Talks from the other keynotes were fantastic; Sahar Hashemi, founder of Coffee Republic, was particularly inspirational in her talk about being an entrepreneur, Professor Malcolm McDonald‘s gave a great talk about the truth about marketing with some very funny quotes, some of which I had to list here:

• “The good thing about being mediocre is that you’re always at your best”
• “An increase of 100% on nothing, is still nothing”
• “You don’t analyse the ROI (return on investment) of the wings on an aircraft”

Helen Jeremiah, Head of Marketing for Boots, also gave a great talk explaining the history of Boots and their aims and philosophies behind their current marketing strategies.

If you’re interested in web analytics, come and see me speak in London at A4U Expo on the 14th October – you can use my special offer code SEOCHOC10 for 10% off!

Related posts:

1. I’m Speaking at A4UExpo London 2009
2. Online Marketing and Me: 2008 to 2009
3. 5 Online Marketing Motivators

My SEO Workshop Slides from the Chartered Institute of Marketing Conference is a post from: Search Engine Chocolate

The jist of it is that SEOs feel that big brands are now being favoured more in organic search listings and that smaller brands are having a hard time. But blaming Google for handpicking brands to be boosted in the SERPs (search engine results pages) is false and taking the easy way out.

Generating Brand Buzz

Up until now SEOs have used link building techniques to increase the authority of websites in search engines. But the knock-on effect of Vince is that those who previously used the easy route of mass link building through spamming and paid links will find those techniques no longer produce results. This means that only good quality links are considered – those that are usually created by people naturally linking to the site because they want to.

One reason why SEOs may think that big brands are being favoured is that people naturally talk about them online and in doing so, link to them. Smaller brands on the other hand are less likely to have that buzz generated about them naturally, and therefore now struggle to gain inbound links and authority to compete with the bigger brands.

SEOs should therefore work to generate a buzz about the brand in other ways. This means that they must become better SEOs through considering the whole (on- and offline) marketing mix for their clients rather than concentrating purely on standalone SEO or quick wins.

1. Trending Topics

One way to generate a buzz would be to publish articles or blog posts that centre around a spiking topic in the news. In order to find out which topics are trending take a look at Google Insights for Search or Google Trends. Here’s an example of Google Insights for Search illustrating how searches relating to ‘Michael Jackson’ peaked a couple of weeks ago:

Targeting trending keywords has two benefits: content based upon the topic may see a boost in SERPs and also there are higher volumes of searches for those terms which would result in more traffic to your site.

2. Creating the Buzz Yourself

If publishing content around an existing buzz topic is not possible or relevant to the site in question, the buzz can be created around the brand itself (or product/offer). This is where a combination of offline channels such as TV advertising and online display advertising or YouTube videos can be used to create a viral marketing campaign that captures interest and sparks online searches.

The key is to be creative. The best way to generate a buzz is to engage your target audience and give them something that will entertain, inform or significantly help them in some way. In the UK, take the Cadbury’s gorilla (chocolate) or Compare the Meerkat (price comparison) as completely off-the-wall examples of creative viral campaigns. These have also done extremely well in universal search thanks to placing their TV ads on YouTube, and the buzz has even spread to social networks like Facebook where there are groups dedicated to the campaigns (The Cadbury’s Gorilla has over 120,000 fans and Compare the Meerkat has nearly half a million fans).

The Lesson

Forget SEO as a standalone product; that approach simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Integrate SEO with other marketing channels and watch your campaigns take off.

Related posts:

1. Google Buzz Features Review: what’s all this Buzz about then?

Gorillas, Meerkats & Michael Jackson: Are You Creating Brand Buzz? is a post from: Search Engine Chocolate

It brings me to say this: get offline! I (probably like many of you reading this) spend a lot of time reading news websites and blogs, using social media to connect to people and brushing up on my skills online. But nothing substitutes actually meeting other professionals in the flesh and sharing your experiences. Unique and exciting opportunities arise from relationships forged in person.

