24-7 AMs | An Internet marketing resource for you!

This Blog Has Moved - Please Visit Our New Blog

2011-05-23T10:30:00.001-06:00

This blog has moved and will no longer be updated at this location. Please visit our new blog for the latest news and posts: http://www.page1solutions.com/24-7-ams-blog.html. Make sure to update your bookmarks so that you don't miss any of our updates!

Removing Bad Reviews - when can you?

2011-04-08T09:21:00.004-06:00

The web is becoming increasingly social and part of that involves people sharing their opinions about businesses on various review sites. There are tons of review sites out there that people might be talking about you on and if someone gets angry, your reputation could be at stake on sites you've never heard of before.

In general, if the bad reviews don't show up for a Google search of your name or business name, they aren't too big a concern. If they do, you should take action. There are 2 types of bad reviews:

The kind that are, unfortunately, true.
The kind that are libelous and untrue.

If your bad review is the first kind, you should go to each site it shows up on and respond to it. When responding, remember to remain calm and not point fingers. Apologize for the way the person was treated and welcome them to come back to resolve the problem. Assure anyone who reads it that you are doing everything you can to make sure whatever happened doesn't happen again.

If your bad review is the second kind, you have a few options. You will, however, need some kind of proof that the statements the reviewer made were untrue and libelous. For example, if someone says you've been investigated by a board - you will need documentation from that board that you have not been investigated.

Then, you can contact the owners of each review site and ask that the review be removed due to untrue content. You will have to provide the documentation to each one. Keep in mind that some of these sites still will not remove the review and they don't have to.

A final resort can be getting a court order and sending that court order to the actual search engines. They will then remove the page with the bad review from their index so it no longer shows up in search results. Read more about this option on the Search Engine Land blog.

A final note: a bad review is not always a bad thing! Having one 2 star review amongst ten 5 star ones is only going to show people that you have mostly happy customers. Everyone has bad days, reviewers and businesses alike. The vast majority of consumers are not going to skip you over a single unhappy customer. But, if the review is truly damaging or untrue, or if the reviewer has posted it on 12 different review sites - you do have options.

Google Introduces +1, What it Means for Your Business

2011-04-04T14:53:00.006-06:00

Last week Google announced a new feature to their search results... +1. Similar to Facebook's "Like" button, Google +1 will allow users to recommend websites in organic search and PPC results. This is yet another step by Google to increase more social media elements into it's services. Their goal is to get online users the most relevant results as quickly as possible. Ideally the more +1'd your site is, the better chance you have at appearing to users as the best resource.

The +1 goes to show the importance of both social media and SEO. As of now, the +1 will not be affecting search results, only giving users tips on what the best resource may be. Google stated, "As with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality."

The new +1 will also eventually be rolled out for individual websites, which will make it easy for people to +1 your site, without leaving the web page they are viewing.

Want to know more about Google +1 and how to get started on Social Media? Give Page 1 Solutions a call today!

Facebook Launches a Profile to Page Conversion Tool

2011-03-31T10:02:00.002-06:00

Facebook released a new tool today where users can now convert a personal profile page into a Facebook page. The differences between the two are with the profile page, users must request and approve a relationship. With a Facebook page, users can just go to the page and "Like" the page.

This conversion is beneficial for many businesses who got started with Social Media and Facebook by simply creating a profile instead of a page. If you do decide to convert to a profile page all of the photos will be converted, and all your "friends" will convert to people that "like" you page.

For more information on social media and how you can market yourself on Facebook, contact the social media experts at Page 1 Solutions today!

Timing your blog posts for the best results!

2011-03-30T08:00:00.003-06:00

After participating in a webinar on the Science of Timing this week, I thought that it would be very beneficial for our clients to have more insight into timing their blog posts for the best results.

Based on research that has been compiled for many months, the following recommendations can be applied to any business. Keep in mind that you should track your results and that they may vary due to the uniqueness of your specific practice.

Know your audience; In general, most people read blogs in the morning. Interestingly, when broken down by gender, women read more blog posts in the morning and men read more blog posts in the evening.
They are more blog views during the week, Monday being the highest day for those views.
Wednesdays and Thursdays are the highest days for generating in-bound links to your blog posts. Other bloggers are researching materials for their own posts and tend to link to existing posts later in the week.
Comments on blogs spike on the weekend. This is because people tend to have more time to formulate questions or responses.
Blog often! If you are blogging at least once a week, you are most likely ahead of your competition. If you want to generate more links and traffic, blog at least once a day!

You can also have your blog posts feed into Facebook and Twitter to help spread your message and presence. Have multiple people in your practice post to your blog and if you want additional ideas or strategies, contact your account manager today to discuss how we can help you implement a new course of action.

Website Domain Names and Non-Web Advertising

2011-03-17T10:02:00.005-06:00

Let’s suppose your website domain name is www.SmittleReveniaAndKlassenhaggan.com, a fictitious Phoenix Law Firm. If you are participating in non-web marketing, this domain name would be very difficult for potential clients to find you. With non-web marketing the website domain name becomes incredibly important, because people will have to remember your website domain name until they get to a computer to type it in.

Some common non-web places where website domain names are used in advertising:

TV/ Radio
Bill Boards
Magazines / Newspaper(or other print)
Other (Side of a bus, Sign at an event, ….)

If you advertise these ways, consider setting up a 2^nd website domain name. We’ll have it direct traffic to your already existing website, so your visitors will easily find all of your information. The cost is low, and the marketing benefit can be huge.

When advertising this way, it is a VERY important to have a website domain name that:

Is easy to remember
Is Short (bad: www.SmittleReveniaAndKlassenhaggan.com)
Is Easy to spell
Uses the .com extension (bad: www.PhoenixLawyer.mobi) (People may remember the words, but type in .com)
Includes NO hyphens (bad: www.Phoenix-Lawyer-Network.com) (People aren’t accustomed to typing in the hyphens)

So ask yourself, which is easier to remember: www.SmittleReveniaAndKlassenhaggan.com or www.PhoenixAccidentLawyers.com? Contact your SEO Account Manager today to take your non-web advertising to the next level with a 2^nd website domain name.

Recurring Content Updates

2011-03-11T13:17:00.002-07:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking about recurring content today. Each month, I spend hours working on page and blog topics for my clients. But why does recurring content matter?

Recurring page additions are important because they show Google that you maintain your website. By updating the content with new pages (and updating the site map), Google sees that you are are a real business that is still operating. Page adds also help give your potential customers more information. Since the fields of dentistry, plastic and bariatric surgery, law, and ophthalmology are always changing, this is crucial!

Blogs are also helpful for keeping Google interested, but play a more important role for your customers. People who come to your website are often curious about who you are and what you sound like. Any time you can have a voice on your blog that helps portray your business, you are going to get more leads from your website.

If you aren't already doing monthly content additions, talk to your account manager today about keeping your website up to date!

So... Why aren't you on Facebook?

2011-03-01T13:47:00.005-07:00

One of our Account Managers here at Page 1 (Dash Harrison) shared a great video with our department this week regarding some interesting facts about Facebook. Since I believe Facebook is so important to online marketing, I thought I would share some of the takeaways I got from the video he sent.

As of 2011 there are 500,000,000 active Facebook users.
1 in every 13 people on EARTH use Facebook
48% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up in the morning...
About 28% check Facebook before they get out of bed on their smart phones.
71.2% of the U.S. population has Facebook
57% of people talk more online, than in real life!
48% of young Americans said they find out about NEWS through Facebook

So again I ask, why aren't you on Facebook? The numbers say it all. Your key demographic you want to reach are online and you have the ability to reach them before they even crawl out of bed in the morning!

If you want to know more about utilizing your social media and Facebook accounts, contact your Page 1 Solutions today!

Community Service and PR

2011-02-25T12:29:00.003-07:00

Spring is in the air. The dark, don't want to go outside days are almost over. Time to start thinking about getting out there and doing some community service!

As a business owner, you are most likely already doing some community service, whether you are building homes with Habitat for Humanity or donating to various groups you believe in. The question is, are you taking advantage of the PR you could be getting from that service work?

If you are participating in community service this year, ask your account manager about our press release packages - they help your website through linkbuilding, but they also help show your current and future customers that you care about the area you work in!

SEO and 162 Games of Glory

2011-02-17T08:43:00.006-07:00

I’ve been waiting all winter to write this blog. Since Spring Training started this week (Pitchers and Catchers had to report), I present to you, the 10 ways that SEO is like Baseball:

All about the numbers: Baseball fans love stats. Tracking averages and benchmarking players against the normal is how we tell if someone is ‘good’. In SEO, it’s the same thing; reporting and hours of looking at analytics of website performance
Long term strategy: Teams will sign younger players that they feel will turn into the next big super stars years down the line. This is a system of planning for the future. In SEO, we also have to have our eye on the horizon, and make strategy based on long term results rather just short term wins.
Weird superstitions: Baseball players, when feeling that they’re performing very well, will often do odd things like not change their socks for weeks. Actually, this is pretty much the same in SEO.
Tracking Competition: Teams monitor what their division rivals are doing, and make adjustments to their batting line ups to best match the other teams’ pitchers’ weaknesses. SEO is similar in this aspect that we use tools like Google Alerts and internal reports for tracking and monitoring our clients’ competitors.
Constant Focus: A winning baseball team is made up of players who are incredible focused on the game being played at the time; players are never seen texting while standing in the outfield. SEO is similar in the constant focus on what is constantly changing in the search industry; it seems every day there is some new change to the search engine’s algorithms that we need to stay on top of.
Professional Fees: Carlos Gonzales was signed this past winter with the Colorado Rockies for a 7 year contract for $80.5 Million; Tulowitzki was signed for a 6 year contract for $31 Million. In web marketing, people often have their children handle their websites, pay per click, and optimization needs. While I certainly think there is a way to use this eager (and free) talent, it pays off in the end to have focused professionals as the backbone of your team.
Trends: The baseball season is long. Winning 3 games in a row might be great, but the team has to be consistently strong over the long haul to make it into the October post season. In SEO, a ‘good day’ of site performance means nothing, but an upward sloped trend of performance stretching months/years is clearly a success.
Cheating: Sadly, some baseball games have been thrown through the years, like the ‘Black Sox Scandal’ of 1919. In SEO, there are also ‘black hat’ ways to try to influence the search engines. As J.C. Penney recently learned, sooner or later the truth will be reveled on unethical practices.
It takes a team: 9 players on the field, plus the bullpen, plus the coaching staff. At Page 1, we have Account Managers, Optimization Specialist, Web Site Video Producers, Writers and Editors, PPC Specialist, Our award winning in house Design Team, and our IT gurus. It takes a team of experts to be successful in SEO.

And lastly…

It’s fun: Baseball is fun to play, fun to watch, fun to root root for the home team. SEO is fun; great clients, constant change, and knowing that you’re making something better every day in some way.

Ready to play ball? Contact your Account Manager today and let’s discus some options and new offerings that will help meet your goals of reaching the post season!!

P.S. Todd Helton is the man.

Google Launches Personal Blocklist

2011-02-14T14:32:00.003-07:00

Google launched a new version of their Chrome Web Browser which allows users access to a free download which blocks websites they would no longer like to see in their search engine results. The download called "Personal Blocklist" is intended to limit spammy sites with low content quality to no longer show in personal searches.

Matt Cutts an engineer at Google said they have been exploring different algorithms to detect content farms, which are sites with shallow or low-quality content. Cutts also said Personal Bliocklist will send information of blocked sites back to Google and could potentially affect Google's ranking system of results.

Chrome will save a list of the user's blocked websites at the bottom of the search results when Personal Blocklist is installed. This makes it easy to see who you have blocked, and also easy to unblock a website if desired.

At Page 1 Solutions have always said "content is king" and this only adds to what we have said and what we have practiced for the past decade. Keeping your content relevant and and informational to users is the best way to assure that your site is known as the best resource. Google not only likes content, it likes GOOD content!

If you have any questions regarding your website content and search engine optimization, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Updating your Social Media Accounts

2011-02-01T10:53:00.001-07:00

Many of my marketing clients frequently ask what they should update their Social Media accounts like Facebook and Twitter with. Below are a few simple tips that will help you get on your way to updating your Facebook status just as good as Mark Zuckerberg...

1. Establish your Voice
Will your account be serious, humorous, informative? Decide how you want to represent yourself and your business. Look at your audience, and ask yourself what is the best way to reach them.

2. What Do The People Want?
Once you have defined your voice, think about what kinds of things people want to actually read! You need to know your audience! You can lose fans fast if you are constantly promoting your business and not giving your audience what they really want.

3. 9 to 1 Rule
Follow the 9 to1 rule. Give your audience 9 helpful things, and yourself 1 promotion. Be willing to give out knowledge and don't be a narcissist! People don't want to be sold to, that's not what social media is about, engage your audience and give them things they actually want to read.

4. Find your niche
Lastly, ask yourself what things you can you do that no one else can offer. Give them a reason to come back to your page. Don't be ordinary, be extraordinary, be memorable!

Why Choose Drupal?

2011-01-25T12:15:00.001-07:00

There has been a lot of excitement surrounding Drupal, probably leaving many of you wondering what it has to offer you. Drupal is a Content Management System, CMS, which allows for multiple people to have access to editing and updating your website. This means you can give different permission levels to a multitude of people so they can help you keep your website as current as possible.

Top 3 reason you should make the switch to CMS:

1. It is simple to use. Making an update using CMS does not require you to have any web-design knowledge at all! Drupal is so user friendly that all you have to do is log on and edit as you would to a word document.
2.Saves you time. You can provide different permission levels and roles to multiple people rather than having to do all the updates yourself. This means your updates get done faster, your site will be more current, and you will help your SEO.
3.Helps your SEO. Search engines love fresh content. The more you add to and update your website the better your SEO becomes and the more traffic your site gets.

The Page 1 design team has been updating and perfecting the design and optimization process for our custom Drupal sites for two years. Choosing Drupal means you will be equipped with the necessary tools to make easy, fast, and current updates resulting in time saved and better SEO.

Google Launching Groupon Competitor

2011-01-21T08:39:00.003-07:00

Just a few months ago Google tried to purchase Groupon for 6 billion dollars but Groupon rejected the offer. Now, Google is preparing to launch their own service, Google Offers. Google Offers will operate much like other local group buying services, such as Groupon and LivingSocial; by sending daily emails to subscribers of local deals; subscribers will then have a certain amount of time to purchase the Google Offer.

Google is still testing Google Offers and has already started to reach out to small businesses to get them on board with their new service.

This is another great way for online marketers and businesses to reach a huge amount of people at one time. Another benefit of this type of service is it reaches several demographics instantaneously. Even if someone is not interested in the "offer" businesses get their name in front of thousands of people in seconds!

...And the winner is

2011-01-20T07:41:00.003-07:00

Back on January 5th, I started my blog platform experiment, called "Which Blog Will Win?". The purpose was to create two nearly identical blogs (same titles but slightly different content) on different platforms (stand alone wordpress vs blogger) to track how the results would ultimately end up.

Here are the result of what happened over the past two weeks:

Wordpress actually was indexed first (on the 6th), but has not been indexed since
Blogger was indexed on the 12th
Neither blog shows up in the first 100 listings of Google when searching for the title (I suspect this will change, though)
Both blogs show other blog posts written in that same time frame on either platform, and
Both blogs show the archived title name and the individual post name

So what did we learn form this simple experiment?

Writing new blogs helps older blogs show up. It's clear that having activity on the blog helps ALL the writing show up. When searching for other titles on the blogger blog, you can actually find the test blog in the listings. Also, its clear that the Google does not index. Blogger continuously, as some people think.

So who won:

Blogger. Blogger shows up first for the exact match search, and commands the top 3 of 7 search results on the exact match (Wordpress got spots 4 and 5). While blogging is a great way to show up for search terms, the value is still created in showing you readers that you're dedicated to your industry, and giving them information they can use themselves.

On that note, I hope this was helpful for your blog. Need help with some blog topics? Have some questions on how to get started? Contact your SEO account manager or start the conversation in the comments below!

A great Facebook campaign

2011-01-14T10:13:00.004-07:00

I'm always being asked what kinds of things businesses can do to get more fans on Facebook. And there are some small things - posting signs in your lobby, putting the link at the bottom of follow-up emails or newsletters, asking your friends, posting patient before and after photos and asking the patient to share with friends and family, and more. But I recently had a client do something really neat with their Facebook page and they had GREAT results from it.

