation
- Unexpectedness
This Ted Talk by Kevin is an excellent way to understand the inner workings and case studies of why videos go viral. From an analysis of the “Double Rainbow” to the song “Friday” Kevin walks you through the anatomy of a viral video.
The Ted Talk Viral Video Analysis by Kevin Allocca:
The SEOmoz Top 10 Newsletter – A MUST HAVE!
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I received the SEOmoz Top 10 newsletter a few days ago and before I really read it I hit delete on my iDevice (usually a gut reaction to the amount of spam I get these days). Immediately I knew I had made a mistake. So I had to log on to my laptop to “recover” it from my trash. Thankfully I did this!
If you are not a part of SEOmoz in some way go check them out now. I am not one to gush or give reviews but they are the real deal when it comes to SEO & online marketing. The newsletter is proof positive that they not only put out great content but also deliver great content from some of the best sources on the web today. Go here to get this newsletter - The SEOmoz Top 10
Full disclosure: I am a paying SEOmoz client – but I have not embedded any affiliate links or anything in the links on this post (not even sure if they have an affiliate program).
Some tidbits I learned from the SEOmoz Top 10 newsletter;
1. Anyone having issues with understanding why Google Analytics is now returning results on referring sites that are from (not provided)? This is a recent Google change and this article from the that newsletter points to the “why its there” and “what to do” – 7 Best SEO tips for (not provided) Keywords
2. Crawling Bots (especially the Google bot) are NOT archaic crawlers that just see “code or text” any more. They can crawl flash sites and also will assess user experience as well as crawl Javascript. Check it out here - Just How Smart are Search Robots?
3. And my favorite! People are thinking that On-page SEO isn’t as useful now since the Panda update and Long Tail doesn’t convert – Think Again! Great article and study of long tail conversions and on-page SEO versus great consumable content – On-page Optimization is Not Dead & Long Tail Keywords Increase Rankings and Conversions
There are 8 more too like “How to Use Twitter as a Lead Generation Tool”.
Get the Newsletter so you don’t miss this great stuff!
Viral Videos: The 3 Myths and the Reality of Hitting the Motherlode
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The online world can be fickle especially when it comes to viral video or anything else that is purportedly viral. And rightly so, as there is a plethora of garbage out there especially when it comes to video or supposed viral video. I’ve been in multiple conversations working with companies or with clients that bring up the idea of a viral video and I can see in the sparkle of their eye….. a far-away look of millions of views and people jamming the broadband lines of their ISPs visually swallowing THEIR video whole (of course all on company time).
How often does that happen? Rarely. Why? That’s a long conversation for another day. But mostly because they have no budget and their idea of viral is not everyone else’s idea of viral.
FULL STOP I’m not going to finish this post on viral video
……I had this post sitting in my drafts for about 10 months. I never finished it because I just knew it would get everyone riled and upset and denying the fact that viral (viral video or anything else for that matter) is on such an organic level that to TRY to make something go viral is ALMOST always a failure….why? Well, I finally found some information that actually makes sense and is backed by actual RESEARCH.
For all of the folks that think viral is a choice….think again – http://messymatters.com/2011/07/31/viral/
Now for viral video….why is it viral?…., you decide, but this post is finally done on viral video;
SEO and Social Media by AuroIn SEO
Posted by: | CommentsThis is guest article from AuroIn SEO; they are an SEO company with almost a decade in providing SEO services, who have developed unique perspectives on SEO and related services in the USA.
SEO in the USA especially will benefit from creating social networking profiles on social media websites. In addition to the three best known social media websites (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) there are very many lesser known social networking sites. In principle any of these could have a significant search engine ranking, but you should only create a profile on a site where there will be a clear benefit to your website. Creating a profile just for the link is acceptable, but having a meaningful profile will have much greater value in the long run. You will find social networking sites to be ideal for building a strong network of relationships with your clients.
You should routinely incorporate keywords into tweets and posts, and although Twitter limits you to only 140 characters. it is still a great way to share a link to a blog or an article. Simply placing a keyword into a Tweet (perhaps as a hash tag) can ensure that the Tweet will make it to a search engine results page. With Facebook, there’s more room for targeting keywords in your posts. Don’t forget that the title of your post is a great place for keywords. Write descriptions of the content of the posts, and these should also contain keywords.
Your blog posts on Facebook or LinkedIn shouldn’t include the whole article. Include a teaser and a call-to-action that will encourage visitors to move from the social networking site to your company blog. If they read the whole posting on the social network site they won’t need to go to your website.
By all means include links to your social media profiles on your website, but not too prominently. Why would you want to send them away from your site? There’s no point in getting someone to ‘like’ you on Facebook if you want them to make a purchase. If they are already on your site, don’t send them away. Your social media profiles should serve as entrances to your main site, not the other way around.
If you can identify leaders in your industry that your target audience looks up to for advice, you should reach out to them. These influential individuals can help you improve the position of your brand in the eyes of that audience. The first step will be to connect with them on social networking sites. But you will have to provide some content. You can’t expect others to share their content if you don’t share yours. Google has stated that they will consider the authority of the author for social media posts to impact search results. A link or story shared by a quality user will have significant value as opposed to a link to a low value account. Quantity can be a useful goal, but ultimately quality will be worth more.
