News From Marketing Blogs

Good Afternoon Readers,

First let me thank everyone for their input on the website. We've had some great comments on the blog as well as a ton of emails as well. We'll implement the changes over the next day or two.

Second, we've pulled a handful of blog posts from our Monday morning reads that we thought were pretty interesting/applicable.
 
Click Here For More

Our website is not done... but it's up... bad idea?

The title says it all. Based largely on a bet, we've decided to release our website to the world a little early to get your feedback and suggestions. Ignoring the rediculous, we'll make the changes that you suggest. Come check it out!

Click Here For More

New Website for My Site Lite

Hello Everyone and sorry for the Radio Silence. We've been so booked with new clients and projects that we had to put the blog on the back burner for the time being. Additionally, we're right in the middle of a website upgrade! So stay tuned for more info and posts in the next couple days!

~ My Site Lite

Qatar's Bid for World Cup 2022

On the surface, Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup - the largest sporting event in the world - has little to do with small business marketing. However, when you consider the "big boys" who are competing to host the event, England, USA, Japan, Russia to name a few, Qatar can be seen as a minnow in the group.

As a former soccer player, my SiteLite's founder has closely followed the bid campaigns of the major players. In truth, every country is following the same "tried and true" methods with a spattering of social and mobile marketing.

In order to differentiate its bid, Qatar has taken a new frontier approach that has some betting houses changing the odds that the tournament will find its way to the Middle East (politics aside).

Here's the moral of the story: While the tried and true methods benefit the established brands, essentially getting your company/country/service/product in the consideration set, it's the one or two points of differentiation that will make or break your ability to deliver a resonating message and value proposition that will propel your marketing efforts and drive success for your organization

Take a look at the video below and let us know what you think about the proposed stadium designs.

Google Places For Small Businesses

Many small businesses today still rely heavily on their local community for business. Whether you own a shop or provide services, it's important that potential clients around your neighborhood can quickly access your company's location and similar relavent information.

While many companies provide direction and contact information on their website, few companies fully utilize the local business tools available (for free) through search engines like Google and Yahoo.

These search engines offer platforms that allow local businesses to create and integrate local business postings online that sync with their website to quickly provide maps, store hour and all other company info that an involved potential customer will need to access.

Google Places is a great example. In 30 minutes you can create a Google Places page that will appear with any relevant search query and provide your clients the info they need to process all the necessary info they need regarding your company. Your business can easily upload images, docs, videos and categorize your company to increase the quality of info that your clients receive.

Embedding a link to your Google Places page on your website in harmony with your Google Maps page is a snap, and a great way to link all your online resources to ensure your maximizing your presence on search engines. If you're also utilizing PPC Search you can expect to see a significant spike in your search engine presence and greatly improve your ability to reach your target customers.

See an example below:
Search Query: IT Consulting Services Atlanta
Page 1 Company Presence: 4 (Natural Search 2, PPC 1, Local Business 1)

A Little PR Can Go A Long Way

One of my SiteLite's clients will be opening a brand new Dance and Health Facility in Atlanta next month. The Company Valeo (or Valeo Club if you prefer) has already started to generate a ton of buzz in the local Atlanta market thanks to an organized balance of social media, word of mouth, marketing collateral, street advertising and a big helping of SEO.

You see, Valeo (founded by a former dance, Financial Analyst and MBA) understands the value of marketing for generating business and the potential return the facility can realize through a well thought out marketing approach.

So what's the result? Well the outlook is certainly promising! The owner is receiving calls and emails from local radio stations, blogs and event calendars asking for more insight into this popular new dance and health facility that is "all the rage". From an analytics standpoint the site is doing phenomenal and as soon as Valeo reaches a plateau we'll provide some additional insight into just how effective the initial buzz (and resulting business) was.

Video Marketing Debate (Check These Videos Out) - To Spend Or Not To Spend



Barclay Productions Image

 For many small businesses the idea of investing a considerable amount of your marketing budget in a video ad campaign may not seem like a good idea. If you have little to no experience in the lifecycle management of a video campaign you may be doubtful regarding the ROI from your efforts.


While historically this may be accurate, today's companies are armed with a host of technologies and software, as well as SEO and PPC practices that make video a viable small business marketing channel.


Here's a few links that we have no affiliation with:

• YouTube Promoted Videos
• SEO | How Web Video is Finally Coming of Age
• Google Adwords 
• Flip Video
• Camtasia Studio

From an awareness standpoint, one viral YouTube video can ignite your company's online presence. So here's the real consideration... with the ability to easily launch and promote your videos to the right audience, should your company look to break the bank on production or should you leave that to Spielberg and position your video as a candid (amateur) video and focus on content and entertainment over production quality.


