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.

"The minute you get a message out there that has engagement that gets people's imaginations fired up or gets their emotions or passions stoked, it's going to go beyond your network because you may have your 130 Facebook followers but each one of them has 130 of their own so the message can spread like wild fire," said Michael Stricker, director of social media with the Internet marketing firm Webimax.  Read more

(Sigh) It seems so obvious to so few.  I read a humorous post today regarding the plight of black hats; the author facetiously recommends keeping a chin up and getting back to work (also advising white-hat methods as a future alternative).  I agree.  Stop your whining and start 'getting it.'  I understand why some entertain unscrupulous methods…$...that's why.

Google has been no stranger to legal issues with investigations being conducted into privacy and antitrust matters among others for a considerable period now in all corners of the word. 

The old adage of "a picture's worth a thousand words" is an all-encompassing one in today's 21^st century society. As the internet has become the primary form of communication for millions of people the world over, businesses often emphasize the importance of their media assets. While print magazines and newspapers struggle to maintain their relevance with a digitally-focused generation of media consumers, online organizations and companies are able to capture the attention of countless users effortlessly using only a handful of eye-catching photos or entertaining video clips.

Is your website over-optimized? Watch out because Google is cracking down on sites that are over-optimized and penalizing them. The penalty is presumed to be introduced within the month and is aimed at sites that are cheating the search system. Sites that are penalized will be removed from Google's index and will not be crawled by search engines, ultimately becoming non-existent to search engines.

The problem with most daily deal sites is that the bargains you're offered aren't necessarily the ones you want. That's where Amazon (AMZN) thinks it can gain an advantage over rivals like Groupon (GRPN) and others.  Read more

In the digital age, Internet security is a growing concern amongst Web users not only domestically, but on a worldwide scale.  Since its inception, the Internet itself has remained free of international censorship and government oversight.  However, cybersecurity is an issue that continues to create controversy, as some believe that a truly secure Internet may only be possible by sacrificing user privacy.

Businesses across industries have become more interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR) over the past decade than in any time previously. What constitutes CSR varies but it generally covers the equitable operation and often the "giving back" from businesses.  To mitigate harmful impact to the environment and the wellbeing of the communities impacted by a business' operations, it can make conscious choices as to the way they source materials, manufacture their goods or deliver their services, the way they treat their employees, and interact with local or impacted communities.

Many businesses these days are looking for ways to build up an online audience without having to pour endless hours into social networks. Facebook, Google+ and Twitter all serve as excellent venues for interacting with customers and brand followers, but their streamlined interfaces often lead to content that feels stilted and formulaic. Although company owners clearly want to always be on the minds of its followers, the limited space and compartmentalization of these websites greatly hinder the level of exposure that social media can offer. This is especially true in the case of smaller businesses that may not be on a potential reader's radar at all.

Are you a real estate professional looking to gain more customers? If so, then you better get started on joining social media sites.

Local search has gotten much attention across the web in addition from us here on the WebiMax blog as the importance of it for business marketing is clear. Local search is extremely prevalent and will only increase in its occurrence among web searchers and smartphone users in the years to come. Now, recent research from comScore with the 2012 Localeze Local Search Usage Study shows some new numbers that give a look deeper inside local search and why it is so important for consumers.

 Ideas: the flashes of to-be-or-not-to-be brilliance.  They compel us to act (sometimes), to make industrious motions.  Years ago, engaging in business was a bit different.  It didn't involve online parameters.  Now, it certainly does.  A large pool of businesspeople must 'grandfather' operations into the young, digital world.

As the foundation of any SEO-focused marketing campaign, keywords are always the driving force for any industry. More often than not, business owners take an approach to their keyword selection that emphasizes quantity over quality. While generalized keywords do have the potential to bring in a large, broad user demographic, sometimes a far more specific search term can yield better results for company websites and online content. The trick comes from knowing how to select the right keyword for the most successful search engine optimization.

We write across subjects on this blog - Jason has written a good amount on social media recently, and Anthony on public relations and relationship building just today. So when you look across subjects one central element that runs through is the importance of engagement. Or more specifically - purposeful engagement. Whether in forming professional relationships in person or through a digital medium, connecting with customers through social media, or reaching out to past customers, one of the ever-present goals is purposeful engagement. What is meant by this is that when marketers connect with audience members, they want it to be meaningful and impactful, inspiring them and moving them to action. Marketers need this communication to hold value for the audience members and not just be token promotion or commenting.

The layup that was Facebook's initial public offering is no longer a sure thing. That's the most obvious conclusion

WebiMax, a leading search engine optimization firm, was recently named a 2012 South Jersey Fastest Growing Company in a contest jointly conducted by the Philadelphia Business Journal and the Rohrer College of Business at Rowan University.  Read more

While small business owners often focus much of their attention on staying active in social media, they tend to end up ignoring a valuable asset: their website. As many web designers will tell their clients, a company's website should always include search engine-friendly content as well as useful information that is readily accessible. More often than not, getting one's online properties to the top of the Google and Bing SERPs is one of the most important goals in any SEO campaign.

Smartphone adoption and usage continues to increase in the US and throughout the world. Alongside this growth, however, is the surge in m-commerce behavior users engage in on their smartphones. The devices allow consumers to manage their entire shopping experience from gathering product information and comparing prices to making the final purchase. As such, mobile purchasing is increasing with just under 30% of smartphone users in the US having made a purchase using their smartphone. Marketers and e-retailers alike feel this number could and should be higher. Only 14% make purchases using the device with high frequency, according to ourmobileplanet.com, and 81% do so with low frequency. Opinions are mixed regarding the main roadblock to purchasing on smartphones, but a closer analysis tells a deeper story.

Social media and video marketing are increasingly more important in the internet marketing efforts of businesses. More people are online and searching for business information than ever before and videos that businesses create and then promote can increase the exposure businesses get and the ability to build their outward image and communicate a specific message. All of this can be wrapped up neatly in a short video that is tastefully shot and skillfully produced with even small features such as text, images, and transitions.

Over the last several years, the world's largest search engine has expanded beyond even the wildest of expectations. Google's humble beginnings as a research project by Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin now seem like a distant memory and the company is now a world leader in not only Web search, but in several other areas of the technology industry, as well. Although the Google brand may be best known for its revolutionary search engine, some of the company's newest and upcoming offerings may truly solidify its place in history as one of the world's most innovative brands.

As Google launches its Drive service, we check in with WebiMax CEO Ken Wisnefski. Alisa Parenti also gets an update on Facebook, just a few weeks before its IPO.  Listen here

WebiMax, the top-rated search engine optimisation (SEO) firm in the United Kingdom, has recently launched their London Internet Marketing Initiative offering a comprehensive suite of web-based marketing services. The initiative brings their award-winning solutions to London-area and UK businesses catering specifically to the influx of visitors to the city and surrounding areas in the coming months.  Read more