Guest Post

Immense Growth of Internet Marketing Companies

by countolaf · May 15, 2012

Do you ever wonder why you’re getting emails literally almost every day from companies offering internet marketing services in general? Whether it be article writing services, search engine marketing or even a simple website optimization service that includes web design and such, it’s just clear that these internet marketing companies are sprouting and growing faster than ever.

There’s a good reason for their growth and this is due to demand.

Demand for Internet Marketing Services

The growth of internet marketing companies has actually started a long time ago. Ever since late 2005, there are already companies that offer marketing services to other businesses. The only thing different these days is that it seems these internet marketing companies are sprouting faster than ever. Every person who knows a thing or two about blogging or SEO seems to be convinced that he’s qualified to do the business.

To be fair with these companies, the reason why a lot of people are enamored to do this is because there is a huge demand. The entire internet marketing hype has reached its peak and that has convinced a lot of offline business owners to incorporate online marketing to their business. Hence, the plethora of internet marketing consulting firms has started sprouting.

Regardless of how they’re charging their clients, they seem to be offering pretty much the same things. The only thing that’s slightly different is positioning. Perhaps the way they ‘position’ their offer is different but the basic concept is the same.

Positioning pitches or offers is something that companies use to their advantage. For instance, if I offer marketing services myself and just offer it as a general internet marketing service to my clients, it would be harder for me to sell it as oppose to someone offering something specific like a Pay-per click management service, who can later on build more and upsell other services to his clients.

A lot of people are even primarily offering social media consulting but it’s not hard to see that it’s the same internet marketing service that others are promoting. And as I mentioned above, you have those other companies that ‘front’ even smaller services like article writing/guest posting and webpage optimization packages.

To simply put it, companies offer a specific service in hopes that the client will be satisfied and thus avail more of their services.

Who’s really your client

The main reason why internet marketing companies position their offer differently is that it depends to their potential clients or the market/niche that they are offering this to.

It’s easier to sell an SEO service to a local business that’s starting to get established online than an online business that already has some knowledge perhaps on how the internet works. I’m not saying that its easier because you’re selling something to a “fool” but rather it’s just how business works.

Flower shop owners in Chicago hire companies who provide internet marketing in Chicago to do campaigns for them not only because they’re not knowledgeable on that part but also because they don’t want to be knowledgeable and thus involved on doing those things. The same with dentists near your location, veterinarians in Alabama, or even real estate business owners in Dallas. If I’m good with taking care of cats, then how would you expect me to be good with PPC or even be interested with it?

Another good example is traditional & old online businesses. People offer the social media/web 2.0 services because they know that that these businesses might not have been involved deeply yet with social media and some of the “newer” stuff. Here you cannot offer content-writing services or copywriting because they already have people that are doing this for them for a long time.

All in all, it’s about who you are targeting to. Most companies make this mistake of just ‘shot-gunning’ everyone with their ‘general’ offers not knowing that the people they’re pitching to might even be better than them at what they do. Like how I receive emails daily from people offering me their search engine optimization services as if I don’t know SEO myself (but I’m not an expert obviously).

There’s no doubt it’s good to get as many potential clients as you can to send your services to but whether they’re really a ‘potential’ client or not is another thing. This is where most marketing companies fail. And unfortunately, this is the trend that new internet marketing companies get themselves to do as well. They just follow the herd and don’t do it the proper way.

To be fair with these companies, the reason why a lot of people are enamoured to do this is because there is a huge demand. The entire internet marketing hype has reached its peak and that has convinced a lot of offline business owners to incorporate online marketing to their business. Hence, the plethora of internet marketing consulting firms has started sprouting.

To simply put it, companies offer a specific service in hopes that the client will be satisfied and thus avail more of their services.

Why Video Posts Can Generate More Traffic For Your Blog

by Melvin · May 5, 2012

This is a guest post by Amanda Green

Many bloggers have recently experimented with video use on their site. While there are many different challenges and considerations that one should keep in mind when making the transition to video, one benefit of the medium is abundantly clear: video, when incorporated correctly and on the right type of site, can almost guarantee a boost in traffic as a result of its use.

Why is this? Let’s take a look at some of the main reasons:

-Higher search result ranking. Several studies have shown that Google’s search results, in an effort to provide a broad range of search-friendly content, has a policy of strongly favoring video results over written ones. In fact, a piece in video form is almost fifty times more likely to organically make the front page than a similar piece composed of text. Video, then, can be an instrumental tool in bringing first-time visitors to your site.

