Posts Tagged ‘search circus’

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Should YouTube be Part of Your Internet Marketing Campaign?

Friday, May 14th, 2010

To say that YouTube is popular is a bit of an understatment. With around 233 million visitors each month, it’s no wonder that some businesses have added the site to its Internet marketing campaign. However, in order to be successful, you need to know the best ways to use site. Btobonline.com offers some advice.

The first step is to learn the basics of how to use YouTube and creating videos. Google’s PDF guide, “YouTube: Best Practices for the B2B Marketer” contains information on how to create compelling content, how to add tags and links, and how to use YouTube Insight, which is a video analytics tool. Once you’ve learned the basics, its time to use more advanced strategies.

  • Create microchannels to boost brand awareness. This is where you create a YouTube channel that focuses on one product. Help promote your videos and draw awareness to those channels by posting links to those videos on your business’s website. Also, make sure to tag each video for search engine optimization. That way people can find the video by searching on a traditional search engine, not just YouTube.
  • Be open to participation. By allowing video comments, you are creating a two-way communication. Worried that someone will post spam or some obscene comment to your video? You can select a setting that allows you to review comments and approve them before they are posted. However, some negative comments may be worth replying to, as an intelligent response can help build credibility.
  • Give videos a “face.” Featuring the same person in all of your videos creates a friendly and familiar person associated with your brand. A great example is Flo from Progressive. When you see her, you know you’re watching a Progressive commercial before you even see or hear the company’s name.
  • Be funny. If a video is funny people will be more inclined to watch it, however, don’t make it funny at the company’s expense. Make sure the only humor in the video is intentional, and doesn’t reflect poorly on the company in any way.
  • Use social marketing to get the word out. Whenever you post a new video, make sure you promote it via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Digg. Keep in mind, the more plays your video gets, the higher it will place in YouTube search rankings.
  • Don’t forget the call to action. Every video post should have a link where viewers can take the next step (place an order, sign up for a newsletter, etc).
  • Tap other video content. Keep an eye on your industry, watching and commenting on informational videos (just not those of a competitor!) and retweeting links to those videos. However, make sure to turn off the “related video” option for the videos you post, or YouTube will suggest related videos after yours is done playing – and a competitor’s video just might come up.
If you have the time and manpower to keep up with everything mentioned above, YouTube can become an important part of your Internet marketing campaign. And if you need further advice, Search Circus is here for you!

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Posted in Online Social Networking, Video Search Engine Optimization | 3 Comments »

What Do Internet Marketing Professionals Think About Recriprocal Links?

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

internetmarketingprofessionalsIf you’ve talked to any Internet marketing professionals about all the available options for optimizing your Website, then you may have heard the term “reciprocal links” batted around. We know that just the term “reciprocal links” may make one’s eyes glaze over; it’s not exactly a term that sounds like it’s a lot of fun.

So what are reciprocal links? Reciprocal links what Internet marketing professionals use to create a mutual link between two separate Websites. They are implemented to ensure a mutual traffic boost from both Websites. There are a number of reciprocal link directories on the web that you can join. That will mean that your Website link will show up in their online directory, but only if you include a link to their directory somewhere on your site.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But a much more complex question is whether or not reciprocal linking is useful at all. That’s an issue where Internet marketing professionals diverge. Some Internet marketing professionals think that reciprocal links are great, while other Internet marketing professionals find them quite useless. And there are some Internet marketing professionals who land somewhere in between. They think that reciprocal links can help, but they’re not absolutely crucial to a Website optimization strategy.

Many Internet marketing processionals think that there’s a threshold to reciprocal linking. In other words, some are good, but too many reciprocal links will be a huge red flag to search engines. If Google or other search engines notice too many reciprocal links within a Website, then that Website is in danger of getting blacklisted.

The thing to remember with reciprocal links is that quality matters. Linking to a lot of high quality sites will probably not get a Website penalized. But linking to too many link directories runs the risk of getting on Google’s bad side.

Unfortunately, there’s no clear cut and dry case of when to use reciprocal links and how many to use. Tests by Internet marketing professionals have shown that reciprocal links will help a Website if that Website deals with a very specific issue, and if that site has reciprocal links going to related sites.

For example, the study in question involved a Website called “The Southeastern Bat Diversity Network” it’s an organization that works to conserve bat habitats in—you guessed it—the southeast US. All reciprocal links on that Website were to other Websites that covered bats. Those are the types of links that are considered “high quality.” If the reciprocal links were to Websites that were about something different—if the bat conservation Website linked to a Website that sold iPhone accessories—then that would look suspicious.

So should you use reciprocal links? The bad news is that it’s too complex an issue to offer a straight yes or no answer. For the best results, an experienced Internet marketing professional should evaluate the Website in question and decide whether or not it’s a good candidate for some reciprocal links, or perhaps many reciprocal links. Shoot Search Circus an email if you want to know more about what reciprocal links can do for your site.

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Posted in Increase Link Popularity, Link Building and Link Popularity | No Comments »

Exploring Your Search Engine Optimization Services Program Options for the Holidays

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

googleholiday2For many businesses, the holiday season brings mixed feelings. It’s usually the time of the year when many businesses look for great Q4 results. But that can also be stressful, since that means that a lot of companies and businesses will also have to work extra hard for those great results.

While many companies may already have planned their holiday season advertising and marketing campaigns, it’s necessary for marketing managers to keep an eye on those campaigns and adjust them as necessary. And when evaluating your search engine optimization services program, then online search should be a key concern.

If you’re running a small business, then search engine optimization services program is an ideal way to make sure that your business brand gets noticed by holiday season shoppers. For larger businesses, a search engine optimization services program is a cost-effective way to remind customers or clients of your brand. And it’s a great chance to supplement your print or broadcast advertising for an effective and synergistic marketing campaign.

So what aspects of a comprehensive online search engine optimization services program should you be using? Here are some ideas.

Gift Pages: If you haven’t yet, you should create a center for gifts on your Website. And when thinking of potential items for your Gifts Page, don’t just make it for Christmas or holiday pages. Create an entire section. That means implementing a search engine optimization services campaign that breaks down your gifts by category. Make a “for him” and a “for her” section, or “gadgets” section. You can even break down your inventory by price range. If you spend some time with the Google AdWords Keyword Tool, you can do some very effective research for your search engine optimization services program and discover what people are searching for by category and by keyword.

Linking: Do you have several copies of your home page, or several copies of categories? If you have external links that are pointed at each separate home page, you could be harming your overall search engine optimization services program. The good news is that these redirects can be relatively easy to fix and can result in a big ranking boost that will benefit you this holiday season.

Update Your Metadata: If you have enough time, you can implement a part of your search engine optimization service agenda to fully rebuild your metadata. In most cases, you’ll want to restructure your title tags based on your categories. Make sure that the most important keywords are listed at the beginning of the title. And make sure they’re clear enough so that anyone can know what’s on the page just by looking at the title tag. These search engine optimization services program tweaks can go a long way when it comes to getting new traffic.

Start Spending Today: It’s important to get an early start on the pay-per-click (PPC) section of your search engine optimization services program as early as possible. In fact, today would be a good day. By getting an early start, you can actually save on the PPC aspect of your search engine optimization program. That’s because the PPC campaign aspect of your search engine optimization program will gain greater authority the sooner you get started. More authority means that better PPC prices.

The holiday season can be both thrilling and stressful. But if you plan a search engine optimization services program adequately, then you’ll be well-positioned to have a great season. All it takes are a few effective steps that will get your Website primed for great holiday sales.

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Posted in Business Marketing Online, Drive Traffic to Your Website | No Comments »

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