Twitter 101: Small Business Twitter Marketing Success

Making proper use of social media networking is one of the smartest ways to present a powerful presence online. While Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging can give you an authoritative presence over a period of time, the fastest social networking strategy by far, is Twitter. From the time it was first introduced, Twitter has consistently increased its prominence and has garnered respect as a social networking site. All over the world, marketing professionals and people with small businesses have seen the benefits associated with using Twitter for small business marketing. Twitter can be used effectively to promote your business in the following ways:

As a Marketing Research and Tracking Device

One of the first ways to use Twitter, is as a monitoring tool. You can register and establish a listing of keywords with sites like Monitter.com. This will give you the opportunity to monitor responses to certain keywords. This is an excellent way to monitor hot new products in your industry, new services, or even what individuals are saying about your company and employees. You have the ability to answer questions and solve problems in real time. Your ability to provide good customer service is greatly enhanced with this tool.

Build Solid Relationships

Can Twitter really provide the ability to establish enduring and reliable relationships with one hundred forty or fewer characters? It definitely can. The great thing about Twitter is that it gives business owners the opportunity to discuss new products, services and “tweet” links to valuable and informative articles and blog posts. As long as you are able to balance friendly conversation with promotional information, you’ll retain your following and not be looked at as a spammer. As a marketer, this will allow you to gain feedback about your products or services.

If you want to increase your client base, you can employ tools like Twellow or Twellow Neighborhood to identify those prospective clients who live nearby or work in fields that may attract them to your business. Although you can add individuals that share your same profession, it is not likely that they will become clients. Learn to identify industries that have the potential to utilize the services and products you offer, and be creative in your approach. Adding a link to your Twitter account in the signature line of your emails, advertisements, and your website is one way.

Use Viral Advertising

In order for you to take full advantage of Twitter, be sure to use it to spread the word about contests, giveaways, discounts, and special offers. All it takes to go viral is for a few people to re-tweet your message. Once you’ve got a chain reaction going, you’ve gone viral.

Instead of waiting for potential clients to read your email or receive your mailer, Twitter offers immediate attention.

Your Twitter Image

A professionally made Twitter background with your business information, phone number, website, address, and other important details will allow potential clients to reach you while simultaneously project a powerful online image. Be consistent with the logo you use and the appearance of your site so that you will project your own unique branding image

The key to Twitter success lies in consistently engaging with potential clients. Keeping your business in front of the public will ensure others that you are the business that comes to mind when a consumer is ready to buy.

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Optimal Leads Inc. is a Michigan full-service Internet Marketing and SEO company. Located in Metro Detroit, we specialize in Web Design, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management, and Public Relation Management.

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Integrity: Small Business SEO for a New Decade

Optimizing your small business website to achieve the kind of page rankings that will bring a substantial amount of traffic to your website is not as complicated as you might think.

Although certain aspects of the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) algorithm undergo changes and improvements from time to time, it is all in an effort to give the searcher the best results and the ideal user experience.

In order to learn proper small business SEO, remember the number one key: Integrity.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, optimize is defined as making something as effective or as perfect as possible. SEO takes the same definition and applies it to your website.

It’s a simple concept, but the mark is often missed due to a lack of integrity. Through the years, there have been tactics such as keyword stuffing and scraping content from other sites, which gives SEO a bad name. If you want to experience true and lasting page ranking, all you really need to remember is “integrity is your key to success”.

SEO 101: A List of Basics

Your first step to proper SEO is to develop a list of site-wide targeted keywords that you will use consistently in every post.

Instead of creating your site with the intent of reaching every type of customer in a chosen industry, it’s best to design your website to reach a niche market. By doing so, your content will remain consistent and your keywords will have a better chance of ranking well with Google.

If you offer “Small Business SEO”, you can certainly use this keyword phrase throughout your site, but you’ll have a much better chance of ranking well if you target Michigan SEO or Detroit SEO. Reaching a smaller, more targeted audience will give you a much greater chance of reaching serious customers.