Woodlands Premier Dentistry is located near Houston, Texas. Every year, Dr. Scott Young gives away a smile makeover to someone in the community. This year, he decided to take that giveaway to his Facebook page. First, his office collected nominations and suggestions from patients about who they thought deserved a smile makeover. Then, they picked 4 finalists for the contest. Next, they took it to Facebook. Using a new photo album, they posted a picture of each finalist and a description of why they should get the makeover. From there, they asked fans to vote on who should win. In order to vote, people had to "like" the page and vote on the wall once by a certain date and time. They have also promised after photos will be posted on the Facebook page!

The response was huge for Dr. Young's office! They went from around 300 fans to over 1,500 in just a few weeks! Now they have a huge Facebook audience to broadcast to and a large number of potential new patients have been exposed to their office in the best way possible. Imagine if you could be exposed to that many new people in such a positive light!

Think about how you could use this idea for your own Facebook page - and give your account manager a call to discuss it!

You can see Woodlands' Facebook page for yourself here.

Google Alerts: Watching out for you while you sleep.

2011-01-13T22:39:00.011-07:00

Google Alerts is a powerful tool in the Reputation Management game (RepMGT), which any professional should be concerned about. If you're not already monitoring yourself, then you are putting your good name at risk.

What to do:

Go to Google alerts
Type your name into the search bar
Choose your level of paranoid (Mine is high: I search for 'everything', 'as-it-happens', for 'all results'. Like they say, anything worth doing is worth doing obsessively.)
Set up to have it emailed to you. Or, if you use Google Reader, you can have it set up as a feed to that.
Click 'Create Alert'

That's it. Sit back and hope that only good things come in. If anything new using your name is indexed by Google, a link to it will be emailed to you. This is a passive means to RepMGT; it will not prevent negative things from showing up but will give you a heads up if you need to start responding to negative things being spread about you.

Want to take a more defensive position? Using press releases and widely distributed industry articles, we can highly your positive accomplishments, your vast industry experience, and the value you bring your local community.

experience. Also, we can implement web marketing tactics to shape the positive public perception of you on a more permanent basis, using strategically targeted web pages in a linked network based your name.

Want to take the next step and and take an active role in what people know about you? Contact your account manager today and start the conversation!

Which blog will win?

2011-01-05T23:32:00.002-07:00

This is not a normal blog post, but rather a SEO experiment. Mind if I try something?

I propose an experiment: I have been thinking for a few days on the topic of Blogger versus WordPress and their effects on positive SEO. After talking to many coworkers and reading other blogs on the argument it is clear there is no definite ‘winner’ here. Clearly, if one was far superior then the other…then the loser would cease to exist. That’s the good thing in SEO; change is swift and if you’re not competitive you find out very quickly.

Also today, I noticed a blog I wrote last week was showing up on the first page of Google when I searched for the title. It has been explained to me that blog titles are quickly indexed and this should be expected.

That was on a Blogger based blog, what about on a WordPress based blog?

My Experiment: I want to find out if I write to nearly identical blogs on the same topic posted on within seconds of another with the same titles…Which blog will win by showing up first and ultimately higher on Google when doing a search for their identical titles? Some additional things about this experiment:

I won’t simply copy the text, because search engines frown upon duplicate content. Copying the text would be a disadvantage to which ever blog is indexed last. (Yes, I wrote this blog twice, nearly the same, but different)
I will use a server hosted WordPress blog as the other platform, but I won’t say on here what the URL is of it (sorry).
I will use this Blogger blog as my other platform.
I will not promote either blog on Facebook, twitter, or other means.
I’ll write an update sometime in the future, I promise.
I’ll keep my keyword density the same between the two blogs.
I’ll search in one week to see which blog gets indexed first, and then again a week later to see overall rank.
Before posting, I have recorded my search results for “Which blog will win?”

My Predictions:

Bloggers gonna win, in both rank and indexing. Why? Because my Wordpress blog has zero equity in it, it has been around for less than a week has zero followers and no links to it. It has never been indexed and has no optimization done to it. However, with all this in mind, I want to see where it ranks and how fast it gets found by Google. What if it wins?

It never hurts to ask, right?

New Year's Resolution - Break it down into Quarters

2011-01-01T12:50:00.004-07:00

Tis the time to make promises which we won't keep. The problem is not the intent, it is the time duration. I propose rather setting 1 single goal to increase your presence with Google and other search engines (SEO), you set 4. 4 goals in 12 months = 1 goal per quarter. Hopefully, you'll pick up a few new good habits along the way. Here are some great goals for you to get started:

Quarter 1: Read 1 SEO blog every day, so that your staying current on the constant changes. Starting this in January, you'll be able to take advantage of what you learn all year long. Set up Google Reader to make it easy. Other than this blog, I really enjoy SEOMoz's blog and White Hat, Black Belt for SEO insights. After you feel ready, try to blog yourself at least once a week.
Quarter 2: Learn facebook and twitter. While everyone 'knows' what these two are, few people know fully how to focus campaigns on these two powerful platforms. There are ways to use these two tools to promote your business, and both have positively linked to helping promote your SEO work. Try to tweet and post to face book a few times each week.
Quarter 3: Explore the power of Pay Per Click (PPC) this quarter. Page 1 can help decide if PPC would be a good use of your marketing dollars, and then help a develop a strategy for you. Not every organization should do PPC; our experts can help guide you.
Quarter 4: Review your site. When was the last time you seriously reviewed your web site design? Many things have changed in the past few years, like sites being built in content management systems for quicker updates and more control. Do you have video yet on your site? Good site design helps visitors find content, builds creditability for you as a professional, and encourages potential customers to contact you.

Page 1 Solutions is your point of contact for all of these quarterly goals. Don't feel you have to stay to this order, of course. If you feel really inspired to dominate the internet this year, let's talk about starting all 4 goals concurrently!

Time to Tweet!!

2010-12-30T08:10:00.011-07:00

Twitter is possible the most addictive thing on the web. Not only can you tell people what you had for lunch, but you can promote your business too. Recently, both Google and Bing confirmed that links in Twitter to your page help your SEO also. Read more at this great blog by SEOMoz.org

So should you just Tweet your URL every day? No, that won't work and is annoying. Here are 5 tips for business Tweeting:

Tweet your Blog Posts: Drive traffic to your updates to your site, but do so in a Twitter friendly way of starting a conversation. Rather than saying "Here is my new blog on the tax change: http://alturl.com/6oqa3" say "What are your feelings on today's tax change? Here's mine feelings: http://alturl.com/6oqa3"
Promote others more then you promote yourself: Retweet interesting people tweets (that's why the function is there). Also, offer your thoughts on interesting tweets...start the conversation! The saying "You have two ears and one mouth" applies to online communication too.
Tweet often, but not to often: Just like at a party in real life, you have to talk...but don't talk all night long. Aim to tweet at least once a day, and don't always be promoting your business! Back to the party metaphor, you don't want to be the insurance salesman at the New Years Eve party trying to hand out a business card to everyone.
Different Accounts: One for the biz, one for life, one for the new product line...Seems like a good idea but really is hard to maintain and keep up. Just have one, and use it for everything. This helps people build a relationship with you, and that's what this is all about.
Use photos: If you have a new product/machine in the office, or are proud of a piece of work you just did...Tweet a pic of it! Pics on Twitter easy and people flock to them. Regardless of what you read, we're still a visually driven society (glad I just wrote that out for you to read, disproving my point).

I'm going to post a link to this blog , on my Twitter account. Follow me for other SEO ideas, business insights, things I find interesting...and the occasional update on what I'm eating for lunch. :)

Twitter Account Name: IamDanNolan (yes, possible the best account name ever)

Have other great Twitter tips? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

Top 5 Trends for 2011

2010-12-28T11:00:00.003-07:00

1. Stand Out With C3 Video- Video allows you to connect to potential and current clients in a personal way that the written word does not. C3 Video is a convenient, cost effective, and customized way to have video on your website and YouTube with little preparation and big results.

2. Google Places= Results! Google’s algorithm changes will continue to make claiming your Google Places one of the top priorities for businesses.

3. Using Google Analytics to Help Strategize - Being aware of how your website and blogs are performing is an excellent habit to get into but always remember to look at the overall trends rather than focusing on what happens on a daily basis.

4. Blogging to Make Connections- Using your blog as a space to answer your client’s questions is important. It will increase your credibility and allows you to begin to make personal relationships.

5. Customer Reviews=Even Better Results! Having clients review your business on Google Places is an excellent way to boost your credibility but it is even better when you respond!

Contact your Account Manager at Page 1 Solutions today to discuss these trends further.

Do People Search with Questions?

2010-12-27T13:43:00.012-07:00

We have noticed recently that people seem more and more to be not using Google for specific words, like "SEO Providers" but more for terms like "Who provides SEO?".

What does this means for you?

Use these titles for topics for YOUR blogs, and for possible new pages on your site. For example, if you had a page titled "What constitutes Malpractice?" then you are likely to appear very well when someone searches for that question.

It's really marketing 101: Give people what they're asking for. Finally...people are being clear with what they're asking for!

Want proof?

Google Insights is helpful in looking at what people are searching for. Here is a graph using their data of how the 5-Ws (Who What When Why and Where) are being used in search terms. So, it is being counted with someone searches something like "Where is the best pizza?" and "When should I go to the dentist?". The data in the table has been indexed, so it is relative to itself rather an indicator of overall search volume. But, by looking at the growth over each quarter from year to year...it is clear that this method is a growing search trend.

Want to discuss other search trends? Need some questions for you to get started for your blog? Feel like you need to add some pages to be on the leading edge of this? Tired of my questions? :)

Contact your Account Manger at Page 1 Solutions, and we'll make sure that you're positioned well when new leads start asking questions!!

Update (1/5/2010):

This blog was indexed by Google on 12/30/2010, 3 days after posting, and it already appears 7th for the search "Do people search with questions?" While that might be a random question...it does show that this can drive traffic directly to your site by using this approach!

Social Media is not just Facebook

2010-12-22T09:45:00.003-07:00

Everyone knows about Facebook. Whether you've set up your business page or not, you know you should and it definitely should be on your to-do list for 2011. But there are other types of social media out there that are just as important! You need to have a personal LinkedIn account, you can set up Twitter if you'd like to, but more important than either of those are review sites.

There are lots of review sites out there - depending on your business and market, your review priorities will be different. Here are the sites you absolutely MUST be working to get reviews on:

For lawyers:

Google Places
Yelp
CitySearch
Yahoo Local
Bing Local

For health professionals:

Google Places
Yelp
Health Grades
Vitals
RateMDs
Dr. Oogle (for dentists only)
Yahoo Local
Bing Local

It's easy to forget that review sites are the most influential social media out there. They are usually anonymous, so you can expect more honesty. Web users are no longer satisfied with what you say about yourself, they are now going to these third party sites to see what others say about you too. If you expect to get business from the web, make sure you have positive, helpful reviews out there!

The only thing stopping you from having reviews is you - don't be afraid to ask! Your happy clients and patients want to share their experiences. Call your account manager today and ask for an instruction sheet that you can give out when you ask for reviews. That way, there won't be any barriers to your social media growth!

Form a Relationship – Reach out!

2010-12-22T08:34:00.004-07:00

We all know that blogging is a great way to add information to your web site. It is fast and simple to use, and a great way to add content to your site for search engines to index. Blog entries generally should be about your focus topic, as this blog is about general search engine optimization and web marketing. Our team at Page 1 Solutions will help you set one up.

But that doesn’t mean every blog should be on your focus topic. Writing a blog on nothing more than your focus topic might make you look like an expert, but it does not create a personal touch with the reader. I think we can all agree that trust with a service provider is developed as a part of a relationship, and not just because they are presented as an expert.

Don’t forget to use your blog occasionally to make a person touch with your reader; tell them something about you. The word ‘Blog’ comes from ‘Web-Log’ as they were originally online journals. Answer these questions on your blog:

Why did you get into your occupation?
Where does your passion come from?
What makes you YOU?

I’ll start: When I was in 5^th grade our family got our first computer. It featured a 386 speed processor with 40megs of hard drive space. It was right before Microsoft Windows became big, so I am proud to say I learned MS-DOS 3.0. We had a 2400bps dial up modem, and my parents gave the gift of a dedicated phone line. My brother and I quickly learned how to find single line Bulletin Board Services (BBS) that we could dial into near the Denver area, as this was all before the major launch of AOL. While my attention has shifted over the years to different topics, my root background has always been in technology. Lucky for me, this internet fad doesn’t seem to be dying anytime soon. J

I’ll keep it short, this time, but my point is clear: Don’t forget to be you on your blog, and allow your readers to make a relationship with you. Lastly, always end with a question…try to spark a conversation!

Oh, my handle all those years ago was “White Knight”, and my favorite BBS was “Dungeon of the Dragon”, a role playing game focused BBS out of Denver. What was yours? Comment below!

See the Board, Not the Piece

2010-12-16T12:35:00.001-07:00

Many of the Page 1 Solutions employees enjoy playing Chess, which yields some major take-aways for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) work:

You must utilize all of your resources, rather than focus only on individual pieces.
Success comes from knowing the strengths of pieces, accepting the weaknesses of the pieces, and understanding how the pieces work together to form a unit.
Long term strategy is paramount.

How do we apply these take-aways?

Our team has years of experience with each of the many pieces of SEO. A partial list of the pieces in our SEO game: Link building strategies, award winning design & coding, copy writing, web video, URL name selection, blogging, keyword research, A/B testing of calls to action, localization…(the list is long!)

All of these are important parts of SEO, but only when done as a unit. Not one of these pieces alone will result in your goal of search engine domination. However, when the pieces are used in proper balance and order, positive results are sure to follow.

As with chess, an inexperienced SEO professional might rely only on one piece. Inexperienced chess players rely heavily on the Queen, because she is easy to learn and a powerful piece. However, the Queen cannot win the game alone, and anyone trying to be successful this way quickly learns their error.

To learn more about the pieces of SEO and how they are being utilized to make your web site number one on the search engines, contact Page 1 Solutions.

And, to play a game of chess…contact me.

Should I Respond?

2010-12-13T10:42:00.002-07:00

Google Places has recently become very important in helping searchers find you and your website. The Google Places platform has a feature on it which allows logged in Google users to leave reviews about you, your business, or their experience with you. Anticipating negative reviews, Google has implemented a feature allowing business owners to respond to reviews. Here are several reasons why you should ALWAYS respond to a review on your Google Places page:

If it is a good review/comment from a customer, this positive re-enforcement will encourage others to share their positive feedback. This ‘conversation’ shows a close relationship between the practice and the customer, which is paramount in today’s service industries.
If it is a negative review, your response shows that you care about your reputation. Also, this is an opportunity to restate the core values of your business. Don’t make this sound like a commercial, but simply express what is important to you in making your business decisions.
Responding shows Google that you are an actively running business. We have seen that Google Places listings with reviews (both negative and positive) are being shown more than ones that don’t have any. This simple sign of activity on your end shows Google you are participating in their attempt to make search better for everyone.

In the case that you get a negative review, remember to be polite and professional with your response. As you write remember that you are responding to the experience the person had, and not just the person directly. Lastly, always remember that others will be reading your response while determining if they should contact you for business. It is always a good idea to have others read your response before you post it, and never write a response to a when you are emotionally charged.

So, to answer the question of the blog: YES, you should respond!

To review more about Google Places, and how this is affecting your search engine optimization (SEO), contact Page 1 Solutions today!

The 5 Foot Design Test:

2010-12-07T23:00:00.006-07:00

Here is a quick way to test your website design:

Go to your home page and make it full screen.
Push your chair back as far as you can…at least 5 feet away from your computer.
Now that you can’t read the text…what are you looking at? Are you looking at the embedded video links, the high quality photos, or the designed icons leading to specific pages deeper in the site?

Content is king, there is no question about that. However, new viewers do not read content on their first pass; they scan for what they want. Their eye needs to be grabbed, and encouraged to act: Click here! Watch this! Find out More!

Pretend you had 3 seconds to find the most important thing on your home page… Could you find it? Time for you to take the last and most crucial step:

4. Contact Page 1 Solutions for your website needs.

Oh, you can scoot your chair back into your desk now :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone enjoys their turkey, cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie! I'm not going to describe how Thanksgiving dinner is like SEO - you can get an idea of how I'd do that here or here.

