So, you have built a brand new website and now it is time to show it off. You want users to use a search engine (Google, Yahoo, or Bing) to find your website. However, there is a problem, when you do a search for your website the link appears 3 pages back in the search results. How will anyone find your website that far back in the search results?

As you can see from this Eye-Tracking Study, provided by Search Engine Land, your goal should be to have your website appear at the top of the search results page.

Now, how do you get your website to the top of a search results page?  This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into play.

Search engine optimization is often about making small modifications to parts of your website.  When viewed individually, these changes might seem like incremental improvements, but when combined with other optimizations, they could have a noticeable impact on your site’s user experience and performance in organic search results.
– Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

In the battle for search engine dominance, every little detail helps.

So, what do you need to know about SEO in-order to maximize your website success?  Unfortunately the major search engines have not released the exact algorithms that they are using to determine the search result order.  However, there are documents available, such as the Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, that outline the guidelines that your website should follow in order to reach maximum effectiveness.

In this document , Google outlines the best practices for optimizing your site for search engines.

Now that you have an idea of what search engines are looking for, now we need to determine how users will search for your website.  In order to do this, you need to determine your keywords and key phrases (3 to 4 words) that you can associate with your website.  Even though the use of meta keywords are obsolete, in regards to SEO, determining website keywords can help with organization as well as developing strategies/campaigns.

When possible, I like to theme each page around a specific key phrase.  Your key phrases should be a descriptive phrase made up of your keywords.  This allows you to utilize all your website pages to maximize the effectiveness of your search engine optimization.

As your site grows and you gain users, you can monitor the success of your keywords and key phrases with web tools, for example Google Webmaster Tool and Google Analytics.  These tools show you what searches your site appears in, and how many clicks your link receives in theses searches.  This allows you to analyze the effectiveness of your keywords and key phrases.  With this information you can determine if any changes need to be made in your websites SEO.

There are initial steps that will improve your websites SEO, however, to have continual SEO success your website needs continual monitoring and updating.  These updates can be anything from altering your keywords and key phrases, producing new content (that is SEO compatible), and building a link network.  By staying on top of your website’s SEO, you will put yourself and your business in the best position to connect with people that are looking for you.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1.  For assistance on how to tactically target keywords and phrases to specific web pages refer to the article from Tactical SEO: How Many Terms/Phrases Should I Target on a Single Page?

2.  Google Adwords provides a Keyword Tool that is useful for analyzing keywords and key phrases.

Search Engine Optimization Successes:

Case Study 1 (stay tuned)

Case Study 2 (stay tuned)

One of the many projects that I have been working on is the iCheckBook App for the iPhone.  I have partnered with a friend and former colleague, David Avery.  Previously I worked with David on the SkunkPost project.

David has developed an App for the iPhone that allows you to use your iPhone as a checkbook.

The iCheckbook application is a well designed account and transaction management program for your iPhone or iPod Touch. It enables you to keep track of multiple accounts and their respective transactions while on the go. NO MORE, logging transactions in a paper register and manually calculating the balances. The iCheckbook application will consistently and reliably keep your account balances up to date.

I have been working with him to improve the marketing strategy of the product and to help with improving the UI of the app. Along with resorting back to my design skills to brand the product and develop a website that successfully promotes the product.

In about 10 weeks after I have had time to implement my digital marketing strategy to its fullest I will be following up to this post with a case study that shows the successes we have had.

We are working on some great new additions for version 2.0 of this app, but we encourage people to DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW and give us your feedback so that we can make sure version 2.0 is the best that we can make it.

What is Internet marketing?

Internet marketing, also known as digital marketing, web marketing, online marketing, search marketing, or e-marketing, is the marketing (generally promotion) of products or services over the Internet.

Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing.

Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales. Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, email marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies.  —Wikipedia

As outlined in the definition, Internet Marketing has a broad scope.  This is because as the Internet expands and becomes more ingrained into the daily lives of individuals, with such devices as smart phones, laptops, and tablets, there are more tools to market your business digitally.  It seems as if every few months there is a new buzz word in regards to internet marketing, for example: blog, social network, mobile apps, etc. These are all tools that can be part of your internet marketing strategy, however, your internet marketing strategy is not required  to include them all. All businesses are different and target different markets; as a result businesses should have their own internet marketing strategy.  Even though every strategy should be different, there are some keys that one should keep in mind before entering the digital world of the Internet.