Once you’ve developed your targeted keyword phrases, use them naturally in each post. Either hire a ghostwriter to develop SEO content for your website or blog, or write original posts yourself. Do not copy and paste content from other websites and use it as your own. Even if you give credit to the original writer, Google sees this as duplicate content. This will cause your rankings to suffer. The original poster will get the search engine rankings. Again, integrity is the key.

Learn to link. Some websites certainly abuse linking strategies. You’ll notice the ones who do so. They usually have a long list of websites down the side of their home page. No one reads this and it won’t help with rankings. There are two solid ways to use linking strategies for SEO.

• First, link to credible websites that back up your information but are non-competitive. If you offer an article with statistics, linking to the source of your information will always help build trust with your readers.
• Linking within your site. Using links from one article or post to other valuable post on your website will cause your visitors to go deeper into your site and spend more time there. Linking to other relevant articles can bring a potential client through a natural progression, eventually leading to conversion.

Learning to link with integrity is another solid SEO tactic that will bring value to your reader’s experience.

What is the bottom line for SEO in 2010? Create your posts and every part of your website with integrity and value to your visitors in mind. By doing so, you’ll be following the SEO best practices and naturally creating a useful website that will rank well with search engines.

Optimal Leads Inc. is a Michigan full-service Internet Marketing and SEO company. Located in Metro Detroit, we specialize in Web Design, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management, and Public Relation Management.

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Web Design for Michigan Businesses: Getting it Right the First Time

Building a successful business website is all about visibility and traffic.

Your website can have a stunning layout, a catchy tagline, an intelligent sales pitch, and cutting edge media presentation. But without a core that is built to attract, capture and convert potential clients, your site will be a very attractive, but lonely place.

Getting your small business web design right the first time involves the correct blend of design and usability. Neither should be ignored.

By following the attract, capture, and convert formula, you will have the correct foundation in place for the most favorable online results. It’s easy to get off track with other elements of a website, but without the proper base, none of these will matter.

Attract

Learning the basics of small business Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will bring visitors to your site. The first step to a successful website involves gaining traffic. Once your site has been built, you’ll want to attract visitors. There are several key elements to SEO that will drive traffic to your website.

Homepage:

Your homepage should have a simple and compelling message that clearly highlights your product or services. If your home page is cluttered with nonessentials, your visitors will not move deeper into your site.

Content:

When creating content, try to think like the individual who is querying the search engines. They are typing in a particular keyword phrase to look for specific information. Choosing a set of targeted keywords to be used throughout your site will allow Google to rank your website for these terms. Keep this common thread throughout your site, using the same keywords and keyword phrases in each article. By doing so, you will greatly increase the probability of being indexed for those phrases by the search engines.

Capture and Convert

Engage your reader and provoke a reaction. Some visitors are browsing, and simply won’t stay on your site long enough to make a lasting connection. Your visitor may be in the middle of something else and may bounce off of your site without bookmarking, writing down a phone number, or even remembering the name of your company. Realistically, you have 30 seconds or less to make an impression and engage your visitor, convincing them that you can provide exactly what they are looking for.

The best solution is to provide a newsletter sign up, contact form, or other call to action that is clearly positioned on your home page. Once a visitor has found your website through search results, it is vital to have your conversion tools in place. By offering a newsletter, eBook, or a short tutorial in exchange for contact information, you will be able to build a list of prospects who are ready to be converted into solid clients.

If your business is more product oriented, a call to action with a simple shopping cart and payment system is the best small business marketing system to employ. Offer free shipping, an additional bonus, or a special deal as a reward for “acting now” and your call to action will convert visitors into customers.

Tracking Your Visitors

Employing certain tracking tools to your website and taking the time to analyze your traffic data will provide rich insights into your marketing effectiveness.

Google Analytics is a simple tool that will help you identify what is important to your readers. You can use the information obtained from Google Analytics to strengthen your marketing initiatives, write stronger web copy, and increase your conversion rates.

