Archive for May, 2010

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How and Why Corporate Blogging Can Help Your Site

Friday, May 28th, 2010

In case you’re still wondering if having a corporate blog will benefit your business, check out these quick 5 reasons why every company should have a blog:

1: Consistently publishing high quality of posts on your blog will establish your site as an authority in your industry which in turn helps you to build a strong bond of trust with your visitors and future customers.

2: Blogs have been shown to keep readers at your site longer. While they are there, they tend to consume what you have to read and interact with you and other visitors by leaving comments as well.

3: In conjunction with using RSS and email subscriptions, your blog site will keep visitors coming back. This makes it easy to lead a return visitor down the path of becoming a regular customer.

4: Search engines love sites to be regularly updated with fresh, new and on topic content. Your corporate blog will easily provide you SEO and content marketing benefits.

5: It’s also been proven time and again that the more quality content you produce regularly for your corporate blog, the more natural incoming links you’ll generate. And those links help your site rank higher in most search engine results pages.

Sound like a lot of work? It just might be; it depends upon the resources and availability you or someone in your company might have to devote to the company’s blog. If there’s just no one with the time or passion to dedicate to the continual operation of your successful blog, you have a few options:

Guest Bloggers

Don’t have time to write content on your blog on a regular basis? Think about opening up your blog to guest bloggers. There are many bloggers interested in blogging on different industry related sites. Why? Not only do they get to build up their own credibility in the industry, they’re also able to appeal to a whole new readership.

Outsourcing Content

By employing a quality business blog writing service you’ll be paying for content to place on your site. You won’t have to be concerned with hiring a full time, in-house writer that might only be useful for your corporate blog. Writing services tend to have networks of highly successful and experienced writers with expertise in areas that coincide with the industry your business is in. If the writer is good enough you might look at employing them on a regular basis to provide posts letting your readers know they are the author, and in turn help them to gain notoriety in your industry.

Partnerships and Regular Contributors

Know a group of experts in your industry? See if they’d be willing to work with you on building up your blog. Ask them for regular posts and contributions to the blog, see if they will help promote as well and gain readers/subscribers. You’d be surprised how many people are interested in contributing on a monthly basis to a blog.

Interview

If you’re well connected in your industry it doesn’t take much time to contact your friends and colleagues, ask them a few questions, and post answers to those questions on your blog. This gives you a lot of room to play with regarding blog topics, content for your site, and also can help gain publicity/readers.

Now you have no reason not to blog on your own site. Simply not having the time is not a valid excuse. Get out there and start your corporate blog today!

What advice do you have for ‘new’ corporate bloggers?

About the Author: 

Steve Lazuka is the President of Interact Media, a website marketing company based in Ohio. Follow Steve on Twitter, @SteveLazuka, to learn more about his business blog writing service, content marketing, and SEO.

 

Guest Blogger

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Posted in Content Development | 11 Comments »

A Blog Commenting Experience: What Can We Learn?

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

experimentAre you using blog commenting as a form of link building? These days blog comments have received quite a bad rap from industry experts. Many people shy away from dropping a comment with a link back to their site, for fear of being labeled a spammer. But in all actuality, there aren’t any conclusive studies that say comments hinder SEO. In the same token, there aren’t any conclusive studies that say just comments will help. The NLB Blog hopes to shed some light on the topic of blog comment valuation with a bit of an experiment.

The experiment involves four different groups of websites, one of which will have no links built to it, the second will only have blog comment links built, the third only "other" links built, and the fourth will have "other" links and blog comment links built. With the control group of websites this case study should, theoretically, show the true valuation of blog comment links.

Of course, there will be many variables that cannot possibly be controlled. Natural links, comment links that are approved and then subsequently taken down, authority of the sites on which the links were placed (constantly changing), backlinks to the pages on which the link is placed (constantly changing), internal linking structure, no follow links/do follow link differences, differences in onsite SEO factors of the 4 sites themselves, and many, many others.

