Week of 2008-07-31 Hi Everyone, There are three jobs that every kid dreams of having when they grow up... 1. An astronaut - Explore new worlds! 2. A professional athlete - Big money and the fans love you! 3. A web marketing associate at SageRock - Free Pop!! Woohoo! Just visit this page and watch the video. And one day as you are lounging in the Red Room (watch the video) you'll laugh at the poor saps who got stuck with job number one or two. Have a fun weekend! Rachel Phillips
Featuring: Jennifer Laycock, Stoney deGeyter, Diane Aull, Debra Mastaler, Paul Jahn, Manoj Jasra, David Wallace, Sage Lewis, Mack Collier, Karri Flatla, Jackie Baker, Ross Dunn, Scott Allen, Diana Adams and Mike Moran. Google Street View - Not Illegal, Maybe Antisocialby Miriam EllisAs a Local Search practitioner, I'm a big fan of Google Maps and the brilliant technology behind it. I interact with Maps daily and am always excited when they roll out some new tool or application that makes their index of information about local businesses more thorough or useful. But seeing Google Maps' newest offering, Street View, didn't make me feel excited. It made me feel...ticked.... A Full Hour of Viral Marketing Videoby Jennifer LaycockIf you've been thinking about joining us at Small Business Marketing Unleashed this fall, but aren't sure if the content is going to be a good fit for you, here's your chance to find out. I'm about to completely revamp my viral marketing talk, so I've released my old one into the public domain by speaking at Podcamp Ohio. That means you've now got the chance to hear my one hour Viral Marketing talk (and test drive our SBMU content) for free. Don't Forget to Bring Your Business Cards to the Social Media Partyby Jennifer LaycockIt's been said the devil is in the details. Unfortunately, I'm not really a details kind of person. I'd like to write it off and say my mental energy goes into creativity; but the truth is, I'm just really forgetful. It's why we have insanely organized people like Rachel and Vickie on staff to keep us organized. That's why yesterday's Columbus Tweetup served as a great reminder of one of the common mistakes small businesses make when it comes to social media. Conversion Optimization Part of Internet Marketing? If Not, It Should Be!by Scott AllenI'll be willing to bet that when you hear internet marketing related terms like SEO, SEM, PPC, etc, you don't think of conversion optimization. And vice versa, when you hear talk of e-commerce conversion improvements, you may not think of internet marketing. If you do, then bravo!...you're ahead of the pack. If not, that's ok, but you may want to read on for some reasons why you should be integrating them. Bad Advice and Leaky Pipesby Diane AullWant a sure-fire way to get terrible advice? Ask the right question... to the wrong person.... Puppy's Picks - 07/29/08by Jennifer LaycockI scan a few hundred feeds and read dozens of articles a day so you don't have to. From made up social media profiles to online reputation management to shifting paid search campaigns from Google to Yahoo, check out a roundup of seven posts I classify as "must-read" for the day. Seven Building Blocks of a Destination Website: #4 Unique Value Propositionby Stoney deGeyterYour business is not just competing with businesses in your area, but quite possibly you're competing with businesses all over the world. And if you're not unique or remarkable in any way, if nothing that sets you apart, then you're just another one of a million other businesses doing the same thing. Seven Building Blocks of a Destination Website: #5 Time and Presenceby Stoney deGeyterIn non-competitive areas, achieving top rankings often doesn't take much effort. But when you're targeting keywords in more competitive fields you're going up against other websites that have already established themselves in that space. Many of those competitors are are, in fact, the authority for those keywords.... Seven Building Blocks of a Destination Website: #6 Voiceby Stoney deGeyterCreating a very distinct voice for your website is really about giving your website a personality. You can have great copy that lacks a clear voice that can be heard. But by creating a voice that can be heard clearly and distinctly through each written word on the page you are increasing the level of engagement with your visitor. Why Search Marketers Can Safely Ignore Cuilby Mike MoranSeveral people wrote to me asking me to review Cuil, the hot new search engine that everyone is talking about. Except me. I've explained in the past that I am not expecting any new search engine to come along to dethrone Google. But people persisted, "This one is really different!" So I looked and I listened and I read, and I'm sorry folks, but I don't know what all the