Pimp My Keywords

Crucial Tips For Getting More Web Exposure With a Press Release

By Camella Lobo
Content & Social Media Strategist

Using an online newswire to distribute a press release is an effective way to promote awareness of your company and drive website traffic. But before you spend hundreds of dollars sending out digital releases, you should tailor your tactics to garner the most exposure.

By determining your objectives for the release ahead of time, you can concentrate your efforts (and your funds) to meet the right marketing needs, whether it's SEO, brand exposure or targeting a specific region.

Do Your Homework

An imperative part of getting the most out of a press release online is knowing what features come along with each service's standard newswire release. If your objective is SEO, it's even more important to know which template features a service (PR Web, Marketwire, PR Newswire, etc.) offers.

In this case, it would be helpful to email or call a newswire associate and run down the following checklist:

How many embeddable links does the service allow in a release?

The more the better. Link building has been called the "holy grail" of SEO. The more links to your site you send into the Internet, the stronger your site. But quantity isn't necessarily quality. A point below will explain that further.

Can you create links with anchor text within the release?

This is the most important question you should ask. Creating anchor text with targeted keywords linked to your site is a great tactic to boost your SEO efforts. There are several newswires that offer this feature but others that don't at all. Make sure you go with a service that allows you to embed targeted links into anchor text. Also, the same rules for using keywords on web pages apply to press releases. So think about what you want to target before you write.

Where is the release syndicated?

Your press release will get picked up and published on other relevant websites. But the strength of the link within your press release is dependant upon where it is aggregated. For instance, getting your release picked up by Yahoo! News is more optimal than syndication on a tiny news site. Get a list of their top syndicators.

Is it possible to target specific industries and regions?

Most online newswire services will allow you to target specific cities, states, trades, etc. You want to optimize your release distribution to include the industries and regions that are most applicable to your content and keywords. Find what kind of targeting the service offers and if your content fits those criteria.

Releases, Web Style

Once you've decided on a service that fits your SEO needs, you can focus on writing great web content that people might actually read. Look, press releases are boring. Try to not fall into the pattern that everyone else does. Find something interesting to say. Here's your chance to say something different -- something people might actually want to share.

Find a news angle.

First rule here - don't be lame. You know what is news related and what is not. For instance, you are a nonprofit that has been working with water conservation for years and there is a drought. This would be a good time to put out a press release. Here's a bad time - You sell bicycles and a movie was just released featuring a scene where someone is riding a bicycle. Use your best judgment.

Write content for the web.

Your press release is on the web. Write to fit the way people read on the web. You know the drill - short sentences, bullet points, direct language. Brush up on web writing and tailor your content accordingly.

Write to your audience.

Press releases on the web are no longer filtered through editors or reporters. They. Are. On. The. Internet. People can Google them. If you're releasing a new product for kids, why are you talking like a sedated robot? It's a fine line. At the end of the day, you want a journalist to write about your product and get the info they need, but you should use the press release to extend the tone of your brand, not kill it.

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Camella Lobo is a content and social media strategist with Internet Exposure, a Minneapolis web design agency.

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"Pimp My Keywords" is a blog covering all things Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media and Pay Per Click. The blog is written by Purple Trout, LLC, a Cincinnati Search Engine Optimization firm, now celebrating its sixth-year in business!

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 136

There are plenty of opportunities for higher rankings on targeted keywords in Google and other search engines.

However, picking your battles - and the right keywords - is a major key for success.

Instead of going after a competitive keyword such as "leather belts" (which has a ton of online competition), consider targeting some lower hanging fruit by pursuing a longer-tail keyword such as "hand-made leather belts" or "USA hand-made leather belts."

See the difference?

Often, businesses surrender their SEO battles because they don't have any victories to celebrate. Therefore, instead of picking the hardest keywords, try selecting a few non-competitive keywords.

 

Cincinnati SEO Services Offered At Purple Trout, LLC

Are you considering hiring an SEO firm for your company's website?

We are Purple Trout, LLC - an ethical search engine optimization consulting firm - that earns high rankings for our clients in Google and other search engines.

We specialize in all things SEO:

• Organic (natural) search engine optimization, including site assessments, keyword selection, strategy and a strong inbound link building program.
• Search engine marketing, also known as Pay Per Click.
• Multilingual search engine optimization - we call it "search engine optimization international" or "SEOi" - which involves keyword, website translation and multilingual SEO to earn higher rankings in international search engines.
• Social media consulting and strategy.
• Online reputation management.