In my opinion, and take it for what you will, I think that blog comments do have value. In combination with other link building efforts I’ve seen them help the rankings of many clients. Of course there are many factors to take into consideration:

  • Does the blog post on which the comment was left apply to the site that is linked to?
  • What do the backlinks to the overall domain of the blog look like?
  • Is the blog comment link no follow or do follow? What is the Page Rank of the domain and the individual blog post/page?
  • Are there other links on the post/page? How about other blog comment links?
  • Does the link allow for optimized anchor text or is it contained within the body of the comment?
  • Are there spammy links in other blog comment links?

Looking at the list above, and making sure you drop a worthwhile blog comment link can help you avoid instances where your comment link will do more harm than good. The very nature of a blog comment link should inspire conversation. While the above items should be taken into consideration, there’s also something to be said for dropping a comment that provides worthwhile information and input into the conversation already taking place on the blog. Crediting yourself as the source with a link back to your site provides more ‘good’ than just link authority: it can provide you with traffic to your site, potential leads, etc…

It will be interesting to see the results and if it actually sheds some light on the question of whether or not blog comments help or hinder rankings.

What are your thoughts? Do you already know that blog comments work, or vise versa?

Kaila Strong

Kaila is a Sr. Account Manager at Vertical Measures. She works directly with clients to evaluate and analyze their overall Internet Marketing needs, creates sales proposals and recommendations. In addition she regularly reports on client rankings, gives SEO advice to brands in a variety of industries and manages client expectations.

Kaila has a background in social media marketing, link building, SEO and content marketing. She’s an active blogger on SearchEngineWatch.com, and an avid social media user (@cliquekaila on Twitter). She brings her experience to the table with new clients and enjoys writing about her experiences as well here on the VM blog and throughout the web.

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Posted in Link Building | 12 Comments »

Link Building Tools Interview with Aaron Wall

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
aaron-wallMost of you are familiar with SEObook, launched in 2003, one of the oldest standing SEO sites that is still regularly updated. The site originally was designed as a blog that offered DIY SEO tips and helped sell the leading SEO ebook, which had sold well over $1,000,000 in volume. This week, I have the pleasure of interviewing the founder Aaron Wall, and speaking with him about Link Building and the tools of the trade.
 
Elise Redlin-Cook: In the past, and it could be years ago or even just yesterday, what link are you most proud of acquiring for your site or a clients site?
 
Aaron Wall: I thought it was pretty cool when the WSJ did an audio interview of me about SEO stuff and linked to our site. But as far as driving business goes I would say when Danny Sullivan first linked to me that was sorta what helped me become part of the SEO industry. 
 
Elise: What specific tools are in your link building arsenal to help you acquire links for a client who is just getting started?
Aaron: For brand25 x 25 twitter iconnew websites I am generally pretty conservative and suggest starting out with some of the general web directory links and any links you can get from business partners. The best "tool" to start with in my opinion is a great domain name. And when looking for gaps in market opportunities I typically use SEO for Firefox.
 
Where more in depth analysis (and the use of tools like Majestic SEO and Open Site Explorer) can come in handy is after you already have a site with a bit of age & some ranking feedback, and are trying to catch up to established market leaders for some tougher keywords.
 
Elise: Do you employ competitive analysis in your link building strategy for clients?
 
Aaron: We don’t do much client work outside of running SEO Book, but for our own websites we absolutely do look at how competitive the search results look before we decide which markets to enter. The client work we do tend to do (beyond running our membership website and publishing many websites) is mostly down to larger strategic direction. We have also done link building for a few client projects, but generally we have not done tons of that as that type of labor is very time intensive and somewhat hard to price…this is particularly true if you run a small firm and don’t have many employees.
 
Elise: What are your views on no-follow vs. do-follow links?
 
