Dec

27

Blogging as a low-cost, high-return marketing tool.

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The New York Times has a great piece on how blogging can help a business gain more traction with new and existing customers.  I’ve spoken to several clients about the importance of blogging in their business (particularly if it involves a learning curve or is interactive in some way) and how it not only provides Google with fresh content on your site, but one-click RSS subscriptions means that you have customers that volunteer to hear more about your business.

Dec

10

Rand Fishkin explains Social Media Marketing.

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SEOMoz’s Rand Fishkin does a great, easy-to-understand breakdown of why social media marketing is important.  With the preponderance of social media sites and the nature of their audience, SMM can be a great tool for a business looking to get more eyeballs.  The trick is catching on to the next Facebook while it’s still in its infancy - I’ve already heard people refer to that site as “MySpace for 2007,” meaning it’s already considered passé.

Dec

4

Peer-written online reviews make a difference.

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A quarter of internet users say that they have made purchases based on online reviews written by their fellow customers.

For restaurants that find themselves on Yelp, this study is especially important. Searchpeers is in the process of advising a pair of local eateries on getting better placement so they get to sell themselves before potential guests see Yelp and Citysearch results. Even good restaurants will receive over-the-top bad reviews on sites like this for any number of reasons, and it’s important to make the first impression yourself prior to the inevitability of negativity.

Dec

3

Google introduces “Like It?” to search results.

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From the Google Blog:

This experiment lets you influence your search experience by adding, moving, and removing search results. When you search for the same keywords again, you’ll continue to see those changes. If you later want to revert your changes, you can undo any modifications you’ve made. Note that this is an experimental feature and may be available for only a few weeks.

This is something that can bode for good or ill. I’d be surprised if this rolled out across the board without a serious review process related to its beta period. The possibility for search engine results to be gamed seems too massive to ignore, like a sumo wrestler crammed into a phonebooth.

Dec

3

Facebook’s Beacon gets scaled back.

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Beacon, the most controversial of Facebook’s new advertising models, has been scaled back significantly after a massive user protest.  With Beacon, users’ recent purchases on sites like Fandango and Overstock.com would be included in the online social network’s friend’s feeds.

This past Thursday, Facebook enacted a change that asks users to “opt in” before it publishes information to their friends, so your recent holiday-related purchase of the first season of Green Acres on DVD wouldn’t necessarily reflect badly on you.