So, you’ve finally decided you want to learn all you can about SEO. Now what? Where do you go? How do you know that where you are is the right place to be? The last thing you want to do is waste your time and money buying into a bunch of SEO bull. So… where do you go to get the real low down? You find a a room full of SEO and patent geeks! Of course, when you first step in, it’s going to sound like a foreign language. You might hear things like:

The Long & Winding Road

“…it can be a pain in the rear, but it’s good for sessionized data. Log data – not so good.”

“Splice that keyword data into declines and trends; you can see what new words peeps are looking for and get some kind of direction…”

“…like the source, internal, external… whether or not it was an apparent query refinement…”

You’ll spend a lot of time with a puzzled look on your face but, eventually, the light bulb comes on and it all starts to make sense. Because, you see, the only way to really learn SEO is to pick the brains of the warriors…

SEO Reading: Lots of Meals, but It’s Mostly Just Chicken

In SEO Fast Food: I’ll Take #1 Ranking with That, but Hold the Fries, Gabriella wrote about the various types of SEO companies in relation to the ratings of restaurants. As informavores on the hunt for bite-sized snacks of information, you’re looking for steak. Yet, a lot of blogs and articles out there, no matter how they’re dressed up to look like steak, are really just… chicken.

A few bring out the good meals and fine wine when it comes to information for beginners, such as the Google Webmaster Central Blog and Bing Webmaster Center Blog, but what about when you’ve read all you can? Where do you go next? Where ARE the rooms of conversating search professionals, geeks and pundits, filled with prodigious commentary unintelligible to the common mortal?

Where’s the Beef? Where the SEO Experts Go

If asked where the experts go to get industry news, discuss topics, read about search patents and so on, you’ll get a list of places to visit. What you’ll also have is an (almost) absolute guarantee that these places will only be serving the tastiest, most filling meals for your informational taste buds. When taking the advice of the experts on where to go, however, keep a few things in mind:

• Don’t mind the mess – these sites aren’t always going to be pretty. Some search geeks are so obsessed with search; they’re completely lost when it comes to design. They’re like the absent-minded professors of the search world.
• Carry a dictionary – or, at the very least, have search up and ready. If you think “long-tail” refers to a species of animal, you’ll be wearing out your search engine of choice before you’re through the first article.
• Take small bites – you WILL get overwhelmed if you try to digest years’ worth of accumulated knowledge on optimization. Read a little every day and chew slowly.
• Ask questions – because you’ll need the answers to gain further understanding. Questions are your saving grace, and most (if not all) are willing to answer them.

With that said, here’s a short list of sites for beginning to advanced optimization learning:

Search Engine Land – Without a doubt, SEL is a top notch online publication. Here, you can find tons of information and news on the extremely broad topic of internet marketing. Categories include: SEM, SEO, PPC, Social Media, How-To’s, Google & Search and Indepth Analysis. SEL is well worth the bookmarking and daily intake.

SEO Book – Created, managed, and mostly written by Aaron Wall, SEOBook is a comprehensive blog full of search geekiness. You may not always agree with what Aaron has to say, but he’ll always make you think. Warning – he fills his posts up with handy, informative links. You could, quite possibly, get lost in the reading.

SEO By the Sea – Owner/Author Bill Slawski is a true search patent geek. He’s the guy optimizers go to when they don’t have the time to search the patents themselves. The amount of pure information found on this site -in terms of search and SEO –  is nothing less than phenomenal. When you’re ready to advance in SEO, this is the place to bookmark.

Webmaster World – The tagline says “News and Discussion for the Web Professional”, and it doesn’t lie. Code, content, presentation, hardware and OS technologies, analytics, ecommerce… Webmaster World has it all. Best of all, it’s a heavily moderated forum, and you’ll always find someone in there to talk shop with.

