Free and Open Campaign

At the start of 2012, many internet companies and brands teamed up to fight against web censorship, in the forms of the SOPA (stop online piracy act) and PIPA (protect IP act) bill. It worked very well, but now a new threat looms over the free internet. And it's headed by the UN.

In December, nations around the world will be meeting in Dubai to discuss proposed changes to how the Internet is operated. Currently, much of the Internet is operated by ICANN, a neutral NGO. Some nations in the UN want to transfer its power to the ITU so that member nations in the UN can have more of a say in how the Internet works.

Open Web proponents immediately decried the idea, and the US has been investigating the potential harm such a change would cause. For their part, Google has started another “Take Action” campaign that asks citizens from around the world to demand a free and open Internet.

Going off of precedent alone, Google may very well be successful with its latest campaign. The search giant, along with other Internet companies, were instrumental in mobilizing US citizens against SOPA and PIPA in January.

Of course, there are some key differences between the SOPA blackout and now that could swing the campaign in either direction. For one, trusted brands and companies like Google, Facebook and Wikipedia all came out against the legislation with blackouts and other extreme visual messages. The proposed changes in the UN have had no such campaign yet, and prolific Internet figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Jimmy Wales have yet to issue strong statements against it.

Google’s campaign, however, could make all the difference. The company could inspire the same amount of fervor if it were to lay a doodle over its homepage again. The company hasn’t done that just yet, but we could see more action on the part of Google as we move closer to the UN gathering.

Out of this World Live Tweeting

Whilst the world was still catching its breath after the spectacular Olympics weekend, reports today confirm NASA has successfully landed their Curiosity Rover on Mars.

In a mission which is expected to last 98 weeks, the Curiosity Rover will explore the Gale Crater- an area believed to have been filled with water billions of years ago. Heightening interest in the Curiosity Rover, NASA have once again involved Twitter to help document the mission, posting updates and photos. Whilst this idea has been used for both previous Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) neither appeared to generate the interest quite like Curiosity has done. With the Curiosity account already showing nearly 500,000 followers, not to mention the numerous retweets, NASA finally seem to have cracked the social media game.

So what has changed for NASA this time around? The first obvious reason is the significant rise in people using Twitter. Since the last two Rover missions Twitter has exploded in popularity. Due to this surge the general understanding and interest in the site has also grown. With this, I would also suggest that NASA has gained a greater insight into how to use the site. Their live-tweets documenting the landing of Curiosity really do generate a level of excitement. Following the successful landing, Curiosity then went on to post three consecutive pictures including the line ‘it was one small step… now it’s six big wheels’. Partly down to the live landing hype was Flight Director Bobak Ferdowsi, who witnessed a drastic rise in his follower count from 200 to 11,000 during the pre-landing stages. Ferdowsi helped give an insight into NASA by instagramming his view of the control room.

In a mission reported to have cost around $2.5 billion ($7 for every American), there has certainly been more hype this time around. NASA seems to have harnessed this through the Curiosity Twitter account and the live-tweeting during the landing process. Those that did follow the landing arguably felt more a part of the event and could witness clear evidence, both with the photos and UStream feed.

Live-tweeting has undoubtedly seen a major rise in the last year or so. The Twitter site promotes this activity as a way to ‘turbocharge your engagement’ and posits numerous success stories. For example, Lea Michele (@msleamichele) used live-tweeting whilst at the Emmys in September in 2011 resulting in a 3.5X increase in daily mentions and a 2X increase in daily followers, and The Rock (@TheRock) participated in a live Q&A using the hashtag #RockTalk which saw a 13X increase in daily mentions and a 3X increase in daily followers. The results from these live-tweet campaigns are impressive and NASA seems to have reflected this with the Curiosity landing.

The beauty of live-tweeting is not only the buzz which is generates but also the fact that it has the ability to be applied to anything. In recent times we have seen live-tweet feeds from such events as a brain surgery, the Leveson inquiry, amongst other court cases, and, perhaps most strangely, a public break-up documented by comedienne Janey Godley. The former of these boasted an audience of 14 million people and was the hospital’s second journey into the live-tweeting realm. These range of events highlight that live-tweets can be both educational and for entertainment purposes. Not only does it promote a person, place or an event, it truly engages the audience who can have their voice heard.

You have to wonder though whether live-tweeting can detract from the event itself. With people so keen to voice their opinions are they fully concentrating on the event at hand? Whatever the case, live-tweeting is certain to be seen more and more in forthcoming events. 