The answer is, it depends - did you see that coming? Look at your audience and budget. Consider your message and your brand image and decide which direction to take.


See two videos below that took two very different approaches. Both Videos were hugely successful in driving business for their respective companies. So which direction is best for you?


Blue Sombrero Giveaway


EarthWool Insulation


We want to know what you think post a comment below or email us at info@mysitelite.com

Event Marketing Needs To Be Fun

Say no to boring events, say hello to fun company socials!

Across nearly every vertical there is a need to get your company, partners and clients together for a little face-to-face interaction. Whether to reconnect or to introduce a new product, service or technology, these events afford your organization the chance to establish and/or reestablish your relationship with the individuals that help drive your success.

In an increasingly virtual/remote business environment these company events become more and more important. The need for creativity beyond the "tried and true" means your marketing department needs to put on their thinking caps to figure out how to create an event that your business allies will want to attend. After all, people do business with people they like.

Surprisingly enough the ingredients for a successful company event or social are simple and straightforward:

1. Valuable & Informative
2. Convenient & Comprehensive
3. Fun & Unique

An example you ask? Try Office Golf on for size.

Prep Time: 3 weeks
Necessary Items: Golf Supplies, Food, Drink, Prizes for winners
Draw: New product, service, or resource of note
Target Audience: Current and New Partners or Current and New Clients*
*It’s important to keep the lines drawn in this instance between partners and clients to ensure your attendees do not have a double agenda for attending

Kicker: Creativity for themed courses.
Check out the video below:



We want to know your thoughts about event marketing and how you can make your business allies want to attend these events. Post a comment below or email us (info@mysitelite.com)

A Few Marketing Truths - Read This Article!

No matter the medium or audience, it is important to remember a few basic marketing truths that have, and will, stand the test of time.

1. A Call To Action Works - It's no secret... people need motivators to take an action. While the tools we use and the channels we follow may change over time, the people and segments that we're trying to reach have remained the same. 1) Creating urgency, 2) Providing direction and 3) Appealing to emotion are all effective for eliciting a desired behavior and should be a focus when developing your message. Get to know your audience and what motivates them, and give them a reason as well as the next step to work with you.

2. Simplicity and Consistency - From your message to your communication channels, it is important to make it easy for a potential client to understand and communicate with your organization. A clear and consistent message will allow your involved and uninvolved audience members to identify and effectively process your message. Furthermore, make sure that you're utilizing the communications channels that your audience prefers (phone, email, chat, forum, social network, etc). the easier it is for a client to understand and communicate with you the more effective you will be in creating and driving business.

3. Once You're In The Consideration Set, Show Your Differentiators - In order for a client to consider you as a viable solution/service/product etc., you have to meet the general criteria involved in the selection process. This is what gets you "in" the proverbial door. Unfortunately, many companies - once invited "in" - feel the need to provide additional reasons why they should be allowed in. This is a mistake.

When showing your company's value, communicate the 2-3 points of parity that allow your prospective clients to qualify your organization. At this point, it is critical to focus on the specific item or items that set your organization apart (from the client's standpoint). This message should be highly tailored to the specific client (if possible). Additionally, don't feel the need to show EVERY point of differentiation. Instead, focus on the most impactful and stick to your guns.

We want to know what you think. Post a comment below and tell us how we're 1) Right, 2) Wrong, 3) Both.

Look Before You Leap with Marketing Consultants and Solutions

As a company focused solely on providing online marketing solutions and guidance for small businesses, my SiteLite is pretty passionate about providing value for our customers. Unfortunately this is not always the case in the Online Marketing Arena. While there are a ton of online solutions companies out there with only good intentions and business practices, there are just as many looking for a new "sucker customer" that they can rob blind.

So how do you, the small business entrepreneur, avoid these companies? Well - as is the case with any investment in your company - the simple answer is, "it pays to know". Fortunately, information is abundant and readily available for those looking to learn more about the value and opportunity in optimizing your online presence. The challenge is simply taking the time to educate yourself and your organization.

If and when you decide to enter into an agreement with an outside organization to improve a piece of your online marketing, it's a good idea to know - at least on the surface - the basics regarding the proposed solution. Perhaps you’re considering an SEO initiative to improve your website's general performance for search queries. If this is the case go to www.google.com (or any other major search engine) and spend a few hours reading through the basics of SEO. Trust me, you will have no trouble finding the information you need.

An easy way to increase your company's internal knowledge of a specific marketing practice like SEO or PPC (Pay Per Click) Marketing is to create a Google account and gain access to tools like Google's AdWords, Analytics, Webmaster Tools and Google Places. There's tons of learning material available and you'll be taking the time to ensure that the online solutions company that you choose to partner with, is not only a reliable partner, but is also capable of providing the expertise and return on investment you demand to ensure your company's success moving forward.

