The Net Impact

How do video, social media and advances in mobile effect search? What are the search engines changing?

These were just a few of the questions answered at The Net Impact’s Search Engine Strategies Session on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010. The seminar covered current trends in search engine optimization and highlighted the best presentations from the The Net Impact’s SEO team’s recent trip to the Search Engine Strategies Session held in Chicago December 2009. The three presentations presented focused on B2B, Blended Search and Linking.

The first presentation, presented by Angela Cicerelli, Web Account Manager at The Net Impact, covered blended search. Blended search enhances user experience and is another way to engage with potential customer. If you are having troubles ranking for a keyword, blended search just may be the answer. The presentation discussed why we should care about images and videos in search. Social media sites, such as Flickr and YouTube, are now becoming major sources of  website traffic and are appearing in search results. What to take away from the session regarding blended search – The web isn’t about pages anymore, it’s all about streams, feeds and syndication. If information is important, it will find you.

The next presentation, led by Lauren Williamson, Web Content Manager at The Net Impact, highlighted the importance of linking. Link popularity measures the quality and quantity of links pointing to a web page. Recently, social media marketing has become one of the most practical and high quality ways to earn links. The Chicago Search Engine Strategies Session touched on three main reasons why it is important to have a linking program: improve rank, boost traffic and to increase brand exposure. Lauren closed with the statement: “Building links is similar to building relationships – it takes works and is all about quality, not quantity”.

Sonya Sawall, Web Account Manager at The Net Impact, led the final conversation on B2B. Business buyers and decision makers are online, using search engines. Business professionals engage in social networking in order to build relationships that bring business. They rely on search, sometimes throughout the whole buying cycle, and in order to be successful, Internet marketing experts must align their messages with buyers needs throughout each phase of the buying process.

The most important thing learned at The Net Impact’s SES Session: There is one certainty about SEO – the game is always changing. “If you are following a best practice that dates back to 2008 or earlier, toss it away.  It’s now wrong”. 2010 is the year of real-time, personalized results, growing importance of social, community and web mobility. We need to continue to adapt our SEO strategies to stay ahead of the curve.

We hope you all enjoyed the presentation as much as we did, and we look forward to seeing you at the next TNI event!

Check out some great pictures from the event on Flickr!

 The presentation focused on:

-Understanding your Google Analytics Dashboard

-Navigating the Google Analytics report suite

-Defining the metrics that matter most

-Setting up goals to track conversion

The engaging conversation highlighted all of the advantages, latest features and benefits of Google Analytics. One of the topics covered was tracking social media traffic. Erica emphasized the importantance of tracking social media sites on the campaign level to effectively gather and analyze social media analytics.With Google Analytics, you can thoroughly analyze results using the various filters and components Google Analytics offers.  For example, tracking social networking sites will show you social media traffic sources in relation to your overall site traffic. This will in turn give you a good idea of which social media tools are working most effectively for your brand.

Web Account Manager, Erica Sharinghausen leading the discussion on understanding your Google Analytics Dashboard

What is a good bounce rate for my website?” …. “How do I track my Facebook Advertising? … ”What metrics should I pay the most attention to?”

These were just a few of the questions answered “at The Net Impact’s Introduction to Google Analytics seminar, which was geared to introduce business professionals to the basics of web analytics. Erica shared valuable insights on how to utilize Google Analytics to optimize online marketing, improve website performance and increase conversions.  Attendees left with a better understanding of how Google Analytics works and what tools and reports would best serve their individual business.

The Most Important lessons learned from the presentation

- Adjust spending on paid keywords that have high bounce rates

- Identify your problem – unpaid keywords with high bounce rates

- Identify landing pages that need to be more relevant or need stronger calls to action

-Setting up goals to track online success

The Net Impact Team would like to thank everyone who participated in the Introduction to Google Analytic Seminar and we are  looking forward to having many more interesting informational sessions to come!

Check out these great photos and videos from Wednesday night’s seminar!

Online public relations increases search engine visibility

Until recently,  companies and PR Firms wrote press releases in a very uniform fashion designed for the eyes of the traditional journalist. But the evolution of online public relations has created an entirely new approach to the writing and distributing process of press releases.

The purpose behind most online public relations efforts is to increase overall online exposure, which will in turn direct more people to visit your targeted website.  Increased online exposure can lead to greater brand development, a stronger relationship with your public, increased interest from the media, more connections with potential partners and increased lead generation causing greater revenue.

