Glenn Livingston Arrested for Drinking
Posted on 09. Jan, 2012 by Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. in Blog, conversion, Copywriting, Emotional Marketing, Information Marketing, Inspiration, Keywords, Market Intelligence, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
It’s 100% true…
Glenn Livingston was arrested for drinking on January 4th, 2012, and you can see his mugshot here.
It’s pretty scary what you can learn using Google Alerts!
Like most marketers, I have routine alerts out on my name, and for just a moment when I saw this come through I wondered if perhaps I’d been out on a bender I’d forgotten last week (even though I haven’t had a drink in 20+ years… not ’cause I’m an alcoholic–I detest that term–just because I find life more interesting and satisfactory without screwing with my mental state)
I also learned, of course, about the myriad of people stealing my products (we pursue them legally now), and a few things about yet ANOTHER Glenn Livingston who’s a pastor in Illinois up to some interesting things from time to time.
But none of these rather mundane results from Google Alerts come anywhere close to the REAL power of this FREE utility…
(Even though tracking your namesakes’ activities can from time to time generate an attention getting headline)
Because most marketers have absolutely NO idea how to use it…
The REAL way to leverage Google Alerts is to first know with crystal clarity EXACTLY what keyword defines your ideal prospect, plus a very small set of related keywords which surround it. Taken together these become your “archery target”… the small space which defines EXACTLY WHO YOU WANT TO BE on the internet, and allows you to more or less ignore everything else.
Once you’ve done that, you can combine Google Alerts with Google Reader Feeds (and some anti-RSS-spam code) to automatically collect pretty much EVERYTHING that happens on the internet that’s relevant to you…
And stop getting distracted by everything else…
Which is the ONLY way to build a hyper-responsive marketing system in my humble opinion.
Have any of you found effective-yet-novel uses for Google Alerts we should know about?
Tell me, I’d like to know!
Dr. G 
PS – I’m considering organizing my network and resources to build a “performance-pay-based-conversion boosting-done-for-you” service. Curious if that’s of interest to any of my readers today
Holistic SEO with Cross-Channel Keyword Optimization & Copywriting
Posted on 20. Sep, 2011 by Lee Odden in Blog, content marketing, Keywords, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing
Copywriting for the web is a true art form, whether you’re writing web pages, press releases or landing pages. Add the practice of search engine optimization and it can get even trickier. Too much focus on SEO and that high ranking web page may confuse readers, resulting in lacking conversions. Too little focus on keywords and search traffic will suffer. Both questions remind copywriters to consider who their target audience really is: search engines or customers?
Obviously it’s both and working with a Keyword Glossary can provide copywriters with a solid guideline for topic planning, organization and emphasis so that both engines and customers are being optimized for.
While many companies have bought in to the fact that they need to make their content more “findable” and socially interesting to reach and engage more customers, the implementation is often a bit fragmented.
For effective Internet Marketing, it’s important to promote a diversity of content according to the audience segments your company is after. That means promoting keyword optimization of content holistically and across channels. Not only can keyword optimization work to make content more discoverable through search, but it should improve user experience as well.
A Cross Channel Keyword Optimization effort means incorporating relevant keywords in more content than just product and service web pages on the corporate website. As companies evolve their Content Marketing Strategy, developing purposeful content across the organization, there’s an opportunity to help that content become much easier for intended audiences to find. That means, Human Resources, Public Relations, Customer Service as well as Marketing and Sales.
Individually, there’s benefit to each of those content producers for being more effective at connecting with more of their target audience. More candidates in the hiring pipeline, more media inquiries from industry publications, more problems solved online vs. call centers and more inquiries, leads and sales. Collectively, each of those content producers can coordinate via shared Keyword Glossaries to elevate overall keyword visibility by leveraging relevant cross linking, social content promotion and content creation.
Should you use the same keyword across multiple mediums? If your SEO Strategy calls for your company to dominate on certain high level topics, then the answer is yes. Web pages, blog posts, guest posts, contributed articles in industry publications, press releases, YouTube videos, Tweets, Facebook status updates, public Google+ updates and any other public content that can be discovered and crawled by a search engine (as well as consumed by your target audience) is ripe for consistent keyword usage. If Marketing can work together with Public Relations, Customer Service, IT, HR, Legal, Marketing & Business Partners, Resellers, Dealer Networks, Distributors, Affiliates and any other content producers, the whole is definitely more than the sum of the parts.
Messaging builds the brand and keyword messaging makes that brand easy to find. Companies that invest in their brand pay close attention to messaging. There are communication and identity standards that guide content producers to keep that core messaging relevant and congruent with overall brand goals. Use of congruent keywords across content and media isn’t that much different. In some companies, keyword messaging and brand messaging are the same thing.
The takeaway here is, expand the scope of what you see as “optimizable” content. Understand that in a competitive market, it’s essential that marketing coordinates with other content producers in the organization and that SEO expertise should be brought in to work with Content Strategy and Planning. Architecting an effective Content Marketing program means understanding customers and the content that will inspire them to the business outcomes your’re after. It also means being effective at using the language in copy that makes it easy for prospects to find through search.
My question for you is: Are you implementing interdepartmental coordination with SEO copywriting in your company? Do you share keyword glossaries between Marketing, PR, HR, Customer Service and other departments? Do you cross-train on SEO best practices with groups outside of Marketing and PR?