If you have any questions or comments please post them below or shoot us an email at info@mysitelite.com

2010 Inc 500 | 5000 Companies

It’s here again! Inc Magazine has compiled its highly anticipated list of the fastest growing private companies in the United States. Led by some of the country’s most promising entrepreneurs, and innovative leaders, many of these companies are just starting to make waves in their respective verticals.

This year’s fastest growing private company is Ambit Energy, led by Jere Thompson Jr. An interesting fact, Jere’s Grandfather started 7-Eleven. Click Here to read about Jere and his path to the top of the Inc. List.

We want to know what you think about this list and some of this country’s leading companies. Is your company on the list? Post a comment below and let us know where you stand.

• Inc Magazine
• Inc 500 | 5000 List
• Inc RSS

Focus On Active White Space

http://www.mysitelite.com/

When designing a website, companies often work hard to get as much information above the fold... on the first screen... as they can. Too often however, the result is an overly-busy website that confuses and annoys. Websites must be designed with white space in mind in order to simply and effectively communicate a clear message. Think of white space as the space between graphics, margins, or lines of type in the page layout.

To go a step further, it is important to not only utilize white space (or negative space to some) to organize and simplify, it must be used to "guide the eyes" of your visitors to the important pieces of information on your page, in a logical order. This will help your company get your message across immediately, leading to your call to action and improving your company's ability to reach the customers that matter most.


To clarify, there is a difference between white space that happens as a byproduct of design (Passive White Space) and that which is actively used as part of the design (Active White Space). There are a host of simple solutions to help integrate white space in your copy alone:

•Paragraph breaks
•Numbered lists
•Bulleted lists
•Use of images

Website Templates Can Be Tough

A best practice to follow when designing your website is to do so on paper first. Define specific content areas or panes to organize your content and expressly note the areas designated for white space. Resist the urge to drop in copy or imagery until you have a website template that is simply effective and stick to it.

If you have a website that you love (perhaps it's your company's), please feel free to pass it along. These examples are great tools to help your organization in your website design and should be considered for small as well as substantial adjustments to your current site.

Thanks!
~ Jon | CMO | mSL

Seth Godin: The secret of the Roush effect

If you're involved with marketing today, then you are probably well aware of Seth Godin. While we would be happy to provide links to any of Seth's posts, we felt this one; The secret of the Roush effect was especially applicable.  The moral of the story for us: If you're able to establish and maintain a position of expertise and importance in a market that fits, then you're positioned to realize continued success while providing value for all those in the market at the same time.
To read Seth's blog click here:

Taking Advantage of Changing Status Symbols

As consumers continue to adapt, we're beginning to see a shift in what is recognized as a status symbol. While few will argue that a Ferrari has held its position at the front of the pack, other products and achievements are beginning to provide a solution for the consumer's need for status recognition.

The smart marketer will continue to follow these trends shifts and locate new and innovative opportunities to align with the next great status symbol.

Trendwatching.com recently released an article entitled "Statusphere". This article does a great job of discussing the changing ways that consumers are getting their "status fix". To read more click here!

Remeber The Basics With Email Marketing

Hello Everyone, I hope you all a nice relaxing weekend (if that's what you were after) and are ready to hit the ground running this Monday morning.

In running through my marketing feeds I came across this post by Anil Batra entitled 15 Things to Test in your Email Campaign. In reading through this article I am reminded that as we continue to find new and innovative avenues to reach our targeted audience with a powerful, accurate message, it is important to remember the "tried and true" methods (like email marketing) that are still effective, predictable and controllable.

Good Luck and Enjoy - mSL CMO
Email open rates and click through rate have both declined over recent month as reported by eMarketer (Avg. Open rate is 11.2% while Avg. CTR is 1.6%).

This seems like a bad news for emails. What is going on? Is Social Media responsible for this decline or are there other reasons?
Who knows what the future holds for email marketing but for now email is alive and marketers can improve both the open rates and click-through rates by just doing a little bit more than they are currently doing.
The key to email success is giving customer what they want and in a format that they want. Nothing revolutionary but something that’s often forgotten in email marketing.

All this boils down to

1.Segmentation and Personalization
2.Testing

To address the first point, read my blog post “ 7 Ways to Create Relevancy in Emails.

In this post I am addressing the 2nd point i.e. Testing. Below are 15 things that you should test in your email campaign.

Open Rate Improvement
Below are the 5 things to test to improve the open rate of your email newsletter.

1.From Email Address
2.From Name
3.Subject line
4.Day of delivery
5.Time of the day

Click through Rate Improvement
Below are the 10 things to test to improve the click-through rate of your email newsletters.