The key to success to any Internet marketing strategy is to successfully target the niche customers that are looking for your products/services.   Because of the global reach of the Internet, it is very important to successfully recognize your niche market.  The “Long Tail Theory” can help you better understand niche markets.  Once you have a clearer understanding of how the Long Tail works you will be able to really narrow down your customers.  (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

The Long Tail

The foundation of any successful Internet marketing strategy starts with a well developed website.  Your website is a tool that communicates with your potential customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  If done properly, your website can act as a sales person, customer service, marketing and public relations wrapped into one.

The essentials of a successful website are:

1.  Well organized/easily accessible information.

On the Internet Information is king.  You have to organize the information on your website in a logical and easily accessible manor.  Try to think of your website as a sales pitch.  You do not want to bombard the customer with every bit of information in the first minute you start talking to them.  Your homepage should highlight the key/essential message that you want your customers to obtain and allow for easy access to any piece of information that the customer may want to find. (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

2.  An effective user interface (UI).

In order to allow your customer to navigate your information with ease, you need to provide a well thought out user-interface so that the customer has no problems finding their way around your website. (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

3. Site design/branding.

It is at this point that you give the customer the look and feel you want them to have when exposed to your company. (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

4. An effective Content Management System (CMS)

This allows you and your staff to create new content with ease as well as make timely updates. (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

5. Timely site upload.

In our modern day society with user’s looking for instantaneous satisfaction you have to make sure that your website is loading as efficient as it can. If it doesn’t you will lose customers while they wait for your page to load. (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

6. Website has to be compatible with the majority of web browsers and viewing monitors.

Unfortunately Internet technology has not completely standardized and your customers are using older technology. So in order to successfully communicate with your customers, your site has to be compatible on the majority of old and new technologies that are out there. (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

While your site is being developed, it is now time to start thinking about your search engine optimization (SEO).  The purpose of SEO is to get your companies website to appear when Internet users are searching for you.  The factors that determine a good SEO are continually changing, as a result, your SEO needs to be constantly managed.  The key to a successful SEO strategy is to recognize the key terms and three to four word phrases that your niche market would use to find your business.  Once your terms and phrases are determined you have to incorporate them into the site content.  Unfortunately a successful SEO needs more then well picked key terms and phrases.  To get the best results possible, you will have to provide continual content updates, monitoring and taking advantage of trending topics, and to build a network of incoming and outgoing links. (The Art of SEO: Getting Found with Search Engine Optimization.)

The next step should be to figure out a way to utilize Social Media to branch out into different web spaces.  The major problem/confusion is determining what forms of Social Media you should be using.  There are a great number of Social Media choices on the Web.  With some well done research you will realize that every type of Social Media has a dominate demographic that utilizes it.  So you will be able to determine what specific forms of Social Media, if any, are right for your business.  (Stay tuned for more detailed article.)

After you have built a solid foundation with your website and have made it available to search engines and to social media the list of marketing tools is endless, for example: pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, search engine and social media marketing, email campaigns, etc. These all have there pros and cons and it all depends on what exactly your company goals are. The key to a successful internet marketing campaign is to remember why the Internet was invented.  The Internet was invented as a means to share information and as long as you are providing your customers with the information that they are looking for, then you have succeeded.

Content is king.

I recently completed a teaser video for the upcoming TEDxBuffalo event. I am currently working with a great group of people, lead by Susan Cope, to bring this amazing event to the Buffalo area.

TEDxBuffalo has an amazing line-up of speakers that exemplify the conferences theme, “Igniting Ideas in Buffalo.”

Some of you may be wondering, “What is TED?”

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED’s media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world, and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

You now have an idea of what TED is, so now you may be wondering, “What is TEDx?”

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

TEDx will be coming to Buffalo on April 7, 2011.  I strongly recommend that you save the date to be inspired.  For more information and updates visit the TEDxBuffalo website: www.tedxbuffalo.com.

For those that are unaware, Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you to answer the question, “What are you doing?”  This is done by sending short, maximum of 140 characters in length, text messages, called “tweets,” to your “followers.”