We have been in business for six years and have an onsite staff of seven full-time employees. We are located near Newport On the Levee in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

Recently, Steve Phillips, president of Purple Trout, LLC was interviewed for an article "Topping the Web" for Cincinnati's "Business Courier," a local weekly business publication.

Our client base includes local, regional, national and international clients located in New York, Florida, Los Angeles, Mountain View, Seattle, Germany, United Kingdom, and Costa Rica...just to name a few.

We serve a variety of clients including small businesses to corporations to S & P 500 firms. Our clients include legal, medical, bridal, gifts, lawn care, HVAC, dental, manufacturing, environmental, marketing, tourism, distribution, non-profit, electronics and more.

At Purple Trout, LLC, we follow the guidelines and ethics set forth by Google and other search engines. We do not practice any "black hat" techniques (which may include keyword stuffing, hidden keywords, hidden links or any other dishonest methods). Not only do these "techniques" fail but they could also cause your website to be punished or banned from the search engine index.

We fully explain our SEO processes each step of the way, so our clients know and understand what we are doing to improve search engine rankings and traffic to their website. Ask us for case studies of how we helped our clients improve search engine rankings, website traffic and sales. 

Each month we offer a free educational webinar on search engine optimization. Our website includes SEO videos; podcasts; whitepapers; newsletters and more - all at no charge. Visit our website at www.purpletrout.com to learn more.

We also offer a free, no-obligation SEO Analysis of your website, so you can see how search engines are currently viewing your company's website. Ask for your free SEO Analysis on our website.

For more information, call us at (866) 837-7095 or complete an Inquiry Form on our website.

The Importance Of Social Media Monitoring

By Michael Cohn

As important as social media is for your business, once you have built all of your social media profiles and are engaging other people online regularly, it is equally important to monitor the effectiveness of social media for your business.

In this age of sophisticated technology, even if you don't have a desire to be involved with social media for your business, you really don't have a choice. You have to keep up with your customers and your competition. If you don't get involved, you will be giving up your edge and other business people will shine in the eyes of potential and current customers and you will be left behind.

It is extraordinarily important to have an effective and assertive social media marketing campaign in which your branding is solid and your business offerings are highlighted and appear compelling and attractive. Monitoring the results of your social media marketing campaign is equally important. You need to keep your finger on the pulse and have as much control as possible over the flow of your business success so that it will be extremely easy to identify what is working and what is not working.

In addition to monitoring the results of your social media efforts, it is also important to have a good understanding of who is saying what about you and your business and exactly where those people are saying what they are saying. It is important because you will want to respond to them as soon as you read what they have written.

When it comes to the social media monitoring tools, there are some terms that it will be helpful to become acquainted with, including:

Influence: If you have customers who have strong opinions about your brand, it is essential to understand how those customers influence others. You will want to know

• How many followers they have
• How many retweets they get
• How many comments they get as a result of their blog posts
• How many outside links point back to their blog 

Many of the monitoring tools that don't cost money measure those things and all of the monitoring tools that cost money include it.

• Sentiment: Are the comments that you are receiving positive or negative? Most of the monitoring tools used today have the capacity to distinguish positive from negative (assign sentiment) automatically. This is very useful if you have a brand that gets a high volume of mentions; however, it is not as useful if your brand doesn't get that sort of attention. In that case, manual verification is recommended before you make any final decisions based on the influence data.
• Workflow: The definition of workflow in this context is assigning, responding, and tracking social media. If your workflow is effective, it will help you to avoid double responses and potential opportunities that you may have missed. 
• Volume: Volume is the amount of buzz that is surrounding your brand and your offerings. Many of the monitoring tools are able to record volume based on specific keywords over time. This is a great way for you to measure how effective your marketing efforts and your social media marketing campaign are when combined with sentiment. You can understand a great deal by watching the spikes in the graphs that are generated by your monitoring tool.

The following are some of the most effective social media monitoring tools that are being used today.

