WebiMax Blog

Just yesterday, Google made a pretty significant announcement of which every business owner should take note. In an attempt to further combine its social media efforts with its focus on independently-owned companies, Google has integrated its Google Places program into Google+ Local. While the benefits of this consolidation many not be immediately apparent to everyone, the potential this move has for small business owners is considerable to say the least.

The internet continues to grow and the world is becoming more interconnected throughout developing and developed markets. This has been clear to both individuals and businesses for some time in terms of how we are likely to individually and collectively increase web usage in the years to come. Cisco’s fifth annual assessment and accompanying prediction of global broadband growth on both wireless, managed, and fixed networks was released yesterday. In a sentence, the internet is going to be bigger and faster in the years to come – surprised?

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ -- (May 31, 2012) – WebiMax, a leading online marketing firm, will host a Webinar on June 5, 2012 at 2:00pm EST discussing the recent Google Penguin data refresh and the future of online marketing.  Seats are still open although they are filling fast.

While print journalism has steadily declined in popularity due to the rise of online newspapers, it seems online newspapers may soon be outranked by another news platform: social media sites.

The internet is expansive and it reaches all corners of the globe, and thus most languages in use have found their way online to some degree. As such, it is a popular thought that businesses marketing both their presence and product online want to have language-specific sites in order to cater to specific audiences offering content that they can readily consume. This remains entirely true, however, the behavior of web users in relation to their language use and web searching looks a bit different than previously expected now, considering recent research by UK marketing firm Greenlight.

Over the past several years, Google has slowly expanded their business beyond search and even Web-based technology. While the entire Google brand was initially built on the revolutionary search engine pioneered by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; the transition into email, social media and other areas has mostly proven to be a success for the company. Gmail, Google+ and subsidiary, YouTube, are amongst the most frequently visited and most profitable sites on the Internet. In addition to those entities, Google also developed the immensely popular Chrome browser and Android mobile OS. These and other innovations have helped Google maintain a large percentage of the market share in the Internet tech sector and made many of the company's properties a target for Internet marketing companies and advertisers. However, some of the company's newest endeavors have left even the most devout Google supporters concerned.

It's been a few hours since we've heard something about Mark Zuckerberg; but, this is not about that acronym.  This story is about Facebook's potential to build a smart phone.  That's right, the social media star wants to broaden its horizons and fully enter the market.

For the last twenty years, numerous SEO companies and internet advertisers have depended on keywords as being a guiding light for search engine indexers and site crawlers. A tactic commonly used by ethical and unethical online marketing agencies alike, heavily emphasized keyword implementation was so pervasive throughout the web development community that almost everyone has come to rely on it. Of course, this all started to change with the arrival of Google's Panda updates as well as the recent release of Penguin. Now, webmasters are looking for ways to remain relevant to Google and other search engines while revising their own operations.

I am friendly with a retail store owner.  It's interesting to know how much thinking some implementations warrant.  Think of a store as a Web page, only larger and obviously more interactive.  Where should he place his goods to recruit attention and make conversions?

Many are well-aware of the various employment sites available such as Craigslist, Indeed, Monster and CareerBuilder to help in the search for a job. Users can look for a job in their related field or industry, and within a certain geographical location. While these sites are a great way to find a job, an individual's social media presence can also help them land a job.

Baidu, China’s homegrown and dominant search engine, delivers users results to their search queries based largely on the context and the semantic inferences that can be drawn from the keywords and keyword phrases used. This semantic search functionality has been a part of Baidu’s offering for some time and it now is the main driver in the search engine’s “box computing” approach that they have put forward. This approach looks to directly address the type of information that searchers are looking for by breaking information into three categories (content, data, and applications) using the semantic mechanism in the algo to determine which is most relevant.

