OrangeSoda Internet Marketing Blog

As the social marketing specialist at OrangeSoda, I talk to a lot of people about how social networking web sites can increase the online exposure for their business.

Social media marketing works best when the company is already social - in other words, they have something to say. Social media is social, so if you don’t have time or it isn’t a priority to communicate, you won’t see the best results.

Social media is usually a long-term approach and you need to communicate constantly.  There are exceptions but the results usually take time. Search Engine Land has a great article about the many benefits you can get from social media marketing.

From the article:

The main concept behind social media networking is that users can connect and communicate with each other. Usually a successful social media networking campaign isn’t judged by the traffic sent, but by the relationships built.

Our approach at OrangeSoda comes from an SEO or reputation management perspective. I’m convinced that at a minimum companies should have profiles on major social networks. I’m not a purist that believes you must interact to be there.

Everyone belongs to groups where a core group is actively involved and the rest show up when they can. Some come and don’t talk much, they only listen. There’s room for both. But if you are showing up for the first time and you’re unknown, you’ll have to build relationships (aka network). The worst is if you show up once in a while, promote yourself, and leave. People probably won’t want to get to know you better. The same goes for online networks.

At a minimum creating a profile on a social networking web site is a great way to build links and diversify and strengthen your online reputation. You can always become more actively involved at another time.

With that, I hope you’ll look up OrangeSoda on the following sites (as you can see we’re more active on some than others):

OrangeSoda on Twitter
OrangeSoda Enterprise on Twitter
OrangeSoda on Facebook
OrangeSoda on LinkedIn

I was in the car last night and heard this feature about SEO.com on the radio show “Speaking on Business” by Fred Ball. I love how Fred takes complex ideas and simplifies them. He did a feature on a tech business named Cymphonix and did a great job at explaining what they do, how they got started, and the value they bring to their customers.

Since SEO.com also provides SEO services like OrangeSoda internet marketing, I thought this piece would be helpful. I can use it to explain to my parents what I do for a living. It can be useful for local businesses who want to understand what an SEO company can do for them.

Look for SEO.com under February 2009 shows and click on the audio symbol to listen in. Or you can read the transcript about the SEO.com interview (not as interesting).

I found this review about OrangeSoda today using a new tool to help you see how your local business is doing online. It’s called Get Listed. It’s quite small and targeted, basically showing your profiles are on the top 3 search engines, but it’s a start. It’s how I found this OrangeSoda review (last paragraphs) and the one below.

Here’s the review:

More calls, more business and larger orders.
I worked a few local groups to try and show up in the search engines then I got a call from OrangeSoda and decided to I needed expert help. The price was very reasonable (I don’t have a lot of money to spend but did have very high expectations for anything I was going to spend) and it’s only been a few months and I’ve had more business than ever and just hired a full time receptionist.

All my other marketing has stayed the same (I have a billboard locally and do some newspaper ads) so it has to be OrangeSoda. I’ve called in twice with questions and both times talked directly to an account person and had an answer quickly (both were needed clarifications on my part).

They’ve been great to work with and in just a few months have done more to grow my business than the 2 years previous trying to either do it myself or using the local internet expert. Last month was my best month ever and the average order size seems to be steadily going up.

I love online reviews like this that are specific, or that tell a story about an experience you had with the business.

Another new service that helps you monitor your online reputation is called MyStepRep. You can see what is being said about your business on the Internet (or any business) and choose the ones that are relevant and that you want to keep. Then you can add a widget of these results and put it on your blog or web site.

To encourage feedback on your site, consider adding a Get Satisfaction widget. It adds a tab where people can easily comment on your business, web site, or blog. They can leave suggestions too.

OrangeSoda has a tool to get your web site get into web directories efficiently. It’s called InLocal.

OrangeSoda does reputation management for a few enterprise companies. I’ve noticed most companies don’t notice or care what people have said about them online until a very bad review comes up really high in search results for their company name. When a bad review hurts business, it motivates action.

However you track your reputation online, it’s better to be proactive than reactive (and it’s cheaper).

Tomorrow some of the most respected search engine strategists will be speaking at DomainFest. Lee Gientke, OrangeSoda’s director of Partner Development will be speaking on a forum about extending domain names you have that you want to sell. Many sites are simply links or ads but using SEO you can build a lot more value on your domains.

Here’s another post about making your domain name search engine friendly.

DomainFest is on Wed. January 28, 2009 in Hollywood, California. This press release has more details.

Also joining Lee:

• Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land
• Mike Zapolin co-founder of Music.com
• Michael Zacharski VP of Publisher Acquisitions at CPX Interactive
• Jamie MacMillian who is the director of search for LinkShare
• SEO expert Bruce Clay
• Alex Garner who is the director of Publisher Relations at Casale Media.

They will answer questions about how to quickly build traffic on a new web site, how to attract buyers, and best practices for building out a new domain.

I asked Danny and Bruce, two people I respect greatly, for some insights on how to apply SEO principles to web sites.