Twitter has been defined by this 140 character limit.  The 140 character limit stems from the standard 160 character limit of text messages (SMS).  Twenty characters are reserved for the user name and the other 140 characters are left for the user.  Tweets are used for informal collaboration and quick information sharing, which allows the user to break from extensive e-mails and instant messaging. As a result of this information transfer, you (as the user) are allowing your “followers” the opportunity to get to know the intricacies of your life through short information bursts.

This past September (2010), Twitter started rolling out an updated version of the site.  The new layout of the site compliments Twitter‘s new features.  The new site design combined the information timeline, that made Twitter famous, with a Rich Detail Pane.  The Rich Detail Pane is at the heart of Twitter‘s new look.  This new feature allows users the ability to access more information derived from the original 140 character tweet, and as a result, tweets can now have a greater impact.

Graphic updates to the new Twitter layout.

The addition of the Rich Detail Pane allows for a greater opportunity to share content/information with other users.  The first example of this would be Twitter‘s ability to access embedded media content in individual tweets.  This update is a direct reflection in the advancements of mobile technology.  Twitter was launched in 2006, and at this time over 10 billion text messages (SMS) where being sent on a monthly basis (Wikipedia).   Twitter was taking advantage of this mobile technology trend.

SMS messages sent monthly in USA (billion) --Wikipedia

Twitter is now recognizing and responding to the new trend in mobile technology, and the trend is in MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) messaging.  As a response to the improved capabilities of mobile phones to capture and send video and photos, users have increased their use of these technologies and are sharing more then ever.  With the addition of the Rich Detail Pane, it is now easier for users to share their videos and photos to all their “followers.”

Another new feature that takes advantage of the Rich Detail Pane, is the users ability to view content related to specific tweets.  This extension to the 140 character limit will vary depending on what content (for example @Mentions and #Topics) is available in the tweet.  The addition of this information to the Rich Detail Pane allows for a user to have easy access to information that is directly related to that specific tweet.   This extension of information allows the user to explore a 140 character message in more depth.

The last upgrade to the new Twitter roll out is users ability to simply access mini profiles in the Rich Detail Pane.  Again, this is another user-interface improvement that allows the user to easily access information on their Twitter homepage.

So, what do these changes mean?

These user-interface updates center around the addition of the Rich Detail Pane.  The Rich Detail Pane compliments the Twitter timeline by allowing the user to easily gather information that goes beyond the 140 character limit that makes Twitter unique.  These updates successfully reflect the trends in mobile communication/sharing and reflect how users want to use the Internet.  One of the core principles that the Internet was built upon was a network that allowed users to rapidly exchange/share information with each other.  As the technology has advanced and the digital divide has been crossed by millions of Internet users, this core principle has never been so prominent.   Users have transformed this virtual space into a social arena that revolves around content sharing.  As a user, the strength of your presence in this new social arena is determined by what you share.  Mobile technologies are making it easier for users to share, and keeping users connected to this virtual space.  By services, such as Twitter, adapting to these technology trends we will see the social arena of cyberspace continue to grow and become ingrained into our physical society.

Twitter: The best way to discover what’s new in your world.

NOTE:  The music in the Twitter promo video is by a band called Freelance Whales… I strongly recommend you check them out.

In order to be able to form a successful social media marketing strategy, you first need to understand what social media is and does. Wikipedia defines social media as, “Media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses web-based technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogues.” Below is a video from CommonCraft that clearly outlines what Social Media is.

The creation and adaptation of the Internet has created a new form of media focused around user interactions.  It is these cyber interactions that form networks and communities, which are based around niche topics. The sizes of these networks/communities are generally related to the specificity of the content.

STEP 1 — Remove Fear

The first step to executing a social media marketing strategy is to remove any fears that the executing party may have.  Social media is a new media form and as a result business/business owners are hesitant to embrace these new and unfamiliar technologies.  In order to over come this hurtle, you need to do two things.  First, is to set up your legal protections, by making sure the appropriate legal documents (terms of use and privacy policy) are put into place on the company’s website.  Once these basic documents are in place, the next step is to set up a social media policy/procedures for employees to follow.   By outlining and training employees on how they are to interact in the social media realm you will do two things.  You will empower your employees with the knowledge of what can be accomplished through social media.  With their newfound empowerment, they will feel more confident utilizing this new interactive media technology.  With your employees educated on your policy/procedures, your company will now posses one consistent voice to your targeted niche.  Having one consistent voice in the social media arena is as important as having branding guidelines in traditional media.

