Chuck Hughes is the official distributor for Maser Austria Turtlenecks in the US.   His new search engine friendly website features an online store built with Google Checkout, a store locator,  a few pages outlining Maser’s product offerings, and a simple contact form.

The site is built on the WordPress platform, which allows the client to log-in to easily edit and add content, check webstats, and more.  We’ve also configured Gmail email services on the maserusa.com domain, and have installed Google Analytics with automated reporting to keep on top of web traffic and business trends.

This is all included in our core website package and costs $799 onetime + $49/mo

Within days of being online, there are already orders and email inquiries coming through the site.  As the business grows and we move into the peak turtleneck retail season, we may consider adding SEO services, and move from Google Checkout to a self-hosted online store.

Is your small business looking for a website?  Visit www.BurlingtonBytes.com today

You can use the following links to submit your website to the major search engines for free. Once you’ve submitted your site, visit my search engine optimization page to learn more about the SEO services that I offer to Vermont businesses.

• Submit your website to Google
• Submit your website to Yahoo
• Submit your website to Bing

If you’re running a small business and are taking in revenue, you want to take a few easy steps to keep the IRS off your back, and to simplify your finances. The WSJ has a good post on how and why to form an LLC.  I’m going to show you how to do it quickly and on the cheap without hiring a lawyer.

1. Form an LLC in your state

There are a variety of sites that walk you through the steps of forming an LLC.  They offer cheap LLC registration, and then try get you to sign up for additional junk like leather binders and stock certificates.

I used www.quickcorps.com and signed up for their “Professional” package.  It cost $35 + VT’s LLC filing fee of $125.

Use yourself as the registered agent, this is just an address where you’ll receive tax info and forms from the state. Don’t sign up for “Registered Agent Services”, they just forward mail for you.

2. Getting an EIN

You also don’t need the service to prepare your EIN, you can do it yourself for free.  Once you get your LLC docs in the mail, you can file for your EIN  on the IRS website. You’ll get it immediately.

Get your EIN Here <– Look for “APPLY ONLINE NOW”

3.  Set up a business bank account with your EIN.

Don’t use the bank where you keep your personal accounts. If the business goes south and goes into debt, you don’t want the bank taking your personal funds to cover the losses.

Put all your revenue from your business into this account. Make all purchases for your business from this account. Don’t mix your personal and business finances.  Now that you’re running an LLC, you only get taxed on your income after expenses.

onlinemrkting: SEO is also optimizing for the users who search & not only for search engines who index your site, great quote heard at #SESNY

clearsearch: RT @katemats: “Even if you have prominent position on organic, buying paid search will help with total click through and conversion.” #sesny

paulbaranda: Brad Hill of Weblogs, AOL says SEO has changed into a behavioral issue, influences by facebook and digg, increasing virality #sesny

glenngabe: Debate going on about shifts in power. Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Search vs. Social #sesny

paulbenjou: SEO becoming a behavioral issue about community and personal networks. #sesny

glenngabe: SEO is now search -everything- optimization. Good point. Social, video, images, blogs, etc. #sesny Erika again. Smart comment. #sesny

glenngabe: Talking about mobile marketing and the ways it can work (at the point of purchase). It can take off if it delivers. #sesny #privacy

agnete: Mobile advertising will be huge when it can hit you directly in the point of purchase: “Footstep marketing” (Erika Brown at #sesny )

rpmkel: Erica Brown you don’t own a cell phone, you own a tracking device #SESNY

FlightpathNY: The future of digital marketing is in mobile but no one has cracked the code on doing it right #sesny

glenngabe: Nothing is more powerful than WOM. That’s where social is extremely important. #sesny

krissymiller: Mobile search is very different from online paid search – touched on keywords but I think it is more about customer intent #sesny



conversion_doc: RT @dominik_johnson: less is more as well on #facebook. keep as simple as it can be! i like ;o) but beware to have the right landingpage! #cro #conversion #sesny

markmitchell: Just got a tour of the Facebook ad platform from them. For certain products this IS amazing. #sesny

DanInTheCity: Universal Studio theme park told just 7 bloggers about the new Harry Potter ride. Within 24 hrs millions of people knew about it #sesny

glenngabe: If you think your site is banned, check Google Webmaster Tools to see if your site is indexed #sesny

glenngabe: Check robots.txt to see if a new file was added that blocked the bots. #sesny Also check meta robots, noindex. GG: I’ve seen the latter more

glenngabe: Linking to bad neighborhoods: gives hints to Google about a potential relationship w/them. #sesny

pisocialmedia: #sesny global seo campaigns need to focus on relevAnt linking domain names and have a central statregy to avoid duplication erica schmidt

glenngabe: A shared server could be causing issues. What other sites are on that server? Find out who’s on your server. #sesny Have they been banned?

