TechCrunch just wrote an article about SnapAds. Get this - within 3 days this display ad optimization company was able to increase an ads return by 1922%. Here’s what the TechCrunch article had to say:

“[SnapAds] has created a system that dynamically adjusts the appearance of banner ads over time to maximize engagement. And it seems to work - a three day trial campaign for a recent film saw an increased clickthrough rate of 1922% over three days (not a typo).” To read their article, click here.

SnapAds - Display Ad Optimization from SnapAds on Vimeo.

This is multi-variant testing at its best. The system they built literally keeps getting rid of the weakest link until they are only displaying the ad with the very best click through rates. Brilliant.

Traditionally banner advertising has not worked too well. Unless you are advertising within a really nichey area…but the click-through rate is usually pretty bad (like .01%). I’m glad to see there is a company that is improving these rates

As always - if you have questions - feel free to email me at laura@virtualmg.com.

There are a lot of people out there selling a wide variety of search engine optimization (SEO) approaches to improve the search results and move your website to a favorable position on Google and other search engines. Many of these approaches are time- and labor-intensive, and as a result they can be quite costly. Some are sold as if the provider has some magic dust or proprietary approach. Some might actually get you blacklisted by Google. A key part of making your website search engine friendly can be boiled down to one word: content.

 

Sure, you need to build your site “right,” and conform to the specific expectations that users and search engines have of well-built sites. Most commonly, that means following Google’s best practices, which includes the following three key points related to content:

 

“Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.”

 

“Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.”

 

“Try to use text instead of images to display important names, content, or links. The Google crawler doesn’t recognize text contained in images.”

 

Another point often emphasized is to have text links to every page on your site, not just graphics. The text links will be more effective if they describe what is being linked to, and don’t just say “click here.” A number of links to a document using the same phrase in the anchor text of each leads to Google associating that phrase with the page.

 

Google best linking practices include using links to highlight relevant words and phrases, using links to move readers between web pages on your site, and using an appropriate number of links, rather than over-linking, so that useful, relevant links stand out.

 

It is also important to make sure each page on your site has a descriptive title tag.

 

Keyword density also influences where Google ranks your page. For example, if your keyword appears just once on a page with 1,000 words of content, it will rank lower than if that same keyword appears four times on a page with the same total number of words.

 

However, resist the temptation to keep just a few words on a page, since search engines rank pages that are in excess of a certain size higher in the results. Likewise, key words have to appear in proper context, as search engines recognize words and phrases dumped into a random sequence that does not make sense.

 

If you form sentences with the words and phrases, it can help boost your search engine ranking. You may have to hold your nose as a writer and ignore some of the approaches you use when you are working to create good writing for purposes other than the web. Instead of using alternatives for something in your writing, like pronouns, use the phrase each time. It takes a careful balance of improving keyword density without making your page downright unpleasant to read, but the reward will be improved search engine results related to the key word or phrase.

 

Tools

There are a number of tools available on the web that track and analyze how search terms are used. Spacky (www.spacky.com) is a free tool that lets you type in a search term. It then gives you a list of related terms and their estimated monthly search volumes.

 

Wordtracker (www.wordtracker.com) is a subscription-based service (a free trail is available) that was created in 1997 to track what people are searching for on the web. Site owners and marketers can identify keywords and phrases being used by search engine users that are also relevant to a particular business or industry. It can also show how many competing sites are using specific key words and phrases, and identify the words and phrases that have the potential to attract the most traffic.

 

Wordtracker updates its database of more than 330 million search terms on a weekly basis. It collects search terms from Dogpile and Metacrawler. It also has some outstanding articles on how to research keywords and phrases and develop content.

 

Both of these tools can show you how much search traffic you are likely to tap into by using particular search terms. They can also demonstrate for you just how much competition you are likely to encounter as you compete for eyeballs on the web. Best of all, they can reveal hidden gems that you and others might not be aware of.

 

The most obvious search terms are used often to find information, and appear on millions of sites. However, if you think creatively, you can create variations on those obvious terms that will help you land search engine traffic because not everyone searches by the most obvious terms, and not everyone goes to the trouble to include other, related terms as part of their site content.

 

Asking for trouble with content

There are a lot of fly-by-night groups out there promising to improve your search engine ranking, especially when it comes to Google search results. They talk about loopholes in Google’s system, or hacks they can use to exploit the way Google ranks sites. Don’t listen to them – you are more likely to get your site blacklisted than to land at the top of the search engine results. Things to be wary of when it comes to site content include:

 

Don’t duplicate!

Using the same content on multiple pages in an effort to get page views will get you into hot water with Google. A site developer creating a site to provide information on many breeds of dogs learned this the hard way. As a place holder, they put the same content onto many pages until they could generate breed-specific content for each. Google indexed the site before the new content was posted, discovered the duplicate content, and the site disappeared from Google’s search results.