And Then There’s the SEO Training Dojo

Most of the above places are blogs; a few have forums.  Yet, none are quite like the  SEO Training Dojo. On many a professional’s site or blog, you’ll either find a link to the Dojo under “Places to Visit” or some form of a “Proud Member” badge. In fact, you’ll find the SOSG (Seriously Obsessed Search Geek) badge at the bottom of this blog. The SEO Dojo is chock full of people on the road to becoming SEO warriors: beginners, advanced optimizers and top notch experts alike.

SEO Dojo Members

This isn’t just a training platform, however. Within the Dojo are hundreds of members who love what they do and want to share, engage and grow with like-minded people. If you’re interested in really digging into optimization, this is the room full of SEO and patent geeks. When you enter the Dojo, you’ll learn about SEO whether you want to or not. It’s kind of a “survival” kind of thing, because you’re in the ring with people like:

David Harry – AKA the Gypsy. The Dojo’s creator and an original SOSG, Dave is buried in all things search. He has more patent information stored in his head than Microsoft has in their whole portfolio. He’s been involved in design and search for over 12 years, pandering to his obsessions of information retrieval, machine learning, research papers, patents and anything else he can get his hands on.

Terry Van Horne – AKA Webmaster T. Terry’s been buried in the search world since… well, since before there was a search world. You can find some of his earlier writings as far back as 1997 (the year Google Search was created), if not further. Founder of SEOPros.org, Terry is one of the original SEOs (OS), passionate about industry standards and contrary as they come!

Debra Mastalar – President of Alliance-Link and a practitioner for almost 12 years, Debra is one of the most well known link builders in the industry; she’s also one of Level343’s Top SEO Women of 2011. Her words of wisdom have been shared at SMX (Search Marketing Expo) and SES (Search Engine Strategies Conference), and she’s provided several training sessions for SES and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). If you’re having problems with your link building, Debra’s the woman to read, follow and otherwise learn from.

Anthony Verre – AKA the Milwaukee SEO. Tony is the co-author of eProfitability, an eBook on understanding the search landscape for C-Level executives and upper level management. He holds Qualifications for Google AdWords Individual and Google Analytics Individual; individuals with these qualifications have to retest every 18 months to retain them. He’s been in search for at least six years, is a definite SOSG, and as nice as they come – though extremely blunt. Don’t ask his opinion if you aren’t prepared to receive it!

Barry Adams – A regular contributor to State of Search and Search News Central, as well as the Senior Internet Marketer for Search at Pierce Communications, Barry’s another Dojo member who’s been involved in the Internet since before it was cool. Of course, SEO was an afterthought until about 11 years ago, but as these things go, he can still be considered an early adopter. Barry’s a Dutchman, SOSG, Mensan and top notch SEO; he swears a lot, but we’re pretty sure it’s not his fault.

All-in-One Community, Marketplace and SEO Shop

The Dojo is a thriving community; it’s also a strong community, where B.S. and ego is (mostly) left at the door. It’s devoted to search, and everything involved in search. In the dedicated chat room, we’ve discussed Google, the impact of social signals, Panda, key terms, link targets and too many other topics to name. (If you want to hear the things we complain about, you can always visit the SEO Bullshit blog – the optimizer’s place to rag and rage. Be warned, though… the language ain’t pretty.)

Along the way, we’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of professionals in our industry and make great contacts. For many a professional, these contacts sometimes become co-workers on various projects; no optimizer can do it all, and the SEO Dojo is excellent pool of qualified resources. Copywriters, marketers, patent geeks, optimizers, coders and any other profession you can name come together to learn, grow and produce search geek goodness.

As an added benefit, many of these people are also the creators of a number of tools, used by SEO professionals and beginners alike. Because of their belief in the Dojo and enjoyment of the community, many have become sponsors, providing a slew of tools, products and services at discounts for Pro Dojo Members. At last count, the discounts added up to over $1000 in savings, and the amount is still growing.

Heavy Resource Lists

Among all the goodies offered by the Dojo, you’ll find an extensive video library encompassing all things search. You also find a long list of tools used by a number of practitioners, productivity resources, links, articles and much, much more. It is, after all, called the SEO Training Dojo. No matter what level of learning you have, there’s something for everyone.