• Google Alerts: This is an extremely popular and effective social media monitoring tool. Google Alerts allows you to create keyword searches for the name of your business or the names of your competitors. You will then receive the results of your searches in your inbox or through your RSS feeds. If you combine Google Alerts with iGoogle (Google's portal), you can build a concise page that will contain the most current results for the keywords that you have chosen. You should definitely consider using Google Alerts. It doesn't cost any money and it is very easy to set up.
• Twitter Advanced Search: When you use the advanced feature of Twitter's search tool, you can generate very powerful searches. Once your search has been set up, you can save the search terms as an RSS feed so that the information that you are receiving is always current. 
• HootSuite: You can manage multiple social media accounts across LinkedIn, Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and MySpace. Even though HootSuite is actually an account management tool, it has a very large user base and has powerful functionality. When you have updates, you can add them to more than one social media profile at a time, click through, automate updates and monitor your buzz. 
• Twazzup: This tool focuses on Twitter. It puts everything on one page. Among its features are influencers, top links and sentiment.
• TweetDeck: This is available for Mac, iPad, iPhone, Linux and Windows. TweetDeck is a good tool to manage your social media profiles across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Foursquare, and Google Buzz. 
• Social mention: This is a combination of metrics that are simple to read (including reach, sentiment, strength (volume and day), and passion). Social mention will track Twitter, blogs and blog comments, news, images, audio and video. You can save your searches as an RSS feed so that you can continue to have current information.
• Icerocket: Icerocket allows you to watch over Twitter, blogs, news, the web, images, and many other things. Some of the features are a listing of mentions and a topic cloud. Icerocket also gives you the ability to bookmark your search results and allows you to return to them later. 
• Addict-o-matic: This is a consolidated page that matches searches in Twitter, Digg, Flickr, blogs, and more. Addict-o-matic has a one-page dashboard, is free of charge, and does an amazing job of placing all of your "buzz" in the same place. 
• Boardtracker: This works by grabbing buzz from forums and message boards. A list of some of Boardtracker's features includes an influencer list and a topic cloud. A slightly negative feature is that there are advertisements mixed in with your search results. However, you can purchase a premium version that will not have the advertisements as part of the search results. This is a really handy tool if your customers are more active on forums and message boards than any other type of social media. 
• Seesmic: This is similar to HootSuite. The two tools have the capability to manage many accounts at once in common across many of the social media channels.

Conclusion

Social media monitoring tools and the metrics that they bring to you are extremely important to the success of your social media marketing campaign as well as the ultimate success of your business. If you don't pay attention to how your business is doing, you are really only doing half of the job. It is the difference between walking around in the dark and having an illuminated path that allows you to have an understanding and an awareness of how your business is doing and how you can continually make improvements that will bring you more and more exposure and a rock-solid reputation.

Many companies are using social media monitoring to strengthen their businesses. Those business people are savvy enough to realize the importance of social media, how it positively influences their businesses and how critical the monitoring piece of the strategy is to their ultimate success.

We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. Please contact us at CompuKol Communications for further discussion on how we might be able to assist you and your team.

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 135

Great content always gets good results from your prospects, customers and search engines.

However, there are times when you might think you're running out of good ideas for good content.

Never fear.

A great idea for articles, blogs, website content, etc., is the never-ending Questions-and-Answers opportunity.

Just think of all the questions prospects and clients have asked you recently; last month; last year, etc. They asked you a question about your service; product or business and you answered the question.

Q&A pieces can be simple blog posts; short articles on your website or in your digital newsletter.

Why Businesses Need A Social Media Strategy

By Kathy Nicholls
Certified Inbound Marketing Professional

Every business needs a marketing plan that works. In the past, that meant figuring out where to invest your marketing dollars so that you got the best return on the investment. Often, that was done with a print ad, with ads or listings in the Yellow Pages, perhaps through the use of telemarketing, or through the use of radio and television. In today's world, all of the rules have changed.

Customers are changing how they connect to businesses. Today, it's not uncommon to find that more people use the internet to search for businesses and services as their primary means of finding information. It's faster, and the search engines make finding a local business easier every day. What that means for your business is you have to be visible in these spaces.

How Important is Social Media for Businesses?

If you're on the fence and not sure if entering this new way of connecting to your customers, consider this:

* 94 million Americans use the Internet daily (nearly 1/3 of the total population)

* 63% of those access search engine sites daily

* 64% of Americans use Internet search as the primary way to search for local businesses

As an example, if I am looking for a groomer for my dog, I don't use the phone book or the newspaper. I go to Google and enter "pet groomers in Pueblo, Colorado." That pulls up a list for me based on my location for businesses that offer these services. Sadly, not many local businesses are taking advantage of this.

Businesses who develop an online presence will find themselves connecting to more customers.

