Archive for the ‘Business Blogs and Blog Marketing’ Category

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What Should I Title My Blog Posts for Maximum SEO?

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Lighthouse View by Stacy CrampDear Rich,

I’ve read that I should load my blog titles with targeted keywords to increase my blog’s search engine visibility. However, sometimes I just want to use a clever turn of phrase, or a slightly irreverent title that is appropriate for the blog post, but maybe not for Google.

How do I balance my needs to rank well at the search engines with my desire to put my BA in English to use?

Titling in Thomaston

Dear Titling,

I would argue that you don’t need to sacrifice your cleverness to create a keyword-rich title tag for your blog.

Here’s how you create titles that work for your search engine optimization and your end user:
(more…)

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing | 59 Comments »


Greetings, Fellow Bloggers!

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Blogworld Expo NY 2011In just a couple of hours I’ll be presenting How to Dominate Google and Bing with Your Blog at the BlogWorld Expo here in NYC. If you happen to be checking out our web marketing blog, flyte blog, for the first time because of this, here are a few things you should know:

  • Consider subscribing to our blog either by using the RSS feed or the email subscription to your right. You can always unsubscribe.
  • We’ve got a great resource in The 11 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Bloggers Make. I hand crafted each one of those mistakes, so why not learn from my mistakes rather than your own? Cheaper that way, you know. There is an email registration piece, but again, you can unsubscribe at any time.
  • We’ve got an all SEO, all the time blog over at Maine SEO Blog written by our search engine marketer, Nicki Hicks with some contributions by yours truly. You don’t have to be from Maine to enjoy it.
  • Since Nicki’s moving to Florida (but still working for flyte), she’s started a new blog, Florida SEO Blog. Please give it some love.

That’s all! Now I just have to get the world’s biggest cup of coffee and head over the Javits Convention Center. Feel free to say hello!

Rich Brooks
You Can Also Find Me On The Twitter

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, flyte news, Search Engine Marketing | 3 Comments »


How to Create Killer Blog Content from Email Questions

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Dear Rich,

How do I come up with new posts for my blog? You always talk about how to use a business blog to rank higher at the search engines and drive qualified traffic to your website, but I have no idea on how to do that.

Frustrated in Fryeberg

Dear Frustrated,

First off: don’t be frustrated! I’m sure there’s plenty of content that you could turn into search engine engine gold for your blog if you just know where to look. In fact, I’m using one of my favorite techniques right now.

A few times a week a client, prospect or random stranger emails me with some question about search engine optimization, email marketing, blogging or social media. Rather than just hitting reply, I turn the question into a Dear Abby style blog post. The way I figure it is that if this one person is asking me that question, how many more hundreds or thousands of people are asking these questions of Google and Bing? Plus, by posting it to my blog it can be easily shared over social media platforms.

What really makes this a powerful technique is that these questions are what people are asking when their doing research into hiring a company like yours. There’s generally less competition for these phrases (so you can rank higher) and they’re very specific (so people who are researching them are getting ready to make a buying decision.)

For more details on how to optimize these Dear Abby posts for search engine visibility, be sure to read How to Turn Emails Into Search Engine Visibility.

Rich Brooks
Blogging for SEO

Photo Credit: Jay Malone

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing | 4 Comments »


Social Media Marketing Workshops in Maine

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

flyte school: social media seminarsWhether you’re just getting started with social media marketing or looking to take your social media to the next level, we’ve got a great half-day workshop that’s just right for you, and right here in Maine.

Both of these events have very limited seating! Don’t get shut out! Early bird tickets are still available.

Social Media Marketing for Beginners – 6/14/2011

(Learn more and register)

This 1/2 day workshop is for businesses, non-profits and individuals who don’t have a social media presence, or are just getting started with social media, or just don’t know what to do with the social media they already have in place. A good portion of the seminar will be in how to set up your accounts the right way, how to find and network with people online, and how to avoid classic mistakes in social media.

Who Should Attend?

Any business owners, marketers, PR professionals or non-profiteers who feel like their being left behind when it comes to social media.

