WebiMax Blog

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.

Kenneth Wisnefski, founder and CEO of WebiMax, a leading search engine optimization firm, announced today that the company will host a webinar discussing Google, Inc.’s recent Penguin algorithm update and the future of internet marketing.  Read more

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.

Kenneth Wisnefski visits with Mark Crumpton of The Bottom Line to discuss the Facebook IPO on the eve of the offering.  Watch more

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.

Just days before Facebook’s highly-anticipated initial public offering, some investors continue to fear an exodus of Facebook’s biggest advertisers if Mark Zuckerberg fails to tighten his focus on ad sales.  The concern follows a report on Tuesday that General Motors (GM) will stop buying ads on Facebook, as it sees them as ineffective.  Read more