Content Marketing in 2014: Five Things You Need to Know to Succeed

By Seowebmount

In the movie Back to the Future, Marty McFly traveled all the way to the year 2015.  Back in 1985, that seemed so far away.  But now that we’re getting ready to start 2014, it’s safe to say that the future is officially upon us.

And if you plan to see success online, content marketing is going to have to be a big part of your future.

‘Content marketing’ became THE buzz term in 2013, but publishing quality content isn’t a new idea. In fact, according to research done by AOL and Nielsen, there were nearly 27,000,000 pieces of Web content shared every single day in 2011. So, the only thing that’s new about content marketing is all of the attention it’s getting.

All of that attention means you’re going to have to fight harder to get to the front of the pack. According to a study done by the Content Marketing Institute, Marketing Profs, and Brightcove, 93 percent of B2B businesses used content marketing in 2013, and 73 percent of them were producing “more” or “significantly more” content than they did in 2012.

Bottom line — your content strategy can’t just be good.  If you want it to stand out, it has to be great.  So, what do you need to know if you want to see content marketing success in 2014?

1.  You have to make things easy for your readers

At Business Insider’s Ignition 2013 Conference, the media companies in attendance said 50 percent of their core audience’s content consumption came through their mobile apps.  That’s proof that people want easy-to-understand answers and solutions right at their fingertips.  (The mobile Web isn’t for heavy reading.  After all, when’s the last time you read Hamlet on your Smartphone?)

Even people who are reading on a traditional computer screen want to see content that’s easy to digest. Back in 2006, the Nielsen Norman Group did a groundbreaking study on how people read Web pages, and the results are still very relevant today. After tracking hundreds of readers’ eye movements, they found that people scan Web pages quickly, focusing on the top and left portions of the page the most. (That’s why so many successful Web writers break things down into lists and short paragraphs — because it fits in with this reading pattern.)

No matter what device people use to read your Web content in 2014, you’ve got to keep it concise and conversational.  Take all of those fancy words you learned for the SATs and forget about them. Your readers want quick answers and solutions; they don’t want to marvel at your extensive vocabulary.

2.  You have to focus on promotion

If you’re going to put a whole bunch of time and energy into creating quality Web content, you’ve got to get everything you can out of each piece.  That means you need to find new ways to promote everything you publish.

Sharing links on your Twitter and Facebook pages is a good start, but remember, this is the future we’re talking about. You’ve got to expand your promotional efforts to include things that are specific to your niche.

Like what?

If, for example, you’re targeting small business owners, places like Biz Sugar, the OPEN Forum, and Share Bloc can be a gold mine. Each one is chock-full of small business owners trying to learn more so they can offer more to their customers. If you share great content with the people on these sites, they’ll view you as a bonafide expert. Plus, you’ll be able to get your name out there — all without having to rely on Google.

3.  You have to measure your progress

Even the highest-quality content and the best promotion aren’t enough to succeed at content marketing in 2014.  If you really want to set yourself apart, you need to know exactly how your content is being received.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to go out and spend an arm and a leg on fancy analytics software to measure your progress.  Instead, just be observant.

For example, which blog posts generate the most comments?  Or, which of your articles fetch the most re-tweets? The answers will tell you which subject matters are most important to your readers. They’ll also tell you which pieces people were fascinated enough to read all the way to the end. (After all, would you share something or comment on it if you zoned out during the first half?  No way!)

4.  You can’t avoid it, no matter what kind of business you run

Lots of brick and mortar business owners seem to think content marketing is something that only online businesses need to worry about.  However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. These days, the vast majority of customers head online to check out a business before they call it or visit it in person.  So, if your potential customers are going to be checking you out on the Web, you need to make sure they find good things.

For example, if you run a local hardware store and your blog shares easy DIY tips for homeowners, the people who are checking you out online are going to see that you REALLY know what you’re talking about.  That will make them much more likely to get in the car and head to your store.  After all, if they have a question or a problem, your employees will likely have an answer or a solution.

5.  You can’t afford to cut corners

Unfortunately, the corner-cutters who rely on cheap tricks and automated gimmicks are coming with us into the future.  These people know how important a solid content marketing strategy is, so they’ll look for ways to try to reap all the benefits without doing any of the actual work.  They’ll continue to use spinners, unqualified writers, and any other cheap trick they think will help them manipulate the system.

Luckily, they’ll fall off the content marketing map in 2014.  If nothing else, the content marketing surge has set the bar higher.  Business owners are doing what it takes to publish quality content — and more of it — so the corner-cutters will find themselves even further behind the curve.

Remember, readers want legitimate answers and solutions. With so many businesses doing content marketing the RIGHT way, readers have the power to simply ignore businesses that don’t provide what they’re looking for.  After all, there are, literally, millions of other businesses to choose from.  Why would a reader waste his time with a wannabe, when he can deal with a somebody?

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/31/content-marketing-2014-five-things-need-know-succeed/

Put Your Business on the Map with Pinterest Place Pins

By Seowebmount

These days most people use the Internet for all map-related pursuits, but back in the day it was cool to put a map of the world or even just the United States on the wall and add push pins to it representing all the destinations you’d traveled to or wanted to travel to. Well, just like Pinterest evolved the idea of the bulletin board, the social media site has now evolved the push-pin map. In November, it introduced Place Pins, which allow you to map your already existing pins.

