Google +1 Launched

Go ahead everyone, go to your local Google page and run a search on anything in particular, I would prefer something that you are actually interested in. When the search runs and the results appear you will notice, look carefully, a +1 feature on Google.

Google has added this feature as a "social function" in order to keep pace with Facebook. This button appears on the organic search results and also appears on the ads. However, I did not see the +1 feature run on the maps section. When you find a search result that you like and think that it will be helpful to your social circle click on the +1. Google will then keep track of your +1's on your Google profile. Also, anyone from your social circle(Google's social circle not Facebook)when they perform a similar search.

This is most impact will take place with advertisers and AdSense according to TechCrunch Magazine:
"The key that Google isn’t really touting yet is that +1 data can be used to make ads social not just on Google Search result pages, but also across the whole web. If you have a site that runs AdSense ads, it may now feature +1 data in addition to the ad. And these newly social ads require no changes from advertisers. The bidding model doesn’t change at all and as a bonus +1 data will now be included in reports, Google’s Christian Oestlien says.
Guess who else would like to do the same thing with ads across the web given the social data that they have? Yep — Facebook."

The war for your attention on the internet heats and I have a lot of questions. Feel free to respond in the comments section.
1. Will these +1 (likes) have an effect on search rankings?
2. Can I buy 100 likes for $5 and rank above my competitors?
3. How will Google regulate this feature?
4. How far is ahead is Facebook compared to Google?

I am a Keynote Speaker @ a Workshop for Small Businesses Sat. 3/27/2011 9am

Workshop for Owners of Small Businesses and Home-Based Businesses

COST:                 FREE Workshop and Networking Opportunity

WHEN:               Saturday, March 26^th, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM

WHERE:             LDS Employment Resource Center

144 West 15^th Street, New York, NY

WHO:                  Preregistration required

Topics will include:

·        Innovation: The Business Idea	·        Building a Brand Strategy
·        Social Media and WEB Based Marketing	·        Financial resources
·        Legal: Structure, Liability & Taxes	·        Business Planning for Results

Presenters will include:

Cameron King  Graphic Design-StudioCase

Rich Mastriani, Regional Director-Crexendo

Larry Turk, COO-SOMAQ International, Inc.

Jim Lucas, Attorney

More to come…

HOW:         Pre-Registration Required for all attendees                                                                                                            R.S.V.P. to: e-mail or by calling 212-255-0579    

                                                                 

DRESS:      Business Casual

The Transformation of Business Through Social Media

Over the past 10 years the world has gone through a complete transformation of communication and efficiency. My mother communicates daily with family members that she hasn't seen nor spoken to in years, people reserve their dinner tables via internet on their cell phones, c.d.'s and D.V.D.'s are becoming more obsolete as I write this article, and most important, businesses can communicate and interact with their customers and potential customers in an instant.

Many businesses and marketing professionals come to me and ask "How much business can you generate for me on Facebook"? The correct answer is none. Anyone else who tells you otherwise is lying to you. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are social media platforms. People interact on these platforms because it is easier and more reliable than talking on the phone or e-mailing. Businesses need to utilize Social Media as a means  to communicate with customers/potential customers The goal is to position yourself as an expert, offer advice, and provide information when necessary. Potentials sales on social media should then be escalated via e-mail or private message.

