The Latest Web Designing Trends for 2013-14

When it comes to technology, the only thing constant about it is that it keeps changing all the time. When I say 'latest trends' in web designing, I actually mean all the new changes that we now need to learn and use when it comes to designing websites that will be up to the mark and much more. Here are a few latest web designing trends for the years 2013-14 that you need to know:

1. Simple yet effective website designs: Nowadays, every company you find down the roads has a website. So you aren't exactly giving your rivals a tough competition on this. But what you can do to make your website stand out is to be very specific about what you are trying to convey to your viewers. Keep the layout of the website simple. Don't clutter unnecessary things and information that distracts the viewer.
2. Vertical Scrolling: Vertical scrolling comes handy when your viewers are using mobile devices because they are able to scroll down with ease and yet are able to find the menu. They do not need to scroll up just for the menu again. It is easy, handy and saves a lot of time.


3. Flat-web design: One easy way to ensure that your viewer is stuck on your page is to give him what he is looking for right away, but then, there's yet another important factor you need to take care of. The content on your page must be easily readable. Give your website a cleaner look by using flat-web design. It basically focuses on the color and typography of the webpage. Flat-web design makes the contents easier to read and understand.


4. Large Buttons: One big reason you should use large buttons is that it helps the user find it easy to access on tablets and mobile handsets. The only way to ensure the user doesn't close your page and opt for other websites for what they are looking is to make information and accessibility come rather easy to them. Ease of accessibility is always a big factor which can make or mar your webpage.


5. Parallax-Scrolling Sites: This feature isn't exactly new, it had been in use in video games, but nowadays, it seems it has been rediscovered. This trend is being liked by web programmers and using CSS3 and HTML5, it enables them to have animations that are amazing to look at and are very much cost effective.

When it comes to technology, nobody can beat Tacoma Web Design Services. Always count on Web Design Tacoma experts for designing a attractive website for you.

ENHANCE JOB PROSPECTS WITH IM STRATEGIES

It’s no secret that the job market is crowded and competitive. Unemployment figures remain high, as jobless individuals seek work and the currently employed look for something better. If you’re in either category, you’ll have plenty of other job seekers competing for the job you want.

Savvy job seekers know that a sound social media strategy can make the difference between getting a foot in the door and landing in the “rejected” pile. Here’s how you can improve your prospects and land a great new position.

Find the Job You Want Through Social Media Marketing

Take the time to create a social media strategy for your job search. First, decide which social media networksyou want to target. Here are three of the most useful:

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn has 120 million users worldwide, in every industry. You can quickly build a LinkedIn network of people who can help you in your job search through introductions and recommendations. You can also discover which companies are hiring and apply for jobs on LinkedIn.

• TweetMyJobs.com: Many nationally known corporations hire through TweetMyJobs. Sign up, share the jobs you’re looking for, and you’ll receive job postings through Twitter or Facebook, along with information on connections at jobs that match your preferences. You can also share your resume with employers through Facebook and Twitter.

• Emails4Corporations.com: This free resource provides the email set-up for over 1000 corporations. Once you identify a promising contact in your industry, Emails4Corporations can help you figure out his or her corporate email address. Then you can reach out directly with a crafted introductory email.

Remember, you are in charge of promoting yourself. In today’s technology driven marketplace, social media marketing is the way to do it.

Protect the Job You Have by Staying on Top of Your Industry

In a still-volatile job market, it’s important to protect your current position, too. Your value is largely dependent on your knowledge, so try to stay on top of new trends and technologies, and demonstrate the skills, knowledge and personal qualities that your company needs to reach its objectives.

Advancing your education is a great way to protect your job and prepare for new career opportunities. Consider enrolling in professional training courses or going back to school. And when you’ve earned a certificate or degree, update your social media profiles and inform your networks of your accomplishment.