clearsearch: Here’s a refresher for everyone… Quality Score can influence eligibility, position, price and top slot. #SESNY

glenngabe: Next: Fake popularity. i.e. when 80% of links are to (or from) YOUR OTHER SITES. Could be detected using IP (class c) #sesny

glenngabe: Google can determine the same ownership via Google Analytics ID, AdSense ID, etc. #sesny

CathyWebSavvyPR: Great #SESNY keynote today by @DMscott: his research shows that 50:1 ratio – email opt-in required = 1 click; no email = 50 clicks

TimBesecker: Info Architecture Session “Build your website content, taxonomy, navigation based on users’s mental models” #sesny http://myloc.me/59wTG

dcavallo: With global seo it’s important to research the conversion point… Offline or online #sesny

Matt_Siltala: 600k users on 4sq with only 1200 offers (in one year). Huge opportunity. @ChuckReynolds #sesny

dcavallo: For example, only 50% of china internet users convert online #sesny

glenngabe: Reinclusion Requests – if you have committed 3 mortal sins, your site is probably done. If less, prepare to confess (in detail). #sesny

digitas: Foursquare.com/businesses will launch soon and cater to local marketing – #sesny

katemats: “92% of traffic is organic but represents <5% of spend” @rzwicky #sesny

glenngabe: When to start a new site if penalized: low brand value, easy to rebuild, low quantity/quality of links, multi-strike offender #sesny

pisocialmedia: #sesny andy Kruger stresses on local content, excellent presentation on global seo projects. Geo targetting is the next step for search

glenngabe: White Hat Tactics That Get Results: linkbait, link magnets, embedded content (i.e. badges), branding & product naming, tech licensing #sesny

agnete: Chinese people research online but buy offline. Target each market by localization! Hunt at #sesny #sesny4

leeodden: Facebook tagline at #SESNY “Find your customers before they search”. Sage advice.

glenngabe: Building blocks for link magnetism: build a personal brand. Understand why you want links. rankings, clients, recognition, etc. #sesny

state_ofsearch: Many of us are optimizing for the textual web, but it’s a more interactive web. #sesny

IETraining: Pick a unique social media handle to make ur brand unique #sesny

adcenter: Stefan up now talking about a “Web of Objects” – real-time firehoses, services, devices & multimedia #sesny

aimclear: @randfish, most folks who bitch about “personal branding,” suck at personal branding, it’s like saying having money sucks #SESNY

beebow: “All things Google is probably not good for us. Remember, Google is a business.” #SESNY – Mark Knowles

adcenter: Web results haven’t fundamentally changed in 8 years. Our vision in search is about delivering knowledge. #SESNY

AnneKennedy: #sesny Stefan Wietz: how many other 8-year-old technologies are you still happy with?

paulbenjou: Brand yourself. Example: zapposceo. #sesny #sesny4

IETraining: People link to personalities in social media. #sesny

state_ofsearch: The intent should drive the user experience #sesny

glenngabe: What’s your blog personality? helpful, informative expert (know your stuff , though), controversial, etc. #sesny

paulbenjou: Link magnet Take an opposing view on a popular topic. #sesny #sesny4

state_ofsearch: #sesny Yahoo has 3 areas of focus: 1. Find things faster 2. Explore what matters 3. Get things done

melcarson: Bloggers at #SESNY use Windows Live Writer desktop app http://bit.ly/9H5TiP (expand> ) Makes my life so much easier!

MerryMorud: Favorite KPIs: Bounce Rate, Conversion R, Avg time on site, task completion R, Share of Search, Profit/visitor #sesny #analytics -J Marshall

glenngabe: Linkbait = content built to attract links LInk Magnets = rewards the linker (creates an incentive) #sesny

state_ofsearch: Yahoo has brought richer interaction on SERP. You don’t leave the search page if you click a map. It changes the map. #sesny

glenngabe: There’s been a shift in linkbuilding over the past few years. But, people still link when it benefits them. #sesny @randfish

glenngabe: Rand giving an ex: of Yelp. The badge links back to Yelp in several key areas….w/great anchor text. Earned them thousands of links #sesny

beebow: SORT yoru site’s inventory 4 ways: commercial value, editorial value, entertianment value & added value. -Josh Cobb #SESNY

basvandenbeld: “You won’t win it with a single website anymore, you just won’t” #sesny

perfectmarket: Interesting. First at #smx and now #sesny, @randfish keeps circling this idea of rewarding linkers with badges, a la @foursquare.

glenngabe: Content that rewards: You need an emotional & obvious hook. i.e. Sharing your twitter profile (or linkedin profile) #sesny You want to link!