This year, don't forget to be thankful for your SEO company! You can be thankful for Page 1 because:

Page 1 has proven methods for getting your website to the first page - we even guarantee that when you sign on with us, you won't pay a monthly fee until we get you a certain number of listings.
We have an incredibly talented group of people who work on your website, including our Sales Consultants, Optimizers, Designers, Writers, PPC specialists, IT and programming specialists and, of course, Account Managers. Click on each of those links to read that department's blog and see for yourself how educated each department stays!
When you work with Page 1 for your SEO, you get a dedicated account manager who acts as a consultant for all your internet marketing. We can give you ideas about your social media plan, update you on Page 1's latest product offerings and keep you abreast of the latest Google algorithm changes.
Page 1 designs award winning websites - yours could be the next one!

Have a wonderful holiday!

The Importance of Video

2010-11-23T10:32:00.002-07:00

Online video is an excellent way to build personal relationships with clients and increase your credibility among your audience. With the advent of new technology and social media, product or service conversations have become a daily activity among consumers. Your company’s message is still very important but the ways in which you interact with your target audience can raise your credibility and success. Creating entertaining and informative online videos is an influential way to engage and interact with your audience.

Doug Hall, author of Jump Start Your Business Brain states, “Credibility has long been known to be important. The new news is how important it is.” Video allows you to boost your credibility among your target audience in an easy, entertaining, and personal way that written word does not allow. Our communication model is becoming more about public engagement and public relationships than ever, making efforts to personally connect with your clients before they walk through your door an essential key to success. Video can make this happen!

Small Biz and SEO

2010-11-19T10:58:00.002-07:00

Andrew Hudson, a local business and job expert here in Denver, recently posted a question on his Facebook page:

Of the following, in your opinion, assuming it was a three-month buy, what's the best advertising investment/return (not cheapest, but best return) for a start-up business? Radio, major daily newspaper, TV, weekly neighborhood newspaper...other?

Several of the responses said radio and TV, but a few very smart responders said "Google" and "Social Media." In this day and age, a media buy no longer has to mean huge amounts of money spent on TV ads where only 10% of the audience is interested. Now, you can spend money on internet search traffic, where everyone who sees your ad is looking for you. Better return on investment because there is very little wasted effort.

Of course, if you are only looking for a 3-month buy, SEO is not the way to go. In some markets, SEO can take 3-6 months or more to fully take hold. Page 1, however, can offer Pay Per Click, or PPC. This is your best bet for a short-term, highly-targeted campaign on Google.

If you are interested in a PPC campaign, please contact us today to discuss your options!

Milli Vanilli – Worst.SEO.Group.EVER

2010-11-19T09:26:00.003-07:00

Today is the 20^th anniversary of the pop music group Milli Vanilli having their Grammy Award taken away from them, after it came out that they did not sing on their “Girl You Know It’s True” album. It was the biggest lip-synching scandal to be reported on MTV…that week.

I’m not sure what ‘band’ member Rob Pilatus is doing now, but I hope it’s not SEO work. Repeating work on a web site is a sure fire way to ruin your goals of stand-out performance for the search engines. In the SEO world, we call this ‘duplicate content’.

The search engines are able to scan for this duplicate content, and give a lower ranking to sites that repeat other sites. Repeating full pages of content is an outdated approach of trying to create a lot of content quickly on one topic. It is now regarded as spam, and the search engines treat it as such.

Some sites, like the associated press and other news organizations, intentionally repeat content. These sites are serving a different purpose than your website; they are trying to entertain loyal readers who are not searching for specific solutions to their problems. Your web site, to stay on top of the search results, needs fresh and unique content.

At Page 1 Solutions we use special web tools to search for repeated content, even for blogs like this. This ‘non-Milli-Vanilli-approach’ helps to ensures that we command only the highest rankings for our clients’ sites.

Who Is Your Target Customer?

2010-11-18T08:46:00.006-07:00

The dot-com burst of early 2000 taught us an important lesson: At that time companies like Pets.com were actually selling products for less than what they bought them for. Pets.com burnt up $300 million dollars of investment money by the time they filed for bankruptcy 10 years ago this month.

The lesson: The web didn’t change the rules, it just digitized them.

So how does this affect web marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) a decade later? To get the conversions you want, you still need to describe the type of client/customer/patient you want your web site to attract. This will align the efforts of your designers, optimizers, and content researchers as well as other marketing messages you communicate (including how your office is decorated). It is still important to use correct geo-targeting and keyword selection for your SEO work; this is to help focus on the actual message being delivered to your target clients/customers/patients.

Getting clicks on your site is good, but getting clients is better.

The first step is to create a basic customer profile, and share that with your web site team. For example, a basic customer profile for a fictional pizza restaurant near our office would probably read:

Daniel’s Pizza Palace: “Our target customers are 20-30 years of age, college students or recent graduates, single, like sports, live in local apartments (non-home owners), make $20k-40k a year. Value time with friends & communication, group entertainment, and being social”

From that profile, you can probably picture exactly what Daniel’s Pizza Palace looks like on the inside and ways that they display that message visually with their website. What would the pictures for this restaurant look like on their web site? What would be the result if the web site included pictures of a married couple in their 40s enjoying pizza dinner with their 11 year old son? Or, the picture above? Who would come in...who wouldn't?

If you need help developing a basic customer profile, or are ready to take the next step with your web marketing, contact Page 1 Solutions.

Big Changes to Google Algorithm!

2010-11-11T08:18:00.003-07:00

Well what in the world is Google up to? First of all, don't worry! Although last week they made some pretty big changes, results rarely drastically change organically. If you haven't heard, Google switched from two algorithms to one blended algorithm last week. Google places and Google organic searches are now mixed and this could make for some big SEO opportunity, especially for businesses with strong local listings!

For most of my clients this change has not shown much of an affect. However, some have actually increased their positioning and others have fallen a bit on the first page. This is why Google Places listings is more important than ever. So how can you increase your places..? REVIEWS! Get more reviews from patients and clients as this is one of the best ways to push your listing up.

One thing to keep in mind is that Google is looking for the best resource. An optimized listing, reviews, the physical location of your practice, video and time online (and many more things) are all big factors in where your website will show up online.

Some things to ask yourself about your listing:
1. Is it verified?
2. Do you have reviews?
3. What's the proximity of your address to the city center?
4. Does the office address on Google Places match the address on your website?
5. Do you have photos?
6. Do you have video?
7. What is the age of your place page?
8. Is it optimized...correctly?
9. Do you have a local number?

All of the above helps Google rank your local listing; however, like your website listing , there is no one thing that will help, all you can do is make your page as complete as possible and like your website listing, give it time to grow and stay competitive!

For more questions about website optimization, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Never hire a Zombie to do your SEO

2010-10-29T11:46:00.007-06:00

As we approach Halloween, it is typical for business owners to try to cut cost by hiring the undead. While this works well in many roles (car washing, lawn mowing, politics), it can be very problematic in the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Some key reasons Zombies shouldn’t be hired to manage your SEO:

They just don’t read: Have you ever seen a zombie trying to stay on top of current events? No, they just don’t care. SEO involves keeping a finger on the pulse of the industries (both the SEO industry and the client’s industry) at all times. This takes reading of blogs, industry publications, and general news. SEO changes DAILY and it takes constant attention to keep up with it all.
Interested in Brains, not Search: To do SEO right, you have to be dedicated to it. A true SEO devotes 40+ working hours a week plus outside reading and conversations with other professionals. Zombies do not have a passion for SEO, and it shows in their results.
No long term goals: Organic SEO takes a long term approach of setting a strategy with goals spanning months. Zombies are rather short-sighted: they want brains now and can’t focus on long term campaigns to reach (eat) customers.
Lack of Analysis: Ever notice that zombies never seem to notice what’s about to happen? That’s because they’re dead. SEO achievement requires constant observation of the web traffic data, the search engine changes, the competition, and the behaviors of the targeted customer. If you don’t evolve with your customer, then you’re already a zombie.
Lack of Speed: Generally, zombies are slow. You need a SEO professional who gets back to you quickly, makes needed changes promptly, and is a partner dedicated in the promotion of your website.
Lack of originality: Zombies always seem to be in herd…200 zombies all moving together trying for the same goal (your brain)? That’s no way to be successful. Being a SEO professional takes a creative mind to come up ideas and recognize untapped opportunities.

We all know how to deal with a zombie: Grab a bat and start swinging. After you’re done getting rid of the undead in your life, contact Page 1 Solutions for your search optimization needs. We proudly discriminate against hiring zombies.

How SEO is like Pizza

2010-10-22T15:40:00.002-06:00

SEO is like pizza. I know that might come as a surprise, but it's true. America's favorite food and America's favorite form of advertising (well, maybe not yet, but it will be).

You see, lots of different components go into making a pizza and SEO is the same. But when the ingredients come together, it is a beautiful thing.

The first, and most important part of the pizza is the crust. Whether deep dish or crispy, you have to have crust to have a pizza. For SEO, the crust is your content. Any SEO expert will tell you that content is king, and they're right. Without unique, relevant and interesting content, your optimized site will never perform as well as it could. It has to hold the search engine spider's interest and the readers.

Next, you have to have great sauce, with SEO the sauce is your website design. No matter what kind of sauce you like on your pizza or what your aesthetic is, work with a great design company to create a site that makes you happy, but more importantly, makes prospective customers want to contact you. If the sauce on a pizza is too spicy or your website design is too wacky, no one will want to buy your product!

The final big component is the cheese - your SEO company. Choose carefully and make sure they are up-to-date. Do they read industry blogs? Do they update their own blog? Does their website show up for key terms? A great SEO company creates the cheesy base for all your future SEO doings.

And now for toppings! You might like your pizza simple, but an SEO pizza has lots of toppings and you shouldn't skip any. If you aren't using all of the toppings you should, call your account manager today to talk about it!

Pepperoni - the most popular pizza topping in the U.S., pepperoni represents page adds. In SEO, it is important to show the search engines that you update your website regularly with relevant information. Page adds are the best way to do that. Plus, they help show your readers that you are an informational resource and an expert. And that is always a good thing.

Sausage - this is your blog. If you don't have a blog, join the modern age and get one on your website! Then blog on it! Blogging is the single best way to get super time sensitive material up and to show readers that you have a voice and a personality. Let them see what it is like to talk to you and be in your office by writing about it. Sausage is meaty and so is your blog when used well - it links back to your website and connects with customers!

Onions, olives and peppers - these represent the link building part of an SEO campaign. Link building is crucial, but you can't just choose any old place to link to your website, just like you wouldn't stick moldy olives on your pizza. Your SEO company should only pick reputable, relevant directories and websites for link building.

Mushrooms - these are the 3rd most popular pizza topping! People love mushrooms and they love Social Media! Do not neglect social media - whether you are only participating by asking for reviews on review sites or you are fully engaged on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and a couple more you forgot about, make sure you are somewhere! Your customers are already on these sites, so you should be too.

Bacon - everyone loves bacon. They also love video. Sites with video convert more leads and have more customer connection. Your customers want to see you and hear what you have to say before they show up so they know you aren't going to waste their time. Get a Flip cam and start posting short videos on your blog. Or, call Page 1 and ask us about our video offerings.

Beer - Possibly the most important part of the pizza that is not on it. A major part of SEO is posting syndicated articles and press releases to 3rd party websites that link back to your site. Without beer, your pizza is sad and without syndicated articles, your SEO is sad. If you aren't doing an occasional syndicated article or press release, call and ask us about them today.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how SEO is like pizza. Hope I made you hungry.

Promoted Accounts: A New Way to Advertise on Twitter

2010-09-28T10:51:00.005-06:00

Twitter has just announced a new feature that advertisers will be able to take advantage of, "Promoted Accounts". Promoted Accounts will allow companies to pay to appear in the "Who to follow" feature that Twitter recently rolled out.

Promoted Tweets will cost around $100,000. With a price tag that high, you may be asking yourself, "How do Promoted Accounts benefit companies?" Companies and small businesses that tweet seem to want the same thing, more followers. By essentially buying a spot on users' homepages, companies will gain exposure, which is good for branding. Increasing exposure will potentially increase the amount of followers a business has.

Bringing in advertising dollars is a fairly new concept for Twitter. A couple months back, Twitter announced the introduction of Promoted Tweets, which allow advertisers to pay to have their tweets appear at the top of users' pages. It will be exciting to follow Twitter as they continue to find new ways to integrate advertising into their network of over 105 million registered users.

If you are interested in learning more about social media, please contact us today!

Older Adult Users Almost Double on Social Media Sites

2010-09-15T12:45:00.004-06:00

Social media is definitely not just for the kids anymore. A recent study by Pew Internet discovered between April 2009 and May 2010 site usage grew 88% of internet users between the ages of 55-64. The study also showed 100% growth in social network usage for that same time frame.

Now, this doesn't mean that adults make up the entire market, young people still dominate networks like Twitter, Facebook, etc. However, the young generation only showed a 13% growth increase in the same time frame.

The older generation is catching up, which should change how website marketers focus the messages on social sites. For now, younger users are still the main group utilizing social media for updating, reading, interacting, but the older generation are growing quickly.

For more information on Social Media and how it can improve your business and reputation online, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Meet the New Twitter

2010-09-15T08:28:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Twitter announced the revamping Twitter.com. The new Twitter, which is available to some registered users today, will have a new layout that will make it easier for users to consume information, rather than making it easier to tweet (honestly, how could it get any easier to tweet?).

There are several new user friendly improvements that have been made. First, the design of the website has been changed to allow users to see more information about different users. By simply clicking on a user’s profile, a box will pop up on the left hand side of the screen displaying the individual’s photo, bio, and recent tweets as seen below.

Also, users can now embed photos and videos directly onto Twitter. According to Twitter's blog, the company has developed partnerships with DailyBooth, DeviantART, Etsy, Flickr, Justin.TV, Kickstarter, Kiva, Photozou, Plixi, Twitgoo, TwitPic, TwitVid, USTREAM, Vimeo, yfrog, and YouTube, which allow users to add videos and photos directly onto Twitter. These photos and videos will appear on the left hand side of your Twitter screen. Finally, Twitter is introducing infinite scrolling. Users will no longer have to click on the "more" button to read older tweets, which improves usability by saving users time.

Don't get too excited about using the new Twitter quite yet, as it is only available to some users. There is a new application however, called "Am I Upgraded Yet?" where users can request to be updated as soon as their account is upgraded. Unfortunately this application will not increase your chances of being upgraded sooner.

To learn more about the new and improved Twitter, check out the site's informational video. If you would like to learn more about how social media can benefit your current online marketing efforts, please contact a member of our team today!

Top 5 ways to Build Customer Relationships

2010-09-14T12:49:00.004-06:00

Building relationships is critical now more than ever in business, especially in your marketing. People are spending less, cutting budgets and you have to find a way to really connect with your audience and show with them to show them the value of your service.

The following list is advice for both my fellow co-workers, as well as my clients on how to keep build strong connections with your customers and clients.

Ask questions and listen-How will you ever know what they want if you don't ask them? The best way to keep a client happy is to always ask questions and really listen to their feedback. They don't always know exactly what they want, but with a few questions, you can guide them there. Don't be afraid to ask for concerns, that can often cut a bad situation off at the pass; if you see it coming, you can be ready with a solution.
Show them what you have to offer- Teach them and really position yourself as the expert in your field, after all, you are right? Let them know what a fantastic resource they have at their fingertips.
Follow up Quickly- Communicate with them! This is critical. People do not like waiting these days.. for anything, especially something they are paying for.
Go the Extra Mile- What will make you stand out above your competition is what you can give them, that others can't.Do not give the bare minimum.. how many pieces of flare does your competition have...30? Well you better wear 47. Be creative, there is always something that your competitor hasn't thought of yet.
Be Available- This doesn't need much explanation. With technology these days, it shouldn't be hard to be available for your patients and clients. They should always be on your radar, if they aren't contacting you, contact them, show them how accessible you are and how much you want to help them.

If you do all these tricks, you will be on your way to building a closer relationship with your clients and patients. It all seems so easy right? For more information on your marketing needs, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

A New Way for Consumers and Businesses to Connect

2010-09-14T09:34:00.008-06:00

Everyday consumers are inundated with marketing messages encouraging them to buy a cutting-edge product, check out the latest store, or learn about a new service being offered. With all of these messages, breaking through the clutter and reaching the ideal target market that actually wants to hear about a business's offerings can prove to be a daunting task. Not anymore, thanks to the new location-based, social site, Bizzy.