Making your Website more Panda Friendly (SEO)

The recent Google Panda update has raised the bar not only for SEO experts but also for web designers. It’s getting tougher and tougher to rank well and that means that you really have to pay attention to all designing and Google ranking factors. When we do this, search engines rewards us because we are rewarding our audience and providing them with the information and experience they are looking for. The following points will help you to make your website panda proof:- 

1.Content is key:The Panda algorithm update emphasizes providing assurance only on websites that contain unique and useful content. This will help users better find content relevant to their search. If you provide web page content that is unique, relevant, high quality and preferably 1000+ words, your site will likely be rewarded with improved rankings and therefore, increased traffic. 

2.Above the fold design: Narrowing your header images, removing header banner images and pushing more content onto the top of your site will help with Panda. 

3.Web Page indexing: A website with more than 100 web pages and maximum pages indexed by Google would be considered as a Panda friendly website. 

4.Page rank: Page rank is still one of the most important factors. PageRank is an independent measure of Google’s perception of the quality/authority/credibility of an individual web page. It does not depend on any particular search phrase. Google conveniently reports this as a number from 0-10 (10 being the best). 

5.Check your Domain registration: Domain registration for five years helps to enhance authority points. This is a small tip, but every little bit helps. 

6.Webmaster tools: It enables webmasters to get a better idea of what Google “thinks” about their web sites, how the Google “spider” sees them, and what improvements could be made. 

7.Social media proof: Google Panda takes social media trends seriously and content that is loved by social media sites like Twitter and Facebook gets better position in search engines. 

8.Optimize for Fast Load Times: Avoid flash, single background images in the website. Google tends to favor sites that are snappy, quick, and fast.

Integrating and Using Social Media for your home Business

It's no secret that we're living and working in a digital age.

That's why it's vital that you utilise social media for your home business or company. We're already living in an age full of helpful technology and digital networking, and connecting with other people and businesses is easier than ever, thanks to the wonders of the internet.

Whether it be through Facebook, Google+ or Twitter; it's crucial to develop and maintain an online presence. Through a succerssful use and utilisation of Social Media, you'll find that not only will your customer or consumer base grow substantially, but the level at which you'll be able to develop and converse will feel much more personal, which is good for both the customer and you.

My business partner and I have recently started our own hlepful course teaching other small home businesses how to best utilise and grow through social media. All we need is your name and email address, and we will send you anything and everything you need to know.

You can sign up by clicking here.

Can Internet Marketing Be a Long Term Business?

Here is the basic honest truth: most of the people get into Internet Marketing because they are convinced it is an easy way to earn quick money. Their approach is to make a fast website, put up some advertising and a few affiliate links and then sit back and watch while they earn real cash. There are a large amount of individuals who do this and also earn lots of money on the internet. But what if you want more than some extra or even quick cash (quick cash, naturally being a misnomer)? Can Internet Marketing really be leveraged to produce a worthwhile and long term career? 

The quick and dirty answer is that yes, you are able to make Internet Marketing your long term and sustainable career. You only need to take on the project properly. The procedures and programs you use to build something to earn fast money are not all that different than the methods and systems you will use to build long term profits. So what would you do if you need to develop a sustainable career on the internet? 

It is very important that the first thing you do, in order to earn long term money online, is accept the fact that you are going to have to do real work. You will have to do actual and real work on a daily basis and you will have days when you feel fantastic about what you do and days when you wish you could find something else to take on. This causes it to be just about like every other occupation that is out there. If you want to produce lasting cash flow by working lots right now and not at all later on then you are going to be in for a rude awakening in a little while. So be ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. 

There are a few ventures that lend themselves much better to a long term career than others will. Affiliate marketing, to use one example, is a great task for someone who wants to earn money on a part time basis or to supplement your already existent income. Is it truly possible to earn a full time income in this manner? You could if you pick out only the right products and then work like crazy to promote them. A far better approach, nevertheless, is to create your own products or websites and then promote those. This gives you full control over the projects you take on and how you accomplish them. And you will end up more likely to stick with it in the long run. If you want to give a service on the web this works much the same way. Writers, for example, need to create websites for themselves and create portfolios that they can point to as examples of their work. 

