Healthy Blog Reviews

I have good news and bad news. First the bad news: Search Engine Strategies San Jose is no more. Sucka! That’s cos the good news is that the event has been renamed SES and the location changed to San Francisco! I so got you with that one, didn’t I? Well, there’s more. SES is now part of the broader Connected Marketing Week which runs from August 16-20 at the Moscone Center in San Fran. Connected Marketing Week features five full days of themed subjects on search marketing, micro-blogging, social media, international online marketing, ad networks and exchanges, and much more. Each day will include panels, events, and networking opportunities for all involved. In addition to SES, the week also includes a half day  ClickZ BlogworkZ forum featuring discussion panels on the latest trends in blogging and a specific panel on how bloggers are impacting the reputation of multi-million dollar businesses. You’ll find me hanging out at Connected Marketing Week. On Monday , I’m on a ClickZ panel will Robert Scoble–the first time I believe we’ve been on the same panel together. And, later in the week, you’ll find me at SES– teaching you how to manage your Google reputation . So, are you coming? The early bird discount ends on July 30th and Marketing Pilgrim readers can get another 20% discount by using the code SPGSF20 See you there! Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community

Tags: advice, code, forum-featuring, fran-connected, marketing, marketing week, reputation, Robert Scoble, Search, Social, week
Posted July 28, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

By Renée Revetta Facebook recently enabled a feature that instantly suggests a dynamically created Facebook ad based on a provided URL. I tested it out to uncover how Facebook set up this feature. As with most things, there are some pros and cons to the dynamic ad creation approach. Facebook creates the ad by searching the HTML of the provided URL for certain tags. Specifically, it pulls the title tag, meta description, and an image associated with the main content, similar to how it pulls information when Facebook users share a link. Title of ad: pulled from title tag Ad copy: from meta description Image: from embedded image After the advertiser provides the URL, the title, copy and image are generated. Facebook inserts the first 135 characters from the meta description into the ad copy, so web developers should keep this in mind when creating the page, if possible. The title is pulled from the first 25 characters of the title tag. Keeping these character limits in mind when creating your website pages will allow for easier Facebook ad creation down the road. However, if you can’t limit your title and meta description tags, Facebook does allow the advertiser to edit the auto-generated ad content. When using the “suggest an ad” feature, advertisers are also given several image options. Facebook allows advertisers to cycle through any available images from the page (much like the image feature when Facebook users share links), or advertisers may also choose to upload their own images. The suggest feature may work well in some cases, however, unless you’re using a targeted page (a landing page, promotion page, registration page), your meta description and auto-generated ad might lack the call to action that is so important for the proper impact.  You’re not likely to have a call to action within the meta description of your home page or about us page on your website, so keep in mind that the “suggest an ad” feature might work best for general exposure ads. In review, the Facebook Ad Suggest feature works well for marketers wanting to quickly advertise: URLs to a page with a targeted action as the main focus OR Brands seeking awareness rather than specific actions Both of these cases depend on the URL provided from the start of ad creation. If the URL provided is a general page but your ad requires a specific call to action, you’ll likely need to edit your auto-generated ad content. For example, if you entered your home page URL to create a “Like Us on Facebook”ad, the meta description and title tag might not be totally relevant for that ad campaign. Facebook also recently announced PayPal as a new advertising payment option: “Through a strategic relationship with PayPal, we’re able to simplify payments globally for advertisers purchasing Facebook Ads. In addition to the different credit cards that we accept, PayPal will be listed as another option for payment when you create your first ad. Or, if you’re already advertising, login to the Funding Sources in your Ads Manager and add PayPal as a funding source.” Instant ad creation along with the PayPal option for payment might just capture that small business owner or Facebook newbie to try out ads for the first time. What do you think? Will you give Facebook ads a try? Or do you feel like Andy ? About Renée Revetta Renée Revetta,  Search Mojo’s Social Media Specialist organizes social media efforts with the Search Mojo team and monitors daily social media activity. In addition to working on social media projects for clients, Renée manages the Search Mojo blog, Search Marketing Sage , and the company’s overall social media presence.