STEP 2 — Structure a Voice

The next step in developing a social media marketing strategy would be to extend your reach in order to connect with potential users/clients. To do this, it starts with the creation of sharable content.  First, I must insist that you check all egos at the door.  You have to realize that user/people are not sitting patiently waiting for you to publish your next piece of content.  The digital age has transformed mass media into personalized media.  As a result, your goal should be to produce content that influences the niche that users choose to participate in their day-to-day routine.  In order to achieve this, your goal should be to produce content that users can find, enjoy, and share.  This content should not always relate to your company and its products/services: be creative and engaging.  The success of your reach is dependent on the quality of your content.

STEP 3 — Extend Your Reach

So your company is familiar with social media, you are producing content that your niche is interested in consuming and sharing, the next step is to allow your niche to find your content.  To do this, you should first research what social networks would best reach your niche community.  There are many studies that have been done that show different geographical areas, age groups, and social classes embrace different Social Networks.  After selecting which social networks to use, fully complete all profile/page information that applies to your company and use the customizable tools to brand your profile/page to visually complement your home page.

Setting up Social Networking pages as well as regular content updates to your website is only half the battle.  You need to practice good SEO standards on all of your content.  The reason being, you want users to be able to find your content when they are looking for it.  You can also make use of other Internet technologies, like Social Bookmarking site and RSS Feeds, which can assist you in sharing your content.  When making others aware of your content you have to do so in a manner that encourages and contributes to your targeted niche community and not in a manner that labels you a spammer.  This is a thin line to walk, however, if you are engaging the community and not dictating to the community you will have success.

STEP 4 — Revise, Revise & Revise

The final step in putting together a successful social media marketing strategy is to revise, revise, and revise. As technologies change, interactions change. One social network is popular today and another one will be popular a year from now. You need to constantly monitor what keywords best attract your niche community.  Currently the Internet and Social Media are growing so rapidly it has a direct effect on all online networks/communities.  As part of these niche communities it is your responsibility to adapt and evolve with the rest of the community.

By focusing on the growth of the community, instead of just individual growth, you will see individual growth by ways of the community.  This is a good example of an economic theory entitled “Social Choice Theory.”

A while back I Stumbled Upon this video.  It really got me thinking about the growth of our society and where the events of today are taking us.  I strongly suggest you take a look at these ideas as well as go to the website that this video supports for greater details.  Let me know what you think of these ideas, I am interested to hear peoples opinions.

For more information visit constellationw.com.

I know you have probably heard by now that Facebook has plans to launch an email service, and if you haven’t heard about it, well you heard it here first (surprisingly). The talk has been about Facebook attempting to take another chunk out of the web giant Google. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has express his attempt to fluidly integrate all web communications into one platform. As it was stated in the British publication, The Telegraph, “Facebook‘s new email service isn’t designed for tech writers or adults – it’s about the next generation of messengers and locking in tomorrow’s advertising demographics.”

The current business model on the Internet is to attract the most “eye” possible for the longest amount of time.  Combined this with data mining and big web companies, like Google and Facebook, can sell specifically targeted advertising.  So by launching this new email service within Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is hoping to capture the next generation of advertising dollars by providing his users with a service that tracks all communications and through user information and friends will help successfully filter spam.

Or are we just giving the Facebook empire greater permission to infiltrate our information?  If we are, is that a bad thing?  Facebook has always had to deal with privacy issues, and as long as people continually use the platform to share, upload, and communicate, this is an issue they will always have to deal with.  In my opinion, the best way to deal with this, is to be contiguous of the materials you are sharing though Facebook, because they are only working with what their users give them.

However, Facebook has innovated how the Internet is used.  With their Facebook Connect feature, online users have now established identities/profiles to go with interaction that they do on other site, along with records of those actions.  Facebook Connect makes it easier for users to share information, but it also attaches a face to the comment.  Which has sophisticated the interactions that take place online.  When users are anonymous they tend to be more abusive and counter productive, but when they have their personal profile, with their photo, attached to their interaction, users tend to communicate in a more socially acceptable manor.

So… one can argue that Facebook is an invasion of privacy, however one could say that Facebook has and is continually improving the social dynamics of the Internet.