krissymiller: “The more meta content the better” for optimizing digital assets – Josh Cobb, yahoo #sesny

glenngabe: When you create content that rewards, you control the anchor text. @randfish #sesny

paulbenjou: Replace copy paste with clickable JavaScript to increase linkage by 100 persent plus. #sesny #sesny4

glenngabe: Examples of great link magnets: Vimeo, great player, exc embed code, and they get 3 links back for each embed. #sesny

pisocialmedia: #sesny search will include tweets video social content and maybe your website … You need to use multichannel approach

state_ofsearch: #sesny Now about personalized search. Yahoo tries that with searchmonkey which you can turn on and of f

katemats: For any digital asset strategy make sure you set it up to measure and track your results #sesny

dweingrod: as search becomes more personalized the era of the ranking report is dead – hallelujah !! #sesny

beebow: “If something can be searched on, it can be optimized. Period.” -@leeodden #SESNY

state_ofsearch: Now privcay concerns: more than a year ago. People are sharing way more than they should #sesny

state_ofsearch: Bing shows your history on the left which you can remove immediately #sesny

krissymiller: Keyword research – do traditional and social research on your keywords. #sesny

Topheratl: “Web developers have the right mindset to get and work with segmentation in analitics beter then most people do” #SESNY

Topheratl: There is no good free tool that can track our Social Media KPI #sesny

adcenter: Search isn’t just about SEO now. It’s also about social. #BTabke #sesny

FlightpathNY: Where blogs used to get links from their readers, they now get tweets #sesny

pisocialmedia: #sesny 70% of retweets contain urls …future of search

seoidiot: Firefox + WASP to see what a competitors site is tracking #sesny #analytics

glenngabe: Great point & I agree. @randfish, don’t be surprised if Twitter, FB, etc. data is part of the Search algo 6-12 months from now. #sesny

<Keynote>

MerryMorud: Brands- you don’t need to tell EVERYBODY (& their moms) about new products/services just tell the few RIGHT people. -@dmscott #sesny

leeodden: #SESNY Audience poll: have you responded to direct mail? 0-5% Phone book 3-5% Google 100% Social Network 85% @dmscott

state_ofsearch: He now talks about a dentist in Boston who advertised in the yellow pages and was looking for a better way #sesny

state_ofsearch: she started a blog “healthy mouth, healthy sex”. She then made an e-book and became an instant success #sesny

glenngabe: Her ebook was free so people could share. no registration required. now blog ranks organically for a # of keywords. biz increased #sesny

state_ofsearch: You must unlearn what you have learned #sesny

sagerock: Dmscott #sesny “Every hotel web site is built exactly the same because it is built around the product. Build around buyer personas.”

pisocialmedia: #sesny bio personas are profile of your potential clients and help you target better

sagerock: Dmscott #sesny “Stop talking about the product. Talk about the people who are buying the product.”

sagerock: Dmscott #sesny On getting attention: buy it, beg for it, bug people, OR Earn it.

mConduit: Travel site should start with the purpose of the trip & not with the product (flight, hotel, car) according to @dmscott at #SESNY

beebow: “Nobody cares about your products except for you… ppl care about themselves… they care deeply about solving problems.” @dmscott #SESNY

AnnaMariaVirzi: overused words in press releases: innovate, pleased to, unique, focused on, leading provider, commitment, partnership @dmscott #sesny

beebow: cramming your site w/ iStock-esque corporate models don’t represent you – it’s an insult to your clients & employees #SESNY @dmscott

MerryMorud: back button 3rd most used feature #sesny

MerryMorud: if you want people to spread ideas: LOSE CONTROL! User Generated Content is a gold mine #sesny

state_ofsearch: #sesny Grateful dead lets people record at concerts and spread the word. They became the most popular touring band with it

state_ofsearch: In the old world everybody was putting up brakes. Don’t do that. No required email adresses etc. #sesny

adcenter: Reach – the collective audience of all the bloggers at SXSW was bigger than the readership of any daily newspaper in the US #sesny

paulbenjou: Fear. 25 percent of companies block access to social media. #sesny

HarryJGold: We want 330k people in the public affairs dept. Airforce quote. #sesny

</keynote>

*Sigh* Another day, and another email offering to get my business on the front page of Google. Today the email came through a form on my old eBay consignment business‘ website.  I decided to write back, you can see the exchange below:

From:  Melodie Merle
Subject:  Search Engine Optimization

We would like to get your website on first page of Google. All of our processes use the most ethical “white hat” Search Engine Optimization techniques that will not get your website banned or penalize. Please reply and I would be happy to send you a proposal.

My Response:

Hi Melodie,
I’ve really been enjoying your near-constant stream of emails about getting me on the first page of Google.  I design websites and am very skilled in search engine optimization, so I’d like to point out a couple things to you.

Your promise to get me on the front page of google is enticing, but for which terms?  If you had taken a moment to do some research, you would see that I am already on the home page for my company’s name. I am also on the front page for terms related to my offerings, and geo-modified searches.  Keyword research and understanding a business is the biggest part of offering SEO services.  If you think you can get me on the front page for the term “eBay”, I might be interested.  But you can’t, and I know this because….

…You can’t even get your own website on the front page of google for any significant terms, as evidenced by the fact that you’re spamming forms on websites to generate business.  Its funny that you use the phrase, “ethical white hat” in your submission to me, while simultaneously engaging in one of the least ethical practices on the web… spamming.

