Deep Arora is an Internet marketer with over 7 years of online experience and he teaches internet marketing from his blog at HowIDid.com. Check out his blog for some amazing techniques today..
Google, Twitter, Facebook, Bing – Oh My!!
November 19, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
Today was a big day for Google, Bing, Twitter and Facebook.
To quickly recap:
Bing announced they have made a deal with Twitter AND Facebook to pull their updates into the SERPS (search engine results pages).
Hours later Google announced they too have a deal with Twitter and will be delivering Tweet feeds in the SERPs.
This is exciting and interesting and it confirms one thing: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Social Media are partners in your success. You shouldn’t neglect either.
No one knows exactly how this is going to play out yet but we’ve all started preparing for it already. Off the top of my head, here are some tips to help you prepare.
Since we don’t know how they will sort through the massive volume and pick the tweets to return in the results, we don’t know exactly how to give our tweets the best shot at getting picked up.
Let’s look at a little logic and a little Google knowledge.
They like history and they like quality. They also like volume.
So, get an account now if you don’t have one already. Get as much history in as you can. Accounts that have been around longer with more tweet history (and more followers) may fare better. (PLEASE don’t go overboard – the last thing we need is people to start keyword stuffing mass volumes of tweets).
Tweet often but keep it natural – and tweet quality. Tweet when you have something to ask, share or teach.
Use keywords – but don’t stuff with keywords. If the tweets are about your industry, you should be using keywords naturally anyway.
If you are going to retweet your messages at different times of the day to be more likely to catch your audience, make sure you vary them a little bit (and again, don’t go overboard).
Use links in your tweets back to your site (to relevant content on your site) and share the link love – link to other quality sites out there. Make sure you use your keyword in your bio and if you are just setting up your username, maybe in your username too? This may or not help. Again, I must say – do not stuff keywords anywhere – not in tweets, not in your bio, not in your username.
This is a good thing, but if people abuse it and bring the overall quality of Twitter down, we will all be sorry.
If you have a feed that sends your tweets to Facebook, or your Facebook status to Twitter, you may want to consider turning it off. If you have the same message in both places you are missing an opportunity for Bing to pick up both. If they are unique, you have 2 chances to get in there!
So, get tweeting and Facebooking! It’s going to be a fun ride!
Jennifer Horowitz, Dir. of Marketing for EcomBuffet.com, has written a book on SEO and has been published in many SEO & Marketing publications. She is the editor of Spotlight on Success: SEO & Marketing newsletter. Over the past 10 years Jennifer’s expertise in marketing & Search Engine Optimization has helped clients increase revenue. Follow Jennifer and stay current on SEO, marketing, social media & more. http://twitter.com/EcomBuffet
SEO for the new Bing/Twitter Collaboration
November 19, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
I feel like a kid in a candy store, which hasn’t happened in a long, and I mean long, time. What has spurred this sudden joy? A collaboration of grand proportions, I tell you.
Bing, the new “decision” search engine, has fully integrated Twitter posts into search listings. I find this very interesting as I’m sure it will be beneficial for internet marketing, specifically Bing search engine optimization (SEO). The question is — how?
For one, I believe we will see far more keyword-rich Tweets (Twitter posts) along with the inherent spam placements, which will need to be addressed in some way. Instead of simply posting on Twitter, many companies and individuals will spend more time researching their target market and strategically constructing entries. Previously, the intention of a Tweet was to attraction human attention, thus the posts resembled such. Now it’s a whole new ball game.
Secondly, the frequency of entries will surely increase by a large margin. Due to Bing displaying recent/relative Tweets, the more Tweets the better. Rather than posting 5 times per week, companies will make 20 posts. More posts on Twitter = more traffic, each user will spend more time on the site, Twitter will benefit from increased website rank and advertisers will find the site more appealing. I predict an elaborate advertising platform will be launched soon, which will do well given increased website traffic/exposure. Mark my word.
I will continue to research internet marketing with Bing/Twitter and will keep everyone updated. Be sure to sign-up for my newsletter and check back often for case studies and research on utilizing Bing/Twitter to increase traffic/revenue.
Sincerely,
Aaron Schoenberger
The Brainchild Group – Internet Marketing Company specializing in Professional SEO, Website Design, Online Marketing Campaigns, Restaurant Marketing, Law Firm Marketing
It’s not just for kids and geeks – Twitter is good for Business too!
November 16, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
5 types of business that should be using Twitter
They’re all talking about it – the online phenomenon for 2009. Forget Google, forget Facebook and don’t even mention Yell.com – Twitter is where it’s at this year!
Founded in 2006 as a way to let fellow members know “what you are doing”, Twitter has expanded way beyond its founders wildest dreams.
2009 is the year Twitter has become more “mainstream”. This has been helped by celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Ashton Kutcher and Jonathan Ross espousing its virtues but also by the number of businesses out there realising the marketing and promotional capabilities of Twitter.
However it’s usually when I talk to potential clients about using Twitter as part of their social media marketing, I hear:
“It’s just for kids and geeks”
“Only IT and Marketing bods make money from it”
and other such comments.
With this in mind, here are a random 5 industries, each with 5 ways they could use Twitter to promote their business:
1) HOTELS
Twitter is fast paced, instant communication, ideal for the hotel & hospitality industry.
Hotels could:
- Communicate last minute offers – Use Twitpic to show pictures of rooms – Post customer testimonials – Request feedback from guests
DM Bonus – If your guests have Twitter, why not DM them a special Twitter code if they eat dinner in the hotel?
2) PHOTOGRAPHERS
While Twitter is seen mainly as a textual medium, it can be visual too.