For example, say you and some friends are planning to drive from New York City to Washington, D.C. You can make a board devoted to the trip and pin content to it based on geography, such as the menu from a restaurant you’d like to try in Philadelphia or a museum exhibit you want to see at the Smithsonian. Pinterest started the program after noting that more than 1.5 million places were being pinned each day.

You can give your business a big boost by making the Place Pins tool work for you. Here are some tips on how to use this new tool to bring your company to the attention of a larger audience.

How Place Pins Work

You can create a new Place Pin-based board by selecting “Add a Map” to a new board, or you can edit an existing board to add the map. To add the location of your pin, hit the red “plus” button on the right side of the image you want to pin to your map. Then type in the address. If you are adding your own business and you have more than one shop, you can specify which one you want to use for the pin.

Here’s the big advantage for businesses. It’s like adding a business card to every pin. Whenever someone repins the image, the address goes with it. It’s also advantageous because more than three-quarters of all Pinterest usage is now mobile. When users click on your location, it will also bring up their GPS, which can direct them right to your shop.

When you list your phone number with your Place Pin, anyone who clicks on it with their mobile phone can automatically call you simply by touching the number. And they can get directly to your web site from the pin as well when you list your URL.

Now that you know how to set a board up, here are some creative ways to use Place Pins.

Pinning From Your Store

If your business sells merchandise, a great way to showcase your wares is to pin them to a board on Pinterest. While you probably have boards that include other things, like craft projects or recipes, this is one case where it’s worth it to only pin your own products. Use Place Pins to add everything to a map, which will tell your customers what merchandise is available where.

For example, say you sell motorcycles and you have two separate retail locations with different choppers. You can pin the bikes you have on the floor to the separate stores, avoiding confusion over where the product is located.

Get Collaborative

Another smart idea is to partner with other local businesses in the area to create a map of local stores. Enable all the businesses to pin to this board, and allow each to make pins devoted to describing their shop and adding any reviews or pictures they’d like to showcase. If everyone shares the map board on their page, it encourages cross-store traffic and makes it more likely people will come out to shop when they can see all the choices. You can post based on themes, such as Halloween merchandise or Valentine’s Day specials. Make sure that everyone keeps the board active with new information throughout the year.

This is a cool resource that could be promoted during Small Business Saturday in November. You might even convince the local chamber of commerce to link to the page.

Make a Guide to Your Town

Who knows your hometown better than you, a business owner? Put together a guide to your townthat includes pins from local restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions and sports arenas. Make sure you highlight things located near your business, and include your business as one of the attractions. Share the link to this board on your other social media sites, and be sure to tag the places that you included in your posts, in hopes of getting some retweets or shares.

Show Off Your Client List

If you have a wide national or international roster of clients, one fun way to demonstrate your global popularity is to create a board with pins in all the cities your customers live. You don’t have to reveal any personal details about them, but you can note what sort of work you did for them or products you sold.

Do a ‘Best Of’ Board

No one can resist clicking on a blog post that promises to reveal the “best of” this or that. Fodor’s found a clever way to make this work on Pinterest Place Pins. The travel guide publisher made a board called America’s Best Hot Chocolate and pinned the 15 best restaurants and shops to get hot chocolate. The board is visually appealing, too, with all the gorgeous pictures of the chocolate shops.

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/30/put-business-map-pinterest-place-pins/

Facebook Has Technology to Monitor Unposted Thoughts

By Seowebmount

Facebook could, if it chose, monitor and collect what you type on Facebook before it is posted, even if you choose to delete it rather than share it on your news feed, according to an article by online magazine Slate.
“Unfortunately, the code in your browser that powers Facebook still knows what you typed—even if you decide not to publish it,” reads the article. “It turns out that the things you explicitly choose not to share aren’t entirely private.”
Such decisions by Facebook users are considered “self-censorship” by the social network, the article says, citing a paper written by Sauvik Das, a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon and summer software engineer intern at Facebook, and Facebook data scientist Adam Kramer.
The article by Das and Kramer says only information about if members are self-censoring is collected by Facebook, not what was actually typed. However, the technology is there to do so.
“When I reached out to Facebook, a representative told me that the company believes this self-censorship is a type of interaction covered by the policy,” reads the article. “The Facebook rep I spoke with agreed that the company isn’t collecting the text of self-censored posts. But it’s certainly technologically possible, and it’s clear that Facebook is interested in the content of your self-censored posts. ”
Resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/23/facebook-has-technology-to-monitor-unposted-thoughts-article/ 

New App Allows Users To Interact Via Photos

By Seowebmount

If a picture really is worth a thousand words than a new app could be cashing in.
Moozli Applications Ltd. announced earlier this month the launch of its newest application, PixDub.