What Will You Learn?

  • How to setup your Facebook profile and business page and get people to “like” you
  • How to manage your privacy on Facebook and other platforms
  • How to get started with Twitter and use it to drive traffic to your website or business
  • How to build your LinkedIn network so that you can build your business
  • How to blog for search engine visibility
  • How to use videos to increase your online visibility
  • Time management and social media

Is It Worth It?

Oh, yes. In fact, we’re so sure it will help your business we offer a 100% money back guarantee for all attendees.

Is It Too Basic For Me?

If you’re concerned that you’re a little advanced for this seminar, be sure to check out our Advanced Social Media Marketing seminar on 6/28!

Date: Tuesday, 6/14/2011

Time: 1pm – 5pm

Place: Portland Public Library, Portland, ME (directions)

Cost: $35 early bird tickets, $45 angry bird tickets

Advanced Social Media Marketing – 6/28/2011
(Learn more and register)

What to Expect:

This 1/2 day presentation is for businesses, non-profits and individuals who are active in social media (you blog, or tweet, or have a Facebook business page) but are looking to take things to the next level. You’re looking for advanced tools, tips and techniques to make your investment in social media pay off.

Who Should Attend?

Any business owners, marketers, PR professionals or non-profiteers who realize that social media is going to continue to be a big part of their marketing and communications.

What Will You Learn?

  • How to get more people to “like” your Facebook business page
  • How to maximize your Facebook experience with events, ads and networking
  • How to create an irresistable profile on LinkedIn with video, blogs and more
  • How to use Twitter to find and follow local people, industry leaders and anyone else you need to network with
  • How to use a blog to dominate Google and other search engines
  • How to encourage comments and shares on your blog
  • How to measure your social media activity and improve your ROI

Is It Worth It?

Oh, yes. In fact, we’re so sure it will help your business we offer a 100% money back guarantee for all attendees.

Is It Too Advanced For Me?

If you’re concerned that you’re not quite ready for this seminar, be sure to check out our Social Media Marketing for Beginners seminar on 6/14!

Date: Tuesday, 6/28/2011

Time: 1pm – 5pm

Place: Portland Public Library, Portland, ME (directions)

Cost: $35 early bird tickets, $45 angry bird tickets

Rich Brooks
Never Met a Mic I Didn’t Like

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Social Media, Web Marketing | 3 Comments »


Why We Blog: It’s About the Visibility, Stupid

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

This post goes out to my good friend Braden Buehler who was looking for real world examples of how blogging can help increase your visibility, online and off. I’ve got dozens of examples, but here’s a recent one.

It wasn’t too long ago that I became aware of QR codes and how they could be used for marketing. I went to see a local presentation on QR marketing and blogged my thoughts in a post called What is a QR Code? What is QR Marketing? I followed up with a post called Should You Use QR Codes in Email Marketing?

Soon after that I wrote a blog post for Fast Company called 13 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes for Marketing. I also contribute to Social Media Examiner and pitched them on a post on QR Codes, but they already had one in the hopper. Too late.

I also wrote an article (you remember articles, right? blog posts’ older brother?) called QR Code Marketing for Small Business that I posted to our website.

I pitched a story for 207–an evening news magazine that uses me once a month or so for tech stories–on QR codes. They posted the segment to their website and I embedded it in our blog under the header, QR Codes Explained on TV [Video].

I followed all this up with another blog post called 50–Count’em, 50!–Creative Uses of QR Codes. (The bigger the number the more likely people are to retweet it, I’m discovering. At current count the post has 143 retweets and over 100 likes on Facebook.)

What happened next?

I got a call from CNN. (Yes, that CNN.) They were doing a story on QR codes and wanted to interview me.

How did CNN find me?

The same way any of us find information, they Googled for it. I’m not sure which post or article caught their eye, or maybe it was that I had multiple results for QR-related searches on the first page of Google. Whatever the case was, they interviewed me and a few weeks later they ran a story on CNN.com called Marketers Embracing QR Codes for Better or Worse. I was quoted extensively through the article, and they even linked to flyte. (Thanks, CNN!)