Work on Your Interpersonal Skills

Employers value solid professional and interpersonal skills. Plenty of people can communicate, manage people or analyze data well – but not every job seeker has the attitude, accountability or leadership qualities that organizations need.

In a competitive job market, it’s the little things that make a big difference to employers. Throughout your job search and social media marketing efforts, work on being honest, accountable and responsive. Have integrity and do what you say you’ll do. Demonstrate your leadership qualities in every interaction and you’ll soon build a stellar social reputation that can greatly enhance your job prospects.

AFFILIATE MARKETING FOR BEGINNERS

As more and more businesses are devoting considerable resources towards building online storefronts, affiliate programs have risen in popularity as a strong internet marketing tool. Affiliate marketers derive income by directing traffic to a company’s website and by collecting a commission from any resulting sales.

Affiliate marketing can be a significant source of income to people of all ages and backgrounds, but unfortunately, not everyone is successful. To be successful in affiliate marketing, you must think of it as a business and not a hobby. You must also put in the time and effort necessary to operate your business properly. Some successes are the result of luck or timing, but most successful affiliate marketers build their business over time, through hard work and learning.

If you’re interested in building an affiliate marketing business, you will need a variety of skills to succeed, such as the ability to write effective sales copy and content and leverage social media to support your marketing efforts. You also need to know about search engine marketing and search engine optimization. Often, these skills will come with time and experience but with the right resources, it is possible to speed up the process.

There is no shortage of information on the internet about affiliate marketing and there is a lot of conflicting advice, which can create confusion. Most experts agree that affiliate marketing is a time consuming process that requires significant effort in order to pay off. The only shortcut to acquiring the skills needed for success in internet marketing is to hire a professional or take courses to help you with any areas of weakness.

With so many internet marketing products available at various cost points, it’s easy to become overwhelmed to the point where it’s difficult to make a decision. An alternative to the magnitude of programs is an affiliate marketing training at an accredited university such as the University of San Francisco. The training is online and is led by experts and professionals in the field who follow a standard curriculum. You will be able to view lectures, communicate with your instructors and classmates, and complete your assignments at your convenience, thanks to USF’s unique video-based e-learning platform. This is a very good option, particularly when compared to many other web-based programs that don’t offer students much substance.

There are so many aspects and concepts to affiliate marketing, enough to make an inexperienced person dizzy with thoughts. If you are not serious about treating it as a full time job, you may fall into the group of those who fail in their attempt at the occupation. With the right training and the willingness to put in the time and effort necessary to launch an affiliate marketing business, you can be on your way to realizing a respectable income in an internet marketing career.

USING CONTENT TO BRAND YOURSELF FOR SUCCESS

What do Fortune 500 firms, your favorite café, Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes and social media stars have in common? Each invests time and money into creating and protecting a very important aspect of their business: their brand. Branding sets these companies and individuals apart from their competition – and their success depends on it.

That’s why every professional, no matter what field or industry, should learn the value of combining professional credentials with a personal brand. If you’re new to the concept, this guide will take you through developing and maintaining a personal brand for your career success.

What is Personal Branding?

Think of your favorite shoe brand, coffee chain, clothing store and restaurant. Each has qualities that make it different from the rest, and inspire you to choose it instead of other options. Now, transfer that line of thinking to yourself. What makes you different from others in your field? How can you communicate your unique qualities to current and potential employers, colleagues and networks?

When you create a personal brand, you create a way to communicate your value and professional reputation to the rest of the world. The first step is to combine your professional credentials and personal qualities.

Think Beyond Your Credentials

Thanks to modern technology, professionals today have access to more training, education and certification courses than ever, each offering tools that can help them achieve success. It’s clear that earning a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or professional credential – such as a Mini MBA Certificate – can make you more marketable and enhance your resume. But today’s employers are looking for more than just outstanding credentials.

Build Your Personal Brand to Build Success

Your resume can only communicate the facts: the degrees and certifications you’ve earned, your work experience, and the skills you offer. At best, a great resume opens doors – but offers no guarantee of success. This is where your personal brand becomes important. Your brand can do the job of communicating the qualities that make you different – and worth a second look.