Any topic that will be of interest to prospects, the media and potential partners (such as a new product launch, industry news, events, community activities, etc…) can be used to construct a press release that is search engine optimized and distributed online. Then, distributing optimized press release via newswires has the power to directly reach millions of Internet users, generate inbound links to your website and raise search engine visibility of your website. The Net Impact’s most often used press release distributor is PRWeb, an excellent proven third party partner for publication of your online press releases, with an average charge of $200 per release.

Most newswire services offer you an exact report on how many people accessed your optimized release. This is an essential tool in gauging your reads and impressions.  In addition, through other analytical tools, such as Google Analytics, you can determine when someone follows a link to your targeted website through your optimized press release.

Now that online news sites such as Yahoo News and Google News contain such an abundance of press release content and RSS feeds, it is easy to syndicate news. An optimized press release can get you a page one SERP result for your relevant keywords in the search engines, news engines and news websites. So we see that press releases are not only an effective tool for distributing content to the media and consumers, they are easily syndicated creating an excellent opportunity to attract organic traffic and incoming links.

 A well written online press release has the ability to:

1.) Capture the attention of editors, journalists and bloggers looking for compelling topics for news stories

2.) Live on the web indefinitely. Press Releases are  published to various websites and blogs, giving your content a long shelf life as the content is never deleted creating enduring links.

3.) Create conversation on social networks.The press release link will be shared indefinitely through social media marketing, such as Twitter and Facebook

4.) Be viewed by new prospects – your target audience.

*As a result of all of these activities, hyperlinks will generate that will point back to the release creator’s targeted web site.

How to re-purpose a press release.

Once the press release has been released, there are still opportunities for increased exposure. The Net Impact Recommends:

-Writing a company blog post with the press release content

-Sharing the announcement using Twitter                                                                                        

-Posting an update on the press release on your Facebook                                   

-Adding the press release to the news page on your company website

-Posting any media collateral on other social sites

-Sharing the press release on your company newsletter

-Distributing the press release internally so associates can share it with their friends and business partners

Lastly, creating a calendar for PR that plans a regular expectation for your potential publishers is important.  Frequent and consistent news will generate more interest in your pieces as publishers begin to rely upon them. 

 Don’t forget, the best public relations strategy is to find a worthwhile angle to a story and create excellent content that is visible to your target audience. Combining creative ability and optimization skills to create compelling, keyword relevant press releases will only prove to be a rewarding public relations effort for your company.

 If online press releases sound like something your company should be doing but you do not know the right approach,  have the time or the resources, Contact The Net Impact to help you begin your online public relations effort in an organized manner. The Net Impact’s public relations services include press release copy-writing and press release submission through third party online platforms.. We can help you implement a successful public relations strategy into your overall marketing plan.

Luxury Online Marketplace Meets Website Objectives with Auctori

The GoldenPortal.com mission is to create a unique marketplace offering the best quality, highest-value, merchandise available at large discounts. Golden Portal’s Members and families have high expectations and understand quality, making the need for a well-designed and user-friendly website an important part of the success formula for this shopping site. The unique, member-only club joined forces with The Net Impact to satisfy this discriminating clientele.

Golden Portal reached out to the Net Impact in search of a flexible and dynamic way to create new pages, support ever evolving vendor relationships and make changes to their website with the sense of urgency today’s online retail environment demands.  The Net Impact used their partner solution, Auctori – a Web Content Management System (CMS) built for SEO.  The Net Impact was able to  take Golden Portal’s existing site and place their custom design into the Auctori CMS. This gave the Golden Portal marketing team the ability to manage their website, change offers and update their vendor pages at anytime, from anywhere, –  they would simply need an internet connection.

GoldenPortal.com

“It is exciting when The Net Impact has the opportunity to work with a fresh and entrepreneurial idea. Working with Jim O’Brien and the original GoldenPortal.com Design, created by Tom Zimmerman, has allowed us to take on unique challenges by using innovative and special components in Auctori™, our Web Content Management System,” said Steve Thomas, President of The Net Impact.

The Net Impact Team and the Auctori Team worked together to meet the client-oriented company’s objectives.   Golden Portal employees were trained onsite by The Net Impact team on all of the different capabilities and numerous modules that make up the Auctori system including a new Affiliate Management Administration tool developed to the exact specifications of Golden Portal.

