Apps for Facebook: Word of Mouth, App Style

Posted in: Internet Marketing Strategies, Social Media Marketing, apps for facebook, facebook status update app by Chaya on January 30, 2012 | No Comments

Talk about easy traffic generation. Sites that include an internet marketing strategy using apps for Facebook generate excellent traffic when their  users share app status updates directly to Facebook.  A Facebook status update app allows for instant website traffic pickup via the Facebook Wall.  CNN reports that  there are currently over 60 such apps downloadable directly from Facebook which allow users to do so.  According to the CNN article, Facebook is also now letting all developers make apps for Facebook that can automatically publish to Facebook profiles.

Facebook Status Update App

HOW IT WORKS:

Using various apps for Facebook, you can track and share your restaurant reviews, running regimen, travel adventures, fave music – you name it.  And then bingo! you share it  to your Facebook Wall.  Once your Facebook friends see this Facebook status update app submission, voila! They’re interested too. It’s a win-win: The app gives you a way to share your progress and interests, and in doing so, the app’s site garners interest.

And it can be really quick. For example, with MOG, a music streaming app, the CNN article reports: “Facebook sends an average of 4,000 people [per day] who have never visited MOG before.” This is all due directly to the Facebook status update app messages posted regularly by users.

So if you’re interested in generating traffic, go for apps for Facebook which allow for status updates with a “Share This” option to Facebook. While you’re there, you might as well have your Facebook status update app submissions be shareable to Twitter, as well as the whole gamut of Bookmark & Share options.

Check out a few examples of these apps:
www.foodspotting.com/apps – Where to find good food
www.runkeeper.com – Report your running feats
www.gogobot.com – Travel tips and reviews

Here’s to easy traffic with an internet marketing strategy which includes a Facebook status update app!

Pitfalls in Generating Online Advertising Revenue

Posted in: Internet Marketing Buzz Words, Internet Marketing Strategies by Sol on January 16, 2012 | 1 Comment

Pitfalls in Online Advertising Revenue

Generating online advertising revenue is often the primary goal of most websites and blogs.  Selling products or services can only be done by those  who actually have a product or service or a connection to one via affiliate marketing, etc. However, anyone can create a site about any topic of interest and hope to be successful getting good traffic.  Upon reaching certain thresholds, sites are eligible to participate in Google Adsense or other online advertising revenue programs.

I often advise my clients not to jump into accepting advertising too soon in the development and roll-out of a site. The out-of-the-box systems implement easily but cheapen the look and feel of a site, in my humble opinion.  It makes the site look desperate and fly by night.

Whether or not you agree with this approach, there is one caveat that I always insist on for my clients – and that is maintaining control of the ads that appear on their site.  A site can simply sign on to Google Adsense or other programs and simply advertise whatever the program sends their way.  For a self-respecting site, this is not a good approach.

Of course, there are general rules that can be implemented – no ads related to gaming, adult content, etc. However, even with the best rules there are simply too many things that can go wrong. It will bring bad press -  and perhaps even lead you to have to spend time and resources on reputation management.

I recently came across a very well respected site about Judaism, and right on the home page I was presented with an ad from Scientology.

You may argue, that this could have been prevented. But there are times when even an innocent chain of events could turn a normal, well controlled online advertising into a major faux pas.

Today’s tragic news about the Costa Concordia, and the ad that appeared right below the image in this news story is a perfect example of an ad gone wrong. This image is taken from a major international news website.  Wedding and marriage jokes aside, this is an example of an unavoidable coincidence, when an online advertising revenue campaign runs automatically.  An ad like this can go viral, and actually be damaging to the hosting site.  (It could go viral and bring benefit too, but that is usually not the case).

I re-visited this site an hour later and there were no ads site-wide.  I can only guess that in the scramble to avoid such an ad from appearing again, they simply turned off their entire campaign.  One can only imagine the complaints and comments the site received from visitors.

Bottom Line: Be wary of jumping too quickly into participating in online advertising revenue programs.  Once your site is ready (meaning a respectable amount of traffic, quality content, etc) , and can be more selective about advertisers, focus on selling banner ads that can be pre-approved and controlled.  In doing this, the ads should be more relevant and targeted to your site’s demographics, and you can avoid unforeseen and  “uncomfortable” moments like we saw today.

Search and Social Media Marketing. Are They Really That Crucial?

Posted in: Internet Marketing Buzz Words, Internet Marketing Strategies by Fran on July 13, 2011 | No Comments

The answer is yes.  Anyone with an internet marketing strategy already knows this, but I am still surprised at how often I asked this question, and about how skeptical some people are.

Here is a new study, and cute video presentation of the results.  Yes, I know its made by Google – but I think the general points not arguable.