When brands are built up effectively over time and used purposefully, they can have a tremendous impact on the company and deliver considerable financial gain, supplementing the primary revenue generation from the sale of their actual products. Ford, one of the biggest and most recognizable name brands in the country and world, is a shining example of this. The Ford brand is worth billions and the company is a leader in the process of licensing out the various elements of the brand. Their activity provides lessons for other companies both large and small in how they can leverage the equity they have built in their brand for financial gain and valuable exposure.

The last two weeks have been an incredibly stressful time for every web-focused company. Between Facebook's recent woes concerning its IPO and General Motors pulling out of its in-network marketing, there's been more than a little bit of uncertainty in the SEO and online marketing communities as of late. Many of our readers no doubt have their own growing concerns over the state of all-things social media and search engine-related. While current events may have everyone second guessing the viability of their social network strategies, in truth there is no reason to panic.

There is news from Google every day. There is news regarding their search, advances in their other offerings, or rulings in their pending legal matters. Regardless of the type of content, there is a constant stream of information and for those tracking these developments on a daily basis like we do here; it is simply a lot about one company. But, there is some news here that I'll touch on today that shows a different side of the dominant global search engine - the charitable corporate social responsibility side.

What do you think about when you hear of an 'entrepreneur'?  Most of us are immediately impressed, imagining a Mark Zuckerberg or Wall Street tycoon; but, what about the scores of entrepreneurs you never heard about?  Sure, there are those kinds too!  Where do entrepreneurs in the making go to accelerate their chances of becoming a Zuckerberg?  They go to 'accelerators,' businesses such as Y Combinator and TechStars, two of the most popular startup-training/seeding hubs; yet the WSJ observes more than 200-plus existing businesses worldwide.

Google Authorship is your way of claiming ownership of content on the web. Authorship results have been on the rise and page results with proper Authorship markup have been shown to increase click-through rates (CTR). Why? Most likely because people are drawn to people and tend to look where a person looks within an image.

Since coming online in 2004, Facebook has risen to the top of the social media landscape and asserted itself as the essential platform for connecting with people over the internet. Now, with over 900 million users, it is extremely popular and being used at an increasing rate as a marketing and advertising platform for businesses across all industries. Although, there is considerable worth for businesses on the platform, the value of it for these specific purposes varies greatly.

I have written a considerable amount before about how technology and the search industry is challenging the existing legal frameworks that are present around the world in new ways. This is due to the constant evolution of the industries involved as they change and adapt very quickly, but also it is largely all new. In many cases, never before have the existing laws, whether antitrust or other, been applied in these ways and thus, new interpretations of the laws need to be made. This does not impact the search marketing industry as much as it does the tech sector, but when dealing with Google, their activity and any changes to their operations, greatly impact the internet marketing and optimization for improved search results.

I've somewhat embraced the Google zoo because the inability to 'game' the engine has called for more marketing.  Sorry, (you know who you are).   So, this thing marketing, I'm no expert; but, I know a little about a little.

Although the term may sound like made-up internet jargon (and to some extent it is), "gamification" is a real trend and one that has become increasingly common in society. The phrase itself refers to the rising prevalence of game-like mechanics across non-game-related media in our daily lives. Regular users of mobile apps such as Foursquare are no doubt familiar with the concept: ordinary errands and chores help a person earn points and badges with which to compete with friends and, sometimes, random strangers. Occasionally there are prizes (often in the form of coupons), but most of the time that users spend on Foursquare is geared towards friendly competition.

To webmasters and ordinary people hooked on social media sites, it's pretty obvious how advantageous social media sites can be. Users can communicate and interact with others instantly, from any place and at any time. Many businesses have recognized the marketing advantages of social media sites as these platforms allow businesses to showcase their products and services as well as engage with customers. One particular industry that's taking notice of the benefits of social media sites is the restaurant business.

Consumers are heading online to do their shopping more and more and this has been shown in all the surveys and sales reports that are released by retailers and research firms alike. There is no argument being made for e-commerce to outright replace traditional in-store shopping, however, the future is clearly looking like one where shoppers do a large portion of their shopping online and this may be seen in some sectors or product categories over others.

