Rhonda Sand - Purposeful Africa Non-Profit
June 18, 2009 by Ed Reese · Leave a Comment
I believe it’s important to focus my SEO efforts on good causes when I can. But, between running a business, keeping my mind fresh with new technical content, and spending time with family, I’m not able to take on as many projects as I’d like.
However, I’ve just added a new one to the list and wanted to let you know. It’s a non-profit founded by Rhonda Sand of TMI Tours called Purposeful Africa. I was introduced to Rhonda by Jamie Birch, who is already on board supporting her efforts with a small team from Coeur d’Alene and Spokane volunteering their time and resources. As I’m new to the project, I don’t have much to share other than that I’m on board and looking forward to contributing to their efforts. More details in the coming months…
Contributor - 2009 Local Search Ranking Factors
June 14, 2009 by Ed Reese · Leave a Comment
I was proud to participate in David Mihm’s Local Search Ranking Factors project this year. It has quickly become one of the most anticipated articles in the Local Search industry each year.
David asked 27 Local Search experts to rate the importance of 49 criteria with respect to their influence on rankings in the Google and Yahoo Local “Universal” search algorithms. These are the factors that trigger a local map result from perceived local search queries. Since early 2008 all the major search engines now display a map for locally-focused keywords.
Gain insight into local search drivers and understand how your business can get found in Maps and increase online exposure.
SEO & Social Media Tips, Tools, & Resources
June 11, 2009 by Ed Reese · Leave a Comment
Yesterday I posted a re-cap of steps small business owners can take to engage in social media. It was half re-cap and half articles/tips I’ve found useful. While I’ve heard positive feedback, I feel that it didn’t quite live up to my promise of free tools & tips for business owners, so I wanted to also provide a 100% pure tools & tips post that will provide the ammo small business owners need to get started.
SEO Tools, Tips, & Articles
The Beginner’s Guide to SEO (SEOmoz) OK, I’ll be the first to admit that this is not a quick-and-easy guide to SEO. However, it is the most thorough, detailed, and effective introduction to search engine optimization that I’ve seen. If you’ve got the time to read it and are motivated to learn SEO, this is a great place to start.
The Ten Commandments of Online Marketing for Small Business (David Mihm) This is a fabulous ten step process small businesses can follow to achieve success online. It covers the basics, yet includes all the necessary details you’ll need to know to get started. As David is an SEO like myself, it’s focused on search, but has quite a bit of information on real world strategies, tips, and marketing insight. It’s a must read!
Small Business SEM (Matt McGee) Matt continually provides great content for small businesses. His focus (though technical at times) always caters to small businesses and their needs. He provides great overviews of Internet Marketing as it pertains to business owners. I’d also like to call out his May round-up of the best search & online marketing posts. It’s a great collection of very useful posts in one place.
SEOmoz Blog This blog might be a bit deeper than most folks might want to go into the waters of SEO, but I’ve always been a fan of reaching beyond ones comfort zone. For those that want to go into the deep end of search, consider SEOmoz the tan, smiling, chisled lifeguard there to make sure you stay safe and get out of the ocean alive. They also have a paid section, but there is HUGE value in the free stuff they offer. Their most valuable blog posts (in my opinion) are their White Board Friday Videos. Definitely check them out!
SEOmoz Free SEO Tools If you can’t tell already, I’m a HUGE fan of SEOmoz. They have a great selection of free and paid tools. For small business owners, there are plenty of free tools to get you started.
SEO Book (Aaron Wall) Aaron has a great blog, collection of videos & tools, as well as insight to the industry. He has a paid level as well as eBooks you can purchase. But like SEOmoz, he has plenty of valuable free information and is a great resource. Like SEOmoz, his blog is a daily read of mine.
Claim Your Local Listing (Mike Blumenthal) It’s absolutely imperative for small businesses to claim their local listing. In this post, Mike explains what a local listing is and how to claim it. He also talks about how this prevents someone else from hijacking your local listing. I have seen this happen in Spokane on several occasions, so don’t think this is just a big city thing.
2009 Local Search Ranking Factors (David Mihm) David has quickly established himself as a leader in the local search arena. His yearly ranking factors study has been the local search reference of choice for the past two years. I was honored to have been asked to be one of the 27 SEO’s worldwide to participate in this years study. Much like the SEOmoz Guide, consider this the deep end of the pool. However, it contains some incredibly detailed local search information for those so inclined to dive right in.
Social Media Tips & Articles
Harness the Power of Twitter for Local Marketing (Chris Silver Smith) This article provides a great roadmap (and more importantly, examples) on how to use Twitter to engage with your prospective customers on a local basis.
Leveraging Social Media for Local SEO (Steve Espinosa) Steve provides a great guide and chart to incorporate your social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) for greater reach and local SEO power.
13 Things I’ve learned about Blogging (Darren Rowse’s 500th Post) This is a great supplimental guide to our discussion yesterday. Darren goes over many of the things we discussed and provides more details and insight from his experience and rapid rise in the blogosphere.