Aaron: I think followed links are great if you can get them, but if you have a relevant mention to add to a high traffic location (and are doing it in a way that doesn’t reflect poorly on your brand) then certainly it can be worth getting that exposure as well. As a relevant example of the latter, I read an official blog post on how stack exchange was changing their business model, and the first comment on it was a person who said that there were other relevant options like an open source one he started building. Can that sort of exposure easily look tacky and/or tick people off? Sure. But it can be done in ways that are relevant and do not reflect poorly.
 
Elise: How have your link building techniques changed over the years as the search industry has evolved?
 
Aaron: On WebmasterWorld Brett Tabke made a post recently about Google’s linkless internet. Most links are paid for, or as a side effect of exposure, or shared out of ego, etc. Further, whatever natural useful stuff is being mentioned is no longer being mentioned on blogs anywhere near the rate it was a few years ago because of the likes of Twitter and other social platforms that slap a nofollow on everything. Thus 25 x 25 twitter iconin many ways you need to invest in things like relationship building and branding and exposure if you want to compete with the big boys in the biggest markets. 
 
When I got in search link analysis and a touch of creativity was enough to compete, but as more people have become aware of the value of links the model for linkbuilding has from some degree moved from push toward pull.

Elise: I’d love to hear about what inspired you to start SEObook?

Aaron: When Google did their algorithm update named Florida back in 2003 I quickly became popular and way overwhelmed by potential projects. Then the popularity quickly died down. That made me realize how feast or famine consulting would be as a business model. I thought there could be an in-between product or service for people interested in SEO that helped people learn about it without having to pay consulting fees. And that is where the idea of a book with blog updates came in. Why I made it an ebook was because it was conventional wisdom that all print books about SEO were out of date. And then as my popularity grew so did piracy of my work and the complexity of the search industry. Today PPC is far more complex than SEO was when I got into the game. And there are entire verticals of searches and categories which didn’t exist a few years ago. Given search’s increasing complexity it made me think that having 1 linear guide wouldn’t be as strong as an offering as having a modular training program with support forums, which is what we switched our business model to a couple years ago. 

Elise: Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Well, how about now…do you have any exciting projects that you are involved in right now that you’d like to discuss?

Aaron: My wife is hoping to do some pretty cool stuff with PPC Blog in the near future. We are hoping to evolve that into the #1 site for pay per click marketing information in the coming months.

Elise: Would you say that you are you driven by any great passions outside of the business arena?

Aaron: My wife and my dog. :) I also like reading books, playing video games, and learning about economics and investing.

 What are your thoughts about Aaron’s answers? Agree or disagree?

 

Elise Redlin-Cook

Elise is the Content & Marketing Manager at Vertical Measures, an internet marketing company in sunny Arizona providing services ranging from content marketing, to social media marketing, link building, and advanced SEO. She’s fully immersed herself into the world of content marketing and content strategy and is the managing editor of this blog.

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Posted in Expert Interviews | 4 Comments »

38 Key Takeaways From the Online Marketing Summit: #OMSPHX

Friday, May 21st, 2010

This year, OMS will visit 23 cities across the U.S. and Canada and will include 400 expert speakers, exclusive OMI training workshops and countless peer networking opportunities. They kicked off the tour right in here in the Valley of the Sun and several of Vertical Measures employees attended the event as well as our fearless leader Arnie Kuenn presented. We thought we’d share with you what our team’s 38 takeaways from the day were… 

1.) The single answer to problems around the world, in your company, and with your marketing efforts – EDUCATION. -Aaron Kahlow of Online Marketing Connection
 
Keynote:
 
Online Marketing Summit Phoenix 2010 Keynote2.) When the current consumer has a problem, they search the internet, read blogs and reviews, consult social networks even if they don’t know the people personally, then engage with the solution directly. -Bill Hunt from Back Azimuth Consulting
 
3.) If you don’t listen, they will think you are an arrogant bastard! -Maura Ginty from Autodesk
 
