Although we are happy to see continued growth in our Search Engine Optimization services, it’s great to see clients also requesting information and help with their conversion.

Top of everyone’s list is increased traffic… and it isn’t one that will go way anytime soon. Remember though, that getting traffic just for traffic’s sake isn’t a long-term recipe for success.

Having ‘relevant’ traffic and a site that generates opt-ins, phone calls, and sales from the traffic is what Internet marketing is all about. SEO is about getting relevant traffic by being in the search results for queries that relate exactly to what you offer.

We see a lot of interest in the use of FaceBook and Twitter as traffic building tools, as I sure you may have noticed. How many emails do you get each week promising the road to riches through Social Media. Sure they can generate a bit of traffic – but generally it’s only a flash.

Where we’ve been able to install tracking from FaceBook and Twitter, we’ve seen this proven over and over. People coming from these sources generally are looking for information and entertainment. They aren’t looking to buy.

This isn’t to say that Social Media doesn’t have a role in SEO. It is a great way to get links, break news, and let people know about things that are interesting in your industry. For every tweet you do with a link to your site,you should do 4-5 to other sites that add to the knowledge of your product or service market.

Use Social Media as a credibility builder… it’s a great way to position yourself as an authority on your subject. The link on your Twitter/FaceBook page will get used by those sincerely wanting to know more about you.

Leave the selling to your website. And if your bounce rate is above 60%, it’s time to address where your traffic is coming from, or if your website is missing the opportunities that traffic can bring.

James Lisi,
President,
Increase Visbility

While some SEO firms will promise to get you high search engine rankings, what are you really getting? Even if they manage to raise your ranking with search engines, they may not help you to implement practices that will allow you to continually reach out to new and existing customers.

Some companies know how to play the game well enough to get you the promised results, but they do very little help you maintain those results.

Besides, you need a comprehensive approach for Your Site search engine optimization; not just a one time fix or boost in your search engine ranking. Just so you know, our client retention rate is 96%. This means that 24 out of every 25 companies that hire us continue to use our services.

An ongoing relationship with the company that works to increase your online visibility means that company really gets to know you, your business and has a deep knowledge of the kind of web traffic you generate.

We can assist you with search engine optimization, setting up a pay per click advertising program, writing press releases and increasing link popularity.

Increase Visibility has SEO plans and while all of our search marketing programs include full website optimization, we are happy to work with you to tailor a plan to suit your needs.

• Facebook is still growing at the unbelievable rate of more than half a million users a day. Facebook now reports more than 500 million active users and millions more “friends” who regularly access Facebook sites. Widgets in the Facebook sidebar herald the Internet’s next big trend: open social networking. Facebook widgets and Google’s Friend Connect allow friends to stay connected while visiting other websites and blogs. Enabling visitors to communicate with each other while visiting your website will position you to take full advantage of open social networking and its customer referral potential.
• iPhone is transforming the way we communicate. Communication experts at last fall’s Web 2.0 Summit predicted that the iPhone will be the most popular phone in the U.S. and that more people will access the Internet via their phones than with computers. Quickly multiplying iPhone apps already allow users to search the Internet, access GPS directions, ID and download music, play games, read books, play an instrument, snap a picture, send live video, and much, much more.
• Twitter marries the immediacy of cell phone technology with the power of the Internet. Twitter allows you to post short-burst alerts to customers. Use Twitter to provide immediate answers to customers’ questions, direct them to useful site pages or offsite info sources, and alert them to special offers.
• Podcasts have many of the same advantages as face-to-face communication, allowing you to connect to and interact with customers on a direct personal level. Podcasts allow you to show your products in action, provide valuable training seminars in product use, sponsor vibrant interactive sessions between customers and staff specialists, and introduce customers to innovative new products and services.
• Blogging allows you to develop a rapport with potential customers. Linking to other blogs and websites also creates important search engine links that can significantly boost your rankings. Blogs are a proven method of maintaining a connection with established customers and attracting new customers. An informative, interesting and well-written blog will keep people coming back to see what’s new.

Led by the up-and-coming digital natives, wired-in teens and 20-somethings who have grown up with computers, cell phones, Nintendo, Xboxes and iPods, communication is becoming increasingly digital. When people need information today, they Google it. You get exactly the information you want and you get it instantly. And with the advent of wireless technology, Blackberries and smart phones like Apple’s iPhone, you’re no longer tied to a computer terminal. Information is available on the go — anywhere, any time.

