SEO Objective For Links

The number #1 objective for performing any SEO for your website is ranking higher so that you receive more visitors. Google is the number #1 most used search engine. One of the top priorities for Google is to deliver the most relevant results that are authentic and answer the users search query. They have initiated algorithmic changes recently that aim to delivery these results. Matt Cutts, head of Google's Web Spam team continues to drive this SEO message to all web masters.

One of the key SEO algorithmic factors is still links. A few years back best SEO practices used to be buying links, trading links, guest posting on blogs and other media sites etc. These SEO techniques were quickly gamed by those in the SEO world and many links, especially from link farms and directories were not authentic. As a result of Google's Panda update, links have become scrutinized for authenticity and relevancy. Many sites were hurt from this because they tried to game the system and had hundreds and some, even thousands of bad links according to the new Panda update.

For SEO and content marketing to be effective, links must be authentically garnered. If you produce great content, search results will come. Matt Cutts stated this recently, "...the objective is not to make your links appear natural, the objective is that your links are Natural."

All the Best,


Michael Newhouse
WCN group
wcngroup@gmail.com

3 Major Content Marketing Mistakes

Content Marketing is one of the hottest buzz words and trends for 2013. As we know with online marketing trends, everybody from major agencies to novices jump in and most, with no experience or preparation. Content marketing has suddenly become even more important due to the recent announcement from Google stripping all organic data as a result insisting all marketers provide content that is relevant, trustworthy and engaging.

The 3 Major Content Marketing Mistakes:

1. Sales or promotional driven. No gimmicks. No buy right now. No Limited offers.

2. Non-Relevant. If the content does not resonate or engage the target market it will die a quick death online. Nobody will see it and it will be deemed irrelevant. Create content that is useful.

3. More the merrier. Content marketing does not mean push out as much as you can marketing. This is a tactic of Black Hat SEO and Google is on to this with penalizing sites that push duplicate articles.

Keep this in mind as you are developing content and an annual content marketing strategy. The Internet police are cracking down and those that will succeed have valuable, engaging and relevant content to share.

Please add to my list of Major Content Marketing Mistakes in the comments section below.

    

Michael Newhouse

WCNgroup is a Strategic Marketing and Branding agency founded by Michael Newhouse. Services include brand identity, demographic discovery, marketing planning, business plan development, experiential campaign execution, digital marketing and social media.

SEO Is Not DEAD! Just Disfigured

Well, maybe just a little disfigured but in the end, it will always be about content. How it's written, how it engages and how others use it.

To catch you up on the current HUGE SEO NEWS The Day that SEO Died (Sort of)

In sum, Google has encrypted search date which means you will not be able to see what Keywords are driving traffic to your site and be used to convert. 100% percent of search queries from organic traffic is not provided anymore. If you want to see search queries, you will have to pay for Adwords then do paid search where you will receive data but not organic data. And YES, there is a difference.

In support of this move by Google, there objective is to empower people to create relevant content and be rewarded for that in a multitude of ways including engagement of your content via reviews, social conversations, testimonies and purchasing. This opens the door further for social media search to being an invaluable source in the near future.

What does this all come down to? You guessed it, the biggest BUZZ term in Digital Marketing circles of the year, Content Marketing.


Michael Newhouse

WCNGroup is a Strategic Marketing and Branding agency founded by Michael Newhouse. Services include brand identity, demographic discovery, marketing planning, business plan development, experiential campaign execution, digital marketing and social media.

#Hashtag vs Keyword

Hashtags and keywords and both vital online marketing tactics and both share some of the same definition attributes but also have some distinct functional mechanics.

Let's begin with the basic definitions:

Keyword

(1) In text editing and database management systems, a keyword is an index entry that identifies a specific record or document.
(2) In programming, a keyword is a word that is reserved by a program because the word has a special meaning. Keywords can be commands or parameters. Every programming language has a set of keywords that cannot be used as variable names. Keywords are sometimes called reserved names . (3) A word used by a search engine in its search for relevant Web pages.

source

Hashtag

The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.

source

The similarities are that both are a word or phrases that is a key identifier to reference by the author and to be searched. Now the difference, the word or phrase is only identified by it originating platform.  A hashtag is now only identified to its platform Twitter. A keyword is identified with the giant search platform Google and diluted into other areas of online marketing language.