For a while that article came up in the top results in the news section. Friends who I hadn’t talked to in a while had read the article (it was featured on the home page of CNN) and reached out. It definitely helped raise flyte’s profile.

QR Code Search ResultsWhat’s the outcome?

Right now the top 3 results for “qr code marketing” are:

  • 50 Creative Uses of QR Codes in Marketing & Communications – from the flyte blog
  • QR Code Marketing for Small Business – from flyte.biz
  • 13 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes for Marketing – from FastCompany.com, with links back to our blog and my Twitter profile

That’s pretty good since we only started writing and blogging about QR codes about three months ago. And we’re not experts in QR codes. And we’re beating out people with a lot more experience and clout than we have, at least in this arena.

What’s the takeaway?

That you can do this, too. Yes, it took work. I had to write 4 or 5 posts and articles. I understand a bit about SEO so I wrote my titles with good keywords and cross-linked them. But it led to CNN finding me, and I didn’t have to hire a PR firm. In just the past month thousands of people have visited our website and blog who never would have heard of us otherwise. And I don’t have to pay for people to click on my links like the sponsored ads above my results.

And if you can’t do this, because you absolutely can’t write, or don’t have the patience to blog, or can’t find the time because you’re too busy “running your company”…well, then, you can always hire us to blog for you.

#justsayin

Rich Brooks
Will Blog for SEO

Photo credit: Alberto P. Veiga

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Entrepreneur & Small Business, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing | 3 Comments »


High Bounce Rates and Blogs

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Bounce Rates at Blogs

Rich,

I’ve noticed that I have a very high bounce rate on my blog. What would cause such a high bounce rate and how can I lower it?

Bouncing in Bethel

Dear Bouncing,

First off, for those readers who aren’t familiar with the term “bounce rate,” it’s a metric in Google Analytics for measuring the percentage of people who visit only one page on your site or blog before exiting.

I feel blogs will always have higher bounce rates than websites, as very often people are just visiting to read your most recent post. Even if they subscribe to your blog via RSS or email at that point, it will still probably count as a bounce since many subscription methods will take them off site or process their request without requiring them to visit another page.

If you are monetizing your blog with ads or affiliate links, then a high bounce rate may reflect that people are clicking on those affiliate and ad links, which is good news for your bottom line.

If you have a lead generation blog (like the flyteblog), where you’re using your blog to increase your search engine visibility and funnel that traffic to your website, e-commerce site or other online property, then a high bounce rate may be demonstrating that your tactics are effective!

In short, I wouldn’t use bounce rate as a leading indicator of how effective your blog is; visits, repeat visitors, subscribers, search volume and other metrics are going to be much more important to your business overall.

If you are still concerned about your bounce rate, you’ll need to find ways of leading visitors from one post to another. One tool that could help is the Yet Another Related Post Plugin (for WordPress.) It will find 5 related posts from your blog and create links to each one…that can help both your search engine visibility as well as your audience, as they will discover other quality content that relates to the post they’re currently reading.

Rich Brooks
Business Blogger

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Posted in Analytics, Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Web Marketing | No Comments »


Yellow Page Ads: How to Maximize Your Yellow Page ROI

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Phone Book Tunnel

So, you’ve been running a Yellow Page ad for several years and it’s not generating the business it used to. Is it the size of the ad? The colors or lack of colors? Is the design too busy or too plain? How do you get more ROI (return on investment) for your Yellow Pages ad?

Cut it in half.

That’s right; when the Yellow Pages rep comes knocking this year cut your ad spending in half. The reason is that no one uses the Yellow Pages any more. The only time I use the Yellow Pages is if I see a bug infestation in my house. To call an exterminator? No, to crush the little buggers under that 10lb, yellow-stained block of dead trees they send me every year without asking.

OK, I hear you: you’re in a business where people still use the Yellow Pages…like you repair fax machines or you manufacture AOL install disks. That’s why I suggest not stopping your ad spending all together, but rather cutting it in half. If you didn’t know this, the Yellow Pages has a service where they’ll set you up with a special 800 number that appears only in the phone book…that way you can measure how many leads actually come from the book.