4.) Find your product’s “fan boys” and use them for PR. -Maura Ginty from Autodesk
 
5.) Use Customer Driven Keyword Taxonomy, integrate globally and don’t forget to coordinate with PR -Maura Ginty from Autodesk
 
B2B Case Studies and Best Practices:
 
6.) Map your blueprint and measure against it. Never build a house blind. – Sheila Kloefkorn, from KEO Marketing
 
7.) 91% of technology decision makers say they are spectators of social media –Sheila Kloefkorn,KEO Marketing
 
8.) It’s Google’s search engine, therefore they are entitled to make their own rules. -Fionn Downhill from Elixir Interactive
 
9.) 90% of people don’t know personalized search is happening.-Fionn Downhill, Elixer Interactive
 
10.) At least 20% of searches are local.- Fionn Downhill, Elixer Interactive
 
11.) You get what you track for…You can’t manage what you don’t measure…Create content with your existing assets.- Bill Leake, from Apogee Results
 
 
B2B Case Studies and Best Practices: 
 
12.) 73% of email recipients report an email as spam from the From: name alone.-Justine Jordan from Exact Target
 
13.) 11% of email readers read below the scroll (so reward them). -Justine Jordan
 
14.) Code matters when it comes to Email: Use HTML tables & code like its 1999. There is no excepted standard for coding email. -Justine Jordan, Exact Target
 
15.) Put the things that are driving your goals at the top left = content hierarchy. Think Function THEN form. -Justine Jordan, Exact Target
 
16.) Suggest to readers in Welcome email to add you to their "safe senders list" to turn on images, and save your future correspondence from the junk box- Justine Jordan, Exact Target
 
17.) Stop thinking of web design, and start thinking web presence design.-Katie Van Domelen from Off Madison Avenue 
 
18.) Make sure all of your online presences (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, website) can stand alone AND together.- Katie Van Domelen from Off Madison Avenue
 
19.) Leveraging content–start with the relationship and client goals, not the tools…get the strategy then utilize the tools to leverage strategy –James Windrow from McMurry 
 
new-yorker-blog-dog-barking20.) Content Marketing:  Define>Design>Develop>Deploy. -James Windrow, McMurry
 
21.) You should be able to read a blog post in 45 seconds. – Dan Tyre from Hubspot 
 
22.) The best time to post blog is Tuesday morning. The worst time is Friday afternoon. – Dan Tyre
(yes, precisely the time this post went live ;) We are rebels, aren’t we?)
 
Lunch Keynote
 
23.) For you to achieve your goals, customers must first achieve theirs. -Jeffrey Eisenberg from Eisenberg Brothers & Associates 
 
B2C Case Studies and Best Practices
 
24.) The average online user sees 1800 online ads per day. -Frank Gerstenberger, Audience Science
 
25.) Brands must behave and engage like people do." -Brian Haven from, iCrossing 
 
Social Media Integration
 
26.) If you talk to people the way advertising talked to people they’d punch you in the face. – Steven Groves, from Social Marketing Conversations
 
27.) The most overlooked links are links between your site’s pages and within the content of those pages.-Arnie Kuenn
 
28.) #1 position on a search page gets clicked 43% of the time! Natural gets more clicks than –Arnie Kuenn
 
29.) Search—The world’s largest focus group. -Mike Corak from Tallwave
 
30.) Just like any other marketing, you have to test your audience for Content Marketing.-Mike Corak, Tallwave
 
31.) If you have a blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc., you are a publisher.-Mike Corak, Tallwave

 

 

32.) Package your content for consumption.-Mike Corak, Tallwave 
 
Afternoon Keynote:
 
33.) If you are going to do something, don’t half-ass it – go for it all the way.-Lauren Vaccarello from Salesforce
 
34.) Create landing pages right away – you lose people who expect to find sneakers when they click on your link and end up on a generic ecommerce store homepage.-Lauren Vaccarello, Salesforce 
 
35.) Instead of sending generic messages to the masses in your email marketing campaign, send targeted messages to a smaller group for better results.-David Hibbs from Off Madison Avenue 
 
36.) Creativity in marketing is destroyed if you can only do what is measurable.-Aaron Kahlow, Online Marketing Connection 
 
37.) Google has prioritization issues too!-Frederick Vallaeys from Google Adwords
 
 
I’ll wrap up this post, the same way that the Online Marketing Summit wrapped the afternoon keynote question and answer session with a drink order (of course), and off to the Local Association Cocktail Hour!
 