“As my focus is in increasing the value of a domain through Search Engine rankings, I suggest that small groups of like-themed domains be acquired and built such that they all rank well in search engines. The motivation for a domain acquisition goes up when you own a site that is taking business from their site. Buying a better ranked competitor is a good move for many businesses. Besides, if successful, the profits from the ranked domain is a wonderful way to fund other SEO, and so on and so on.”

- Bruce Clay

“My advice is more from a search marketing perspective. That if domainers are looking to do more than just turn and churn domains, they should ask themselves if they can add value to their domains beyond just putting up automated ads, as so many seem to do. Having a great domain name is a good start to having a good content site, and over time, the search engines tend to reward content sites. It might be that a little effort could produce greater returns, in the long run. But that’s clearly not going to match everyone’s business models or desires.”

- Danny Sullivan

Thanks to Bruce and Danny for a quick reply. I hope Lee brings back pictures from the event!

From what I’ve seen a major search engine starting with the letter G seems to favor negative reviews. Perhaps because they want to keep things authentic. And that means that even the best companies screw up and who knows what people will say about you online.

I’ve recommended that small businesses have a profile and watch feedback from customers on Yelp (read my tips on using Yelp).

There was a blog post about Yelp and a pending lawsuit against someone who left a negative review. Did you know that if you call a business dishonest they could sue you? That’s what happened when someone left this feedback for a local chiropractor on Yelp.

Here’s what he wrote:

“I don’t think good business means charging people whatever you feel like hoping they’ll pay without a fuss. Especially considering that I found a much better, honest chiropractor.”

The chiropractor billed this guy’s insurance company four times what was quoted for two office visits in 2006. This is common practice from what I’ve seen. The chiropractor said he charged more for the extra time and effort his office spends dealing with the insurers. The case was recently settled out of court.

While you can always state your opinion but be careful not to represent it as a fact. Normally a lawsuit isn’t the best way to go.

Personally I think you should only go online with your criticism if you’ve given the company a clear chance to make right. Blogger Carl Natale suggests not deleting or restricting comments that are critical of your business. The commenter can get angry and start a campaign to smear you on other sites. At least by responding you can keep criticism on your site and respond directly.

Carl makes another good point. If you keep the negativity on your site you will be the first to read and be able to respond to it. Hopefully you can contain it - after all you asked for feedback.

A post OrangeSoda wrote about avoiding hiring a rogue SEO company was recently featured in a post on SEOMoz: Just Say No to Bad SEO. It has information that is helpful to anyone looking for an SEO company to help their site get indexed well and found on search engines.

It’s tempting to look for quick fixes, and SEO can be seen as one way to get results. In this economy, there are more businesses struggling. SEO does deliver, but it can also backfire. If done wrong, it can actually hurt your business.  So it’s imperative to find a company that focuses on building a strong foundation. Depending on your site, that can take time (and money).

“SEO isn’t as simple as placing a Yellow Pages ad…Good SEO isn’t cheap either, although it is very cost-effective over time.“

Most businesses don’t have a basic understanding of SEO. Any time someone complains about results and have only been a client for a few months, I’m suspicious. SEO is not quick. Search engines may not have even updated in the time you signed up and quit.

Which brings me to the SEO process. Initially we do an analysis on a site to identify the issues. Then, if a site has a lot of issues that prevent it from being represented well in search engines, the majority of your budget will go to address those issues. That means your budget will go to establishing a foundation rather than on building rankings or traffic. A tough pill to swallow, but necessary.

Title tags, links, and other on-site changes are next. Once problems with programming or the actual site are worked on, the focus turns to building links. Your site will be listed in directories, on article sites, and  sometimes optimized press releases. We also do social media optimization. An SEO-optimized blog is a good option for clients who are committed to regularly updating them.

SEO is a process. It’s slower with a lower spend. If your site has a lot of SEO issues to correct, or for one  competing in a competitive niche it will take longer to see results. As the article points out, you can expect a report of work done and know what the goals are for your site. This article is a good start in building an understanding what’s involved in SEO and finding a trustworthy company.

Now that Christmas is over, it’s time for some reflection. With a tough economy, reflection is vital. Businesess are in evaluation mode: deciding what worked, what didn’t, and more importantly, what to cut. It’s also time to decide what works and focus on building that. After all, it’s easier to build momentum for something that’s already doing well than to try to revive the dead or dying.

Here are some things you might reflect on when thinking over this year:

• What new trends emerged in my business this year?
• How did my industry change and where did we fit in those changes?
• What parts of my business is growing that we can expand on more?
• Are there new products or services that can build on that success?
• What successes were there? Successful conferences, events, promotions, launches, etc.

As you’re pondering these questions you’ll probably come up with ideas that will make a great press release. I envision headlines touting the top 5 products from 2008. The top blog posts that helped us know we hit a nerve, the top business successes, 2008: The Year of _______…

When working with clients, I’ve found most struggle to find good stories that are newsworthy. The end of a year provides a great opening to tell about your business through a press release. It’s also part of marketing online. A press release can build valuable links to your site and even drive sales. The better the story the better the chance it will be picked up by trusted sites or blogs.

Depending on what your business does, come up with a list of what was noteable about 2008. Make it into a press release. Then add keyword phrases, put it on your web site, and distribute it.