-Differentiated content. Video naturally adds a diversity of content to a website. This can keep things interesting for both the blogger and for the loyal reader, but it can also have the effect of making the blog more appealing to more people in the first place. Some people are visually-inclined by nature and are likely to find a site with a good video mix to be highly appealing. Such diversification helps turn a greater percentage of first-time visitors into loyal returners.

-SEO benefits. Video further offers numerous SEO benefits that can translate into larger traffic volumes. For example, a blogger who effectively uses video tags, establishes video libraries, properly embeds streaming features into a site, and integrates with social media can boost his search result ranking and inbound traffic while lowering bounce rates. You may want to consult an SEO advisor for further link-building and integration assistance.

-More money. Finally, video posts can bring in more money for a website, which in turn can be used towards marketing approaches that generate exposure and traffic. The reason they procure more money is because advertisers have been flocking towards embedded video advertising in the past 1-2 years – and they are willing to pay high rates for the privilege. Bloggers who incorporate the medium correctly can consequently expect more money in their bank accounts and greater spending flexibility for their business credit card or credit card low APR.

These are the main ways that video blogging can help you boost traffic towards your site. While video is not appropriate for every topic or area of content, those bloggers that find a use for it can certainly reap substantial rewards as a result.

Facebook Timeline and Small Business Brands

by Melvin · Oct 13, 2011

This is a guest post by Jess Wagner

The new Facebook Timeline is drawing all sorts of privacy concerns with users. When the social media network begins to make all users switch over to the new design no one will have as much privacy as they want. People will be able to see photos, status updates, videos, and oddball posts that you might have made as far back as 2004. While privacy concerns might hinder the website’s use for the average user, brands and businesses are salivating at the new possibilities the Timeline will afford them.

Customized Design

Facebook is the second most visited website on the Internet after Google. With people spending so much time on the social media network, it is almost as important to build an incredibly designed Facebook page as it acts as a secondary home page. If a brand hires an interactive agency for web design, they will want to carry elements of their site over to the new cover photo that sits on top of the new Timeline layout which is 840 x 310 pixels. This photo can contain important information or just be consistent with the overall marketing strategy.

The Big Picture

With photo blog websites like Tumblr and Instagram becoming more popular, people are getting most of their information from photos instead of the written word. The Facebook Timeline design lets photos stand out much better in profiles than the old layout did. Instead of brands relying on having conversations with their customers, they can post pictures and view the comments that are coming in. Instead of writing a detailed status update, brands can create an infographic which will rest beautifully in the Timeline profile.

Brand History

Because it is so much easier to access information previously posted, Facebook Timeline will take the pressure off brands to get featured in the News Feed. According to Zeny Huang of Mashable, the new Facebook design will rely more on content than on immediately grabbing the viewer’s attention. Brands can stick to their story instead of relying on shock tactics in order to get more people to view their profile.

Subscription Features

Users who have had a Facebook account for a long time probably have a bloated friend list filled with college acquaintances, forgettable encounters, and even some old enemies. People are beginning to filter out their profiles and delete people they do not know. With the subscribe feature, brands can get featured in the News Feed without cluttering up any friend counts, groups, or interests users might be worried about.

While the average user might be complaining about the constant changes and privacy abuse Facebook deals to its users, there is no doubt brands are going to be able to adapt to the new layout with ease. Small businesses will also be able to document the history they have with the community with the easily accessible Timeline feature. Whatever opinions users might have of the changes, Facebook has adapted to compete with other social media websites.

Online Freelancing

by Melvin · Aug 9, 2011

There is no doubt that online freelancing has boomed in the last 2 years or so. But what does “Online Freelancing” really mean? What are the advantages and disadvantages? There are so many questions one might think of when the topic of online freelancing comes to mind. Hopefully, this article will help you answer some of those.

Online freelancing is basically what technology has to offer when it comes to making a living. 21st Century technology as we all know it lives and breathes convenience. Fast and easy money as they say. It is mainly, in simple terms, looking, accepting and finishing a job over the internet without even having to leave the comfort of your own home.

