Tips, Tricks and Technology How To's

A good SEO strategy is the difference between your business easily being found online and getting lost in the noise of thousands of other businesses trying to stand out. With Google’s ever-changing algorithm, it can be difficult to know what’s effective here and now.

In 2013, success in SEO hinges on businesses putting together a robust combination strategy that brings together an integrated web of great content, credible links, and social signals. Each of these pieces supports the other, providing tremendous value to readers, building your authority and brand value, and distributing your content across new channels. Here are the highlights of what to think about in terms of each of the three pillars of great SEO.

Read More: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2013/05/23/the-3-pillars-of-seo-in-2013-content-links-and-social-media/

Excerpted from article by HubSpot:

"Landing pages are a fundamental -- and undeniable -- part of a sucessful inbound marketing strategy. They are the hub of your lead generation efforts, and that's why every campaign you run and offer you create should be tied to a custom landing page -- as opposed to an ambigious homepage where visitors have to guess what to do next.

So to help you build good looking and high-converting landing pages, we wanted to share some design-related best practices.

1) Get to the point.
We all know people have short attention spans -- so why aren’t we considering that in landing page creation?
So when designing your landing pages, get straight to the point. People came to the page for a reason, so make sure you address that reason clearly and succinctly by highlighting the value of what you're offering and how it addresses their needs, interests, or problems.

2) Use contrasting colors.
Keep in mind that you always want your main call-to-action (CTA) to really POP off your landing page. So when you're encouraging visitors to fill out a form and click on that 'submit' button, make sure it's easy for visitors to see where they should complete that action. That's why using complementary and contrasting colors is a great way to call a visitor's attention to exactly where you want it.

3) Stamp on a logo.
Keep your brand top of mind when they're downloading your content and offers by making sure the viewer knows exactly where they are. All your landing pages should have your logo placed strategically on the page.

4) Avoid visual clutter.
While displaying extravagant visuals on your landing pages may sound like a fabulous idea, oftentimes it distracts the reader from the main point of the landing page, creation more friction on the landing page instead of supporing conversion.

5) Never underestimate formatting.
Formatting is probably the easiest design best practice to follow when crafting good-looking landing pages. It's also one that can go a really long way with little effort. Clearly laying out your headlines, images, copy, form, etc. can help you highlight the value of your offer and tee up conversion by creating a visual-friendly user experience that guides visitors to complete the conversion.

6) Add social proof.
This adds third-party credibility to your content and offers and can help boost conversions. Do you have any case studies or testimonials you can pull quotes from? Furthermore, try searching through social networks like Twitter, Facebook -- or another social platform of your choice! Consider embedding tweets from users who have downloaded your content and said nice things about it, or asking if you can quote someone who left a nice message on your Facebook page.

7) Be consistent.
A sense of consistency can help the end user know how to navigate your pages over time, eliminating the friction caused by having to get the lay of the land each time, and resulting in drop offs in conversion rates.

Each tip is analyzed with more information and examples.

Read full original article and download 79 free landing page templates here:
http://blog.hubspot.com/7-landing-page-design-tips

Excerpted from article by Mark Walker and published on Content Marketing Institute:
"In this post we focus on executing your video content strategy, maximizing impact, measuring results, and ensuring that you create sustainable campaigns that add long-term value to your organization.

Step 1: Execution
The first thing you do is take your overall campaign and break it down into single, discrete messages, and hold yourself to one per video, where possible.
You then craft a storyboard around that message, with core components including:
- An attention-grabbing introduction/ initial characterization/ scene setting
- A setup/ problem/ challenge
- An action/ journey/ discovery
- A resolution/ punch line/ solution
- A call to action

With the core message laid out and a storyboard in place, it’s time to call in the professionals to help shape and refine them, and get you toward the finished product.

Step 2: Choose the right distribution channels
When considering how to get your video content out to the right audiences, you need to consider a few options. The obvious one is to place it on your own website. This should be done of course, but this alone is not enough.
A second option is YouTube, which is a great low-cost option to put your video content in front of potentially hundreds of millions of viewers. t seems like a no-brainer, but again, there are some limitations.
Therefore, you need to look for a more focused, business-centric distribution channel that gives you more control over how you capture leads, encourage direct sales, and represent your brand around the video.

Step 3: Encourage people to watch your videos
Once your video content has been sent out into the world through the right distribution channels, the next step is to encourage people to watch them, and this can be broken down into three distinct parts:
- Use SEO to help people find you on your chosen channels;
- Tell them why they should watch it;
- Offer social proof to overcome their skepticism.

Step 4: Make it spread virally
Once you’ve convinced someone to watch your video(s), the next stage is to encourage them to send it around their network, creating a viral effect that could considerably reduce your own marketing costs, and increase the number of views.

Step 5: Optimize for conversions
If you want the viewer to take an action other than sharing the video with their network, you need to optimize for conversions.
Here is how you can do that:
- Include a call to action...
- Keep it simple...
- Measure...
- Make it easy...
- Make it interactive...

Step 6: Maximize your video’s impact

Step 7: Analyze the results
Measuring success will ultimately come down to what your original purpose is, and what you decided the outcome should be, but here are four common examples:
- Sales and revenue...
- Leads...
- Market engagement...
- Brand awareness...

Step 8: Bring it all together, and repeat
Just like you can’t hope to create one product and reap the rewards forever, it’s the same for your video content campaigns. What was fresh last month won’t be next month, so you need to keep repeating the process, each time learning and getting better at it as you measure and refine your output.

My suggestion would be to aim for something new at least once every month, and base your campaigns on quarterly or four-monthly cycles..."

Each step is analyzed with more and detailed information. Read full, long and interesting article here:
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/05/execute-video-content-strategy/

"Google Alerts have become a critical part of my business from brand monitoring to topic monitoring, but it may be going away."

Gain valuable website tips based on an eye tracking study done at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. It's all about where we look on a site.

Excerpted from article intro by KISSmetrics:

"How do you successfully market your business on the world’s largest video site and #2 search engine?

This guide will provide answers to those questions and much more. Whether you are a YouTube beginner or a seasoned pro, this post will serve as an in-depth guide for marketing on YouTube.

YouTube is evolving from a “video-based site to a channels-based site where subscriptions rule.” With the new One Channel layout, your branding will work across all screens, you can turn non-subscribers into loyal fans, and you can show off more of your video content..."

The article is very long, but it is analyzed with a lot of information.

Read full article here:

http://blog.kissmetrics.com/2013-youtube-marketing-guide/