Bizzy offers consumers the opportunity to connect with the local businesses they care about. Businesses can offer specials and promote events directly to these interested individuals. This allows consumers to receive VIP perks because business owners can cater the messages for their ideal target market. Bizzy's main goal is to create relationships between consumers and businesses by eliminating spam and intrusive marketing message because it allows consumers to opt-in only the businesses they want to hear from.

While Bizzy seems like a great way for consumers and businesses to connect with each other, it is currently in beta and is only offered in Dallas, San Francisco, and New York. You can, however, nominate your city to be the next "Bizzy city". It will be interesting to watch this new site as it continues to develop.

If you would like to discover new ways to connect with potential clients, please contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Google Instant Search

2010-09-10T14:44:00.002-06:00

This week Google rolled out instant search, which will save you seconds per search by not requiring you to finish typing your search query (if Google can read your mind) and by not requiring you to click the search button or hit enter.

Our SEO team is all over researching and determining what changes this is going to have on our business. Here are a few things I've already noticed (besides not clicking enter):

When I start typing in cosmetic dentist, Google automatically suggests adding "Denver" to the end. This could be a great thing for local searches - encouraging people to find a local cosmetic dentist and not just leaving the search un-localized.
If I type in "Denver dentist," one of the suggested phrases to add is "reviews," so paying attention to your reviews and joining sites like Doctor Oogle and Yelp could become even more important
When I started typing in "car accident law...," it was lawyers, lawsuit and laws. But after just typing in "car accident," Google auto suggested "attorney Denver," which is great news because we often optimize for phrases like these.

Only time will tell how this is going to affect search and SEO, but so far it seems to just make Google a little more convenient (and maybe just a little creepier).

The World of Social Media Beyond Facebook

2010-08-27T08:38:00.005-06:00

Social media hit the world like a tsunami a couple years ago, and its flood waters are far from receding any time soon. Let's face it, if you haven't heard of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube you should probably hit the panic button right now. While these popular sites seem to be the main focus for users, marketers, and businesses owners, there are several great social media sites still flying under the radar.

A Blogger's Delight:

Digg is a place for users to share and promote content. This website gives users the opportunity to like good information on the web. This is great for active bloggers, and people writing and releasing articles and press releases. If your content relates well to users, and it shows up on Digg's homepage, it can bring significant traffic to your website. There's also the opportunity for advertisers to provide sponsored content on this site.

The Phonebook for 2010:

Yelp is a review site that provides an arena for people to search for the best of their city. It allows users to find local restaurants, services, entertainment, etc, while providing them the opportunity to read and write reviews, post pictures, and compare different alternatives. To put it simply, Yelp is Yellowbook on speed. Yelp is a great tool for businesses to show off their great services by encouraging their clientele to write rave reviews. Advertisers also have to ability to create sponsored listings that show up at the top of each page.

The Newcomer on the Block:

In the developing rivalry between Google and Facebook, Google is taking the next swing by introducing Google Buzz. Google Buzz is taking Gmail and making it social. Buzz is created right from users Gmail accounts, which means a person's main email contacts automatically become their friends and followers. Now you may be asking yourself, "What is Buzz?" Google Buzz is very similar to both Facebook and Twitter as it allows people to share their status and location, as well as photos and videos. This will be beneficial to marketers who love the connection abilities Facebook and Twitter offer. Buzz is also more personal since users are connecting with people they already are having frequent contact with.

The Smartphone-Lover's Dream:

Last but not least, I introduce to you Foursquare. Foursquare is a unique, location-based, social network that allows mobile users to let the world know where they are at, and they get rewarded for it! The concept of Foursquare is similar to that of Facebook Places, users can check in at local businesses, and they earn rewards for frequenting their favorites spots, as well as visiting new ones. Foursquare is currently available in 45 US cities, as well as several major cities worldwide. This site is great for marketers and business owners because they can offer incentives (such as discounts and freebies) to frequent visitors. The best part is that Foursquare offers quality venue analytics to business owners for free.

If you feel like you are ready to learn more about social media, please contact our social media specialists today!

Google's New Real Time Search Changes

2010-08-26T14:55:00.005-06:00

Google launched major changes in their real time search function in December 2009, but today they refined it even more by adding geography refinements, update conversion views and Google Alerts for updates. So what does this mean for your online marketing?

Geography- Now when users are searching for for real time updates they have an option to specify an exact location in the "Custom Locations" box. This feature allows the user to narrow down to a specific city, state and country. You will also have a option click below an update to filter results in that region.

Conversion Views- There is a option to click "Full Conversion View" below updates to access the threaded view. Comments and tweets will be listed by date -oldest to newest. This conversion view include things that are re-tweeted as well.

Google Alerts- You can now also get real time alerts sent directly to your inbox for whatever topics that interest you. At the bottom of the real time results page, click "Create an email alerts for *topic*" or go to google.com/alerts and enter the topics you are interest in and click updates as the type. Google real time will then bundle the updates that interest you.

Google Real Time is a great way to monitor your updates and to stay current with new trends in marketing and business because it reaches the consumers instantly. To learn more about online marketing, Contact Page 1 Solutions Today!

The Return of Myspace?

2010-08-25T13:11:00.004-06:00

MySpace, the once golden child of social networking, has definitely seen better days. While Facebook has seen a steady increase in traffic over the past two years, MySpace has consistently seen the number of visitors to their site dwindle, as shown in a recent report by Arbor Networks. While MySpace will most likely never be able to compete with Facebook's intimidating 500-million active users, it might not be time to write this social networking site off just yet.

MySpace is making some big changes this year in hopes of saving the dying brand. The first big change? MySpace, along with the help of agency Pereira & O'Dell, plans to rebrand the company. The initial step will be to reveal a new site layout this fall in order to set it apart from rivaling sites.

Next, MySpace plans to reevaluate its focus with the hope of differentiating itself from its competitors. It will begin focusing more intently on the site being used a method to discover and promote new musicians. Also, MySpace is going after a different target age group than Facebook. Facebook has become increasingly popular among adults above the age of 35. Based on this, MySpace is going to target a younger crowd, specifically teenagers.

Even if these new efforts increase traffic to MySpace, Facebook will remain the king of social media, and will continue be the place for marketers to focus their efforts. If you are interested in learning more about social media, and how it can benefit your current marketing efforts, please contact us today!

How SEO is like Pancakes

2010-08-20T08:48:00.002-06:00

No, really. The inspiration for this post came from Clint Macklin and Tiffany Houkom.

SEO really is like pancakes. Both are delicious; one as a culinary delight and the other as a business tool. Both require adequate preparation, attention to detail and time to cook. And they should both be enjoyed!

When you decide to invest in SEO, you need to prepare. Much like gathering the right tools from the kitchen and grocery store, you'll need to get the right content, the best design and a knowledgeable SEO company.

Next, you have to mix properly. If you get the wrong proportions of ingredients, your pancakes will be too watery or too thick. With SEO, you need to examine the competitive landscape to determine how to balance link building, blogging, content additions and other strategies. If one balance doesn't work, we'll help you figure out the right one.

Then it's time to cook the pancakes! With SEO, it can take anywhere from 3-9 months for a site to really take off and start ranking for the most important keywords. For a national campaign, it will take even longer. If you were making a pancake for 100 people, it would take longer to cook too. Patience is important immediately after starting an SEO campaign (or putting a pancake on to cook) - even though you are excited, it is crucial to let it run for a while. Pancakes aren't good when they are only half cooked, and neither is an SEO campaign.

Now it's time to enjoy your pancake! You'll need silverware, butter and syrup. With an SEO campaign, you're going to need a great intake process, follow-up with potential leads and continued effort in the form of blog entries, Facebook posts, video, etc.

Page 1 is not going to send you pancakes, but if you would like to learn more about how we can help with your SEO, call us today!

MTV hires first Twitter Jockey

2010-08-10T08:41:00.002-06:00

The search for the first MTV Twitter Jockey has come to an end this week after an online talent search. The winner is 23 year old Gabi Gregg, of Chicago. The contest began July 7th. contestants were narrowed down by various challenges using, of course.. Twitter. The finalists were then chosen by a vote on the other ever popular social media outlet: Facebook.

Are you tweeting? Do you want to know more about it? Contact Page 1 Solutions today to learn more about how to use Social Media to uniquely market your products and services!

Avoid a Social Media PR Mess

2010-08-09T07:55:00.001-06:00

One common question I get from clients who are interested in pursuing Social Media, is "What if people start commenting negatively?" There is always the chance that Social Media can take an evil turn: unhappy consumers who feel they have been wronged, unhappy employees (former employees), or even your competition falsifying information. While you can always delete comments on Facebook and Twitter, the best way to address the problem isn't to avoid it, but to face it head on.

1. Create a Social Media Guidelines
Every company using social media should have a policy of the language permitted discussing your brand. This goes for employees and consumers. Hateful speech, bad language, threats etc should be clearly outlined as unacceptable speech and should be removed from your media accounts.

2. Don't Avoid the Situation, Respond Quickly
If there is a negative comment, it is not always best to delete it, sometimes the best thing you can do is respond as quickly as possible and address the unhappy person sincerely. If someone gripes about your product or service, ask them what you can do to make it better, or tell them a customer service rep would like to follow up with them. Assure them (and other consumers) you would like to "do right" by them.

3. Closely Monitor
This seems self-explanatory.. but make sure you have someone keeping an eye on your social media outlets and engaging with users positivity. Stay a part of the conversation and engage your fans and critics. Keep them happy and if they aren't, don't be afraid to ask them why not. It may be a legitimate problem, and something that can be easily fixed.

4. Learn by example
Ford, Dominos, Southwest, Nestle, Coca Cola.. the list can go on and on, these are just a few of the many companies that have used social media right.. and social media wrong. Follow the news and see what you can learn from others' mistakes and successes.

5. Use it!
Social media is here to stay. Embrace it and be creative! There are endless possibilities, and many can be implemented instantaneously, with a minimal cost and a great ROI. For more information on how you can use social media or other online marketing questions, contact Page 1 Solutions!

3 Ways Practices Can Benefit From Facebook Questions

2010-07-29T08:39:00.001-06:00

It’s official. Facebook’s new Questions feature is live and asking what you want to know. The best part? Fan pages can ask questions, respond to comments on their questions, and also answer other people’s questions. With all these questions flying around you may instantly be asking one of your own “How can my practice benefit from Facebook Questions?” Here are 3 ways Facebook’s new Questions feature can be used to your practice’s advantage:

1. Market Research
Currently about 1% of Facebook users (roughly 5 million people) have early beta access to Facebook Questions. With the remaining 500 million plus active users gradually receiving access in the coming weeks. With the new tool you’re not limited to only the opinions of your friends or existing fan base anymore. All questions and their responses are open to the public. As a result, with the new Questions feature you will be able to tap into the opinions of Facebook’s network of users serving as a resource for some impromptu market research.

In addition to asking open-ended questions and getting feedback, you also have the option of creating a poll to focus the information you find. For example, if you’re a plastic surgeon looking to find out more about consumer behavior, specifically what would be the strongest influencer for users considering surgery you could ask: “What was the deciding factor for choosing your plastic surgeon: surgery cost, surgeon’s experience, before and after pictures, word of mouth, convenient location, impression in consultation?” The responder would be able to pick from one of the choices provided.

2. Establish Yourself as an Expert
One of the key elements of the new Questions feature is the ability to tag questions with keywords to associate them with specific topics. The questions a user asks will be shown to people who have expressed interest in the particular topics that were tagged, as well as to their friends and friends of friends. Users will also be able to browse topics to find answers to different questions.

The whole idea behind the questions feature is to help connect the Facebook community with people who are in the know ensuring that users get the best possible answers to their questions. You can establish yourself as an expert in your specific area by searching topics relevant to your specialty and providing insightful answers to users’ questions. Users have the ability to view and explore your answers to other questions by clicking on the “See more from…” link by your thumbnail image. You will also want to sign up to view new questions about these topics to instantly receive updates on new questions in the topic area.

3. Increase Awareness of Your Brand
I constantly have clients tell me that consistently expanding their fan base is an area that stumps them. By joining the conversation you can reach out to new people and gain exposure for your business through the conversations generated in the Questions feature. Just remember what the tool is essentially for and forget about blatant self plugging. Remember social media is all about sharing. Listen to the community and engage them in conversation by sharing insightful information. If a user finds your answers helpful it is very likely they will be interested in learning more about your practice. They can easily click on your name or thumbnail to view your practice’s fan page or your personal profile.

Facebook is unique in having one of the largest communities of people and it is a community that is already used to asking questions to others on the social network. There is significant potential for organizations to utilize the new questions feature to learn more about their target market while also increasing public awareness and interest in their services, products and expertise.

Effectiveness of Blogging on SEO

2010-07-27T11:19:00.000-06:00

As an Account Manager I spend a lot of time talk to client about investing in their marketing plans and efforts. It’s a well known Catch 22 that to make money, you have to spend some money. But what do you do when your budgets are a little strained?

Recently an SEO client that I’ve been working with was having this same problem. Their Page 1 listings were decreasing as other cosmetic surgeons in the area began to increase their online efforts. Unfortunately, the client did not have it in their marketing budget to invest in upgrading and enhancing their online marketing efforts. We had to come up with a low cost option for helping boost their website’s positioning.

The Blogging Strategy
After several discussions with the client, a Pittsburgh breast surgery office, I came up with a plan that would allow the client to generate significant content by answering typical questions about the procedures and services the practice offered. The blog was also removed from the website and housed on a different URL to enhance the inbound link building efforts. Page 1 generated a list of over 80 common questions for the client to work from. The client and his patient coordinator submitted 1 paragraph answers to the questions, the blog text was linked back to the website and the blog posts were scheduled out for posting at the rate of one per day.

The Results
We began the new strategy in May and by July we have seen a significant increase not only in the website’s search positioning, but also the conversions and unique visitors!

The strategy isn't limited to plastic surgeons and blogging answers to common questions. It can be applied to blogging in general. The key is to provide consistent quality blog content with targeted links. It doesn't matter if your a plastic surgeon, cosmetic dentist, law office or any other business. Blog about what you know on a regular basis and take advantage of scheduling options to keep your posts consistent. If your looking for a way to boast SEO results consider giving it a try.

If you'd like to learn more ways to increase your Page 1 listings, please contact your Account Manager with Page 1 today.

Make the Most out of Your Before and After Gallery

2010-07-23T12:44:00.016-06:00

I recently had a plastic surgery client say he didn't want to have a before and after thumbnail page where they branched out into individual patient case pages. He wanted to force his users to go from one breast augmentation gallery page to the next, beginning to end- sort of like a book. I had my reservations about this since I have found as a user it is easier to have a main page-so you have a place to go from and return to. You can also reference a specific gallery page easier if you come back to the site- rather than click from one page to the next. Below is an example of how the Search Engines would move through the pages.

Another reason I encouraged him not to use the "book-like" gallery is because of Search Engine Optimization. Search Engines look at what is higher up in the navigation as being the most important content. So if they are linked like a chain, it is likely most of the pages-especially the further down they get- will not be indexed by the search engines. The thumbnail page is a landing page that attaches all of the pages higher into the navigation like a spiderweb, rather than a chain link.

I also went into Google Analytics to look into my client, Denver Plastic Surgeon Dr. Broadway, who had the same chain-link gallery before a redesign into a more user-friendly gallery. I took a gallery page of a patient of his that has been in both the old and new gallery. I found that before the design change there were very few(around 25) visitors getting all the way to Betsy's (the patient) page. After the new gallery change the average number of visitors went to 200 in only 2 months. Which shows that users did interact with the new gallery better.

For questions on how to make the most out of your before and after gallery or any other Website Marketing questions contact Page 1 Solutions Today!

Facebook gets past the 500 Million Mark

2010-07-22T07:21:00.002-06:00

It's hard to believe but it has only been 6 years since Facebook was created. Yesterday Facebook officially reached 500 million users. Social Networking guru and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a blog post yesterday saying he could have never imagined it would get this far and thanked all of Facebook users. Zuckerberg also made a rare television appearance with Diane Sawyer on ABC News discussing the 500 million mark on Wednesday night.