Developing the Right Strategy

It's important to analyze your industry to decide what the best strategy is for your business. Perhaps your customers read blogs. Even though blogs are becoming a more popular way of connecting with customers, the competition is still low. This means you may have a good opportunity. The use of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn increases daily. Customers are seeking businesses and brands to connect with using these channels. If your business isn't there, those customers will end up connecting with someone else.

It's About Relationships

In the end, creating a good social media strategy means creating a way for your business to have a relationship with your customer base. That relationship is perhaps the most important investment you can make to grow your business.

Does your business have a social media strategy? If not, today's the day to get started developing one.

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Kathy Nicholls is a certified inbound marketing professional working with local businesses to grow your business through the use of a social media strategy. She isthe president of Nicholls Consulting Services. Businesses in the Southern Colorado area can also find information on making social media work for your businesses at Pueblo Connect. Your customers are in this space, you should be too!

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 134

While everyone wants to earn one-way, inbound links to their website, there are some rules to consider when thinking links.

Avoid spammy links. These would be links from websites that contains Viagra, Texas Hold em and business opportunities. The ads are spam and, therefore, you are guilty by association. Even if these links are free, don't ask for them.

Avoid links from "throw-away websites." These are .org and .info sites as they are typically owned by a spammer. Most .org and .info owners also buy the .com website and use the .org and .info sites to try to build links to their own .com site. When in doubt about a link from a .org or .info website, check out the base domain name with the .com suffix and see if anything catches your eye.

So what websites do you trust?

Typically, you can trust a link from a college/university; an industry expert, or even someone who is a well-known category expert.

Links from .edu and .gov sites are good links and carry good trust value.

Seven SEO Success Tips for 2011

Purple Trout, LLC, a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consulting firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio, is offering an online webinar to help businesses get a head start on 2011.

“Seven SEO Success Tips For 2011” is set for Wednesday, January 19 from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Admission is free, but space is limited.

In this webinar, attendees will learn the landscape for SEO in 2011, including changes in search engines, video, online maps, link building and more.

“Search engine optimization has changed so much in 2010 that some techniques used earlier last year are no longer valid,” says Steve Phillips, president at Purple Trout, LLC. “This webinar will help get your website on the right track for 2011 by creating a simple, yet useful strategy that will earn results for your website and business."

New techniques presented in the webinar include local search engine optimization and how video should become an important part of your SEO and social media efforts. How to earn relevant inbound links to your website and strategies for using Google Places and other online listing websites will also be part of the webinar discussion

This webinar will be presented in a simple, easy-to-understand, non-geek format (with no sales pitch). Webinar registration is required.

For more information, contact Purple Trout, LLC at (866) 837-7095 or visit www.purpletrout.com.

6 Signs An Agency Gets Social Media

By Camella Lobo
Content and Social Media Strategist

We talk to our clients often about what social media can do for their businesses, online and off. Most of the time we find they know they should be using those channels, but they're not quite sure how.

The value of using social media as a marketing tool is constantly evolving. But there are still substantial principles that pertain to using social media in conjunction with a website that have surfaced over past couple of years.

Below are some ways you can tell if an agency has a good, basic understanding of how to use social media to drive traffic to your website and increase conversions once people are there.

1- They use social media as a channel in an existing strategic marketing plan.

Social media should be used as a tool, not the answer for a lack of goals and objectives. Your agency should be coming up with a plan for social media that integrates with your existing messaging strategy, content and audience. If there isn't one, you've got bigger things to worry about than not having a Facebook page.

The agency you choose should be emphasizing social media as a channel for your content marketing and promotions and an additional way to engage your targeted audience with your great content.

Don't have content to post? Before you start thinking about getting 5,000 Twitter followers, focus on finding out what will make people want to follow you, and maybe even become your customer. Chances are, it's not your logo or the number of times you tweet about your solar-powered lawnmowers in an hour. You must create content that will compel them to want more from you. This means you have to sell more than just a product.

2- They create sites with pages and content that is shareable.

You know you want your website to be "social media friendly" but what does that really mean besides making sure its URLs work right when you post them on Facebook?

The first thing your agency should do is make sure specific pages of your website are equipped with social media sharing tools. And not just every page, only those you've identified as pages your potential customers will want to share with people in their networks.

