 | The Submit Express Newsletter | May 2010 |
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 elcome to the latest edition of the Submit Express newsletter, where you can find the latest news about our company and the ever-changing worlds of search engine optimization (SEO) and social media. Submit Express will be busy this summer at various trade shows, conferences and conventions, getting the word out about how we can provide a key element to the overall online marketing plans of a wide range of businesses. We have two major shows coming up in June: we'll be at Internet Retailer 2010 in Chicago on June 8-11 and AffCon2010 in Denver on June 21-23. We encourage you to meet with us and learn more about the latest SEO and social media practices and how they can benefit your business.In this issue read about:
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 Research published by analyst firm Access Markets International Partners shows that almost 70 percent of small and medium businesses actively use social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to promote their companies. But simply posting what your CEO had for lunch isn't going to do much to help move your business forward. Smart companies are tactically using social media tools to increase their exposure to potential customers.We've compiled ten of the most compelling reasons that you should consider using social media tools to promote your business. 1- Brand Recognition: Using social media allows your company to reach the highest number of potential customers possible. Getting your name out there is incredibly important - studies have suggested that customers need to hear a company's name at least seven times before they will gain the trust and respect needed to become a customer. 2- Brand Monitoring: Having a social media presence allows you to better understand what current and potential customers are saying about your product or services. Through active social media monitoring, you have the opportunity to address negative comments and correct false or inaccurate information about your brand. 3- Be Forward-Thinking: Your target audience is becoming savvier when it comes to the using social media sites in their daily lives. If you want to appear relevant and in-step with the latest advances in technology, your potential customers will want to see you on these sites as well. 4- Find New Customers Through Friends: You shouldn't neglect your personal social media accounts as potential avenues to promote the activities of your business. Posting regular updates relating to your business and activities can remind your friends of what your company does and either to use your services or refer one of their friends. 5- Find New Customers Through a Company Profile: Your company profile is a great opportunity for you to post regular updates on your activities, but also about important news and trends in your industry. This will catch the attention of new customers interested in your industry and increase your reputation as an expert in the field. It's critical to post regularly if you want to increase your followers or fans and convert them to potential leads. 6- Generate Site Traffic: By updating regularly on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with posts that link back to your site, you can create additional traffic to your site. Social media bookmarking tools like Digg, Stumbleupon and Slashdot can also generate additional traffic to your site if you create frequent articles and blog posts. 7- Links for SEO: Many social media bookmarking sites use NOFOLLOW tags that limit the outbound link value of posts made on their sites. There are still many leading social media sites that allow DOFOLLOW tags including Slashdot, Digg, Furl, Mixx and FriendFeed. However, you can see benefits from posting to social media bookmarking sites that use NOFOLLOW tags if people read your posts and link back to your Website. 8- Increased Search Engine Rankings: Social media profiles frequently rank highly with major search engines. Using brand names and keywords in your profiles can help you to generate traffic for your social media sites and company homepage. 9- Integrated Social Media Results in Search Engines: Search engines like Google and Microsoft Bing are increasingly interested in indexing and ranking posts and other information from social media sites. Videos from popular Internet sites like YouTube can also be optimized for indexing by the major search engines. 10- Niche Marketing: Social media allows you to reach very specific subsets of individuals based on their personal preferences and interests. You can create social media strategies based on reaching individual interests or even create unique social media profiles to target these audiences. If you are interested in creating a comprehensive social media marketing strategy, our iClimber team is ready to help. Visit the iClimber home page to learn more about our services and how we can help your business establish a meaningful social media presence. | |
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 Whether you are a new Twitter user or someone who has been active on the site for a long time, there are a wide variety of tools available to help you get more followers, organize your Tweets and more effectively communicate with other people. These tools are especially important in business settings, where the ability to manage a high volume of posts and Twitter followers can make the difference between a successful social media campaign and a mess.So how do you decide which tools are valuable? Submit Express CEO Pierre Zarokian has brought it all together for you. He recently put together a list of the "Top 10 Twitter Tools" that can help any business or individual for the readers of Visibility Magazine. We think that you'll find that you get more out of Twitter after reading this article and using some of these great tools. |
 USA Today reports that click fraud is becoming more prevalent these days as cybergangs increase the use of "infected PCs to divert advertising dollars into their hands."According to the article, two separate estimates by Click Forensics and Anchor Intelligence reveal that in the first quarter of 2010 17 percent to 29 percent of clicks to online ads were fraudulent. The estimates represent a 15 percent to 25 percent increase from fourth quarter 2009. "Most often, click fraud is the work of cybercriminals who put up websites carrying online ads and no other content," said USA Today. "The criminals then retain the services of cybergangs in control of sprawling networks of infected PCs, called botnets, which are directed to repeatedly click on the ads. This triggers payments to the crooks who put up the Web page." Click-fraud scammers are responsible for stealing millions of dollars annually, making it an obvious concern for big search companies. For example, Google spokeswoman Rachel Nearnberg told USA Today that the search giant allows advertisers to check for patters of fraudulent clicks. The program allows advertisers to count the exact number of clicks that are filtered out on each ad campaign. Despite their efforts, the article suggests that stopping the criminal activity is difficult to do. According to the article, more often than not, "advertisers eat the losses." |
 Google today launched a new look that features a navigation bar on the left side of the page. Powered by three Google tools—Universal Search, the Search Options panel and Google Squared—the left-hand side navigation bar provides users with a richer search experience that highlights the most relevant search tools and refinements for any particular query.For example, the Search Options panel allows users to customize search results by suggesting the tools that are most relevant and helpful to the query. The second tool, Google Squared, which is available on Google Labs, helps users locate and compare entities. Along with the new left-hand side navigation bar, Google has revamped its look and feel. The company updated its color palette and logo. The new logo is free of the heavy drop shadows and the letters seem brightened up a little. The trademark sign has also been removed. In a post on the Google blog, VP of Search Products & User Experience Marissa Mayer said "Today's changes are the latest in our continuing efforts to evolve and improve Google. "We've been testing these changes with users over the past few months, and what we're launching today reflects the feedback we've received." |
 Just because you are a leading retailer doesn't mean that you fully understand SEO best practices. That's the finding of research done by Conductor, a New York-based firm which specializes in measurement and optimization solutions. According to MediaPost.com, Conductor researched the SEO spending and return on investment of the top 500 internet retailers and found that in the vast majority of cases, companies were not getting the results they would want for the keywords they placed the most value in.According to Conductor's research, the top 500 internet retailers spent roughly $1.2 million per day on almost 90,000 keywords in the last quarter of 2009. But out of the highest-priced keywords, only one-third ranked in the top 50 natural search engine query results. The results mirrored a similar study done by Conductor of Fortune 500 companies earlier this year. In both cases, long-tail keyword searches showed a downward curve as the length of the keyword phrases increased. According to Nathan Safran, senior research analysts at Conductor, the research points out three things that retailers must do: define and understand opportunities in terms of size and scale, create a plan to execute the strategy and continually compare results with your competitors. "Too many organizations treat SEO as an after-thought," Safran said. "It needs to be ingrained in the company's culture." |
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