fuss is about.... Interview: Michael Gray on Link Building and SEO Interventionby Manoj JasraSearch Engine Strategies (SES) San Jose is less than a month away and is always one of the biggest and most popular search marketing conferences all year. One of the speakers that will be featured at SES San Jose includes Michael Gray, President of Atlas Web Service. I had a chance to catch up with Michael to chat with him about a few of the topics he will be speaking on at SES San Jose, link building and SEO Rehab & Intervention... Puppy's Picks - 07/28/08by Jennifer LaycockI scan a few hundred feeds and read dozens of articles a day so you don't have to. From suprise social media usage to keyword copywriting to an ongoing debate around how to be the best company you can be online...check out half a dozen posts I classify as "must-read" for the day. Site Clinic: Fresh Eyes Often Find Unmet Expectationsby Jackie BakerIt's easy to get so wrapped up in our websites that we don't always realize how they are perceived by our visitors. We know them so intimately that the gap between whether or not our sites live up to visitor expectations isn't obvious at all. That's where fresh eyes can come in really handy. This is certainly the case with this week's site clinic subject Tony Winyard, a disc jockey in London, and his website Streetlife.... Yahoo Champions Internet Accessibility for the Disabledby Ross DunnAt Yahoo Anecdotal today Yahoo announced they had recently opened the Yahoo Accessibility Lab; a place where only Yahoo employees (for now) can experience the world of the Internet as a disabled web surfer would. Read on for a peak at accessibility guidelines and more on what Yahoo had to say about this important issue.... Return to the Top of this Page 
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In response to... Don't Forget to Bring Your Business Cards to the Social Media PartyThanks for the reminder! I often think, "I'm not looking for more work" or "I'm just going to church" and don't worry about my business cards. Actually, they are very outdated, and your post is the kick in the pants I needed. Everything we do, in some way, is social media! Social networking started way before media got involved. Thanks! Dana Lookadoo In response to... Small Businesses Need the InternetMike, We hear the same arguments as everyone else, the small business owner doesn't have time to do it so, we do it for them, at a fair price. We have offered a few tough clients the service on a trial bases (if they didn't get any response from our efforts, they didn't have to pay our fee for the SEM) to prove that it works and now they can't buy into it enough. Don't overwhelm your clients with jargon and technology when talking to them about the process, just show them how it works. A good case study can be helpful here. Take the fear out of the equation helping your small business client with the program and both of you will be winners. Dan Acker In response to... Small Businesses Need the InternetHi Mike, I come from 30 years of entrepreneurship and I can tell you from experience that most small business people are very good at their trade, such as auto repair or carpet cleaning, but lack critical business management skills. Many of them fail because they don't have the time or expertise to collect the money they are owed for good work they have already completed. They think that simply doing really good work will bring them success, but that is just aspect of running a profitable small business. Another hurdle to overcome is that many of them are mavericks who can't stand working for someone else and/or think they know more than their bosses/managers do. I don't mean that in a bad way, either, because in many cases, they do know more. Anyone trying to sell to these folks will do well to keep these traits in mind. Thanks, Mary Mary Bowling Return to the Top of this Page 
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QUESTION ABOUT THE FORUMPuppy Logo? MeaningSEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION I Need SEO Help Trick To Getting Into DMOZ New Free SEO Tool: www.TrafficMarks.comPAY PER CLICK Test CampaignOTHER ONLINE MARKETING 4 Ways To Make Money From People Who Are Leaving Your Site Why Are You Wasting Your Time Spamming Forums With Advertisements GetResponse Newsletter System How Much Do You Make From Ad SpaceSMALL BUSINESS ISSUES How Much Profit Is Acceptable Registering My New Business. Came Accross A Little Confusion. Denied Credit...What Now How Does A Recession Effect Sales Subcontractor BillingPREVIOUS WEEK Small Business Forum Update For July 21, 2008 (If you like our search engine news, you'll love our small business news.) Return to the Top of this Page
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