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Twitter Usage on the Rise

Written on September 3, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: marketing

As I noted in my other post today, Twitter is reporting some serious numbers. 145 million registered users and 300,000 registered apps for those users just to name a few. In the end though it’s just noise unless people are actually using the service.

According to research from Royal Pingdom the increase in number of accounts is translating to usage rates climbing as well.

About the numbers the Pingdom people state

Twitter processed 2.64 billion tweets this August, an increase of 33% over May. Not a bad increase over just a summer. In August, an average of 85 million tweets passed through Twitter every day.

And if you look at the whole year so far, the increase is even more impressive. Activity on Twitter has already more than doubled this year (August had 115% more tweets than January).

As always raw aggregate numbers are interesting but the real need is to understand the how’s and why’s related to that usage. As marketers it’s important not to get into the same game that TV did for years talking about how many eyeballs they delivered but then when pressed for specifics the dance started. The details of the reasons for using the service are much more important than the big numbers.

What if most of that usage came from people who are in the social media industry and were not people who would be prospects or potential retail buyers of a product or service? A lot of activity but no real value, right?

I often wonder if Twitter isn’t going to just become a holding pen of sorts for PR players who put out information to the social media hangers on that use the service the most. Sure they buy things too but that becomes a niche market for actual buyers because their total numbers are completely disproportionate to their use of the service.

What it does become is a great place to get the word out to people who are desperate to stand out and will promote virtually anything to feel important. Who says feeding on people’s insecurities isn’t a viable strategy?

So go ahead and tell us your opinion of Twitter with regard to how effective it is for marketers. Forget the big numbers just talk about the potential bottom line impact. Is it real or do the big numbers prove to be all show and no go?

Have a happy and safe Labor Day break.

Continued here:
Twitter Usage on the Rise

This Keyword Research Tip Could Add 5,000 Visitors a Day to Your Site!

Written on September 3, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: marketing, seo

I used to be a keyword research freak.

Seriously! If you found me at one of the big conferences in the early 2000s you would have likely heard me discussing the importance of keyword research. “Keyword research is the most important aspect of SEO,” I would say. “Target the wrong keywords and it won’t matter if you are #1 on Google or not.”

Yeah, I took it seriously.

I still do, and that’s why I’m sharing this experience from the WebmasterWorld forums. WMW member vivalasvegas follows-up on a report he submitted previously about the sudden loss of almost 5,000 visitors a day for one keyword combination.

My conclusion after doing some more research: the apparently popular 3 word phrase was made popular by the Search suggestions feature. It seems that people were typing in the first 2 words (or even just one word and a half) and the first suggestion was my phrase. Combined with the fact that the first 2 words make a very popular phrase with several million searches reported per month – the result was some nice traffic spilled in my direction. Needless to say – the 3 word phrase is no longer a favorite suggestion.

Bottom line. Google stopped using the keyword combination in Google Suggest and vivalasvegas lost 5k visitors a day. Ouch!

My point?

When you do your keyword research, you absoluteley need to ensure you are checking Google Suggest as part of that research. Start typing in the keywords that Google “suggests” and see what other phrases Google will likely be presented to your target audience.

For example, if you are targeting SEO related queries, try this:

Some queries will throw up local intent suggestions, but you’ll get a good feel for the keywords you should be adding to your mix. For bonus points clicks, don’t stop with Google Suggest. Take a look at the bottom of the results page and see what Google says are related searches:

Hey, you never know when these suggestions might result in an extra 5,000 visitors a day for your web sit!

Yeah, I

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This Keyword Research Tip Could Add 5,000 Visitors a Day to Your Site!

Twitter Gives A Peak Under the Mobile Nest

Written on September 3, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: book, marketing

Twitter has made some strides to get the mobile experience working better as of late. They have been very successful in this area which is critical since the geo-location movement promises to make mobile even more important in the not so distant future.

Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, gave some telling stats on the Twitter blog

Mobile users have jumped 62% since mid-April

16% of all new users to Twitter now start on mobile (it was 5% before Twitter started doing branded mobile clients)

46% of active users use some sort of mobile Twitter experience

78% of people who interact with Twitter still do so through twitter.com — though that number includes people who use more than one app

m.twitter.com is the second most-used Twitter interface at 14%

SMS and Twitter for iPhone are tied at 8%

Here is a chart showing the most used ways to access Twitter. One thing I will note that while the post started out concentrating on mobile numbers it becomes less and less clear which numbers are about overall Twitter usage and which are about Twitter use overall (at least for me that is).

Of note as well, there are now more than 145 million registered Twitter users that use some 300,000 registered applications to get the most from the service. Remember the days of being excited about hitting 20 million users? Those are getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror for sure.

Twitter keeps rolling along but there was no talk about making money. That might ruin the mood of the celebration.

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Twitter Gives A Peak Under the Mobile Nest

Watchdog Group Takes Google to Task in Times Square

Written on September 2, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: Advertising, book, marketing

Consumer Watchdog’s InsideGoogle.com has something to say about Google’s disrespect for people’s privacy and they’re saying it at one of the busiest intersections in the world.