The Google Penguin update has changed the perception of SEO for many businesses. But it shouldn't have. Effective, sustainable online marketing doesn't revolve around Google or even the Internet. SEO starts with your business. With your employees and your customers.

Tomorrow marks one month since the debut of Google's Penguin, and everyone is still trying to make sense of the update. While a couple websites have come into existence as a response to Google's most recent revisions to its algorithm, little has been made in the way of progress when it comes to actually puzzling out how Penguin works. Although it is highly unlikely that the company will ever reveal the mechanisms behind the update, the SEO community has at least come up with a few useful tips for creating content that Google's search engine wants.

Branding is sometimes hard to separate from advertising and marketing. Although it is all under the same umbrella of external communications, some differentiation can and should be made between them so you can strategically put them to work for your business. Branding deals most closely with the image of a company and how it is being portrayed to the audience and various publics the company has. There are three simple facets to branding that a company wants to make sure they concentrate on in all their messaging for branding goals: (a) name/who they are, (b) what they do/product category, (c) core message (tag line/motto) what separates them from the competition. These are elements that surely are integrated into other forms of communication that the company engages in, however, together they are the essentials in this process.

Let's face it – many of us have become dependent on cell phones. They not only offer us the extended travel ability that a cordless home phone doesn't, but they also offer us many added features and benefits, many of which we never thought possible. Who knew one day we'd be talking to our cell phones, commanding them to play a song for us?

The backing out with no indication of GM coming back isn't going to leave FB a shattered entity.  The $10 million in GM dollars is a minor portion of Facebook's $3.7 billion.  But as New York Times reporters mentioned, the dispute could get the 'neighborhood' talking, especially considering FB is about to go more public than previously expected (sharing 18% of company rather than 14%).

A few days ago, Google unveiled its newest search feature, Knowledge Graph, to network users. For those readers who are unfamiliar with the announced program, Knowledge Graph is being launched as a sidebar addition to the company's search engine results. While the company's SERPs will stay the way they've always been, the new feature will serve up interesting facts, details and relevant information for popular keywords entered in queries. Google has stated that it has plans to bring the function to mobile platforms in the future as well.

We share on this blog, in many ways, but especially among those generating content here, offering each other thoughts and connecting our posts to one another. If you've read Anthony's work, you know he's a fervid reader of all things, but especially the NY Times, and he uncovered this interesting look at internet prices in various countries which started the wheels turning for me on the subject. Gracias Anthony and let's dive in.

Social media has tremendous potential to brands, we know this. But gaining increased exposure for a brand through purposeful engagement with their audience is a skill requiring a number of elements, among them a viable strategy, and is worth a closer look through the actions of a large social player, the NBA. The league has a powerful social media presence as it is with 260 million Facebook likes and Twitter followers spread around all the player, team, and league accounts - and they have significantly ramped it up for this year's playoffs and their efforts provide a great global example.

Keyword research is a valuable step in the SEO process in which webmasters dedicate extensive time in order to select the best keywords for a campaign. Searching for the best keywords involves finding words that are relevant, words that web audiences are searching for, and words with competition.

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.

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.

Although social media users swap countless IMs and posts across PCs and laptops every month, most people fail to realize the amount of direct messaging that takes place between mobile device owners through those same social networks. According to a blog published just a few days ago on the New York Times website, a number of recent studies all point to the conclusion that social media apps are quickly replacing standard phone SMS as a primary form of mobile communication. One particular report states that the amount of text messages relayed by cellphone owners in the Phillipines on a monthly basis has decreased by more than a third from 2010 to 2011 (down to 400 texts from around 660).

The push is coming, or has it already begun? The push from Microsoft and Yahoo (but considering Yahoo's recent issues, let's concentrate on Microsoft and it's Bing search engine) to stand up to Google and offer formidable competition has been in the works for some time. Now, Microsoft is not backing from the challenge, instead fully pressing on continuing to invest in their online services division, that which guides its search platform Bing, and trying to differentiate themselves from other search engines, namely Google.