Click this link for more information on Golden Portal.

Click this link for more information on Auctori.

Check out the Press Release on TNI’s work with GoldenPortal.com

A Website can Function as a Credible Marketing Tool for Law Firms

 The Internet is overflowing with law firm websites that all present a very similar message. For this reason, it is extremely important that your law firm has a creative, yet professionally designed website that captures the interest of visitors and holds their attention long enough to convince them that you are the firm that can meet their specific needs. Simply building a website for your law firm is not enough. The website has to be built in a fashion that is user-friendly, professionally designed, visually appealing, informative and also search engine optimized. A poor overall appearance combined with confusing navigation and outdated content will leave your potential clients clicking away to your competitors.

From an internal management perspective, too often a legal website is static, meaning even the simplest changes to the website can get bogged down in an IT to-do list or create added expense from outside technical services. An excellent solution to this problem is using a content management system to build your law firm’s website to have a professionally designed site that can be updated at anytime, from any location by the lawyers and other staff themselves. Content management systems are expediting communications on the company web  among law firm personnel.

How will using a CMS benefit my Firm?

-Content management systems are customizable software solutions. Designed specifically in accordance with the discerning needs of the corporate infrastructure, CMS is all about ease, convenience and the utmost productivity.

-It’s secure. The CMS assures that the right departments and people are authorized to review and add content.

-CMSs deliver efficiency. Partners who are out of the office or working from home can receive and respond to time sensitive information.

With a CMS, you are not only  simplifying interdepartmental productivity. In the marketing sphere, content management systems multitask as a viable marketing tool.

3 ways content management systems can function as an effective marketing tool:

Establish a firm’s credibility in a specific area of law.
A website serves as a firm’s online portfolio. It is a place to announce new laws, litigation scores and other unclassified client-case information. Having the  access to keep this information fresh and updated will send the message out to potential clients that your firm is up-to-date, well-organized and a step above a competitor.

Expose a law firm to media visibility.
Content management systems are developed to syndicate news and events to search engines, ultimately disseminating information among media outlets. Whether it’s a high profile case or a law firm’s achievements, a CMS makes it easy to publish and firm updates and legal victories.

It will be easier for potential clients to seek you out on the web.
Most people refer to the Internet to research legal services. Many web content management systems are built specifically for Search Engine Optimization purposes. This will increase that a potential client will come across your website in search of legal services.

Not all new software integrations are a nightmare. The transition to a content management system is non-intrusive. It does not impose any network outages or require daily operations. Content management systems are customized to accommodate a law firm’s unique communication requirements, making the adjustment and simple and worthwhile process. As for the learning curve, CMS training is minimal. Once the functionality and design decisions have been determined, it is easy to start inserting content and images.

In the end,  using a CMS to market your firm’s area of specialty is an economical and user-friendly marketing tool – well worth the return on investment.

A law firm’s website should attract new clients, communicate with existing ones and aid in the sharing of information among the lawyers of the firm. If an attorney website is skillfully constructed and has regularly updated content, it can prove to be an effective tool for marketing your firm and presenting your business in a professional manner. Law firms should view their website as a living, ever-changing and interactive space for their communities, as opposed to a place to simply lump articles, biographies and press releases. A content management solution may just be the simple solution your law firm needs to meet all of it’s online needs.

The Net Impact’s CMS solution of choice  for law firms is Auctori:Law founded upon the Content Management System Auctori. Unified Development, Inc. (Unidev®) designed the CMS in association with several law firms to give attorneys and legal professionals an easy to use, but powerful system to update and maintain their professionally designed website. To see two excellent examples of Auctori:law™ in action, please visit The Stolar Partnership, LLP www.stolarlaw.com and Paul J. Passanante, PC & Associates at www.passanantelaw.com.

The value and significance of the legal industry demands a certain website environment that The Net Impact has been able to perfect. The Net Impact Team fosters an understanding of your profession and the aggressive marketplace that you are competing within. Contact The Net Impact today to learn more about how we can help your law firm enhance their online prescense!

Integrating Your Website With Social Media Exposes Your Brand to the Masses

Just a year ago, it was unheard of to combine microsites with social media to get your message out to current clients and potential customers in a more effective and cost-efficient way. What respectable business had a Facebook site and who in the world tweeted?  But, 2009’s explosion of social media has generated many techniques to create dialogue and receive feedback in  ways never before imagined.  Yes, your firm can Facebook and tweet in a professional and productive manner.