PixDub image

“PixDub’s main advantage over any competitors is its use of crowd sourcing to feed the creativity applied to the photos that are shared,” stated Dror Birzon, co-founder and CEO of Moozli Applications, Ltd. “With PixDub, users are allowed to interact and collaborate with others, and each user can unleash their creativity as they edit and play with the photos.”
The app is available now, at no charge, from the iTunes Store.
Users are encouraged to share images of their favorite celebrities, pets or photos from the news, social events and gatherings. Once the image is uploaded other users are encouraged to “get creative” and add to the photograph with funny captions, stickers, speech bubbles and other add-ons.
PixDub also is not limiting users by requiring them to stick to political correctness.
This marks the first application made available by Moozli Applications Ltd., a company based in Tel Aviv, Israel and created in 2013.
“The mission of the firm’s co-founders, CEO Dror Birzon and CTO Shay Nagel, is to make PixDub the premiere interactive, entertaining and creative photo sharing platform,” a company-issued press release stated.
resource:http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/27/new-app-allows-users-interact-via-photos/

Google and the Dangers of Link Networks: Anglo Rank

By Seowebmount

It’s sometimes easy to think of Google as a bit of a sleeping giant: a titan, to be sure, but even so, it seems a fairly faceless and unknowable entity most of the time.
For the average Internet user, Google is an always-there tool for doing research about literally anything. For marketers, Google is a set of more-or-less automated tools to use for marketing purposes.
Every once in a while, though, Google stirs and reminds us that it’s not only far less passive than perhaps we’d like to think, but also has honest-to-God human beings at the helm. The most recent example is a tweet from Google’s Matt Cutts in reference to a story that, if you haven’t heard of yet, you soon will.
Said Cutts: “‘There are absolutely NO footprints linking the websites together.’ Oh, Anglo Rank.”
The story the tweet refers to is likely to have far-reaching consequences for a number of websites. Let’s get to the bottom of it.
What’s Anglo Rank, and What Did They Do Wrong?
Anglo Rank is/was a service that provided paid links. Their website boasts of having “worked long and hard” to hand-pick quality sites with authoritative and curated content. The goal was to create networks of links, all in service of boosting the Google rankings of their clients. They’re hardly the only company that offers such services, but it’s generally considered poor practice, particularly by Google, to buy or sell low-quality links in the name of search engine optimization. This was the reason Anglo Rank was put on Google’s radar as a potential spam network.
The Anglo Rank website also features the now-famous claim quoted by Cutts in his tweet: it suggests that, thanks to their use of purportedly private networks, there was nothing actually linking Anglo Rank’s clients together: no “footprints,” as it were. Google’s anti-spam procedures eventually targeted Anglo Rank, its dubious link networks, and questionable SEO techniques.
Anglo Rank’s owner, who goes by Bluematter on the BlackHatWorld forums, insisted shortly after the story broke that the problem was isolated to only a few of Anglo Rank’s link sites, and as a result the majority of their customers would not be affected (read: penalized by Google). As the story has unfolded further, the reality of the situation seems just a little bit different from what Anglo Rank originally claimed.
So What’s the Real Story?
Several Anglo Rank clients have reported that they have received notifications in their Google Webmaster Tools consoles, indicating that they had received link penalties. Cutts’ tweet outing Anglo Rank as a spam network, while accurate, would seem to have been somewhat premature, with many of Anglo Rank’s clients still unaware of the situation as the notifications rolled out to all of the affected sites.
Despite very clearly worded guarantees on Anglo Rank’s FAQ page, assuaging clients’ fears that buying backlinks is considered a “blackhat” technique under Google’s definitions, Anglo Rank leadership has been changing its story regularly since the news broke. Despite supposedly “insuring the safety” of their clients, Anglo Rank now claims that their clients should have known the risks from the beginning.
In their own words, Anglo Rank is “not concerned about bringing more business in” right now, and is focusing their efforts on “sorting out” their affected clients. Where they actually go from here is still a subject of debate.
Also up for debate: how it was that Google’s anti-spam team was tipped off about Anglo Rank’s practices in the first place. There are a number of popular theories, including a particularly funny one that points out that people involved with Anglo Rank had been using Gmail addresses as payment accounts for their link-buying transactions. Frankly, that seems like an unnecessary and borderline foolish risk to take.
Regardless, the damage is done. While the dust settles, it’s worth taking a look at the SEO lessons that the Anglo Rank debacle has stirred up.
A House of Cards?
Probably the best metaphor for describing shady link networks is to compare them to a house of cards. While links are hugely important for building and maintaining a strong site ranking, link networks represent not just lazy corner-cutting, but also a potentially dangerous way to increase your number of links across the web.
The process is actually quite simple, which should be reason enough to doubt it: by dealing with a company like Anglo Rank, you could, literally overnight, have hundreds of links for the keyword you need to rank for.
To be clear: a link network is not an inherently bad thing. Plenty of websites out there are parts of a network: you may very well see badges displayed that identify a particular website as (for example) a “proud member of the Gannett network.”
However, you might also come across a page that lists dozens of other sites as partners. This is a good indication that the website in question might be part of a less-than-reputable network.
Just like Anglo Rank, the owners of these networks will swear up and down that the sites don’t have any footprints linking them, but even a cursory examination will prove this to be false. Other evidence can include: similar templates used on many websites, the same Google AdSense number, and the same IP address across many different sites.
So what are the consequences of doing business with one of these link networks? Quite simply, your website could potentially be deindexed and your links devalued. As a result, taking part in a link network is not unlike building your SEO strategy on a house of cards. If one linked website gets penalized, the rest of them could fall as well. The monetary losses that follow Google penalization could prove significant, leaving the affected sites struggling to regain the lost ground.
Too Good to Be True
The bottom line is this: if something seems too good to be true, it almost always is. Doing business with a link network might seem like a quick and convenient way to make some money, but the risk just isn’t worth the gain. You’ll have to exercise your own judgment when it comes to deciding whether a network is “good” or “bad,” or if it constitutes an acceptable risk.

