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Search Engine Optimization Blog from WebiMax

WebiMax team of expert search engine optimization consultants provide daily postings on Internet marketing related topics, including SEO, PPC, SEM, SMO, Web Design and more. With the continual updates to algorithms and digital strategies, the WebiMax team of bloggers keep its users informed on best practices to stay in touch with Google and all major SE's news.

Don’t Let a Penguin Chill Online Marketing Outlooks

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Anthony Pensabene by Anthony Pensabene

Of course, the Penguin update is a hot topic at the moment. Google, the most widely-leveraged search engine, made some modifications, which influenced a number of Web masters. What’s done is done. It’s not the first time Google has done it; and, it won’t be the last.

Should it chill your reception of online marketing? I can see how it can for a party of people who view online marketing as an unknown mystery that can deliver results if you type in the right codes. It’s not quite like that. SEO, online marketing, SEM, and other derivations of “marketing” vary in degrees but all pursue the same end…intriguing and converting consumers…as it has always been.

Back to Basics
A while ago now, Gianluca Fiorelli wrote a post, urging us to ‘wake up.’ I’ve referenced the post before; it’s a great learning resource for novices; it explains the major components of online marketing and justifies them. Gianluca urges us to focus on the technical, content, and social aspects of online marketing. Let’s further explain for our purposes here:

Technical
Gianluca is referencing a site’s meta information, HTML, backend design, etc – all the technical aspects. He wants to ensure your site is appropriately ‘communicating’ with the search engines, which host its information and pages. This is a job for your coders, IT guys, designers, and other professionals who understand the ‘language’ of computers.

The technical ensures the engines understand and properly read your pages. Consumers use engines; so, make sure your pages are properly indexed. Here is another good post on technical SEO by Dave Sottimano.

Content
Let’s continue by discussing a beloved topic of content. Online…success (whatever that means to your brand) is king. That’s why you pursued online marketing in the first place – to make your brand successful. Content (written posts, audio files, info-graphics, videos, cartoon strips, etc) needs to be composed and released entirely with the target market in mind.

Who should know your market the best? You should. Why else would you be offering goods/services to it? You’ll find tons of great information on how to generate great content online. Collect tidbits here and there you can use to help organize and share your own content. However, understand you can’t recreate the success of another brand by emulating their tactics; you must heed practices then create something unique to your brand.

Jonathan Morrow wrote a content-focused piece on Copyblogger recently. It’s written in a humorous but highly pragmatic style. The post gets down to the essence of writing sales copy and writing for your consumer.

Social
There was a time when a consumer leveraged the phone book or some kind of directory to locate a service or product need. There would be a broad heading, like electricians, with a number of service providers listed after. Aside from some copy cues, there was really no way for the brands to differentiate themselves, to express personality. Nowadays, brands can freely engage markets and express personality through social media channels.

Remember why so many brands were obsessed with the Web in the beginning? They knew it was a new marketing channel, a way to get peoples’ attentions. Brands quickly started chasing rankings, thinking consumers bought from providers listed on the top of SERs. It’s still a sound decision to get on the first page; yet, it’s not a necessity. Get your market’s attention through social media; that’s what you wanted in the first place, right? You wanted to get consumers’ attentions.

Engaging in social media is highly subjective too, just like constructing copy. I can give you suggestions; but, you can’t be me and I can’t be your brand.

However, a brand can use resources to devise its own methodical and strategic way of addressing social media initiatives. I often read the BlueGlass blog for tips on peer, social, and public relations. The social aspect of online marketing is very akin to traditional PR, except now, brands are not just being social with the press; brands are being social with just about anyone involved with them.

Conclusion
The technical/content/social approach to online marketing is a sound paradigm at present. There are six-million ways to try your marketing initiatives. Ideally, arrange your online marketing around your target market rather than Penguins and Googles. I couldn’t of said it better myself:

Anthony Pensabene ‏ @content_muse

Be dependent on your target market’s interest rather than movements of zoo animals and their ‘keepers’

A Closer Look at the CIVETS Countries – Social Media, Tech, & Mobile Potential

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Ryan Buddenhagen by Ryan Buddenhagen

In yesterday’s post, I looked at emerging markets which I have discussed before, but with inspiration from a piece by Christian Arno (Search Engine Watch) this time I addressed them in terms of particular groupings of countries that are expected to experience exceptional growth in the near future. The BRIC countries have been the champions of this realm for some time, but now it is the CIVETS countries (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa) that are being recognized for their potential as being the next wave of emerging economies. Especially intriguing for those in the tech and internet industries is the fact that much of the opportunity that will become apparent in these countries will exist for these industries as characteristics such as the age of the population will greatly influence how the increases in money will be spent and the behaviors that will be engaged in. Let’s dive in deeper.