The group has purchased advertising space on a 540 sq ft Jumbotron in Times Square and they’re using it to blast Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt. The animated feature is called “Don’t be Evil?” and shows cartoon Schmidt spying on children from the innocent trappings of an ice cream truck.

In a press release, Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog said;

“We’re satirizing Schmidt in the most highly trafficked public square in the nation to make the public aware of how out of touch Schmidt and Google are when it comes to our privacy rights.”

The ad asks people to text the word Evil to 69866 to show their support. I guess “666″ wasn’t available.

“Don’t be evil” is Google’s unofficial corporate motto, but Consumer Watchdog says that Google isn’t doing a good job keeping the mounds of personal data they collect private.

Court says that Schmidt himself is clueless when it comes to privacy and quotes him as saying,

“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

Then there’s this, from a recent Wall Street Journal interview;

“[Schmidt] predicts, apparently seriously, that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends’ social media sites.

“I mean we really have to think about these things as a society,” he adds. “I’m not even talking about the really terrible stuff, terrorism and access to evil things.”

Really? When I started writing about this sign in Times Square I thought it was overkill. Now, I’ve now changed my mind.

John M. Simpson, director of the group’s Inside Google Project, suggests a “Do Not Track Me” list that would keep Google, or anyone from tracking your moves online.

According to a poll conducted on behalf of InsideGoogle.com, 80% of people in the US supported such a list. They also like the idea of an “anonymous button” that allows individuals to stop anyone from tracking their online searches or purchases and a ban on collecting data on minors.

All good ideas, but implementation and enforcement would be very difficult. The trouble is, it’s not just Google who is collecting and / or spreading private data. Schmidt was right about one thing when he mentioned the “youthful hijinks stored on their friends’ social media sites,” and then there are the drunken Facebook updates and the obscenity-filled blog post aimed at your ex.

Maybe, before we go throwing stones at Google, we should be looking at how much information we ourselves put online for all to see.

Not passing by Times Square anytime soon? You can watch the ad on YouTube.

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Watchdog Group Takes Google to Task in Times Square

Four Creative Link Building Tactics - Whiteboard Friday

Written on September 2, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: Object, book, marketing, seo

Posted by Aaron Wheeler

Is There Any Room in Retail for the Small Business?

Written on September 2, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: Advertising, book, marketing

At least once a week, my husband laments the loss of a mom & pop record store we had near our home. They carried mostly used albums and rock and roll memorabilia and a visit there was like hunting for treasure on the beach. If we go to eBay, we can find all those same albums and more but it simply isn’t the same as flipping through stacks of worn cardboard and finding a gem you didn’t even know existed.

It’s a sad fact that the small business is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. comScore is reporting that small business is down 5.6% over last year with those dollars going to the big box retailers we drive by every day. Usually we blame it on the economy, but the big boys are seeing a rise in profits, so why aren’t the mom and pop stores seeing it, too?

The National Federation of Small Businesses (NFIB) says that a poor economy forces prices down and small retailers simply can’t afford to take the same cuts as a Walmart or Target. The Gap can put a 50% off deal on Groupon but what’s a pet shop owner in Sheboygan to do?

Since small businesses can’t compete on price point, they need to compete in other ways such as service and community. Cake companies that create one of a kind masterpieces stand head and shoulders over anything you can buy at Costco. I have a clothing store that I return to again and again because the staff there takes the time to help me put together a look and they’re honest about what works and doesn’t. Try getting that kind of service at Walmart.

Creating a sense of community is also important for the small business. Sponsoring a local sports team, donating to local charities, participating in community fairs and events all help sway customers your way. We have a small chocolate shop that offers free candy making classes for kids once a month. The kids may burn through a few dollars in supplies but while they wait, moms consume coffee and snacks at full price.

When it comes to advertising, social media is the great leveler. Twitter and Facebook are virtually free to use and small companies don’t have to worry about jumping through legal hoops before making a statement online. Now that everyone is going “local” with Foursquare and Facebook Places, it’s the perfect time for small businesses to step up and get customers.

Do you have a favorite small business that is no more? Tell us about it.

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Is There Any Room in Retail for the Small Business?

How To Use Social Media Monitoring Tools For Outreach Marketing

Written on September 2, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: Object, marketing

Social media is all about engagement. Because of this, it is the perfect tool for outreach marketing efforts. Outreach marketing is the practice of seeking out individuals or organizations that have a shared interest in what you or your company has to offer. Sometimes, it is used in conjunction with direct sales, but often times [...]



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How To Use Social Media Monitoring Tools For Outreach Marketing

Win a Free Pass to MN Blogger Conference

Written on September 2, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: book, marketing, seo

TopRank Online Marketing is proud to be a founding sponsor of the first Minnesota Blogger Conference. Tickets for this event “sold out” within a few hours and there are over 100 people on the waiting list. Thanks to conference founders Melissa Berggren, Arik Hanson,  Suzi Magill and Katie Schutrop, it’s already one hot event.