A Discount for You

We have a disclaimer to make. We realized we couldn’t say enough good things, so we did the next best thing. As careful as we are about recommending and supporting sites, products, services and so on, we’ve become one of the Dojo’s sponsors. Yes, we’re that proud to be members of this great community.

With that said, the SEO Training Dojo recently celebrated its 2^nd birthday, and we wanted to share with our readers. Until December 1^st, you can buy a Dojo membership for 25% off, using the coupon code LEVEL343. We hope you take advantage of the discount to find out about this wonderful, thriving community of search!

*Disclaimer: This is not an advertisement, and there are no affiliate links within this article. We do not receive money or special privileges from the SEO Dojo for our support. This article is simply a show of support for a program that we feel is well worth the time, money and effort involved to be a participating member. With rare exceptions (a few Amazon links to books we have read and recommend), Level343 does not provide affiliate marketing links on this site, and has no plans to do so in the future. Thank you.

Ignorance Is Bliss?

There’s a notable difference between the outlook of those in the internet marketing industry and those who aren’t. This difference became very noticeable to us when Google Plus came out. It seemed that everyone was talking about Google’s new social platform. G+ news, opinions and how-to’s were everywhere.

Yet, while doing some research, we found out something interesting – at least to us. Google Plus wasn’t everywhere. In the first week, only 6 million results came up for the term. A month later, there approximate search volume is only 2.7 million.

If you think that’s a lot, compare that to:

• Facebook: 3 billion searches per month
• Google: 618 million per month
• Twitter: 124 million per month

In fact, what we realized is that G+ was just everywhere we were looking. Most people weren’t talking about it – just the many, many people we follow, engage with and read… who happen to be in our industry. This knowledge was somewhat of a surprise, and somewhat of a wake up call.

The Circle of “I”

It’s easy to get caught up in the circle of “I” and personal perception. You’re inundated with your chosen industry, which becomes your entire day. When you “know” something, you begin to assume that everyone else knows it, too. You throw out names, talking about people you know – “So-and-so said…” -, not realizing that the individual you’re talking to may have absolutely no idea who “so-and-so” is.

Realizing, once again, that we’d fallen into our own circle of “I”, is what brought about this post. It’s an important distinction to understand – how marketers vs. non-marketers look at the world of Google, the Internet and so on…

How much do you and your company depend on Google?  

Living In A Bubble

Marketer:

Google is only as dependable as I can make it. Sure, I use it as a search engine – who doesn’t anymore? Oh, right, those strange people still on Bing and Yahoo for whatever reason…

The point is Google is a product. This product allows me to offer a service. As long as I can continue offering that service, Google is a viable business product. I use Google because it behooves me to know and understand what I’m giving my clients; I need to know how it works – to the best of my ability – so I can give my clients what they need most: results.

Non-marketer:

The answer, for most, is the same – I live, breathe, eat, and sleep Google. Not a day goes by when I don’t pull up the Google search engine and demand that the little man hiding behind the logo answer each and every question.

I want results and I expect to get them. If I’m asking how the moon was made of green cheese, Google’s going to tell me – or at least point where to go to find out.

So, because we as a modern culture have come to swear by Google, do we automatically love all the other applications that are associated with it?

The newest cousin to America’s favorite search engine is Google+, a Facebook-like website that’s meant to be used for one thing, and one thing only – socialization. After all, Myspace was eventually made obsolete by Facebook, so, a company as big as Google should be able to turn around and accomplish the same thing, right? Maybe, but maybe not…only time will tell.

Marketer

Absolutely not – you can’t automagically love everything Google does. What you can do is cautiously embrace it. Google + is one of those things that we cautiously embrace; it has the potential of being a fantastic opportunity for networking and marketing. Not only will we not ignore it, we can’t ignore it.

Simply put, if we don’t keep abreast of the newest, brightest, shiniest object out there, we could quickly be left behind in the dust of those who did.