Along with the valuable skills and knowledge you can gain from advancing your education, you need a plan for how you’ll achieve your goals and long-term career success. One key to consistent success is establishing a strong professional reputation. Start by asking yourself:

• What accomplishments am I most proud of?
• What strengths and personal traits make me stand out?
• What skills do I possess?
• What do others say are my best qualities?
• What can I do better than anyone else?

Once you’ve determined your strengths and standout qualities, the next step is to create a message that will communicate your story quickly and completely to your audience.

In this competitive business environment, your reputation is the product you are selling. Your brand is what others will think of each time they think of you, so take the time to protect and manage your professional reputation.

Protecting Your Personal Brand

Protecting your brand means ensuring that what others think about you is in line with your goals. It begins on the Internet. Once something about you is posted online, it’s difficult to remove it, so think about your goals each time you post a photo, respond to an article, write a blog post or comment on a discussion. Remember, your online activity reflects on your professional reputation, so take the time to regularly review your status.

Here are five tips to protect your brand:

1. One negative comment can derail your carefully crafted brand reputation, so respond with care. Don’t ignore a negative comment. Quickly and politely respond. Apologize whenever you’ve stepped on someone’s toes. Avoid mistakes at all costs, but when one is made, own it.
2. Resist the temptation to vent online, even if others are making you feel angry or defensive. You may be better off ignoring a discussion, rather than adding to it. Ask yourself if your actions will enhance or hinder your personal brand.
3. Monitor your presence on social media platforms. What is being said about you? What sort of reaction do your comments receive? Do you need to tone down your rhetoric? Learn the difference between a malicious comment and a genuine disagreement.
4. Politely defend yourself against any rumors of false allegations you may find.
5. Conduct regular Google searches of your name, and stay on top of the results. Are potential employers seeing what you want them to see?

Combine Your Qualifications with a Stellar Personal Brand for Long-Term Success

You are more than what your job title or work experience say you are. But without a personal brand, you may have difficulty promoting your best qualities and standing out from the crowd. Create a plan to reach your career goals and experience success. Be sure it includes continuously learning the skills needed in your industry, as well as developing and maintaining an outstanding professional reputation.

SIX SMART TIPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Social media marketing for your brand doesn’t have to be as intimidating you think. A recent blog post at PR-squared.com touches on some tips to follow for succeeding in your social media marketing strategy. A closer look at points below provides clarity and guidance for your own social media training.

Take Action, Get Started & Make Your Brand Social

If the public knows about your brand, chances are they’re talking about you – good or bad, with or without you. So why not start interacting with your customers? Take a step back and observe what people are saying. Twitter and Google Alerts are good places to start when tracking a business. Don’t see much conversation? You are in the perfect position to hit the ground running with your social media marketing plan.

But why is it so important to be social? Think of your customers as individual pieces of a marketing campaign. As a brand influences a customer, social media is the platform with which their experiences are announced to the world. Think about all the businesses you hear about on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets. If a brand can interact with a customer on a personal level, your company looks less like a money-making machine and more like a brand who cares about its clients first.

Align Your Marketing Strategy with your Social Media Strategy

A successful brand will always need to have a social presence, and it should be a part of a company’s overall marketing strategy. While elements of your marketing strategy will have definitive start and end points, your social media strategy, if done right, should never end. As is the case with any kind of marketing, the ability to adapt to the needs and trends of customers will allow a brand to further thrive.

What Works for One Brand May Not Work for Yours – Find Your Own Path

Once in a while you hear about a radical stunt or social media idea that gets a brand a lot of exposure. The natural reaction is to do something similar for your own company and wait for the benefits to start pouring in. Recognize that each social media marketing endeavor is as unique as the company that implements it. Look for your own creative ways to stand out in the social media world. Great ideas are being dreamed up every day – why shouldn’t you come up with the next one?