The downside of this digital revolution is the loss of face-to-face human interaction that has been the basis for human communication for the past two thousand years. As discussed in last Friday’s post, UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Gary Small is among a growing number of scientists who fear that the next generation’s penchant for instant messaging (IM) and text messaging is degrading our ability to read and understand facial cues and body language. While there is sure to be some initial fallout, over the next decade business will continue to change to accommodate our increasing reliance on all things digital. A growing number of workers already work remotely, connecting to customers and the home office via the internet and phone. Digital conferencing, web cams and screen-sharing technology make it increasingly unnecessary to meet face-to-face. It won’t be long before we spend most of our time in a virtual world.

For business owners, the challenge will be to embrace the digital world of up-and-coming consumers while maintaining a connection to older, less tech-savvy customers through traditional communication paths. Because industry experts expect communication to be nearly all-digital within a decade, it will be critical to monitor your communication balance and shift resources and emphasis accordingly. With an increasing portion of business coming from digital channels, the foresight and flexibility to take advantage of new communication opportunities like Facebook, You Tube and Twitter will drive business success. On Friday, we’ll talk about how search engine optimization can maximize your ability to succeed in the digital world.

Small and others in the psychiatric community say that society’s emphasis on technology is causing people to lose the basic social skills upon which human interaction has been based for thousands of years. Young people who interact with their peers almost strictly via Internet instant messages and text messages are losing the ability to read facial expressions during conversations. With fewer daily interactions taking place face-to-face, the ability to understand important body language cues is being lost. Loss of use is causing the brain circuits used in face-to-face communication to wither, Small asserts. The result is that we are becoming a society of social misfits. Particularly among young people in their teens and 20s, the so-called digital natives, social awkwardness and isolation are increasing. Interest in traditional classroom learning is lagging. The communication and social interactions that define us as a human society are changing.

Small, the author of iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind, likens today’s digital communication revolution to the dramatic societal changes precipitated by humankind’s move from oral to written communication more than 2,000 years ago and, more recently, the advent of television. At the time, both raised strong concerns among the established members of society, despite which, both prevailed and have significantly changed the way we communicate.

With these digital natives poised to enter the workforce and become the next major consumer group, what does this mean for business owners? To a degree, the established values of the current business community will mold new entrants in its own image. Digital natives will be forced to acquire at least some social skills to survive and compete in an environment that still values face-to-face communication. But as the number of digital natives in business grows, they and their viewpoint will exercise increasing control over how business is enacted. As the reigns of power are handed from one generation to the next, the preference for digital communication will change the way we do business.

Next Tuesday: Positioning yourself to meet the communication challenges of tomorrow.

Laptops and wireless technology freed us from the rooted immobility of desktop computers. Mobile technology has increased our mobility. In the past 20 years, U.S. cell phone use has increased from 34 million to 203 million. The majority of America’s 20- and 30-year-old consumers use cell phones exclusively; they no longer have telephone landlines. Worldwide, more than 2 billion people own cell phones and the number is growing exponentially every year.

The increasing sophistication of mobile technology has greatly expanded the capability of the average cell phone and led to the development of computer-capable smartphones. Apple’s iPhone, the BlackBerry and a growing number of similarly-featured competitors now allow us to tap into the Internet while we’re on the run.  Mobile searches and multimedia search engines for mobile applications tripled in 2007. By 2010, the mobile market is expected to be worth $3.8 billion, tripling to $12 billion by 2012. In the near future, search engine optimization (SEO) efforts will focus on tapping into the vast marketing potential of this quickly emerging consumer market. SEO for the mobile web is the wave of the future.

Today’s challenge is to create industry-wide standards and technology platforms that will allow for the consistent and universal application of SEO techniques to mobile technology. As an industry, we’re finding that the application of current Internet-based SEO techniques to the specific requirements of mobile technology and the mobile web require a little tweaking. To become an effective marketing tool, mobile search optimization will need to provide the same consistent and measurable results achievable by Internet SEO programs. The day is soon coming, however, when mobile search optimization will join traditional Internet SEO and social media marketing as part of a comprehensive Internet marketing program.

Keep watching this space. As a leader in the SEO industry, Increase Visibility will let you know when all the kinks have been worked out and mobile search optimization is ready to roll.