Managing your brand on the Web is critical and even the strategies you employ to market your organization can influence your consumers.  The evolution of SEO has made quality a priority and has also greatly reduced the success rate of “black hat” search engine optimization campaigns.

A common concern (or more accurately, misconception) amongst business owners is that Internet marketing is an unquantifiable or even abstract enterprise.  Although any SEO would vehemently disagree and offer up a plethora of resources which serve to disprove such claims; there are still doubters.

In many of my previous posts here on WebiMax.com, I’ve discussed the importance of content.  Blog posts, press releases, videos, images and other forms of media on the Web can not only drive traffic to your site; but enhance your brand’s overall reputation, visibility and earning potential as well.

On February 19th, WebiMax's Danelsy Medrano will be presenting the "Internet Marketing 101" Webinar from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia, PA.

Over the last few months, an interesting trend has occurred on the world’s largest video sharing network and Google subsidiary, YouTube.  While the primary ranking factor for YouTube search results used to be video view count, audience retention is now the most important component in determining a video’s position in the YouTube SERPs.

The folks at Nielsen are pretty good at media market research and providing extensive (and more importantly accurate) data within various verticals including entertainment, advertising and recently, a growing industry which combines both:  Social Media.

WebiMax Founder & CEO Kenneth Wisnefski will be appearing on HuffPost Live momentarily with Winklevoss Capital founders Tyler & Cameron Winklevoss, HuffPost Tech Editor Bianca Bosker and Hukkster Founders Erica Bell & Katie Finnegan.

With the 2012 Holiday shopping season officially beginning on Black Friday, consumers have begun to seek out product reviews and price comparisons in order to find the best deals for this year’s “must have” items and according to recent market research conducted by Adobe, search engines and social media will be the most effective tools for shoppers this season.

Throughout this year’s Presidential campaign, Twitter played an instrumental role.  Both candidates expertly utilized the network and kept voters engaged by addressing major issues and promoting their public appearances.  As our own social media expert, Mike Stricker pointed out in a comment on one of my previous posts; Barack Obama was even responsible for generating the most re-tweets in history for a political message on Twitter.

At first glance, DuckDuckGo appears to be one of the most unlikely contenders to ascend to Google’s position as the world’s top search engine, but in reality, it may actually stand a pretty good chance in due time.  The small, privately-held company based outside of Philadelphia in Paoli, PA has grown rapidly and garnered substantial attention from the public and press without a multi-billion dollar ad campaign, but instead by simply offering an interesting alternative to the competition.

Last night, I had the opportunity to speak at the fourth Agile SEO – South Jersey Meetup of 2012 at the WebiMax HQ in Mt. Laurel, NJ and thanks to the great audience and my fellow presenters, Ryan Buddenhagen, Chris Countey and Bill Slawski (who offered a thorough SEO audit to one of our attendees), it’s safe to say that this was one of our best meetups yet!

Tonight at 7pm EST, WebiMax presents the fourth Agile SEO - South Jersey Meetup of 2012 and we have a lot in store for our attendees!

In recent years, mobile Internet usage has increased dramatically and smartphones, tablets and other mobile computing devices are now the primary point of connectivity for a rapidly growing mobile demographic.  For Internet marketers, reaching this massive user base is essential in creating more effective campaigns.

Every SEO wants the "perfect" link profile, amongst other things.  Many digital marketers hope to one day achieve a solid link profile consisting entirely of high-quality, high-authority pages from well ranked, reputable domains.  However, a majority of websites, at one point or another, have received a less-than-desirable link or two.  Despite the occasional (and virtually inevitable) flaw in an otherwise pristine link profile, there is one important fact that all SEOs must remember: A few bad links don't necessarily equate to bad rankings.

Earlier today, I read an article posted on Reuters.com discussing the impact of Twitter on this year’s historic Presidential election.  One quote within the article that particularly stood out was:

Although this year’s election has been the most expensive in US history to date (with a total price tag of over $2 billion), the most significant platform utilized by both Romney and Obama to enhance their visibility throughout the campaign may, surprisingly, be the most cost effective, as well.  Social media first proved its worth in the political arena during President Obama’s groundbreaking 2008 campaign.  The usage of YouTube and Facebook to connect with a vast, diverse audience had undeniably helped Obama pull ahead in the polls and capture coveted demographics in crucial swing states such as Ohio.