Tags: advice, auto, Display, facebook, image, manager, paypal, Search, search-mojo, Social, Social Media
Posted July 14, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

Are you monitoring your reputation on the web? Not just your company name, but all of your reputations? What, you didn’t know you had multiple reputations to monitor? Over at Actively Listening (the Trackur blog) you’ll find  12 Critical Keywords Every Company Should Monitor in Social Media including: 6. Your Marketing Message “So easy even a caveman can do it?” “Just do it!” What if those campaign slogans were accompanied by “sucks” or “I’ll never buy from them again?” Monitoring your marketing campaigns will help you understand if your message is getting across, and what your customers have to say about it. 7. Your Competition Surely you’d find value in knowing your biggest competitor just got the jump on you. Reports suggest that inside Lenovo, execs knew about the launch of Apple’s Mac Air within minutes–important for Lenovo, as it was planning it’s own ultra-light notebook. Likewise, if Shell & Exxon are not actively listening to the complaints about how BP is handling the Gulf oil spill, they are crazy. Both could use BP’s crisis to explain how they’re “cleaner” “better” or “safer.” As a bonus, you’ll also find a PDF of 30 different keywords you should be monitoring in social media. Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com – Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!

Tags: actively-listening, advice, Apple, complaints, critical, marketing, Monitoring, own-ultra-light, pdf, reputation, reputations, Social, Social Media, your-reputation
Posted July 8, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

There is a plague within the Internet marketing industry. This plague has existed since the inception of marketing online, and will probably continue to exist as long as there is money to be made on the Internet. It’s likely that if you have done anything online you have seen it in action. What plague am I talking about? I’m talking about the plague of the amateur. What’s that? You’ve never of the plague of amateur? Well let me explain. Some call it spam. Some call it black hat. Some even call it crap hat. Whatever, you want to call it’s all the same. And, I’m tired of it. It seems like every day I open my e-mail and find a new advertisement in my inbox for Viagra or imitation designer watches. Everyday I get irrelevant link request. And everyday I see social media sites saturated with low quality content. Most folks that are annoyed by these types of amateur tactics, call them annoying and irrelevant. Which is the case for me as well. However, my frustration stems more from examples of spotty marketing tactics then the content itself. For once I’d like to see an Internet marketer use sophisticated dialogue and a well thought out strategy to market Viagra online. I wouldn’t purchase any of it, but at least it be refreshing to see someone competent pushing popper pills. The definition of an amateur is one who doesn’t get paid. Which is exactly fitting for most of the markers that engaging in spam like tactics. In short spam doesn’t work. So why are there so many amateur marketers out there? I think one reason is because of the prevailing myth that making money on the Internet is easy. Because of this, many people begin a career in Internet marketing with no experience or education. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about formal education. Even I didn’t study marketing in college. Like other half-way successful Internet marketers I spent years trying different things and studying what works before I started making money. This is the type of education that the vast majority of amateur marketers on the Internet ignore. How to go from amateur to professional and start making money. Study successful marketers. The Internet marketing industry is full of successful entrepreneurs and marketing professionals that are more than willing to act as a mentor and provide free information on their blogs and websites. These individuals can be a vital source of valuable information to anyone starting out in marketing. It’s important to not only study the strategies they use but also their style and choice a dialogue. Tactics like blogging and social media are important but without understanding the proper method of communication all can be lost. Learn how to write. In almost every aspect of marketing the ability to write successfully can create a truly competitive edge. Becoming a better writer means that you are sharpening communication skills. Understanding how to communicate is at the core of marketing–both online and off. Even if you are just writing code, understanding how to write clear and concise statements will drastically help you communicate with clients and customers on a daily basis. Join the community. Being part of a community can help the amateur understand all of the various methods and strategies available. One can join the community by participating in different online forums and discussion groups. But the best way to make a real connection with members of your community is to meet them in person at industry conferences and trade shows. Being a part of a community can help the amateur find value in doing good solid work by witnessing firsthand others that have found success. So now its time to take a hard look at what your efforts entail and ask yourself, am I an amateur? If so, don’t worry there’s still hope for you on the web. Just remember that if you want to stay in this business of making money online, it isn’t going to be easy and you are going to have to hustle. But I am confident that if you work hard and follow the advice above you will make the transition from amateur to professional in no time!

Tags: advice, Business, frustration, internet, Internet Marketing, plague, Social Media, transition
Posted June 12, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media

During PubCon South’s Online Reputation Monitoring & Management panel, I was asked to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart: social media monitoring! I resisted the urge to basically tell everyone to head to Trackur for their free account–after all, I had 15 minutes to pad out–and instead shared the free tools I think get the job done. I won’t spoil the surprise by revealing the free social media monitoring tools I discuss in my presentation–you’ll just have to flip through the slides below. 5 Free Social Media Monitoring Tools You Need View more presentations from Andy Beal .

Tags: advice, basically-tell, flip-through, free-social, management, Monitoring, online, presentation, reputation, shared-the-free, slides, Social, Social Media, surprise, the-slides
Posted April 21, 2010 by cgseo under Social Media