Reconsideration to Your SEO Strategies for 2014

By Seowebmount

With the end of 2013 coming up a little more quickly than perhaps we’d like, it’s time to start thinking about our resolutions for next year. The top of the list might be working off those extra Holiday pounds, but if you’re an online marketer, an equally important priority will be revisiting your SEO techniques in 2014.

Search Engine Optimization really is an ongoing process. While the coming and going of the years might bring in subtle changes, most of the skills you’ve accumulated this year will translate fairly well into the next. Stick with us here for a look at some important resolutions you’ll want to commit to for another successful year of online marketing.

Resolve to Learn Something New

The start of a new year might be just the kick in the pants you need to look at your skill set a little more objectively. While you may be perfectly competent and comfortable with your current success rate, web marketing remains a fickle mistress. There’s always a new trick to learn.

Case in point: Google. The big news in SEO in the second half of 2013 was Google’s new “Hummingbird” algorithm. Now that we’re living in an increasingly mobile-first world, Google stepped up its game and introduced new techniques to factor in the increasing number of mobile searches being performed.

In other words, there are new tricks for marketers to learn in the coming year and beyond. Hummingbird is taking into account the fact that more searches than ever are being dictated in the form of a question; as a result, subtle tweaks will need to be made to future content.

Due in no small part to Google’s influence, 2013 has been called the year of mobile search. More accurately, there will be multiple “years of mobile search,” and we’re right in the middle of them.

Resolve to Increase Your Conversions

This is what it’s all about, right? If you’ve found your conversions lagging this year, 2014 is the perfect opportunity to revisit your conversion process. You might think the biggest driver of conversions is increasing organic search traffic, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Quite frankly, the problem might be one that happens after visitors have already made it to your site.

That’s where Analytics comes in. Whether you’re using Google Analytics or something similar, resolve in 2014 to really dig into the details to see what might be getting in the way of your website conversions. Take a look at the keywords that are driving the most conversions, as well as which pages have been most successful.

When it comes to eCommerce websites, there are a number of unique problems that can arise. For example: an online retailer might be struggling with cart abandonment. If this describes you, make a resolution to get to the bottom of it. Revisit your checkout process and iron out potential frustrations like compulsory site registration or unclear pricing.

Resolve to Love Social Media

2013 may have been the year of mobile search, but it was also the year of Pinterest. Throughout the past year, Pinterest has grown significantly, boasting huge gains throughout the year and launching in new countries.

In the third quarter of 2013, Pinterest grew by a stunning 19.22%, while Facebook posted a gain of 14.78% and Twitter actually fell by nearly 8%. While this is certainly indicative of the familiar cycle of social media platforms rising and then falling out of favor, it’s still proof positive that marketers need to have their ear to the ground in 2014 and beyond. Staying on top of social trends will reveal new opportunities for growth.

That’s not to say that now-familiar social sites like Facebook and Twitter should be neglected. Twitter continues to evolve, as seen in the new scheduling tool and ads retargeting. It has created new opportunities for brands to set themselves apart from the crowd.

Meanwhile, Pinterest will follow in the footsteps of Twitter’s promoted tweets by taking its first step toward monetizing its services. According to Ben Silbermann, CEO of Pinterest, the site is going to be experimenting with promoted pins as they move forward into the new year.

The short version of this is that, as a marketer, it’s going to be important to remember that social media is here to stay, offering new challenges and opportunities all the while.

Resolve to Provide Higher Quality Content

It might actually be passé by now to echo Google’s mantra of “content is king.” No matter how self-evident it might be, though, it’s still easy to forget sometimes. As a marketer, chances are good you’ve made use of guest blog posts from time to time, or you might even do so regularly. This is a great practice in moderation, but it can be easy to let sub-standard guest posts through the gates from time to time.

Link building is not to be taken lightly. If guest posts are a staple of your web campaigns, resolve in 2014 to hold yourself to a higher standard by being pickier when it comes to lousy guests posts.

Providing quality content to your visitors is also going to require a better attention to detail when it comes to understanding the needs of different types of customers.

For example: not everybody will be visiting your blog or website from a desktop. As a result, your conversion rate might suffer among mobile users if your site takes too long to load.

The phrase “responsive web design” will continue to be heard throughout 2014, and one of the tenets of its design philosophy is to provide an optimal experience to everybody, no matter their platform of choice.

Is Google Killing the Keyword?

By Seowebmount

Organic SEO has hinged on the quality of keywords and related searches since inception. It’s a simple formula: determine how users are searching for your content or services, adjust your keyword strategy, and reap the benefits. But for over two years now, those efforts have become increasingly more challenging to accurately execute.