So, what do you do with your new found cash? Start putting some of it towards your online marketing budget instead, and measure that. With the money you save you could hire a copywriter to create a new, keyword-rich blog post once a week.

At the end of a year of your Yellow Page ad you need to renew your ad buy. New books arrive and the old ones are recycled. (At our house the new ones are recycled, too, but that’s a different story.) Any benefit, any sales you got out of that ad are now done and in the past.

At the end of a year of SEO copywriting for your blog you’ve got 52 keyword-rich blog posts…52 unique opportunities to rank well at the search engines for the type of searches your best prospects are doing. At it doesn’t end at the end of the year…those blog posts will continue to bring in traffic for as long as you keep your blog running. In reviewing the statistics for this blog, one post I wrote back in October of 2008 continues to bring in hundreds of unique visitors a month. No 2008 Yellow Page ad is going to do that.

And yes, of course you could write your own blog posts and pocket the money, but maybe you’re too busy. After all, you’re running a business. Plus, I’m trying to compare apples to apples here to show you the benefit.

And yes, there are other web marketing options open to you besides business blogging. You could improve your website’s search engine visibility with some SEO, start an email newsletter, or engage in social media marketing and communication. Any of these options will take advantage of the well-established, well-documented trend of people leaving the Yellow Pages for the Internet and the mobile web.

Whatever you do with your marketing dollar, make sure you measure the results to see what’s really working. Make sure Google Analytics (or something similar) is installed on your site, have your receptionist or inside sales force ask how the prospect heard of you, use a special phone number and other tracking techniques. The important lesson here is to use the tools that your prospects and customers use. If they start using smoke signals, you better light a fire.

Rich Brooks
Web Marketing for Small Business

Photo credit: Coaly Bunny

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Entrepreneur & Small Business, Web Marketing | No Comments »


How to Post a Video in WordPress

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

A client just asked me how to post a video into his WordPress blog. It’s a simple affair, once you know how to do it. And yes, you will have to look at the code, but just for a second.

It won’t bite, I promise.

You can watch this video, How to Add a Video to Your WordPress Blog, or read the brief description below.

Step 1: Grab the embed code. YouTube and other video sharing sites make it easy to grab the code that displays the video, often called the “embed code.” In the case of this client the video was from a segment on a local television show. Luckily, this show posted the video along with the embed code. You’ll want to copy that embed code to your clipboard.

Alert! After making this video I noticed YouTube has a new iframe embed code (pictured below). WordPress “cleaned up” that code. If this happens to you check the “Use old embed code” box on YouTube. More details below.

Embed Video in Your WordPress Blog

Step 2: Post the code into your WordPress blog post. First, determine where you’d like the video to be placed while looking at the Visual editor. If you’re not familiar with HTML code, you may want to create a placeholder by typing in something like “Video Goes Here” or “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”.

Then click on the “HTML” tab in the upper right hand corner so that you can view the HTML code.

HTML Tab

Find your placeholder (if you made one) and copy and paste the embed code there. Switch back to the Visual tab and you should see a pale yellow box where your video will appear. If this doesn’t happen then try selecting the “Old Embed Code”.

Old YouTube Embed Code

That should do it! If you get the video going on your own blog, feel free to post a link below.

Rich Brooks
Video Marketing

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, How-To Web Marketing Videos, Web Marketing | 9 Comments »


3 Maine Web Marketing Events

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Maine Web Design CompanyOK, well, two Maine web marketing events, and one virtual event that everyone can attend, all of which have flyte new media connections.

  • How to Make Search Engines Work for Your Business (2/10/2011, Portland, ME)
  • Expanding Your Mental Health Practice Through Web Marketing (3/11/2011, Portland, ME)
  • Blogging Success Summit 2011 (Throughout February, Virtual)

Here’s the skinny on each one:

HOW TO MAKE SEARCH ENGINES WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS (2/10/2011)

Details:

Open to all persons who have a business website, or are developing their business website. Search engine optimization can increase traffic, deliver more targeted customers, and increase revenue. Search engines have become a core resource for individuals looking for your small business.