Never networked before? Don’t panic! Most events such as Nott Tuesday have a really relaxed atmosphere – just be yourself! As a first networking event I highly recommend going down to your local Twestival charity meet tomorrow night (events in 175+ cities worldwide, I am helping organise the Nottingham Twestival). Why? It’s about as informal and fun as a networking events get PLUS it’s for charity! If you use Twitter now, it’ll be like meeting your friends for a drink after work. Except better because you may meet a potential new business partner, employer, colleague or friend!

Networking is also a great way to air new business or career ideas too – so many great minds in one room; it’s the perfect forum.

Here’s a handful of other organisations with networking events to try:
(These are UK based – if you can recommend events outside the UK, feel free leave a comment!)

• The Chartered Institute of Marketing: marketing-centric seminars, workshops and networking events held nationwide.
• Business Link: seminars and events for businesses on anything from starting up to tax to IT and eCommerce.
• eBusiness Clubs: nationwide events on a wide range of topics including marketing, business, legal issues and business advice.

Related posts:

1. Online Marketing and Me: 2008 to 2009
2. My SEO Workshop Slides from the Chartered Institute of Marketing Conference

Online Marketeers and Technology Professionals: Get Offline! is a post from: Search Engine Chocolate

If you have a pay-per-click campaign: take the best performing ad from each ad group and make a slight variation of it. It only takes a minute but could improve the click through rate of your campaign even further.

Start or join a discussion on online marketing: use your blog, Twitter or even FriendFeed. Interacting with other online marketers can be very rewarding and motivating and it’s a great way to learn something new.

Set up an A/B test: use Google Website Optimiser to test a change on your website and find out which version produces the best results. Get higher conversion rates with little effort involved.

Find out 3 new things about your website’s visitors. Use (or install) the analytics software on your website and use the information to improve the targeting of your campaigns. Some ideas:

• Which websites are referring the most visitors?
  • Exactly which web pages?
  • What anchor text?
• What time of day does your website get the most visitors?
  • Is there a pattern?
  • What does this say about your visitors?
• Which pages do visitors spend the most time on, and which pages give the highest exit rate?
  

If you use Google Analytics, take some time out to explore your website with the Site Overlay feature. (In the left navigation bar, this can be found under ‘Content’). Learn about navigation paths through your website by seeing which links are most popular on each page.

And just for fun: take a look at the humourous SEO Motivators on Wiep.net.

Related posts:

1. Online Marketing and Me: 2008 to 2009
2. My SEO Workshop Slides from the Chartered Institute of Marketing Conference
3. Website Referrals: Who’s Linking to You?

5 Online Marketing Motivators is a post from: Search Engine Chocolate

2008 began by making the decision to move into online marketing. Having previously been a professional website designer for over 8 years, the step into online marketing was one of my best decisions yet. My first step was to enroll on an online course with the Chartered Institute of Marketing and gained a Professional Development Award in e-Marketing in July. Becoming a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing alone has opened many new doors; I’ve been to as many seminars, workshops and networking events as I possibly can and loved each one as they’ve either given me the chance to learn something new, meet other marketeers or teach people about Internet marketing.

As a web marketing consultant I also became a Qualified Google Advertising Professional. Simply studying for the exam was a great experience – it’s not often you have the chance to get a qualification from one of the key players in your industry. I also created web marketing packages to offer to clients for services such as search engine optimisation, Google AdWords, email marketing and more, and gave one-on-one training sessions.

One of my most exciting achievements of 2008 has to have been speaking at web marketing seminars. It’s something I’d never thought I’d want to do, but I got an incredible kick out of it. Having the opportunity to actually talk to a room of professionals about their understanding, concerns and needs for online marketing was fascinating. I came away able to drastically improve my approach to my current and prospective online marketing clients by understanding them better and improving our packages and support.

I’d had experience of search engine optimisation (SEO) as a web designer in the past, but never had the chance to focus 100% on it, research it to the depth I have now or create and implement an SEO marketing plan. In 2008 I did exactly that and got a new website ranking on page 1 in Google for its top 10 keywords, from initially appearing on page 10, in just 1 month. A personal best (so far – watch this space!) and something I wasn’t even sure was possible in such a short time frame, but with a lot of planning and hard work, including with the great team I’ve been working with, we did it.