The Marketing, PR and Branding of Early Market Entry
I touched on this briefly yesterday, but the idea is that getting into a market early has distinct benefits in being the first to establish a foothold. Now, this does not guarantee success or long-term sustainability in the market, but it certainly gets the company off on the right foot in this direction. If the product is quality, marketed well, and strikes the right cord with the local audience, then that could result in the brand recognition and customer loyalty that brings a company the dominant position in a vertical when other players enter.

This also translates into dollars and sense in that the money spent early in the process for online marketing, advertising, gaining exposure, and establishing a brand in an emerging market can be less than if they were coming in and competing with several other brands immediately. This is a simplified look at the process but is still representative of the realities of such opportunities.

Localization – In Both Senses
According to Arno, these markets are rife with localization potential, so let’s examine that. I think it’s true in two ways. First, companies coming into the market can cater what they do including their web design and internet marketing practices to the local language and culture to further localize their efforts to where they are operating. This is something I have spent much time discussing the importance of, most recently looking at how French e-retailer Spartoo is making it a priority to localize their website experiences to each new market in a piece of my mine from last week.

Further, the opportunity for effective local search engine optimization will simply skyrocket as internet use increases in these countries. As more and more people use the internet and search for local information (a current favorite ad growing search behavior), an entire market for businesses to optimize their online presence for local searches targeting this traffic will take hold. Many of these businesses are currently not online, don’t exist yet, or do not see any ROI at present because the mass of searchers has yet to get online in these markets in full force. There is a real opportunity for results-oriented SEO companies to assist these businesses in their optimization.

Real Factors of CIVETS Growth
The large and young populations of the CIVTES countries (populations of the countries range from 45 mill to 248 mill, all with median ages of 28.5 or lower). The younger population is more likely to do several things that will increase opportunity for internet and tech businesses. If developed economies are any indication, these young people will drive sales in technology as interest and financial resources increase, making more opportunity for tech companies to establish a presence. Further, the fact that the total population numbers are high only compounds the impact of what these young people do in the years to come.

Along with technology, internet use will climb as access increases and interest in social media and smartphones grows. If the social media experience of BRIC countries India and China is any indication, developing CIVETS nations can expect high social participation and engagement, as over 66% of online adults in urban India and China create content on social media platforms (Forrester). There is insufficient data on smartphone penetration in most of the CIVETS countries, but Egypt does boast over 25% at present. Using smartphones will drive increased searching behavior and further local search engine optimization opportunities in the countries.

In sum, there is great potential and businesses whose goals and industry characteristics align with the opportunities that exist, should consider involving themselves in these markets to some degree. For more information on any of these issues or international search engine optimization, reach out to me directly at rbuddenhagen@webimax.com and @ryanwbudd.

Things I’m Doing When I Should Be Working

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Anthony Pensabene by Anthony Pensabene

(Looks around) Psst. Hey you, come here. I have a secret. I’m not always ‘working.’ Well, better defined, I’m not always doing what I’m paid to do. You see, I’m not being disobedient or having a Peter Gibbons moment. I love my job. I’m just not always doing it. (Gets up, stretches, does some pushups, takes a sip of coffee, then looks out the window.)

Here are a few things I’m doing when I should be working.

Reading
(Puts down US Weekly) I don’t believe ‘reading’ is in my job description; yet, I do a whole bunch of it throughout the day. I’ve taken it upon myself to become completely immersed in my particular vertical. In my vertical of online marketing, many bloggers and associated sites exist. My eyes ravenously encounter a litany of lines during business hours. Shh – don’t tell my bosses I’m becoming more proficient in my respective area of concentration!

Well, maybe it’s not so roguish. A little while ago, one of our strategists of SEO, Chris Countey, sent me an email. It was to commend me on my ability to engage the community and vertical. He asked how ‘we’ can replicate such behavior for our clients.

I told him it’s sort of difficult to make suggestions without knowing particular clients’ verticals and goals. Actually, I caught one of Todd Bailey’s suggestions in a recent CNBC Google Penguin post:

“Businesses need to get rid of the philosophy that they need to get as many links and as much content out as there as they can,” Bailey said. “They need to look at a public relations strategy and try to produce quality content by pitching news outlets, doing press releases and guest blogging.

Wait. Todd’s thinks a PR strategy is a sound marketing decision. Well, that’s not in my job description either; yet, I think I’ve found something else to do when I should be working.

Actually, I read a great post on using social media for prospecting and building relations recently.