 

This can be a problem in a couple of other key instances, as well. First, if a spam site steals and duplicates your content, it can harm your search engine results and traffic. Fortunately, Google allows you to report these instances so you don’t become an innocent victim. Second, you might be tempted to buy ready-made content or articles – which might be a fine idea, or it might cause you problems with Google if the same article has been purchased and used on many other sites.

 

However, you may want to offer your content or articles you write for re-publication or syndication, as long as the sites they are used on are legitimate sites, and not spam sites or link farms.

 

Don’t plagiarize!

While it might be tempting, don’t plagiarize – steal – content from somewhere else. You will get caught. Tools like Copyscape (www.copyscape.com) do the work for users to find where content has been lifted wholesale and without permission. Even a quick Google search on a unique phrase or string of words will reveal word thieves.

 

Other content-related tricks that will cause you Google trouble include:

• Using keywords that don’t relate to your content
• Hiding text by matching the font color to the background color
• Adding extra title tags

 

In Summary

The secret when it comes to search engine results is that there really is no secret. By building a site to industry standards, and creatively developing content that adheres to best practice guidelines and also speaks to the audience you wish to reach, you will appeal to the search engines and those searching for information. The search engine results and traffic will follow as a matter of course.

Everyone knows that Web 2.0 is the Next Big Thing. Social web sites are growing at an explosive rate and they already impact the way we do many things – how we get our news, network, or do marketing and public relations. Everyone knows they need to get on the Web 2.0 bandwagon, ASAP.

 

But what does that mean? Where do you start? How do you make sense of all that’s going on out there? How do you pick the best options for you and your business? What are the pitfalls? How do you clear the fog of social media, and make Web 2.0 a significant part of your marketing mix?

 

What is Web 2.0?

 

Web 2.0 is a term coined by Tim O’Reilly to describe the latest trends in Internet technology. Web 2.0 applications are aimed at enhancing creativity, making it easier to share information and collaborate, and increase the overall functionality of the Web. Ross Mayfield observed that Web 1.0 was about commerce, while Web 2.0 is about people.

 

Web 2.0 includes blogs, mashups, podcasts, social bookmarking sites, wikis, social networking, and more. Some of these tools can prove useful to you in your business and networking activities. Not all of them are appropriate for every business; but they can, as part of an overall marketing mix, help businesses find and reach target markets, differentiate themselves from the competition, reach customers more quickly and share and collaborate with partners, vendors, customers, and others.

 

It’s a big world out there

Inside CRM (www.insidecrm.com) ran an article this year titled “50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence On.” Is summarizes sites in the categories of social media/social bookmarking, professional networking, niche social media, general social media and job sites. Some you’ve no doubt heard of, like LinkedIn and Twitter. Others might be new to you. There are no doubt many other sites that have come on line since the article was published.

 

Perhaps our initial response to this article is best summarized by a reader comment posted by a user named Martin: “Great list, but I need to move somewhere in the world where a day is 34 hours. Can you help?” Indeed, like any other activity in your marketing mix, you can spend hours and hours on social media web activities. Worse yet, you can spend a lot of time and produce very little return.

 

The best approach, if you don’t have several clones of yourself or a large corporate staff who can devote every waking hour to a social media campaign, is straightforward. Divide and conquer. Start small – perhaps with just one site. Then add other sites to your mix, if the payoff you are seeing from your initial efforts supports more investment in the social media world.

 

Join and participate in online communities that make sense for you and your business. Be sure to pick sites that you actually enjoy being a part of – or assign a staff member who enjoys regularly participating as a representative of your business (just be sure to lay down some ground rules about appropriate behavior – see below).

 

Take particular note of the “participate” part – if you just register and log in once in a blue moon, you won’t see results. No connections, no contribution, no impact on your business. However, if you contribute, the payoff is two-fold – you help others, and you establish yourself as an expert. Something is better than nothing, and consistency is your friend.

 

Opportunities, challenges and pitfalls

Web 2.0 gives individuals and businesses a great opportunity to connect to and target relevant audiences as never before. You can reach out to your area, your state, across the country and around the globe. You can improve your search engine ranking, and drive traffic to your site.

 

In the public relations arena, especially, the interactive nature of Web 2.0 in general and social media, in particular, has opened up a whole new dimension when it comes to public relations. The precise, targeted way that stories can be shared, relationships forged and awareness built has many PR agencies creating social media practices and small businesses embracing the grassroots power that this new landscape gives to them.