For only being 6 years old, Facebook and it's users have shown the world they are here to stay. New applications are created every day and all online marketers would be wise to jump on the band wagon. It isn't going anywhere and it's free! What else could be better but to have a free platform with a half a billion users at your fingertips?

For more information on Social Networking, and how you can use Facebook to market yourself online, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Top Five Reasons to Reprogram your Tabled Website

2010-07-20T07:50:00.001-06:00

A client of mine recently asked what the big deal is with his site being in tables instead of html/CSS. I have been urging him for over a year to switch to a new website design, but due to the economy, he has never really been able to justify the cost. I have shown him case studies and gone over all the reasons why it is important. He is not the only client that I have gone over these benefits, so I thought putting together a list may be helpful for anyone else that runs into this same issues.

1. Faster Page Load Time

One of the biggest issues with tabled web sites is the load times. Table layouts have too much markup tags and make the site load slower. A mark up tag is a set of instructions to the text that describe how it should be structured, laid out and formatted. In a CSS design the markups are reduced and cut, which quickens the load time; a quicker load time not only benefits users to the site, but also increases search engine optimization.

2. Improves SEO

There are many reasons why a CSS site is better compared to a tabled site for search engine optimization. CSS sites have smaller file sizes and fewer junk mark ups, which make it easier for spiders to crawl through a website and decipher the code of the website compared to the content of the website. The structure and organizing of the website layout and headers in CSS ensure that the spiders know what you are trying to highlight on each page more efficiently. CSS also allows for a variety of rollover effects on images, links etc, which are defined by a CSS style sheet; again, this allows for spiders to see the content over a code and Javascript markup.

3. Convenience

With the invention of new technologies such as iphones, blackberries, PDAs, etc., people are accessing the Internet in many different new ways. Web content needs to be available to a wide variety of devices. Having an updated site make it significantly more accessible and will have less problems than a tabled website.

4. Maintainability and Cost Effectiveness

A tabled website does not have a template, which means changes need to be made separately on each of the pages site wide. It takes much more time to update changes on every single page of the site and leaves a lot more room for error that something is being missed. Because it takes longer, it make updates me costly. When using CSS, visual consistency is maintained throughout the site.

5. Inventive Imaginative Layouts and Designs

CSS allows for more creativity in the designing, unlike tabled website designs. Tabled sites are based on a grid, which makes changes less flexible and more difficult to work in. Websites can break in tabled designs with design changes and updates, causing more time and less creative space for designers to work in. CSS designs can position elements on top of each other, like layers in Photoshop. Because of this flexibility, designs are often more distinctive, multifaceted, and innovative.

For more information on website redesigns and programming, contact Page 1 Solutions Today!

5 Ways SEO is like TV advertising

2010-07-16T10:33:00.001-06:00

When you decide to do SEO with Page 1, it is just like getting a prime-time TV spot on network television. You decide to do it, and the TV channels promise that a certain amount of people will see it. At Page 1, we promise that you will show up on the first page for a certain number of keywords. You get exposure!
Just like a TV ad, if users don’t find your site interesting, they will “change the channel” by hitting the back button to go check out your competition. Make sure your site reflects who you are and what your business can do for them. One great way to do this is by using video because it allows users to meet you.
Like an ad on TV, people can tell when you’ve put effort into the presentation and when you picked up a camcorder and made your own ad with your child as the star. Why pay for prime time exposure with a cheap, uninteresting website? Make sure your site not only looks polished, but has quality content. If your site isn’t doing your business justice, talk to your Account Manager about a redesign.
On TV, sometimes your ad is viewed by people who don’t need your services. The search engines are the same way. Sometimes, people who go to your site won’t find what they are looking for and they will leave right away. Maybe they typed the wrong keyword or maybe they are in Springfield, Illinois and not Springfield, Missouri. With TV you will never hear from these people, but on the web you see that they stopped by and “bounced” to somewhere else.
Branding is important! Sometimes, when you see commercials, you can tell what store they are for before they tell you (Gap and Target are both good examples of this). On the internet, you should integrate your brand into your website (by using the same logo, colors, and staff pictures as your other marketing materials), as well as spreading out to sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter (kind of like having ads on multiple channels). Page 1 can create a Facebook page that integrates your logo and can create custom skins for Twitter and YouTube that match your site.

TV and SEO are similar forms of advertising, but the return on investment with SEO is much higher. Search engine users are further along in the buying cycle and know exactly what they want, whereas TV viewers are passive and many of the ads on TV do not apply to them. When you show up for your keyword phrases on Google or Yahoo, the chances of a real customer finding you and contacting you are significantly higher than with a prime time network TV ad.

If you are interested in increasing the relevancy of your advertising and marketing budget, give Page 1 a call today.

Facebook and Divorce

2010-06-29T12:15:00.002-06:00

According to this article by Associated Press, Facebook is becoming an important factor in many divorce proceedings.

So many people of all ages are sharing tons of personal information on Facebook, Match.com and other social networking sites and attorneys in divorce proceedings are using that information. Some of the examples in the article include pictures of "non-partying" parents doing drugs, parents seeking custody of children claiming not to have any and playing Farmville and other games during times when they should be at soccer games and other events.

If you are using social networking sites and going through a divorce (or any other legal proceeding), keep it private. And if you are an attorney, get on Facebook and get used to it because it is becoming more and more important not only to get new business, but in actual cases as well.

Want More Fans? Offer More Coupons!

2010-06-25T15:41:00.010-06:00

Since advertisers and marketers began their infatuation with Facebook, they have been searching for ways to create successful social media campaigns, and to make money on their efforts in the process.

According to a recent article in BrandWeek, one thing is for sure, companies that offer coupons and discounts on their Facebook fan page are seeing an impressive increase in fans. Research and consulting firm, Chadwick Martin Bailey, recently conducted a survey on Facebook fan pages. The company reports that "one-quarter of the respondents said that coupons and discounts were the primary reason they became fans of a brand on Facebook." Other recent studies have shown that many Facebook users became a fan of a business or brand because they wanted to receive coupons or discounts. Click here to view one of our clients who offers specials on their Facebook fan page.

The chart above from eMarketer displays the top reasons why people join fan pages. As you can see, coupons and discounts are the second highest reason people become fans behind brand loyalty.

As the debate to define a successful social media campaign continues on, it's clear that offering discounts attracts fans. If you are ready compliment your current marketing efforts with a Facebook fan page, please contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Google Tags

2010-06-25T07:52:00.002-06:00

Google Places has continued it's roll out of Google Tags by recently announcing they are now available statewide instead of certain cities within the state. For example, Boulder used to be one of the only cities available in Colorado, but now Google Tags is available statewide. There are 29 states that are currently available to utilize Google Tags.

Two weeks ago Google announced their fixed pricing of $1.00 a day, or 25 for the month for their new Google Places advertisement. They will gradually be open to all states in the US. The service allows businesses to create a yellow tag that promotes important aspects of your business.

Google Tags do not help with ranking, but they do help your listing stand out among the other listings. For more information on Google Tags or your search engine optimization, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

4 Benefits of Online Video

2010-06-23T14:54:00.003-06:00

Your website is a window into what your practice is about. You have quality content, great search positioning and a compelling design that directly reflects the personality of your practice. So how do you make your practice stand out further from the hundreds of other medical practitioners and lawyers in your area? Recently, I’ve had this conversation with several clients. To them, and to you, I highly recommend considering adding online video. Here are a few ways that video can help your online marketing presence:

1. Engages viewers senses: Not all web users are readers. Studies show that users scan a page to determine if it provides what they are looking for. If you’re an elective procedure medical provider or a lawyer, do you think everyone who is looking for the services you provide is going to read your site, as well as your competitors’? No. More than likely they are looking for a provider that catches their attention and appeals to them on some level. An informative, well-done video that includes appropriate calls-to-action has the potential to engage users both visually and audibly. It can catch the attention of visitors who are more interested in watching about your business than they are about reading about it.

2. Potential to increase traffic: Usage of your online videos isn’t limited to only your website. From YouTube to Dailymotion, there are numerous video sharing sites online. Placing your video on these sites increases exposure for your business while also providing valuable back links to your website from high traffic sites. Viewers of the video have the opportunity to visit your website when viewing your video.

3. Adds a personal touch: Video allows potential clients to get a feel for who you are as a service provider. Video adds an element to which visitors can connect making your website more than just a url and making you’re practice more than just another faceless business. Are you a fun loving, relaxed practice? Are you the authority on specific procedures or cases? Custom video can help get that message across to your site’s visitors.

4. Increase exposure for specific services: Have you recently added a new service to your practice? Is there a specific service that you would like to increase your focus on? Having a custom video can help you draw site visitors’ attention to specific areas of practice, as well as increase awareness of these services.

If your interested in learning more about how video can enhance your website, please contact Page 1 today.

Elder Abuse Day

2010-06-14T16:13:00.006-06:00

Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and this very important issue is a great example of how our clients can use socially relevant and timely topics to participate in local or regional events. Additionally, they can use their own digital platforms in the form of blogs, social and professional networks to voice their opinion and support of this topic.

The added benefit for the client here is increased traffic to their practice and the chance to show the compassionate side of their work and represent clients that have been victims of any form of elder abuse.

A comprehensive marketing strategy should incorporate important dates like World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Publicly observing "awareness" topics that are discussed in the media offers the opportunity to increase knowledge about these types of holidays. If "awareness" topics are isolated to their specific industries they will benefit from increased exposure.

Ipads vs Adobe?

2010-06-14T16:00:00.003-06:00

Recently I have had a few search engine optimization clients ask me what they can do about their flash banners, graphics and video not showing up on Ipads. Apple decided to not create their newest device to be compatible with Adobe's flash plugin. This unfortunately affects many websites out there so the question of what to do is starting to be asked by many. Flash is currently the most commonly used media player online, so it not being compatible with the computer of the future is definitely a reason for concern.

However, don't worry quite yet. Though the Ipad sales have already reached over 2 million users in such a short span of time, it is also still just a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of internet users out there. As of 2009 there were 1.8 billion internet users and 99% of those users have the flash plugin. Ipad users only make up 0.12% of the market.

Adobe and Apple are waging a very public debate right now and it does not look like Apple will use Adobe's current flash model but have stated they would like to see Adobe develop something new. HTML5 has been introduced as an alternative, however, it is still in beta testing and is not even completely written yet. So at this time it is not likely or advised to design sites using it.. yet. Switching to HTML5 would mean loosing compatibility with several search engines.

In the meantime, non flash sites do still work using Ipads and we will await to see where the two companies come to a solution. Page 1 solutions keeps up with current technologies and will continue to stay informed on the best direction to go with our websites and clients. For more information, contact us today!

Develop your Facebook Business Page

2010-06-09T08:12:00.004-06:00

According to the writers at Penn Olson, an internet marketing firm in Pittsburgh, everyday more than 10 million Facebook users 'Like' pages. There are more than 1.5 million active pages on Facebook, and more are being created daily.

Your Unique Approach
To ensure that Facebook users flock to your page, you need to stand out. Make your Facebook page unique by including offers, updates, and media that isn't found anywhere else. Provide interactivity; engage your client base to get them involved with your page. Post a question on your wall directed towards the public to provide input, recommendations, or just to start a discussion. Many companies have added polls to their pages which allow users to vote on different topics and trends. These polls have been successful because they make the user feel like their opinion is valued and that they have an impact on decisions made by the business.

Keep in mind the platform you are using to promote your business. Facebook is supposed to be fun, and personal. It is a place to share information and stay current with social happenings. If you highlight the personal element of your work, people will find it easier to relate and connect.

In case you need some inspiration, here are some successful business pages to take a look at:

Starbucks

Victoria's Secret Pink

Red Bull

Adidas Originals

Update
News in today's world is up-to-the-minute and accessible to everyone with a click of a mouse. To keep people interested in your page, it needs to be updated frequently. Any recent changes in your business can easily be shared with the masses by posting a status update.

Your page is also a great place to establish expertise in your respective field. Write articles and post them in the notes section of your page. Analyze relevant, timely, information and offer your professional opinion or solution. People will value your page more and recommend it to others if they consider it a resource.

Spread the Word
If you put all this effort into your page, make sure you let everyone know to check it out. A simple way to grow your network is to add a "share this link" button to your Facebook pages. This makes it easy for people to recommend the page to their friends. Mention your Facebook page in other places outside of Facebook such as your email signature, company newsletter, business cards, or have a link your website. While you are at it, go check out our page!

Why Should Businesses Have a Facebook Page?

2010-06-08T16:13:00.003-06:00

Facebook is no longer just a place to keep in touch with long lost friends. Not only are individuals on Facebook, but now most businesses are too. You can search just about any brand and they will most likely have a Facebook page containing the latest news about their business as well as exclusive offers to those who visit their page.

Facebook business pages are set up to look a lot like a personal profile. They have some of the same characteristics, like the Wall tab where you can post updates. This tab offers a business a place to share information with the masses quickly and easily. Once posted on the wall, the post will show up on news feeds of everyone who 'liked' your page.

Business pages can have multiple tabs that you wouldn't see on a personal profile. For example on a business page you can have a specific landing page for a person that has not already 'liked' your page. Maybe you want to entice them to 'like' your page and offer them a discount on something in order to join your social media network. People that have already 'liked' your page can be directed to a different default tab like your wall, or whatever you choose.

Another great perk to business pages is that they are better for Search Engine Optimization than profile pages. Business pages are public so anyone can search for the page and go to it directly without even being logged in to Facebook. Search engines can index the page since it is public, which could ultimately boost traffic to your main website.

Business pages are easy to set up, they create lots of exposure, and they are free! From a marketing standpoint it is something you should take advantage of. To read more about benefits of a Facebook business page click here.

You have a Facebook Fan Page, Now What Should You Do With It?

2010-05-21T14:27:00.002-06:00

You have your fan page all set up, complete with pictures and some fans. Whether you did this yourself or had Page 1 build your page, you have officially taken the step into the world of social media. But what should you do now that you have a page? Try one or all of these ideas:

Make frequent status updates. Any time you win a new case, hear about the latest product recall, hire a new staff member, or have any news at your practice, say something about it on your page! Follow these steps to update the status on your Fan Page:

In the box at the top of your Wall, Type a note about the news, something like this: "Today we hired Ann to answer our phones and be the new face of our office!"
Then click the image that looks like a bulletin board and add a link to a relevant page on your website. In this case it might be Ann's new biography or your About Us page.
Click "Attach" and then "Share." This allows all your fans to see this update on their home pages and remember to visit your site and your office.

Add Pictures. If you take part in an office photo shoot, participate in a charity golf tournament, or just took some photos around the office for fun, put them up on Facebook! Follow these directions:

Click on the "Photos" tab of your fan page and then click "Create a Photo Album."
Choose a name, location and description of the album. Don't skip this part!
Then upload the photos from your computer (very similar to attaching photos to an email).
When you are done, you can edit the photos and add captions. Your fans can comment on the pictures and share them with their friends.

Start Discussions. Ask your fans questions, ask them to share their experiences, or just post general information (but don't copy it from your website).

Click on the "Discussions" tab from your fan page. Click "Start a New Topic."
Post about whatever you'd like to discuss. This allows you to interact with your fan base and discuss issues that are relevant to your practice.

Ask your Fans to Post Reviews. Reviews are a great way to boost your word-of-mouth marketing. Ask your fans to say a few words about their experiences with you - all they have to do is go to the "Reviews" tab.

Add Events. You can invite people to any events you are having. Whether it is an open house, special pricing event or a charity event (make sure they don't already have their own event page), just click on "Events" from the plus sign tab and fill in the information.

Still wondering what all of this means or need a page set up? Call your account manager today!

What are the benefits of having borderless video?

2010-05-18T08:20:00.002-06:00

I have been encouraging a lot of my clients to look into borderless video on their websites lately. There are many reasons why adding borderless video to a site is a great marketing strategy. Websites that have a nice element of movement always help the user feel the site is an updated design, which can add to the credibility of the practice. Having a video of a spokesperson can also make the site have an interactive feel, since the person walks right onto the screen.

Borderless video helps with conversions. Recently I did a case study on one of my clients' progress and I noticed a correlation with increased leads, following the months that we added a borderless video to the site. Phone leads and email leads both went up. The borderless video instructs people to call, or fill out the form, and it appears to works in reaching users.

