by Daria Steigman on March 12, 2010
Is your Web site optimized, or do you mostly just have random people dropping by?
I was on another very useful MarketingProfs Webinar yesterday, this time on the topic of SEO essentials. Janet Driscoll Miller of Search Mojo coupled a great primer on the topic with some terrific tips and free resources for monitoring and analyzing Web sites.
Here are her 5 SEO essentials:
- Make sure your Web site is indexable.
- Keywords are the foundation of SEO, so it is important to identify the right keywords for your target audience. (Google AdWords Keyword Tool is a search tool that lets you identify the volume of searches associated with a particular word or phrase.)
- It’s not just about identifying keywords, but also where you place them. They should appear in a number of places on the page (i.e, filename, title tag, meta tag, meta description, link text, and so forth). The best sites aim for 2-4 percent keyword density.
- Inbound links help search engines rank your site, and the best inbound links are one-way. (Yahoo’s Site Explorer can help you determine your site’s link popularity.)
- Your social footprint is becoming more and more important. (For example, Google Caffeine is expected to incorporate more social media links; Google’s real time search already is.)
Finally, Miller stressed that it is not enough to incorporate SEO–you have to measure it. She advises regularly (i.e., monthly or quarterly) measuring your rankings in search engines, your competitors’ rankings, and your site traffic from organic search.
Photo by mecookie (Flickr).
Tagged as:
Google Adwords Keyword Tool,
Google Caffeine,
Janet Driscoll Miller,
MarketingProfs,
search engine optimization,
Search Mojo,
Yahoo! Site Explorer
by Daria Steigman on February 16, 2010
What should we do with all the data? It’s a question I have been asking a lot; good solutions—not so many. So imagine my excitement when someone finally answered the question of how we can use the huge (and growing) volume of competitive business intelligence.
In a recent MarketingProfs webinar, Sean Campbell of Cascade Insights offered some terrific tools and great advice for putting the data to work for you in the business-to-business world. Here are six places to get started:
- LinkedIn isn’t just about people profiles, it’s also about company data. Campbell noted that company profiles are a great way to glean insights on the movement of people in and out of companies, including job openings, new hires, and recent promotions.
- Read job listings to see what qualifications a company’s seeking and/or hints into new initiatives. Online CVs also provide a glimpse into what people’s job responsibilities entail—and what their company is focused on.
- Silobreaker is a search engine that includes a clickable map of a company’s network–a great tool for visual searchers. It also pulls up added value data. (Search for Pepsi for example, and you’ll also get links to CEO Indra Nooyi and a quote from her.)
- People post all kinds of data on SlideShare, including presentations from invitation-only meetings that often contain corporate roadmaps. Campbell noted that SlideShare is also a good place to identify subject matter experts.
- Use Worldle for reverse mining. Plug in an RSS feed or a Web site and the word cloud will give you a quick look at what a company or a community is talking about.
- Seeking Alpha posts transcripts from earnings calls, including the Q&A with analysts and reporters that follows the on-message presentation.
Clearly, no one source will be your holy grail. But hopefully a strategy that merges data from multiple sources will help you to connect the pieces.
What are your favorite tools and sites for data collection?
Photo by Richard Summers (Flickr).
Tagged as:
Cascade Insights,
data mining,
LinkedIn,
Sean Campbell,
Seeking Alpha,
Silobreaker,
SlideShare,
Wordle
by Daria Steigman on January 18, 2010
What happens when you put smart people on a dais together and ask them about trends in their profession? If they are Shashi Bellamconda, Torod Neptune, Paul Sherman, and John Taylor, then we’re in for some great insights.
I had the pleasure of moderating last Thursday’s IABC/Washington panel discussion. Between asking questions and keeping the conversation on track, I also took a few notes. So if you missed the conversation, here are a few highlights:
- The most dramatic change in the communications landscape in the last decade? Torod Neptune said it was “commoditization” (with fewer people seeing communications as a specialty). Paul Sherman pointed to user-generated content, the elimination of gatekeepers, and the power of a person’s network. John Taylor said the implications of social media mean that he increasingly sees himself “as a business person who does communications.” Shashi Bellamkonda said that people were no longer anonymous online; rather, it is now the norm to establish a virtual presence and to promote your personal brand by helping someone else.