The vast amount of freelance jobs offered online attracts quite an enormous number of jobseekers/freelancers as well. Unlike before, when online freelancing would refer to the majority of the novelists, writers or journalists, today a huge variety of online freelance jobs are offered. One can choose from article writing, web designing, data encoding, photography, scientific research to being an online administrative assistant. There are hundreds of jobs offered in almost every field. Remember that even though you don’t literally fall in line for a job interview, there is still competition and you should be skilled enough to stand out among the rest of the world seeking the same work as you.

Being an online freelancer you must have good management skills, which is necessary to meet your client’s deadlines. Remember that being an online freelancer is somewhat being your own boss and running your own business. Discipline and your ability to put in a good workflow system would be important.

Now, lets talk about the different benefits one can acquire from being a good freelance web designer. The major win of online freelancing is that your work hours are set by non other than yourself. You don’t have to dress up and worry about how the traffic will affect your commute to the office. All you need is your time, skills and an internet capable computer and you are all set to earn some cash. The flexibility that online freelancing offers is priceless compared to the strictness you experience of having to report to work day after another. And the financial potential is also in your control. The more jobs you accept and deliver on time the more cash you chip in.

As with anything in this world, there are drawbacks in online freelancing. The principal is that you have to take care of all of your money management. You have to constantly work on project after project if you want stay financially afloat. When you start out as a freelancer, you will probably have start on jobs that are not financially satisfying. These jobs will probably last for awhile, until you have collected a list of satisfied clients and you are skilled and confident enough to accept better paying projects.

Five Things Bloggers Should Do That They Probably Don’t

by Melvin · Aug 3, 2011

This is a guest post entry by Jessica Wagner

Blogging is supposed to be fun. But in order to get good at it, you have to take it seriously. It’s not just a matter of establishing a destination on the Internet where you can spill your guts for whoever comes across it. If you truly want people to read what you have to say, then you should probably try to accomplish the following:

1. Keep up with current events

Nothing is sure to keep you more depressed these days, but then again, nothing is going to keep your writing relevant than maintaining at minimum a general understanding of world events. You might not find phone hacking and government debt debate interesting and certainly not something you want to spend your limited free time writing about, but being able to tie in the pulse of current activity with whatever you write about adds an extraordinary amount of professionalism to the look of your blog.

2. Utilize social networks

Sure, every aspiring blogger has a Facebook page and somewhere on it a mention or link to their blog. But that’s hardly utilizing social networks effectively. Convince several of your friends to be relays for these links, and find a way to bring Facebook to your blog via a “like” box or other application installation. Use social networks to spread your word. That’s what they’re there for.

3. Get a business valuation

Even if you don’t make squat from your blog, you aren’t aware of how much you could be making. An increasing number of business appraisals experts are extending their valuation expertise into the digital world. This means many appraisers can examine a blog or other website and determine whether or not there’s a potential for monetiaation. For anyone serious about earning extra income through their blog, this should be a serious consideration.

4. Yoga

Yoga enthusiasts claim the practice can help relieve the stresses of just about any situation with the exception of perhaps straining muscles through yoga. At any rate, any activity that centers on focus and physical as well as mental relaxation has to be healthy for those who love to write. Good writing needs a clear head and a clean bill of health, and taking the time to achieve both will do a lot of good for the quality of your blog.

5. Write everyday

The Internet is jam packed with blogs. Most of them consist of several entries over the course of a week or two, then reduced numbers of entries for about a month afterward. Several weeks go by, another post appears apologizing for a lack of activity, and that’s about where they end. Your first mission is to prevent this from happening to your blog. How? You make it your objective to post content on your site every single day. You should post multiple times a day if it’s possible. You need to build up content, but more importantly you need to make blog-writing as necessary a daily habit as exercise or brushing your teeth. Only then, will you have the blog existence it takes to capture peoples’ attention.

Melvin’s sidenote: Of course I don’t agree with the guest blogger’s take mainly because I don’t and can’t post everyday. But I hope you see the point that writing content for the long term is nothing but hardwork and dedication.

Don’t ever forget that writing a blog needs to be an enjoyable experience. But at the same time, don’t underestimate the seriousness of your task. If your writing is truly meant for the eyes of an audience, then you have to take steps to ensure you’re getting readership, that readership is increasing, and that you’re constantly supplying readers with more. You want people to keep coming back. The only way you do that is by giving them reason to keep returning for more.

