Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing’ Category

« Older Entries

Will SEO be Dead in 2012? Or, Is SEO Already Dead?

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

‘SEO is Dead’ or ‘SEO will be dead soon’ these are the most common statements I have been hearing since first adopting SEO as a hobby and later on as a profession. I hear these phrases at a greater frequency at the start of a new year – not to mention many times within the year as well.

Is SEO really dead? Well it’s not and it will never be as long as there is a need to search. It is almost impossible to find results without the help of an ‘engine’ from the huge amount of information available online.

It is important to understand what really SEO is, otherwise SEO will be dead after every major change in the online world. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not Google optimization – though at the moment it is very much like this. Basically SEO is about optimizing your digital assets for any search engine. Therefore, even if Google is not the number one choice in the long run, there still will be search engines which consumers will have to use in order to dive through the huge amount of information available. SEO will only be dead, if one dares manually find all the sites!

Actually, the fact is that Google has matured so much over the last 15 years or so that it will not be easy to replace it totally. I can’t see Google going away for at least one more decade, if not longer. It is just unmatchable in speed, accuracy and relevancy when it comes to returning search results. It has huge database of web pages, secure data centers, very user friendly interface, support for variety of languages and geographical areas and is innovating all the time.  I feel pity for the people who try to compare Siri of iPhone with Google. Siri is just in the initial stages and is good in doing simple routine jobs. Not only just Siri, any tool which beats Google will have to go a long way.

Technology and online world is changing and every related field is evolving quite rapidly and SEO is no exception. It will evolve too – as it has evolved over the last fifteen years or so. To stay on top of technology and be successful in SEO world, one should take every change as opportunity. Obviously there are few basic elements which are and will always remain among the important elements of SEO such as quality and shareable contents, user-friendly web interface and understanding what people might type in to find you.

SEO is not dead. SEO has huge benefits for the businesses and is best ever pull marketing method. There are many skilful SEO specialists out there who can do magic with their knowledge and experience to bring huge ROI for the business. The only thing is to select the right knowledgeable SEO, otherwise SEO will very likely be dead for you!

See also: Top 10 Benefits of SEO for Businesses ;  Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ;  SEO Specialist’s Website

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Google, Internet Marketing, SEO | No Comments »

Using Social Media for Business Success and Development – Social CRM

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

In a recent research done by myself in which some top social media experts participated from across the globe, it was found out that customer experience ( CX ) was the most important element of using social media for business purposes. Customers are in the heart of any successful social media campaign and, thus, need special attention and extra care. A lot has been written about customer engagement, however businesses now have to think further and concentrate on improving customer experience. Obviously customer engagement is important by itself, but it is not enough to get long lasting results and getting loyalty in social business era.

Social media is a double-edged sword and can be a blessing or a curse depending upon the consumer experience. If companies (or any authority) ignore customer experience, they will have to suffer as we already have witnessed it throughout this year (2011) in many countries. Poorly-run companies or businesses have real threats from Social media front so they need to lift their business standards. It is now impossible to hide away poor quality and have unhappy customers and uncompetitive prices.  Customer service to delight customers is the real marketing in social media age.

Technology is there to be used but it is important to change the mindset as well.  Actually, technology is useless as long as companies are not willing to change their mindset.  Now customers are more powerful than ever before and they have more ways to get and share information and make more accurate decision. They have smart phones with cameras to create huge amount of uncensored user generated contents and social media to share all that stuff.  They no longer listen to marketing tones and monologue rather than want companies to collaborate with them. So the companies which ignore them will have to pay the penalty and will likely to face reputational issues. Companies can get much out of social media and know about their customers and their needs by active listening, efficient monitoring and responding proactively.

One thing which companies need to understand is that social media is a not a quick fix. Simply joining these channels cannot solve problems at all.  Once executed rightly, social media campaigns result into happy loyal customers and improved business designs.

Social Media, Customer Experience and SEO

It is important to keep customers happy from SEO prospective as well, because satisfied customers are likely to share positive experiences with peers. Positive contents regarding brands increase visibility of the companies over search engines and hence help with brand awareness, reputation management and positive words of mouth.  Search engines have already started giving weight to number and sentiment of reviews.  On-site user experience has always been a core element of SEO!

