Just because Microsoft Live doesn't get as many searches doesn't mean you can ignore them altogether.  Every place you can get exposure for your small business, as long as you do it legally and ethically, is better for you in the long run.

You will need to go here to claim your Microsoft Map listing.  You will need a Windows Live ID, so if you don't already have one, get one of those first.

Crispy Gamer is a web site dedicated to the serious videogamer who wants news, reviews and information that is unaffected by game publisher advertising and fan boy reporting.

bluedelightconsultant.com is a professional web design company that specializes in Search Engine Optimization services and Website Promotion Outsourcing Services. We apply comprehensive expert Search Engine Optimization to every site we construct or re-engineer and apply techniques that make certain high conversion rates. Everything we do is supported by a well-built technical background and a high level of expertise in application development. And by our efforts to apply proper SEO techniques with your website we ensure you to increase your search engine rankings for the long terms.

The proven Search Engine Optimization services and internet marketing techniques that our SEO Company will use on your website will help you move up in the search engines, get more traffic to your website and finally get more sales.

Port Elizabeth is still a growing city with a lot of potential, but a lot of improvement is needed with regards to online marketing. Over the past few months I have contacted a couple of businesses in Port Elizabeth that have websites and I asked them if they are happy with the way they get found online. Everyone I spoke to said "Yes, I am listed on a search engine". But note, I didn't ask whether they are listed on a search engine, I asked if they are happy with how people are finding them online. The reason I did this little test is because I had a hunch that many website owners do not have the necessary knowledge to find out whether their Online presence is bringing them customers. I definitely don't blame them for not having this knowledge, after all, they have a business to take care of and decisions to make.

One of the major decisions that a business owner needs to make revolves around "marketing". Let's quickly take a guest house as an example. Almost all guest houses in Port Elizabeth have websites, but are they getting marketed online correctly, is the word being spread in the correct manner, and are they listed for the right search terms? Sadly I have to say; "No". In most cases online marketing for accommodation in Port Elizabeth is not being done correctly.

Another thing I have noticed is that SEO companies outside of Port Elizabeth get involved with business owners and do their online marketing and SEO, but most of them are just in it for the money and not to give positive results.

Over the next 10 week days I will be covering various "myths" regarding SEO. The mission at the end of the day is to shed a positive light on SEO and the fact that it DOES work if approached correctly. The topics that I am going to cover will give you some insight and knowledge on things you should know.

Ask Internet Marketing and SEO Questions in the forum

I had been thinking about the role of SEO and SMO in internet marketing lately and decided to do a cursory search and that's when I found Jason's article. It's not the driving force behind this post but it does give it some legs since Jason and others have deemed some of what is done on the level within SEO and SMO circles as unacceptable.

Over the last year and half and even before that, I have engaged in some pretty healthy SEO as well as SMO for clients. And it has worked. I utilized what was available and knew what I was doing. According to Calacanis that would make me a snake oil salesman. Talking SMO then, Calacanis said the following:

Anyone who hires an SMO firm is an idiot. The whole point of social media is TO BE REAL NOT FAKE!!! Just be yourself and participate… that’s all it takes (and note, participation is not just putting in your own links, it’s voting/commenting on/submitting other people’s content too!).

To which I have to say that "SMO is the process of realizing that being authentic and strategic within a social media marketing context or environment can be beneficial.

Here's a generic example. I have a demographic of women smokers in their mid 30's for instance. They  happen to use Facebook. So I create a widget that provides them a way to maybe quit smoking and track the results and share them, which in turn drives them to a blogsite, a branded microsite and a branded community. To get this ball rolling, I've also seeded/posted articles related to all of these sites and the product and the campaign on Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Technorati, Propeller and say Reddit. All of these linked together creates a tremendous opportunity and buzz for these users to not only meet, but also to share, and perhaps learn more about a product dedicated to them. Does this mean that what I have done is black-hat or disingenuous? No. Does it mean that I have taken certain elements, linked them together and have enjoyed the linky-goodness via SMO and SEO? Yes. Am I bad? Am I evil? Am I hiding? Am I not being "transparent enough"?  Why can't I let these social bookmarking sites know about a product launch?

Want a good example?  Buddy Media created the Check your Dudeness app for Facebook-Couldn't this be construed as some element of SMO? They're taking a product, a branded one and using social media to promote it. Is that gaming the system? No.

We need to get away from the fact that what the system allows us to do, does not neccessarily mean that we are up to no good, or that we're not being transparent enough. Ok I get it. I don't need to be told over and over and over again to be transparent and authentic. Yes there is a difference between black hat seo and white hat seo as well as black hat smo, no doubt about it. Just check akismet for aspects of that. But.. most of your brand marketers are only using the tools that are available. I can show you at least 130 examples where companies used certain aspects of social media to promote or further their brand exposure using some of the above mentioned sites and tactics. This doesn't mean that they are operating behind a cloak of deceit.

Listen, there is a big big difference between gaming the system and utilizing what is provided to promote your product, your brand, and your company. It truly boils down to how you use it. I'm all for engaging in conversations but someone has to start the conversation. The better you are at starting a conversation, the better your chances are of someone listening and responding back. Maybe we should be looking at not how to be transparent and authentic, but more on the proper way to enagage and start the conversation.

So that being said, here's my quick version of what these things mean in regards to our business and the people we work with and for on a regular basis!

CMS - Content Management System. Basically this is an administrative tool that enables clients to update portions of their websites via a web portal built into their site. Incredibly handy when you have a price change or want to update pictures, with CMS on your site you don't have to wait for someone else to make the changes for you. The way we do them at Builder Designs, it's as easy as typing in the information or linking the image you want and hitting save. You don't have to be a web designer or programmer to update your site. It's easy and updates are instant. I sometimes wonder if the C should really stand for Convenient!

