BlogKing March 12th, 2008

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Given that the cost per acquisition (CPA) through organic search is a fraction of most other media, Jeff Quipp had this observation.

For Clients:
If Sales/ROI = Increased Qualified Referrals + Improved Rankings
then:
Authority = Increased Qualified Referrals + Improved Rankings
then it stands to reason that:
Sales/ROI = Authority building = industry knowledge + authority building knowledge

Its really difficult (though not impossible) to have real success without the presence of both elements (industry knowledge and authority building knowledge). Accordingly, it requires a very close relationship between SEO and client, and IT WILL require client involvement. The more client willingness to participate as needed, the better.

photo credit: jaycoxfilm

So, if you find yourself as a client at Stage 1 or 2 and wishing you could secure more low CPA business, consider stepping up your level of activitiy in the SEO process. In the end, content is key, and only you have the necessary knowledge. It does require your involvement though!

I always stress to clients that the more involved they get in the process, the better the results they will see. They always seem willing at the initial sales meetings, but their enthusiasm quickly fades once the project starts. Success takes persistent effort. It is not a lottery game.

• Blog Consulting , Organic SEO
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BlogKing March 12th, 2008

Jeff Quipp of SearchEnginePeople had an interesting article on What is authority and how to build it. Thanks Jeff for a terrific explanation.

photo credit: Erica_Marshall

There are only 3 primary strategies:

1) Be an expert, of which there are 3 primary approaches that I’m aware of:

a) Be amongst the best at a particular niche (eg. Bill Slawski at understanding and interpreting complex search patents, Muhammad Saleem at social media). This is a difficult balancing act. You don’t want the niche to be too narrow that you limit people’s perceptions of your abilities (not unlike type casting to some actors), though too broad and its near impossible to establish yourself as an expert, and less and less likely over time. b) Simplify and explain complex industry issues (Dosh Dosh or Rand Fishkin)c) Break new ground with respect to a subject. (Eg Tim Nash with understanding the algorithm of Stumbleupon, Seth Godin with his purple cow concept, or Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro with their research)

What’s really interesting here is that communication is key here to each of the above techniques; if no one can understand your contributions or the extent of your knowledge, you will attract no respect or admiration.

My personal belief is that this is where SEOs can help clients a great deal. We can help guide clients to understand where their particular strengths lie within an industry (are they extra knowledgeable about a particular niche? have they done research or discovered something really interesting about a particular industry concept? Or do they just have an exceptional knack for simplifying and communicating?), and then to help focus the clients to leverage those strengths.

2) Be a uber networker and super friend. People using this approach must give openly, have no expectations of reciprocation, and be genuine. They understand that “the best way to have a good friend is to be a good friend”.

Superior interpersonal skills are a must too if you hope to become an Authority. If someone is a great friend to many industry peers, many will develop an affinity with the individual, and he/she will get a chance to showcase his/her knowledge and earn their respect. People are also much more forgiving of limitations and mistakes made by friends … and we all have limitations and make mistakes!!!!

3) Carefully craft perceptions: Associate yourself with authorities. The phrase ‘guilty by association’ works both ways; be seen with the wrong parties and perceptions of your skills, abilities, knowledge, and judgment plummet. Alternatively, be seen with the ‘right’ people/sites, and perceptions of your skills and abilities are strengthened. This is important for individuals as well as companies … see DoshDosh’s post to this effect at How Brand Associations Help To Promote Your Website or Business.

Equally important, is the concept of being in the right place at the right time. Many a fortunes have been made (think Bill Gates and the launch of Microsoft) by people lucky enough to have been holding the gauntlet when the powers that be were thirsty. Of course, being in the right place at the right time is of no benefit if you are not prepared. I’ll argue its next to possible to predict when and where its going to happen, so preparation for the eventual opportunity is key.

In the end, you’ll find most authorities use a combination of these approaches, and almost all target a specific niche. The more approaches used, the more likely someone is to become an authority.

• Blog Marketing , Blog Tip
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BlogKing March 7th, 2008

Apple announced details do the iPhone SDK today and I am impressed.

First a drag and drop UI builder, access to all OS X services, and extensive debugging and performance monitoring. The really big news is the free distribution via AppStore, a iPhone service that will allow WIFI or cell network download and install of new apps. Can you say instant gratification? Developer can charge any price and Apples handles all e-commerce and delivery for 30% fee. If price is free than there are no charges for developer or user. What company do you know will deliver your software for free? iPhone will also also auto-notify if is there is an update available.