38.) I don’t know, at this point any alcohol would be fine! –Anonymous Attendee
 
Did you attend OMS Phoenix this year? What were some of your key takeaways from attending?

 

 

Elise Redlin-Cook

Elise is the Content & Marketing Manager at Vertical Measures, an internet marketing company in sunny Arizona providing services ranging from content marketing, to social media marketing, link building, and advanced SEO. She’s fully immersed herself into the world of content marketing and content strategy and is the managing editor of this blog.

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Posted in Tips | 6 Comments »

Content is Like a Box of Chocolates

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Content is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. When you really wanted the nougat and instead ended up with the raspberry cream, did you look around to make sure no one was watching, spit it out and go for another one? You did, didn’t you? This is why content has to be taken seriously. If a visitor doesn’t like your content, they will quickly move on to another site that better suits their taste.

Box of ChocolatesFirst you must know who your users are. Then your number one goal, in regards to content, should be to gain your users trust. Your site needs to be their proverbial couch that they can lay down on, get comfortable, have their needs taken care of and receive guidance and advice.
 
In his book “101 Content Marketing Tips”, Byron White defines content as: “Anything included on a website that aims to attract and engage readers.  Content refers to text, pictures, videos, sound, animation, etc.” Content can actually be provided to visitors in three different ways:
 
1. Content on Your Website
You may think you have control over your site, but you don’t. Your users have their hand on the stick and they can either make you fly or send you into a nosedive. So keep them happy and engaged. Provide content that tells a story about how your products or services can solve their problems.
 
•           Keep the content short; paragraphs should be 3-5 sentences long.
•           The most important elements should be above the fold on the page.
•           Design the layout so the content can be skimmed quickly.
•           Use bullet points, bold type, highlights and italics.
•           Quality over quantity is key; content should be simple and easy to understand.
 
2. Content to Print and Take Away
During the content development process, be sure to consider downloadable documents that users can print from your site and take with them. A few ideas are: User Manuals, Instruction Guides, Check Lists, Product Tips, Resource Lists, and Best Practice Guides.
 
Imagine your User Manual sitting on someone’s kitchen counter, desk or coffee table. The only way it’s going to get there, instead of the recycle bin, is if it’s indeed helpful and entertaining. A dose of humor is a must if you want the manual to be perused and shared over and over.
 
3. Content Placed on Article Sites
Articles are a great way to take technical or complex subject matter and make it more comprehensible while at the same time being entertaining. Article Marketing is a great way to increase your credibility, which helps to meet your goal of gaining trust. A researched and well-written article that is placed on one of the popular articles sites, such as Ezine or Go Articles, can position you as an expert in your industry.
 
Clear and concise content on your website that is reviewed and updated on a regular basis is the answer to keeping your visitors satisfied and returning time and time again. The search engines may also reward you with great placement for your efforts. Remember, even if garbage content gets indexed, it may not pass through the filters that will get it ranked well in the search results. Just think of how great it will be when your visitors find that perfect nougat they’ve been longing for.
 
Do you have any other content ideas to share with our readers? Add them in the comments below.

 

 

Ardala Evans

Ardala is a Project Manager working with the client Services Team at Vertical Measures. She supervises the completion of the monthly tasks for the clients. She also works directly with clients to provide reporting on their projects and ranking reviews.

+Ardala Evans

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Posted in Content Development | 6 Comments »

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