The business of SEO and customer retention for small online businesses is sometimes murky. When you’re starting out, you’re dealing with smaller clients (presumably more of them) and you’re remaining flexible with their demands and your bandwidth. Sometimes clients need a little bend in the rules to stay satisfied – any small business owner knows that. Taking a cue from Gary Vaynerchuk’s The Thank You Economy, there are several ways to remain relevant to your customers before and after you’ve done business. Here are three steps to craft your own “witch’s brew” and leverage social media effectively:

• Get social. If you don’t have at least three points of contact for your customers to interact with you then you’re cutting yourself short. Currently, the big three still remain: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Other social networks are massively popular as well, including YouTube, Tumblr, and Pinterest.  However, depending on the kind of company you are, those networks might not be as important to your social strategy. By providing three principal points of contact you’re giving people a chance to interact with your brand professionally (LinkedIn), socially (Facebook), and casually or colloquially (Twitter).
• Be a person. What is the point of a company like Wal-Mart having a Facebook page if it’s only going to feel like interacting with a gigantic, international, corporation to their customers and fans? Surprisingly, Wal-Mart does a pretty good job of behaving like a “friend” on Facebook instead of coming off as too overly self-promotional. By being personal on your various social media channels, you’re letting fans/friends/followers know that there is a beating heart underneath it all, which is often difficult to see, so it’s best to make it apparent. A more friendly and personal approach builds trust and rapport with your customers, and will keep them coming back.
•  Communicate. Several businesses have social media accounts, but they’re not utilizing them to really reach their customers. Take the time to regularly update social media and company blogs. It’s a necessity to remain a relevant and consumer friendly company in today’s marketplace. For example, one of our clients, a telecom communications management company, utilizes an IT Help Desk.  Along these lines, there’s an emerging trend of implementing a Twitter IT Help Desk. Not only are companies adopting social media as way to enhance their marketing channels, but they’re also adopting it to take care of their customers. This not only breaks down the communication wall between customers and big companies, but it also promotes the social act of interacting one on one with your customers. You don’t need to hide the fact that you’re customers are asking questions or having to troubleshoot your product. Being open and receptive to questions in a social way will turn what could be a negative into an abundantly positive part of your business.  Here are some examples of how Southwest Airlines is using their Twitter account as a public IT help desk.

For small and large businesses that have a devoted following of customers, taking some or all of your business to the social web can have an inebriating effect on your customer base, not only inciting them to share with their friends (more potential customers) but also hardening their resolve to do business with you in the future.

This post was provided by Internet Marketing Manager Chris Galis.

All SEO Ninjas come across this important question –  which is more effective, On-Page SEO or Off-Page SEO? The short answer is both. Due to the fact that Google’s algorithms are complicated and continually changing, it’s important to ensure you have strongly optimized site content that is generating new inbound links as well. Thus, a solid SEO strategy needs to employ a wide range of on page and off page efforts in order to weather the changes and build long term success for your site.

Here are three important questions to ask while formulating your SEO Strategy.

1. Is your site brand new or already established?

This is a key question in helping you decide where to focus your efforts. In general, during the building and launch stages of the website, you want to concentrate most of your efforts towards ensuring your on-page SEO is intact. This includes proper keyword research, title/meta tags, internal linking structure, sitemaps, and robust, high quality content.

A well-structured site with good On-Page SEO from the beginning will make Off-Page SEO factors like link building far less difficult. In other words, you will likely be able to keep your page ranked higher than your competition by focusing on developing creative & engaging content that draws visitors back in.

Now if the site is already built and established, that’s another story. In this case, you need to address whatever your weak spot is. For example, if you have a perfectly structured site with good quality content but you’re still struggling to get rankings, then you’ll need to focus your efforts on generating new links.

2. What industry are you in?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to SEO. It depends heavily on the type of business/industry you happen to be in. For example, if you’re a site that is focused on providing updated information to your audience, such as news or entertainment, then On-Page SEO in the form of regular fresh content will be important. However, if your site is selling a physical product, then maintaining high rankings for top keyword phrases for that product will be more important, and link building will be more heavily emphasized.

3. What’s your level of competition?

Finally, we need to look at how competitive your targeted keyword phrases are and how difficult they will be to rank for. Whether your keywords are easy or difficult, it is always important to have solid On-Page SEO from the beginning. But if you’re in a less competitive niche, you may not need to focus as much on link building. To know this for sure, perform an analysis of the incoming links from your top 10 competitors. This will tell you how much (and what type) of link building you’ll need to do to climb above them in the rankings.

