3 Essential Elements for Link Building Success

July 9th, 2010 by JulieS
Having a link building strategy is important for Search Engine Optimization. Link building is very important not just because it will help draw more visitors to your site, but also because links help you move up in the search engine rankings. Here are 3 key elements from Search Engine Watch that will help you get links to help boost your rankings in the search engines.

The Power of Content
Every page of your Website should have great content, even the Contact Us page. Include a paragraph or two on your company’s history or interesting facts about your field. On every product page there should be a description of the product, not just a picture and the price. Content should be engaging and informational. If you provide information that people are going to want to read and find valuable, they will be more likely to link back to you.

Get Noticed
You can write some of the most engaging, wonderful, exciting web content ever written, but you won’t get any links if people don’t know you exist. A good way to get noticed is through social networking like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You’ll want to send out tweets on a daily basis, engage with customers on Facebook, and connect with other businesses on LinkedIn. And just like Web site content, the content you put out via your social media should be engaging and informative as well.

Another way to get noticed is through guest blogging. By writing guest posts on another person or company’s blog, you are reaching a new audience and building a network with other bloggers. Find a blogger who already has numerous followers and ask if you can guest post on their blog.

Make Sure Your Site is Error-Free
Broken links, error messages, pages that load slowly or annoying pop-ups can deter people from visiting your site, and makes your business look unprofessional. In addition, you should keep your site updated regularly. Adding new content on a regular basis not only helps the search engines find you, but it gives people a reason to visit your site more often.

A poorly designed site can also be a deterrent. Your site should look professional, and not adorned with neon colors, images that flash or spin, or using 8 different fonts on one page. A site that is easy to navigate and allows users to find what they need easily is also more likely to get links.

You’re probably thinking it looks like an awful lot of work to build links. Creating great content, advertising your site, and keeping your Webpage error-free and up to date all take time and effort. However, what is the use of having a Website if no one can find it? When you are getting links and start to rise in the search engines, you’ll see that all your effort is paying off.

Remember these words of wisdom as many SEO/SEM professionals already know, “Content is King, but Links are Queen.”

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Does Your #Online #Marketing Strategy Make the Top 10 List?

July 7th, 2010 by AliciaYoung
Does your online marketing strategy make the top search list?

Does your online marketing strategy make the top search list?

What are people searching for online? Is your marketing campaign as strong as it should be?

Here is a sampling of some of the top search terms as surveyed by Hitwise from May 2010. Are any of your targeted buzzwords in this list? If not, maybe it’s time for a better SEO campaign?

Some of the keywords from the top 10 lists from May 2010 – these companies have a prominent online marketing program in place.

Search Term Search Volume%

paypal                          4.40
Honda                           1.49
Toyota                          1.42
Ford                               1.40
oreilly autoparts         .81
facebook                   10.63
bossip                              .23
daily kos                         .15
crystal bowersox        .12
free samples                  .09
free stuff                          .09
pizza hut                        3.99
mcdonalds                    1.71
fibromyalgia                   .33

We’d like to add a few more to search terms to the list like: SEO firm, social media marketing, Cleveland SEO, online marketing strategy – and we’re sure you’d find Search Circus among those search results. Of course, we’re a little bias too!

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5 Key Tips for Using Facebook in Your Social Media Marketing Campaign

July 5th, 2010 by SarahCarter
Follow these tips for using a Facebook fan page for your businesss social media marketing plan.

Follow these tips for using a Facebook fan page for your business's social media marketing plan.

In a recent webinar presented by Dan Zarella entited “The Science of Facebook Marketing,” there were many key points presented that business owners must keep in mind when planning to use Facebook as part of their social media marketing plan. Zarella pointed out during the webinar that many people who discuss business-related terms on Facebook don’t get a lot of “fans” to join their fan page, and even more businesses make the mistake of making a Facebook group rather than a fan page. Here are the top 5 tips we thought were the most important from webinar.

Use Facebook to facilitate existing relationships. People go on Facebook to connect with people they actually know. As a business owner, do not make a Facebook profile and send friend requests to random people. Instead, make a Facebook fan page that would be appealing to your would-be customers and clients and they will come to you. If you have customers who are “regulars,” don’t “friend” them with your personal profile, use the fan page to connect with them. It’s more professional that way.

Exposure, awareness and motivation. These are the three steps that lead to fans or “likes” on your Facebook fan page. Exposure means someone needs to be exposed to your page. This can happen through one of their mutual friends liking your page or them getting a suggestion to like your page. Awareness means someone needs to be aware that you page exists, it goes hand in hand with exposure. In other words, you need to make your page interesting enough to bring attention to itself. That way it will bring awareness to potential fans that might enjoy your page. Motivation is the third step. This means once the potential fan is exposed to your page, they must have some kind of motivation to “like” your page. This means the page needs to have fun content, appealing fan members and good interaction. These things will lead to more fan page “likes.”

Stay away from business buzzwords. Facebook users aren’t interested in buzzwords, they are on Facebook to network with others and build social relationships. Some of the fan pages that have the least “likes” on Facebook include words like “consulting, productivity, leverage, client, marketing.” On another note, people love talking about food, so if you can somehow fit that into your page you could benefit from it.

Social proof. The rule of social proof goes like this, the more we see people doing something, the more we think it’s correct. This is just like the bandwagon propaganda technique. If a lot of a certain person’s friends on Facebook “like” your business fan page, it’s even more likely that that person will too. When your page has a lot of fans, it makes it look more appealing to others and will lead to even more “likes.”

Sharing. Articles with the word “video” in them are shared 30% more on Facebook than articles that don’t contain the word. Also articles with digits in them are shared more on Facebook. Facebook gets the most sharing action on the weekends and the most shareable words are “why, how, most, world.” So don’t neglect your fan page on the weekends and try to share articles that contain share-friendly words to attract positive attention and dialogue to your business fan page.

The Webinar ended with one last important piece of advice, which was “think mainstream.” On Facebook, things that appeal to the mainstream will get you far. Top 10 lists, funny videos, polls, interesting or entertaining articles will make your fan page a fun place for people to visit, which will make it more attractive to others and encourage more “likes.” Most importantly, remember Facebook has great potential as part of your business’s social media marketing campaign, as long as you keep it light and keep the business-y advertise-y stuff to a minimum or cleverly hide it with sales announcements and special Facebook promotions.

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