Real Estate Marketing SEO Blog

SEO'ing in a Social World

SEO is dead sang the "Social Evangelist". Um Yah riiiiiiigt.

SEO is as important than ever. Here is the reason. Social media is tied to Google, Bing and Yahoo. How?

Bing serves results for Yahoo. Bing pulls much of their data from Facebook. In fact, it is believed that results are influenced by some of the data that Facebook provides to Bing. Like "Likes". I suppose this is a good time to do the gratuitous:

 

Likes are the New Links

Although Google does not supposedly get as much data as Bing gets, they too track likes and also your links in Twitter. Never mind no follow tags in Twitter.  The social evangelistas will claim it has something to do with so called "social authority". That's just propaganda called links. Its always about links. 

There is another item that just might be effecting your sites reputation in the SERPS. But I will save that for another day.

Plus One: Likes are the new links Since posting Google added their own twist to social search. Called +1. It is their version of the Like button. I have yet to see it in the SERPS. Lets see what happens. More commentary later. Meanwhile here is the "official +1 Trailer"

 

How to Succeed in Social Media

Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr

I hate to make like there are rules to social media. As it is like in the real world everything is contextual. However, in business I think these rules may serve you well.

This advice given to a Health and Beauty company n Facebook:

Enage me, dont sell me.

I am interested in staying young, no wrinkes, no fat and living forever.

Show/sell me on the lifestyle so I want the magic pill.

Don't sell me the magic pill so I want the lifestyle. It does not work that way.

 

In other words do not ask me to enter your conversation instead enter my conversation going on for real or in my head.

New Realities of SEO and Marketing: What Celebrities Can Teach You

Image via CrunchBase

Of late you will notice this blog writing about Reality TV as well as A list stars like Charlie Sheen.

These stories are really about getting rejected faster so that you can get to a yes.

The reason written these is so that you get that we live in a new reality. Most of your public. Your marketplace has the attention span of viewers of a Kim Kardashian TV spot.

It used to be said that the USA Today was written to the level of a grade schooler. At some level wouldn't you agree so is our entertainment?

Reality TV Nation and Secret of a Social Media Guru

We are with all our internet toys, all our gadgets, all our so called sophistication  and it seems we are worse at communicating than ever. We get thousands of messages slammed onto our world daily. And I still see young couples on dates answering texts and cell phones. Most sophisticated thing I have seen of late is sitting down at a business meeting and the owner of a huge transportation company telling everyone to turn off their cell phones. Thats leadership.

I recently wrote that if you want to know the secret to a marketers success. Watch what he does, not so much what he says. Check out the style.

Humans like shiny objects. On the net we only get a few seconds to keep a prospects attention. Gary V throws an F bomb a minute as he pontificates in his oh so cool Gen X oratory stylings. Seth Godin sounds big time smart and cool at the same time.Tim Ferris uses all the cool tools, living how he want, on his own terms. So new generation.

That is provocative, that is style, that is persona that a public wants. Their public. There are others that think they are full of hooey.

They are modern day rockstars in an age where the closest we get to a rockstar is American Idol, a Tribute Band, or when the Stones go on their thirtieth retirement tour.

The Charlie Ultimatum

 If you think Charlie Sheen has been "winning" media attention these past few weeks, you'd be right.(Reuters) 

Charlie Sheen is dominating the internet. Like it or not. He has taken over the net and social media.  He gets it. He may be stark raving mad. He may be tweeking. But he is talking directly to the people who matter. The fans.

Like Lady Gaga, Like Kim Kardashian, you either hate this multi million dollar man or you don't don't. Polarization works. The execs from CBS are at a severe disadvantage. Charlie has fans. They don't. He is putting on a show. After all. This is show business.

Charlies SEO

The point in all of this is that Charlie's SEO is about as organic and real as it gets. In fact, that is what social media can be. The links to Charlie comes naturally. His persona spreads virally. In many ways he is painting out a reputation management campaign.Despite how crazy he seems.