Forward-thinking companies are making use of tracking services in a variety of areas.

Call tracking services provides unique phone numbers that can be assigned to different ad campaigns. This allows you to measure the response rate to a particular offer. Using call tracking will help you immediately streamline your advertising efforts by weeding out the nonproductive campaigns.

Email tracking: Teaming up with email delivery services also provides analytical benefits. Aweber provides an impressive variety of reports that will help you test email campaigns and the effectiveness of your newsletters. Detailed reports will reveal who actually opened your emails, which links and articles were the most popular, and who opted out or unsubscribed.

Once you’ve laid the foundation and have the combination of an attractive, functional website, along with a sensible small business marketing plan in place, all you need is the diligence and determination to continue with your online efforts. Remember, eighty percent of success lies in consistency.

Continue to add valuable, SEO content, engage new visitors, and continue tracking your results. These are the keys to a successful website.

Optimal Leads Inc. is a Michigan full-service Internet Marketing and SEO company. Located in Metro Detroit, we specialize in Web Design, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management, and Public Relation Management.

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Social Media Marketing or SEO?  Which is Right for Your Small Business?

Making connections or using the correct keywords and building links: which should you use to build credibility and drive traffic to your site? It depends on who you ask.

One marketing strategy relies on technical information, statistics, and understanding an algorithm while the other is built on human interaction, creativity, and learning to stand out from the crowd.

In order to establish your online presence and build your company brand, I would recommend adding both practices to your small business marketing agenda. Let’s face it, a horribly put together website or blog with duplicate content and broken links isn’t going to get much search engine juice.

SEO Works for You 24/7

SEO is necessary for the days that you can’t interact on social networking sites or post to your blog. You do want your site to attract attention and work for you 24/7/365. If you’ve correctly optimized your website, that’s exactly what it will do.

Learning the basics of small business SEO is just like hiring another sales person, or 12. Every keyword, article, and link optimized will push you up in search engine rankings and allow your business to be found by potential clients, even while you sleep. Waking up to an email inbox with several quote requests or orders is an awesome way to start your day. SEO works, and the basic foundation of the way Google ranks websites just keeps getting better. Spammers are getting weeded out and small businesses with local SEO are getting more attention.

Google wants to create a positive user experience. Therefore, more you learn about SEO, the better. Search engines give weight to trusted sites that provide their visitors with valuable and original content, video blogs, and tutorials on a site that is easy to navigate. Basically, if you follow Google’s rules for SEO, you’ll end up with a focused, well put together website or blog easily found by potential clients.

Social Media Marketing Can Provide Immediate Attention

The beauty of social media marketing when combined with SEO is the fact that you can instantly create a buzz and lead potential clients to a well put together website. Social media marketing can help your website or latest online offer go viral.

There are those that argue against talking shop or promoting your business on social networking sites. However, if you list yourself with networking sites as a business and have individuals add you as a friend, it is generally acceptable to talk about your business so long as you are not spamming.

For those who don’t know, spamming is the act of continually peddling your wares to individuals who did not ask for the information. Many people completely ruin any ounce of credibility have by adding friends on social networking sites just to bombard them with unsolicited information. A basic rule of thumb for social media is to use indirect marketing techniques. Here are a few that work well:

Indirect Marketing Techniques for Social Media

• Talk enthusiastically about what you are doing. If you are a Michigan web design company, then it’s perfectly fine to talk about your latest web design project. If you are a chef in Florida, Twittering about a new dish you’ll be making for your restaurant is wonderful. Social networking is all about letting others into your world. It’s expected.
• Write blog posts that have to do with updates in your industry and then Tweet or Digg your articles. Invite your blog readers to make comments. It’s a great way to build connections with people which may turn them into clients.
• Post your latest business newsletter on your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. If your friends don’t want to read them, they won’t. There is no pressure. However, emailing your newsletter to everyone on your Facebook list is spamming.
• Hold a contest or special event that includes prizes or discounts. Announce the details through your social networking sites. Or better yet, provide a link to your website where interested individuals can sign up.