Among all the various search engines for which SEOs develop, it's Google that time and time again gets the most attention from online marketing firms. Between continual updates to its search algorithm and ongoing releases for new user apps, the world's biggest search engine company has truly become a force to be reckoned with. While competitors may try to get the edge on the company, Google's current market share puts it well ahead of the pack.

Borrowing a business idea or model, tweaking it, and applying it to a different context is a well-practiced strategy and one that has new life now in the age of tech companies and internet businesses. Sound business models are certainly not the only element that is needed for success in business, but it is indeed essential and usually one of the first things that need to be in place. They are frameworks that translate the idea for product or service creation into a feasible, revenue-generating enterprise. Some are better than others and the best ones are those that are the tightest in terms of input, overhead, and ROI, in very simple terms. Often, borrowing a proven and successful business plan but adapting it to a new context or market is the route that is taken. Spartoo, the French e-commerce site, has done that with Zappos and they are worth taking a close look at as their case offers lessons for other businesses borrowing to help out their cause, especially when trying their hand in new markets.

Many of us in the internet advertising industry have been praising up and down the supposedly limitless potential of Pinterest for months now. As an up-and-coming social network with millions of followers on Facebook alone, the social media site has come up in many discussions since it went into its beta phase. Yet, while it has quickly become a popular talking point for social marketing conjecture, Pinterest is still a relatively unknown website for many business owners.

As we all know by now, social media empowers us all to become reporters of our own.  Oftentimes we discuss the news and major announcements, and even stimulate buzz for a particular product and brand.  President Barack Obama has grabbed the media’s attention after officially announcing his support for same-sex marriage on ABC’s Good Morning America.

As Google's spam-fighting algorithm, Penguin, continues to make headlines, SEOs and webmasters are not only analyzing their tactics and strategies, but are also dishing out the latest information to help others avoid receiving a penalty. While SEOs and webmasters want to avoid being affected by Google's Penguin, and offer tips regarding over-optimization to help others avoid the attack, it's important to also stress the concern of under optimization.

In yesterday's post, I opened the discussion on reframing and described what it is and the background of why it is important. Today, let's look at the tactics used and how it is relevant both at home and internationally.

Like a prediction straight out of a 80s sci-fi movie, everyone from teenagers to adults is constantly connected to one another these days via mobile phones. Over the course of the last six years, the prevalence and speed by which Blackberries, tablet PCs and smartphones have spread have become increasingly pronounced. As I discussed several days ago, the mobile market is one that everyone is trying to tap into at the moment. Yet at the same time, there are far more ways to become noticeable to mobile users than simply being SEO-friendly and active on social media.

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ -- (May 10, 2012) – Kenneth Wisnefski, founder and CEO of WebiMax, a leading search engine optimization firm, announced today that the company received multiple awards from the Interactive Media Council, Inc. for 2012.  WebiMax received the Outstanding Achievement Award and Best in Class award for the second consecutive year.

Reframing has a few different definitions but in terms of PR and branding, it is considered as keeping the conversation being had with audiences (on both the macro and micro scale) on point by bringing it overtly or softly back on message. Reframing has its roots in psychology and communication relating to reframing an idea…seeing it in a different light which can translate to a new and improved approach to the idea or mood surrounding it. As an example, I wrote about this practice in the first of two pieces on the subject before on the blog back in March discussing reframing the challenge of culture when a company expands into a new country as an opportunity to excel. Here's an excerpt:

As my fellow writers and I have recommended time and time ago, it's a good practice for companies to use social media to supplement their other organic SEO activity. Due to the ever-increasing number of users found on networks such as Facebook and Twitter, many start-up or entrepreneur company owners are sharing their own original content effortlessly with the masses. Businesses that remain active with social media sites consistently see better traffic to their online properties than those companies that don't retweet or post status updates. It's an exciting time for small and medium-sized businesses to be sure, but many companies are finding that their success is somewhat limited and they don't know why.
 