Infographic by MDG Advertising

On Day 1, we went to a panel about “Brands as Patterns” and spoke to Guy Kawasaki and Vic Gundotra of Google +. At this “Fireside Chat”, we had the chance to take the mic and ask Vic why Google won’t reveal organic inbound search terms anymore when Google users are logged in to their accounts (the Google https:// search debacle). He replied “We certainly have a few bugs to sort out, but we’re doing our best, please find me after the panel and let’s discuss”. We received a business card and are following up, hoping to get to the bottom of it!

Throughout the rest of the day we had the opportunity to attend several more panels and hung out with the folks at Oglivy Notes. We’ve included one of the Oglivy notes below from the Fireside Chat. These guys do stunning work – we’ll be sure to capture more of their note art from key discussions throughout the conference.

To top it off, we ended the night at ACL Live for a Ghostland Observatory concert – complete with one of the most amazing laser light shows ever!!

• Direct messages directly to the page –  Like Twitter, fans of your page can now message your privately, making it easier for fans to contact your business more directly
• Pin Featured Content at the Top - Taking a nod from Pinterest, businesses can now pin featured content like Videos, Notes, & Events at the top of the page (just click the + icon next to your business name)
• Highlight Featured Posts - You can also click a star icon next to a recent post to turn into a “Milestone”, which makes it much more prominent by taking over both columns of the Timeline view (this is also works on personal profile pages)
• New Layout for Posts - Posts now display in two columns, making the majority of your recently posted content stay above the fold, giving your previous posts a new opportunity to gain likes and comments when someone visits your page
• Easy Access to Insights – Page owners can now view Facebook Insights quickly and easily at the top of their page to view recent statistics on fan activity
• Highlights Capability – Visitors to your page can now click Highlights (located just below your page name, in the center of the page) which allows them to change the way they view your page.  Visitors can now select the following filters when perusing your page’s content: Friend Activity, Posts by Page, or Posts by Others 
• Timeline View – Now whenever you scroll down past a page’s cover photo, you can filter your view even further with a Timeline selection that can filter posts by content type (photos, videos, links, events, etc) and a Now selection that filters by post date

The idea behind blogging and posting for SEO purposes is to offer that extra amenity to visitors and users – an element that they can share with others who are interested in the same things. In turn, ideally, you’ll get links, and one of the best ways to create content that has great link magnetism is by curating your own list. This is probably something that you’ve heard before, but just crafting a good “Top 5” list and putting it out there is cutting short your lists’ actual potential. You’ve got to get behind your content to maximize it’s real linking potential.

As an SEO company,  we write content for dozens of blogs.  We stick to the cardinal rule of engaging, original, and informative content as much as possible, but many times – as tends to happen with great content – it gets lost in the deluge of posts, tweets, and blogs that regularly flow in and out of a visitor’s atmosphere on a given day spent online. What’s the point of spending time crafting a great article if it’s just going to get buried?

Just publishing a list and hoping that someone will share it puts you behind in the link race. As an SEOer, you’ve got to invest in your content. When you publish a “Top 5” list, let the businesses/competitors/brands/blogs that you mentioned know that they’ve just received a free plug on your site. Chances are they’ll have a blog, Facebook, and Twitter account where they can proliferate this information.

This is the ever-important act of “following-up” on your content, the investment.

With this technique, you can’t demand links outright. Invite/incentivize those potential link-building partners to help promote your content. Chances are, if they like your content, then they’ll link to it and promote it. Even though not all the folks mentioned in the list are going to give you a link on their site, you’ve still opened up a relationship with them that could be beneficial in the future. Those highly-effective, primo links don’t just happen overnight, they take some massaging, and a link on a list is a great way to start that dialogue.

Lists aren’t just link bait anymore. They’re also an easy way to cultivate beneficial relationships, leverage your content effectively in a social way, and put more shelf life on your posts. In addition, lists have the potential to attract link-builders to you. As detailed in a recent user post on the SEOmoz user blog, a great way to isolate ideal link-building partners is to find the people publishing lists. ”If you can find good quality, curated lists of websites, then you can be reasonably sure that you have found sites that are good ones to get links from.”

Don’t just hang your content out to dry, give it some wheels for mobility!

This post was written by Internet Marketing Manager Chris Galis.

I think it’s a matter of perspective. Article spinning is a very direct approach to gaining links. Submitting articles with embedded links allows you to see the arc of your SEO approach. Once it’s posted and indexed, rankings can go up. But working through social sites doesn’t really offer the direct line of site from content to link. You’ve got to nurture those relationships you form on Twitter and make sure that you’re using the medium wisely and effectively.