You will learn the importance of SEO, as well as how to improve your organic search engine ranking and drive more qualified leads to your Web site. Every business with a website has the potential to be found by more customers online.

Learn how to uncover which keywords drive customers to your site, how to make on page changes to increase your visibility, and key link opportunities to build your authority.

The workshop will led by Nicki Hicks of Portland’s flyte new media.

Date: Thursday, 2/10/2010

Time: 2pm – 5pm

Place: SCORE Maine offices, 100 Middle St., Portland, ME (directions)

For more information or to register please visit SCORE Maine.

EXPANDING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE THOUGH WEB MARKETING (3/11/2011)

Details:

While many mental health practitioners may be uncomfortable marketing their services, most are downright confused and even anxious when it comes to using web marketing to increase their referrals and build their visibility.

However, with over half a billion people on Facebook and millions using Google every day to find help, it’s impossible to ignore web marketing for long.

In this day long workshop you’ll learn:

  • How to setup a web site that engages your audience, establishes your expertise, and encourages referrals for your practice
  • How to get your web site to rank higher in the search engines
  • How to integrate a blog, video and an email newsletter into your web presence
  • How to handle HIPAA and other Internet use issues unique to mental health practitioners
  • How mental health practitioners can use social media appropriately; how to handle Facebook friendship requests, how to manage your privacy, and how to engage others in the social web
  • How to market and sell information products such as e-books, online courses and webinars

Whether you have a robust web site already, or are just getting started, this day long workshop will help you develop and effective strategy for raising your online profile, driving more qualified referrals through your web site, and navigating the treacherous waters of social media.

All participants will receive a certificate for 6 clock hours.

Transdisciplinary Workshops are approved for 6 CE’s in Psychology by the Maine Board of Psychologists.

This workshop is limited to only 100 participants, so please sign up early!

Date: Friday, 3/11/2011

Time: 8am – 3:30pm

Place: Regency Hotel, 20 Milk St., Portland, ME (directions)

Cost: $150 until 2/1, then $170

For more information or to register please visit Transdisciplinary Workshops.

BLOGGING SUCCESS SUMMIT 2011

This virtual conference, featuring 23 blogging experts from around the world–including flyte’s president Rich Brooks–is the perfect event for anyone looking to take their blogging to the next level. Learn how to increase your search engine visibility, drive more quality leads, attract a following and more.

This month long event is only $597…an amazing deal for content this rich. Check out the Blogging Success Summit page for more information and to register.

Rich Brooks
Maine Web Marketing

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, flyte news, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing | 1 Comment »


Early Bird Discount for Blogging Success Summit Ends Thursday

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Fact! Blogging is one of the most powerful tools a small business has in their marketing toolbox.

Fact! Blogging helps increase your online visibility, your search engine ranking, and drives qualified traffic to your website.

Fact! The people behind the Blogging Success Summit 2011 are the same people who put together two successful Social Media Success Summits and a Facebook Success Summit…except this time they partnered with the geniuses who put together BlogWorld, the annual conference on blogging and new media.

Fact! I like saying Fact!

This Thursday marks the end of the early bird discounts for Blogging Success Summit 2011, a virtual conference with 23 blogging experts who are ready to share their best secrets to help you build a successful blog that will build your business.

Well, OK. There’s really 22 experts…and me. I’ll be presenting on Improving Your Search Engine Visibility with Blogging. There are a dozen other sessions on all aspects of blogging for all sizes of companies and non-profits.

If you’re looking to:

  • increase your online visibility
  • drive more qualified traffic to your site
  • establish your expertise and credibility
  • generate leads online
  • build your business

then this summit is for you. It’s a virtual blogging conference for marketers by marketers. If that sounds like you, then don’t wait: Friday the prices go up. Act now while the price is more than 50% off!

Rich Brooks
But Wait, There’s More…

Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, flyte news, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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