Cool New Club

Non-marketer

Google Plus is much like the season premiere of an up and coming reality television show. We all want to know what it’s about, so we tune in, but not all of us are going to keep watching after the first episode. So far, this seems to be the case with Google’s latest networking creation.

When it was first introduced, like Gmail, in order to join you needed a super-secret clubhouse invite that only the cool kids could provide you with – an automatic selling point for the nerdier folk. After awhile, though, it was kind of like, hmm, okay, well, back to Facebook it is!

What does Google+ have that Facebook doesn’t?

Marketer

That’s still up in the air. There seems to be stronger interaction of G+, for one. Two, there are a lot of people unhappy with Facebook that have just been waiting for some place else to move to. The last FB privacy scandal really did them in as a network for many individuals.

However, at the core of it all, what does Google + have that Facebook doesn’t? The fact that it’s not Facebook.

Non-marketer

Why should we spend all this time and energy creating ourselves a new profile, and locating all of our friends and clients on a website that’s, in theory, exactly the same as the one we’re already on? Seems like a waste of time, if you ask me.

Google Plus From the Non-Marketer’s Point of View

“I’m not sure if G+ is all that. It really is a lot like Facebook, and I don’t know if it’s worth the trouble of switching.

The Circle of Trust...

However, if you look a little closer, you’ll see some varying degrees of separation between Google Plus and the already-existing and ever so popular social networking sites. For instance, Google+ has what are called “Circles,” where you can separate your social life from your business life altogether.

Don’t want your boss or clients to know what kind of company you kept last Saturday night? Then split ‘em up! It’s much easier than making an entirely different profile for both business and for pleasure, and having to maintain multiple web pages on one site. After all, you’re just one person!

Also, you can video chat with others in what’s called a “Hangout.” If you’re typing skills aren’t up to speed with the wheels that are frantically turning in your head, then offer your clients the option for a videoconference instead of a typed-out instant message.

Another perk to Google Plus that also assists with communication is the option for group chats, where you and your clients, or you and your friends and family can all message one another at the same time, instead of having to relay he-said/she-saids to one another via separate screens. We all know how that tends to work out!

So, all in all, Google Plus is much like Facebook, but a wee bit techier. So far, I’ve yet to meet many people who use this site as their main place to conduct both business and social relations, but as it was with Myspace and Facebook, all good things come with time. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Google+ was the next big Brad Pitt for social media and networking gurus, once everyone hops on board. ”

The Future of Google’s “Facebook”

None of this means that social networking fans are going to live, breathe, eat, and sleep Google+ the way they have the Google search engine, Gmail, and Facebook. Using the search engine doesn’t mean whole-hearted embracing of other Google products. Not being able to see the future of the network (if you read a lot of marketer’s blogs, you’ll see the industry rides the fence) makes it hard to prepare from a business sense.

Can We All Just Get Along?

The main take away from this article isn’t how people view Google Plus, or Google itself, for that matter. The take away is that people think differently about internet marketing, networking and so on, depending on their personal lives. This is a valuable lesson to keep in mind the next time you’re working on copy for your site, or considering a new campaign. It’s just not the same – and if you can pinpoint the major differences, you’ll be a head of the game.

Can you feel it?

After all the Google Plus hoopla (and a few posts of our own), it seemed only right, fair and equal to spend a little time on Facebook. Of course, it helps that we had a specific request for this article.  A  pro pos to this post, the request came from a Facebook fan – can’t beat that for on topic!

Before getting deep into lead generation facts here, I’d like to mention a fantastic Facebook page to inspire you and show you what’s possible. Facebook isn’t just about posting status updates; you can do that anywhere. In fact, some businesses use FB as their only place of online business.

The business page I’d like to direct your attention to is Livescribe’s. The Livescribe FB page is of particular interest here, because it shows exactly how much can be done in terms of lead generation. Go ahead, click around.

What Livescribe did right on Facebook…

Now, it helps the Livescribe is an interesting product. What could be more interesting than being able to write on a notebook and have it turned into a document? However, they did a lot of things right to turn their FB page into a lead generating machine.