Memes Can Make Your Blog Money

by Melvin · Jul 16, 2011

This is a guest post by Jessica Wagner

Anybody who takes their blogging seriously doesn’t need to be told about internet memes and their influence on web culture. In fact, many of the more famous memes found on the web owe their popularity to the relaying nature of links through blogs. But maybe you’ve just started out on your blog writing adventure and aren’t too sure what a meme is. Trust me, you’ve seen one before.

An internet meme is any image, video, phrase, concept, or personality that takes on a cult status online. Typically they’re found on humor sites and forums, where they often originate. One of the most popular meme genres is “LOL Cat”, which is simply a series of photos of cats caught in interesting poses or actions with white font text bordering the image, often conveying a phrase the cat in the picture is “saying”. If you still don’t know what a meme is, search for “lol cat” on Google and spend the next ten minutes laughing.

Now that you’ve gotten your giggles out, consider the ways in which getting familiar with memes can boost visits to your blog. These images and videos are some of the most widely searched for entities on the Internet. Perusing sites where “fresh” memes are being created everyday is a great way to familiarize yourself with the latest laughs. Catch one before it catches on and your blog could be a hotbed for traffic.

Internet memes are becoming their own subject to study. You can research the history of the already established volume of existing memes, and read more about their individual creation by visiting sites that categorize them. KnowYourMeme.com is a great place to start.

So how does a blog make money with memes? Like any other way of making money with a blog, it’s an incredibly elusive feat, but pairing your day-to-day musings up with widely popularly images and videos is a great way to get the ball rolling. You’ll never know until you try.

The added bonus of most memes is that they’re often created anonymously via sites like 4chan.org and reddit.com, and are therefore copyright-free. You can use as many as you want without worrying about being emailed a cease and desist letter.

Blog success is simply a matter of popularity. In order to achieve financial success via blogging, you have to understand that in order to be found, you have to associate yourself with what’s being searched for. For those who don’t take the content of their blogs too seriously, even if they take their blogging itself seriously, nothing could bring more people to visit than making memes your mission. Give it try. You have nothing to lose besides a belly full of laughs and empty space on your blog.

Give Your Blog A Facelift!

by Melvin · Jul 10, 2011

Starting a blog is the simplest part of the process, but where it becomes difficult is holding onto the following that you have built. With so many people out there blogging, it’s hard to stand out from the white noise of the blogosphere. Many times it’s due to no fault of the blogger and more to do with the competition and viewers wanting something fresh and new. If you’ve noticed a lagging readership and a following that’s dwindling, consider giving your blog a facelift.

Reviving Old Posts

You’ve likely put a lot of resources in time and effort into coming up with each post. Though you’ve used them in the past, if the material is relevant, consider going back through your archives and pulling from the wealth of information that you’ve already offered to past readers. If it was a topical posting, then you probably should consider the shelf-life of it, but there’s no reason why good content shouldn’t continue to work for you. You don’t have to repurpose them and try and pass them off as fresh material. Use Tweet Old Posts. It might end up getting you some extra attention from people who didn’t follow you a year or two ago. The idea is to introduce new readers to older work. You might find that re-posting an article will get more traffic than when you were first starting out.

Socializing

We all know the power of social networking and when you put the power of information in the hands of people, it spreads like wildfire. It’s like taking the pulse of a demographic by getting their opinions trough something like a survey. Companies like Survey Head get in touch with people to see how relevant the content is. You want to be relevant to people and you should expose people to you content and allow the to freely react. By allowing readers the tools, on your site, to share your work with others you’re not only connecting to them but also their networks. It all snowballs from there. Tools like the Facebook Like feature are all about sharing information and making easier for people to interact and share content. Encourage readers to use these features and you’ll be amazed at what it will do for you numbers.

Guest Blogging

This approach works very similarly to social network. It is, in fact, a form of networking. Just as Facebook puts you in touch with a greater readership, making connections in the blogosphere could prove most beneficial for your success. You may have an excellent approach and opinion but you should realize that yours isn’t the only one. Consider this as a kind of free PR. By writing on other blogs as a guest, you’re getting your personality out there and connecting to an entirely new network of users that might not have otherwise ever heard about you. You’re trying to sell yourself and neglecting this avenue is a bad choice. You should also be commenting on other blogs. This is not a waste of time. Stay up to date and active in the blogosphere.

Try some of these approaches and try not to get disheartened. If you’ve been contemplating giving up because you’re just not seeing the excuse to keep it going, use some of these devices and see how it works. It might be just the thing you need to revitalize you lagging numbers and get your blog noticed.