See also: Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ; Should Facebook Have a Dislike Button? ; Using Social Media for CRM ; SEO Specialist’s Website

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Internet Marketing, Reputation Management, Social Media | No Comments »

How to be a Successful SEO Specialist – 10 Quick Tips

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Many people, particularly IT and Marketing graduates, often ask me about how to be a successful SEO specialist. Obviously,  there is no short cut solution to this, however, I have put together 10 quick tips to help them find an answer to their query. They are:

  1. Only join the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) field if you really have a passion and a personal interest in it – do not join it for money (yes, it is one of the best paying marketing domain!).
  2. Build a website or blog, experiment with various SEO techniques and try to get top ranking for some competitive keywords through it.
  3. Always keep learning. Even after you have established yourself at top level, try to learn at least one new thing every day regarding SEO. Never think you have learnt ‘all’ about SEO.
  4. Think critically and learn from mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes you learn more from mistakes rather than doing it right first time.  Remember, mistake is not really a mistake if you learn from it!
  5. Do not be afraid of changes, rather prepare for changes because you are in an industry related to the Internet– take every change in industry as an opportunity. If you are not prepared for a change, better leave SEO.
  6. Go to top SEO or related conferences and seminars. Also take interest in other related fields, such as, marketing and IT.
  7. Follow at least a couple of SEO industry top blogs for regular updates.
  8. Share knowledge with others through all online and offline channels, especially through social media.
  9. Get relevant education and certifications Only from internationally recognized resources. However, bear in mind that nothing is more important than proven track record in SEO industry!
  10. Have patience. Patience is the ‘keyword’ to many successful SEO projects! Love what you do!!

And the take away: Never think SEO is dead. SEO is dead for those who are afraid of changes! Otherwise, SEO has a very bright future. It is one of the best ever pull marketing tools!

See also: Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ; What is an SEO Specialist; SEO Specialist’s Website

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , ,
Posted in Internet Marketing, SEO | No Comments »

Who is NOT an SEO Specialist?

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Selection of a right SEO specialist is very important in the successful online branding of a business. While, it may be easy for anyone to learn the basics of SEO, but it takes a lot of commitment, hard work and of course a natural talent in order to become a successful SEO specialist and master SEO skills.

It is necessary to choose the right SEO specialist because a rightly run SEO project results in huge ROI whereas a poorly-run project results into a loss of money and a poor customer experience which, in turn, can hurt the brand. So it is important to consider who they are, before asking what and how they would do SEO.

Following are top ten common symptoms of a bad SEO specialist. Knowing these can help you avoid selecting the wrong SEO specialist or consultant.

  1. Has no proven track record or hardly any endorsement and is quite new to the business, and still claims that they have done many successful SEO projects.
  2. Their own website or blog is not ranked well for some competitive keyword on Google and other search engines.
  3. Lacks a vision and, thus, optimizes a website just for ‘today’ while ignoring tomorrow.
  4. Has no clear understanding about the timeframe and procedures and is not willing to share information regarding what they will do and may do spamy or black-hat SEO.
  5. Over-emphasizes on the importance of on-page SEO and ignores user experience and just make changes for search engines; considers SEO is more about technology and not marketing and believes that quantity is more important than quality.
  6. Does not believe in delivering results and best possible ROI, rather just promises to provide a useless 24/7 customer service.
  7. Lacks an understanding of the concepts, has not update knowledge and boasts about terminologies or jargons to impress.
  8. Has hardly any social media presence. Even if they have little presence, they just promote their business and hardly share knowledge through their blog etc.
  9. Believes what Matt Cutts of Google says is true forever and that is all they need to know.
  10. Disappoints customers as they progress with the communication and results.

See also: Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ; What is an SEO Specialist; SEO Specialist’s Website

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags: , ,
Posted in Internet Marketing, SEO | No Comments »

Top 10 Benefits of Social Media Marketing for Business

Saturday, August 13th, 2011

What started as a simple way of communication between group members, social media has evolved into a global phenomenon and has totally changed the way we communicate, collaborate and do business. For any business, marketing is a strong backbone which determines the success of business. Social media, in combination with search engines, is changing traditional marketing in many ways and it has become increasingly important for the businesses to engage with customers using social media and listen to them and then react accordingly before starting promotions and sales. Social Media help businesses with marketing directly and indirectly in a number of ways e.g. by improving contents distributions, organic rankings, traffic to websites, customer services and satisfaction, brand communities, humanization of brands and most importantly managing online reputation. Here is the list of top ten benefits which organizations may avail through the use of social media:

  1. Online Reputation Management (ORM)
  2. Viral Marketing – Word of Mouth (WOM)
  3. Website Traffic and Ranking (SEO)– Lead Generation
  4. Market and Consumer Research-Monitoring, Trends and Needs – Deep Customer Insights
  5. Content Marketing – Information Marketing
  6. Real-Time Customer Engagement – Customer Retention
  7. Online PR- Building Leadership and Influence
  8. Humanizing Brand – Brand Awareness and Perception
  9. Loyalty Marketing – Improved Customer Service
  10. Risk Monitoring and Management – Mitigating the Risk

For full version of the article, please visit:  Benefits of Social Media – SEO Consultant Specialist

See also: Top 10 Benefits of SEO for Businesses ;  SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ; What is an SEO Specialist ; Should Facebook Have a Dislike Button?

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tags:
Posted in Internet Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

« Older Entries