1. Make it interesting.

I couldn't resist... :)

When you first come to the Livescribe page, you don’t see the Wall. You see, instead, three carefully targeted ads – yet, they don’t exactly look like ads. They look like information sections: perfect for the informavore. What they do is act like a “snack sized” bite of information. As well, each one has a specific call to action, and that CTA tells them what they’re going to do if they click.

2. Pre-qualify leads.

You might expect that clicking on one of these will send you to the website. It doesn’t. Each of the three links take you to another page – still on Facebook – to help you narrow down what you’re looking for. It isn’t until the third click that you’re taken to the site. In this way, the company begins lead pre-qualification; most visitors to the website who click through from Facebook will be truly interested in the product.

3. Give more.

Fanning on Facebook, which basically bookmarks the page for you, gives you access to features not available on the website. For example, Livescribe has a FB support group. As well, you have access to their YouTube channel from within their pages, rather than having to take that extra step. Actively moderated, you have access to a live person, responding to questions and comments.

Give More

4. A place to leave feedback.

One of the most positive things about G+ reactions has been the fact that they opened their product up to user feedback. Livescribe also does this, through the FB support forum, allowing individuals to submit ideas based on their experience, needs or wants. Due to the native FB features, other people can add that they’ve thought of it too, indicating one particular feature request is more wanted than another.

What you might be doing wrong on Facebook…

A while back, a blog came out on Outspoken Media entitled The #1 Reason Your Customers Hate You On Facebook. True to the name of the company, the article is straight up, nay, bluntly forward, about what the author considers the #1 reason FB isn’t working. To put it simply, the reason is lack of follow through or, in reality, lack of thought all together.

Facebook is a tool. That’s all it is. What you use that tool for, and how you use it, is what decides whether it’s a successful tool. For example, banging a hammer against something isn’t going to do much beside leave dents – but you put a nail under that hammer, a piece of wood and some plans, you might be in business.

Fixing your Facebook page for lead generation…

Now you’ve seen a company using Facebook like the tool it is, and you’ve read about what might be lacking… get to it!

Just kidding. Don’t hate me.

Here are a few tips (with example links) that can help you improve your fan page:

Make it harder to access – This completely goes against the grain of “ease of use” that we normally say, but stick with me here.

Lets' get picky

When people first started contacting us to guest blog, we turned them down. Not because they were bad writers, but because it wasn’t a direction we were looking at then. Having been closed off to guest writers for four years, when we opened up the blog to guest posters, we started receiving a lot of requests for guest spots.

The moral here is, when something seems inaccessible, the human condition is to want it more. The Creative Marketing and Acclaim page capitalizes on this concept, by starting with a game. Find the real “like” button to be taken to the official fan page.

Create a welcome page – Most business pages can be accessed at their walls. Quite simply, a wall can be bland, boring.. meh. Having your FB go to a specially created page, however, spices your FB area up. Where do you want them to go? What can they do after they click the Like button?

The Big Click Studios page, for example, does an excellent job of redirecting the user after the “Like”. Most people won’t be visiting your FB page every day. Big Click Studios prepares for that with links to the blog, a hint of what you’ll see by following them on Twitter, and – most importantly – that beautiful “Subscribe to our newsletter” section with a bit of random fact next to it. Finally, the FB page is it’s own shiny example of the quality of service they offer.

Give them the chance to share their contact details – Like Big Click Studios, the fan page of Tristan Richards (Internet Marketing Reggae Star, love that title) does just that.

Now, you don’t have to have a blatant sales page. You can do something as simple as Brand Sprout’s understated example, as immediate as Big Click’s, or as in your face as Tristan’s. You can even try something like Blue Sky Factory’s example. However, if you have a newsletter or other offers that require an email address, don’t leave this part out!

Offer something extra – Give them a worthwhile reason to become a fan. If you offer special sales, offer a few exclusively to FB fans. Maybe you have videos, pics or demos; you can offer them an early preview. In short, consider what you can give them that they won’t get elsewhere?