Online Marketing Webinar 2/22/11 @ 9am Eastern

Can your prospective clients find you on the Web when they search for your specialty or firm name? Join us to learn more about what you can do to help them find YOU. This is a FREE Webinar presented by Crexendo Web Marketing. We will discuss powerful Web marketing strategies to help business professionals grow their businesses in 2011. In this FREE Training Session You Will Learn How To: ·         Outrank your local competition in the search engines ·         Grow your business on a local level ·         Get your site to the top of Google ·         Drive traffic to your website for FREE  Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/208677464 Powerful web marketing strategies to help you grow your business. Title: Audience: Presenter: Date: Time: Marketing your Business on the Internet Business Professionals Doug Gaylor Tuesday February 22nd, 2011 Time: 9:00AM - 10:00 AM EST System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer About Doug: Doug Gaylor serves as Vice President of Sales for Crexendo Web Marketing. Doug's expertise covers all areas of Web Marketing including proper web design strategies, SEO best practices, Conversion Rates, Paid Search, Link Building, and Social Media. Crexendo's special focus is helping local companies promote their businesses to their local market and converting web sites from electronic brochures to revenue generating tools. Crexendo is a full service SEO and Web Marketing agency specializing in link building, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and paid search management, as well as designing and building custom ecommerce and lead generation web sites. Prior to joining Crexendo, Doug was Sr. Vice President of Sales for the Western Region of the United States for Mitel (formerly Inter-Tel). In his 20 years at Inter-Tel, Doug helped build the company from $30M to a successful $750M buyout from Mitel.

Are Content Farms Valuable to Your S.E.O. Strategy?

In implementing your link building strategy your goal is to develop links to your website from other websites with a high "PageRank".  One way to develop these ranked links is to write an article about your services, industry, company, or product on a content driven site.

Content driven sites are especially popular in S.E.O. because they have a high pagerank, drive a lot of traffic, and are quick to appear at the top of search results. However, Google's search algorithm has come under recent scrutiny about content farms and their Google Rank. Examples of content farms are:

www.about.com
www.wikihow.com
www.ehow.com

The New York Times reported about Google's algorithm regarding content farms:

“We definitely have heard feedback in recently in the last two weeks that people are concerned about the low-quality content farms in Google, and we’re working on a variety of algorithms to try to address that,” Matt Cutts, a principal engineer at Google who leads the Web spam team, said in an interview. He declined to single out any specific sites.

 Matt Cutt's also stated in the NYT's:

“One piece of advice I give to S.E.O. masters is, don’t chase after Google’s algorithm, chase after your best interpretation of what users want, because that’s what Google’s chasing after,” he said.

 
Google will continuously change their algorithm to overcome new "black hat" S.E.O. practices and to provide it's users with the best possible content. It is important that when seeking an S.E.O. company that you become familiar with their on-page and off-page S.E.O. practices.

You can reply to this message or ask questions by e-mail Rich Mastriani.

What type of results is your PPC Campaign generating?

Tracking your results is the most important part of your online marketing campaign. How do you know if it is working? Judging your results based on traffic alone is not enough to optimize your Pay Per Click Campaign. You also need to track conversions and identify where these conversions are coming from so that you may allocate your PPC Bids towards the most effective keywords. Currently, you have a tracking number or you are judging your results on e-mail alone. Now, Google is going to provide a tracking phone # for your Google AdWords campaign with GoogleVoice. If you currently have a Google AdWords account click here for instructions.

If you do not have a Google AdWords account look in this month's Wired Magazine for a free $75 worth of advertising coupon.

Oh and with no NFL Football this Sunday check out pure entertainment at the Winter X Games.

Is Your Social Presence Helping with Your SEO Strategy?

When you first hear of Link Building to help increase the Page Rank of your website, the first idea that comes to your head is to create a Social Media strategy to increase the links to your site. Assuming that these links will multiply rapidly allowing you to magically increase the links to your site and helping you appear at the top of the SERP’s for your favorite search term. This is not necessarily the case.

It is very important to have a social media presence when starting your online marketing campaign. You should immediately create a Facebook page, a Twitter account, create a Flickr account, a Blog, and any other social presence that is manageable. The benefit of creating this Social Presence is that it will increase traffic to your site from these resources. Your Social Presence can also appear in the SERP when someone types in your company name. However, Google considers most of the links from Social Media, NO-FOLLOW Links.

No Follow links are considered just that….as Google Spiders crawl through web pages they can crawl through no follow links to find the content. However, these links are not considered when measuring your Page Rank. It makes sense to have no follow links to help increase traffic to your site. The NF links are not going to help increase your Page Rank.