In this generation of user-generated content, companies are realizing they cannot only expect consumers to find them through the major search engines. While this is still fundamental and a website functions as a primary means to entice the consumer to “meet” the company, many businesses have also invested time in using social media networks to go directly to where their consumers “meet”. Especially in today’s economy when many companies are looking to cut back on their marketing budgets, the low cost of creating a social media site to establish an online brand presence and generate leads is a quick, inexpensive and effective solution.

So does the growing popularity of social media sites kill the need for a website? ….We don’t think so.

An effective marketing strategy integrates your website with a variety of media approaches, social media networks being an important piece of this puzzle. The benefits of having a company website are endless, and websites are a marketing tool that social media sites simply cannot match. The real time attribute of a social media site occurs when a social media profile is viewed as a tool to enhance a website. Updating your company’s web page and your social media profiles at the same time, can produce links with indefinite visibility, which in return has the potential to increase overall traffic and conversion to your site. Social media sites can also enhance the visual appeal and overall feel of your website by providing a more interactive experience for visitors. By incorporating social media features, such as YouTube videos or blogs, into your website, you can create your own brand focused community that allows for user generated content.

Think of social networks as a friendly gateway to your company website or microsite. Seeding your site with social networks spreads content far and wide through search engines, as well as through contacts who are already a part of your social networking communities – places where rapport has already been established. People tend to share their experiences, good or bad, with their social networking communities – people they have built a connection with. So find out where your audience’s conversations are taking place and establish a strong presence. When social media sites are operated effectively they have the power to steer your audience to your website, resonate with your visitors, humanize your brand and deliver content to the masses in the click of a mouse.

Social media sites function to grab your visitor’s attention and leave them wanting to come to your site to learn more; so, make your messages intriguing, your profile informative and the look of your social media site attractive. Every photo you put up on Facebook, every message mashed into 140 words on Twitter and every story-telling video posted on YouTube reflects your company’s image and message, and may just be the “link” that drives the next big business deal to your website.

• The King and Prince Resort
• Retrowonders
• Artistic Sensations

The Net Impact can help you incorporate social  media into a creative and well-designed marketing campaign which encompasses the planning, listening, understanding, engaging and monitoring of your company’s social media accounts.

We understand that in this economy, many companies are cutting back on their marketing efforts. Contact The Net Impact to learn how we can help you expose your brand without breaking your budget!

Will Having a Facebook Presence Really Help my Business?

I remember when my University got Facebook my freshman year in college. Back in the good ole’ days, when Facebook was strictly for college students, I would have gotten in some serious trouble for trying to check my Facebook Page during class. Back then I would have laughed if someone would have told me that an important part of my future job would require me to make daily Facebook updates to my company’s business page. But wow has Facebook has changed dramatically in the 6 years since its birth. Recently reaching 300 million users, Facebook is no longer a virtual community for college students to share information with friends (and “friends”). The social network has rapidly evolved into a networking platform for individuals as well as businesses to share information from the trivial to the vital. This global phenomenon has left businesses large and small asking the question: “Does my company need a presence on Facebook?”

More and more businesses are hitting the ground running with Facebook, as analytics continue to prove this social networking tool to be a successful and inexpensive way to reach your target audience. It is quick, easy and completely free to create a Facebook page. You can make your page viewable by everyone and anyone, whether they are members of Facebook or not.  Once the page is created, invite your clients to join and interact with them frequently by posting videos and photos, updating company news, publicizing discounts, initiating and taking part in discussions, and developing custom applications.

A great way to get a an idea of how powerful a tool Facebook can be to establish a strong online brand identity, is to check out some examples of business pages that have found a way to successfully utilize the medium. Pizza Hut, Atlantis Resort and Coca-Cola, are all examples of major companies that have used their Facebook Page to create a genuine community for “fans” of their brand. Another great example of Facebook Business Page we are currently working on here at The Net Impact is The King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort Page.

A few benefits of using Facebook for business include:

Increased Exposure: An important reason to invest time in creating an engaging page is each and every activity of your fans (this includes anything from becoming a fan, to posting a comment) gets shared with a greater network – giving your business increased visibility. You can also link your Facebook page to your other social networking sites, your company site and even on your email signature to personalize your brand.
 