With a little creativity, you can come up with numerous ways to use search engine optimization and social media marketing as a dynamic duo. For those who prefer one, and won’t touch the other, are missing out on an affordable, and potentially profitable opportunity. That is their choice, but YOU can reap the benefits of both.

Optimal Leads Inc. is a Michigan full-service Internet Marketing and SEO company. Located in Metro Detroit, we specialize in Web Design, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management, and Public Relation Management.

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Attract New Clients: Optimize Your Google Map Listing

If your business is locally based and you are looking for additional small business marketing avenues, getting listed with Google Maps should be high on your priority list.

In an effort to be more useful to those searching the web for local businesses, Google Maps added the “local 10″ to its search results. If you are not familiar with the local 10, it’s a listing that appears next to Google’s map display which includes up to 10 businesses that fit the search request results. By conducting a Google Map search for Michigan Web Design, you will receive 10 results with business names, addresses, phone numbers, and map points. There is also a place for customers to write a business review.

This feature is a huge convenience to the consumer. Think of all of the iPhone and Blackberry users this feature will benefit. But what does this mean for the local business owner? It means the time is NOW to appear in one of these top 10 positions.

If you are making any effort at all at marketing or advertising, having a listing with Google Maps should be your number one priority. Blogging, Social Networking, and other forms of advertising are all important, but the individual who finds you on Google Maps is ready to purchase your goods or services. They are past the point of research and are now looking for a business to deal with. By listing with Google Maps, you’ll be bringing clients right to your door.

How to List with Google Maps

So, now that you are aware of your need to list with Google’s powerful 10-pack, the next step is to get yourself there. Here is a list of the best practices for ranking in one of the top 10 spots. Because there are certain factors that can positively affect your list ranking, as well as some factors which can have a negative effect, we will break the information up accordingly.

Steps to Positively Affect Your Google Maps Listing

• Claim your business listing with Google Maps. You may not be aware, but Google populates its list of businesses by using phone directories and other sources. Initially, all of the listings are unverified and unclaimed. Do a search on Google Maps to find your business. If it’s not there, you can add it. In the unfortunate event that it’s been claimed by a competitor or spammer, you can contact Google.
• Once you claim and verify your business with Google Maps, be sure it is under the correct category.
• Add images or photos to your listing. Google Maps allows you to add images as well as video to your listing. Doing so can help your list ranking and also build authority with potential clients. Be sure to upload your company logo.
• Your correct business address should be on your website. Google will list you in the city your business is actually located in, and may list you for a wider service area to nearby towns as well.
• Adding a couple of defining keywords, such as products or services, to your Google Maps title can make a huge difference in your list rank. Especially if you are competing for a spot against another business with very similar attributes.

Factors that Can Negatively Affect Your Google Maps Listing

• Don’t associate an 800 listing with Google Maps. It was created for local search so you want to be sure to have a local area code in place.
• Don’t list multiple business names using the same phone number or the same address. Even if you have more than one legitimate business, you won’t be allowed to be listed in the databases by doing this.
• Lack of Positive Reviews. Encourage your best and most satisfied clients to write an award winning review about your business or services. Unfortunately, many times it’s the dissatisfied customers who hunt down a business online, just to leave a poor rating. After a few bad ratings, you could see your list ranking take a tumble.

Those are the main factors in the ranking do’s and don’ts for Google Maps. Take this information and aggressively pursue getting listed. Your bottom line will reap the benefits.

Optimal Leads Inc. is a Michigan full-service Internet Marketing and SEO company. Located in Metro Detroit, we specialize in Web Design, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management, and Public Relation Management.

Introduction: What is Search Engine Optimization?

The term Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is based on a series of step-by-step factors involved in maximizing your exposure to both your human visitors and the search engines.