Google and the research group Keller Fay collaborated to study the effects of the Internet, Search Engines and  Social Media Marketing on word of mouth conversations .

Google Plus Review: A Social Marketer’s Dream

Posted in: Internet Marketing Buzz Words by Fran on July 12, 2011 | No Comments

At the end of June Google rolled out their beta answer to Facebook LIKE: Google + a social networking “experiment” that can potentially challenge the Facebook LIKE button by allowing Google users to ”+1” their favorite site, page, article, product and even Google Ads. Watch the official video to learn more.

While Google + has experienced some growing pains, internet marketers are hopeful that Google’s new social network is going to stick.  Yes – Google Wave and Google Buzz died slow deaths, but Google + has some features that may possibly be a social marketer’s Dream. Google recognizes that user popularity (votes) definitely improves click-through-rate (CTR) on  paid and organic listings and Google + leverages this to the fullest.

Google Says:

“Use +1 to give something your public stamp of approval, so friends, contacts, and others can find the best stuff when they search. Get recommendations for the things that interest you, right when you want them, in your search results.”

You can join the Google + experiment by doing the following:

1. Make sure you’re signed into your Google Account (required)

2. Visit http://www.google.com/experimental/index.html and scroll down to +1 button (second experiment from the top)

3. Click ‘Join this experiment’ and Google will automatically generate +1 boxes on all search results.

4. Search for something you love on Google.com in this case “eCommerce Innovators”.

5. Click the new +1 button, and “make your mark on the web”!

Users will start seeing your recommendations.  Market data tells us that 9 out of 10 people trust recommendations from their “friends”. Your action will create an annotation that your “friends” can read: i.e. Fran Jakubowicz and 323 other people +1′d this.

Google is responding to the users and marketers looking to leverage more corporate opportunities (tools to compete with Facebook Pages) and they are also working to building in more safety features.

So am I ready to dump the Facebook LIKE button? Nooo. But I am excited about aggressively integrating this social networking tool into my daily marketing activities.

Internet Marketing Strategy #800: Toll Free Number

Posted in: Internet Marketing Strategies by Fran on January 24, 2011 | No Comments

Can a Toll Free number help improve page rank? Can it be helpful to your internet marketing strategy?  This question, from what I have seen is a bit of a debate like most things in internet marketing.

For starters, if you are selling products to a national audience then having a Toll Free # is a must, from a usability and customer service point of view.  1800-Flowers is the best example of this.  That company was built around the Toll Free number.

The question I am addressing is how does the Toll Free # help a site from an SEO, or Page Rank point of view.

One school of thought is that a Toll Free # does not help, and could even hurt your Page Rank.  The thinking is that nowadays, getting a Toll Free number is simple and inexpensive, and any fly by night website can put one up – giving the site a feel of a national respectable company, when it fact it may not be.  According to this line of reasoning, Google prefers to see a local phone #, with an area code matching the address.  In this case, Google knows that there is a real physical address, and makes the business more legit.

The above approach makes much sense.  There are 2 points that make me consider the other side of the arguement.

When I added a Toll Free Number to my site, my Page Rank jumped up one number.  This is admittedly circumstantial evidence at best.  It could have gone up for many other factors, and this was just a coincidence.  The truth is, I won’t know.

The second point is a little stronger, and it is only my humble opinion.  If you are able to get a customized Toll Free # (usually referred to as a vanity Toll Free number), it can give you an excuse to put a good keyword on every page of your site, in the header where your Toll Free # is listed.

For example, if your site was a site about internet marketing, a highly competitive area, and you could secure a Toll Free # such as 1 800 473 6772.  This number can be translated into 1-800- 4-SEO-PPC.  You could now put both these numbers on every page in your header.  You would now have (another) legitimate reason to have the keywords SEO and PPC on each and every page of your site, in the header.

In the case of this site, our 800 # ends in BUZZ.  This is admittedly less effective as BUZZ is not a keyword.  However, it helps us from a branding perspective.

There is good news and a reason I am writing about this now.  They have just released a new block of 800 numbers. The new block is 1 855.  Until now, if you secured a 800 # or 888, it was likely a recycled 800 #, and you could have received a lot of junk calls (people calling an old number looking for a different business).  With the new block of 855 #s, there will be no previous history, so you will get fewer erroneous calls.

I use a service called Callture, located in Toronto, Canada. 

Their service is reliable, and the customer service has been responsive.  Best of all, a Toll Free # costs about $2.00 a month plus usage.  There may be a cost for vanity #. You can forward it to any phone #.  There is an online dashboard so you are in full control of the number.   You can also check out the availability of 800# numbers via a tool on their site. To read more about this company, check out the information on our recommended third party services page -for Callture.