Finally, perhaps the most significant thing that you need to recognize is that, when you want to build a long term and reliable income on the internet, you need to truly dedicate yourself to your task. You might have fun and feel rewarded by your efforts but first you should tell yourself "yes, I really want to do this." Making a half hearted effort is not about to get you anywhere.

Getting your Business to Grow through Lead Generation

When your business depends upon getting new leads regularly, there are some options that are open to you which can help you to achieve it. In today's technologically advanced climate, there are many businesses that tend to focus on electronic means of contacting potential customers, such as through social media or email marketing. Although these can be effective, you should never overlook the possibility of direct mail and using those lists in order to increase the success of your business substantially. Here are some of the benefits that will be seen when you use this type of marketing and mail your list physically instead of automatically. 

Perhaps one of the most important things that need to be considered when choosing direct mail over email marketing is that the majority of people look at their mail that they get in their mailboxes every day. Of course, some people are going to toss some of the information without looking at it but a vast majority of those individuals are going to sort through it without delay. This gets your message in front of those individuals easily and, compared to email marketing, the response can be substantially higher. 

Another benefit to using direct mail is that you can specifically target groups of people that have an interest in what you are offering. It is important for you to consider this, not only when using direct mail but when purchasing the list of individuals that you will be mailing. The more focused the list is, the more likely it is going to be that you are going to see results from that list. 

Have you thought about the customization that is possible when mailing people instead of using electronic means of contacting them? When most people gather email lists, they are only going to gather the most basic information from the potential customer. When you have a mailing list, you not only have the physical address but you often have their name and perhaps some other information as well. You can use this information in order to customize the mailing which will, in turn, increase the response. This is also something that should be considered when you are gathering a list or purchasing it from the company that generates leads. 

Finally, you can measure the results of mailing those individuals in order to see if any changes need to be made to the mailing. Of course, you would always want to consider changing the copy and testing in order to increase the response. Some of the ways that you can track the response of a direct-mail campaign include sending out coupons with specific information that either needs to be filled out on your website or to be mailed back to your company. This can assist you in doing a split test as well, allowing you to easily see which is going to be more effective so that you can make those changes and send the future mailings to a larger list to increase the response.

Should Your Small Business Advertise on Facebook?

Original Post from Mashable. Authored by Business News Daily

Conflicting reports have shown Facebook ads to be both an effective and ineffective means for businesses to target their advertising dollars. But despite those dueling findings, small businesses may not want to automatically write off advertising on Facebook, especially if it is done correctly and expectations are managed.

A report by Reuters/Ipsos which found that 80% of people said comments and advertisements on Facebook had not led them to make a purchase. On the other hand, a comScore report — which was co-sponsored by Facebook — showed that the ads did help purchases, sometimes as much as 38% over those not exposed to Facebook ads. Despite the different opinions in both those studies, they are both right… in a way.

BusinessNewsDaily spoke with several experts about what small business owners should know before deciding about whether or not to spend money on ads on Facebook.

[5 Ways to Not Lose Money on Facebook]

Are Facebook Worth it for Small Businesses?

“It really depends. They definitely can be for some, but frequently aren’t for others,” said Tom Demers, co-founder and managing partner at Measured SEM, a search engine marketing firm. “One of the strongest uses for Facebook ads is to get people in a very specific demographic to like your Facebook page so that you can then message to them over time. For instance, if you’re a small local restaurant, you can get people in the area to like your page, and then when you do things like offer coupons or promote events, you can incentivize them to share those promotions so that their friends see it, which provides a unique viral effect you can’t with many forms of advertising.”

Viral ads, however, are not the only way that Facebook ads can help a small business, Demers said.

“Similarly, some small businesses can have success in promotion,” he said. “The businesses that often get poor results with Facebook ads are those that treat them like other advertising mediums and try to push hard to a sale. Facebook tends to work much better at promoting softer offers such as free giveaways, discounts or simply getting users to become fans of your business so that you can convert them into leads and sales down the line.”

What Benefits Do Facebook Ads Provide to Small Business Owners?

“Facebook ads build a list, just like email or direct mail marketing, but with much more control and data,” said Jason Keath, CEO and founder of Social Fresh, a social media education company. “Compare this to the yellow pages, radio, TV, print where you get the ad, but you do not get the list. With Facebook ads, business owners can create a growing community of potential customers that will be with them for years potentially.”

Simply put, Facebook ads, when used effectively, are able to benefit greatly from word-of-mouth advertising in a way that other ads cannot.