Why? Because the more business owners are able to determine their own best keyword strategies, the less they need to fork over cash to Google’s paid keyword advertising. That’s a gross generalization, but it seems to be at the heart of a movement Google launched in October of 2011. To understand what’s causing the demise of the keyword – and how to fight back – we have to face some cold hard facts.

Keyword Data is Almost All Encrypted

Back in the day, search data could be sliced and diced in all manner of valuable formats, allowing marketers to fully comprehend how visitors were finding their websites, and what do to draw even more in. Analytics are still comprehensive across the board – except when it comes to keywords.

Two years ago Google quietly told the world they would block keyword metrics, specifically regarding the ways in which people found the content they accessed. They in turn offered a consolation prize; the willingness to port visits from natural search results into the “not provided” category in tools like Google Analytics. If this sounds a bit fishy, that’s because it is.

While eyebrows were furrowed at the move, panic did not ensue. Google promised only 10% (or less!) of search traffic would be impacted. But the truth is, over two years later, it’s abundantly clear this encrypted data is messing with marketers in the worst possible way. There is no longer accurate data revealing keyword usage, rendering related marketing efforts a completely blind experiment.

In Google’s Defense

Why would Google jeopardize the efforts of the folks teeming to better the relationship between consumers, content creators, and search engines? They vowed it was a matter of security and protection. In the beginning, this extended only to those who were logged into Google. They stated that by encrypting the data, no one could spy on a string of searches and invade a user’s privacy. No one, that is, except Google.

Since then, steadily it has been noted that even searches executed without being logged in are winding up encrypted. Google has verified this, stating they are extending the “security” to all searches. This means as researchers access the keyword data, in return they are seeing more and more “data not provided” results. And SEO rankings for many are greatly suffering.

Some say these efforts are truly benevolent on Google’s part, rolled out to protect users from the NSA’s PRISM onslaught. Google suffered a great deal of PR woes and public backlash as the PRISM details were revealed, and in turn, it makes sense they would respond in kind. But is keyword annihilation really all about protecting the privacy of users?

Why the Death of the Keyword Spells Danger to Marketers

Most marketing teams focus their efforts on organic search results, and at the heart of all these strategies lies carefully selected keywords. By studying keyword effectiveness, marketers can adjust campaign tactics in content creation, page optimization, and an overall focus on demographics and user behavior.

Without statistical data, however, teams are left to use their instincts alone. Understandably, this method is anything but ideal. Consider a business that sells framed artwork and prints. They may create a landing page focused on “abstract modern paintings” that begins to receive an influx of users searching for “abstract modern posters.” As a result of misleading results, the page may see a significant spike in bounce rates. Without the knowledge of what people were searching for when they landed on the site, the marketing team here wouldn’t be able to subsequently create a page for “abstract modern posters” and thereby capitalize on the traffic.

Marketing teams are now facing these dilemmas daily, simply because the data is no longer available. How many users are you losing every day because you simply aren’t aware how they are searching for you?

Ultimately, this conundrum hurts the whole spectrum: consumers and business owners alike.

How Can Businesses Make Lemonade?

Now that we are facing facts, it’s important to understand it’s not all bad news. Sites that relied solely on keyword research obviously were not paying close enough attention to the quality of their content, and in the end, fantastic text, graphics, videos, and marketing campaigns are what sell products and win the hearts of consumers. It’s not all about the perfect string of keywords.

To combat this lack of research, reestablishing a firm commitment to outstanding, compelling, and engaging content is the first step. Furthermore, don’t forget that keywords aren’t the only metric worth studying.

Analytics like rank tracking data are now gaining more prominence. Rank tracking mirrors back whether or not you’re getting all you can out of the keywords you’ve selected. You can segment keywords and study your search visibility from various angles, thereby understanding overall effectiveness. Several third-party metrics vendors have fabulous new algorithms that showcase rank data alongside other relevant data in order to fill in the blanks left by keyword research. Use this to your advantage.

Page level insight is also increasingly valuable. By studying which of your pages garner the most visits from Google searchers, you can ascertain a lot of demographic awareness about your visitors.

Finally, don’t forget paid search. Google AdWords still contains keyword data, which is another prominent reason folks believe Google has made things more secretive; you now have to pay to access what was once free. This gives added value to your AdWords campaign, however, so when appropriate, leverage paid search results to give your site top level prominence and insight on your selected keywords.

In the end, the mere fact that marketers can access keyword data if they pay for it rather shows Google’s true intent. If privacy were such a massive concern, the data wouldn’t be accessible under any condition. That said, it is at least good news for marketers who need the analytics to validate large shifts in strategy and focus. If you pay for it, the information is still there.

Have your marketing efforts been affected by Google’s keyword data encryption? What are some of the ways you’ve balanced out the loss?

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/11/18/google-killing-keyword/

Top 2013 Marketing Trends – Now Which Will Thrive in 2014?

2013 has been a banner year for internet marketing. Overall, the shift has dominantly swayed to content marketing, touting quality information shares over slick hard sells. Dozens of startups have helped shaped the future landscape, rendering marketers all the more powerful with newfound tools and stats. And, of course, Google continuously mixed things up to keep everyone on their toes.

It’s easy to list a myriad of inventions and innovations in the dynamic online marketing space; the hard part is deciding which trends will matter most in 2014. The list below looks into the proverbial crystal ball and thoughtfully seeks to predict the most relevant marketing advances in the coming year.