For more information on how borderless video can help your leads, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

3 Reasons to Have Individual Procedure Pages for Your Before & After Gallery

2010-05-11T13:30:00.002-06:00

Recently I began working with a client, Pittsburgh cosmetic surgeon Dr. James Barber to make some updates to their website after we noticed their SEO results had become a little stagnant. When analyzing the website I quickly noticed that instead of having an individual gallery page for each procedure, Dr. Barber’s website had only one gallery page with all of the before and after pictures for multiple procedures on it. Breaking out the page into individual gallery pages quickly became a top priority for me and here is why:

1. Search Engine Index Pages Based on Relevancy
Search engine use spyders to scan the content and tags to determine what is on each page of a website. On the gallery page we aren’t only optimizing the content, but we also optimize the images using Alt tags. Since spyders can’t actually view an image and determine what it is, it relies on the Alt tag to let it know what the image is.

After the page is scanned, it is indexed by the search engine based on how relevant it is for certain keywords. A page that specifically addresses one topic (such as breast augmentation) and only that topic is seen as more relevant for that term and is indexed higher than pages that address multiple topics. By breaking out the gallery into individual procedure galleries we were able to target one procedure’s keywords and increase the relevancy of that page for that procedure.

2. Websites That Grow are Indexed Higher by Search Engines
Search engines recognize the importance of new, relevant content. It shows that the website was not put up and then left idle. Search engine companies understand that every industry is constantly evolving and as such a website should be growing and developing to reflect those changes. By expanding the gallery into individual procedure pages we are able to grow the website by 10 pages without having to add a significant amount of new content.

3. Search Engines Follow User Trends
Search engines want to give users what they are looking for. One set of factors that search engines use to determine if a website is providing what the users are looking for is the amount of time users are spending on a website and the number of pages that users are looking at. If users are spending more time on a website and viewing more pages, then that website is weighed as more relevant and will receive a higher page index than another similar website that’s stats are not as high.

As a rule of thumb, gallery pages are typically the most popular pages on a plastic surgeon’s website. Users see if they like the surgeon’s work, then typically learn more about the practice and/or contact the practice. Because the gallery was broken out into individual practice areas the average number of pages a visitor views has steadily increased, as well as the time the average user is spending on the website.

For more information on how small website changes can have a big impact on your practice's online marketing presence, contact Page 1 today!

The Power of The Press Release

2010-05-06T08:32:00.005-06:00

I have been working for months with my client, Orlando auto accident attorney, Michael Barszcz to get more exposure for the term "Orlando Auto Accident Attorney." We have added pages, blogs, articles, increased link-building; We have seen great progress, but for some reason that keyword is becoming more and more difficult the closer we get to the first page. We seemed to have hit a standstill. Orlando is a competitive market, so I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I wanted to get him on the first page and drive more traffic.

Recently I decided to try a paid press release. I sent a task to our writing department to write up a release about the recent Toyaota SUV recall. We added a quote for Michael Barszcz and sent it out over the wire. I submitted the release yesterday and when I Googled "Orlando Auto Accident Attorney" today, I was pleased to see the release was on the first page! It is at the bottom of the first 10 website results under "news results."

We are not out of the woods; We still need to push his main website up from the second page. That release will not stay on the first page forever. But, we are showed up on the first page in within 24 hours of the release being submitted. This goes to show the importance of press releases and what they can do for your clients and their online marketing.

For more information on how press releases can help your Search Engine Optimization, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

IP Addresses—Dissecting a Web Marketing Solicitation

2010-04-30T08:29:00.004-06:00

Recently a client forwarded me a solicitation they had received telling them that “Search Engines like clean and static IPs. Don't go for a Reverse IP, go for a Dedicated IP.” In a panic, the client asked me what I thought and if this is true.

The above statement is true, and that is why we use at static IP. Many times solicitations will use scare tactics by making statements about topics people don’t generally understand. After all, the average person probably can’t tell you the difference between a Reverse IP Lookup, a Dedicated IP, and a Static IP. Since we are believers in educating our clients in as many ways as possible, here is a crash course on the types of IPs referenced in the above solicitation:

First, what is an IP Address? Every machine connected to the internet has an address attached to it (similar to how every house has an assigned street address). That is the simplest definition. If you’d like to drill down into more detail, I recommend checking out this article on How Stuff Works.

Now, to address (pardon the pun) the differences in types of IPs:

A Dedicated IP is “dedicated” to a specific server. This means that a person or company effectively bought that IP and owns it, and it is permanently associated with the owner as their web address and identification. A Dedicated IP is referred to in the sense that “this website has its own dedicated IP” and that IP will not change.

Static IP and Dedicated IP are used synonymously, as in “this computer or server has a static IP.” The general idea is that the IP address has been dedicated to a specific server and therefore is not going anywhere—it remains static (This is mincing words to anyone other than those who work in the IT industry).

Finally, the solicitation above references a Reverse IP as a type of IP. This is inaccurate. There is no such thing as a “Reverse IP”—only a “Reverse IP Lookup.” A Reverse IP is not a classification of IP addresses, but rather a tool used to lookup any sites associated with a particular IP. Uses for Reveres IP Lookups include tracking down phishing/scam sites, or to see how many websites are hosted on a particular server. Technically, you cannot use a reverse IP address for hosting a site like you can a dedicated or static IP.

So, why are static or dedicated IPs more effective for Search Engine Optimization? According to Web Host Magazine & Buyers Guide, “Dedicated IP's tend to lend themselves much better to advanced web development, they are much easier to work with and they are more compatible with server side applications. If you have a shared IP, your website could be sharing IP addresses with known spammers, with porn sites, or with drug or gambling sites, and you’d never know. But Google will know.”

It is important to remember that if you receive a solicitation that doesn’t make sense to you or raises questions, contact your Account Manager. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about our services.

Do We 'Like' Facebook Changes?

2010-04-30T07:46:00.001-06:00

Facebook held F8, their third developer conference, just last week in San Francisco. Their mission statement was "To bring together the developers and entrepreneurs who are building the social Web by moving fast, taking risks, and hacking traditional systems." Whether you like it or not, there are some big changes coming.

In the past Facebook gathered personal data for a user from what they shared on their profile. They compiled that information and used it to target users for specific Facebook ad campaigns. These are the ads you see on the right side of your page that strangely seem to know exactly what you are looking for.

Now they want to absorb information from all the other sites that a Facebook user visits. They call it the "Open Graph Protocol" which essentially means what music you listen to, what sites you frequent, where you shop online, will all be information that Facebook now has access to, if you allow the settings and post that you 'Like' a site.

Facebook also decided to change the amount of time that developers can store data they receive from Facebook. Information that previously could be kept for 24 hours, now has no time limit. This change will allow developers to tap into the open graph data and use it tailor any site on the web to that specific Facebook user. Sites will be instantly personalized.

For example, on Yelp.com you can see what Facebook friends of yours also use the site. It will show you something similar to a mini news feed on the side of Yelp that shows recent action on the site. Maybe a Facebook friend just reviewed something or posted pictures, now you will know that information without even being on Facebook.

Another big change you will notice is the introduction of the Facebook "Like" button to sites all across the internet. The 'Like' button replaces the "Become a Fan" button that we were accustomed to. Clicking on the 'Like' button means you endorse or recommend that site, article, organization, or page that it is connected with. Facebook stated on their help center that they made the change "to improve our experience and promote consistency across the site."

What you 'Like' will be part of your open graph of information accessible by Facebook, third party sites, and shared with all of your Facebook friends. A link to that site will be posted to your profile and a story will go out on the news feed. This button gives Facebook valuable information, showing them what sites are hot, and what sites aren't relevant to its 400 million+ users.

These new additions to Facebook are something to take note of. What you share on Facebook is no longer limited to Facebook, it is part of the Facebook network which is ever evolving and growing. Facebook users need to be aware that while Facebook is allowing access to people's web activity more freely, they are keeping their privacy policy pretty much the same. If you want to look over your privacy settings, AllFacebook.org is a great reference to check in regards to options for your privacy settings.

Facebook has grown so much in the past 6 years, it is a far cry from the small college networking site it started with. Facebook is set to hit 500 million users in the near future and has become a force to reckon with. Facebook can be a great tool to stay connected with friends, but it is up to you to decide just how connected you want to be.

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2010-04-28T10:18:00.001-06:00

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Social Networking: Could it really save your life?

2010-04-22T13:24:00.003-06:00

Anyone in the marketing industry knows that social networking is a great way for business owners to reach a broader audience that they might not otherwise be able to tap into. Social networking is also a great way to brand a business and possibly even obtain clients from this marketing effort. However, could social networking save one's life? It certainly did for one lucky gentleman.

This gentleman, Carlos Sanchez, made a status post on Facebook stating that none of his friends nor family members were acceptable kidney donors for him. When the mayor of East Haven, Connecticut, April Capone Almon, (whom Sanchez was just one out of her 1,600 friends on Facebook) saw his status, she was tested and turned out to be an acceptable match for him. She ended up donating a kidney to a man she barely knew.

On April 8, 2010, Sanchez successfully received his kidney transplant. Think Facebook can't save your life? Think again. For more information about this story, click here: http://www.newser.com/story/86784/mayor-gives-kidney-to-facebook-pal.html.

Twitter's Big Announcement

2010-04-20T16:03:00.005-06:00

Facebook has advertisements, Google has pay-per-click, Youtube has commercials before videos, and it was simply a matter of time before Twitter would find a way for companies to advertise on its popular site. On April 12th, Twitter introduced its concept of advertising, "sponsored tweets." Here is a short overview of this new form of advertising.

What are sponsored tweets?
Sponsored tweets are ads that show up on the top of search pages. These ads are simply tweets, which means users can re-tweet them, reply to them, link to them, and favorite them. The idea behind this is a business' relevant tweets will now be available to a large market. Here is an example of a sponsored tweet from Starbucks, which is currently displayed on Twitter's blog:

Will users be overwhelmed with "sponsored tweets?"
No. As of now, only one promoted tweet will show up on each page. These sponsored tweets will be clearly labeled as being promoted. Twitter COO Dick Costolo claims that profitability is not the goal with this, and they plan to slowly introduce this so they do not overwhelm users.

How will these promoted tweets work?
Co-Founder and Creative Director of Twitter, Biz Stone wants these promoted ads to be beneficial to users. Twitter will measure the success of these ads based on resonance to ensure that only relevant ads are showing up. The way this works is if an ad is not connecting or "resonating" with users, it will not longer show up. The ads will work the same way as paid Google ads; advertisers will bid on keywords.

Should I invest in sponsored tweets for my business?
At this point in time, the answer is no. As of now, only huge companies such as Starbucks, Virgin America, and Bravo are embarking on this new method of advertising. We will continue to follow these exciting new developments. If you are interested in learning more about sponsored tweets, please read AdAge's article, "Twitter Has a Business Model: 'Promoted Tweets.'"

Twitter Announces New Money Making Plan

2010-04-14T08:45:00.003-06:00

Twitter, a popular social marketing site, has been a highly trafficked site since it's launch in 2007; they finally decided to cash in. The company announced Tuesday that they plan on rolling out a new business plan, which they refer to as "Promoted Tweets" Advertisers will soon be able to buy search terms and come up in the Twitter stream. Only one ad will show up alongside the other search results.

It has been 3 years since the company launched, so it is not surprising that they have decided to come up with a new way to make money. Twitter has become increasing popular for businesses over the last few years. My clients are starting to embrace social marketing more than I would have ever imagined, and it is great to see them use creative and new ways to reach and build relationships with potential patients and clients.

For an example of how you can use Twitter to your advantage check out our Page 1 Solutions Twitter page!

Does Your SEO Company Answer the Phone?

2010-04-07T14:49:00.003-06:00

I had a client recently tell me that getting the registrar information for her site might take a few days because "my old company doesn't answer the phone." She was required to submit all her requests for changes and service through their website and would then be given a "ticket number" and a response when someone got to it.

I was surprised to hear this. In the world of internet marketing, conversations are the only way to truly understand a client's business and their marketing objectives. How can an SEO company be sure they are delivering the right results if they never speak with the client?

At Page 1, all of our SEO clients have an account manager they can call directly and have conversations with. Account managers can help you make the most of your internet marketing by helping you decide the best keyword phrases to target and techniques to get you first page listings. And when something at your practice changes, we are here to help you update your website and marketing accordingly.

So, if you SEO company doesn't answer the phone, give us a call!

Facebook's New Search Capabilities

2010-04-05T13:57:00.003-06:00

The week of March 13th, 2010 marked an epic achievement for Facebook. It was during that week the world's favorite social networking site became the most visited website in the United States, beating Google for the first time ever. With Facebook's continuing improvements to their search feature, this may become a more common occurrence.

According to Comscore, in January 2010, search queries on Facebook climbed 13%. Although the amount of searches on Facebook are extremely small compared to search engine giant, Google, Facebook is aware that people are searching for information through their site, and are making the right changes to support these users.

Last Tuesday, Facebook made an announcement on their blog about new improvements they have made to their search feature. Not only will search results instantly pop up as you type, but a new menu feature titled, "See More Results" will also show up. Facebook engineer Wayne Kao claims, "You'll see a wider variety of relevant results and be able to discover new connections you might want to make on Facebook right as you're entering your search."

These time saving changes make Facebook both more user friendly, and allow visitors to better connect with their community as well as the world. With over 400 million members, Facebook currently has the visitors and now is planning on ways to keep them on the site.

If you are interested in creating a presence for your business on Facebook, please contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Universal Search & Real Time Search - What Are They?

2010-04-05T10:03:00.010-06:00

Recently I've spoken to a few clients who have heard about Google implementing Universal Search or Real Time Search. With all the new features and applications that Google has recently rolled out it can easily be confusing as to what each does, and more importantly how it will affect your internet marketing strategies.

Universal Search

Google's Universal Search now incorporates listings from its news, images, videos, local, book and blog search engine results into it standard website search listings. Now when you do a search on Google you may see results from more than one of these areas along with the regular website listings. Think of this as Google's way of cutting back on the clicks necessary to find what the searcher may be looking for.

Below is an example search I did for Cosmetic Surgery. Instead of only seeing listings for websites, Google has incorporated news results, local businesses, blog posts and book results along with the regular website results!

Real Time Search

Google's new Real Time Search automatically pulls in new results as they happen. These results are displayed in a "Latest results" area. The feed will constantly stream new results while the user is viewing their search results. Results are pulled from Twitter, Facebook fan pages, Google's News and Blog searches, new web pages, recently updated web pages, MySpace updates, Google Buzz and a number of other social networking sites.

However, the Real Time Search feature will not always appear in your search results. For the section to appear there must be a real-time component to the topic. If Google sees a sudden spike in queries or information for a certain topic, then the section is activated. Results are ranked by time and only appear if they are highly relevant to the topic.

For example, on the day I did these searches Jason Elam retired from the Denver Broncos. Since this is a newsworthy topic the Real Time Search feature appeared in the results (see below). It continued to scroll new results as they were pulled in. When I searched for Jason Elam a few days later the Real Time Search feature did not appear since the timeliness of the information was no longer relevant.

What Does It Mean For Your Business?

With both of these new features you do have an opportunity to gain more exposure for your business. Want to increase your chances in showing up in the Real Time Search? Then, if there is a specific topic that is gaining considerable attention in your industry discuss it in on your social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, or write a blog about it. If your blog and social accounts continually have content relevant to your industry, its very likely that each is already acknowledged as being focused on specific topics concerning your industry. Continue to post relevant topics on a regular basis, build your authority and utilize that to your advantage.

Google's Universal Search also opens up plenty of new opportunities. This search silos information from multiple search areas. Not only could your website appear in the search listings, your business's videos, images, news, blogs, local listing or social networking pages could also appear. Increase your chances of being found by utilizing these different areas. Have business videos or client testimonials? Post them on YouTube. You can also increase your chances by verifying your local business listing and developing a social networking presence. Below is an example of a search for Dr. Terry Bass. Not only does his website appear in the listing, but so do his Facebook fan page and his videos!

Want to learn more about how to maximize your business's online presence? Contact your Account Manager to discuss what is right for your practice, or if you're new to Page 1 you can contact us to learn more about how we can help your business.

Responding to Negative Reviews Online

2010-04-01T13:27:00.001-06:00

Online negative reviews can really hurt business. People like to hear positive experiences, especially when it comes to medical services. When your client finds negative reviews, the first step you need to take is to decide if the review is something you should respond to. You cannot respond to all negative reviews, but some you should address.