1.Layout of the newsletter e.g. 2 column v/s 3 column
2.Colors e.g. background color, side columns colors, colors of different sections and links
3.Fonts and formatting of titles, text etc.
4.Images – e.g. size, placement of hero image (main image)
5.Images along with stories v/s stories without image
6.Article length – how many words should you show in the newsletter article summary before you make the users click to your site
7.Above and below the fold content – test if moving content above and below the fold impacts the click-through rate
8.Left and right placement of the links, stores etc.
9.Anchor text length in links – Do people click on longer links more than shorter links?
10.Action words v/s non-action words in hyperlinks e.g. Does “Download Now” works better than “you can download the whitepaper”?

Keep in mind that if you don’t give customer what they want then it will first show up in dropping click-though rates, leading to lower open rate and finally resulting in unsubscribes and demise of your email marketing.

Why Do So Many Companies Suck at Social Media?

By Lee Odden of TopRank

Last night I had an enjoyable conversation with Scott Monty of Ford, Jeff Hayzlett (formerly CMO Kodak), Mike Monello from Campfire and our host Bob Knorpp of the famous BeanCast about a variety of topics including foursquare, Facebook, Hulu, social gaming and even small logos. One of the topics that emerged from that discussion was the astute observation of how many companies “suck” at social media.
The current iteration of what we all call social media has been around for at least 3-4 years but apparently brands are still irrelevant on Twitter and companies continue to blunder on Facebook and show a lack of understanding of what makes social media conversations succeed at reaching business goals.

Part of the problem is that most companies are not inherently “social” to begin with. It’s not in their DNA to understand what it means for individual employees to start having conversations with the social web at large as representatives of a company personality. Marketing is about many things including connecting audiences with products they want to buy.

Marketing on the social web is less about the tradition of packaging and distributing information and more about companies being able to connect with customers in ways that are both meaningful to those customers and to the goals of the business.

Cisco’s attempt to leverage their take on the Old Spice campaign didn’t work so well (6,900 views). However, Brigham Young University did a parody of the Old Spice campaign and nailed it (1.8 million views). Why was that? Was it in the execution? The production? The relevance to the audience? One could argue that there is probably more resonance between the Old Spice brand and students at a University than with a company that sells routers. Just because a campaign that used social media channels worked well in one situation does not mean it’s a universal formula.

That’s a big part of the problem. Companies that are trying to understand how the social web can work for them are looking for specific formulas like we’ve been able to do with Email, Direct Mail, Advertising and even Search Marketing. The idea that a particular promotion worked for one company, therefore it should work for us too, doesn’t hold water. Companies need to figure out what works best for the social channels, media and content that best resonates with their customers.

While it’s fun to brag about, getting a viral hit on YouTube does not define success on the social web. Creating trust, connections with a relevant community and ultimately an increase in business goals like revenue is what really matters. The Old Spice YouTube channel not only racked up 50+ million views, but the company reported sales doubling.

To me, the issue isn’t about sucking at social media, it’s about failing. Companies should not fear taking risks and trying new, creative ways to connect with their customers. Some of those efforts will succeed and many will suck. Failing at social media is more about choosing NOT to:

•Listen – Social media monitoring.
•Create – Content that customers actually want.
•Engage – There is no substitute for direct participation with customers in social communities.
•Be open – Stop deciding what’s best for your customer and be open to letting them show you how they’d like to engage.
•Be brave – Show leadership in your social participation.
•Test - Moving corporate mountains is tough, so try proof of concept campaigns, run business case examples and get your feet wet.
•Change – Organizations can only be social if leadership buys in and a commitment to change is made.
•Make money – Don’t be fooled into thinking social media is all about kumbaya with customers. It’s about creating opportunities to connect and influence sales: indirectly and in some cases, directly.

I consider blogs a big part of social media and we’ve been blogging for well over 6 years. While sites like Advertising Age and Technorati rank this blog pretty high as a marketing blog, it “sucked” for quite a while as content and “voice” were being tested. There’s nothing wrong with testing and failing. But do so after listening and participating with the channels you’ll be engaging. Learn from mistakes, be creative, be nimble, empower employees with knowledge and resources. Work to make your organization “be social” vs. “do social”.
Have you “sucked” at social media? What did you learn from it? How have you turned your social media failures into successes?

Is Your Business On the Road to Success?

Check out this article from Duct Tap Marketing and learn how your small and growing business can get a jumpstart! To read the origional article you can click here.


Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott is giving a boost to small business owners in the U.S. with the launch of the Small Business Road-to-Success Challenge.

10 small business owners will be awarded 15 free nights for the sole purpose of traveling around the country to build their business. After three months of working through their own set business challenges, one small business will be awarded a grand prize of $20,000 by a judging panel that includes me.