So what does 2009 hold for online marketing? I’ve been using more and more relatively new services such as Twitter, and as everyone is predicting, those services will undoubtedly become more and more widespread. It won’t be long before I’ll be creating web marketing packages for my clients that will include them in their overral marketing plan. Customer relationship management and online PR is made so much easier with those services, and taking advantage of them will be key to keeping a competitive edge online in 2009.

As for my career? Hopefully, much more of the same rewarding experiences and achievements. I’ve learned that qualifications in marketing are great for creating firm foundations of knowledge, but it’s the experiences that are the most valuable. Therefore, I’m going to be grabbing every opportunity that comes my way with both hands and giving it my all. But also, just as online marketing creates a unique two-way communication channel between businesses and clients, I’m going to make sure I give as much as I get in this industry by contributing where I can to research, development and training in online marketing and become a true online marketing evangelist!

What are your career goals or online marketing predictions for 2009?

Related posts:

1. Online Marketeers and Technology Professionals: Get Offline!
2. 5 Online Marketing Motivators
3. My SEO Workshop Slides from the Chartered Institute of Marketing Conference

Online Marketing and Me: 2008 to 2009 is a post from: Search Engine Chocolate

Twitter can be used as an online marketing tool, not only to promote services or products, but also aid online PR and customer relationship management. Below are my top ten fundamentals Twitter business users can’t afford to ignore:

1. Businesses: follow your followers.

Customers can only use the direct messaging system on Twitter if you are following them, so be available for them to contact you. Also, by following your customers you can read their tweets (including replies to you) and therefore understand what concerns they currently have. This may open up new marketing opportunities, but most importantly, it means you can respond to queries or complaints positively and publicly, thus enhancing your online PR. Twitter is a fantastic opportunity for online customer service and relationship management.

2. Twitter is a ‘pull’ medium. What’s in it for your followers?

Twitter users select to follow you, not the other way around. If a customer of your’s has chosen to follow you make sure you reward them for doing so. Twitip has an excellent article on adding value to your Tweets. Give your followers a reason to follow you, enhance their lives and reward them for their interest. Some ideas are providing summaries and links to your news or blog articles, or giving positive helpful tips relating to your products or services.

3. Use your full name or business name

As Ryan Carson from Carsonified tweeted, use your real name on Twitter so people can connect and relate to you. A nickname or online name, unless it’s a well established brand, isn’t as easy to trust.

4. Be honest

Businesses using Twitter will reap the most rewards if they are honest with their customers. That includes admitting problems such as service down times. Naturally you will want to keep your tweets positive to promote yourself, but Twitter works best when you are honest rather than pretentious.

5. Keep (mostly) on-topic

Your followers will expect you to post tweets that are mostly related to you or your products or services. However, occasionally it might be appropriate to lighten the mood and break from the routine. For example, sharing a link to a humourous website (related to your sector if possible), or seasonal greetings. Adding a personal touch and character to tweets can make you appear more approachable. Be careful not to over do it though, you want to remain professional.

6. Make use of the Twitter Search

It may take a while before you attract many followers, so visit the Twitter Search page frequently to learn about your customers and what people are saying about you. Try a search for your business name, website address or even related services to see what the latest buzz is for competitors.

7. Thank your followers

Frequently overlooked, thanking someone for following you or when someone ‘retweets’ what you have said can go a long way. Remember to keep all your messages personalised. A generic automatic reply could have a negative effect.

8. Provide unique insight from your perspective

You have unique views, experiences and knowledge. Share that with your followers and distinguish yourself from the crowd.

9. Back to basics: good grammar please!

It should go without saying that all your tweets should be checked for spelling or grammatical errors. Some shortening of words due to the 140 character limit of tweets is acceptable, but should be last resort.

10. Update

Update regularly to keep the conversation alive. Now you’ve got followers, don’t let them forget about you. Twitter is yet another way to enhance your online presence and build your brand, so make sure you take advantage of it.

Related posts:

1. Online Marketing and Me: 2008 to 2009
2. Online Marketeers and Technology Professionals: Get Offline!

10 Twitter Fundamentals for Businesses is a post from: Search Engine Chocolate