Photographers, why not:
- Use Twitpic to post a “picture of the day” – Tweet about the photo shoot you’re doing today, so people get a feel for your scope – Post links to your blog/website – Use TwTQpon to offer free studio time (specify purchase of X photos) – Ask satisfied customers to retweet the link to their pic(s) in your portfolio
DM Bonus – If your customers are on Twitter, DM them the link to thier pictures on your password protected server, or private group on Flickr/Facebook etc.
3)ASTROLOGIST
It’s not always easy to get people to sign up to a mailing list on a website if you’re in a very niche industry, but it’s a lot easier to get followers on Twitter.
- Use Hootsuite to run 12 daily horoscope accounts – one for each star sign – Post details of astrologically important days/dates/events – Offer a free reading for every 50th follower – ask people to retweet – Post testimonials from satisfied clients – Post celebrity horoscopes on a weekly basis
DM Bonus – Offer free 140 character descriptions of each star sign – have them ready to cut and paste. Offer them by DM only. (People have to follow you to get DM’s)
4) HOLIDAY RESORT/GUESTHOUSE
If SEO is too competitive and too costly, try Twitter – the only cost is your time, and even that can be minimal!
- Use 12 second TV to post short video testimonials filmed on an iPhone or similar – Use Twitpic to post pictures of your resort – Post about local traditions/holidays/etc – Tweet last minute special offers/prices – Use TwtQpon to offer money off local/on site restaurants/bars
DM Bonus – Guests on Twitter? DM them to let them know they can check in.
5) SPEAKERS
It might be written communication, but I know a few speakers doing very well from Twitter, so if you’re a speaker, why not:
- Post links to audio files of you speaking – Autofeed your calender/blog into your Twitter account so people know where you’re speaking – Post a “tip of the day” each day, related to your speciality – Use 12 second TV to post short clips of you speaking then link to the longer version on youtube/your website – Use Twitter search to find people talking about your speciality/niche – ask them if they can introduce you to people wanting speakers
DM Bonus – Offer a free ebook / whitepaper / mention on your website by DM only. The only way to get it is to follow you so you can DM them.
So there you have it – 5 types of business that should be using Twitter, and 5 things they can use it for.
Nikki Pilkington is author of TweetMentor from NikkiPilkington.com, a 100 day hand holding support system to help you through the Twitter maze.
Internet marketing expert Nikki Pilkington is owner of NikkiPilkington.com, an internet marketing and search engine optimisation company based in the UK, offering higher google listings, SEO, website traffic generation, Adwords management, email marketing and more.
Tr.im Dies, Do You Know Where Your Links Are?
November 15, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
As if to put a little exclamation point on Saturday’s post, “Twitter’s DOS Attack (And Why Social Media Sucks)” the URL shortening service Tr.im announced Sunday that they’re closing their doors.
We marketers use different methods to shorten URL’s, and for different reasons.
While on Twitter, we may shorten a long URL just so it doesn’t take up the 140 character limit Twitter imposes.
But we also use URL shorteners sometimes to mask affiliate links. http://yourclickbankid.clickbakproduct.hop.clickbank.net is unattractive, long and kinda weird for your site visitors to click on. Instead, we use one URL shortening method or another to make those long, ugly affiliate links into something a bit more palatable.
And as such, we’re dependent on whatever method we use to shorten those long URL’s to remain *working* – if we choose a method of URL shortening that goes the way of Tr.im, our links may no longer work!
The lifetime of a single Tweet is minutes, perhaps a few days – but for the most part, a tweet and any link associated with it doesn’t necessarily need to “live” forever. Shortened some tweeted links with a now-defunct URL shortening service 14 months ago? Probably not going to cut into your bottom line.
But an old friend of mine used to always say, “Safety first!” And as such, I use Bit.ly to shorten any URL’s I tweet. Why? Bit.ly is Twitter’s default URL shortening service. While nothing is ever 100%, I’ll assume due to their association with Twitter that Bit.ly will be around for a while and as such, my tweeted links will live on, should they need to.
Finally, the Twitter client Seesmic will allow you to integrate you Bit.ly account so you can shorten URL’s to your Bit.ly account from within Seesmic.)
So on the Twitter front, we’re ok. But what if you’re using a URL shortening service to mask affiliate links elsewhere (your money site, blog, or external sites, like Squidoo)?
You’ve got to change those links to be links that you have control of!
You absolutely *must* use a method of shortening/redirection that is dependent on your own domain. That way you have control of the links and you know they’ll always work.
If you’re using a Wordpress setup, you can use the plugin Redirection to do just that – Crowd Mountain members know alot of the little tips and tricks for using this plugin. But the basics premise is that it’ll take http://yourclickbankid.clickbakproduct.hop.clickbank.net and change it to http://www.yoursite.com/product/ – and it’ll give you stats on the number of clicks the link has received so you can track reader’s interest and conversions.
What’s more, if you find out that the product you’re directing visitors to just isn’t converting, you can change where your redirection link goes to to test another product, without having to edit the links you’ve placed on your site or over the ‘net.
The point I was making in “Twitter’s DOS Attack (And Why Social Media Sucks)” and the point I’m making here is that you must be in control of your business, particularly the elements of your business that bring you leads, subscribers, sales and ultimately, your income.
Depending on any one (free) service to host your content or lead visitors to the “Buy Now” page will ultimately award you with a headache, at best!
Another free resource you might enjoy is the Social Media Myth, where Michelle MacPhearson explains the reason most marketers aren’t having success with their social media marketing and devises a simple plan for you to follow. Unfortunately, we try to do too much with too little, the Social Media Myth is the answer.