Anyway, I can appreciate the fact that the average business owner doesn’t understand SEO, as the most difficult part of my job is creating a transparent product offering that increases a business’ bottom line.  There are a lot of businesses like yours that are taking money from business owners that want to optimize their website, and not providing any real value. You, and others like you, are creating a very bad name for my profession.

That being said, please remove my website from your list of potential customers. However, if you want to learn more about SEO and how to get Google to drive relevant traffic to your website, feel free to get in touch.

We turn searches into sales.

-Pete Jewett

I should note that I’m rarely this rude via email, but if there’s anything I hate more than people stealing money from small businesses, it when they do it under the banner of my profession.

aka… the world’s longest blog post

I’ve found that these search/seo/sem/social conferences are more valuable for gleaning information when you follow them via twitter.  I can follow along while I work, “attend” all the sessions at once, and only get the best info thats made it through the attendees’ B.S. filter.  And attending is free!

You just need to get the twitter hash tags that the attendees are using, and follow along.  Very simple! In this case, the tags were #SEMPDX & #searchfest.  I spent the day following along, and copying all the tweets that I found useful, interesting, or otherwise noteworthy. If you want, you can also view today’s entire conversation.

Thanks to the participants that syndicated via Twitter, but I want to especially thank MamboMedia and texagonian.  I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from your posts today.

And now, the tweets:
imeldak 3 problems of search: 25% of queries click back button / 42% refine queries / 50% of time spent searching (Stefan Weitz, Bing) #searchfest

imeldak Comparing search results in 2010 to 8 years ago, navigation is still mostly the same despite increased interactivity #searchfest

leahcdaniels The Web is moving away from text to a Web of objects according to Stefan Weitz at Bing #searchfest

leahcdaniels “Web of Objects” = real time data (Twitter) + services (OpenTable) + multimedia (Flikr) + devices (iPhone) #searchfest

JoannaLord “Deliver knowledge by computational understanding the user intent” is Bings mission statement #searchfest

craigsutton we are still locked in to the text model of search,not as much progress as other technologies in same span #searchfest

imeldak Stefan Weitz demo-ing Twitter maps on Bing. Pretty cool. Stalking taken to a whole new level! #searchfest

erictpeterson Have you seen Bing Map Apps? I had not. Incredibly cool. #SearchFest

leahcdaniels Spacial search involves reassociating data with context #searchfest

texagonian Siri, a semantic web search engine, can use voice-rec to detect the intent of your search, not just the words. Mind=blown #SearchFest http://siri.com

scottyholm The future of search is to “disambiguate” the query, but doesn’t that take some of the fun out of the results? #searchfest

Dayn @rrolfe Nah. We no longer control how content is consumed. Always keep that in mind. #searchfest

cw360 I like spyfu more already. #searchfest #ppc

DavidWallace Nice Twitter tip from @oilman: Use Twitter serarch to find ‘discount codes’ for hotels, products, etc. #Searchfest

chiropractic RT @JenniferLaycock: @stoneyd says know whether your visitors are researchers, shoppers or buyers and write accordingly. #searchfest

SEMpdx RT @texagonian Twitter results are higher on the page than web sites, especially for shopping, so why aren’t you Tweeting deals? #SearchFest

leahcdaniels #SearchFest – Write for your audience first THEN think about things like keyword density.

JenniferLaycock Just because a competitor targets it, doesnt’ mean you should. @stoneyd #searchfest

SEMpdx RT @KimToomey: Ebay buys 1.6 million PPC keywords and no surprise “ebay” is their most profitable keyword #searchfest

imeldak Your brand name should be your most profitable keyword (the searcher already has you in mind when they are searching) #searchfest

leahcdaniels Interest > engagement > conversion #SearchFest

JenniferLaycock @stoneyd reminds you to write for skimmers and scanners. Bullet points, links, proper headline usage, etc… #searchfest

si1very Now listening to Jeff Katz @katzpdx of Twitalyzer talking about Twitter analytics. #SearchFest

SEMpdx RT @reilly3000: #searchfest when working with a copywriter don’t just provide keyword research- share competitive research & market data.

MamboMedia What NOT to measure on Twitter: #1 – followers (meaningless measurement that doesn’t show engagement) #SearchFest

JenniferLaycock The mix of quality content with keyword research and incoming links equals the SEO sweet spot. @heatherlloyd #searchfest

MamboMedia Treat Twitter like other digital measurements: Define your goals & objectives first, then turn them into metrics. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Figure out how to engage with the people in your segment (who are using your hashtags). #SearchFest

texagonian Woah! NOLA pizza chain was able to drive 15% of sales from Twitter. 90% of which were new customers! #SearchFest

cecilyc Reputation mgt – secure top 10 for your domain: Twitter profile, Twitter lists, Twitter feed page on your site etc. @oilman #SearchFest

tmmKelly RT @SEMpdx RT @staffingrobot: SpuFu says buying your brand (keyword) is always a safe, profitable bet. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Use a keyword for your Twitter account – people assume it’s a hashtag and find you. #SearchFest

MamboMedia On Dell.com, they have a Twitter subdirectory. #SearchFest

reilly3000 #searchfest Use twitter to find good ideas for content marketing. Write your next article by listening.