To read all the details for participation and nominate your small business (through August 20, 2010) visit www.fairfieldchallenge.com.


The top ten finalists will be announced on September 9, 2010 and will begin the Small Business Road-to-Success Challenge on September 13, 2010.

Over the course of three months, the finalists will share their journey by blogging, tweeting and posting photos as they travel the country. At the end of the Challenge, one winner, judged to have been most successful in achieving his or her business goals, will be selected to receive the $20,000 cash grand prize.

Should be fun to watch this unfold. I know I’ve got a few on the road stories I could tell.

my SiteLite Intro Video

Check out my Site Lite's intro video narrated by our CMO and Founder!  If you want more information on mSL:

• Go to our website 
• Check out our brochure
• Email Us
• Follow us on Twitter

Launching our new website

So here it is, we've turned our new site to the public eye: http://www.mysitelite.com/. Come by, and check us out as we're continuing to refine and improve our content. We'd love to get your feedback so drop us a note and we'll get back with you.

Happy Saturday

mSL

3 Google Analytics Tips for Search Engine Marketing
By Trada


Do you use Google Analytics to see who visits your website? Do you use Google Analytics when determining how to market your website? Be honest…do you even know how to use Google Analytics?

Here are 3 tips on how to make Google Analytics work for you in your search engine marketing campaigns, inspired by our latest webinar, ‘Google Analytics for Good (and Evil)’ hosted by Trada’s own Anna Sawyer and Trada Founder and CEO Niel Robertson.

1. Know when your landing pages are converting to schedule Ad run-time

This is also called day parting…which is the art of knowing what time of day you should run your marketing campaigns to get the most bang-for-your-buck. Using Google Analytics, you can see when your clicks are converting and allocate your PPC budget accordingly (a.k.a. save money!).

To start, set your date range in the upper-right hand corner of your screen (i.e. June 1-30). Next, we want to see the average visits/day broken down by the hour. To do this, go to Visitors>Visitor Trending>Visit and click on the “graph by hour” button (with a picture of a clock face). This provides a look at when the bulk of your traffic is reaching your website.

You can go one step deeper into this and look specifically at just one place on your website. If you’re company values social media, you’ll know it’s important to see what time people are reading your blog. To do this, click on ‘Advanced Segments’ in the lower-right column of the screen and then click on ‘Create New Custom Segment’ on the following screen in the upper-right corner. Create a segment that includes all pages starting with your specific blog URL (i.e. All of Trada’s blog links start in /blog) using the ‘Landing Page’ dimension. Save the Custom Segment and add the new blog segment to the filter (found in bar above the calendar) of your Visits report to cross-reference.

Do you see a difference? Where are the interesting spikes in traffic? Do people visit your blog only during the morning but overall site visitors are higher on the weekend? Tweak Ad campaigns to match peak hours on your site.* If your AdWords aren’t scheduled correctly, you might be missing out on good leads and possible conversion.

*Quick Tip: To schedule ad display times in Google AdWords go to settings>ad scheduling>set>and add copy to all days/weekdays.

2. Figure out which search engine is converting for you.

Google AdWords generally runs the show in paid search when it comes to impressions and overall click volume. But it’s important to ask the question: statistically is Google converting better than Yahoo or Bing? This is simple to figure out once you create a custom report, and is an especially important metric for e-retailers or anyone wanting more than just traffic from their search marketing campaigns. Knowing the quality of your traffic allows you to take advantage of every advertising network and teaches you how to decipher which ones work for you. Yes, advertising on all three networks is cumbersome – but if you are getting more conversions per impressions on Bing…. it’s worth the time sink.

Go to go ‘Traffic Sources’, filter by paid search, click on your Goal Set tab (assuming you’ve set a conversion goal) and then sort by search engine to see what search engine is converting the highest. You can also set up a custom report to see which is driving the most leads if you have multiple goal/goal funnels through the ‘Custom Reports’ section found in the lower-left corner of your analytics screen. (Comparing paid search conversion/sort by custom report goals). The moral of the story is: if your ads are getting 20x more visitor traffic in Google, but 10x more conversion traffic in Yahoo, you probably should put more time in where the value is.

3. Analyze your SEM data to determine your SEO strategy

It’s important to strategically build custom landing pages to align with the offer you’re advertising in paid search. But this can be difficult if you aren’t exactly sure how or what people are searching for before they find your company. Aligning landing pages with offers, services and tying this back into your advertising will give you a needed SEO boost as well as help keep your paid traffic interested in your content/offerings after they’ve click on you ad.

First, take a look at the keywords people are using to find your site. Remember, Google Analytics is oriented for organic search. The trick to turning this SEO data in SEM strategy lies in assigning the top keywords to their own specific landing pages and ads to match.

