search engine marketing

I have a confession to make.  I hate Google+.  Thanks to some business connections, I was among the first to receive an invitation when the service launched, and at the time, I was excited to give it a try.  Two years later, I find myself as unimpressed as I was when I first logged in.  As social networking sites go, G+ is cumbersome and inconvenient.

Even people who are unfamiliar with search engine optimization often maintain a vague association between SEO and link building. A customer purchasing internet marketing services for the first time or a small business owner attempting to optimize his or her own site may not be familiar with the specifics, but chances are, they realize that links are going to be an important part of their efforts.

Over the past several months, Facebook has been releasing more and more information about Graph Search, a new product that FB says has been in the works for several years.  This leaves us with two big questions.

1. Does Facebook’s new search format have what it takes to compete with traditional search engines like Google and Bing?  

and

We just love this new infographic from SEOBook.com, detailing the many reasons why search engine optimization is a costly – but necessary – aspect of any internet marketing plan. 

Online marketing infographic by SEO Book

SEO Spammers vs The “White Hat” Brigade

You know that your business depends on its website to connect with customers and create sales opportunities so it may get your attention when you see an unsolicited email making such claims as:

“We've noticed that your site isn't ranking as well as it could in major search engines, but we can get you first page rankings….”

It might surprise you to learn that even Google receives these emails!  They say: 

Google recently retired UncleSam and other vertical specialty search engines that were popular among government contractors, but that doesn’t mean vendors should take it easy when it comes to search marketing.  While GSA schedules, preferred contractors, and other forms of inside networking may have been the key to making connections in the past, Google is now a likely resource for federal, state, and local government agencies to leverage when they need to contract with a vendor for services and support.  

#GetMeMoreBusinessIDon’tCareHow!

With all the Search Marketing trinkets out there, it can get overwhelming for small businesses to manage and maximize their search and social campaigns. Google has added one more item to their ever increasing repertoire, but this time, you don’t need to rack your brain—we do!

You may have recently heard about Google's new frightening algorithm: Google Panda. This new technique aims to promote the highest-quality sites while also ensuring that sites with low-quality content not only remain unnoticed, but are also punished. And they are punished in such a way that recovery is nearly impossible. That's right, you may never get your ranking and traffic back!

You know, it’s just plain confusing. …Let’s be real. I mean first we have the new insta search, then PPC (pay-per-click) ads for the first three spots…then more ads on the right side…then the organic listings of the term you were TRYING to search for…but WAIT>>>> what about the new Maps listings?

(Thank you, Google, for moving the Maps icon to the right and not pushing my results even FARTHER down the page!)

Raise your hand if any of that rant made sense!

And Mr. ImageWorks creates a new program to leverage this for your business!

We are talking tagging that allows local businesses (and non-local with multiple locations) to promote their business and rank higher in local search results marked by the famous “red balloon.” No, this is not a reference to Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” from the ‘80s, although we do like the song for “’80s night.”