Speak as a Person – Leave Corporate Talk Out of Social Media

Social media marketing works best when the audience feels like they are interacting with an individual and not a corporate machine. Make sure any social media marketing training covers this very important characteristic. When talking with customers, your tone should be friendly and conversational. Never embarrass or belittle your client, no matter how far they may take it to smear your brand. Taking the high road will always make you look better to others following the conversation.

Involve Your Legal Department or Seek Legal Advice

With little legal precedence in the world of social media, your legal department should be advised early on in the social media marketing game. Together, you can identify risks and pitfalls your brand may face before anything ever happens. Rather than just nixing an idea, an informed legal department that understands your social media goals is more apt to render solutions.

Prepare a Crisis Management Plan Ahead of Time

Crisis management is an important and essential part of any social media marketing plan. Careful consideration should be given to how your brand is going to respond to impending problems. While it would be nice to think that no problems will arise, reality should set in, hopefully before trouble starts brewing.

A first step should be to actively monitor social networks for potential problems or complaints. Addressing issues when they first start to take shape will keep customers happy and prevent a full blown crisis from happening. Make sure everyone involved with the social media marketing plan has a clear understanding of the appropriate steps to take when a crisis presents itself. Items to consider include response times, notification to the proper department and identifying proper remedies.

Healthy monitoring and interaction with your audience will lay the foundation for your brand to begin a successful social media marketing plan. Most importantly, taking that first step will put your brand on the fast track to being a leader within your industry.

HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE EMAIL

How do you write an effective email that people want to read? The answer seems to be ever-changing. While social media has grown to be an important part of any marketing campaign, email remains a key component to a marketing strategy. Companies still find email to be a cost-effective way to reach their target market; how they get them to click links and the overall message are keys to successful email campaigns.

Keep the subject line short: We get our information so fast it is important to grab the reader’s attention early. 64% of people say they open an email because of the subject line. The most effective subject lines are less than 30 characters in length. Emails subject lines with 10 characters or less have an open rate as high as 58%, well above any industry average.

Words Matter: Choose the words of the subject line and the body of the email carefully. For example, “you” and “your” are used in 18.7% of subject lines making them among the most commonly used in email campaigns. Personalizing email subject lines makes the emails 22.2% more likely to be opened; so it pays to take time to create emails that are noticed by recipients.

Engage the reader: Email marketing can be as impactful to the reader as social media or traditional print marketing campaign. It is important to engage the audience with a subject line that is not only short but grabs their attention. Controversial headlines, actionable tips and how-to titles and themes are the top ways to engage the reader. Follow up with content that keeps them reading your email and clicking through to the website.

Effective email marketing is more than an engaging subject line. You’ve got to have the content to back it up. Many companies are choosing to repurpose website and blog content in their newsletters saving time and reaching different readers. The key is to get readers from the newsletter to the website.

What is the email click-through rate (CTR)? It is simply the number of people who clicked links from an email to get to the sender’s website or blog. Creating engaging content increases the CTR of your email campaigns. The average click through rate is about 10% with variations across industries. Factors to consider when building an effective email campaign include the following:

• Newsletters are more effective than a pure marketing message. People want to she shown, not told, about your product or service.
• Rather than sending an email from “marketing at your company name,” consider sending an email from a specific person at the company such as the owner or CEO. It makes the message more personal and readers are more likely to engage.
• Create specialized lists so you can target the marketing message within each newsletter. Consider separating prospect and client lists, for example.
• Add a lot of links so there are ample opportunities for readers to click through to the website or blog.

While email remains an effective marketing tool for many companies, it is important to understand how subject lines and content impact click through rates and overall email success. As social media grows to engage your audience, effective email campaigns will become more important in the marketing strategy.