Prepare Your Holiday Season Internet Marketing Strategy

Posted in: Internet Marketing Buzz Words, Internet Marketing Strategies by Fran on November 18, 2010 | No Comments

It is imperative to get your internet marketing strategy in place for the upcoming holiday season as it is the busiest shopping time of the year.

Here are 10 tactics that we consider to be best practices that will impact your ability to leverage this purchasing season. These ideas will help you bring targeted traffic to your website and to convert that traffic into sales:

1.   Black Friday, (November 26, 2010) is one of the biggest days for sales online. Create a unique Black Friday promotion that can be promoted via Social Media Marketing and PPC. Submit a press release through prweb.com or prnewswire.com for some added traffic and link juice. If your press release is well written, it may get picked up by some good media sources. Last year many big sites actually crashed due to the heavy volume of traffic. This should be your biggest problem too, but if there is even a chance that this may happen, you should pro-actively check your network’s capabilities and your service agreement with your hosting company.

2.   Ensure your website is in holiday mode. Modify your logo to look seasonal. Add holiday related optimized images and copy to your home page. Don’t forget to optimize your tags!

3. Offer holiday gift wrapping or gift boxing. It’s okay to charge for it.

4.   Create holiday momentum on your site and via social media by using phrases like: “Only 20 more shopping days left until…” and “have you done your holiday gift shopping yet?”

5.   Add a personal touch to your consumer thank you. Once a customer has made a purchase, wish them a Season’s Greeting. Throw in a small gift, or coupon code toward their next purchase. When shipping out items, add a hand written Season’s Greetings card thanking consumers for their loyalty.

6.   There are plenty of last minute shoppers. Be honest and let consumers know when the last Ship Out date is. Whenever possible, offer an expedited shipping option. At this time of year, you can offer the expedited shipping as the default option. Shoppers are only too happy to pay for the convenience.

7.   Create a seasonal contest. Ask users to write a review of their 3 favorite products on your site. Those who participate will automatically be entered into the contest. This way, you get lots of free reviews, users will have an opportunity to be enticed by your product pages and you can collect email addresses for future email blasts.

8.   Don’t forget to bring some seasonal cheer to your PPC campaign by using holiday related keywords like “Christmas gifts” and “Cheap Christmas Gifts”.

9.   Create a gift card program and promote it on your home page, in your shopping cart and through social media marketing. Make sure gift cards can be received before the holidays.

10.   Create a dedicated Holiday Gift Ideas landing page – it’s a great place to introduce new products.

Bonus Tip:  It may sound obvious, but check for broken links and download time. Make shopping on your site a pleasure.  The added benefit will also continue long after the season is over – until the next big event.

Google Rolls Out “Place Search”; Major Implications for SEO

Posted in: Internet Marketing Buzz Words, Search Engine Optimization by Sol on October 28, 2010 | No Comments

Today, Google rolled out their new “Place Search” – the way it displays results, with a heavy emphasis on local search results.  From now on, it appears that searches that are local specific (i.e. pizza shops in Toronto) will have local search results displayed much more prominently.

What this means is that most of the results on the page are from Google Places listings (the one with the map, and the red push pins).  It means that organic results will be pushed further down the page.  This change has major implications for local business searches.  It is a game-changing development.

You can read a very good explanation about Google’s Place Search – click here.

We will of course examine this further, study its implications and be sure to gain an understanding of how this will affect each specific  client.  We will provide you with continued guidance in your site optimization efforts.

Remember, this is the world of SEO – ongoing development and continual changes - at a very fast pace.  It’s what makes the internet so challenging and exciting.

Feel free to contact us directly with any questions.

Improve Page Speed – Improve Page Rank

Posted in: Internet Marketing Buzz Words, Search Engine Optimization by Fran on September 12, 2010 | No Comments

In its ongoing, leading role as the ultimate decider of how the web should perform, Google now looks at Page Speed (the speed at which a particular page loads) as a very important parameter in assessing page rank and site rank.  They are trying to reward sites, and thus encourage sites to be faster.  Though we cannot not know exactly how important this parameter is, Google is providing tools to address it and talking about it openly – something it does not normally do.

This is an introduction to the Page Speed tool.  Watching this video will not make you an expert.  In fact it is quite technical and the activities that it shows may have to be done by your site’s programmer. But this video will alert you to the potential and usefulness of this SEO tool, if you are not already convinced.  We present it here as a service.  This is vitally important for every website, especially if yours is heavy with images and videos.  We encourage all our clients to address their site’s page speed to the best of their ability.  If Google is telling us to do this, and promoting a tool to do it, it behooves us to listen carefully.

Facebook as a Search Engine?