Back to Basics: Embracing Simplicity

In the world of big data and a seemingly endless barrage of consumer choices, many brands began rising above the noise in 2013 by embracing (or going back to) the art of simplicity.

According to a study done by the Future Foundation this year, 44% of women and 32% of men prefer to be connected to their mobile phones “at all times.” This is notable only when comparing it to the data from 2008, when 60% of women and 54% of men responded the same.

This is a normal progression in the adoption waves of technology. People jump on trends, get consumed, then fall back to a more simplified and balanced approach. Forward-thinking marketers have capitalized on this trend already.

More and more restaurants like New York’s Rice to Riches and Chicago-based The Meatloaf Bakery are sprouting up everywhere, and their claim to fame is they literally sell only one thing (in this case, rice pudding and meatloaf shaped cupcakes, respectively.) Travel companies like Mr. and Mrs. Smith are offering highly specialized services, like a listing that consists only of luxury romantic hotels. Design, marketing messages, product offerings – you name it, everything is getting simplified.

Why is this trend likely to continue? Because the selection of choices won’t be diminishing anytime soon, if ever. Jim Whyte, an analyst at design consultancy Fitch, breaks it down like this: “This sense of being overwhelmed is a symptom of the multiple messages, choices and responsibilities that people face today, For many brands a focus on simplicity is key to differentiating themselves from this noise.”

Alternative Currencies

It seems everybody and their financial advisor – even Ron Paul – is talking about alternative currencies; especially Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that is starting to see significant adoption from online and even offline retailers and service providers. And boy is it growing in value. Just six months ago, 1 Bitcoin (btc) equaled about $98. Today, it’s worth well over $1,000.

Sites like the dating mecca OKCupid and the website building tool WordPress have been accepting Bitcoin for almost a year. Scores of nonprofits have started accepting Bitcoin as donations, including The Internet Archive. Countries like Canada and Sweden have even started installing Bitcoin ATMs.

The early adoption phase for Bitcoin and the many other alternative currencies is far from over. Innovative and adventurous companies are adopting this trend in droves, and then weaving the usage into whip-smart marketing campaigns.

People are paying big bucks to acquire these businesses, too. Gambling website SatoshiDICE sold for 11.5 million in 2013, proving that this financial revolution is likely here to stay.

The New Mobile Domination

Mobile domination is hardly a new trend, but its expansion into new marketing frontiers continues into 2014. More and more businesses will not only have a prominent small-scene presence, but increasingly, many will solely operate in the mobile space.

Is it really time to go small-screen specific? It is. It really is. A 2012 Pew Internet survey revealed that 55 percent of Americans have used a smartphone to access the web, and a staggering 31 percent say it’s their primary means. That was 12 long months ago; you better believe the 2013 results are going nowhere but up.

More poignant to marketers and business owners in the next year is focusing on mobile-only campaigns and SEO efforts. If your business is in the least bit prominent on small screens, gear up to market solely to those users and attempt to engage them all the more. Furthermore, it will become increasingly necessary to adapt your homepage and purchase pages to a mobile-centric experience. Finally, consider launching a full-on mobile SEO strategy, with targeted keywords and content crafted specifically for mobile users.

Remarketing Has Its Day

The term “remarketing” is becoming all the rage in the latter part of 2013, and for good reason. It references campaigns with target customers who have showed an interest in your product or company, but who have not yet purchased. Because it’s far more effective to convert almost-customers to brand new recruits, this trend is likely to see a dramatic surge in 2014.

Remarketing campaigns can take any shape or form. They are highly popular in the paid search space, with some agencies offering remarketing packages that go after customers who abandoned a website before completing the purchase or sign-up step. They are also employed in various other ways, as the focus on retention marketing overall gains momentum over the traditional acquisition strategies. Check your metrics to see how many folks you could reach out to that have visited your site without converting; chances are you have droves of semi-interested parties that, with the right incentive, could become bona fide customers.

These are just a few of the trends that are likely to continue to blaze a trail in 2014. Which tactics did you employ this year that you will include in next year’s strategy?

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/12/top-2013-marketing-trends-will-thrive-2014/

LinkedIn’s SlideShare Gets Makeover to Increase User Engagement

LinkedIn’s SlideShare feature has been a hit with members since its introduction, with more than 15 million presentations uploaded to-date, but the social network for professionals wants to see even more engagement.

LinkedIn image

LinkedIn has announced an overhaul to the site — which is used for sharing, rating and commenting on business presentations —to make it easier for its members to use.

“We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from you about ways we can improve the SlideShare experience, and today we’d like to unveil the latest iteration of our homepage,” reads ablog post from SlideShare associate product manager John Loof.

“Our new homepage is designed to make it easier to discover, share and present on SlideShare, putting your professional content center-stage, while giving you new ways to find and discover content around specific areas of interest.”

SlideShare now enables its users to like, share and save presentations directly from the home page. It also offers larger, more visually-appealing thumbnails of presentations to increase usage and engagement on the site.

A new ‘topics’ section includes curated content in the site’s most popular categories in a bid to take “the guesswork out of finding some of the most engaging and valuable content across SlideShare,” Loof writes.