Because Google Analytics only shows organic search keywords, before looking in Google Analytics, be sure to check out the “search terms report” within Google AdWords – which is based on SEM keywords. The “search terms report” in AdWords show the actual phrases typed into Google search that triggered your paid ad to display that resulted in a click.

Cross-reference the difference between the top search terms reported by Google Analytics and the top search terms reported in your Google AdWords report. By integrating some of the top keywords in Google Analytics and the top keywords in AdWords, you’ll add value, increase relevancy and boot your SEO while better understanding your SEM traffic. AdWords and Analytics are good for different things, but together they are can be an invaluable toolset.

As you can see, using Google Analytics for good (and evil) lets you control your data. Hopefully this post will give you the courage to use Google Analytics to its fullest potential. Feel free to direct any Google Analytics questions to Trada’s CEO Niel Robertson on Twitter . Remember: use your newly found Google Analytics information for good, not evil. And may the force be with you.

3 Essential Small Business Search Marketing Trends

Lee Oden Top Rank

“Qualified”, “showing intent to buy”, “high conversion rate” and many other phrases are used to describe search engine marketing. As a $16 billion industry, Search Marketing including SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC ads (pay per click) represent a substantial opportunity for small businesses to connect with customers at the moment they are looking for products and services to buy.

Even though Search Marketing presents an attractive opportunity to grow online sales, many businesses are too busy running their companies to stay on top of future trends. To that end, here are three search marketing trends worth paying attention to:

1. Online & Offline Marketing Integration - Forrester Research estimates $917 billion worth of retail sales in 2009 were “Web-influenced” in contrast to $155 billion of consumer goods sold online in the same year. Small businesses must pay attention to customer search online influencing offline purchases as well as the influence of the in-store experience on searching and purchasing online.

2. Mobile Device and Local Search – Companies must recognize consumer trends towards mobile search with the proliferation of smart phones. The web experience has definitively extended beyond the personal computer to mobile devices such as iPhones, Blackberries and iPads. Marketers must understand their customers’ use of mobile search and what the marketing opportunities are.

Companies that serve customers in specific regions or with geographically specific needs must be present in local search results, map results and specific geo-location queries. Segmenting potential customers through geo targeting with paid search advertisements will help focus the right ads on the right customers.

3. Social Media Advertising – Savvy small business marketers are increasingly realizing that the opportunity to reach customers extends beyond traditional paid search into the booming social media space. Having surpassed Google as the most visited website for the week ending March 13, 2010 and with over 400 million registered users, Facebook offers a significant audience that shouldn’t be ignored. Social networks like Facebook can provide online marketers hyper-targeted advertising opportunities that can tap into new customer segments and serve as a complement to other paid search programs.

Take the 2011 Digital Marketing Poll

Lee Odden on Jun 17th, 2010 Online Marketing, Reader Polls

It’s safe to say 2009 and 2010 were breakout years for social media. Our last Digital Marketing poll showed 6 of the top 10 tactics as social media complemented by search engine marketing and email. Slimmer marketing budgets and mass media attention have inspired a rush to many types social media marketing tactics bringing a certain over-optimism about what the social web can do for a company’s bottom line.

With the economy recovering slowly, what will 2011 bring? Are social media and content marketing the glue that brings multi channel marketing together? Is 2011 finally the year for mobile? Will companies focus on more holistic online marketing?

Click Here To Go To The Poll

We’d love to hear your opinions in the 2011 TopRank Digital Marketing Poll. Please take the poll here and share it, post it, bookmark it, like it and lick it if you want:

What Bros Icing Bros Can Teach Us About Marketing (And Humanity)

Here's another interesting and entertaining article about social and viral marketing. Unfamiliar with the term of "icing" (not hockey)? The read more here:

Written by Elisa Gabbert
Posted In: Online Marketing Blog Roundup


Thank god somebody is talking about "icing" from a marketing perspective, because I really wanted to write about this and just wasn't sure how. And by "this," I mean the bizarre game/meme known as icing, as documented by the site Bros Icing Bros. And by "somebody," I mean the New York Times. Earlier this week the NYT's J. David Goodman asked, in the form of an embarrassingly lame headline, "Popular New Drinking Game Raises Question, Who’s ‘Icing’ Whom?" (At least they didn't misuse the phrase "begs the question.")

If you're not a frat boy and you've somehow missed this cultural phenomenon, it consists of one "bro" presenting another "bro" with a Smirnoff Ice, frequently lukewarm, as a kind of dare. To maintain his honor the challenged bro must drop to one knee and chug it on the spot, regardless of context. The only defense (there is one, which is one way icing differs from a crane kick) is to carry a bottle of Smirnoff Ice on your own person. If a bro attempts to ice you and you're holding, said bro must chug both malt beverages.