- How do communicators stay relevant in 2010? While PR hasn’t changed, Neptune noted that “the nature of influence has.” [See also Guy Kawasaki’s comment about “build[ing] a critical mass of nobodies.”] Taylor talked about reaching out quickly to correct mistakes and address problems, and stressed that face-to-face meetings are still important. Bellamkonda said that the new landscape has leveled the playing field, pointing out that small companies today are just as likely to be in the news as bigger ones.
- How should companies manage their reputations? Companies need to be “comfortable being naked,” said Neptune in response to a question about the blurring lines between our professional and personal lives. Taylor pointed to one of the simplest corporate social media policies; what he termed Hair Cuttery’s “don’t mess up our brand” policy.
- What’s the impact of mobile (particularly in the context of the first large-scale use of text messaging for micro-philanthropy)? Taylor cited some revealing statistics about the growth of mobile: a 37% increase in wireless data use and 730 billion text messages among U.S. wireless subscribers in the first half of 2009; and over $5 million for Haiti earthquake relief via text in just two days (including $3 million to the Red Cross in $10 donations). [The Washington Post has a great article and more stats here.]
- What skills do today’s communicators need? Sherman said the biggest skill is the ability to identify the real influencers. Neptune stressed that good writing skills are still important. Bellamkonda said that the most important qualification is “someone who can tell a story.”
The last insight goes to Taylor, in response to a question about community—and how the concept is changing. Taylor suggested that values remain constant, because people have always valued transparency and authenticity. What has changed, he said, is how these values are expressed and rewarded.
What would you add to this conversation?
Photo by Shashi Bellamkonda/Network Solutions.
Tagged as:
Communications,
IABC/Washington,
John Taylor,
Paul Sherman,
PR,
Shashi Bellamkonda,
Social Media,
Torod Neptune
by Daria Steigman on January 8, 2010
As some of you may know, I joined MarketingProfs last fall. There are two great values about the company/online resource: (1) community and (2) professional development. As a pro member, I have access to a vast store of case studies, reports, how-to articles, and live (and playback on-demand) Webinars. Which brings me to the point of this post.
One of my goals for this year is to participate in more Webinars–and then to pass on what I learn to you, my readers. Yesterday’s Webinar featured a conversation with Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki about doing business in 2010. Here are a few takeaways:
- Everything Is Not Free–Godin pointed out that lots of things (including personal connections) aren’t free. What is free: ideas, because the middlemen are dying out.
- Marketing–Kawasaki pointed out that the days of marketing to that one influential voice (think New York Times reviewer) are over. Instead, he stressed the importance of seeding your products as far and wide as possible to “build a critical mass of nobodies.” Godin added that companies must “initiate or die.”
- Portable Tribes–Godin noted that people are increasingly living their lives in public, and that true communities “will follow us in our digital world.” Kawasaki countered that he really wasn’t that interested or influenced by what his friends were buying or liked. (I tend to agree with Kawasaki, but one participant raised a good point, as a marketer, about the value of that awareness.)
- Customer Service–Godin called customer service “a form of marketing far more powerful than advertising.” He added that, if you can delight someone, they’ll tell others. Referring to Comcast and Best Buy’s Twitter strategies, Kawasaki suggested that “customer service is a weapon, and the social aspect of customer service is the leading edge of the weapon.”
- Passion–Godin pointed out that people are now both workers and owners (i.e., we can create and build), and he suggested that this would be the dividing line between what was and what will be. Kawasaki added that “the time to start innovating is before the recession ends.”
As a labor relations specialist before I was a business owner and communications strategist, I’m fascinated by this concept that we are both workers and owners. Chris Anderson used a similar analogy in remarks a few months ago, and I’m still trying to figure out how I can apply this concept better in my business.
Godin and Kawasaki offered some really good food for thought. Anything here inspire you?
Photo by billjacobus1 (Flickr).
Tagged as:
Best Buy,
Chris Anderson,
Comcast,
Customer Service,
marketing,
MarketingProfs,
Seth Godin,
Twitter
Is your Web site optimized, or do you mostly just have random people dropping by?