 

However, there are some dirty little secrets when it comes to the world of social media marketing. One, discussed above, is that you can easily get overwhelmed by trying to do too much. There are plenty of sites out there that are not relevant to you and your business, and it’s important to recognize that. Facebook or YouTube might be a fit, but they are not for everybody. By focusing on selected, high-value sites, communities and activities that stand to create a return on the time you invest, you create a strong foundation to build on and can expand from there.

 

Likewise, don’t set yourself up for extra work by trying to participate in multiple sites that provide the same functionality. A big challenge is sampling or auditing the sites available that hope to cater to a particular community or service. There is a lot of overlap and redundancy out there. You wouldn’t necessarily do two or three times the work to log all your networking contacts into multiple contact management packages –choose the one that works best for you.

 

We’ve all learned the lesson that websites come and go with the whims of the market and venture capital funding. It seems clear that as trends emerge and markets are created and fall out of favor, websites that speak to those concerned with those trends and markets will come and go, as well. The web presents the opportunity, though, to create new sites and new communities based on the issue of the moment. If you can’t find a site that speaks to your market or issue, you can start it yourself.

 

Whether it be support for a particular political candidate, the effort to reunite a dog in Iraq with a U.S. soldier that had returned stateside, or the creation of a marketplace to connect green vendors or trade carbon credits, the nature of the web allows us not just to participate in the communities of our choice, but in some cases create the community that we and others have been seeking.

 

Another thing no one likes to talk about is that for every high-traffic blog, or every YouTube video series that catches on like wildfire, there are many more that have few visitors or viewers, and maybe none. There might be eight million stories in the naked city, but there are millions more blogs on the Web, and there are countless blogs that have been abandoned due to lack of interest by their creator or a lack of readers.

 

Ghost blogs aside, the worst thing you can do is damage to your reputation by not following the guidelines, expectations or user agreement that covers a particular site, or violating ethical considerations when it comes to your online activities. A legitimate distance education school found itself in hot water in recent years because an employee of the company registered and posted to forums covering the industry while posing as a student. When you operated in an industry filled with fly-by-night operations, you already have an uphill battle, and shooting yourself in the foot is the last thing you want to do.

 

The assumption of anonymity on the web sometimes creates a false sense of protection when the temptation to do something like this arises. However, for those who understand the technology, it can be relatively simple to track back the source of misleading posts using simple tools. Whether done with the clear message that you are a staff member of your company, or while foolishly trying to hide your affiliation, any misstep can quickly undo all of your hard work, and do significant damage to your reputation.

 

Participation Guidelines

It’s important to think through the goals and objectives you want to accomplish by participating in social media. It’s even more important to observe some guidelines while doing so that may seem obvious or common sense; but don’t take the chance that someone representing your company might do your organization harm by engaging in rude or unethical behavior while representing the company online.

 

Some guidelines to start the discussion include:

1. Be honest and transparent – don’t hide your identity or affiliation.

2. Be respectful, courteous, professional and well-mannered – don’t engage in arguments, offer constructive feedback.

3. Establish your credibility by sharing your credentials and experience and contributing where you can be of assistance to others.

4. Recognize others’ expertise, and give them opportunities to contribute to the discussion.

5. Don’t overstep your bounds – if you don’t know, say so; if there’s a potential for conflict of interest, reveal it.

6. Leverage your efforts and be consistent – tie your participation to other online and offline efforts.

7. Remember where you come from – you did not always know all you now know.

8. Be a positive role model – remember, you are an ambassador for your organization.

 

Can you see clearly now?

So, now you should have an idea about how to find out what part of Web 2.0 is likely to give you the best bang for your buck. You should also be aware that if you don’t choose your area of focus carefully, you risk spinning you wheels and wasting a lot of time, effort and money.

 

Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed. Consider starting with just one site or community, and monitor the return on your investment into that one outlet. Add more if the effort is justified. Choose communities that make sense for your business, and actively participate on a consistent basis.

 

Pick unique sites based on what they offer, and preview sites that provide similar capabilities, choosing the one that is best for you. If no website exists to serve the community you wish to reach, consider starting one yourself.

 

Finally, follow the rules of the site(s) you decide to participate in, and behave yourself.

Anyone who is familiar with Search Engine Optimization knows it can take 9 to 18 months to get your site ranked on Google. It is a long, slow process.

 

But there is a way around this - it’s called athority sites. An authority site is a site that is highly popular and therefore indexed by Google a lot (like every few minutes). Non-authority sites (like that new website you just reserved the domain name for) are indexed every three weeks or so… that’s why it takes forever for an ordinary site to get good rankings.

 

Here’s an example about how to use authority sites: let’s say you are promoting a new product for Christmas and you don’t have the time (or the inclination) to wait around for months and months for your product to rank when someone searches for “cool Christmas widget.” So - instead you post a ton of articles on authority sites like Squidoo and HubPages. This gets your articles ranked high on the search engines and gets traffic to your site.