ROI - Return on Investment. When you invest in something like a website, you would expect to see it bring in new business right? Otherwise what's the point? There are a number of things you can do with your traditional marketing to get the word out there and drive traffic to your website. Did I mention that Builder Designs can help you with that? Not only do we build websites, we also provide marketing and consulting services to help you get your ROI. Read on...

SEO - Search Engine Optimization. If you build it, they will come. Not always so in the competitive world of real estate and the world wide web. Search engines and directories like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Aol and Ask all send out programs that read the code on your website and use that information to determine if and where you'll show up if someone is searching for a relevant topic. So, if you build houses, you want to have your site optimized so that people looking to buy houses can find you quickly and easily. There are a number of things that can be done and without getting into too much technical detail, Builder Designs is happy to work with you to optimize an existing site or build you a brand new one that is optimized to bring you a coveted organic high ranking/position in the serach engine results pages!

SEM - Search Engine Marketing. As with most of your marketing efforts, SEM is where you pay to market your website and drive traffic via a sponsored advertisement. All of the major search companies have programs that allow you to purchase keywords and come up in the sponsored sections (usually at the top or to one side) on the search results pages. Where SEO is geared toward an organic (unpaid- natural) high results ranking, SEM is strictly the paid positions in a search. Often SEO and SEM campaigns are done in tandem with one another and analyzed of several months time to determine effectiveness.

PPC- Pay Per Click. This ties into any SEM campaign- in essence it's exactly what it says. You pay a certain dollar amount every time someone clicks on your sponsored link. You determine what kinds of keywords you want to target and depending on their popularity, you'll see a price you can expect to pay everytime someone sees your sponsored link come up when they search for those words AND click on your link. You don't pay unless they actually click to visit your website.

Builder SEO which is a service we offer at Builder Designs, is a program where we can assist you with determine what needs to be done with your site in order to optimize it for organic rankings as well as analyzing a SEM/PPC campaign and evaluating it over time to determine if it's helping with your ROI!

The world is such a fast paced and busy place, we hardly have time to speak in words that aren't abbreviated anymore, but isn't it nice to know that there are people and resources out there that will take the time to explain it to you? If you are interested in CMS, ROI, SEO, SEM, or PPC, give us a buzz. We'd love to talk to you or fill out a contact form on our website and we'll get in touch with you.

Link building

 Link building is that kind of general term which used to describe anything you do to build links to your website. Link building is not about seo, not about boosting your Google PageRank, not about publishing a link directory and it's not about swapping links with as many other websites as possible. Link building is about establishing partnerships. It's about making the right connections to benefit your website in terms of brand, ranking and revenue growth. This is important to keep in mind. There are some links that are good for traffic, and there are some good for SEO, and some are good for both. Links that provide both traffic and a rankings boost in the search engines are obviously great, but it is important to realize that just because a link gets good traffic, it doesnt mean that it is good for SEO. The goal of SEO based link building is higher rankings.

Attached is an interesting post by Steve Thomas. Any construction or real estate company interested in attracting the search engines should focus on content. Perhaps this should be “evolving” content.

Keep your web site static with litle to no updates, see your appeal to search engines fall. Update your site regularly and see your attractability improve.

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Now she is going through a lot of hassle trying to get things corrected.

It is so easy to claim your listing, you must take a few minutes and do it now.

Here's the link to look up your business.

Once you have claimed your listing you will need to verify your information.  Google will provide you with a PIN by phone or by regular mail.  Once you receive your PIN you will need to log into the Local Business Center and verify your listing.

It's as simple as that.  So, to borrow a phrase from Nike, Just Do It!

You know that the Internet must become an integral part of the marketing strategy that can help build your small business, especially in these economic times.  Now it’s time to use your website to its full potential by generating solid leads that will expand your customer base.

By beefing up your website with some interactive features that capture the searchers’ information, you can be like many of our clients who build their list of leads and begin relationships that can lead to better profits for their small business.

Where do you start?

At IPG we encourage our clients to kick off their B2B lead generation with thorough, intelligent search engine optimization for your website.  Once you achieve respectable search engine rankings and are tracking how many people are visiting your site, what you do with that traffic in regard to your company’s marketing strategy is just as critical, if not more so.

Next, offer free (but valuable) information on your website in the form of an article, report, or newsletter.  To receive this piece, of course, the user must supply his/her email address, company name, birthday, and whatever else you deem important information for your sales funnel.

This particular method is one of our favorites for obvious reasons:  When a searcher visits multiple sites for competing products or services, he or she will visit your site, and at least a handful of your competitors’ sites, in an effort to learn more and sort the “maybes” from the “nots.”

Your searcher may not be ready to buy at that time and your site could be potentially forgotten, but not if you’ve given an engaging reason to stay on your site a little longer by offering your newsletter, special offers, and the like.  As you maintain contact in this manner, you’re also building your company’s credibility and position in your industry.

Now, think back to your Business Marketing 101 class and create some calls-to-action for your website that ultimately drive your desired result:

• "Learn more about our scuba classes"
• "Click here for a FREE E-BOOK on solar panels for your home"
• "Contact us for a 15% discount on your first purchase"

If you’re a service provider such as an insurance agent, repairman, trainer, etc., offer a free evaluation of the prospect’s existing situation to attract visitors to your business.  When they share their information for you to contact them, you’ll have a good start for that lead prior to the consultation.

Keep in mind that you don't want to put so many fields in your form that your potential lead gets frustrated, bored, or runs out of time and leaves your site before the form is ever completed.  Just collect what is absolutely necessary, which is their email address and preferably their first name.  You can always ask for more information later.

With quality analysis of your current and future client base, smart SEO, and tenacious follow-up, B2B lead generation can be the next leg up for your profits.