Lead them – Finally, don’t leave them dangling at Facebook with nothing to do. Lead them – guide them to do something interesting, whether it’s on FB with an app or on your site with a link. You have to show them some way to get to the buy/signup/conversion, whether it’s a tab, a link, an offer, or a product. – And, that offer has to be enticing enough that they are caught up in the process.

As a perfect example, I was surprised to find myself on Livescribe’s site. If I’d had the time, I’d have browsed it, and maybe bought something. Instead, I bookmarked it for later – a certified FB lead.

Further reading…

A little extra for you!

I know, you’re thinking that all this might take some serious programming and design skills. However, if you’re really interested in sprucing up your fan page, these links will get you started:

• Facebook Cheat Sheets, Sizes and Dimensions
• 4 Free Facebook Landing Page Creation Tools
• 20 Examples of Great Facebook Pages (HubSpot) 
• 25 Brilliant Examples of Facebook Brand Pages (eConsultancy)

Finally, read How Facebook Factors Into Lead Generation. Yes, you have to fill out a nosy “who are you” form to get it, but there’s a lot of good information in this PDF. For example, businesses with over 1,000 FB fans generate 12 times more leads.

Conclusion

Facebook is one of the highest lead generation and revenue generating platforms on the Internet. If you’re using it for business, it only makes sense that you use it right. No matter what you do, or what changes you make, just remember that it’s a tool. And a tool is only as good as the use it’s put to!

How many times must we say it?

As SEO professionals, copywriters and all around mad-crazy marketing gals, we get to think about fancy things like, “How are we going to use this keyword without totally bollixing the whole marketing aspect?” That’s always a fun consideration.

Others might be, “How many times can we use this keyword without it looking spammy in that social media campaign?” and “Should we make this one word or two? Which gets better clicks?”

It’s great when the work you do can be turned into helpful articles for readers… :D

Any time a single word can be broken into two (i.e. keyword vs. key word), you have an opportunity for ranking. Any time you pay attention to the terms your clients/customers use to describe your product, there is an opportunity for ranking. In fact, there are a lot more ranking opportunities than you might think, rolling around in your site’s content.

Unfortunately, those ranking opportunities aren’t always good, grand and wonderful. Sometimes, they can be ranking pitfalls. If you need clarity, think of all the times you or someone else might have searched “company, scam”. Do you think those companies are happy they can be found under that search? Yeah – probably not.

While reading this article, keep the above in mind. You can accidentally rank for terms you don’t want associated with your company or product by introducing a few stray words into your content.

Bonus Tip: Quickly check the terms found in your content with Google Webmaster Tools

Google Webmaster Tools – Verify your site and become a Google Webmaster. Why? Because it gives you a quick overview of important data you can use for your SEO campaign. For the purposes of this article, it shows you the words Google thinks your site is about.

As you move forward with your campaigns – whether marketing, SEO, social media, or a mix -, make sure to check the results every once in awhile. This is especially important if you have a blog attached to your site, as we do.

Every once in awhile depends on what type of campaign you’re running. For example, if you only put out two or three new pieces of content a month, every once in a while is approximately 6 months. On the other hand, if you put out eight new pieces of content or more, you want to check monthly.

Whether monthly or semi-annually, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll find some words that’ll make you do a “how’d that get in there” double take. Like it’s, which is 9^th in our top 10. Go figure.

Now, let’s get to the main part of the article.

Did You Know: Traditional marketing uses key terms and phrases

Yes, yes it does. Think about the latest commercials you’ve watched on television. How many times does a specific phrase get used? A commercial about making your own baby food, for instance, might use “fresh, organic, baby food” four or five times before the 3-minute commercial is over.

How many times must we say it?

Raid is another example. In every commercial, their main term is repeated at least twice, verbally, and more in the images themselves.

Another example could be the HeadOn commercials.