USING CONTENT TO BRAND YOURSELF FOR SUCCESS

What do Fortune 500 firms, your favorite café, Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes and social media stars have in common? Each invests time and money into creating and protecting a very important aspect of their business: their brand. Branding sets these companies and individuals apart from their competition – and their success depends on it.

That’s why every professional, no matter what field or industry, should learn the value of combining professional credentials with a personal brand. If you’re new to the concept, this guide will take you through developing and maintaining a personal brand for your career success.

What is Personal Branding?

Think of your favorite shoe brand, coffee chain, clothing store and restaurant. Each has qualities that make it different from the rest, and inspire you to choose it instead of other options. Now, transfer that line of thinking to yourself. What makes you different from others in your field? How can you communicate your unique qualities to current and potential employers, colleagues and networks?

When you create a personal brand, you create a way to communicate your value and professional reputation to the rest of the world. The first step is to combine your professional credentials and personal qualities.

Think Beyond Your Credentials

Thanks to modern technology, professionals today have access to more training, education and certification courses than ever, each offering tools that can help them achieve success. It’s clear that earning a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or professional credential – such as a Mini MBA Certificate – can make you more marketable and enhance your resume. But today’s employers are looking for more than just outstanding credentials.

Build Your Personal Brand to Build Success

Your resume can only communicate the facts: the degrees and certifications you’ve earned, your work experience, and the skills you offer. At best, a great resume opens doors – but offers no guarantee of success. This is where your personal brand becomes important. Your brand can do the job of communicating the qualities that make you different – and worth a second look.

Along with the valuable skills and knowledge you can gain from advancing your education, you need a plan for how you’ll achieve your goals and long-term career success. One key to consistent success is establishing a strong professional reputation. Start by asking yourself:

• What accomplishments am I most proud of?
• What strengths and personal traits make me stand out?
• What skills do I possess?
• What do others say are my best qualities?
• What can I do better than anyone else?

Once you’ve determined your strengths and standout qualities, the next step is to create a message that will communicate your story quickly and completely to your audience.

In this competitive business environment, your reputation is the product you are selling. Your brand is what others will think of each time they think of you, so take the time to protect and manage your professional reputation.

Protecting Your Personal Brand

Protecting your brand means ensuring that what others think about you is in line with your goals. It begins on the Internet. Once something about you is posted online, it’s difficult to remove it, so think about your goals each time you post a photo, respond to an article, write a blog post or comment on a discussion. Remember, your online activity reflects on your professional reputation, so take the time to regularly review your status.

Here are five tips to protect your brand:

1. One negative comment can derail your carefully crafted brand reputation, so respond with care. Don’t ignore a negative comment. Quickly and politely respond. Apologize whenever you’ve stepped on someone’s toes. Avoid mistakes at all costs, but when one is made, own it.
2. Resist the temptation to vent online, even if others are making you feel angry or defensive. You may be better off ignoring a discussion, rather than adding to it. Ask yourself if your actions will enhance or hinder your personal brand.
3. Monitor your presence on social media platforms. What is being said about you? What sort of reaction do your comments receive? Do you need to tone down your rhetoric? Learn the difference between a malicious comment and a genuine disagreement.
4. Politely defend yourself against any rumors of false allegations you may find.
5. Conduct regular Google searches of your name, and stay on top of the results. Are potential employers seeing what you want them to see?

Combine Your Qualifications with a Stellar Personal Brand for Long-Term Success

You are more than what your job title or work experience say you are. But without a personal brand, you may have difficulty promoting your best qualities and standing out from the crowd. Create a plan to reach your career goals and experience success. Be sure it includes continuously learning the skills needed in your industry, as well as developing and maintaining an outstanding professional reputation.

EXTENDING THE REACH OF YOUR CONTENT WITH VIDEO

Social media marketing is one of the most rapidly growing ways for businesses to increase their customer base. Companies are also discovering that inbound marketing – where your social media strategy allows people to find you instead of you finding them – is another method of extending their reach. So how can you move your message forward in a creative way that draws people to this content?