This distribution model is a winner. Most software nowadays is given away and money made on premium versions, advertising or support services. Apple now has the hottest mobile platform by far.

We are going to see an absolute explosion of apps. Which will drive more iPhone sales leading to more apps etc.

Technorati Tags: iPhone SDK

• Blog Trends , Mobile Blogging , iPhone
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BlogKing March 4th, 2008

Why use Facebook for business?

To find more opportunities to network with other business people.

Here are some more from Tinu Abayomi-Paul:

  1- The very nature of Facebook is viral.

2- Facebook is the ultimate in social presence marketing

3- Your target market tells you exactly what it wants, and they’re easy to find.

4- Over half of the people using it, use it daily.

5- Better, stronger online connections.

6- Hard core marketing is out of vogue and declining in effectiveness.

7- Your clients — and your competition’s clients — may already be on Facebook.

8 - Facebook friends are willing to continue the conversation.

Check the link above to read more details.

• Blog Marketing , Facebook , Social Media Marketing
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BlogKing March 3rd, 2008

With all the growth is social media sites I have been thinking about setting up a page on Facebook. I already use StumbleUpon a lot and have been very pleased with the traffic boost it provides. I have been hesitant about Facebook because you can’t see what is really like without opening an account, but that is a catch-22. How do I know if it makes sense. Perhaps you have been wondering the same question.

Luckily Brian Brown has written a good Facebook primer over at Work.com, Guide to Facebook Basics for Your Business.

The whole point of Facebook is to interact with a network of friends. A “friend” on Facebook can be an actual friend you grew up with, went to school with, etc., or it can be someone you meet online, like through a Facebook group.

Browse Facebook’s groups. Groups are made of Facebook members that have a common interest. When you find a group you like, join that group. This will give you the chance to market to the group and invite group members as “friends.

Facebook makes soft-selling easy. All you have to do is post a link to a sales page on your website (with the “Posted Items” application) and Facebook lets everyone in your friends list know you have posted the link by displaying it on their home page. Friends will also know when you’ve uploaded photos, or videos, or changed your profile.

Add your RSS feed to your Facebook profile. If you have a blog, or any website that produces an RSS feed, it can be added to your blog through various RSS applications. This makes your blog immediately accessible to your Facebook friends.

Tomorrow I’d take a deeper look.

• Facebook , Small Business Blog , Social Media Marketing
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BlogKing March 2nd, 2008

The seminal cover story “Blogs Will Change Your Business” from May 2005 has gotten a refresh.

New facts:

Yes, there were 9 million, but how many of them were active? Probably only a fraction. In early 2008, says Technorati Chairman David Sifry, the search company indexes 112 million blogs, with 120,000 new ones popping up each day. But only 11% of these blogs, he says, have posted within the past two months. That means the active universe is closer to 13 million blogs. Kevin Burton, CEO of FeedBlog, argues that the number should be lower, from 2 million to 4 million blogs.

Factoring in inactive one and 99% that are spam blogs still leaves 40 legitimate new blogs a day.

The divide between the publishers and the public is collapsing. This turns mass media upside down. It creates media of the masses.

Sitting in his office at Edelman PR (he switched jobs in 2006) overlooking Times Square, Steve Rubel says that blogs have turned out to be less important for companies than he anticipated. “Outside of tech,” he says, “big companies didn’t jump in. They viewed the blog audience as niche. They weren’t ready to be open, transparent, and loose.” For advertising, he says companies are more drawn to social networks, where they have the potential to reach millions of customers. (We should stress that social networks, a megatrend in media, is not even mentioned in this 2005 story. The emergence of Facebook, MySpace, and others is one reason we should take “blogs” out of the headline.) In fact, it’s worth mentioning that Rubel doesn’t blog nearly as much as he used to. He regards blogs as just a piece of his communications arsenal. He uses it for longer pieces. For the short stuff, he sends out bursts of thought and links to what he’s seeing and reading on Twitter, a microblogging technology.

Google entered the industry in summer 2006. But more meaningful than its stand-alone blog search was its growing ability to incorporate blog posts with Web search. Google is helping to erase the distinction between blogs and the rest of the Web. In doing so, it extends its dominance.