Posted in: Internet Marketing Buzz Words, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing by Sol on April 12, 2010 | No Comments

In late March, there was a lot of buzz in online marketing circles about a report coming from Hitwise – For one week in March, people visited Facebook more often than Google.
Search Engine Optimization experts are quick to point out that this is not the first time this happened. In fact, it already occurred in late December 2009 during the holiday season. Either way, the message is clear. Facebook has changed the rules of the online marketing game.
Social Media Marketing is a tactic that companies are actively engaging in. Anybody with a product or service to sell will execute all the best online marketing strategies to get the message out there. Companies are now allocating significant social media marketing budgets, outspending search engine optimization and online display advertising (see Marketing Sherpa). To us in the online industry this is not news.

Social Media Marketing Share of Online Marketing Budget

What is news, is that we (I mean the Royal WE), online searchers are en masse behaving in a way that validates social media marketing. It is natural for us to do our searches via search engines. That’s what they’re there for. But it appears that the concept of social media – people congregating online according to shared interests – is offering us the opportunity to search for information in a new way. It gives us the opportunity to do more than just search. It allows us to converse, interact or create online relationships. We can trust the results of our search much more profoundly when we know it is coming from a community of peers. It is our willful, enthusiastic and active participation in social media that makes this such a compelling online marketing opportunity.
Facebook and other social media sites are not just other search engines fighting for market share, as are yahoo or Bing, for example. They are not search engines with a better search algorithm, faster results or a more usable interface. Rather, they are a completely different animal. Having said that, it appears this creature is evolving into, and taking over the online marketing industry.
I don’t think Google should be too worried just yet. The search engine is here to stay (for now). However, it is interesting to note that in researching this post, I looked up “facebook search” and “facebook marketing” and other similar terms in Google’s Keyword tool. “Facebook search” showed 1,000,000 searches in March. Amazingly, for the term “facebook marketing” I received “not enough data” in local search volume for the US.
Could it be? Or is a certain Goliath-like company feeling the heat?
I went straight to Facebook and searched for “facebook marketing”. I instantly found a page called Facebook Marketing Solutions – http://www.facebook.com/marketing. This page has over 207,000 fans! There are some fascinating case studies on this page, but be careful as some will take you away from Facebook. One article of note is Use your Mobile Phone to publish to Facebook fans! (esp. Blackberry or iPhone).
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has been the key to online success. While SEO is still the crucial element in online marketing, Social Media Optimization (SMO) is another critical tactic that should not be overlooked, and I would venture to say that it is now equally important if you are involved in marketing online and need to create a relationship with your (potential) customers.

Google Buzz – Google’s Answer To Facebook & Twitter

Posted in: Social Media Marketing by Sol on February 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

Early this morning I was greeted by a new message when checking my email in gmail:

New! Google Buzz in Gmail.

It is a brand new Google service, a social media marketing application which at first glance seems to be Google’s answer to Facebook and Twitter.  For those of you seeking to find out why Google Buzz does not appear in your Gmail, don’t fret.  You may not have received an introduction to it as it is being rolled out in stages.  At this time the service has not been rolled out to everybody.  You can find out more at buzz.google.com.    Note the message at the top of the page “We’re still rolling out Buzz to everyone, so if you don’t see it in your Gmail account yet, check back soon.”

For the chosen ones, Google Buzz will be automatically included in your Gmail left hand navigation area, just under your inbox.

Google Buzz Link In Gmail

From there you can begin to use the new tool to “share updates, photos, videos and more, and start conversations about the things you find interesting.”

It is a no-brainer that this will be the talk of social media marketing blogs.  As with every new innovation people will chime in with passionate support or disparaging disdain.  We are not about to make any predictions one way or the other about the probability of success of Google Buzz.  It has been on the market for only a few hours.  We will let a little time go by to see how this new entry fairs on the market.

We would like to publically thank Google for heeding our call, and acknowledging our leadership in this area.  We at e-Commerce Innovators have been urging our clients right from the start, to Create Buzz    (see our bee logo at the top of the page).  Our initial credo was Create Buzz, Not Babble.  Our message to clients who wanted to be successful at online marketing was to create meaningful reasons for users to visit their ecommerce sites.  Recently, we updated our logo to say “Creating Buzz – That Converts into Profit”.  Buzz means that users are excited and eager to share their enthusiasm about something. Our message was updated advising our clients that Buzz is a necessity in today’s online marketing world, (which relies so heavily on social media marketing) in order to create sustained targeted traffic and ultimately, profit.

In fact, we have been so clear about this approach, that long ago we named our internet marketing blog, Buzz Words.

We will not stop here.  We will continue to provide our best advice about internet marketing tools to our clients.  However, we are pleased with the vindication knowing that Google has followed the lead and suggestion of eCommerce Innovators and finally, created Buzz.