The date is Saturday, Sept 11 (the day I fly to Hong Kong) and the location is at CoCo MSP in Saint Paul.  Topics to be presented range from “how to blog” to “how to get your blog published as a book” to “how to make money with a blog” to “blog analytics” to a “business blogging panel” that will include Adam Singer from TopRank Marketing.

If you’d like to attend this networking rich and information packed event, you can’t.  It’s sold out!

However, what you can do is win a free pass from TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog.

All you have to do is:

• Write a blog post explaining the most important thing you’ve learned from blogging yourself
• Or if you don’t blog yet, one thing you’d like to learn
• Why you should get to attend the MN Blogger Conference
• Use the MN Blogger Conference logo above in your post and also include a link to the page you’re reading right now: http://tprk.us/mnblog

All blog post entries must be published and we must be notified (mnblog at toprank dot org) by Friday 9/3 at noon Central.   Once received, all posts will be linked to from the bottom of this page and the TopRank Online Marketing staff will read the entries and decide the winner.  THE WINNER of a free pass to the sold-out MN Blogger Conference will be announced at 5pm on Friday.

So what are you waiting for? Get started now on a compelling, creative and persuasive blog post that explains why you should be the winner of a very rare MN Blogger Conference pass.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank

AOL Renews with Google, but Nearly Ordered Chinese

Written on September 2, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: marketing

Is anyone surprised that AOL renewed its search deal with Google?

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong was one of the executives that negotiated the deal the first time around–albeit while “playing” for Google at the time.

So, with AOL about as competitive as Yahoo in the search space, Google the incumbent provider, and Armstrong’s connections, it made a lot of sense to just push this one through quickly, so that AOL can focus on its new content provider goals.

Interestingly, although Microsoft was the other serious option for AOL, the company was rumored to have considered partnering with Yahoo. Er, doesn’t Yahoo get its results from Bing now? Maybe someone forgot to tell Yahoo that its not a real search engine anymore. Even more bizarre? China’s Baidu was in the running!

Baidu!

I can see how that would have worked out just fabulously!

Original post:
AOL Renews with Google, but Nearly Ordered Chinese

Adapting to a Social Media Fast

Written on September 2, 2010 by admin

Filed Under: marketing, searchengineguide

by Mike Moran

Some of you might know that I like to take Augusts off. While not completely off the grid (I still clean out my e-mail—although I don’t reply much—and I still moderate comments on my blog), I don’t write any blog posts (on my blog or here at Search Engine Guide), and I stay off Twitter. I also don’t read any blog posts or check out what others are saying on Twitter—it’s a social media fast. Each year, it’s interesting to find myself picking up a newspaper again. This year, I did something a bit different, because I actually returned to work on August 25th because of a client need, but I continued to stay away from social media for the last week, just to see what it was like. It’s one thing for me to avoid social media while I am on vacation, but what would it feel like during my work day?

Image via Wikipedia

Well, the verdict is in. It felt very strange. As easy as it is for me to drop out of social media while on vacation and just hang with my wife and play with the kids, once I am back at work, it felt very odd to not know what is going on.

I mean, I had been away for three weeks on vacation, so I really had no idea what was happening, but to be working in that kind of darkness was a different experience. The first thing I had to do was to fly to a distant city and make a speech on Internet marketing to hundreds of people. In doing so, I was gripped by this semi-insane fear that I couldn’t make the speech without knowing what is going on. I mean, what if someone asked a question about something that just happened and I didn’t know the answer?

Of course, the speech went just fine. Internet marketing apparently hasn’t changed all that much in the last month (even though apparently the Web died while I was away).

But I also noticed how much I wanted to say, with no one to tell. I usually tweet about where I am traveling, so I had to resist the impulse to tell people about my trip last week. People would send me links to things to read—not only didn’t I read them, but I didn’t tell anyone about them. I’ll probably catch up over the next week and tweet some of them.

But it was the blog ideas that just kept coming. And I wasn’t writing any of them.

Usually, I post to my blog once each day (usually I am the writer of the article, but I also edit contributions from some other excellent contributors), so every day it is a struggle to get that done. I take for granted that nice people out there are actually interested in hearing what I have to say. It was strange to have a few work days where I wasn’t publishing anything. (Frank Reed published several posts on my blog while I was away, but I didn’t have any work to do while on vacation.)

I now have dozens of ideas for blog posts. most accumulated during the last week at work, with only a couple from my vacation. So, while my vacation definitely recharged my batteries, my social media fast during my first week back from work filled my creative coffers. Perhaps many of you post just once a week, or even less frequently, so this is not an issue for you. And while I’ve never felt like I am running dry for ideas, going a few days without having to write anything has been an eye-opener.

So, I still haven’t completely caught up on what’s been going on, but I will soon. My social media fast has proven to me both how important social media is and how important it is to take a break now and then. Some have told me that they only look at social media during defined times of the day (I know some who do this with e-mail, too). I never understood that before, but maybe I am starting to.

Anyway, I am glad to be back, and I’m honored that a few of you actually want to listen to what I have to say. Thank you.

Be sure and visit our small business news site.

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Adapting to a Social Media Fast