MattMcGee Cool – @chiropractic tells patients he WANTS them tweeting, using Foursquare from in his Dr. office. Good WOM. #searchfest (for @CBaileyMD)

MamboMedia http://twitter.zappos.com to see their Twitter feed. #SearchFest

tmmKelly When using testimonials, always use first & last name or it looks made up. If client won’t allow use of full name don’t use it! #searchfest

JenniferLaycock If you get only one tip: Make your titles HOT. Titles are the low hanging fruit of SEO @heatherlloyd #searchfest

MamboMedia NakedPizza – has a big Twitter sign in front of their building. Let people know how to find you. #SearchFest

imeldak Free Keyword Niche FInder to find profitable niche terms http://www.wordstream.com/keyword-niche-finder/ (@larrykim) #searchfest

ryanjosborne SpyFu allows you to identify profitable keywords your competition is buying that you’re not #searchfest

JenniferLaycock How will you know if it works? (do conversion testing on your content changes) @heatherlloyd #searchfest

MamboMedia Doing Twitter right locally: Frequent updates, thank people for engagement, welcome tweeters and offer wi-fi at your business. #SearchFest

texagonian People who find your biz from Twitter: Savvy, young, connected. From Yellow Pages: Deal Hunters. Choose your demographic #SearchFest

cecilyc @chiropractic: SEO mixed with social media is #1 marketing investment a small business in America can make #SF10Twitter #SearchFest

JenniferLaycock @stoneyd says he likes Wordtracker, Quintura and Google tools. @heatherlloyd likes Keyword Discovery and Wordstream #searchfest

tmmJill #searchfest have fresh updated content on your site. It’ll help its ranking & reputation among your clients. Good presentation always helps

leahcdaniels Building a culture of SEO involves clarity, taking the path of least resistence and celebrating successes @heatherlloyd #SearchFest

imeldak 3 ways to build out PPC campaigns: Expand (size & reach), Optimize (return) and Experiment #searchfest

MamboMedia Facebook: Be real, give to receive, don’t be a jerk. #SearchFest

imeldak Test out using social media amplifiers on your landing pages to encourage sharing and participation

MamboMedia 4 point plan: 1. Get your team involved. Buy their love if you have to. 2. Reach out to your current fans. #SearchFest

MamboMedia #3: Give them a reason to get involved (it’s all about them). #4: Make some new friends (do some online networking). #SearchFest

texagonian Think about it, the majority of people who work in your business are already on Facebook! Give them a reason to get involved #SearchFest

MamboMedia Hold an internal competition: Ask your team to recommend you to their friends. Make it worth their while ($100 gift card). #SearchFest

craigsutton If you have to much going on, outsource, says @JoannaLord #searchfest

texagonian FB Ads targeting: Do your fans or your competitor’s fans. Use birthdays. Remember 1 to 1 communication. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Facebook ads have lower click-through rate than search engine ads, but they have a higher quality of conversions & lower cost #SearchFest

KimToomey Good seo should work with the browsers not against them. Load CSS first then JavaScript and then in line HTML #searchfest

MamboMedia Facebook is a tool, not a strategy. A strategy is becoming a valuable source of info, a vital community for interaction. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Create a place where fans become brand advocates, where people can share stories, ideas, tips, photos, experiences. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Create a place to listen to customers, and to answer their questions. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Create a place where we are seen as individuals instead of as a faceless corporation. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Maintain a Facebook activity calendar – Marketing brainstorms ideas. #SearchFest

tmmSabrina What to say on FB? Use surveys to determine what folks want, traffic data and years of exp knowing your customer. via @Ilana221 #searchfest

kentlewis Winning tips from @LionBrandYarn: get help (@anvilmedia) building a plan, then hire good in-house talent to implement & manage. #searchfest

ruthburr search engines’ goal is to maximize eCPM, $ / 1000 impressions – CTR x CPC x 1000 = eCPM Jon Kelly at

thegavin Via Todd Nemet: Ignore page speed at your peril! (me: if Google gives you a measurement, you should probably pay attention) #searchfest

MamboMedia Compelling content brings in fans organically. Be generous and interesting. All offline media should promote social media. #SearchFest

texagonian On FB: You have to realize that you CAN NOT control the convo, but if you’re doing the right thing, people won’t bash you. Much. #SearchFest

texagonian On FB: If you’re good, your fans will defend you from haters/trolls (and that means more to other customers). #SearchFest