Let’s say you have already established your presence on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and LinkedIn. You post updates frequently and monitor your comment threads but are ready to try something new and different. This is where video content may enter the frame.

With rich and relevant video content, you can deliver your message through a variety of formats, meaning it may resonate more strongly with customers.  Good video content is shared often, so you may get lucky and become a viral sensation, which could lead to increased business.

Try integrating video content across all of your delivery channels. Once you create your video, post it on Facebook, YouTube and other sites. By putting it in several places, your video can stay “alive” for months and attract more attention.

Write informative blog posts aimed at your ideal demographic and convert them to YouTube videos and SlideShare presentations that can be embedded into other social media sites.

How to Optimize your Video Content

As you develop your content, make sure the video is search engine optimized (SEO). That means including an engaging and searchable title, a description that is keyword-rich, appropriate tags and captioning for YouTube. Also, optimize your video for sharing in a way that is intuitive and simple for viewers. Put your share options right next to the video so the action is quick and easy.

Keep the following tips in mind as you narrow down your ideas and get started on your video content:

• Identify your target audience and clearly define the demographic you want to reach.
• Set clear and reachable marketing goals for your video content.
• Make sure the content is meaningful and relevant to your audience.  Is it memorable, entertaining, surprising, unexpected and informative?
• Make it easy for your audience to share and expand across blogs, online publications and social media platforms.

Quick and Easy Projects

These ideas could help get you and your customers engaged in video content:

• Try recording a “live” music video to showcase your company’s personality and sense of fun.
• Record a short interview. Pick an executive, customer or co-worker and ask him or her three quick questions. Upload and you’re done.
• Create an instructional screencast with a tool like Camtasia that also records your voice simultaneously.
• Take your viewers on a video tour of your office and beyond.  Give them a glimpse into where it all happens.

Video content can be fun for you and your customers. When done right, it can also help to draw in customers.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY

If you’re a new marketer or online business owner, you probably have some pressing questions. Which online marketing methods actually work? What is search engine optimization and can you do it by yourself? How can you measure the impact of your online campaign? The practical tips that follow will help you decide how to spend your time, and you will gain a basic online education in search marketing.

Increasing Findability – Search Engine Optimization

There are two common tracks in online marketing, SEO and SEM. SEO, search engine optimization, means developing your website such that you improve your ranking in organic (naturally occurring) search results. SEM, search engine marketing, refers to paying for ads that appear along with searches. Often, both methods are used together. For instance, keywords are tested in SEM campaigns which deliver immediate feedback. Later, great keywords will be applied to SEO which requires a longer commitment to see results. Through Google and Yahoo/Bing, you can purchase SEM ads.

When SEO companies first sprang onto the web, many people thought that search engine optimization was out of reach for small businesses or private individuals. However, any business that has a well-defined niche can optimize a web site for search results. The main factors are these:

• Keywords need to be carefully selected
• Content should have quality and incorporate the keywords
• Keywords need to be included in headings, links and meta tags
• Other websites need to link to your website

As Google is the leader in organic search results, SEO involves Google’s algorithm. This basically means you have to make sure your content is arranged so that a computer can recognize the keywords’ importance and the quality of your site. Links from other sites demonstrate quality. Good keywords included in ways computers understand—headings, links and meta tags—show that your page can genuinely answer the needs of the searcher.

Measuring Your Impact – Web Analytics

Anyone who loves a challenge can enjoy finding ways to get a page to the top of search results. Still, that hardly matters if your search engine prowess does not lead to sales for the business. Obviously, if you begin to appear in the top three of search results, that is good for your business, but you also need to know if you are getting quality visitors to your website and whether or not they are buying your goods or services. A quality visitor is someone who interacts at some level or returns repeatedly. Some basic web analytics programs can show you how many people are returning to your site—or you can use interactive online forms to engage people and measure the traffic in that way. Of course, you want to keep track of conversions–sales that occur online or through online discounts. Some people analyze all interactions as conversions and group them in layers leading to the final sale—you have to organize your data in the optimal way for your business.

