Boston Tweetups Equal Joselin Mane

Podcast interview with Joselin Mane. Joselin is a former IBMer who runs an internet marketing consultancy and a Tweetup service called Boston Tweetups. Joselin is a colorful character. You’ll enjoy meeting him in this blog post and the video links below.

I met Joselin at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Foxboro, MA in October where we connected very quickly. We both run inbound marketing agencies and we talked shop for a while and hit it off. I knew Joselin would be a great guest on my podcast show because he has so many interesting stories about Tweetups and SEO and social media marketing. Don’t limit yourself to reading this blog post. You should listen to the full podcast interview (above).

Tweetups

What is a Tweetup? The term evolved from meetups where people organized and promoted events around a topic. A Tweetup is an event that originates from people who organized it through Twitter.  A common example is when people who attend a conference get together in social settings and the event is totally organized and promoted organically through Twitter.

Why Should Marketers Consider Organizing a Tweetup?

Tweetups are very social. Most marketers can get huge value by bringing people together and engaging and networking. It’s common knowledge that we do business with people we like and trust. And, meeting face to face speeds up the relationship and trust building process.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s a B2B or B2B company, the face to face aspect of making connections is very powerful. Tweetups are all about building relationships. While a Tweetup can have a specific purpose such a cause or product announcement, it can also just be purely social. Joselin uses Eventbrite to announce, organize and offer advice on Tweetups through his Boston Tweetup service.

Joseline’s Top 3 Do’s and Don’ts for Tweetup Organizers

Do’s

1. Decide on the theme first.
2. Attend other people’s Tweetups.
3. Document everything.

Don’t’s

1. Don’t forget the human element.
2. Don’t change too many things once promotion begins.
3. Don’t neglect the details and be sure to plan ahead.

Boston Tweetup

Joselin missed an event last year and decided to research events and when he did he found nine event calendars. Joselin then consolidated them into one calendar for Boston social media and marketing events. He set up a blog and shared this calendar and started Tweeting about the calendar. Eventually Joselin’s calendar became recognized as the authority for Boston social media events.  One thing Joselin did consistently was promote other people’s events asking for nothing in return. Joselin has proved to be a thought leader in Boston through his social media event calendar.

Next Boston Tweetup December 3rd

Joselin’s website for Boston Tweetup includes a video summary of each Boston Tweetup event.  He also offers a poll for each Tweetup where people can vote on the Tweetup events and post comments. Joseline’s unselfish leadership on social media calendaring has resulted in new opportunities including attending Celtics games in box seats as well as meeting people from NBC which resulted in an assignment. Who knows, we may see Joseline one morning on NBC’s Today Show talking about his Tweetups. I wouldn’t be surprised. I also won’t be surprised to hear that his big Tweetup on December 3rd will be the biggest of the year!

Video for SEO

Joselin helps clients with SEO using best practices and a video strategy. Google is always interested in presenting recent content in its search results. He points out that videos get indexed very rapidly by search engines. But, search engines can not index the actual content in a video. Rather, they index the meta data in videos. Google has to index videos rapidly because there are so many videos being uploaded every day.  Joselin creates customized video for clients and uploads them to about 150 social media profiles. Each video is tagged and uploaded to each of these social media sites. He uses geo tagging to appeal to Google’s Universal Search features.  Joselin interviews his client and captures their value proposition in a short video and propagates it across about 150 social sites. He releases videos on dozens of video sites and on various social sites like StumbleUpon, Delicious and Twine. One entry can result in dozens of entries in search results.

SEO Has Become CSO

Joselin’s approach is an example of my sentiment that SEO is becoming CSO (content search optimization). By creating a broad content footprint that gets spread across the web very methodically marketers can create strong reach and great search results. Joselin likens this to a mall and the stores in the mall. A storefront exists inside a mall. The social sites such as Facebooks and YouTube are malls. People enter these malls and can see the content in each “mall.”

