Why You Should Be Using Google Plus

Google Plus is one of the most effective social marketing platforms ever. It combines ease of interacting and sharing with the power of Google search to provide a powerful mix that can extend your reach and build authority.

Below is a fantastic infographic by Brandignity.com explaining the stats, benefits, and best uses of G+:

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By Bradley Benner

The Social SEO Universe

As SEO becomes more dependent on social signals, a new term has emerged. “Social SEO” is a combination of traditional SEO plus social media where interaction with real people is clear. Below is an infographic that identifies some of the statistics of Social SEO strategy.

You can download a free report titled “Social SEO Strategies: Mastering the Art of Social SEO” here:

http://www.catalystsearchmarketing.com/pubs/social-seo-strategies/

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By Bradley Benner

64 Google Plus Content Strategies – Infographic

Like this infographic? Grab a proven framework for content marketing that works from Copyblogger.

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By Bradley Benner

Social SEO: Integrating Social Media And SEO

7 SEO Tips for Small Business

Search engine optimization (SEO) has changed dramatically over the past six months. What works now for getting to and maintaining high search rankings is far different than it was even just a few short months ago. In fact, I have restructured my entire business model away from being an SEO agency due to the never ending changes. This doesn’t mean, however, that SEO doesn’t work anymore. Quite the contrary.

Social media is becoming more and more of the driving force behind top search rankings. And it will continue to move in that direction. But we can’t and shouldn’t give up on SEO just yet. Currently a hybrid model of SEO and social media/content marketing is where the sweet spot is.

So, while I encourage everyone to continue developing their social media presence and marketing strategy, I have to also continue recommending sound SEO advice. The following article by Adam Stetzer is a fantastic resource for that:

7 Small Business SEO Tips

Every year SEO gets more complicated as Google rolls out updates and changes the rules. This is especially frustrating for small business owners who don’t have the time or resources to stay current in, what they believe to be, an esoteric and confusing industry.

Here are seven small business SEO tips to help earn more business through traditional organic search rankings.

1. Onsite SEO is Necessary But Not Sufficient

Yes, optimizing title tags, site structure (keep it flat) and load-speed are important. Many experiments have shown these elements are in the Google algorithm.

Don’t obsess. Hire someone to run an assessment and tune up the site; then move-on. Far too many small businesses get stuck at the starting line.

2. Website Content & Experience Are Critical

We have all read that “content is king,” but what does that really mean?

Your website must have engaging content for the end-user. The importance of this can’t be overstated. It will impact time-on-site, conversion and SEO (engaging content is more likely to be shared and linked to).

It is also critical because it orients the small business webmaster towards offering something of value. Thin content leaves a bad footprint, both onsite and offsite.

3. Use Content Marketing to Earn Backlinks

Most small business owners are savvy enough to know that 70 percent of their search engine rankings are the result of backlinks. Being a pragmatic bunch, they then ask “where can I buy some?”

Don’t buy backlinks – it also leaves a bad footprint.

Small business marketers need to earn links, and content marketing is extremely effective for gaining earned links. The trick is in the trade. Something of value must be offered.

Quality content containing humor, information, controversy, politics or training usually brings backlinks – and is definitely considered acceptable SEO.

4. Know Your Backlink Profile

There has been healthy debate recently about the changing role of anchor text in the Google algorithm. Even if the importance is fading, it is clearly still a factor.

Small businesses should know their backlink profiles. A lack of branded anchors and brand mentions is a clear signal of manipulation, and therefore a rank killer.

Healthy businesses market their brands through press releases and are discussed in forums by name. This all leaves a good footprint.

Co-citation is also a sign of a natural backlink profile. Strong companies are mentioned in the same paragraph as other strong brands.

Articles with a single anchored link to a website with low domain authority sticks out like a sore thumb. Google can spot these insubstantial articles and weighs the links accordingly, or worse. Read about the Penguin update for more.

5. Create Buzz Through Community Building

While the term link bait is perhaps overused, it is considered an acceptable activity by Google. This is because the activity is aimed toward creating a positive end-user experience.

Without a community element, link baiting is hard to distinguish from content marketing. Developing a community (best if done onsite) is perhaps the best link bait of all because the community starts to develop the content in ways no SEO consultant could ever think of.

This is truly organic, extremely natural, and helps SEO. Read up on Latent Semantic Indexing if this concept is confusing.

6. Quality Over Quantity

It is tempting to fall for the email solicitations for large quantities of inexpensive links. But we all know where that got JCPenney.