“You’ll still recognize sections such as ‘Today’s Top SlideShares’ and ‘Featured,’ but they’ve been redesigned for a more visually engaging experience as well.”

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/06/linkedins-slideshare-gets-makeover-increase-user-engagement/

10 Tactics to Perfect Your Online Market Research

By Seowebmount

Marketing research is the process of gathering information about products and consumers that aids you in connecting with your customers to provide them with the products and services they want and need.  Effective marketing research can help your business keep one step ahead of your competitors.

Market research enables you to learn from the consumer and find out exactly what you can do to meet their needs.  Gathering and analyzing all this data is no easy task, but the techniques below can help you gain more insight into the consumers’ needs.

Keyword Research — You can find out a lot of information about your market area just by going to a search engine and typing in relevant keywords.  By doing a keyword search, you can find out the exact phrases and words people are using to find sites in your market area. You can also find out how many times those phrases are used per month, what keywords your competitors are using, and how many websites there are for those particular keywords.  You can use your research to refine your keywords and enable more people to find your site.

Study Competitors — Always keep an eye on your competitors. Study their sites, their ordering process, their promotions and marketing methods. Do a customer service experiment by contacting them through their form or e-mail address and see how they handle your questions, comments, feedback, etc.  Staying on top of your competitors will keep you from falling behind and losing customers.

Online Survey — Surveys are one of the most common methods of market research.  By doing online surveys you can find out what consumers are looking for, what they like and don’t like, what keeps them on a website and what makes them leave quickly as well as other valuable information. Keep the survey fairly short so it takes just minutes to complete. Offer a free gift upon completion of the survey.

Discussion Groups — Join groups that involve your area of interest.  Take note of information discussed, opinions given and any other information you can take in from the participants of the group. Get involved and offer advice and assistance when you can.

Message Boards — Message boards are similar to discussion groups.  Post questions, ideas, thoughts and see how people respond to them.  Learning to be a good researcher can mean a lot for your business.

Google Analytics — Google analytics will enable you to learn exactly what people do when they come to your site. What pages do they visit? How long do they stay on each page?  From what page do they exit and enter? What days get the most visits?  What time of day is the most active?  Gathering and analyzing all this data can help you make improvements to your site that could make the difference your business needs to propel forward.

Blogs — Because blogs are usually updated more often and are more interactive than regular sites, take the time to visit blogs to collect information based on the opinions and statements of the blog writers and also the people who leave comments. There are blog specific search engines such as Technorati to help you target the information you need.

Feedback Research — Check with local and online business organizations such as the Better Business Bureau to collect information they have on your business.  Also, be sure to add a feedback form to your site.  Pay close attention to all feedback and use that information to help your business.  Do not dismiss complaints or negative comments. They can offer you tremendous help.

Social Media — Social media sites open up endless possibilities for us to conduct market research.  There are many ways you can gain insight into your market area.  Track trends, take advantage of real-time opinions and comments and use data to learn how to tweak and refine your marketing strategies.  Most social media sites will offer tools and built-in features to allow you to perform your research almost immediately.

Free Tools — The Internet is well-supplied with free tools to help you accomplish your market research effectively. Google offers a free keyword research tool, free analytics, Google Trendsand many more. Many free survey tools such as Survey Monkey are available to help you with your research.  Whichever tactic you are using, do a search and you will probably find numerous free tools to help you get it done more quickly and efficiently.

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/05/10-tactics-perfect-online-market-research/

Google’s Essential Free Tools for Site Owners

By Seowebmount

Google doesn’t win many popularity contest these days, but it still deserves kudos for its impressive suite of useful (and free!) small business applications. They may be mired in SEO controversy, but it’s hard to deny the universal efficiency of their many essential tools.

Mainstays like Gmail are now commonplace, but there are likely many offerings that your company either isn’t using at all, or to its highest potential. Check out the list below; you’ll probably find a new favorite, can’t-live-without-it app, and/or discover features you didn’t know existed on those you’re already using. And yes, everything listed below is completely free.

Google Calendar: Everybody knows about Google Calendar, but are you using it to its full potential? You can obviously schedule meetings and events galore, but consider using it to remind you of editorial dates, payroll deliveries, and any other timely and recurring tasks. You can set up alerts that are sent to your inbox or mobile phone too. The two-way syncing makes your schedule accessible anywhere, on any device.

Google Alerts: All entrepreneurs need to stay current in their industry, and ‘Google Alerts makes it easy. Alerts can be on any keyword or topic, and relevant content published that day or week is sent straight to your inbox or RSS reader. You can set up alerts to follow industry trends, be notified every time your company is mentioned, and keep excellent tabs on your competition.

Google+ Hangouts: The perfect communication platform for virtual teams, Google Hangouts allows users to turn any chat session into a ten person video discussion. Additional tools like Cacoo provide real-time online drawing, and SlideShare lets users collaborate and share presentations. Hangouts is more versatile than Skype, and is truly one of coolest offerings from Google to date.

Google Analytics: If you run an online business, you absolutely need a Google Analytics account. The information you can ascertain about your visitors’ habits is indispensable. Analytics shares obvious stats like traffic, uniques, time spent, and bounce rates, and other equally valuable metrics like demographics, geographical data, stats on social engagement, operating systems and platforms, sources of traffic, inbound links, the impact of your top content pieces, and indicators on your best tactics for conversions.