Cool Glasses

I asked Joselin about the cool glasses he wears. He said an optometrist friend of his recommended these glasses. They have no legs. Rather they use a short spring that rests on each temple. I’m sure it took a little getting used to but these glasses are very interesting. I’ve never seen anyone else wearing these glasses. They are symbolic of Joselin’s unique personality. He’s one of a kind!

Below is my interview with Joselin at the Inbound Marketing Summit in October. Enjoy…

Take the Marketing 2.0 Challenge

Are you up for the challenge? Marketing 2.0 is a mindset. It’s all about Inbound Marketing! Think like a publisher and a collaborator.  The two pillars are content marketing and relationship building. Social media is a communication channel, not a magic wand. But, without a strategy you’ll fail!

The questions in the Marketing 2.0 Challenge are designed to challenge and inspire you. After you review them add your comments below and engage with your peers around the world who are invited to participate in this conversation. When adding a comment preface it with Q#. For example, Q3 for question 3.

Let’s get started…

Q1. What is your Inbound Marketing strategy?

Your Inbound Marketing strategy should uniquely comprise of online and offline strategies that engage your target customers through content and relationship building so that they will be attracted to your business. Tactics may include SEO, SEM, blogging, social networking and other forms of engaging content that produces trust and appeal to your target buyer.

Q2. What are the staffing implications of an Inbound Marketing strategy?

The staffing implications of your Inbound Marketing strategy are huge. Staff must have a mindset for Inbound Marketing. Applying the outdated style of shouting at customers doesn’t work in the new Marketing 2.0 model. Your staff must think like publishers and collaborators.

Q3. How do you manage social media in your business?

Manage social media in your business first by listening and engaging in relevant communities. Develop a strategy and assign social media platforms to staff according to strengths and interests. If necessary get outside help but always maintain an authentic and human voice in social media.

Q4. What is your content marketing strategy?

Your content marketing strategy should be unique to your business. Produce and re-purpose content that meets the criteria of the three E’s; educate, enlighten, entertain. Your content marketing strategy should never end. Content marketing is an ongoing process. Share content on and offline with your community.

Q5. How much emphasis do you place on building relationships online?

The emphasis of building relationships online is an important factor. It comes back to the mindset. Building relationships online with relevant people builds trust and strengthens your brand. Relationships create fans, loyalty and spreads the word about your content your products and your people, all of which produces positive results.

Q6. How do you measure results of your Inbound Marketing strategy?

To measure Inbound Marketing results start by setting goals. Create a baseline picture of “today.” Over time measure the results of your inbound marketing activities. Frequently measure details such as subscriptions, company mentions, referring traffic, sentiment of your brand and of course, progress on your goals.

Q7. What are the risks of an Inbound Marketing strategy?

There are risks in an Inbound Marketing strategy. The biggest risk is not doing it and falling behind your competition. Another big risk is applying yesterday’s mindset to it. This is Marketing 2.0. Avoid doing it the same way you did it in 1.0. Think like a publisher and build relationships and you’ll minimize all risks.

Q8. What are the roles of SEO and SEM in your Inbound Marketing strategy?

Use best practices to develop a sound SEO strategy. Similarly use SEM best practices to avoid over spending. Create landing pages around very specific themes. Test different versions of your landing pages. Measure everything to determine what works and cut non performing keywords and landing pages.

Q9. How do you integrate offline marketing with online marketing in your business?

Integrate offline marketing with online marketing by creating content that can be used in both media channels. The same principles apply. Take this blog post as an example. It is also available as a physical booklet. But the most value you’ll get from it is the user generated conversation on all these questions below.

Q10. What is your Inbound Marketing strategy if your customers don’t spend a lot of time online?

If your customers don’t spend a lot of time online your Inbound Marketing strategy is exactly the same in mindset. The tactics will differ through offline media. You should still aim to educate, enlighten and entertain with your content and be trustworthy and attractive to your community. You can think like a publisher and collaborator offline as well as online.