Blogs have become a staple of mainstream media. BusinessWeek has 20 of them. Publications of all sizes mix blog posts with other news, both online and in print. We’re getting bloggier. And more and more publications are subscribing to services that link to related content. These links steer readers away from the media sites, which would have seemed unthinkable until recently for mainstream publishers. Why do it now? Because if sites provide interesting links, the thinking goes, readers will return. One telling example: The New York Times runs Blogrunner.com, a site that aggregates everything from Times articles to blog posts. Still, big media is not dominating blogs or social media by any stretch. No one is. At the same time, certain blogs are turning into influential and lucrative media businesses.

Blogs are also a good tool to stretch a publication’s content and expertise, to provide different angles on stories, and to venture into new forms of media. In a sense, blogs and related social media provide laboratories for experimentation, new products, and, above all, new relationships with readers and viewers.

I think this portends a merging of blogs and other social media sites. It is just a matter of time before the OpenSocial platform is adopted by blog engines, like it is being added to Facebook and LinkedIn this year.

• Blog Trends , Blogging for Business
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BlogKing February 27th, 2008

Be prepared to be blown away. This video of planned iPhone applications at Abilene Christian University is simply amazing. All freshmen will be issued an iPhone and it’s use is integrated into classroom, dining and maps, course registration etc.

Apple is set to release the software development kit soon. If this video is any indication be prepared for the onslaught of applications. Reminds me of the heyday of HyperCard, the software program that allowed thousands of non-programmers to make useful applications. Hundreds came out every week. At the Boston Computer Society meetings we sure had fun showing them off.

I predict a second wave of techno lust for the iPhone.  Now would be a good time to buy stock.

• iPhone
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BlogKing February 27th, 2008

Is that cool or what? Sign in was quick and interface is easy to use. Don’t know what it looks like on WAP devices … those users should just throw in the towel and move up to the iPhone.

• LinkedIn , Social Media Marketing , iPhone
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BlogKing February 27th, 2008

From PC World

Social networking site LinkedIn is extending its service from desktop PCs to mobile phones and iPods.

LinkedIn’s 19 million members can now view other members’ profiles, invitations and updates via the company’s Wap site, which went live yesterday in six languages.

A specially tailored version has also been made available for iPhone users.

“We want to help professionals network and the more information you have to do the job the better,” said Kevin Eyres, European managing director at LinkedIn.

“I think we will see a large number of our users pick this up. It is quick, convenient and there is nothing to install.”

The move follows similar efforts from Bebo, Facebook and MySpace.

Check out the videos at LinkedIn

Wow this is great. I am setting it up now.

• LinkedIn , Social Media Marketing
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BlogKing February 26th, 2008

Ecomomic Impact of Region’s For-Profit Creative Industry

photo credit: enfi

Innovation Philadelphia’s new study, Creative Footprint, is now available. The report measures the size, scope and impact of the for-profit, creative industry. Creative industry employment within the Philadelphia Region generated a total economic impact of nearly $60 billion, ranking the for-profit, creative industry among one of the top industries in the region.

Philadelphia has a history of leading innovation, generating new and progressive ideas, and turning these ideas into reality. This ability to be innovative is critical for a competitive advantage, not just for the private sector, but for regions as well. Innovation Philadelphia has developed an innovative strategy, comprised of three integrated initiatives to drive economic growth in the Philadelphia Region, which include:

Cultivating the For-Profit Creative Economy - provide business resources; entrepreneurial assistance; and marketing, networking, and educational opportunities to make Philadelphia’s for-profit creative economy a leading source of jobs and wealth in the Philadelphia Region.

Attracting and Retaining Young Professionals - facilitate career and network development; link young professionals to employment opportunities; and showcase Philadelphia to young professionals as a place to live, work and play. Young professionals are critical to fuel economic growth and fill the pipeline with innovative thinkers who will become future entrepreneurs and business and civic leaders in Philadelphia.

Fostering Entrepreneurism and New Ideas - host networking and educational events to link regional entrepreneurs with one another and with the purchasers of their goods and services; host interactive discussions, called Innovation Forums, to develop ideas that will enhance Philadelphia’s entrepreneurial environment and define Philadelphia’s future; and use technology and electronic mediums such as blogs, webinars and webcasts to seek and gather other ideas.

An interesting takeaway fact: 12% of the workforce in the Philadelphia Region’s for profit creative industry is comprised of self-employed individuals. Yet the city still has a business privilege tax with a gross receipts kicker. This makes no sense when selling services.

• Philadelphia
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