Here is an interesting article on what Google is doing in regards to new search technology, courtesy of Jason Gervais:

“Google has lifted the veil, a little bit, on the changes set to take place with the implementation of its update on search technology called “Google Caffeine”. The secret project is the next generation for web search which will mostly affect its indexing processes. Caffeine is likely to change search results to an extent and could ultimately lead toward the holy grail of real time search and search engine optimization. In total, it will produce a more powerful version of what Google offers today emphasizing improvements in “…size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and other dimensions,” according to Google.

Search Engine Optimization is important for any business that wants to improve sales, rankings, and overall customer response.  There are countless ‘SEO Specialists/Consultants/Firms’ who claim that they know what it takes to get your site ranked.  However, what does it truly mean to be an SEO Professional?

1. First, one needs experience. Yes, all people can have the right knowledge but do not exactly know how to execute it. In SEO marketing you need to know how to do things personally, knowledge alone is not enough to tell that you are neither an expert nor a specialist.

2. There are many ways to learn about SEO and have a qualification certificate. If you studied in universities and have an IT course which includes SEO, this is more reliable than having online sessions. In terms of qualifications, not all places have the same standard.

3. Knows what black hat and white hat means and also knows how to it. This process is one of the greatest factors when it comes to promotion and making a site, be in the top ranks.

4. A great SEO specialist will not need to pay for your links. Experts can make tactics to promote a site and hit the ranks without the use of paid advertisements and extra cost.

Upon having these qualifications, will there be a great difference?

Apparently yes. If all these qualifications are present in your SEO expert, you will know that he can do his job well and he is much capable of doing online marketing tasks that will give a great impact to your online business.

Every business wants to be ranked on the first page, but if you are a local business in San Diego ranking well in Atlanta, it doesn’t really help your business to the extent it should.  Here are just a few tips on how to get your company a higher ranking for your locality.

There are a few ways to help optimize local SEO:

First, get listed with the search engines. Getting listed by Google Maps will help tremendously. You have to fill out an application, get verified, and then wait a few weeks before your business will show up. Yahoo Local is another important listing. You can do this without the verification and your business gets listed faster. The more exposure you get on these sites, the more customers you will get.

Another way to optimize your SEO for you local region is to get listed in yellow pages type directories. Yellow Book, Yellow Pages, Yelp, and CitySearch are all examples of these types of directories. People utilize these just like they used the Yellow Pages phone book in the past. They need a service or a product and they look it up. Your business will get much more exposure when listed on these sites.

You should also list your business on free local classifieds such as Craigslist, Backpage or USFree Ads. People look to these sites to find service every day. These are very popular with Internet users and will get maximum exposure for little cost and effort.

Another way to get more exposure is to get reviewed. Ask your customers, or your friends and family to review your business on the various directories and online review sites. You can also attempt to put a link to your business on various local sites such as a Chamber of Commerce site.

One of the most important thing you can do is to manage your business profile. Your profile contains the basics: business name, address, phone number, and business description. This is what information will appear when someone does a search. This information will also appear on sites for national data providers. You certainly want this information to be correct and give a true description of your business.

Throughout an SEO campaign you should be keeping track of progress, rankings, and results of any SEO work that has been done on your site.  Many companies do not provide their clients with a thorough picture of the actual improvement in site rankings and the ending results from an online marketing campaign.  A legitimate and ethical company should provide it’s clients with Google Analytics, an online tracking tool that displays a myriad of information about a website.

Many people may not know that it will give you a competitive edge since it provides a clear picture of what you need to do to beat the competition. Moreover, Google Analytics will save you a great amount of time, money, and effort in the optimization of your site. In addition, it can help you make better decisions on investments about your web site and your SEO campaigns. For some people who manage more than one site, Google Analytics allow them to spend less time running ad-hoc reports and more time analyzing their SEO campaign and planning for their next moves.

So, how does Google Analytics work?

Getting started is actually very easy. All you have to do is set-up an account for your web site and SEO campaign. The nice thing about this tool is that you can even have multiple campaigns running at the same time while targeting different parts of the site with various keywords. As soon as you are done setting up, you need to walk through the 5Stage SEO Process while following the task indicated on the screen.

Some of these include data and reports with which you can take a look at and consult the help and advice sections which basically inform you of the significance of each task. Consequently, you can make decisions about the campaign keywords yourself or you can ask other people to do the task for you. As soon as you are done with this task, you can proceed to measuring and analyzing your progress, and you can start the whole process again.

If you couple Google Analytics with Analytics SEO, you can actually perk up your SEO campaign. By having Google Analytics in your web site, you can have additional insights and reports that are very helpful on your SEO campaign. These reports include keyword potential, keyword ranking, summary of keywords by visits, and interactive charts to name a few. All of these reports play a vital role in the optimization of your site. BY knowing the status of factors such as keywords and traffic, you would be able to evaluate if your SEO campaign is working or not.