Add your comments below. Remember to precede each comment with the question number.

How Broad is Your Footprint on the Web?

Create a Broad Footprint on the Web to be Found the way Buyers Search

The first decade of the new millennium is almost over. As I look at the history of marketing on the web over the past two decades I make these big picture observations, which I discuss in my book, Marketing 2.0.

1990 to 2000 – Most businesses developed their first website. Websites were a one way communication medium from the seller to the buyer. Most businesses had little understanding of organic search engine optimization or pay-per-click advertising to “be found” by buyers.  Websites served mostly as an online company brochure. The strategic value of corporate websites was generally low for most businesses.

2000 to 2010 – Most businesses evolved through their second or third generation websites. Strategic value of corporate websites skyrocketed as 24/7 marketing/selling was recognized. Marketing efforts to be found through SEO and paid search marketing have become prominent among businesses of all sizes. Job descriptions and job titles in some marketing organizations include words like “Internet,” “digital,” “online,” “community.”

The Broad Web Footprint

But, there is one aspect of marketing that is not yet mainstream save a few hundred (maybe a few thousand) companies around the world. To be found by buyers, you must create a broad footprint on the web with diverse content. Since there is still one more year and a half left in the decade, there is still time for sellers to jump on this band wagon.

I want to be found by anyone, anywhere in the world, even though I primarily market in U.S. and Canada. And, I certainly DONT’ want to limit where I’m found to Google or Bing or Yahoo (or any search engine).

Sure, being found in Google through organic SEO is very important to me and most businesses. And, pay-per-click advertising (aka SEM), is a terrific way to be found, as long as you’re using best practices.

But, most marketers still think being found on the web means being found in a search engine either in an organic listing, or in a paid (sponsored) listing (PPC). This is a limited view of effective inbound marketing on the web.

Buyers Buy Differently Than They Did Last Decade

I was contacted by a prospective buyer recently. When I asked him how he “found” us his answer was music to my ears. He didn’t remember exactly where he found me. He told me that during the previous week he visited my website, my blog and listened to one of my podcasts. By the time he contacted me, he already had considerable insight into me and my inbound marketing agency. He was ready to speak with me. He was ready to make a buying decision. He had consumed my content long before he called me.

Search Engine Results are Evoloving

The way search engines deliver search results is changing. Google is providing multiple forms of content through “options”.

Bing’s search results are still pretty traditional with links at the top for other content search results:

Kosmix delivers diverse search results. It’s my prediction that before the close of this decade, Kosmix’ search results model will be the norm. Note the prominent display of search result options: Media; News & Blogs; Reviews & Guides; Shopping; Web Search.

The social web has created a conglomeration of platforms where marketers can be found. Buyers are searching for information and finding diverse options of content across many social media platforms. Along the way buyers get influenced by  what others say about sellers.  Sellers who want to compete in the second decade of new millennium must be prepared to have a strong presence with great content across many relevant web platforms. Sellers must build trust and engage relevant communities there with a broad footprint.

Will SEO and PPC become less prominent as methods for being found in the near future? Probably not. I submit the definition of SEO and PPC is evolving. The influence is shifting to buyers. They are the ones who decide whether to contact you based on how effectively you create a broad footprint on the web.

How broad is your footprint on the web?

@berniebay

Long Tail SEO Strategy Delivers Gold

I recently wrote an article for our Optimize newsletter about the importance of aligning goals with plans. The gist of the article is that if you have big goals, your plans better match up or forget about reaching your goals. I used the analogy of an athlete who trains for high levels of performance. Her training program is much more intense than the weekend warrior who trains for local competitions.

As a marketer are you a weekend warrior or are you going for gold at the Olympics? The point to my question is more about developing realistic goals, a winnable plan and measuring your results in comparison to your goals.