MamboMedia Facebook is measureable through bit.ly links and Facebook insights. #SearchFest

reilly3000 #searchfest Facebook amplifies other media – both online and offline

texagonian What you say in social media is indexed. So every single soc media post helps your search rank! #SearchFest

imeldak Quality score facts: Only exact matches count, don’t change your creative too often, grouping matters #searchfest

kentlewis People don’t buy from companies, they buy from people. @LionBrandYarn #SearchFest

leahcdaniels Make sure you are checking out CMS auto-actions & course correcting to SEO optimize (e.g. content moves & redirects) #SearchFest

imeldak SiteLinks give you almost 2x the real estate and takes searchers deeper into your site #searchfest

aimclear #SearchFest #PPC @szetela Says Look in Campaign settings, you’ve “Earned sitelinks,” you’ll find the edit screen, link text, URL, up to 10

RebeccaBadger Great example –> For more information on @LionBrandYarn Facebook case study at #SearchFest: http://ow.ly/1gcXv (via @SEMpdx)

aimclear #SearchFest #PPC @szetela “if it doesn’t violate Google’s TOS AND it works to his clients’ advantage it’s not black hat.” True, True

kentlewis Facebook Fan pages are very SEO-friendly. It’s an SEO Killer App. @w2scott #SearchFest

MamboMedia Facebook: Don’t be a broadcaster. It’s social media. It ain’t about YOU, it’s about the customer. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Use a SEO keyword in the name of your Facebook Fan Page. Fan Pages are wide open to indexing, even the TABS! #SearchFest

aimclear #SearchFest #PPC @szetela New CPA Ads, pay only when products are sold. Similar mechanism as product ads, submit feeds to G’s Affiliates

SEMpdx RT @aimclear: #SearchFest #PPC @szetela submit product feed via Google Merchant Center, Google chooses which products to show

imeldak Google Forms Beta is cool, but the whole Google Numbers thing was a real pain in the @rse to set up on the back end #searchfest

pdxtweet Good info — RT @MamboMedia: To change the administrator on your Facebook account, email pagesvip@facebook.com #SearchFest #sf10

MamboMedia Tip for writing Facebook ads (content, image, CTA): TEST. Think about where you are. Personal, funky, fun, speak to a friend. #SearchFest

MamboMedia Who should take care of Facebook? Someone who really knows your brand, has a sense for the advertising, takes the time. #SearchFest

texagonian Twitter and Facebook fans tend to not like the other medium. So don’t mention FB on Twitter vise/versa. #SearchFest

reilly3000 #searchfest test different times of day for social media posting, just like PPC and e-mail timing. Good time is after kids are to bed.

fellene Most effective day of the week to send an email newsletter is Tuesday at 10 am. Facebook is not the same, however. #searchfest

MamboMedia @CarriBugbee asked about the frequency of updates on Facebook. Answer: Test data points at different frequencies over 3 wks. #SearchFest

tmmSabrina Why blog? 1) Easy way to create content, 2) brings traffic to site 3) Attract links #searchfest via @10e20′s Rebecca Kelley

tmmSabrina 4) Good way to rank your site 5) Rep management 6) engagement. #searchfest

tmmSabrina What’s the blog about? Who’s going to blog? How often can you blog? Questions to ask before getting started. #searchfest

texagonian Your blog author’s voice/style/info is more important than who they are in the company (they don’t have to be a CEO). #SearchFest

tmmSabrina Best format: domain.com/blog – best for SEO. NOT GOOD = companyblog.blogger.com or companyblog.com. (unique blog URL) #searchfest

texagonian Use appropriate share buttons. If your audience isn’t on a given network, don’t just add it to add it. #SearchFest

texagonian When blogging, humor is a BIG brand attribute. If it makes people laugh, they’ll share it, useful or not. #SearchFest

texagonian Lists as blog posts are awesome. People love to read them and they’re easy to write. #SearchFest

tmmJill RT @TMMPDX: Top content suggestions: Lists, Humor, How To’s, Regular Features, Case Studies via Rebecca Kelley #searchfest

Dayn Ppl don’t make links anymore. They don’t actively build pages and links anymore. Who does? Social networks, URL shorteners. #searchfest

cecilyc ‘Genuine editorial link is very valuable. You have to be remarkable to get good (free) links today.’ @johnandrews #SearchFest

MamboMedia Blog post titles: Use puns, controversy (“Why vegetarians aren’t foodies”) #SearchFest

JRoSEO Writing controversial pieces will encourage comments/participation in your blog #searchfest

MamboMedia Post blog posts earlier in the day, when people are having their morning coffee, instead of at night when other media competes. #SearchFest

ErinSemet Going to check out www.whichtestwon.com. Landing page testing site. #searchfest

texagonian Make sure you’re ready for a viral push. Will being on the 1st page of Digg take down your site? #SearchFest

cecilyc #linkbuilding Create remarkable content: alarming, shocking, confirming, denying, unusual/odd/weird, hopeful @johnandrews #SearchFest

tmmKelly When it comes to submit buttons on PPC landing pages…size does matter! Bigger IS better. #searchfest