 

If you have more questions about getting ranked or SEO, feel free to email me at laura(at)virtualmg.com.

 I went to the Coldplay concert last night in Salt Lake City, UT. They were excellent. Unfortunately, I did not shoot any video - check out the one below for a little “taste” of what it was like.

Coldplay Concert TD WateHouse

Their concert was very much about being at an event. The multi-media and effects for their performance were experly executed. Or as Melissa Ruggieri, of inrich.com, writes “What Coldplay offers live are well-designed Big Rock Band trappings – video screen the width of the stage, a rainbow of lasers, neon butterfly confetti – but instead of coating them with the cool self-assurance of a thousand other rock stars, the band projects an endearing warmth.” (read her article)

A few of the spectacular things Coldplay did were:

1. They positioned the stage so that there were large “cat walks” that went right into the middle of the ground floor - so fans could see Chris Martin (lead singer) and the band up close and personal.

2. They also moved their band to various locations in the arena (at one point being in the back of the room - opposite the stage) - this allowed row 112 to get an up close and personal view of the band.

3. They projected live video of the band - but more importantly - live video of the audience. At one point, they had an arena of 45,000 people all waving their lit-up cell phones turning the place into an expansive star field.

4. They kept everyone guessing…as to their location in the arena and with their use of breaks leaving people hanging at times and building up the anticipation to the next song.

5. Just the way lead singer (Martin) spoke to the audience made him seem like every one’s friend in a very charming - yet depreciating way. At one point he even said “Thanks for missing whatever you were going to do tonight to come out and see us.”

All of these elements involved the audience. Although your company may not put on large concerts, there is a lot to be learned from Coldplay. It is becoming increasingly more important to get your clients completely immersed in the process. We are a very experience-oriented culture (check out The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille), and your customers are drawn to anything that provides an exciting experience.

Coldplay provided excitement with all of their larger-than-life effects (big screens, butterfly confetti, large suspended globes with video projected on them), the fact that they moved to many locations in the arena which kept the audience on their toes, and so on. They also involved the audience with the use of video of the audience encouraging participation (i.e. people waving lit cell phones) and with the way the band interfaced with the audience. Even though there were 40,000+ people there, the band was able to build instant rapport.

To give you an example of this in more of a business setting…I just went to an entrepreneurial conference a few days ago. At the conference, they had many sponsors and all of the sponsors got trade show tables. They all had the basic stuff - a fishbowl you can put your card in to be a part of a free drawing, pens branded with their name, candy, brochures, business cards, a graphical backdrop with their logo and the ‘token’ company rep sitting behind the table.

All of this is fine…but they didn’t really provide an experience. Simple things like having your staff wear the same color (we did this at an event VirtualMG went to - everyone wore the same green ties - and, you won’t think it, but it made a HUGE difference). Also - providing something completely interactive can make a big difference - get your reps to commit to never sitting behind the trade show table. And do something completely different and memorable. This doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg. Hire a magician, get someone to be a “live sculpture” (like you see in Europe), hire people to walk around the event and pass out flyers (maybe you can even have them be on roller skates - for the added novelty).

Every company at an event has the same set up - sure some of the graphics are better, brochures are different, etc. - but to make a huge impact, you must create an interactive experience that will be remembered.

Laura Roser
laura(at)virtualmg.com
801-278-1211

We finally took our own advice and started a blog!

My name is Laura Roser, Founder and CEO of VirtualMG.

When I was sixteen, I designed my first website – it was for an engineering company. Now…this may not seem like a big deal. But this was back when even simple websites were “cutting edge.” I kept dabbling in website work, went to college, graduated with a B.S. in Marketing and then started working at a management consulting firm handling their marketing projects.

Then about six years ago, I thought to myself, how about I start my own Marketing Agency? With a little push from a colleague and a few “starter” accounts, I launched my own Marketing Agency.

What I found is that there were many people who were brilliant business men and women who found it absolutely impossible to keep up with cutting-edge technology. My plan was simple – seek out the best minds in internet marketing, digital applications and online branding. From there I built a team whose passion lies in keeping up-to-the-minute with the digital age.

This is what VirtualMG is all about – giving our clients the proper exposure and marketing strategy for the changing digital marketplace. Of course, we work with traditional media as well, but the fact is that soon the “traditional” will be obsolete. Our goal is to assist our clients in being ahead of the curve and thriving in these ever changing times.

The purpose of this post and upcoming ones is to give you information about what your business can do to rocket ahead in the virtual world

Have a safe and happy weekend.

All the best,

Laura Roser
VirtualMG
laura(at)virtualmg.com
Local: 801-278-1211
Toll Free: 866-778-1211