These daily influx of information that can be made available through Google Analytics allows you to modify, upgrade, and improve your marketing strategies. Thus, if you want to ensure that your SEO campaign is on the right track, it is most important that you can find the means to actually monitor and evaluate its performance.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising is still a useful tool in Search Engine Optimization, it enables your business to pay to be ranked at the top, albeit through a different channel.  When it comes down to it though, which is more important:  the actual clicks or the conversions?  One reason PPC advertising is a popular method is because you only pay for the advertising when someone clicks on it. It is important to note, however, that there is a difference between a click and a conversion.

Click versus Conversion

So what is the difference between a click and a conversion? A click simply means that someone clicked on your ad and landed on your website. That’s it; that is all a click is.

A conversion, however, is a click that converts into another action by the site visitor. They actually “do” something after landing on your website. This could be a number of things, such as:

- the site visitor purchases something

- the site visitor signs up for a site membership or subscription

- the site visitor opts in to your mailing list

- the site visitor uses your contact form to ask a question about a product or service

Many people think that a click is not a conversion unless something is actually sold. You should receive value for your advertising dollars, and that varies for every business, but it does not have to be solely monetary. A conversion does need to provide some value to you and your business, however, because otherwise there would be no benefit to spending the money.

PPC Advertising Providers with Conversion Tracking

Not all pay per click provider services offer conversion tracking capability. You do need to track pay per click conversions in order to determine if the money you are investing in this form of advertising is providing any return for the investment.

If it isn’t, you may need to make some modifications to your ads and work on your targeted keyword list to achieve a better PPC advertising conversion rate.

Here is an interesting take on the new role of social media.  In such a saturated market, using social media is no longer enough, but using it effectively is key!  Courtesy of Marsha!

“Imagine yourself at a big cocktail party where many of the people may be potential clients and customers. Everyone is milling around, enjoying the evening and you’re working the room to meet those who interest you. Now, which communication strategy do you think is going to be more effective? Going from person to person, giving them your “elevator pitch” while handing them your business cards? Or simply engaging in genuine conversations about current events and issues relevant to your expertise?

I’m sure you’ll agree the latter is a far more desirable approach to meeting new people at a cocktail party and the same holds true when conversing on a social networking site. I learned this concept from social media guru, David Meerman Scott, best-selling author of the #1 bestseller The New Rules of Marketing & PR when I interviewed him a few years ago.

While Social Networking started with no commercial intent, it has become a fact of life for many businesses who are engaged in Social Media Marketing (SMM). Commercial concerns are becoming a big part of Facebook and Twitter more and more each day. People use the social networks as part of their social lives with the commercial aspect of it being only slightly relevant.

The companies that are successful with SMM recognize that the first word is social and how they “socialize” is crucial. They use their status updates and tweets in a non-commercial manner, providing information and interesting tidbits that are related to their expertise without pushing a sales message. The important thing to remember about Social Media Marketing in general is that it’s interactive. That means when you send out a tweet or a blog, people can respond in a public forum. So, someone tweeting about how upset they are that their favorite contestant on American Idol got voted off the show knows they’ll get feedback from people who may agree or disagree with them. The same thing holds true for commercial tweets. If you send out something about your company or yourself, you’re inviting fair, as well as unfair, comment and criticism. The social networking sites are not your personal Web page, where you get to edit the content. The space is home to millions of people with all their various opinions; so if you’re not careful, you may wind up with a lot of negative chatter as a response to your business outreach.

To help you avoid some of the more common pitfalls of SMM, I’ve put together a few tips on how to use this strategy in a productive way that gets results.

Don’t Sell – People mostly use social networking sites to interact with friends and associates. If you tweet that people should buy your new book that was just released, you’re opening yourself up to negative responses for invading this social space with a commercial. It’s not like a Tupperware party where people are expected to buy what you’re selling. Treating it as such could cause you to lose followers and friends as a result.

Inform and Entertain – People will think more positively about you and your company if you use the social media connection to inform and even entertain. Let’s say you own a scuba shop, and you want to use these sites to promote your business. Don’t tweet about a sale on scuba supplies. Instead, tweet what the boating and diving conditions will be for the weekend, and include a link to a blog or informational listing on your Web site for more information on it. People who are divers will use that information to decide whether they want to dive that weekend and many may need supplies. Now they recognize and respect your shop as a resource, and will be far more inclined to stop by to fill up their oxygen tanks before their trip.

Respect the Culture – The culture of Social Media is not unlike an Internet forum or message board. The delivery mechanism is the same, but many people engage in lively and serious debate, so think of ways to engage people in those discussions without painting yourself in a negative light. A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t say it at a social gathering in person, then chances are it wouldn’t be appropriate online either. Keep your updates useful, informative and neutral. People will respect the fact that you respect them.

It’s Not a Numbers Game – This is not a direct response medium, so tweeting five times a day with new information may annoy people more than help them. Confine your communications to a reasonable number, based on the groups you belong to. Focus on the quality of your communication instead of the quantity.

Capture Your Audience – Providing quality information that your friends and followers enjoy can cause them to want more information from you. So, give people an opportunity to get it by setting up a free newsletter or a blog that they can opt into. This allows you to maintain an ongoing relationship so that when they are ready to buy what you have to offer they will remember you.

SMM is a great way to build relationships with new associates as well as potential customers and clients. When used properly, you can build a huge following of people who come to know you as an expert in your field. It’s a forum that will pay enormous dividends for years to come.”