Everyone who writes about SEO has recognized Google's Penguin update as the hot button issue at the moment. After a staggering 350,000 sites were affected by the company's recent algorithm revisions, the SEO community fell into a bit of disarray over the topic. Across the board, reaction to the update has been mostly negative as only a few actually notable spam and aggregator websites were impacted by Penguin while thousands of respectable businesses were hit as well. It's a subject that is generating a lot of buzz and has led to sites devoted to the subject and commentary from our own Jill Johnson.
 

Mobile marketing has closely followed the fast ascent of smartphone penetration around the globe. Developed markets like that of the US, UK, much of Europe, several countries in Africa, and across Asia and the Pacific have seen marked growth in the use of smartphones. What is most relevant to SEO companies and social media marketing professionals, however, is the fact that search behavior has grown along with the adoption of the smartphone. People are using them to conduct their internet searchers more and more thus opening up the opportunity for businesses to conduct paid search and SEO campaigns to target the mobile searchers. Now Google is looking to the developing markets in Latin America as regions ripe for Android predicting them to take off in the coming years.

"We don't accept that form of payment," says a store vendor.  "Well, looks like you don’t get my business," I say when I have no other alternatives or don't appreciate the lack thereof.  Inspiring conversions lies at the heart of marketing; it would be a terrible injustice if the marketing comes undone due to issues with accepting payments.

On this blog, I have touched on the importance of catering SEO efforts to the local context of a particular culture in many different posts. It is the underlying theme of my international SEO writing as it is massively important for brands and yet it is not done enough. When businesses expand their operations into different cultures or countries, the people that make up their audience changes based on culture, language, and the political-judicial landscape that they find themselves operating in.

While it's important to hire an SEO company that's committed to working for you, since the release of Google's new algorithm, Penguin, it's crucial more than ever that you select an SEO company that is following organic SEO practices.

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ-- (MAY 7, 2012)-- Kenneth Wisnefski, founder and CEO of WebiMax, a leading search engine optimization firm, announced today that the company launched PenguinWatch.com, a Google search engine update resource center.

In the world of online marketing, there's a particular crowd of internet users that have provided advertisers with quite the dilemma for years. While office-bound white collar workers and Generation Z teens are exceptionally active when it comes to interacting with web-based ads, it's been the mobile user market that has eluded many marketing firms for so long. According to a recent Pew Research study, an increasing number of people are interacting with news and media via a combination of mobile devices and home PCs or laptops. Despite this rising trend, the number of users that interact with ads on their smartphone or tablet PCs is still relatively low.

Since Google's initial deployment of the now-infamous Panda Update in February of 2011, the online marketing industry has undergone some substantial changes and made the SERPs more hospitable to white hat SEOs.  In all of its subsequent revisions, Panda was altered to further reduce the likelihood of low-quality content taking precedence over relevant pages in organic search results.  Panda had essentially made Google a more effective search engine, but when the Penguin Update was released in April; the intent was obvious: To make over-optimized pages a thing of the past.

In social media, reach is of the utmost importance. With the various social media sites available, each site is competing with the next, aiming to gain the top spot on the popularity chart. Each site provides different features to captivate users and influence them to join that site. The latest social media site, Pinterest, has made great strides of its own.

Despite the immense popularity of social networks, often times many companies find that their social media listings only get visited by a handful of people on a regular basis. Every SEO company these days strongly recommends that its clients actively participate in media sharing on networks such as Facebook or Google+, but these agencies usually end up only getting mixed results themselves when performing social media campaigns. While one could try to chalk up this whole situation as being a consequence of market saturation, the fact remains that most faltering social media listings are a result of low audience capture.