So who, indeed, is icing whom, besides bros? If you think this sounds like a viral marketing scheme cooked up by Smirnoff, you're not alone. Goodman writes:

Amid suspicion that the trend is an elaborate viral marketing campaign by Smirnoff, which the company has denied, new icing photos are posted daily on various blogs, Twitter and Facebook … The game has exposed the mercurial line between guerrilla advertising and genuine social media trends, raising questions about how young consumers can know when they have co-opted a brand for their own purposes, and when that brand has co-opted them.

Is there any reason to doubt that Smirnoff is behind it? Let's look at the evidence from both sides. A few reasons to believe it's Smirnoff's doing:

The game is responsible for a huge spike in sales.
"Icing" has allowed Smirnoff to penetrate a young, male demographic with a beverage that this fratty clientele would typically consider a "chick drink."
The whole thing seems too wildly contrived to have been conceived by an innocent third party, and then to actually catch on without some backing.
But there is also some evidence that Smirnoff didn't start the trend, whether or not the company is enjoying the benefits:

Part of the premise of the game is that Smirnoff Ice is gross, so you wouldn't want to chug one. If someone handed you a delicious frosty beverage, drinking it wouldn't be much of a challenge. So even if sales are spiking, "icing" can be seen as a reputation management issue.
Along the same lines, the game interferes with Smirnoff's "Drink responsibly" messaging.
There's some evidence that it began organically. The "exact origins are murky" (according to the NYT), but "Members of Pi Kappa Alpha at the College of Charleston said they were the first to put the rules online, posting to BroBible.com in early April." But it's possible that Smirnoff caught wind of the game and helped it spread.
For what it's worth, Smirnoff denies any involvement. (You'd expect that of course.)
I'm pretty cynical about big corporations, not to mention malt beverages, but I don't feel entirely comfortable ascribing these shenanigans to Smirnoff. They may be racking up sales this summer, but "icing" has the feel of a trend that will die soon and die hard. Then once again a six-pack of Smirnoff Ice will be the last thing left in the cooler after a bad BBQ.

If this is Smirnoff's marketing strategy, it's a pretty dumb strategy—in a few months what people are going to remember is the sickly aftertaste, and the glory and hilarity of making other dudes experience it—not the good times they had sitting around the fire sipping bottle after bottle. This might help Smirnoff Ice become a legend, but in a bad way—as with Zima or Clear Pepsi.

So what are the lessons for marketers? What can we learn from icing, if anything?

Since the trend is still going on, we don't know yet if Smirnoff will experience a lasting boost in sales. Hell, it's possible that half these "bros" actually like the taste, and are just pretending to hate it. But my prediction is that once the meme plays itself out, sales will crash back down and probably dip lower than before—Ice will feel "so Summer 2010" that no one will be able to bring themselves to buy it, except maybe ironically in a few years, if it still exists by then. So if you're coming up with viral marketing strategies, try to create one that celebrates your product rather than trashes it.
And if Smirnoff really has nothing to do with it? The lesson is, it's pretty hard to control your brand. The only thing you can really do it try to make products that don't suck.
Note to my coworkers: I am aware that we have a full six-pack of Smirnoff Ice in the fridge here at WordStream, for some reason. Let the record show that I preemptively refuse to drink an Ice, even if iced—they're not gluten-free. Peace.

Other Search Marketing Highlights This Week
Google announced that its new indexing system, Caffeine, is officially complete. They claim that "Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index, and it's the largest collection of web content we've offered," meaning new pages (blog posts, news) will be indexed faster and show up for relevant queries sooner.

On Search Engine People, Ann Smarty offers a checklist of must-do SEO tasks before you publish a blog post.

Chris Brogan explains why he's going to jump out of a plane.

Lisa Barone lists 10 books to read or reread this summer, including Don't Make Me Think, Words That Sell, and BBQ Makes Everything Better. (I've now used "BBQ" twice in this post. Wait, make that thrice.)

The aforementioned Lisa wasn't able to live-blog SMX due to an injury, but Susan Esparza live-blogged away at the Bruce Clay blog. Some highlights includes sessions on pumping up PPC conversions, a Q&A between Danny Sullivan and Matt Cutts, and how to optimize for Google vs. Bing.

NYT, HuffPo Still Don't Get SEO

Hey Everyone,

Here's a pretty interesting article about how the NYT and HuffPo don't really get SEO and they have shown their lack of understanding in some pretty amusing ways. This article comes from Elisa Gabbert with Word Stream. To View the article click here.