OrangeSoda: You have to ask them what they do
Internet searches » The Utah company helps local businesses increase their online clout.

The Salt Lake Tribune just made our life easier. Anyone who works at OrangeSoda is used to people being confused about what we do. However, our unique name distinguishes us from the SEO companies that no one can keep straight.

There is:
ArteWorks SEO
Slingshot SEO, Inc.
WEBOSIS SEO Consulting
SEOMoz
SEO.com
SEOconsultants.com
SEOpros.org
Topseos.com

and more!

Here’s what one of our clients say we do (increase their online sales!):

Beautifully Modest owner Dave Young won’t reveal how much a month he’s spending with OrangeSoda for competitive reasons. But he said it’s worth the price for what it’s done for online sales of his modest clothing for women.

“At the onset, we didn’t use OrangeSoda; we built a site that was producing some revenue but it wasn’t very well designed,” said Young, who has two stores in Utah County and one in Las Vegas.

Young said online sales were up 22 percent in the first 11 months of this year compared with last.

“We show up early and sometimes first in the search results,” he said.

OrangeSoda manages online marketing budgets that average $600 to $700 a month, Bean said. Though some budgets are a low $50 a month to begin with, OrangeSoda has found that $300 to $500 a month is the minimum to be effective.

To find out how Jay came up with our original name - you’ll have to read the article: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11273736?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

Internet Retailer recently sent a list of their top 10 stories of the year. This is insightful and can give you ideas for creating press releases, blog posts, and other content based on how your business fits or doesn’t fit these trends.

1. Internet Sales a Bright Spot of the Economy
Online sales pick up for retail chains just as their store sales are suffering. Stores like: Gap, Talbots, Circuit City (that went bankrupt this year) and Staples. The internet became a last hope for profitability, especially in retail.

2. M-commerce: E-commerce Becomes More Popular on Mobile Phones
With improved phones that make browsing the web easier, more people shop with their mobile phone. “57% of the entire U.S. population use phones that can browse the Internet. Of U.S. citizens with mobile phones, 25%, or 60.8 million, browse the Internet from their phones, according to JupiterResearch LLC.” And most of them are probably iPhone users who are more likely to have internet access than other mobile devices. Retailers captilizing on this trend by sending alerts are also boosting lagging sales.

3. Manufacturers Got Greater Power to Set Retail Prices, Including Online
People use the web to find the best deals, but that price break is in jeoprody. Manufacturers may deny access to retailers who sell their products for lower prices. In June 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruled for greater legal protection on manufacturers who set minimum pricing policies. This could help the big guys and hurt the little guys.

4. New Versions of Web Browsers make Price Comparisons Easier
Internet Explorer 8, Mozilla’s Firefox 3, and Google Chrome have added features to help deal hunters find teh best prices. “Among IE8’s new features, for example, are “webslices” that let consumers click to take part of a retail web site—a dynamically changing product page of a favorite pair of pricey shoes, for example—and insert it into their IE8 browser for viewing whenever they happen to be on the web, even if they’re shopping another online shoe store.”

5. Social Network Marketing Grows
This is still the buzz with tutorials and success stories touted. Dell said they made a million using Twitter to communicate with customers. Brands are exploring social networks for their viral and branding power.

6. The Internet Amplifies the Power of Customer Reviews
A postive customer review of a product is better than advertising and found and shared easily online. Reviews aren’t new but retailers are adding them and customers search them to make decisions on what to buy.

7. Amazon Dominates
Amazon.com doubled the 2007 web sales of its nearest competitor. They’re doing mobile marketing, social network marketing, and contiually innovating. This is good news in a sour economy. This headline tells it all: “Q3 net sales up 31% at Amazon to $4.26 billion.”

8. eBay Scrambles to Reverse Falling Profits
eBay reported its first-ever decline in the dollar value of sales in the third quarter and that’s 1% less than last year. Instead of raising seller fees they lowered them to try to compete with Amazon.

9. Tech Vendors Hurting
Retailers outsource tech work. With the economy going south, tech vendors can go under.  It can hurt when your main service provider closes shop.

10. Target.com as an Example: Lawsuit Forces Accommodations for Blind Shoppers
Target was sued by the National Federation of the Blind to make their site more accessible two years ago. They had to add the option to listen to content. Their site previously blocked blind shoppers software from reading alt text with images.

Take the example of eBay. You know online businesses can’t rest on past success. Competition is always fearce but as the economy is sinking and with rapid innovation, it’s even more important not to ignor these trends. Do it and you’ll become outdated. In today’s market you could go bankrupt.

How is your business using mobile, social networks, or otherwise changing to meet these trends?

A local business magazine in Utah recently published a story written by OrangeSoda’s CEO Jay Bean. It’s called, How to Grow your Local Business Online. It’s a quick summary of things you can do to improve your internet marketing.

In other Utah local business news relating to online marketing, tomorrow is the start of the Search Insider Summit in Park City. Some folks at OrangeSoda are going to attend and soak in all of the information about SEO from the experts (speakers from SEOMoz, Yahoo!, and Big G are on the agenda). They promised to take notes!