KimToomey Don’t be afraid to test counterintuitive elements on landing pages. They may work better than you think. #searchfest

bobschnyder Listening to the difference between #linkbait (short-term) vs. #linkmagnet (long-term) in Link Building Strategies at #searchfest

bengoodsell Targeted niche keyword grouping… finding niche users for content that’s relevant for them… seen an ongoing theme at #searchfest

margaretcyphers #searchfest landing page session. Video converts +86% clickthru over photo. I propose valid for websites 2 like kickinghorseresort.com

MamboMedia Reddit: Submit your blog post yourself, and make it a first-person submittal. Ask for others’ opinions. #SearchFest

evilspinmeister Conversational tidbit as a seat-mate shows me Google’s new Public Data Explorer http://bit.ly/cs0qsS #SearchFest

Dayn Q at #searchfest: Isn’t placing on an ad network (AdSense) the same thing as buying link bait? Google says it’s different, but is it really?

imeldak Second to WoM, people are referring to online reviews for recommendations #searchfest

kentlewis It’s all about link growth velocity (when building a reputation management program). #ORM #SearchFest

cecilyc #ORM Push other web pages up above the bad review SE listing, whether your site or your competitors’. @portentint #SearchFest

MamboMedia What takeaways could others learn from yelp? Don’t focus on the reviews – give good customer service and reviews will follow. #SearchFest

tmmSabrina For all who want @randfish preso, go here: http://www.seomoz.org/dp/10-seo-tools. Tons of great stuff, highly recommend! #searchfest

texagonian How to kill an enemy’s rank: Give them a million inbound links, then remove them ALL. The Google will know. #SearchFest

texagonian Reputation Management: If you’re not using Google alerts, then you need to take your head out of the sand. #SearchFest

MamboMedia “Facebook is a walled garden parallel internet” #SearchFest

Dayn @DavidWallace demoing Trackur.com at #searchfest. Feels similar to PositivePress from local guys Iterasi.com #inportland.

ruthburr @rzwicky makes one of my fave points – “if you build it, they don’t just come” #searchfest

JRoSEO “Getting consensus on the numbers is like herding cats.” #awesomesauce #searchfest

MamboMedia Social PPC is not Search Marketing. It’s highly targeted walk-by traffic. It’s more like the Google Content Network. #SearchFest

cecilyc #ORM #Tools Google Alerts, Trackur, ReputationDefender, BrandsEye, Radian6, Twitter @DavidWallace #SearchFest

texagonian If you enemy/competitor is on Twitter and you’re not, he can say anything he wants. [Obvious, but still important] #SearchFest

lisapeyton @rzwicky describing Enquisite Suite of products – Auditor, Optimizer…#searchfest (Sounds cool, how much does it cost?)

Dayn Having more high ranking pages you control provides insurance search against algorithm changes. #searchfest @webconnoisseur

MamboMedia: How to recruit your competition’s Fans (use Facebook Ads) #SearchFest

MamboMedia: Don’t rule out B2B in Facebook ads. #SearchFest

kentlewis: LinkedIn recently unfollowed nearly all outbound links, except for My Company & My Blog #SearchFest

repdef: Nice list. RT @cecilyc: #ORM #Tools Google Alerts, Trackur, ReputationDefender, BrandsEye, Radian6, Twitter @DavidWallace #SearchFest

MamboMedia: Web analytics aren’t serving the needs of marketers today. The technology is complex, the math is confusing. #SearchFest

imeldak: Why analytics fails us: Technology is complex, math is confusing, there are many unknowns, we have no time, it’s hard to learn #searchfest

kentlewis: Reading “Internet Freedom Act of 2010″ and wondering how it will affect SEM. Thoughts? http://ow.ly/1gino #searchfest

MamboMedia: Take a top-down approach to web analytics. Organize your output, evaluate your tools, balance your investments. #SearchFest

ruthburr: “give me your spreadsheets and a match and I’ll show you what to do with those things” – @erictpeterson on analytics #searchfest

thegavin: Disagree that web analytics is inadequate, sounds like it’s too complex for most to use. Doesn’t mean it can’t be. #searchfest

Ilana221: Hearing @erictpeterson at searchfest. Increase roi by being able to make recommendations based on all that data. Data is low value

MamboMedia: Companies need data, information, insights that can be turned into RECOMMENDATIONS. #SearchFest

tmmSabrina: Top companies using Google Analytics – Awesome, free and it does a good job. #searchfest

MamboMedia: Need: Simple presentation tools, powerful data manipulation, rich analytical modeling, flexible data repositories. #SearchFest

kentlewis: Crowdsource your competitive intelligence (via promotions & contests). It’s like getting someone else to do your homework #SearchFest

MamboMedia: Data does not analyze itself. Apparently, that’s what people are for. For every $, spend .50 on technology & .50 on people. #SearchFest

thegavin: Takeaway from the #searchfest web analytics session – Staffing: buy many nerds! set up a nerdery! give them what they need! pay them well!