This is where SEO and social mesh. Videos go viral. Words go viral.

Can we look at some of the numbers. And these are a bit old from HitWise:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst for the Global Language Monitor:

Payack used an algorithm to analyze the top 20 persons (or things) of interest on blogs, Internet-only news sites and social media sites like Twitter and YouTube between January 1 and March 8, 2011. Sheen was first, followed by Apple's iPad, Lady Gaga, Obama and Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin.

Some promoters get the promotional value of Sheen. Concert promoters Live Nation has agreed a merchandising and licensing contract with Sheen.  

So what does all of this teach us? Be a nut? No. Be out there. Be visible. Be provocative. Be  out there and use whats available to spread your company meme. In the marketplace you must be rejected by some so others accept you.

Some are just more willing to get more rejections faster than others.

 

A Fast Strategy to Dominate Social Media

The Internet is a vast plethora of opportunity.

Do you know that feeling you had on Twitter the first time you joined in?

Well that is what most businesses start out on any social media platform. In fact, most businesses are like a boy at a 7th grade dance for the first time.

Let me give you the single best way to use Twitter. This exercise will also get you closer to your own core proposition that you offer your market.

Answer these three questions:

1. What pain can you help to solve in your market?
2. Visualize yourself as one of your prospects and enter that pain that they are trying to solve. Place that pain into the form of a question.
3. Now go to search.twitter.com and ask that question.

Notice all the conversations going in and around your "medicine" you offer the marketplace.

Now go in and socialize. Help them out with advice. It is no different than the real world. If you start coming off salesy you are dead in the water. Build some social value first.

All of the social media is really a digital Chamber of Commerce meeting. Enter their conversations and you will hold much more value so that the "friends" will want to find out more about you.

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Undressing Lady Gaga's Social Strategy

Or Why Lady Gaga has more friends than you and me.

She has created a cult. OK call it a tribe or fans if that makes you feel better.

Look at the KISS ARMY, Harley Davidson, Jimmy Buffett's Parrot Heads. Rabid fans. The Dead Heads follow their favorite band from town to town. Dear Lord don't talk smack about the Aggies to a Texas A & M fan.  All of these fans share many similarities in common.

Lets consider the elements of her cult marketing:

• Secret Signs-Her fans and Gaga send their secret hand signs towards each other during her shows.
• A Name-Her fans are called Little Monsters
• Provocative-She stands out (Remember AIDA : Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) She definitely gets your attention like it or not. From her sultry Britney Spears like attire to her meat dress and Stigmata enactment. And each new appearance comes with a new outfit.
• Purposeful-In her interviews (which you can see in the hidden House Blogger area you can get free access below this article) she proves that she is scripted and rehearsed. Knowing exactly what she is doing. Almost like there is a strategy to her persona. Her song titles match her persona. The song  "Born this way" as a title an example implies difference and separation key in causing polarization. 
• Mystery-You never know what you are going to get when she shows up. We are all drawn to the dark. And in the House Blogger Back Room,  I go into more detail how this serves her marketing.
• Authority-She is the cult leader and demands the attention of not just her followers but her detractors too. Much of that is because she is on purpose.
• Polarizing-If you are not a fan you still more than likely have an opinion of Miss Gaga. And more than likely it is distaste or idolation. You either love or hate her as they say. And that is simply good marketing. If you hate her, she can careless about her other than to mark out what her fans are not. This effect is somewhat paradoxical. As the naysayers often times give power to the smaller set of the population or cult. Often times giving power to the less powerful culture.

All of the above is what helps to mark out and serve the community of Gagaville. When I think of this polarization thing which is really just marking out a tribe. I think of when the punk rockers were the rebels of my day when I was coming up.

They were anti establishment. So they paradoxically protested establishment by creating their own.

Ranking Your Facebook FanPage in Google

A client asked me to tell him if he should go with a vanity URL on Facebook. He is worried it will hurt his ranking of the fan page in Google.