Additionally, keywords are a long term not a limited or one time usage SEO/Social Media strategy. Add in that hashtags can be used as search terms when people want several choices for the word or phrase. Twitter feeds are found in search results especially favoring active twitter accounts and extremely popular terms.

When developing a strategic marketing plan including the usage of hashtags and keywords (should always be included) insure that you understand the difference and the similarities and how to strategically incorporate into your plan. You can expect results varying from top search results, twitter trending, brand impressions and a gateway to sales.

All the Best,

Michael Newhouse

WCNGroup is a Strategic Marketing and Branding agency founded by Michael Newhouse. Services include brand identity, demographic discovery, marketing planning, business plan development, experiential campaign execution, digital marketing and social media.

"Ship or get off the Pot", Inspired by Seth Godin

Yes, it's true, Seth Godin has finally inspired me.  I profess to not being a huge fan like others of Seth, but don't get me wrong, he does deliver moments of brilliance in marketing and business but not just all the time.  Today though, one of my Facebook friends posted this video and for some reason it just connected in the right spots for me.



Key points:

• Knowing the deep soul-feeling of being responsible for the business to succeed.  Unless you have owned a company there is no other feeling like this other than being a parent (not sleeping well, signs of sickness, wanting to buy every new gadget...)
• Discipline needs Strategy, period!  You can have all the discipline in the world but if your not performing the right task it becomes a mute activity.  This is why I am a Strategist, because after years of doing task from shipping, unloading trucks at 2am (UPS job in college), writing press releases to creating marketing plans - you have to think strategically in order to have the discipline to perform successfully.
• Live authentically by writing a blog or even daily Facebook post.  Marketing has changed and as a marketer you must know how to write including tone, when, why... because no matter what business, its all social (media) now.
• Content online is invaluable for many reasons - Real time results (SEO), link building, SERP, customer segmentation...

What keeps you Shipping?

Digital Marketing Talent Crisis

There is a Digital Talent Crisis happening according to a recent article by Shane Steele of Yahoo.  Shane discusses if the media and advertising industry is going to fully recover and grow in the future we must invest in talent. That begs the question, where is the talent coming from, particularly with the skills and experience needed to keep up with the radical pace of change in the digital age?

There is new digital education program called Boulder Digital Works (http://bdw.colorado.edu), a school with the ambition to produce the world’s best digital creative, business, and technology talent. BDW was formed by the University of Colorado in partnership with MDC Partners, Microsoft, and a number of other companies to address what its founders saw as a pressing need for digital talent and leadership in their own businesses. Their goal – build a digital boot camp to groom educated workers and leaders who move comfortably and intelligently across the disciplines of technology, creative, and business.

Upon reviewing job posting for digital marketing positions the confusion also lies with hiring agencies, managers and companies.  Digital marketing evolves daily with new technologies and transformations including how customers/prospects utilize and adopt the technologies.  Example would be that of eCommerce how years ago people were skeptical and did not trust this process.  Well, times have changed and the numbers of online sales continues to rise. 

Do current digital marketing professionals know how to build trust, create navigation that leads customers to conversion, or how to even drive customers to their sites and so on...

According to BDW they refer to this type of talent profile as “T-Shaped Talent,” or an “Integrated Digital Thinker.” It means that no matter what your specialty (base of the T), be it copywriting, media planning or flash design, in order to be most effective in the workplace today, employees must complement their subject matter expertise with a broad and holistic understanding of how digital technology impacts their business (top of the T). In other words, today’s talent must be fluent in at least one language but also literate in many.

The King of Social Media, Facebook, Facts & Myths 2010

***Facts, Myths and Images provided by Mashable via onlineschools.org

Facebook and the use of social media is talked about everywhere we go from TV commercials, billboards, Starbucks and even my parents (who are retired).

Did you know that it takes over 10,000 servers to support Facebooks infrastructure!

Digital Marketing spend rising in 2010

According to a survey by digital firm Datran Media, marketers are expecting improved ad revenues and increased digital spending. 

The company's fourth annual report, which examined the marketing and budgeting priorities of digital marketers, found that 73.6% of respondents believe advertising revenues will increase in 2010.
Marketers are also planning to spend more money on online channels, which they see as effective and measurable, according to the study. The survey found that 93.6% of respondents will increase their budget for digital marketing channels this year, and 72.8% will use audience measurement tools to assess the success of their digital efforts.