Here are some steps to consider when responding to negative reviews online:

1. Own the issue
Show the public that you are aware of their problem and that you are paying attention to them. Some people just want to be heard, and by not running from the problem, you may be able to soften the blow of the negative review

Your potential patient will be reading your response, so write the reply for them. This shows them that you are willing to face your criticism head on and you have nothing to hide.

It doesn't matter if the reviewer is stretching the truth, or lying, own the issue and respond without getting defensive.

2. Assure the public that future patients/clients will not have the same problem
A critical part is to assure the public that this is not a normal problem, or that something has changed.

3. Offer to fix the problem
You can't always fix every issue, but by offering to try on good faith will show online users that you want to do everything you can to offer a solution. Encourage the disgruntled person to contact you directly.

When drafting your response, take your time, do not come across defensive and keep it brief. Taking control of the issue will ensure that you your future customers will have faith that their experience will be better.

For more information on marketing and reputation management, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Eyebrow Transplants? Say Whaaaaat?!

2010-04-01T10:59:00.003-06:00

Are you what any fashion and beauty magazine would disapprovingly deem an "over-plucker"? Do you wish your eyebrows grew in fuller to properly frame your face? You may consider an eyebrow transplant or also called "eyebrow restoration". This is no joke.

For approximately $3,000 to $5,000, you can opt for an eyebrow transplant which is presently the newest (and arguably the whackiest) trend in cosmetic procedures.
At Bosley Medical, an eyebrow transplant consists of removing hair from the side (above the ears) and back of one's scalp and implanting into the arches above one's eyes. The results can be very dramatic and typically last a lifetime.

For more information on this procedure, please visit http://www.bosley.com/solutions/eyebrow_restorations.php.

The Benefit of Online Videos

2010-03-29T13:24:00.002-06:00

Online videos are currently a hot item in the world of internet marketing. Although many see these videos as a means of entertaining consumers, videos actually serve as a great way to increase your site's search ranking.

Search engines seek to deliver a mixture of relevant content. In a recent study, Forrester Research found that "videos were 53 times more likely than traditional web pages to receive an organic first page listing."

Youtube is growing in popularity. Besides being the most popular video streaming website, Youtube is well on its way to becoming a major player in the search engine arena. Youtube currently accounts for 25% of Google's US searches. With so many people searching for content, it's important for companies to have valuable content available to consumers.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of online video, please read "Video Content Boosts Search Ranking, Brand." Contact your account manager today to learn more about how Page 1 can help you with your online video needs!

Injectable Fillers: Not Just for Wrinkles

2010-03-23T10:28:00.001-06:00

Think injectable fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane are just for wrinkles? Think again. These hyaluronic acid-based fillers can be used for under eye circles and even non-surgical rhinoplasty and consist of substances already present in the human body.

Many people have dark circles that never go away or even subside, despite adequate amounts of sleep and proper skin care. These types of dark circles are often times hereditary and are the cause of a thinner tear trough (the area under the eye where a tear would naturally fall against). The filler is used to fill in this thin area with a small needle that penetrates the top layer of dermis. The filler is injected into a few different areas of the tear trough and then is smoothed out using a q-tip or something similar.

Injectable fillers can also be used for what is being called "non-surgical rhinoplasty". This is a very appealing option for those who dislike a certain feature of their nose but do not want to experience the cost, time and pain associated with traditional surgical rhinoplasty. Certain areas of the nose (bridge and/or tip) can be injected with a filler to raise or fill in depressions. For example, if a nose has a bump/hump in the center of the bridge, filler can be used around the bump to make it less defined. Fillers can also be used to reshape the tip of a nose.

The results of injectable fillers are almost instant and are fairly inexpensive and cause mild discomfort at the very most. The results typically last approximately nine months to a year.

ePRs and Press Releases.. What the heck is the difference?

2010-03-16T16:11:00.002-06:00

In our last monthly meeting we discussed Public Relations and there were some questions about the differences between press releases and ePRs. I thought I would pull together a breakdown of some of the common differences between them.

ePRs
Let's start with what ePRs means. Many think it is an acronym for electronic press release, which is actually not the case. ePR stands for electronic public relations. Public Relations doesn't have a simple definition because it encompasses many different areas, including Press Releases.. confused yet? In the Page 1 Solutions world, we refer to ePRs as syndicated articles.

They are basically informational articles, for example. "Breast Augmentation after Pregnancy" that links back to the clients' website. The type of distribution depends on the type of service used: if we submit to free ePR services the distribution is effective for link building purposes, but somewhat minimal in terms of sending traffic. A paid ePR gets a much wider distribution, because we pay the submission website to send the article to other media avenues.

There are different rules and benefits depending on where the article is submitted. Here is some basic information about ePRs:

Submissions cannot be advertorial or commercial
Content is informational and should not be sales oriented
Submissions are usually around 300-500 words
There are several linking guidelines that vary from different article directories.
Good for link building and Optimization
Free ePRs go to 5 different website directories
Paid ePRs go to 24-7 press releases-which have their own distribution list. They are also sent to 4 free directories
No time sensitivity

Press and News Releases
Press and News Releases are very different from ePRs. The biggest difference is that they are about the client. Press Releases should be about an announcement, such as a new facility opening, website launching or staff hires. News releases are used to comment on something already newsworthy, making your client the expert on the topic. Releases are really helpful both in developing organic search results and online reputation management.

Here are some common rules and benefits of press releases submission:

It is not free advertising; it needs to be newsworthy, timely and interesting
Reporters should be able to take pieces of it to re-write, or post without changing a word.
When writing, ask yourself, "How are people going to be able to connect?"
The first 10 words are the most important
The 1st paragraph should be able to stand alone
Great for optimization, they can be picked up by hundreds of websites and RSS feeds by only one submission to a paid wire release
Inverted pyramid style writing, most relevant information presented first
Should follow AP style
Submissions are usually around 500 words (about one page)
Should always have the following elements: media contact information, summary, dateline, boilerplate and a quote from your client

Both can help your organic search results, but press releases alone target online reputation and credibility. If done aggressively, they can significantly help optimization and reputation online. For more information about how press releases can help you, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Toyota Recalls

2010-03-16T13:25:00.003-06:00

As of the beginning of this month, the number of deaths related to the recalled Toyota vehicles has risen to 52 and the number of injuries is at 38. What exactly caused these injuries and deaths in highly popular vehicles manufactured by such a reputable company?

Allegedly, the following vehicles have had dangerous problems with "unintended acceleration":

2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2009-2010 Corolla
2008-2010 Highlander
2009-2010 Matrix
2004-2009 Prius
2010 Prius
2009-2010 RAV4
2008-2010 Sequoia
2005-2010 Tacoma
2007-2010 Tundra
2009-2010 VENZA

This "unintended acceleration" has been a result of gas pedals being stuck in a depressed position and not returning to their normal/idle positions in a timely and safe manner.
There was also a Toyota recall back in November 2009 where gas pedals were becoming stuck due to the car's removable floormats. However, this previous recall is not related to the most current "sticky" pedal Toyota recall.

Toyota is still working on a solution that will entail replacing part or all of the gas pedal assembly. They are also working on a new gas pedal design. Toyota urges that if you own one of the above vehicles and start to notice any problems, pull your vehicle over immediately and call a dealership to come pick up the vehicle.

Can SEO and PR work together?

2010-03-16T13:17:00.003-06:00

SEO traditionally was used in order to increase business through site traffic. PR traditionally was focused on media. Press releases were written to appeal to the journalists and reporters, hoping to grab their interest enough to write a story.

PR and SEO are natural companions. Consumers and reporters are using the internet more and more to find news and product and service information. Because of this, online press release distribution has become more common to reach audiences, but 99.5% of press releases aren't optimized for the internet. PR is no longer just an avenue dedicated with the sole purpose of reaching the media. It has become part of an integrated sales and marketing strategy that can be better reached with SEO writing techniques.

Here are some important things to note regarding online press releases:
Distribution is becoming progressively more useful in organic search results.
Have potential to direct consumers to an appropriate web page where they can request more information or inquire about the service offered.
Enhance the effectiveness of company messaging. (Reputation Management)
May also lead to an increase in sales and revenue.
Search engines are the primary channels used to find news and information on products and services, so it is vital to have a good presence.
Increase web presence and brand visibility.
Contribute to one of the most important parts of SEO off-page linking.
Put the power back into the press release make it an even more useful tool to organizations.

If you would like to learn more about how you can use Public Relations to your advantage, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

You Didn't Need Another Reason

2010-03-11T16:20:00.002-07:00

As if anyone needs another reason to join Facebook, here is another. Searches originating from Facebook went up 10% from February to March according to comScore. Most other search engines showed little or no change in their numbers.

Facebook is not the new Google and isn't coming close to the traffic that Google, Yahoo, Bing, Aol and Ask are getting, but people are searching there so you should be there when they do. Facebook has 400 million users and your future customers are some of them.

If you aren't on Facebook yet, talk to your Account Manager today and get started!

The Importance of Reviews!

2010-03-05T15:33:00.004-07:00

Your online reviews are becoming more and more important. Consumers are getting smarter about how they use the internet and they are looking for more information about you and your practice than what you present on your website.

Having a first-page listing, an authoritative website, and a blog that lets consumers get to know you are all great ways to generate web business, but off-site information about you matters too. A big source of information about you are the reviews on your Google Local Listing.

Not only does Google use the reviews on your Local Listing to rank where you show up on a local search, but your potential leads are choosing whether to contact you based on the reviews they find in that listing. The more positive reviews you have, the better you show up and the more business your listing will generate.

Here are ways to get more reviews:

Ask for them! For doctors, a great time to ask for reviews is during a follow-up appointment. Patients have had a chance to get complimented on the work, they've lived with the results for a while and they are happy, so take advantage! If you are a lawyer, ask for a review right after you settle a case.
If your office sends out a newsletter, link to your Google Local Listing in it and ask for reviews.
Post a link to your Listing on your Facebook or Twitter page! This is a great way to use social media.

Ask your Account Manager for a one-page information sheet that explains how to post a review. We can customize it with a link to your Google Local Listing and you can give it directly to your clients. This is a great way to improve your online image!

6 Tips for Engaging Facebook Fans

2010-02-26T13:09:00.005-07:00

It seems that February unofficial became social media month for me. I worked with several clients to setup new Facebook fan pages and discussed how to get more fans. But whether the client was new to Facebook or had a fan page for awhile, I found myself having the conversation of "How to make the Facebook fan page better?" over and over again. Here are a few tips.

Tip #1 - Start a Discussion

The entire basis of social media is to connect and share. By utilizing the discussion application, you open up your fan page from being a source of information about the practice page to an engaging social media page.

An easy way to start a discussion is to ask for opinions or questions about a recent news topic connected to your industry. For example, if you're a plastic surgery practice you could start a discussion about ABC News' story on Fat Transfer for Breast Augmentation. You can briefly share your thoughts about the procedure and/or story and end by asking fans what their thoughts are or if they have any questions they would like answered about the procedure.

Write a teaser and post a link to the discussion page as a wall update. If you're having trouble getting the discussion started, encourage practice staff or other people you know well to comment. I also recommend posting a link to the discussion on your personal page to get things rolling.

Tip #2 - Take a Poll

This is a quick and simple way for your fans to share their opinion. You can poll about anything, but keep it related to the practice in some way. If you've been thinking about doing a special on a service but not sure where to start, then ask your fans what procedure they would be most interested in getting if money wasn't an issue. As an extra incentive to cast their vote, you can offer a free or discounted service to one randomly chosen voter.

You can also make it as fun as well as research based. For example if you're a dental practice and a hygienist gets a new puppy you can have the fans vote for its name. Does your practice make philanthropic contributions? You can have your fans vote to determine which charity you'll give to or participate in. The possibilities are endless.

Tip #3 - Setup an Event

This is a great way to connect with your fans offline as well as online. I recommend keeping the event related to your business. For example, a plastic surgery center that has an Aesthetician can do a wine and skin care evening. You can add details about the event, receive RSVPs, and much more. The event application can also be used as notification tool if someone in the practice is speaking at an event, being featured on TV or radio, or is making any other form of public appearance.

Tip #4 - Join the Conversation

I've seen numerous pages that don't allow its visitors to comment on their videos, posts or photos. I highly discourage this. Even if you allow comments, you still have control over whether they are visible or not. But it is not enough just to allow comments. You must join the conversation! If someone leaves a comment, don't forget to comment back. To ensure timely responses, I recommend having a dedicated admin for this.

Tip #5 - Become a Resource for Information

The most common mistake I see are a fan pages that only talks about their business toting their own specials, blog posts, staff, etc. and nothing else. While it is a good idea to share that information on the page (after all it is your practice's page!), I recommend publishing interesting and relevant content about your industry. Have you recently read an interesting or relevant blog that someone else wrote? Then share it! This helps to make users not only fans, but repeat visitors.

Tip# 6 - Offer Exclusive Incentives to Fans

While I realize this may not be feasible for every business, for many businesses it is. When someone new becomes a fan, send them a welcome message with the incentive. Recently I began following a company on twitter and received a message from them thanking me for following them, as well as a code for 15% off one of their services!

In addition to sending out initial fan incentives, you can periodically send incentives to all of your fans or even just the fans that are active on your page thanking them for their input.

The fundamental basis of all social networks is connection and sharing. To do that it's essential to engage your audience. Need more help? Your Page 1 Account Manager can work with you to get the conversation started!

New Website

2010-02-22T10:45:00.002-07:00

Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Keith Blankenship has a brand new website. He offers full service dentistry to people in the Jacksonville, FL area. Dr. Blankenship is an LVI fellow and has numerous memberships in prestigious organizations including Florida Dental Association (FDA). http://www.pontevedradental.com/index.html

Resolution Evolution

2010-02-19T16:22:00.005-07:00

Screen resolution and screen dimensions, used synonymously, represent the physical number of columns and rows of pixels you are viewing on your monitor (e.g. 1024 x 768).

As monitors and technology advance, so does the average screen resolution. Currently, 20% of people view their screens in 1024(W) x 768(H) screen resolution. This used to be the resolution a majority of people used, but now, due to the creation and distribution of wide-screen monitors, 76% of people use screen resolutions that are larger than 1024(W) x 768(H). Over the last six months, only 2.6% (average) of all viewers have used browsers with 800 x 600 screen resolution.

Previously, designers used to focus heavily on keeping the most important elements "above the fold" on a monitor (the point at the bottom of the screen you can see before having to scroll down). This was considered crucial to ensuring people with smaller screen resolutions are able to see the most important design features of a site since the design would be compacted or cut off in order to fit in the smaller resolution. The down side of trying to accommodate viewers with smaller resolutions was the creation of "top heavy" designs. Fortunately, as the web has evolved and technology has advanced, web users have become more savvy and don't think twice about scrolling through pages. This offers more freedom in where design elements may be placed.

While it still tends to be a better practice to keep the most important and sought after design elements above the fold (e.g phone numbers and addresses), it is also noteworthy when considering design to limit the amount of horizontal lines that are present at the fold. Having multiple horizontal design elements at the fold might accidentally trick the viewer into thinking they are at the bottom of the screen and prevent them from following their instinct to scroll.

Resolutions continue to be a factor in designing websites, but fortunately it is easy to test designs to confirm they translate throughout all current resolutions than it used to be. If you'd like to know what screen resolution you are using, click here.

The Key is Connecting

2010-02-16T16:17:00.004-07:00

It is well known that Search Engine Optimization is crucial to getting potential customers to your site, but how do you get them to stay and contact you? There are a lot of elements of your website that can affect a lead's decision to contact you or keep shopping, here are a few:

Is the site welcoming? Are there photos of your office staff? Pictures of your staff help people know what they will be seeing when they come in to your office.
Do you update your own blog? Personal updates can make a big difference. Write a quick blog entry about a recent case you worked on or charity event your office participated in - these can help web visitors feel like they know you before they ever step foot in your office.
Calls to Action - Well-designed buttons and images that call attention to items like financing options or your page on Facebook can help patients get to know more about your practice.
Contact Info - Is it easy to get a hold of you? Is the phone number easy to find? Are there contact forms on each page? If a lead has to think too hard about how to contact you, they won't do it.

Finally, make sure you are tracking the phone leads from your website. Talk to your account manager about getting a call-tracking number so you can really track of the value of your SEO.

Connecting with potential leads is crucial, even if your website is on the first page of Google. Don't let your site get passed up because your personality isn't there!

Botax??