PR
I used to engage in PR activities; now, I’m technically a copywriter; yet, I might as well summons what I’ve learned while I’m not working. There are a number of social sites like Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. Personally, I’ve cultivated an affinity for Twitter. I can cover a lot of people and information that way. It works for me in my particular situation.

I know I suggest otherwise in yesterday’s social media post; but, I’m a rebel, remember? Actually, I share a lot of other peoples’ stuff. As a result, I think people who want to learn more and be exposed to different information appreciate my shares and passion for knowledge.

As a peer mentioned yesterday, I’m an ‘outstanding Twitter citizen.’ That means a lot, to me and to the brand; because being a diligent and considerate socialite helps us make more connections and get more solidly ingrained in our respective space. Shh – Don’t tell my bosses I’m building rapports within our vertical!

Bram Makonda ‏ @brambreezy

@content_muse Aha thanks for the RT! For the record, I don’t see you doing said offensive acts #OutstandingTwitterCitizen

If you’ve seen a guest post or two by me, it’s because I cared about building relationships in my respective vertical. It’s beneficial.

Thinking
I’m not sure if thinking is listed on my job description verbatim; but, I’ll assume it’s indirectly implied; though in my younger years, I’ve heard, “You’re not paid to think” a time or two. Why would my bosses want me thinking when I could be working? Hmm.. I recently read a good post by Jon Morrow at Copyblogger (Do you want to learn how to write better copy for the Web, and just period? Read Copyblogger.) Jon’s post speaks of sleeping while making money. I haven’t tried sleeping while working yet…but, I’ll leave that to Jon for now.

In his description of learning ‘how to sell,’ Jon suggests listening to salespeople, or those who know the product/service. I’m ingrained in the online marketing world. I’m a worker bee. I know the service. As Jon suggests, brand messages should reflect that of those who know the product/service; because, those souls better understand how a service/product addresses a client need. Moreover, being on the internal squad, I’m marketing a marketing company; so, I also have suggestions on how to market ‘our’ company too. Shh – don’t tell my bosses I’m always thinking of ways to improve things for us and clients.

Those I report to encourage any ideas or thoughts of mine, which I believe could improve the internal and client process. There’s no quota or specific time of suggestion. I relate ideas and processes when such inspiration strikes.

Conclusion
As you can read, this was another tongue-in-cheek post. I want to get you thinking, and doing PR, and reading too; but, only if it makes sense regarding your vertical and personal contribution. I’ll assume you have a ‘job description’; but, does that mean you have to confine your workday to such? Yes, of course- attend to what’s expected; but, don’t be ‘shh’ shy about doing more professionally for you and your brand.

Capitalizing on Emerging Markets; Opportunities Abound in the “New BRIC” Countries

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Ryan Buddenhagen by Ryan Buddenhagen

Technology and the internet have driven wide growth and innovation around the world, but this has been most widely felt in developed countries where more people have been able to take advantage of these innovations and the opportunities they create. Now, looking ahead, many economists and business analysts are looking to emerging markets as the scenes of extraordinary growth in the next 10-20 years. As such, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) have shown the greatest immediate promise for emerging markets as they are the next to essentially come-of-age economically and have seen great deals of attention and investment as a result.

Now, the CIVETS countries (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa) are being slated as the next wave of emerging markets (after the BRIC) that will attract business, investment, and show tremendous growth. This newly anointed group presents unique opportunity for many reasons. First, the underlying characteristics of a CIVETS nations is a multifaceted economy and a young, expanding population, according to John Mulholland of the UK’s Guardian. Both of these characteristics support the growth of the internet and technology in these economies opening the door for businesses from different sectors but especially those in tech-related areas within e-commerce, SEO and internet marketing, mobile services, tech devices, and internet-based solutions.

CIVETS countries are expected to experience growth rates of 4.9% over the next two decades compared to the 1.8% expected in G7 countries, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Stability, soundness of institutions, and the growth rate up to this point have all led to these expectations. As an example, Colombia’s GDP has doubled over the past 10 years.

Expansion for Businesses
Companies have the opportunity to make their mark on these economies early with competition lacking at the moment as outside investment and expansion into the market has yet to take hold. This point is brought forward by Christian Arno in a recent Search Engine Watch piece. The value in entering a market early that is set for very high growth should not be underestimated. From an exposure and branding perspective, to PR and marketing, there is simply tremendous potential to gain brand recognition and establish a loyal customer base early in the evolution of market.

Check back tomorrow, and I’ll get deeper into the tech and internet opportunities of the CIVETS countries and the how their younger population factors into their future.