New chapters in the case for social media marketing seem to be made on a monthly or even weekly basis. The medium has allowed for the close communication between businesses and their various audiences, including their valued customer base. Facebook revolutionized the business transition to social media, Twitter followed, and now the likes of Pinterest and Google+ are vying for their social relevance and value. Each brings a different element to the table as so they should, in order to differentiate themselves from one another and offer separate functionality. Talking to social media experts and search engine optimization consultants who integrate SEO and social media efforts into integrated campaigns, there are many valuable ways to engage with audiences in the social space. Now, the latest innovative use of social media is to use it not only to track what customers are saying about beloved discontinued products but also to ask what it is they want back - and then deliver on what they find out.

Google does pioneer many innovative features on the web from their Maps offerings down the line, and their Google Translation has been assisting users for six years now. But, it has been announced that Gmail users will be able to utilize an auto-translation feature to translate text to their language of choice from now on. The email feature uses technology pioneered for the Google Translation service that has been continuously refined through the years. These two features are an example of how Google uses its search technologies to advance other areas of service. Google Translate accesses hundreds of millions of human translated documents online and looks for patterns to make highly educated guesses regarding the nature of the content to be translated, its context, and what the most appropriate translation would be.

When business owners hear the term "online marketing," many people immediately think of the more overt advertising that they see when surfing the web. Banner ads, PPC links on search results and pop-up ads are certainly all very common tools used by internet marketers. Yet many companies have been relying on more SEO-oriented techniques to get their brand's name recognized by internet users. This change of pace isn't due to lackluster results from PPC, but rather a repurposed focus on trying to elevate organic search results over paid efforts.

Are the newspapers getting more digitally savvy?  Most news organizations view marketers and large content-pushing entities as the 'competition.'  Where are you reading that story, from the pages of the New York Times or from Mashable?  If you're used to reading online, it's likely you've heard of Mashable and use the site to find the latest news, even though it may have been published elsewhere first.

Website management can be an incredibly tricky business for any webmaster or site owner. Although creating a site from scratch can be difficult enough, it's getting web traffic and conversion rates that ultimately becomes the greatest challenge for so many of us in the industry. Startup company and small business owners in particular tend to lack the tools and knowledge necessary to turn a failing website into something which a person can be proud of. The whole dilemma can be a bit disheartening to those company owners who just want to be able to get their businesses up and running instead of having to fiddle with page attributes and social media campaigns.

International SEO is increasingly relevant for businesses that are looking to either grow their presence in a new international market or expand their operations into a new country. Either way, businesses are trying to maximize their online exposure and cater their marketing efforts to their new environment engaging with their new audiences.  International SEO encompasses all the online search engine optimization work that enables web searchers in a particular market (bound by culture or borders) to discover the brand and avail of its products and services considering the culture and language of the searchers.

Remember childhood soft-drink selections?  There was Coke, Pepsi, 7-up, and possibly some Capri Sun if your mom was super cool.  Today's variety is broader.  There are sports beverages, flavored water, fruit drinks, energy drinks, and more.

In yesterday's blog post, I spoke at length about the necessity of high quality image and video assets in a company's marketing efforts. With visual media becoming an increasingly useful tool in every internet advertising campaign, the race is on to secure photos and digital camera footage that users will find engaging. Whereas in my previous blog entry I gave advice to small business owners on how to procure this media, today I will be giving guidelines on how and where to implement these excellent strategic marketing assets.

The concepts of organizational identity, image, and reputation are important in business operations, especially for the strategy that is engaged in by business decision-makers as well as the outward communication that a company extends. There are various understandings of each term both in the working sector and within scholarly research in the academic realm.  SEO agencies can help businesses shape all three in their conceptualization and implementation through their online presence.

Would you like to be the next Instagram?  Do you have an idea but lack the resources to fund a startup?  Join the club.  Many industrious minds ponder a new business beginning; but, the alternative to success is not so appealing.  To date, a large number of startups fail within the first few years.  Psychological failure won't break bones; yet, digging a financial hole can break an entrepreneur's bank.