2010-02-16T15:24:00.001-07:00

Did you know that there could be a 5% tax in 2010 on cosmetic procedures to help fund the health care reform?

Seemingly, this new tax would target the wealthy with enough expendable income to be able to afford elective procedures. However, it's arguably a very sexist and classist tax that most Americans are not happy about.

This proposed tax will ultimately affect middle class women. Almost 90% of all cosmetic procedures are performed on women with an average annual income starting at just $30,000 (71% of those who get plastic surgery make less than $60,000 annually).

In addition to the discriminatory issues with this tax, it would also likely drive cosmetic procedures overseas. In 2004, New Jersey enforced a 6% tax on cosmetic procedures which caused residents to travel to surrounding states (particularly to New York and Pennsylvania) or even overseas for their cosmetic procedure(s), where surgery risks and complications are much higher than in the states.

Here are some good articles I found on the topic:

http://www.plasticsurgery.org/Media/Press_Releases/Nationwide_Survey_Shows_Americans_Oppose_a_Cosmetic_Tax.html

http://www.atr.org/cosmetic-tax-failed-economic-discrimination-policy-a3596#

Keep up with Changing Times

2010-02-15T12:19:00.005-07:00

Google has a new search algorithm called Caffeine coming out in early 2010. Once Caffeine is implemented, users will not likely find the search result experience much different, but webmasters may see their placement results climb or fall based on changes made for Caffeine.

Some of the factors that could influence your results on Caffeine include:
• Frequency of updates to site
• Load time for website
• Broken links
• Links out to relevant websites
• Social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc) updates will be listed high in Google

Page 1's SEO and Social media teams are already implementing many procedures and are ready for this change:

1) We regularly test sites to ensure there are no broken links.
2) Improving code to ensure optimum load times for sites.
3)We recommend regular updates to websites such as page additions, blogs, and videos.
4) Our social media specialists send updates to Facebook, Twitter etc.

If you are concerned about improving or maintaing your website results please contact us for recommendations that apply to you.

Google URL Builder

2010-02-03T15:34:00.003-07:00

Do you have any clients using a TV station or other online source for advertising, such as a banner ad, online newsletter or a law line page? One of my clients, car accident attorney Michael Barszcz and I were going through Google Analytics and he noticed the reports that the TV stations were giving him were significantly different from the stats in Analytics. The discrepancies were large enough that he was considering stopping services with one of the television stations he is working with.

After working with the TV station we created a unique URL using Google Analytics URL Builder. We sent it to the television station and they changed the regular link going to his website home page, to a URL that is recognized specifically as a separate campaign in his Google Analytics account. It still goes to his home page, but it automatically created a "Campaigns" section in the Traffic Sources Overview. Now the client can see a better view of exactly what traffic is clicking through to his site.

Creating a new URL takes about 5 seconds and is great for tracking separate online campaigns.

1. Go here
2. Enter Destination URL - ex: Client home page
3. Enter Campaign source - Where the campaign is coming from, ex: TV station home page, Newsletter, etc.
4. Enter Campaign Medium - Name of Campaign
5. Enter Campaign Name
6. Click Generate URL
7. Send unique URL to client or company working with client.

Once they have changed the URL, it will start to track in Analytics and you are all finished! There may still be some differences between the click report and analytics report, but the tagged URL will help mitigate the major differences.

For more questions on how you can track your marketing services, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Blogging Basics

2010-02-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

As an online marketing company, blogging is just one of many services we do for our clients. It is also one area clients have an opportunity to contribute to their online marketing efforts. It is relatively easy to do and can greatly increase optimization. There are a few things you can do to help make the most out of your blogs for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes.

Make sure your blog is keyword rich. Blog about things you want to show up for on search engine results. Also add localizations for the area you are in. Putting both localization and an important keyword into your title will help with SEO.

Bolding helps to add emphasis to keywords in your blog. It helps users identify your important areas, as well as the search engines when they spider through your website. Linking is another great way to help with blog optimization. If you link out to other websites, such as an organization you belong to, or within your site; either way it will help users and search engine spiders move through your website.

Benefits of blogging:

Shows you're staying current to potential patients and clients
Each post gets indexed as an individual page
Great opportunity to link
Increase keyword and localization content
Interactive- Patients can subscribe and comment on blog
Opportunity to blog about patient experiences
Shows a more personal side of your practice

Always end your blog with a call to action paragraph. For more information on how you make make blogging work for you, contact Page 1 Solutions today!

Benefits of a Combined Marketing Campaign: Organic Optimization with Pay Per Click

2010-02-01T16:49:00.004-07:00

I am a fan of recommending a marketing campaign that combines both organic optimization and pay per click (PPC). Pay per click is a nice way to supplement your basic SEO and take a more aggressive approach to maintaining your presence on the search engines. Following are some basic points to keep in mind regarding how organic optimization and PPC work individually, and together:

Audience:

The purpose of any good marketing strategy is to cover all your bases and appeal to your key demographics. Daily I see two basic types of web users, both of which have different approaches to "shopping" for products and services. People who click on paid ads are typically more dedicated and likely to contact your office because they have completed their research and are ready to make a decision. These are people seeking "instant gratification." For this reason, PPC may be particularly effective in positioning the relevant, exact keywords they know will guide them to the services they seek. On the other hand, organic optimization creates a net to capture those who are just beginning the research process and are still refining their (re)search phrases and topics. These users linger on sites, taking their time to read about you and your company, digging into the details of what you have to offer. A combined approach of both PPC and organic optimization can give you a broader presence, appealing to both types of consumers.

Positioning your Presence, a Comprehensive Approach:

Not all Search Engines (SE) offer paid advertisements. While Google and Yahoo feed their PPC ads into other top search Engines such as AOL, and Ask.com, paid ads do not appear on every Search Engine. One of the benefits of having a combination of PPC and Organic optimization is that running a PPC campaign allows your ads to appear on the most highly trafficked SEs, and simultaneously, if you are positioned well in the organic listings, you are likely to still have a first page presence through the organic listings even when your paid ads are not visible.

In the best case scenario, you will appear in both the paid ad and the organic listings, securing more than one position on the first page of the Search Engines. When people see you in more than one place they assume you are more successful (i.e. "That guy is everywhere I look"), and it contributes to name branding.

Aggressively Gaining Ground:

If you have certain keywords that prove more challenging than others to position well in the organic listings, PPC allows you to appear for these keywords until your organic results for the same phrases percolate upward (Note: Some people even believe that by targeting certain keywords on paid listings that it will help speed up the process/improve your organic listings for those same keywords. This has never actually been confirmed so we can only assume it is conjecture).

These are only a few basic reasons to combine PPC with your organic marketing strategies. If you would like more information on whether PPC is worth pursuing, contact Page 1 Solutions today for more information.

Get More Facebook Fans

2010-01-29T16:50:00.004-07:00

My client, J. Steven Baker, DDS, believes in the power of Social Networking. He does a great job posting entries on his Facebook Fan Page. A few days ago we were talking about web marketing strategies and the question came up, "How can I pursue more fans"? The common complaint I hear from my clients is that Social Media is time consuming. It doesn't have to be. Here are a few simple and creative ways to get more Facebook Fans.

Put a sign in your office asking people to become a fan.
Add a reminder to find you on Facebook on your business cards, appointment cards, and stationary.
Add a link in your email signature letting people know you're on Facebook.
Put links to Facebook on your website.
On your other Social Networking sites add a link back to your Facebook Fan Page.
Offer a discount for patients who are fans on Facebook

Facebook is another tool you can use to create a buzz about your website. I encourage you to give it a try. For more questions about Social Media Marketing please contact Page 1 Solutions today.

Google Ad Planner: Incredible Insights with the Click of a Mouse

2010-01-29T16:44:00.003-07:00

Google has continued to impress many over the years. Google has become a noun in everyday language ("who was the 17th president of the United States?", "I don't know, Google it!"), created a cell phone, and is constantly creating new brand extensions such as Google Trends and Google Analytics. As an internet marketing company, we have seen firsthand how beneficial these extensions have been to us in the way we track the success of our clients' websites.

In this continuous trend of innovation, Google's new child, Google Ad Planner, is about to change the way marketers and advertisers gain insights into both their competition and target market. While it's still in beta, Ad Planner is a research and media planning tool that connects advertisers and publishers with the click of a mouse. Imagine an account planner and media planner combined into one, who is able to give you immediate results. That, give or take, is essentially what Google Ad Planner is.

There are 2 aspects of Ad Planner that I both love, and believe can change the way we gain insights on both our target market and competition.

First, Ad Planner provides in-depth information on who exactly is visiting your competing sites. By typing in a website, Ad Planner will give you information about the age, gender, income, and education of the people visiting that site. Ad Planner also displays other websites these individuals are visiting.

Another amazing feature of Ad Planner is the ability to gain insights on a specific target market based on particular keywords they're searching. Ad Planner allows you to enter your desired demographics and specific keywords, and it will display the top websites your demographic is visiting after searching those specifics keywords. All of this provides marketers, advertisers, and SEO gurus with unbeatable insights that would normally have taken months to gather.

While there is still plenty of room to grow and improve, this new tool has huge potential to transform the way marketers do their research.

Google Social Search and how to make it work for you

2010-01-29T16:08:00.001-07:00

Just recently Google released a new social search function. This new feature will now take into account what your social networks are talking about when providing search results.
In order to activate this particular feature, you first need to have a Google account. Within the settings area of your Google account you have the ability to sync all of your contacts and social networks. Once this is done you will began seeing keyword specific results based on what your contacts are saying. Are you confused, I know I was at first? What this means in plain English is if you have gone through and managed to sync your contact(something much easier for some than for others) if you search on the new Ipad and anyone of your contacts has mentioned it on one of their many posts you will see that in your search results. These types of search results are becoming more common and represent a new way to further optimize your site.
This type of function provides our clients (you) with a great opportunity to get your site on the search results page by using the social network sites you have already created. To take advantage of this you simply need take what you have already done with your social networks and expand on it. Here are some basic steps you can take:
1. Whenever possible add new contacts and friend to your social networks; more friends means more opportunities for visibility
2. Build out your Google Profile with as much information as you can and include all of the social networks you belong to
3. Specifically build your friends list on Google and Google chat since these contacts get top billing in the social search results.
4. Encourage your employees, clients and collogues to tweet, post, mention, or link to your site as much as possible using their networks.

How people search for information is changing. Traditional optimization is still extremely important but these types of new personalized searches present a great opportunity for the new "word of mouth marketing".

6 Ways to Optimize Your Pay Per Click Landing Page(s)

2010-01-29T14:53:00.007-07:00

If you are running a Pay Per Click (PPC) online marketing campaign, you are almost assuredly doing so to extend your reach in the marketplace and generate new business. PPC campaigns are a great way to increase traffic to your website and convert leads for your business. A large part of running a PPC campaign is developing an effective 'landing page,' which is the page people navigate to (or 'land' on) after they click on your ad. Landing pages are the catalyst for a successful PPC campaign, so understanding how to design them effectively is crucial to the overall success of your PPC campaign.

Following are 6 ways to ensure your landing page is maximizing its potential for converting leads:

1) Have a Clear Call to Action

When users get to your landing page, make sure there is no question as to what they should be doing. If you want them to contact you for a free consultation, make a prominent call to action to drive them to do so, such as: "Contact us today for a free consultation!"

2) Keep Your Landing Page Clean

Keep visual distractions to a minimum. Adding a few visual aids to your landing page is encouraged, but too many will distract the user from filling out the contact form. Besides, no one likes a dirty landing page.

3) Keep Content Concise

Write succinctly
Use bullet points
Encourage users to contact you

4) Match Expectations

If you offer something (a special, free consultation, etc.) in your ad, make sure it can be easily found on your landing page. If people are clicking on your ad for a special and cannot find it on the subsequent landing page, they will leave faster than you can say "bait and switch."

5) Short Forms

Only include the absolutely necessary form fields in your contact form. Don't make it a chore to contact you.

6) Trust Symbols

If you are highly rated, accredited, honored, etc. by any credible organization, flaunt your honoree logos on the landing page! If people know nothing about your practice, they can at least trust the BBB for accrediting you.

If you follow the above suggestions while developing a landing page, you will give yourself the best chance of converting leads through your PPC landing page. Plain and simple, keep it plain and simple.

If you would like more information about developing landing pages or initiating a PPC campaign, contact Page 1 Solutions today! (Another example of a Call to Action -- see what I did there?)

How an In-Office LASIK Visit Changed My Vision (of the surgery)

2010-01-29T13:07:00.007-07:00

Last week I attended a re-opening celebration for my client The 20/20 Institute to showcase their South Denver office redesign and new North Denver location in Westminster, Co. Attendees included business partners, patients and friends all with the opportunity to have pictures taken with Paul Stastny and TJ Galiardi of the Colorado Avalanche hockey team.

The staff was on hand to answer questions, and as I still wear glasses, I took the opportunity to lie down under the Allegretto laser and go through a simulation of what happens during the LASIK procedure. I was shown how each eye is done by focusing on a green light, and while the eye is held open to prevent blinking, it was explained that if my focus were to shift away from the green light the procedure stops instantly until the 'map' taken of my eye has re-aligned with the laser and it will start again.

I have to admit, when I think of 'lasers' the first images in my mind are of the storm troopers shooting at Luke Skywalker, or the attempt to take James Bond's life in the film Goldfinger. The level of technology, precision and safety regarding the lasers used for LASIK is apparent once you are lying on the padded table looking up into a small and very unobtrusive cluster of lights. I was also reassured by the level of professionalism and knowledge the staff member showed when answering my questions or offering information that answered them before I had to ask. The prescription was read on my glasses and I was told with my criteria, each eye would take just 15 seconds - wow!

On top of this, while mulling around the new state of the art office munching on tasty treats I could overhear patients talking with one another about their experience at 20/20 and how much laser vision correction changed their lives. The littlest things can make the difference - more than once I heard, '...and I could see the alarm clock!'

The ability to see the office, meet the staff, do a dry run with the actual laser and have an idea of exactly how long it would take has really given me a new perspective on LASIK surgery and weighing the risks and benefits. If you have ever thought about LASIK surgery, I strongly suggest contacting a surgeon in your area (that's The 20/20 Institute if you are in the Denver metro area!!) and setting up a consultation. In my case, this was a very effective way for my client to turn a long shot prospect into a potential patient. My overall comfort level exceeded my expectations, and as someone who is expecting, comfort really matters.

Powering the Positive - Reviews That Is

2010-01-27T16:48:00.004-07:00

If you're one of our clients you've more than likely heard us emphasizing the importance of reviews time and time again. We all know that potential consumers use them to gage your business, services or products. Even search engines use them, particularly in ranking your local business listing. But how do you go about getting reviews, and more specifically how can you make sure you they are positive reviews?

My reply, be strategic. While sending a solicitation email to your entire contact database may be the quickest and easiest way to request reviews, it is also a sure fire method for receiving less than stellar responses or reviews that lack substance.

Instead, sit down and identify clients that you have very positive, long-term and/or substantive relationships with. Include any clients that you definitely know are tech savvy.

When you draft the request, here are the important elements you will want to include:

Instructions for posting the review on specific sites (Do they need to be logged in, etc.)
Links to your company profile on the review site(s). Don't make them go searching for your profile.
Let them know that they are a valued customer and you appreciate their opinion.
Mention why you want the review. Specifically the importance of existing customers feedback and experiences on potential customers.
Thank them for their time and opinion.

I also recommend not sending the request as part of an extensive list of information about the business, new news, etc. While you can always include a link and quick blurb in a newsletter, sending the request out solo will garner the attention it deserves.

Consumer Reviews

2010-01-25T14:59:00.002-07:00

Did you know that online product/service reviews are extremely important, especially now more so than ever?

A fellow coworker and I were chatting and he mentioned that he thought over 70% of consumers read and are highly influenced by product/service reviews online. I found an article online that supports this number in greater detail: http://promomagazine.com/research/online-consumer-reviews-influence-0416/.

We should be talking to our clients to find out if they use other services such as Demand Force or Smile Reminder that help them gather patient reviews (Smile Reminder offers other functions, as well). We should also be encouraging clients to get on Yelp and make sure we are putting access to the review site on their websites. Further, we need to be putting the actual testimonials on their sites. Right now, I have a few clients who are putting Yelp and Tom Martino/Troubleshooter (CO client) logos and links to their reviews on their websites.