As you know, Olympic gold metal athletes make up just a fraction of all athletes. Does that mean that all athletes who don’t win Olympic gold are failures? Of course not! Likewise, not all businesses can compete direct against all their competitors.  In fact, in a global economy where almost any business can compete against another, defining the competitive goals means deciding what constitutes victory and how it’s measured.

As it relates to successful Internet marketing, the goals you set have everything to do with how you compete in your market. In a world of long tail marketing, defining your market as specific as possible is critical to measuring success.

An example I’ll share is the success of Global Medical Sales, a client who sells hospital beds throughout the U.S. and Latin America. Selling beds to hospitals is very competitive. Some of Global’s competitors are much larger companies with more marketing budget and larger field sales teams. By comparison Global is a small company with limited budget and sales reach.

So, how has Global created measurable success through its Internet marketing strategy?

Through a long tail SEO strategy that recognizes the reality of its resources.  Global has a narrower focus to be found on the web for less competitive product keywords.

When we developed the SEO strategy for Global, we explained that competing for the keyword phrase “hospital beds” would be very competitive. There are more than 30 million results in Google for “hospital beds.” Setting the goal of ranking on page 1 in Google would be difficult, if even possible considering their resources.

So, we recommended two other primary keyword phrases for Global based on our understanding of their business. Global is very strong in “remanufactured beds” and in “bariatric beds.” Both of these keywords serve a narrower focus, admittedly with less search volume on the web. But, these long tail keywords would be much more realistic to attain rankings on page 1 in Google. Besides, anyone searching for these keywords is likely to be an educated buyer, hence a potentially qualified sales opportunity who could be cross sold into other hospital beds. It’s the old “shoot with a rifle, rather than with a shotgun” approach.

As a small company, Global doesn’t need to compete directly with its largest competitors to succeed. That would simply be unrealistic for Global due to its size. Winning in narrower markets is simply more achievable and makes for a more realistic (and winnable) strategy.

Measuring the results from a narrow SEO strategy allows us to point to ROI starting with search engine rankings:

Global is enjoying the results of ranking in the top 5 rankings in Google for this keyword strategy resulting in more inbound traffic, which results in more sales opportunities.

Just like there are many successful athletes who don’t compete in the Olympics, there are many successful businesses who compete in a narrow niche through a winning inbound marketing strategy. Global Medical Sales is an example of a wise company who understands its goals, its resources and has an inbound marketing plan that delivers their version of gold medal success.

We encourage marketers to set your goals wisely and develop your inbound marketing plans accordingly to achieve measurable success like Global Medical Sales has done.

Two New Improvements to Google Search Results Pages

Throughout my years of doing search engine optimization (SEO), I’ve often been asked by clients, how does your inbound marketing agency keep up with all the changes from Google? The answer of course is, we don’t have a choice.

Here’s an update from Google I’m please to cover. It’s a good example of how Google is making search results more relevant. And, if you read between the lines Google is helping the long tail searcher get better results.

There are two new improvements to Google’s search results.

More Useful Related Searches

If you search for “psa” the search results now will offer results which pertain to more than one meaning of “psa.” One common meaning is prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Another meaning is Plano Sports Authority. Another meaning is Professional Sports Authenticator. What if you are a software developer of professional services automation, or PSA software? At the bottom of the page, Google offers suggestions for other meanings of PSA, which includes professional services automation. Google is using “intent based logic” in their algorithm to give the searcher options in the search results.

But, what is Google really doing? …

Longer Descriptions

Google knows that people use longer search phrases. Of course, we call this long tail search phrases. Google now provides longer snippets of descriptions displaying all the words in the search. For example I searched “how information technology directors use social networking in business” and below is the first result showing a longer description:

Notice that the description is longer than what we’ve seen in the past. Google is clearly accommodating long tail searches.

I’m pleased to see this improvement. It helps us educate our clients on the value of long tail keyword search optimization.