The SEO industry isn’t like the automobile industry, where automation is praised as a gain in efficiency. Automation in SEO is bad because Google says it is. They believe it results in a poorer end-user experience, an argument that has merit.

Small businesses may not like this rule, but they do need to respect it if they want to see increases in rankings.

7. Review the SEO Reports

Small business owners are busy, but that is no excuse for not knowing what the SEO consultant is doing. It’s important to digest the monthly reports for a couple of reasons:

The results should be moving in the right direction. Don’t expect miracles, just monthly progress.

The monthly reports should demonstrate that the SEO team is executing with a disciplined process. Small business should not foot the bill for experiments. There is enough risk facing small business owners already.

Conclusions

Google is a computer, largely, and needs to be thought of as such. The major elements in the algorithm are fairly well understood.

While it’s true that updates are frequent and the rules of the game do shift, the major elements of onsite SEO and backlinks have been the fuel for better rankings for years. Follow these seven small business SEO tips to earn better rankings and build a community around your brand. And ignore the rest as noise.

What is your current search marketing strategy? Are you using SEO or social media or both? Leave your comment below.

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By Bradley Benner

Social Media is More Than Just Social Media

One of the most common confessions I hear from business owners for neglecting to use social media as part of their marketing strategy is lack of good content to share. It’s either they don’t have enough time to find and share content, or they lack the money to invest in content creation.

The thing is, social media is more than just writing and/or sharing articles for content marketing. There are many great ways to promote your brand on social media platforms without requiring dozens of articles or hours of curating information. Much of this needed content can be generated in the real world.

In his article below, Matthew Peneycad outlines some great ways to produce content that can be promoted and shared as social media content. Content that will have a greater impact for branding than your typical social media content marketing…

90% of Social Media Has Nothing to Do With Social Media

For many marketers and business owners, regularly producing high-value content is an ongoing challenge. In my experience, some marketers believe that they need to spend a small fortune to create valuable content, and sometimes they do. The challenge then, is how to produce great content on a regular basis without breaking the bank.

Too frequently, there is a community manager who is tasked with creating all of a brand’s content, and they spend hours upon hours on their computer, online, and on social media platforms working on scraping together next month’s content calendar. Despite the sometimes herculean effort that goes into this, it is also a big part of the problem.

For most organizations, the best way to create compelling content has nothing to do with computers, the internet or social media. In fact, most of what makes for amazing social media marketing has nothing to do with social media at all.

So, what can you do to avoid the peaks and valleys of great content and become a more dependable source of value to your consumers?

Well, it’s pretty simple really. Get off your computer, and start looking to the real world for content generating opportunities. Following are a few ideas for where to start:

Prove your brand’s promise

Undoubtedly you have a deep understanding of what your brand means to consumers’ lives and continually work to prove this through everything you do. Create compelling content by documenting, capturing, and finding new and creative ways to prove your brand’s promise. Don’t just talk about it, live it, and showcase that.

Showcase your product or service

While you certainly don’t wan to over do your self-promotion, or try to hard sell your consumers via social media, a key reason why people are attracted to you on social media is because of your product or service. Think about showcasing your product or service, how it is used, who uses it, where it is produced, and on. The key thing here is to show the reality of your product or service, not just rhyme off information from a sell sheet.

Community spotlight

For too many brands a community spotlight means commenting or liking a contribution that one of your consumers made on social media. Consider spotlighting consumers who use your product or service in interesting ways, or who do particularly interesting things themselves that are related to your brand. When you’ve identified these people, reach out to them, meet with them, and find some time to see them in person to learn what they’re up to, and how your brand plays a role in their life. Chances are that others interested in your brand, will be interested in these people as well.

Do something interesting

Have you ever noticed that the most interesting of your friends to follow on social media are those who live interesting lives? The reason for this is that their social media profiles mirror their real lives. The same principles hold true for brands. Find opportunities for your brand to live an interesting life and you’ll be rewarded with numerous opportunities for great content creation. Think about planning an event, making a splash with a new product launch, sponsoring a conference, or holding training sessions, to list a few ideas.

These are just a few thought-starters, but if you find yourself in a content creation rut, shut down your computer and get out there to show your consumers what your brand is all about in the real world.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/social-media/90-of-social-media-has-nothing-to-do-with-social-media-0344121#owLErzgA5TbprWkj.99

What are some other ways you can use real life events for social media marketing content? Please share your ideas below.

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By Bradley Benner