Targeted Advertising: Facebook ads allow you to advertise a website, event, company or content you manage on Facebook. Facebook allows you to target the reach for your ad by location, gender, age and interests. As you add these customized filters, Facebook will automatically update the count of people fitting your criteria so you can gauge the size of your target market on Facebook.
 

Increase traffic to your company site: You can use your Facebook Page to link through to your company website. As a Page grows in fan base, traffic to the website will also increase. In addition, Facebook Pages also show up in search engine results.

Develop Credibility: Facebook Pages provide a form of dialogue between customers and the brand, this unique opportunity gives companies the chance to build better relationships and to show consumers that they care about their opinions. Facebook also allows for the companies to gain a deeper understanding of how they are perceived online via direct contact with consumers. Each business Facebook Page should showcase the value of their individual brand and share valid information to emphasize the company’s position as an educated leader in their industry.

 
If you have the time to devote to building and using your social media for marketing, Facebook may have unlimited potential for your business. Before you consider how you will leverage your contacts on Facebook, it is important to learn the etiquette appropriate for social networking. Unlike traditional advertising and marketing, you do not want to simply broadcast your message, but instead influence your fans by grabbing their interest and developing an active community to enhance your brand.  

Here are some important things to remember before creating your Facebook business page:

-Set Boundaries- It is a good idea to have a code of ethics guideline available to all employees to use as a reference for their social activities online. Also remember the importance of transparency and establishing honesty and integrity up front while interacting online in association with your company. Once you lose your credibility, it is pretty hard to get back.

-Create an Effective Profile Page - Give users a reason to want to become a fan of your page and to become an active member. Take advantage of applications such as the discussion board or YouTube video box to add appealing content to your page.

-Be Consistent and Frequent- The most successful and credible social media campaigns promote a strong message that is frequently heard and consistent in tone and voice. This helps consumers connect the dots from a series of your company’s marketing efforts; this leads to an increase in sales potential and sharper brand awareness.   

- Measure Analytics-Tracking these metrics over time can help you measure the ROI of using Facebook and be smarter about how to utilize Facebook as an ongoing part of your overall marketing strategy.

Bottom Line: Facebook has quickly transformed from a fad to a highly effective business tool. If you are willing to commit the needed time and effort to develop a Facebook strategy, go ahead and build a Facebook presence and start the conversation. What do you have to lose? You never know where your next business deal may come from!

Optimized Website Content is Now Normal

Years ago, on an Internet that barely resembles ours today, “search engine optimization” was new and represented a genuine advantage to those leading edge firms that utilized their website as an essential piece of a marketing strategy.  Today, an optimized site is no longer an advantage, it is the basic commodity required to even play in the search game.

In the early SEO years, you could divide most businesses with an online presence into two camps.  There were those early adopters that “got it” and aggressively pursued positioning themselves with SERP through keyword analysis and an optimization strategy and there were those that didn’t really think the web was that important to their business. (Of course many firms did not even have websites but that’s a different story.)

The got-it firms knew that search was getting stronger and that online marketing would replace or at the minimum greatly impact a significant amount of the offline marketing currently in place.  Other firms typically didn’t put much credit into using the web for lead generation or sales production.  The goal for the not-yet-getting-its was simply to HAVE a website.  In their mind, if they were online they were doing just fine. Just like having a business phone number, having a URL became another element on their business card.  The got-its had the URL on their card too, but they wanted their URL, like their business phone, to be constantly ringing with leads and sales.

Today’s got-its battling for page one rankings of course have gone well beyond search engine optimization and on-site SEO efforts.  The leading edge is further and further out there.  For most competitive search terms, every site you compete with not only has a well optimized on-site plan but also has active and engaging campaigns off site as well.  These campaigns, whether through microsites, blogs, videos or other viral efforts create significant and powerful user traffic that completes the cycle of great page with great content to great links from a supportive community to great on-site traffic to great authority which creates great serp.

What has SEO become? An optimized site is now commonplace, basic and ubiquitous.   The ability to compete for traffic today relies more upon how well you know your marketplace, how well you compete webpage by webpage and how well you develop an audience or community that supports your cause.

So, if you have a classic SEO strategy in place, today, that means you are… average.  But hey, that’s not a bad place to start.  Recognize that there are clear and established pathways regarding what to do next.  Just look at the got-its of today.  They’re easy to find.