6 Phases of the Web Site Design and Development Process

Hello Everyone,

Check out this quick article for 7 Steps for a successful website. While this article is geared towards a very small company or home business, it does prove helpful in forcing the individual to actually consider why they really want a website and its function for the company.

To learn more click here:

SEO Tips for Small Businesses

Hello Small Businesses! I ran across this article discussing 7 Essential Tips for Small Biz SEO and thought it was a very helpful article. If you have any questions regarding some of these points or would like to discuss further feel free to post a comment and we'll get back with you ASAP!

Thanks and enjoy:
mSL Team

Article from Top Rank (Toprankblog.com)

1. Turn everything into content
Content is still King. Search engines still love unique content, and the more useful content there is on your website, the more opportunities you give searchers to find your products and services. Rob Snell gave a fabulous presentation at PUBCON South, and one of the main takeaways was how to turn everything on an e-commerce site into content. Here are some ways to “free” extra content on your site. Here were some of his tips:

•Record everything and transcribe it all into text. Interviews, conversations, product DVD’s, personal opinions, etc.
•Turn support emails into FAQ pages on your site
•Turn PDF’s into HTML pages (although PDF files can rank on their own)
•Start generating videos of everything

2. Make it personal
Small businesses have a major advantage that most bigger businesses don’t: A personal voice. By making your voice heard, you’re showcasing your authority in your market, and adding trust. Buyers love hearing recommendations or reviews, and are more influenced to buy from those vs. product feature and benefit pages. Consumers use search engines to research products, and other than the lowest price, they’re looking for recommendations. Give them some! If you have a catalog, make a buyers guide in addition to product listings. Show you’re an expert and turn your knowledge into personalized business. Teaching is a great way to make sales.

3. Optimize for local search
Odds are that your small business can take advantage of local search. 63% of consumers use search engines to research information about local companies. Start with Thomas’ excellent guide on local SEO tips that range from claiming your profile to adding media to submitting to content aggregators.

4. Improve your site’s speed
Small business sites can be notoriously slow. Site speed is usually one of the last things that small business owners care about. But now that Google has introduced speed into the ranking algorithm, it’s time to seriously start checking out how fast your site loads. But more importantly, when you improve your site’s speed, you’re also improving your customer’s experience. Don’t make users wait to buy your products! You can use tools like Web Page Analyzerand the Firefox extension YSlow! to see what’s taking your pages so long to load. If you’re using a blog or shopping cart software, search for caching plugins for your software.

5. Refine internal linking
Internal links can add value to your site considerably, but many small businesses don’t understand that you have to develop a linking mindset in order to really capitalize on it. It takes extra time to research old post links and include them in your articles, but the benefits are great. Sites like Copyblogger do an excellent job of referencing older posts in their articles. Not only does this strategy help with SEO, it also adds to the user experience, giving them more Think long and hard about your site’s linking architecture. Is your navigation schema getting to all of your content? Aside from adding sitemaps, related products and posts keep both visitors and search engines happy. Popular posts lists are also great for making sure your best content is getting seen and linked to.

6. Create content for people
If you’re generating content specifically for search engines, you’re missing a major chunk of your market. Humans don’t like to be bamboozled, and when they come to a page on your site that was obviously made for a search engine, they’ll leave in a hurry and never come back. Plus, only humans can link to your site. If you want to get more inbound links and retain customers, you need to write for customers. The goal to higher search results is still to get more people to your site. After all, search engines can’t buy anything from you.

7. Don’t fret about getting nofollow links
It’s easy to get carried away with only trying to get incoming links without the dreaded nofollow. But really, a link is still a link. If that link can bring in a potential customer, then you want it. If you’re only looking for specific types of incoming links, than odds are you’re missing lots of the low-hanging backlink fruit and worrying about the wrong things.

Who knows how long the nofollow link will be around? If you’re smart, you worry about what’s most important: creating great content. You can’t control how Google ranks things in the future. Focus on things you can control, like creating a killer experience for your customers. In the end, if you focus on giving your customers and visitors great content, many aspects of SEO will take care of itself. Great content attracts great links, especially when you promote it and leverage social SEO channels of distribution. If it’s good for your potential customers, odds are it’s good for SEO too.

my SiteLight Company Blog

Hello Everyone, this is our first official post for the my SiteLight Blog. my SiteLight is an online marketing solutions company focused on "evening the playing field" for small businesses... the modern day outlaws of the corporate world. While our company is motivated to help the small business develop a comprehensive effective marketing roadmap to drive business success, our blog is not so focused. Instead we'll work to bring you the latest news across technology, marketing and business, as well as a bit of news that is just plain cool.

We hope you come back often and please feel free to subscribe to our feed and spread out posts. This info is for everyone.

Thanks,

That Guy