“On Facebook, you see other fans of a business or product. You see your friends like them. These things matter and make for more effective marketing,” Keath said. “Lastly, Facebook offers more options and data than any other online marketing channel. Ever. I can target an ad to editors that work at BusinessNewsDaily. I can target an ad at hiring managers for The New York Times. I can target people in my ZIP code that love BBQ. The options are endless. That gives a business access to marketing gold and relevance.”

How Effective Are Facebook Ads?

“First with Facebook, there is less competition for keywords than there is on Google or other pay-per-click sites,” said Tyler Barnett, founder and president of Tyler Barnett PR. “One of the biggest benefits for Facebook advertising is that you are reaching your target demographic in their comfort zone. When a person is logged into their Facebook page, they are comfortable. When they see your ad on their Facebook page there is a certain amount of trust that is inherent and that you don’t get when seeing a random link on a Google search.”

That trust can be a particularly important factor in the effectiveness of advertisements on Facebook, Barnett said.

“Typically with Facebook ads, you can go to the person’s Facebook page,” Barnett said. “The main difference between a Facebook page and a traditional web page is you can see customer feedback. If someone clicks on your Facebook ad and goes to your page, they can actually read what other people are saying about you. That helped build trust among your client base.”

How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost?

“Facebook ads can vary wildly in cost depending on who you’re trying to target,” Demers said. “Technically, the minimum bid for a click is a penny, and according to a Google AdWords] with other advertisers,” he said. “And you’ll frequently have to pay significantly more per click. As an advertiser you can also control how much you spend by setting daily and ‘lifetime’ budgets for campaigns.”

The price of Facebook ads is among their most appealing features.

“Facebook ads can cost as little as $10 a day and as much as you want,” Keath said. “We recommend a starting budget of $500 to $1,000 to get your feet wet. Test several ad types, images, landing pages with small investments of $10 a day. When you get it dialed in, pick your best performing ad and put a larger budget behind it.”

Barnett said small businesses should at least consider the option of Facebook ads because of their low cost.

3 Secrets To Quicker Internet Search Engine Optimization Results

When you use internet search engine optimization to help you get traffic to your business, you need to understand how you can get the quickest results possible. There are 3 secrets that will help you achieve this goal.

These secrets will allow you to get fast results and they will help you receive the best search engine placement possible. Below are the secrets that you need to keep in mind and use.

1. Keyword research – When you want good results from your SEO efforts, you have to spend time on keyword research. The keywords that you choose are very important to how well your search engine optimization will go.

You want to be sure that you find keywords that are relevant to your site. It is also smart to choose keywords that don’t have major competition. It is very tempting for anyone to go after the keywords that are searched for the most.

What most people don’t realize is that these keywords will require a lot of time to get ranked in the search engines, since you are competing with so many big companies for them. It is smart to choose keywords that don’t have as much competition because this will allow you to get put into the search engine results much quicker for more than one keyword.

2. Keyword location and density – You have to be sure that the keywords you choose to use are placed in the right areas of your website. You want to be sure they are in the page title and in a few of the paragraphs of the content on your site.

The frequency that the keywords are used on the site and in the articles that are submitted online is imperative. You want to be careful that you don’t overdo using them because this will harm your SEO results.

Instead, use the keywords in the first and last paragraph that is written by you. Then place them once or twice in the body of the content, but no more than that. You also want to be your keyword is used in the titles for each content piece you write for that particular keyword.

3. Relevant content – The content that you write, based on the keywords that you choose is vital for SEO. If you are using the keywords on your website, then you need to make sure that the keyword being searched for will lead people to a site that is relevant to that particular keyword.

The same is true for any articles you write to distribute online. The content written must be relevant to the keyword used.

Now that you have these 3 secrets in mind, you are now ready to get quicker and more effective search engine optimization results. Just be sure you remember and use these secrets and before you know it, you will see a positive change in the SEO results you are going for.

Getting Search Engines to Crawl to Your Site More Often

If you're interested in making your site more attractive to search engine crawlers so you can generate more free traffic for your site then you've come to the right place. The Google crawl rate is nothing but the total frequency with which their bots visit your site and index new content. Some websites go a long time in between crawls and this prevents new material from gaining valuable page rank. But you can change that by making your site more crawlable. 