Search Strategy and Social Media

As you get started with SEO basics, you may be wondering how and if social media marketing comes into play. That’s a good question!  Online strategists are only just beginning to ponder the rapid, but clearly sizeable impact of social media on search engine optimization. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind:

• social searchers expect interactions—people who engage online in order to be social expect to have a place to speak and be heard
• targeting social searches means spreading conversations—when thinking of those who arrive at your website through online social means, realize the potential of spreading ideas—that’s exactly what the social world does best
• SEO and social marketing may intertwine more and more—social marketing is on the rise and search results are likely to become more and more focused on personal inclinations

Overall, think about the world of social marketing as you engage in SEO. Let it be there in the margin of your thoughts to later expand into a novel, fantastic marketing idea.

These are the basics in online marketing. So much can depend on well-chosen keywords. Make sure you choose words that are optimal for your audience and yet within your competition level. Try the Google Adwords analytics tool to research your competition. If 10,000 other businesses are targeting those words, they may not be for you! Most web site owners re-visit their keyword choices every six months to make sure the competition is within fighting-range. Enjoy trying out these ideas in your search engine optimization campaign.

NO MORE GOOGLE KEYWORD DATA – KEYWORD NOT PROVIDED

The first four minutes of Fishkin’s video appear to be an attempt to educate SEOs by explaining the current environment, and I’m sure it was, but one could also make the argument that it was directed specifically toward the people at Google who made the decision. The tension is easily palpable. Fishkin states, “The agreement that marketers have always had—that website creators have always had—with search engines, since their inception was, ‘sure, we’ll let you crawl our sites, you provide us with the keyword data so that we can improve the Internet together.’ I think this is Google abusing their monopolistic position in the United States.”

Thank you, Rand!

To date, Google has not provided their intention for encrypting all keyword data.

Fishkin pointed out four major issues that we’re going to face now that we cannot see our keyword data.

• An immediate struggle in finding ways to improve a page’s performance.  Without keyword data, it is impossible to make changes that will actually help the visitor on pages that have high bounce rates or are simply not performing well.
• With no keyword data, we will not be able to uncover certain content creation opportunities. We will not be able to see what our visitors are really asking or looking for, making it impossible to create new content around those areas.
• Without keyword data, it is impossible to show business owners and corporate executives the value in SEO or ROI on specific campaigns or verticals.
• It will be difficult to realize how search engine users actually see your brand. With keyword data, you can see how users are searching for your brand terms and get an idea of how your target audience sees your brand, campaigns, current events or general direction.

I’d like to pay some attention to the first and second bullet points above. As a huge content-focused marketer, I think that we’re going to have to come up with ways to manipulate the data we DO get to help us create better content. Fishkin gives us a great place to start.

He suggests three data points to study that will bring us to an idea of what keywords are bringing in traffic. He tells us to watch:

• Pages receiving search traffic (via your traditional stats)
• Rank tracking data (where your keywords are ranked)
• Webmaster Tools data (I wonder how long we’ll still have this)

As Fishkin points out, by studying and understanding each of these data points, you can get a list of pages that are getting search visits, are targeting important search terms and are ranking with the potential to improve. You’re going to have to use some common sense and a little brain power. While you won’t get specifics, at least you’ll have a general idea about what is happening on your website and where you can focus attention for improvement.

In addition, it might be time to invest in a rank tracking tool if you don’t already have one.

My Take – Watch Content Types Too!

To add to Rand’s presentation, I think we’re also going to have to start paying a lot more attention to the type of content we’re publishing on our websites and how those pages are performing in search. We won’t be able to see keyword data, but we should be able to find some correlation between a specific type of content and the pages that are receiving search traffic.