In television commercials, radio ads, direct marketing flyers, guerilla marketing and more, you’ll find instances of key words and phrases. Some are in bold, some are in italics, some are just repeated, but they’re all key to the campaign.

Translating Traditional Marketing Methods to Modern, Online Methods

What’s that saying… twice is a mention, three times is a keyword, more is branding? Taking a lesson from traditional marketing, key words and phrases are simply the words you want your market to use in identifying your product or service.

For example, let’s say you sell all things red. In fact, red has become your identifying phrase. You sell red widgets and red shoes, red shirts, socks and gadgets. Because this is a business and your business website, red would become one of your key terms (due to brand). Widgets would also become one of your key terms, and red widgets, your key phrase.

With this in mind, you might:

1. Create a site page about red widgets.
2. Twitter a helpful tip about how red is a great color to get people excited about something. Use the hashtags #red #widgets.
3. Write a blog about how recent studies have proven that a spot of red on a website can up conversions by 3%, and offer your red widgets. Link this blog to the site page.
4. Send a tweet out about your new blog using hashtags #red #widgets. Include a short, to-the-point line about the study.
5. Share your blog on Facebook, with a 10% off red widget sale from your company.
6. Tweet about your 10% off red widget sale for those using hashtags #red #widgets.
7. Post a video on YouTube about the psychological affects of red and the recent studies. Use a keyword /marketing rich title and description:
   • Title – Red Widgets Increase Site Conversions by 3%, Study Shows
   • Description – New psychology study shows a red widget added to a site can draw attention and increase site conversions by 3%. Using eye-tracking studies on high-conversion pages…
8. Add this video to Facebook.
9. Post this video on your blog.
10. Send a tweet out about the video using hashtags #red #widgets #video.

You Might Be Thinking…

You might be thinking, “How can I possibly do all that and run my business?” Well, in reality, the steps are a little more condensed:

1. Create site pages about your products
2. Decide how many blogs you’re going to put out each month, write and schedule them.
3. Decide how may videos you need and create them to compliment your blog. Either a) upload them all at once or b) upload them according to a schedule.
4. Using HootSuite, TweetDeck or other program, schedule your tweets each morning (check in once in a while to see if someone is talking to you and respond back).
5. Set your social media accounts to draw from your blog feed

You might also be thinking, “But I don’t sell widgets and red isn’t my color.” That’s fine, that’s fine. This strategy has two things going for it. One, it’s merely an example – a beginning outline of how one might go about using key terms in a marketing, SEO and social media campaign.

The second thing is that this strategy can be used for pretty much any key term or phrase. For example, if you sell real estate in Seattle, Seattle would replace red, and real estate would replace widgets.

Finally, you might be thinking, “How do I know if all of this effort is paying off?” Smart question, and it’s answered by monitoring. You have to monitor your important metrics – like, how many people have liked your posts on Facebook, shared them from your site, sent them on Twitter, watched your video, etc.

For each line of marketing you use, make a notation about where you were before the campaign started. “In April, I had 15 followers in Twitter. I have not bought followers or any such thing and I now have 125 in May.” Whatever metrics you’re looking at, you’re looking for growth. The biggest metric to remember is your bottom line. Is it paying off?

Conclusion

Other things are involved in creating and implementing campaigns based on key terms, but the main thing is to stay on course while being flexible at the same time.

Successful SEO professionals, copywriters, business owners, marketers and webmasters are the ones who remember the goal, but are willing to change tactics to reach the goal. The above is just an outline, to show you what’s possible. Take it and run with it!

Is there any particular step you’ve found to be useful in your campaigns? Share it with our readers!

Symphony by Ben Hein

If you’re kick-butt professional with tons of referrals and your website is just a business card, you may be thinking a positive online reputation is something you don’t have to worry about it. In fact, Darren Slatten, world’s greatest SEO, master of reputation mis-management (titles he gave himself) and wanna-be comedian (title we gave him), wrote a very pointed article about reputation management in 2009.