ROI and Social Media: Focus on Impressions! (Marketing Sherpa) This quick read reinforces the talk yesterday of the difficulty of correlating ROI to social media efforts while calling out the value of doing so.
How to Manage Your Socia Media Profiles (Social Media Rockstar) This quick guide is a reinforcement of Bethany’s advice from yesterday and will help make your online social life much easier to manage.
11 Ways to Lose Friends & Followers Online (Social Media Rockstar) I really like this post. It points out failings that we have all seen online. I have unfolled many people making these mistakes. It’s a must read!
27 Twitter Applications Your Small Business Can Use Today (Small Business CEO) A great list of useful Twitter tools. Again, Bethany mentioned several of these yesterday, but this list is quite helpful. They don’t include a few I like (Tweetdeck, Twitpic, etc.) but it’s still a good list.
Well, I think that is plenty to get you started. Please let me know if there are other tools, tips, or articles you’ve found useful. Happy to include those as well. Cheers!
Spokane CVB Social Media Event - Resources & Info
June 10, 2009 by Ed Reese · 4 Comments
It’s always insightful to speak to a new group of people at an industry event. I’ve found that It’s sometimes easy to get entrenched within my own four walls and lose touch with the information that people really need to help their businesses succeed. During the Q&A session someone asked the question that was on everyones minds:
“Can you provide a simple guide to help business owners in Spokane understand how to use social media? You know,… no industry jargon, no tech-speak, just simple how-to-get-started information that business owners can quickly digest and implement?”
When I said YES the entire rooms gave a collective “sigh.” So, without further ado, here it is:
7 Steps to Getting Started, Finding your Voice, and Generating Business with Social Media.
1) Find your flavor(s) and get started.
Without re-capping everything from today’s presentations, I’d like to sum it up by merely saying use what works best for you. In my case it’s primarily Twitter & Linkedin. But, I have also found great value in Biznik and LaunchPad. In fact, I’m about to dive into the deep end of the LaunchPad pool. As a Spokane Social Networking Site, it’s a no-brainer to join LaunchPad. Your choice just depends on your personal taste and industry. For example, musicians, actors, and celebrities still have great success using MySpace, but it personally annoys me beyond belief. I use Facebook to communicate with family & friends and try to keep business out of it, but know several people using Facebook with a good amount of business success. Again, it’s all about finding the right platform(s) for your own personal taste.
2) Pimp your profile
Create a unique and customized profile. Fill out relevant details and provide supportive links. Much has been written on this topic. Here are few guides: How to Pimp Your Twitter Profile, Linkedin Profile Tips, Facebook Profile Guide.
3) Set a consistent and realistic posting schedule
A lot of people get really excited about the latest/greatest social networking site and post like crazy for a month or so and then quit. Others find it intimidating and never get started in the first place. I’d recommend finding sites that you’re comfortable with and genuinly believe you’ll use. Then set a posting schedule. Just make sure it’s a realistic one based on your workload and desire to contribute content. Here are a few great reads: Lessons Learned from 3 Years of Blogging, Scheduling Social Media Efforts.
4) Take it off-line
I’ve found this to be the most effective. It’s much like dating on Match.com… You haven’t really had your first date until you’ve met in person. Sure, there are many benefits from being on Twitter and other social media sites without meeting someone in person (exposure, increased relevant connections, etc.). I’ve just found that the in-person meetings are what have created (by far) the most work and overall impact to my business. These are connections that started online but developed into friendships and professional ties in my industry. The Real Power of Twitter does a great job of summarizing these benefits.
5) Contribute and Connect
If you contribute great content in a consistent manner over time you will generate a following. It really is that simple. There are a handful of people that post content that I absolutely look forward to reading. Be one of those people.
6) Understand Analytics
Don’t feel bad if your social media web sites aren’t producing great results online. They tend to not perform as well in the ROI category compared to direct traffic and search. The best post I’ve seen regarding social media and ROI is from Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz. It goes into great detail regarding how social media ROI compares with other avenues. I recommend reading the entire article as well as the numerous comments. Install an analytics platform (like Google Analytics), watch the Google Analytic Training Videos, and if you really get into it, read Avinash Kaushik’s blog Occam’s Razor. It’s amazing!
7) How to use social media to make money and/or increase business
I think social media is very similar to Public Relations in that both have a pretty difficult time claiming a direct correlation between their efforts and revenue. However, from a business reach and exposure standpoint, the impact is HUGE! When performed effectively, it puts your business in front of the right audience of potential clients, develops trust, and helps foster relationships. And when it comes right down to it, people still buy from people. Though we have all this new technology and ways to connect online, it still comes down to relationships, trust, and offering a great product or service.
I hope this has been a helpful guide/follow-up to today’s Social Media Panel. Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to provide additional details. A big thanks to Visit Spokane for inviting me to be part of the panel. Definitely follow them on Twitter @visitspokane to see an example of a great social media effort.