@berniebay

The Benefits of a Social Media Marketing Strategy

The following is an excerpt from my book: Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap Between Buyer and Seller on the Social Web…

There are many benefits to a social media marketing strategy.  Here is a short list of benefits. Please add to it with your comments…Note, I do not discuss in any detail the benefits organizations might enjoy using social media internally for collaboration and productivity gains.

Low Cost.  Rolling out a social media strategy is not an expensive venture.  In fact, it can be done on a low budget, especially in the beginning.  Many of the social media platforms you can leverage monetize themselves through advertising.  Therefore, the use of many of these tools is free.  The primary benefit to using social media is in the relationship value of the community you create or join.  So the cost of using many social media tools is free or low.  The biggest cost in the beginning of a new social media strategy is the staff’s learning curve associated with using various tools and destination social platforms.

Brand Building. I’ve previously mentioned the importance of building brand whether you’re a large company with household brand recognition or a 20-person company in a niche market.  I am truly of the opinion (shared by many contemporary marketing pundits) that brand equity is the most valuable marketing asset we can achieve, regardless of the size of our company.  Social media provides a platform like none other in modern history to build our brand

Staffing Advantages.  You may be able to leverage existing staff, and you may not.  In some situations, you can awaken a sleeping giant in your organization.  I am referring to existing talent that is under utilized in a role that could be leveraged in social media.  It’s not uncommon to tap into someone’s domain expertise and put it to great use in social media.  Simply put, using social media gives your staff the opportunity to produce good results using contemporary tools in an enjoyable work environment.  Marketing staffers who embrace social media tend to really enjoy it, especially as they begin building a personal brand.  The demographics of the up and coming workers are in our favor.

Loyalty.  Producing content considered useful by your community produces loyalty and can also produce viral marketing value.  Loyalty is very powerful, no matter the source or the medium.  It’s very common for people in online communities to pass around links to blog posts and other content they find useful.  Social media community loyalty is such a valuable asset that you will ask you your accountant to find a way put it on your balance sheet.

Level Playing Field.  Essentially, social media levels the playing field for most marketers.  Small businesses can create loyal communities online just as large companies can, though perhaps not at the same pace or to the same extent.  One of the greatest benefits to social media is the ability to leverage these communities by harnessing the power of their loyalty.  A smaller company can potentially do a stellar job of building a loyal community through great content, or a great service made popular through social media. Just look at 37 Signals. This small software company has a global customer base for their web based project management and collaboration software. Some of their competitors are large software companies including Microsoft.  Word of mouth loyalty spreads on the social web and continues to build their customer base.

Building Trust.  Companies that communicate with a human voice and build relationships online do well in social media.  Companies that behave as companies don’t do as well.  Social media is all about sincere conversations and building relationships.  When a company hides behind a corporate voice, it alienates itself and its people, and doesn’t reap any of the potential benefits, including that all-important loyalty or trust.

Converge PR and Social Media for Viral Marketing.  As social media awareness has been increasing, the role of PR has quickly been intertwined with it.  Effective social media strategies can and should be part of your PR strategy.  Creating content that has viral potential is at the heart of a social media PR strategy.  Give your loyal community access to your news and let them be your media channel.  Let your loyal community promote your news.  Going viral with your news can range the gamut from exposing it to a few loyal fans to getting your news to the first page of DIGG.

Positive SEO Benefits.  Another benefit of social media is the affect it can have on your organic search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.  When you produce good content online in social platforms, you increase the possibility of attracting links to that content, which can also link to your website.  In turn, those links help give your website authority to the search engines, especially Google, which places most of its ranking criteria on the link popularity of your content.

(Not So) Quantifiable Metrics.  As discussed previously, some social media results can be measured quantifiably and some can’t.  You can measure website visits from social media destinations and resulting leads. You can also measure (to some extent) the buzz you create in your market by things such as applications for employment, easier sales appointments, invitations to speak or guest write and other obvious improvements which don’t necessarily show up in a report or spreadsheet.