Twitter is a content-heavy platform. Much like Facebook, it allows real-time updates and an endless stream of links to peruse. But Twitter operates as a more personal tool for communication than the other heavy hitters. Messages are brief, to the point, and (hopefully) relevant to the handle they’re being posted from. Given its structure, Twitter has proven to be a great tool for communication with potential link partners. When email doesn’t work (and all too often, it doesn’t), I turn to the little blue bird. Here are 3 reasons to believe in the power of the @mention:

• Communication Looks Good

Companies and individuals are on Twitter to communicate. They’re there to instantly connect and interact with their consumers/readers/friends. Unlike email, communicating on Twitter has a social advantage. Seeing users talk to one another shows that they’re active and engaged with their audience, and that’s the pinnacle of social media marketing and brand building. By reaching out on Twitter you’re making connections, generating content for your timeline, and reaching new audiences.

• Brevity

The 140-character limit on Twitter can sometimes be difficult to deal with. But as a means of communication with link-building partners, it is short, to the point, and effective.

@SEOlaunchpad Great post about Google+! I’d like to share a great article with you about Twitter for SEO. Do you guest post?

What more needs to be said? Lengthy emails that discuss content and blogging policy tend to dry up the subject and cloud your intentions. By approaching via Twitter you’ve established that you like their content, you’ve got great content that you want to share, and you’re an active and engaged fan/follower.

• The Shout-Out

Not only is mentioning a link-building partner a great way to keep your messages short & sweet and allows you to communicate effectively and socially, it also provides instant & important information. Take the tweet above, for example, it tells you three things about @SEOlaunchpad: (1) we have a blog, (2) we have content that is relevant to the Twitter account that tweeted the message (3) we are can be contacted directly via Twitter. Sending an @reply like this is a quick way to plug someone’s brand to your followers, which can help start a friendly conversation about link/content sharing. It’s a win-win situation.

This post was written by Internet Marketing Manager Chris Galis

Do you ever notice how Facebook posts with the most fan engagement (i.e. likes, comments) appear at the top of your newsfeed?  This is because Facebook uses a special algorithm called EdgeRank to decide what’s relevant.  This is based on 3 factors:

• Affinity
• Weight
• Relevancy 

While the algorithm is not simple, optimizing your Facebook posts for maximum engagement is.   Here are some of our top tips for increasing your post’s affinity, weight, and relevancy:

• Encourage Interaction

Use creative ways to encourage people to “participate” with your posts.  They key is to prompt fans to engage in an action such as a “like” or posting a comment.  Facebook’s question’s feature is great for  asking your fans something about your product, brand, or getting their opinion on something.  Voting is easy and people love doing it.

Posting trivia questions or one-post contests is another way to encourage interaction.  An example of a one-post content would look something like this: “Tell us your favorite 80s movie and win tickets to tonight’s show.”  Finally, telling fans what you want them to do can be very effective – don’t be afraid to end your post with a request.  For example: “leave a comment telling us what you think,” or “‘Like’ this post if you want us to extend this week’s special until next weekend.”

• Be Visually Appealing

People will naturally be more attracted to posts that have something to offer besides text.   Stand out by incorporating relevant photos and video in your posts as often as possible.  Remember that people enjoy seeing brands behave as people, so feel free to posts pictures of your office, employees, or give a sneak preview of new products.  Use videos to introduce new products, give how-tos, announce contents, or share footage of your recent events.

• Talk To Your Fans

While this might seem like a no-brainer, you’d be surprised how many brands use Facebook to “project” rather than to engage with fans.  Show your fans some love and they will return the favor.  This can be as simple a bit of time each day to respond to fan’s comments and wall posts.  Finally, keep in mind that a personal touch goes a long way.  Don’t hesitate to tag top fans in your posts or wish your followers a great weekend or Happy Holidays.

Following these tips will help you spread your feathers, increasing your chances of being seen by current and new followers.  Engaging with great content and encouraging fan interaction are the keys to moving up the Facebook newsfeed.  Stay turned for more tips on social media to skyrocket your brand!

This post was written by Internet Marketing Manager Nicole Martinez.

As this summer marches on, we all know a good A/C and a reliably running fridge keep our food and drinks in good shape. As it turns out, A/C can also help you beat the heat from your competitors online as well. However, in this case, A/C refers to Authenticity & Consistency.

Regardless of your niche, creating authentic & consistent content truly goes a long way in the SEO world. Take Edmunds.com for example. They have built one of the most trafficked websites focused on auto parts in the country, largely due to the fact that they frequently update their site with handy information on auto maintenance and repair. They’ve got two entire sections of their site dedicated to this endeavor – “Tips and Advice” and “Car Maintenance”. Through focusing on a strategy of actively updating their site consistently and providing content that provides strong VALUE to site visitors, they have truly “widened the net” on new search rankings that drive new visitors every single day. Their #1 Google rankings cover a wide variety of search terms including “how to fix a flat”, “selling a car”, and “how to change oil”.

Certainly, applying the A/C to their site wasn’t the only thing that Edmund’s did to reach the top, but it’s a very important part of their SEO strategy. Through building their site into an informative resource, they’ve made the best link bait possible – trustworthy content that provides value to site visitors.