For instance, it wouldn't make sense to embed an instant share widget for Facebook and Twitter on a Terms of Agreement page. But adding share tools to a product page would be a strategic move. In one click, your customer could potentially share your product with hundreds of people in their network and ask them what they think about it. You wouldn't believe the high percentage of people who rely on their trusted networks for advice on everything from buying a new camera to moving to another city!

3- They integrate social media feeds and functionality, when appropriate.

If you ask me, there is nothing worse than landing on a website only to find a virtual waste dump of social media feeds, pointless widgets and every blog post the company has ever written flashing in blinking lights on the homepage. No one wants to see this when they walk through your door - trust me. There is a big difference between an interactive site and a lack of editing.

Use good judgment on the homepage and don't bury your main calls to action for the sake of gaining a follower on Twitter. And while your at it, let them "Like" you on Facebook right from your website. Your prospect is there because you invited them. Don't release them into the social media jungle as soon as they arrive. Chances are, they may end up "Liking" you on Facebook, but the moment someone posts a photo in their newsfeed, your customer, and your sale, are as good as gone.

Solution? Make social media icons subtly prominent. There is a middle ground. If someone wants to follow you on Twitter, they will find the icon, even without all of the blinking lights, feeds and arrows.

4- They emphasize your website as a home base for all of your content.

This obviously relates to the first section of this post. You want all of the most meaningful engagements your customer has with your brand as close to your product as possible. Cultivating a community on an island is not recommended. You must create content that sends them back to the homeland - your website.

This relies on the creation of meaningful, quality content that people want to click on, read and share. Don't blog on Facebook. Blog from your website and market that content through your Facebook page. The idea of social media is to use it as a tool to drive traffic, so you must make your website your customers' ultimate destination. Think of your website as the Hawaii of your Internet marketing plan. All efforts should end on your shore.

5- They don't guarantee you a number of Likes or followers.

I'll try not to use the analogy of buying friends here. Well, I guess that means I just did. You get the picture. If an agency guarantees your page a number of likes or followers, something is wrong. It's one thing to project follower numbers based on marketing initiatives and promotional contests, it's another to sell you a package of 500 followers without a single campaign or any content. Be wary.

The purpose of using social media in marketing is to create meaningful engagement with people who want more from your brand than just knowing when the next sale is. It doesn't matter if you have 20 followers or 7,000, if none of them are engaging with you (or becoming your customer, for that matter) your message and efforts are completely in vain.

6- They keep up to date on the latest developments and trends in social media.

It seems every day there's a hot new way to use Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube, you name it, to engage your customers and market your brand. And these platforms change and become more robust on a regular basis. All of this means the agency you choose should be absolutely enthusiastic about online marketing and how social media can be used to accomplish your marketing objectives.

And the key isn't just to know about the latest trends and developments, it's about knowing whether or not the social bells and whistles will work for your business. At the end of the day, a holistic and comprehensive approach to online marketing that includes the use of social media channels is optimal. It can be hard to resist the temptation to navigate social media without a compass but eventually your returns will let you know when it's time to reposition your efforts.

Continuing education from valuable resources and an in-depth knowledge of things like SEO, content strategy and user experience are the backbone of a successful social media strategy.

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Camella Lobo has written several articles on social media and content strategy. Her blog, Above the Fold, includes recents posts on why you should have a custom Facebook landing page and creative 404 error pages

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 133

As a business owner, did you set any New Year's resolutions for your website and online marketing efforts?

Here are a few quick resolutions you might want to consider in 2011:

• Update your old, stale, boring website. No, you don't need a complete redesign, but give some consideration to updating your content; adding a fresh photo or two, and please take down that "new" press release dated May 5, 2009 (it's no longer news!).
• Conduct keyword research and target the best keywords for your market. If your target audience is local customers, focus on 3-5 great local keywords.
• Get your business in Google Places. This is a must.
• Start a blog. Write something in your blog at least once a week. Ask your staff if they'd be interested in contributing (I bet they would!).
• Give some serious consideration to some level of social media. While there's no rush to do everything today, dip your toe in the water and try one. Facebook or LinkedIn would be a great start. Later, you can add Twitter.
• Videos are hot. Buy a Flip camera and create a simple video for your company. It can be a product demo, a "how-to" video or maybe an introduction of your business. Post it on YouTube and on your website. 

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Purple Trout, LLC is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consulting firm specializing in higher rankings, more clicks and increased traffic to our clients websites. We currently service local, national and international clients  by offering SEO, Pay Per Click and Multilingual SEO opportunities.