By Mike Jones, Search Engine Watch, Feb 28, 2008
People online are seeking new ways to connect and be social. To meet that growing need, a new wave of social media sites have germinated explicitly to provide tools and platforms that facilitate sharing in all its facets and forms. The recent popularity of online social networks gives testimony to our most primitive desire to belong, as we congregate around the things we are most passionate about.

Savvy marketers are beginning to see this evolution of Internet users, from passive consumers into brand influences and ambassadors who are not to be underestimated.

Many brands are wary of exposing themselves on social media sites, but as anyone who’s been involved in social media for more than five minutes knows, they’re too late. Their brands are already exposed, and the community is talking about them, whether they choose to get involved or not. Rather than trying to avoid the conversation, brand marketers need to create a strategy to engage online influencers and social media users who have the power to make or break their brand.

Here are seven social marketing tactics to help your brand “get social” and join the conversation:

1. Boost the Fun Factor
2. See the Forest and the Trees
3. Widgets are Welcome
4. Conversation is King
5. Engage
6. Research and Listen
7. Don’t Go It Alone

More detail Information Here>>>

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

It sounds like an April Fools’ Day joke, but SEO-focused journalists first got wind of it around Christmas. Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart’s brand for bulk sales to small businesses, now offers search marketing services. What does this mean for SEO and SEM consultants?

SEO journalists are writing about this all over the web, from Search Engine Journal to Search Engine Land. Aaron Wall links to it and threatens to fight back by selling Chinese-made US flags for three cents each. Tameka Kee of Media Post Publications thinks it might be a sign that SEM has moved one step closer to becoming a commodity. And at least one commenter with a name that is somewhat familiar to members of our SEO Chat forum wondered about their return policy.

On the face of it, the idea of Wal-Mart even entering this kind of business seems ridiculous. SEO and SEM are highly specialized fields; to do it right, an SEO consultant needs to spend a serious amount of time with each client to understand the needs of their business. Once they get a feel for the company and its field, the next step is keyword research; then there’s planning the ad campaign, especially if pay-per-click marketing is a factor, going over the web site with a fine tooth comb to hit all the on-page optimization, building links for off-page optimization…the list goes on and on.

The point is that SEO and SEM don’t lend themselves well to a cut-rate approach. Sure, there are large SEO firms that offer to raise your rankings in Google for “just a small fee,” but many of those firms send out notorious amounts of spam to get customers. They’re scams. Can Wal-Mart legitimately offer such a knowledge- and labor-intensive service at bargain basement prices?

Judging from the Sam’s Club web site, that’s exactly what they propose to do. Search engine optimization packages start at $25 per month. Pay-per-click packages start at $50 per month. Not surprisingly, those prices are within the range of many small businesses. What will they get for their hard-earned cash?

More on SEOChat>>>

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Search engine optimization (SEO) and social media optimization (SMO) are two of the bigger concerns for webmasters and bloggers, as they can both have substantial impacts on the amount of traffic a website or blog receives. But does optimizing your site for search engines hinder your SMO efforts (and vice versa) or can they co-exist? And what are the similarities and differences between the two?

SEO has been a common activity of website owners for years now. Although search engine optimization still remains largely a mystery to many webmasters and bloggers, its basic concepts have been, and still are, fairly simple. While SEO is no doubt effective, a relatively small number of websites are optimized due to a general lack of knowledge and a high price tag for most professional services. In addition to the cost, SEO is ignored by some because it is difficult to produce immediate results, and real growth in search traffic takes time.

What’s so great about search engine traffic?
More here>>>

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

 Loading ...

In December, U.S. Internet users conducted a total 9.6 billion search queries, down 3.9 percent from the month before. All core search providers, including Google (-4.3 percent); Yahoo (-1.7 percent); Microsoft (-4.5 percent); AOL (-2.6 percent); and Ask.com (-10.3 percent), experienced a drop in the number of searches served.

ComScore’s QSearch data are based on an opt-in global panel of over 2 million consumers. The panel is observed for browsing and transactional behavior and participates in survey research to capture attitudes.

More Traffic Details Here>>>

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...