Instead of looking at the keywords that are bringing the people in, you now have to look at the type of content that is on the pages bringing in the search traffic. These types of content could be top level informational articles, insightful detailed articles, interviews with industry experts, interviews with consumers, video pages, blog posts, current events or news, pictorials/infographics or even podcasts or streaming audio.

Take a look at which pages are getting the traffic from Google and categorize them into types. Eventually you should see a pattern of which type of content is bringing in the search traffic.

At this point, you would focus more energy on creating that type of content.

At the same time, you should be studying which type of content is being shared more by your visitors, which type has a higher bounce rate, which type has the best “time on page” and so on.

Leave a comment and let us know if you find any correlation.

The Bottom Line

Most importantly, you’re going to have to do this on a regular basis – daily if possible. Dealing with all of these changes doesn’t mean we still cannot go “old school” and maintain keyword lists and pay attention to their rankings. With keyword data, it was easier to see when a keyword phrase went up or down the SERPs. Now you’re going to have to go and look in the search engine itself.

The playing field has been leveled once again. It’s time to get back to work and build a new foundation of keyword and search engine understanding for your website.

It comes down to the fact that this didn’t happen to you and your business only. It happened to everyone. To put it plainly and simply, it’s going to come down to the amount of effort you put into understanding your website search visitors. And the quicker you come up with ways to deal with it, the more of an advantage you’ll have over our competition.

Website Articles Website Marketing Analytics and Tracking SEO Website Design Content Social Media COLLABORATIVE SALES – THE BEAUTY OF SOCIAL E-COMMERCE

There is a new and direct way to engage online customers: social commerce. For years, many businesses have used social media to increase sales. Now it is possible to link your social media strategy to the point of purchase. New apps and infomediaries are creating marketing potential by honing in on the items your customer likes and those items your customer will even share with friends. Not only do you have the chance to cinch the deal; more and more of your customers may begin to advertise on your behalf.

What’s New in Social Commerce

Three new trends in social media campaigns are beginning to take shape. These are:

• e-commerce apps for social media
• social apps for e-commerce
• social infomediaries

Adding an e-commerce app to your Facebook page allows a customer to both make a purchase and share your product with Facebook friends. Likewise, adding social apps to your e-commerce presence allows the online community to share the news about the goods or services you offer. The social infomediaries are a relatively new, but promising presence. For instance, Pinterest is an online billboard that allows people to “pin-up” photos and information they want to share. Another example is Catalogue, an app that stores all your catalogs so that you can scroll through them whenever you wish. These sites offer new ways to understand customers’ interests and values. They also offer even more ways for information to be shared.

Businesses Taking Action

Businesses are moving forward quickly to make the user’s experience more apt, convenient and downright social. Social media strategies include engaging with customers based on how they relate to your business and giving customers incentives for sharing information or deals. With storefront integration to Facebook, businesses can target customers based on what they like or share. Through the use of widgets, small applications that can be installed on a web page, businesses can launch sales campaigns remotely across many different channels.

E-Commerce: Looking to the Future

E-commerce is not only here to stay; it’s on the rise. In 2010, Cyber Monday (the online equivalent to Black Friday) ranked as the number one online shopping day of the year with over one billion dollars in sales. In 2011, Cyber Monday spending rose by 30%. Where there is potential, there is also competition. This means the benefits of social media campaigns in e-commerce solutions will be fully used and exploited. Whether your business is large or small, make sure your Facebook and Twitter accounts are attractive, fresh and timely. Use them to offer exclusive deals in order to socially advertise. Use visuals as much as you can (videos and photos) in order to keep the interest of your social followers.

Social media strategy can be low-key or complex. It can be about offering deals to your “friends” or widening your outreach by encouraging people to share information about your business. In decades past, word-of-mouth was seen as one of the most effective advertising approaches. As social media has evolved, new opportunities in online sharing of information allow the e-commerce world broader applications of that basic standard. Now is a great time to dive in, stay alert and creatively utilize the social horizon.