Educational.  One of my favorite benefits of my involvement in social media is the ability to learn something new every day.  I categorize learning in two ways: Learning and Market Intelligence. Learning occurs from listening to conversations and reading articles shared by your community. Market Intelligence involves keeping your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry through social media. Both forms of education provide competitive edge and insights into customer behaviors.

The primary benefits of a social media marketing strategy can be summed up as building relationships that can bridge that gap between you (the seller) and your buyers.

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

Some SEO Basics Still the Same

I’ve been as guilty of hyping up the changes to SEO in 2009 as anyone in this industry.  And, it’s true that Google’s algorithm is expected to undergo some major revisions this year.

But, there are some fundamentals that have not changed. Let’s look at some of them.

Website Architecture

When search engines crawl your website think of as guests coming over for dinner. You want it to be a pleasant experience. You don’t want to put up barriers and force your guests to crawl over a bunch of obstacles to get inside your home. Make it easy for search engines to find your content. Tell them what your content is about through human-readable URLs. Keep the code clean and lean. Ask your developer to consolidate long scripts into files that can be efficiently called. Use header tags.

Remember that search engines see your website differently than humans. Though humans are the buyers, you want to deliver a friendly experience to search engines to deliver more humans to your website!

Content

The most successful websites in terms of SEO have great content and a lot of it. It’s no secret that Google likes blog content because it updates frequently and presumably gives your visitors a good experience. But, even a static website benefits greatly from hundreds of pages of static content. Yes, I said hundreds. For small companies that can be a challenge. Consider adding two new pages of content per month (or whatever you can commit). Get very focused in your content. Use a long-tail keyword strategy. Give search engines the food they crave with 400 or 500 words of content per page.

Links

Ever since Google invented PageRank we’ve known the importance of inbound links. But did you know how important it is to tell Google the relevancy of your link structure within your website? Google assesses and scores your website each time it crawls it. Using its link structure Google determines what your content is about. Sure, other factors come into play but your internal link structure is an important factor.  Make it easy for Google with internal links anchored from relevant keyword phrases.

To avoid getting too much into SEO geek stuff, I limited this post to these big three factors.

Do you know of other SEO basics which have not changed worth mentioning? Add them below with your comments.

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

Measure Marketing Results or Die

Marketing of any kind requires that we measure results. That’s nothing new.  In current times measuring the results of marketing activities is not an option. If it can’t be measured, don’t do it is what many CEOs mandate, and well they should.

The true cost of most marketing activities is the cost per (fill in the blank).  In most B2B scenarios the measurement is the cost-per-lead.

What marketing activities do you measure that can be attributed to lead generation? In outbound marketing we measure tactics such as the cost of trade show leads, advertising leads and cold call leads. In inbound marketing, aka Internet marketing, we measure cost per lead.

Sometimes we read data that supports the obvious and we say “duh” I knew that! No matter how compelling the data we react as if we already knew that. Here’s some recent data worth digesting:

• Companies that spend more money and effort on inbound marketing experience a lower cost per lead.
• Advertising in social networks is on the decline but engaging in social networks is on the rise.
• Webinars produce good leads when created and managed well.
• Sixty-three of Internet users worldwide use search engines to look for products and services.
• Most popular marketing tactics in 2009 are: web, mobile, viral, SEO, word-of-mouth according to an advertising agency execs recent survey.

Marketing tactics must be measurable. It’s been argued that social media marketing is difficult to measure. I argue that if you look at your marketing on the web as just that, marketing on the web, you can identify metrics that satisfies the CEO.  The granularity of some metrics is not as important as the bottom line. What does it cost to produce a lead from the web, from a trade show, from a cold call, from an advertisement?

When managing marketing budgets in a tight economy you must focus on the marketing activities that produce results you can measure. You need marketing software, analytics software and a close eye.