Although the term is called “search engine” optimization, the first rule is to never lose sight of the fact that in reality, you have created your website or blog for real people. First and foremost, you will need to provide your reader with engaging, intelligent, and valuable content that will keep them coming back for more.

The main purpose of SEO is to create your content, titles, meta descriptions, and basic web structure in a “best practice” fashion that makes your site easy for the search engine spiders to find, crawl, and rank. Always keep in mind that true search engine optimization is a combination of two distinct skills; writing for people and writing for the search engines. A proper balance, or holistic approach must always be taken in order to achieve maximum benefits, ranking, and traffic.  The first three elements of SEO include keyword choice, titles, and meta descriptions.

Targeted Keywords

Before adding the first line of content to your website or blog, it is vital to decide on your targeted keywords.

What are keywords? Your keywords and keyword phrases are the words that you have decided to use repeatedly and naturally throughout the body of your posts in order to gain authority with the search engines for your niche topic. Basically, the more original your niche, the better your chances are for successfully ranking with the search engines.

When choosing your keyword list, you can use tools such as Google AdWords Keyword Tool, or you can simply create your list based on search terms that are relevant to your product or service.

For example, if you are a website design and marketing firm located in Michigan that specializes in creating sites for small businesses, your best keyword phrases should include:

• Small Business Web Design
• Michigan Web Design
• Small Business Marketing

Those are three examples, but ideally your list should include up to 20 specific keywords and keyword phrases. Use these phrases where appropriate throughout your articles, but don’t overdo it. “Keyword stuffing” just for the sake of getting the phrases in your articles is frowned upon by Google. Three or four or your keywords, used a couple of times in your article is enough.

Page Titles

Your page title is just as important as the content you provide. A title tag will tell the search engines and potential readers what the topic of a particular page is.

Best SEO practices for creating page titles include the following:

• Use your keywords within your title if possible.
• Create a compelling and interesting title that also summarizes the article or page’s content.
• Be brief. If a title is too long, only a portion of it will show up in a search result.
• Create a unique title tag for each page. This helps search engines determine how each page on your site differs from the others. As a whole, all titles should relate to your niche, yet be distinct enough to stand alone.

The Description Meta tag

Think of your meta tag description as a guide that will help readers and search engines determine what your article or page is about. Your meta description may appear in search results as a snippet or summary directly following the page title, although Google may choose to take a short passage from your page content instead.

Best SEO practices for creating your description include:

• Accurately summarizing the content of the page or article. Do not use sentences such as, “This is a page about search engine optimization.” Instead, provide a short but compelling description of the problem addressed or subject covered. For example, “The importance of small business SEO and how you can quickly learn to implement these practices in your own internet marketing efforts.” Direct, to the point, and the answer to a problem. Descriptions that address a direct problem will receive much more traffic.
• Avoid stuffing keywords unnaturally into your description.
• The name or location of your business can be included in your description if you are also building your local search rankings.

Keyword choices, titles, and meta descriptions. Those are the first three pieces to the SEO puzzle. As you learn more about search engine optimization, be sure to build upon this original foundation. Along the way you will continue to discover more ways to optimize your site. As you do, build upon or add to what you already know. These first three elements will always be part of your SEO foundation.

Optimal Leads Inc. is a Michigan full-service Internet Marketing and SEO company. Located in Metro Detroit, we specialize in Web Design & Development, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management, and Public Relation Management.

]]> http://www.optimalleads.com/2009/seo-for-beginners-top-three-elements-of-search-engine-optimization/feed/ 0 http://www.optimalleads.com/2009/custom-twitter-background-for-optimal-leads-inc/ http://www.optimalleads.com/2009/custom-twitter-background-for-optimal-leads-inc/#comments Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:25:14 +0000 Admin http://www.optimalleads.com/?p=326 Social Media and especially Twitter are great advertising platforms for Michigan’s Small Business Owners. To stand out, we created our own custom Twitter background. Please contact us if you would like to get your own custom Twitter background.

Our Custom Twitter Background