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The SEO Cupcake
Posted on 11. Jul, 2011 by John Jantsch in Blog, Keywords, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media
The SEO Cupcake
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing
When asked to talk about marketing these days I spend increasing amounts of time explaining the notion of being found. Like it or not, generating leads by putting lots of valuable content in the places where people look for just such a thing is central to marketing success these days.
When looking for a simple way to illustrate the important relationship between content, social and SEO, I decided to forgo the obvious pyramid or Venn diagram and chose instead the uber trendy cupcake.
I mean, who hasn’t stood in line these days outside an Airstream trailer in Austin or a chic little boutique in Soho, just to purchase one of these little delights? Okay, maybe you haven’t jumped on this trend just yet, but for illustration purposes the cupcake serves well.
Content – You can’t exactly have a cupcake without, well, the cup. The little wrapper is the foundation for the entire thing. Likewise, content is the underpinning of any attempt to score well in SEO – you need lots of it, in many flavors. In fact, there’s really no reason to preheat the oven without a firm commitment to the production of content.
Keywords – Now, if all you did were serve up wrappers of content you wouldn’t have a very tasty treat. We need to add the cake in your cupcake. We need to test out the flavor combinations that keep your customers coming back for more. Keywords, the actual stuff that prospects put into search engines to find a business like yours, are what give your SEO efforts tastiness and set the table for surfers and search engines alike.
Links – Of course, if you really want to attract the search engine spiders you’ve got to pile on the icing in the form of links pointing the way to your content. Creating great, keyword rich content, is the best way to attract lots of links and form a strong base for mounds of traffic fattening icing.
Social – There, you’ve got an awesome cupcake, now it’s time to add that all important finishing touch. Lots of folks get the connection between social and SEO, but they don’t fully appreciate that social without content turns a scrumptious desert into a health snack. It’s nice, but it won’t satisfy the surfer’s sweet tooth. In this case, one of the best reasons to even grow raspberries (participate in social) is to top off the cupcake and add a very attractive package to your overall content play.
Okay, so today’s lesson leans a bit to the goofy side, but I just couldn’t think of a better way to simplify the interdependent relationship and hierarchy of steps involved in winning the being found game.
Effective Use of Keywords in Content Marketing
Posted on 21. Jun, 2011 by Lee Odden in Blog, content marketing, Keywords, SEO Tips, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media
Wordle Cloud Using the Text of This Article
I recently had an interesting discussion with Ron Jones who is writing a book specifically on using keywords for online marketing called “Keyword Intelligence“. He was researching for the content marketing portion of the book and we talked about where keywords fit. These kinds of discussions are great for blog posts so here are a few ideas for you on keywords, SEO, Social Media and content.
Content marketing is customer centric and therefore often focused not only on creating information to educate prospects and customers about product/service features and benefits, but also about topics of interest relevant to the situations that cause people to need or want those products and services.
Effective content marketing informs prospective buyers of what they need to know in order to help them arrive at a logical conclusion to buy and recommend. Relevant and engaging content facilitates that outcome.
“Great content isn’t great until it’s discovered and shared.”
Understanding the information needs of the customers you’re trying to reach is the first step in creating a great editorial plan. The role of keywords in a content marketing program come into play as a manifestation of knowing what customers are interested in and what their pain points are. What are they searching for? What are they talking about on the social web?
Great content is best optimized, so to speak, for the intended reader first and foremost. At the same time, that content is thoughtful about keywords that can attract new readers through search and social recommendations. Great content is amazing. Great content that is findable and shareable is even better.
Here’s an Example Scenario: Company 1 2 3 wants to focus on “Round Widgets”
- Target Customers Care About Round Widgets That Cost Less and are Environmentally Safe
- Target Customers Search for “round widgets”, “low cost widgets”, “green widgets”, “environmentally safe widgets”
- Target Customers Socially Discuss “save money on widgets”, “widget impact on the environment”
- The Content Plan Outlines An Array of Content Objects Supporting Search Keywords & Social Topics
- Content Plan Tactical Execution: Blog Hub, Video Tips, Shared Customer Widget Photos, Facebook Page for Widget Environmental Tips, Email Tips & Issues Newsletter, Widget Deals Twitter Account, Guest Blog Posts Using Target Keywords on Widget Blogs, Contributed Articles to Consumer & Environmental Publications on Widget Cost Saving Tips and Being “Green”
By coordinating customer needs with content creation, optimization and social publishing, there’s a much greater and more relevant reach for the investment.
Keywords guide content optimization for findability through search engines as well as a focus on topics that customers care about and are discussing on the social web. Keywords are also useful guides for the blogger and publication outreach.
Keywords drive the “optimize and socialize” efforts of content marketers to share, promote and increase the reach of information that is relevant for customers who may buy or refer brand products and services.
The mistake online marketers often make is to solely lead with keywords (vs. customer needs) thinking that optimizing for the most popular phrases are all that is needed to maximize customer reach. High ranking content that doesn’t resonate with readers to share or with customers to buy and refer isn’t an effective approach. Also, customer information needs will vary according to where they are in the research and buying process.
Keywords and topics change over time so even after a customer is acquired, it’s important to monitor, measure and refine as needed.
My question for you: Are your content marketing and optimization efforts focused solely on high popularity count keywords? Are you digging into both search keywords and social topics as you formulate your content marketing strategy?
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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
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