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

Web 3.0 Getting Closer with Google Friend Connect

I’ve been blogging about and speaking about the evolution of search engine optimization for some time now. I’ve blogged that SEO should become SO. I recently blogged that SEO is getting harder in 2009.

Let’s face it the web is getting more and more social. Popular services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace (among others) are growing in popularity among mainstream users. The social features of these services are now easily added to your website or blog using Google Friend Connect.

Google released Friend Connect in early December 2008 in Beta.  It’s a free product that allows a webmaster to add social networking features to a website or blog just by copying a snippet of code.

The idea is you invite people to sign into your website using their existing ID from Google, Yahoo, AOL or OpenID.  Users can create a new profile or use an existing profile. This begins to deliver on a promise of Web 3.0 that will allow your profile to be portable among websites.

Users can post comments and engage in discussions on topics relevant to your site. Currently a wall gadget allows users to post comments and another gadget allows users to leave a rating on a page. Soon other gadgets from Google and the OpenSocial developer community will be available allowing your website to become an interactive destination. Users can invite other users from other social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace to get engaged in discussions on your website! If that doesn’t excite you, check your pulse!

The fact this tool is available from Google helps to accelerate the mainstream adoption of social attributes on websites especially since it doesn’t require an entire new website redesign effort.

Marketers who have been slow to adapt to the social web better look over their shoulder. When you see a competitor offering its visitors the ability for community engagement through Google Friend Connect, you just may be playing catch up.

Marketers should be actively considering how they can offer their users a destination. The technology is available and it’s free. That’s the easy part.

The hard part is breaking through the paradigm thinking that you are in control of your website.  The web has gone social whether you like it or not.  Website visitors want to engage with you and with others. Give them a reason to engage. Build your community or risk losing them.

If this economy is forcing you to rethink some of your strategies you now have something else to think about. But, don’t wait too long or you just may be playing catch-up.

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

Delivering SEO Services Just Got Harder

The SEO discussions are heating up. It’s early in 2009 and already everyone is talking about the changes we’re seeing in SEO. Some say it’s getting easier and some say it’s getting harder. Tomato or tomahto?

If you’re a large company with deep resources, SEO is getting easier because you have the resources to produce keyword rich content and user generated content on the social web.  You have the resources to study the changes and react to them favorably.

But, if you’re a small or mid size company SEO just got harder. It’s already challenging for smaller companies to write a lot of content and to produce rich media content such as video, photos and user generated content in social media.

Now that Google has personalized search results through SearchWiki studying your rankings is not as relevant as it was in the past. Producing incoming links is now harder because Google is favoring editorial links coming from user generated content which is found in social media sites like blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other Web 2.0 destinations.

So how does a business with limited resources win with SEO in 2009? Before I answer that, let’s examine why it’s important.  In July 2008 almost 12 billion searches were conducted in the U.S. according to Comscore. The sources of these searches were not limited to Google, Yahoo and MSN. They include searches on sites such as eBay, AOL, Ask, Craig’s List, MySpace, Facebook and Amazon.

Google continues to dominate search results with 61% of all searches. Google returns a variety of search results including blogs, Wikis, PDFs, social networking comments, video, photos and just about any frequently updated content on the web.

SEO services firms committed to winning for their clients provide free education through blogs, podcasts, newsletters, white papers and webcasts.

Small and medium size businesses should devote resources to getting educated through industry portals such as Sphinn and Junta42 as well as SEO services agencies who offer free education.

While the education process never ends, following SEO best practices will yield good results.  Follow these SEO best practices:

• quality content
• extensive keyword research
• natural editorial link building through social media
• clean website architecture with human readable URLs
• quality meta data
• internal editorial linking on important keywords
• avoid SEO sales pitches that promise quick results

Delivering SEO services is not easy due to the number of variables that drive successful results. Businesses willing to commit to the hard work it takes and following best practices will enjoy quality traffic that can deliver sales results. And, that’s what makes SEO worth the effort.

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

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