Google Webmaster Tools: Used in tandem with Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools are essential to the health and productivity of your website. These tools will help you determine if your site is configured correctly by assessing site links, URL parameters, and domain canonization. They also look at the health of your site via blocked URLs, not-found errors, and other problems with site crawling. Webmaster Tools even offer suggestions on how to better optimize your site, via HTML improvements, site maps, and other resources.

Google Voice: If you’re looking to consolidate your phone numbers into one central location and enjoy a host of free features, Google Voice is a very valuable tool. Messages can be transcribed and sent to your inbox or cell, and for those who value privacy, a Google number is a great alternative to sharing your personal home or office line. You can even measure the effectiveness of your on-site phone number placement, as Google Voice will track the number and frequency of calls, helping you determine if changes are required.

Google Places: If you run a local business, Google Places is a must. By keeping an updated and relevant Google Places profile, you can get your business above the organic search results for your main keyword searches. To do so, claim or add your Google Places listing, complete your profile to the last detail (photos and video help tremendously), and most of all, ask your customers to leave reviews so you can increase your chances of a page one listing.

Google Gadgets: Google Gadgets allows users to extend the functionality of their Google Account, and even their website and Chrome browser. This comprehensive list of gadgets is listed in categories like tools, news, games, finance, sports, politics, and technologies. Chances are there are several gadgets in here you aren’t using now that could be immensely useful.

Google Docs: Every company has a host of documents shared by various team members; if you’re still using the archaic email method to send and share, use Google Docs to increase efficiency and security. Docs can be created and shared in real-time, tracking who makes what change, and when. Collaborate with others, or give read-only rights and keep the content locked. Docs allows you to create word files, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and various other widely used formats.

Google Drive: If you’re ready to take your documentation to the cloud, Google Drive is a fabulous option. The first 5GB are totally free, and additional space is just $2.49 a month for 25GB. Create private files, or share individual documents or entire folders with a single click.

Google Chrome: Think Google Chrome is just another browser? Not a chance. Yes, it’s a fast and user-friendly way to access the web. But Chrome also lets you do things like track simple social metrics, get Google+ notifications instantly, and access valuable SEO metrics for any site you visit.

Timeless Tips for Search Engine Optimization in 2014

By Seowebmount

The New Year — 2014 — is just a few weeks away. This means, even though we are not yet through with our search engine optimization check list for this year, we have to start focusing on the SEO factors that will play a big role in the coming year.

Some aspects of SEO in the current or even previous years will remain constant, but there will be new factors which we need to consider for successful SEO to make our mark as online marketers in 2014.

The following tips will help you get the best results out of your search engine optimization strategy in 2014:

Watch out for Google +:

Google+ is getting more and more integrated into Google’s search experience. Don’t be surprised to see more of Google’s services becoming tightly merged. Start building up your Google+ presence with healthy followers and engagement. Also, the activity on a Google+ account will have a larger impact on search rankings. Hence, when using a Google+ account for your business, try to connect with other people in your industry and post helpful but unique, industry-relevant content.

Create a structured data markup scheme

Having a structured data markup scheme for your website is very important. Make sure you’ve got your address (physical and e-mail), reviews, products and other data laid out clearly for Google. This will make it easier for Google to crawl your site and, therefore, make it easier to rank.

Focus on local and social:

The word is out — searchers want local results for most of their search queries. People use search engines for research but they want to buy locally. Consequently, there would be a wider roll-out of the carousel on all local categories. It makes sense to optimize content, citations, links and offline marketing for better local search result pages in Google.

Also, start building online social communities on social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for your local brand. Engage your followers and answer inquiries and messages at least once a day. Build relationships — brand will follow.

Invest in a mobile-friendly site:

We are witnessing the biggest trend in mobile usage with 30 percent of referrals and growth coming from mobile now. This is only going to grow in 2014. Invest in a quick-loading, mobile-friendly site for your business; it affects your Google rankings.

Play by the new algorithms:

Google makes more changes in its algorithms (Knowledge Graphs, Local Carousel, Google Now, Hummingbird) than people are capable of coping with. That is why it’s necessary to stay abreast of algorithm changes.

• Reviews are important for your local search results and company reputation. They are influencing rankings. But going overboard on fake reviews might not be such a good idea. Yelp, CitySearch and other companies are making persistent efforts to reduce fake reviews; it won’t be long before Google updates it algorithms to detect the fakes.
• Don’t indulge in manipulative citations and spammy link building. The year 2014 might see Google taking action against sites that create manipulative citations and links.
• Also, it’s no longer just about targeting those specific keywords and phrases to ramp up your ranking. With the Hummingbird algorithm, users can now run searches for longer phrases and still get faster and more accurate results.

Remember, Content is still the king

At the end of the day, content still rules. Create great, unique and engaging content on a regular basis. Do the necessary formatting according to Google’s best practices and then share it through social channels.
SEO is under a big transition. The winners will be the ones that adopt the quickest and play by the rules.

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/12/03/timeless-tips-search-engine-optimization-2014/