SEO is almost constantly evolving, growing and becoming more complex, but regardless of how search engine optimization techniques change; content will always be an important component of online marketing initiatives.

Recently, Facebook achieved one of its most significant milestones since its launch in 2004 when the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social network reached one billion users on September 14^th.  For Facebook, attaining a user base that consists of 1/7 of the world's entire population is a major accomplishment.  However, many of the small businesses which utilize Facebook as an online marketing and advertising outlet are still skeptical of the network's ability to enhance their revenues despite having the most massive user base on the Web.

As our own Chris Countey reported just moments ago, Google's Matt Cutts announced at #PubCon in Las Vegas earlier today that the world's most prominent search engine is releasing a "Disavow Links" feature within Webmaster Tools.

On September 4^th, 1998, two Stanford University students named Larry and Sergey formed a privately-held company called Google, named after the Internet search engine they had begun developing more than two years earlier.  Today, that company celebrates fourteen years of innovation and success.

Following the recent appointment of new CEO, Hubert Joly, Best Buy is now beginning its turnaround and attempting to return to its former profitability.  While the retailer initiates its restructuring plan, both Best Buy and Joly remain prominently featured in news headlines, blogs and throughout social media.  Although the public response to Best Buy's management changes has provided the brand with enhanced visibility on the Web, the company must now take measures to monitor and manage its reputation in order to maintain a positive brand image.

Many brands struggle to gain recognition in the SERPs and throughout social media, but achieving visibility is not the only important element of Internet marketing.  A company's reputation is crucial and managing that reputation is necessary in order to maintain a positive image both on and offline.

On Wednesday night at the first ever Agile SEO meetup hosted by WebiMax's own Chris Countey, I delivered a presentation regarding the value of rich content and its place in the future of online marketing.  I discussed the growth of video on the Web and how it has gradually become a more powerful marketing tool for those who properly utilize it.  However, the development of a successful digital video marketing campaign is a complex and involved process that may seem daunting to some.  In fact, following my presentation, several attendees approached me with questions and concerns about the video production process.  I've designed the following guide as both a response to those Agile SEO attendees and to help those not present at the meetup to better understand the value of rich content in online marketing.

Each year, more businesses are adopting social media marketing strategies to enhance their traditional, offline marketing efforts.  The overall reach of social networks is impressive, with the combined user base of Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounting for about 1/7 of the world's entire population.  However, the vast scope of social media has left some business owners concerned about being "lost in the shuffle" and struggling to attain discernable visibility.

The social gaming company, Zynga, is facing serious financial difficulties.  Yesterday, the company reported losses in the second quarter of 2012 and the subsequent stock devaluation saw shares drop by 39% to just $3.09.  These figures indicate a decrease of almost 70% from Zynga's initial public offering in December.

Link building strategies have come a long way since the early days of SEO and search algorithm updates such as Google's Panda and Penguin have made the process even more complex.  Formerly, link profiles existed merely to bolster the authority of pages within the SERPs.  However, the quality of those backlinks was not deemed to be nearly as important as quantity.  As the search engines have improved their functionality, quality and relevance have become crucial and certain link building strategies have been rendered obsolete.

In recent months, Yahoo has endured major financial struggles and the company is currently undergoing restructuring efforts to streamline their business and return to profitability.  While many experts have offered their opinions on Yahoo's recovery attempts, the brand has yet to see any substantial improvement.  Of course, re-inventing the business model of an international, multi-million dollar corporation is not a rapid process.

Terms such as "domain authority" and "page authority" are part of the everyday vernacular in the Internet marketing industry, but what do they mean for online business owners?  As it pertains to visibility on the Web and greater revenue, they mean a lot.

What do Google, Microsoft and Apple have in common?  A lot, actually; and following their respective developer conferences earlier this summer, several new commonalities have been revealed.  We now know that new tablet devices are being developed by Google and Microsoft and that Google and Apple are both looking to capitalize on their mapping software.  We've also learned that iOS 6, Windows 8 and Android 4.1 are going to incorporate more Internet and social media functionality than any previous operating systems.  This enhanced focus on social connectivity will undoubtedly be an important component of these new systems, but its impact on Internet marketing may be even greater.