Darren finishes the article with the point, “Reputation management is like link-building. If people value your shit, you don’t need to worry about it.”

That’s a nice quote. Reputation management is like link building… but there’s a problem. We can’t all be Darren Slatten. – And, since we can’t all be Darren, the rest of us might want to make sure our online reputation doesn’t tank.

Being proactive is one of the best ways for an online professional to keep strong muscles on a powerhouse reputation. Build your online reputation and keep it strong with the following tips:

Tip #1: Add YouTube RSS feeds to your feed reader.

Why? The Comcast video search goes a long way to giving the answer.

• Video is big and anybody can make one.
• Video can easily go viral.
• One bad video can bring about “bad video offshoots”, causing negative publicity and reputation to spread.

Bonus Video Management Tips:

1. Set your feeds up with relevant tags, such as brand names, company name, head officers, etc.
2. Have an action plan for how you would address negative video feedback – before it happens.
3. Make sure you post the video “in response to” the negative video. This ensures that people seeing the first will also see a link to yours, giving it more visibility.
4. Don’t forget to fill in all the available boxes for details – meta info, description, tightly focused keywords, etc. This also gives your video response more visibility in the video SERPs.

Tip #2: Subscribe to Google Alerts.

Why? Google Alerts can show you what’s being indexed in the SERPs for:

• Your name
• Your company name
• Your brand name
• Specific products
• Your website and/or URL
• Other specified, important key terms

Bonus Alerts Tips:

1. Set your Google Alerts with carefully thought out terms.
2. Be specific with your terms: if you search for, say, “real estate”, you’ll get a slew of alerts you don’t want.
3. Again, have an action plan for addressing negative feedback.

Tip #3: Monitor realtime social media using hashtags and regular terms.

Why? Twitter is a daily conversation. People share dreams and disappointments, including reviews like “[Company] products suck!” or “Still trying to reach [Company] customer service rep. after three hours.” Not only does Twitter give you a chance to monitor, but it also gives you a chance to provide instant customer service.

Bonus Realtime Tips:

1. Use realtime search to find key terms your products /services /brand /company might come up in.
2. Set email alerts for these terms.
3. For company and branded terms, set the “how often” to “as-it-happens”.
4. Be prepared to respond instantly to “as-it-happens” realtime alerts.
5. Have an action plan for responding to other alerts.

Tip #4: Have a loose content strategy prepared for damage control.

Why? It’s harder – and less effective – to create an ORM campaign in the middle of the crisis. Content is the heaviest hitter when it comes to ORM.

Bonus Content Tips:

1. Create a loose outline; “if this happens, we’ll do this.”
2. Consider creating mini sites where content can be placed as soon as it’s written.
3. Once a site is created, occasionally feed content into it to keep it “active”.
4. Use each site as an “insta-posting” site, should damage control be needed.

Tip #5: Spend time creating strong, loyalty-based relationships.

Why? The obvious answer is, because it’s good for business. The less obvious answer is because loyal customers make a more convincing argument against negative brand reputation than company mouths.

Bonus Relationship Building Tips:

1. Make sure your services/products meet the promises you make about them.
2. Offer quality customer service and more than one way (email, phone, Twitter, Facebook, etc) for your customers to contact you.
3. Don’t be afraid to address potential situations online. If you see a negative remark about your company on Twitter, address it immediately – live and in front of everybody. “I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Please tell me how I can help.”
4. Always take the higher road. Never respond with a negative comment, no matter how much you might want to.
5. Make sure your social relationships know you’re human. Don’t try so hard to be professional that people wonder if you’re a bot.

Conclusion

While reputation management is like link building, think about how hard it is to get organic links. Anyone who has ever started a blog, posted great content and waited for links to come in knows what I mean. Links – and reputation – only come to you after you build your online business. Until then – and even after then – it takes hard work to get enough reputation muscles to flex.

In the mean time, if you’re not Darren pay attention to the above tips. Why? Because a strong online reputation does matter.

What problems have you run into with your ORM? Share them with our readers in the comments!