The thinking is that his fanpage is separated by dashes like this facebook.com/fan-page/1234.

Whereas a vanity url can only be this facebook.com/fanpage/ or facebook.com/fan.page/

I give my opinion on this video. I use my own personal profile and my Fan Pages as examples in this video.

• http://www.facebook.com/tim.okeefe
• http://www.facebook.com/spider.juice.technologies

And as of this moment it seems Google cached my new url structure on Feb. 17th.

 

And the ranking has actually stayed in the same position since the video. Now to be completely intellectually honest we have to realize that my clients phrase and name of his fan page has more competitors than a brand name like mine.  So we have to consider that fact. However, I do believe it will stay the same if all else is equal withing Facebook. (relatively same friends counts (links) and same inbound links from outside Facebook to the Fan page)

Facebook's Shot Heard Round the World

Image via CrunchBase

 The recent uprising in Egypt came from a single Facebook post.

There is another battle.

The fight between Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Facebook.

Yahoo has kind of succumbed to Bing. As Bing provides data to Yahoo.

Bing is also in bed with Facebook and has access to all those like buttons.

Therefore, these three engines are in an alliance to take on Google.

The War was recently declared.

The fight will be bloody and many will lose their shirts.

However, the scraps will be plenty for those who know how to benefit from this World War III.

Our most recent installment is SEO is DEAD.

Don't wait to find out about these changes. Get ahead of the trend so you can benefit from this online battle. 

 

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Did SEO Just Die?

Image via Wikipedia

 A War Has erupted online between the major three engines and Facebook.

Interestingly Google fires CEO Eric Schmidt and then founder Larry Page (of Page Rank fame) takes over the helm. And immediately the search giant took a massive shot at Bing's (Microsoft's search engine) reputation.

Through an elaborate "sting" operation, Google supposedly caught Bing scraping their results. (Of course that is how Google gets its own results. Scrape, crawl.But I digress). Google then accused Bing as "copy catters" through a well organized campaign to besmirch Bing's reputation.

Google Tells Facebook and Bing: "It's On!"

This is nothing short of a shot across the search industry bow. Thus, making the new era of search wars official.  This is all covered in the report. This whole act would have been  below Google's better nature a year ago. Yah "do no evil". Whatever. The fight is starting to get real folks.

This war will leave a trail of blood. But it will also leave some real winners if they understand what is really going on.

I have already loaded the House Blogger Exclusive section a Social Media Post and a revealing introspection into the Facebook Phenomenon.

We explore Google's Weaknesses and its strengths. Soon to have another revealing report Is SEO Dead?

 

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How Sarah Palin Sells More Cell Phones For Liberals

The above graphic is from an insert that came with a sales letter to join Credo Mobil.They are obviously going after one side of the political aisle. Which means they are not going after the other side. In fact they are pushing that side away from them. This is actually part of a letter I received the other day. Download Polarize-credo letter.

Polarization

Funny thing about polarization. If you agree with the above you probably are not in the least bit offended. And in fact you may feel energized and vilified. While the conservative ilk definitely will find this offensive and insulting. No matter which side you are on I urge you to notice any emotional response that you feel and observe rather than react.

Instead understand the dynamics and manipulation. This is marketing. This is as harsh as it gets. But it works. 

A Content Distribution Model

I am currently working with a few clients on getting their Fan Pages over at Facebook going. And as I have mentioned in my last few posts. I think to make a post, article a singular event is simply not worth it. I do not care how big Facebook is.

To post a blog. To write an article and leave it one single place is a waste.  And it may be why many site owners do not write very good articles. They figure, "well only a few people will see this so why bother?"

When you can get your article in total or in part out to hundreds of places on the web then it is worth it. I go over all of this in detail in the Publishing Model.

You see. If we are to be online we need to treat our activities like a publisher and not a blogger, or Facebooker, or Social Media zealot. Ramping up our strategy allows us to leverage all of these tools and more. The chart below is a simple start at getting a publishing strategy going for you.