It's important to invest a little time and attention to optimize the photos on your site. Images that aren't optimized usually aren't good for the overall performance of your site in the search engines. It can also lead to a less than favorable crawl rate for your website. But the real question is how to get that improved crawl rate. You can do many things to optimize images like placing keywords in the name of the file, resizing images properly, and using captions that are designed to appeal to search engine crawlers. While these may seem like simple steps they can have a huge impact on how often your website gets crawled by the search engines. 


You need to make regular updates to your site's content. 
The problem with this is that this might mean one thing to you and something else entirely to someone else. This doesn't mean that you have to update your site ten times a day; just make it happen more often and you're good to go. Google has a deep appreciation for sites that add new information often and rewards that by indexing their information and updates faster. This is the way that Google uses to let website owners know they've noticed them and like what they see on these sites. 


The most basic thing to do when trying to enhance your site's crawl rate is to submit your website's URL to Google. This is something that is quick and easy but effective. In fact, the more search engines you submit to the better your exposure will be. Additionally you'll want to check that you're getting the right header response. 


Give Google what it wants and you'll have no trouble at all attracting those famous Google bots to your site every other day. These are all steps that are easy to duplicate and apply to every one of your sites for fast results. Most website owners have no idea how important proper optimization is for their websites. It only takes a little effort on your part to make your site more attractive to them but the rewards are well worth that effort.

Social Media and Why it's Effective

Social media has established a prominent presence as form of marketing utilized by companies in countless industries worldwide. There are a variety of inherent factors that can prove to substantially increase a company’s brand equity and visibility, or possibly victimize a company’s reputation. The way in which a social media strategy is implemented and monitored can go a long way in determining its overall effectiveness. Today’s market features a wide array of consumers who have certain expectations of brands, products, and services. Discontented and social media savvy consumers are simply awaiting any opportunity to voice their opinions via Twitter, Facebook, and associated social channels. This makes it even more vital for a company to thoroughly research and consider what methods of social media are most appropriate and beneficial to their needs. 

There are a number of steps that can be taken in order to avoid the aforementioned social media disasters that occur frequently in today’s online marketplace. The first involves being realistic and properly understanding the relationship between conversations on social networks and other types of customer interactions. The next step includes utilizing a multi-channel strategy for customer sales and service. While social media is quite effective, interactions taking place at brick and mortar locations, on toll-free lines, and during online customer service chats are also very important in providing a comprehensive view of consumers’ opinions. The following step focuses upon viewing your data and evaluating the technology that is currently in place in order to understand consumer behavior and the voice of the customer. The final measure that can be taken to avoid social media disaster is to have a designated employee that specializes in the customer experience delivery chain. 

A company that does not currently possess a strong presence in social media does not have to fear making a huge investment in social media. There are a number of low cost options that can be practiced to make that initial leap into the realm of social media marketing. Starting a blog about relevant industry news, trends, or intriguing applications of your product line is an excellent way to embark into the world of social media. Creating a LinkedIn group, Facebook page, Twitter account, a customers-only discussion forum, or a YouTube channel can provide unique opportunities to present and inform users and fans alike of current company highlights and information. 

The key to a company’s successful use of social media is all about the results and the ability to properly measure them. Industry analysts are publicizing self-service business intelligence as the so-called “golden child” of 2011. In terms of marketing, one area that could widely benefit from self-service BI is social marketing. There are a number of best-practices that can be employed in order to measure social media effectiveness using BI solutions. Mapping out the ideal marketing process flow that will best transform prospects into quality sales leads is an exceptional starting point. Another practice involves determining the online marketing initiatives and campaigns that will be implemented to attract and engage prospects. Selection of the appropriate outlets to use is quite important in safeguarding the effectiveness of these initiatives. 

Each initiative that comprises the marketing plan must then have a pre-established audience profile, outreach, value proposition, and budget that you are willing to spend. The most appropriate set of keywords must then be identified to ensure optimal website content that is designed for those specific keywords. Identifying and adjusting paths on social networks, aligning the website experience with specific landing pages, and setting goals for desired actions are all best-practice techniques in order to ensure continuity. It is also vital to measure all of the initiatives that are being used at a given time to display your activity, outreach, engagement, and outcomes. An even more thorough approach includes tracking all the way through to incremental sales, revenue and gross profit that is derived directly from online marketing. Business intelligence allows insight at the appropriate times during your social media campaigns. It offers the ability to instantly alter campaign focus and direction. Social media marketing can greatly benefit from the use of business intelligence as marketers can produce and exhibit greater value in their social media outreach campaigns.