Dayn: Great companies aren’t followers. Don’t be a knee-jerk imitator. It has to fit your overall strategy. #searchfest

MamboMedia: Measurement enables a process of continual improvement. Bottom up in web analytics by @agray #SearchFest

Dayn: In this whole ballroom, only 2 have heard of http://www.socialmention.com: real time social media monitoring & search tool? #searchfest

erikricard: If your customer sees your message over & over they will perceive you to be a strong player in the mkt -Michael Cottam TheBigDay #searchfest

MamboMedia: woopra for blog analytics – you can see visitors and chat with them. #SearchFest

MamboMedia: Machine sentiment toning is difficult in English because English speakers are sarcastic. #SearchFest

jwmcphee: 268% lift in traffic after a user saw a display ad, 365% lift in engagement (page views) too. #searchfest

Google discussing the usage of ad builder tools (like @AdReady) to help create multi-variate testing for copy and messaging. #searchfest

MamboMedia: No matter what analytics tool you’re using, your goal is to make your website contribute value to the organization. #SearchFest

kbennish: Average lift of search activity when display was added to a campaign was 155% #searchfest.

cw360: @MCrites here’s a tip. Do search and display in different campaigns. Tip from my Google AM #searchfest #n00btip

texagonian: Why a CEO should care about social media: Because no matter what you sell/do, your customers are on it. #SearchFest

MamboMedia: All Intel social media plans are in one of these GROW phases: Grassroots, Research, Operationalize, Widespread Adoption. #SearchFest

kbennish: citations are to local search as links are to organic search #searchfest

MamboMedia: Social Marketing Funnel: Awareness, Consideration, Preference, Purchase, Use, Opinion, Loyalty #SearchFest

tmmKelly: Check out Google’s Business Listing Quality Guidelines to read about the dos & don’ts of local biz listings #searchfest http://ow.ly/1gjQm

MamboMedia: What’s next? More integration, global programs, Mobile (native SoMe built for mobile device), Get Smarter. #SearchFest

MamboMedia: Get back to the basics in social media: human behavior. Don’t market to inanimate objects. It’s about the humans. #SearchFest

imeldak: Blogs should be at the center of your social media strategy #searchfest

MamboMedia: Instead of sending traffic to YouTube (& “Related Videos”) send them to your video on your blog post with calls to action. #SearchFest

evilspinmeister: Social Media customers are passionate, however you need to ensure a method of capturing intent. Make sure to convert. #SearchFest
imeldak: In social media environments, people are more likely to link through to a blog than link through to a corporate site #searchfest

MamboMedia: How to pitch SoMe to executives? Frame the conversation right. Not everything we do in marketing is measurable, but show gains. #SearchFest

What is Social Media?

The concept of social media has been evolving since the web’s first Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), email, and Usenet discussions systems enabled people to collaborate and communicate online with like-minded people.  In recent years, these concepts that laid the foundation for the Internet have been embraced by businesses and built into a massive online industry.  Unemployed marketers created the “social media” buzzword during the economic crisis in the fall of 2008.

Social media covers a ton of websites and media-types, but its really just a broad term that means “interpersonal online communication”.   It can be in the form of photos (Flickr), videos (YouTube),  professional recommendations (Linked In), social networking (Facebook),  or quick broadcasts (twitter).  These sites all serve very different functions in the lives of your customers, and have very different features and attributes that will benefit your business. If you haven’t checked out the attached graphic yet, do it now.

As this graphic illustrates, It all starts with goals.  Do you want to drive more customers to your online store?  Do you want to increase brand recognition for your totally ridiculous product? (I’m talking about the Snuggie there.)  Do you want to show your photography portfolio to a larger audience and provide your potential customers with a new communication channel?  Most likely its a unique combination of the above, and more.

There are a lot of people doing awesome things in the social media space, and there are a lot of people that are taking money from business owners and not getting any ROI for their clients.  Social media is not a magic money-tree, and without a concrete plan with quantifiable performance indicators, you’re going to waste your money.

Burlington Bytes Social Media Management

Here is how it will work when you contact me about the best opportunities for a social media campaign.

• We’ll  meet and chat about your business.  I will ask you questions about your industry, your customers, your sales process, your competition, your goals,  and God knows what else.
• I will get excited and start throwing out terms like “automated syndication to twitter”, “url shorteners with analytics”,  “building indexed backlinks with pagerank”, etc.  You may know exactly what I’m talking about, you may ask a lot of questions, or you may just nod and smile at me.
• During this conversation, we’ll begin to form an outline of your social media campaign, including your level of involvement & budget.
• I’ll get to work and research your business and competition, and come up with a detailed written proposal with performance indicators and ROI goals.  We’ll set expecatations. Then…
• …. We’ll execute!

You don’t need to understand every aspect of your social media campaign, but you NEED to understand how it should be impacting your business’ bottom line.  Don’t throw your money away,  hold your social media consultant accountable!

Lets Talk!  Contact Pete Jewett at Burlington Bytes today.