How to use keywords to my advantage?

What are keywords?

Keywords are the words, or combinations of words, that cause your website to show up on search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing). They are among the most important things for you to understand if you want to increase traffic on your website.

Click below to watch this 3-minute Youtube video

How do I use keywords to my advantage?

The best way to use keywords to your advantage is to know the words and phrases people are likely to use when searching for the content your website provides. Once you have identified the words and phrases people are likely to use, do your best to incorporate these words and phrases into the content on your site. Make sure the words and phrases are included in the content in a fluid manner, however, as search engines can mark your site as "spam" if they feel you are using keywords that are irrelevant to your content, simply to drive up your traffic.

Can I designate specific words or phrases as keywords?

Most websites allow you to use meta tags to designate certain words as your "keywords." However, this is inadvisable, as search engines no longer use meta tags in their compilation of search results, and in fact, this may even increase the likelihood of a search engine labeling your site as "spam."

I've heard search engines don't use keywords anymore; is this true?

In the 1990s, search engines relied heavily on meta tags in order to distinguish keywords, and thus, to determine site rankings in search results. However, this led to "spam" sites tagging relevant keywords en masse, but providing no content on the site to go along with the keywords. Since then, search engines have changed their approach, and in 2009, Yahoo - who had been the last search engine still giving serious weight to meta tags - switched away from meta tags altogether, meaning that meta tags are no longer a valuable way to increase visibility through search engines. However, this does not mean that keywords in general are not used by search engines - and while search engines do not make their processes public, studies have shown that using keywords effectively, in the content of a website, greatly increases the chances of the website showing up in searches!

Where should I put my keywords?

Using keywords in the title of posts on your website, and in the description of your website, will help quite a bit in giving your website search engine visibility. But in the long run, the best thing you can do is know the keywords you feel will be beneficial, and incorporate these keywords into the content you add to your site!

How do I know which keywords to use?

It can be difficult at times to know which keywords will most effectively bring readers your way, but one of the best things you can do is conduct searches for the content you are planning to write. As you use different keyword combinations, you will be able to figure out the words and word combinations people are most likely to use, and will also be able to get a feel for where your content will show up in a search as you use certain words and phrases.

What else can I do with keywords to increase my search engine visibility?

Studies have concluded that one of the best ways to increase your ranking in search engine searches is for others to link to your site - and the best way to make this happen is to provide valuable content! As you provide valuable content, others will link to you using the same keyword combinations you use in the content itself, and this will help you to keep climbing higher in those ever-important search engine rankings!

You may find that using webfire's keyword tools can help you quickly research to determine your ideal keywords. There are a wide range of keyword tools in the keyword section, and they range from broad to specific in nature. 


Related blog post: 

Tips on Using Google Keyword Tool

4 ONLINE MARKETING TRENDS FOR 2014

Every good Internet marketer knows there is only one valid rule for online marketing, and it’s this: Tomorrow, the rules will change. The digital world is constantly evolving, with new technologies arriving to kick the old ones into the gutter, and consumer behavior shifts as the choices expand.

Your website may be working … but is it working hard enough? Online marketers not only have to keep up with the current landscape, but also look ahead to anticipate what the future might bring.

Here’s what’s likely to happen in 2014 as the Internet continues to change.

1. Content marketing still reigns supreme

Providing consistently valuable content has always been a staple of online marketing, and it’s going to become more important than ever. Two recent changes to Google are driving factors in the rise of content marketing.

First is the new Hummingbird algorithm, which changes the rules for mobile searches and makes all of them more intelligent by using a “conversation-based” engine that finds information based on the way people talk.

Then there’s across-the-board secure search. Previously employed only when a searcher was logged into a Google account, the search engine giant has now implemented SSL for every search — and at the same time pulled the Google Keyword Tool. Now, paid searches through AdWords are the only ones being tracked by keywords.

These changes mean that online marketers will have to rely on organic SEO generated by strong content to boost search engine rankings.

2. Social media gets wrapped up in SEO

Traditional inbound links still carry more weight than social media mentions, but that dynamic is shifting. With search engines seeking to return the most relevant content with the highest quality, social shares are becoming a valuable component for search engine rankings — because the more people choose to share a piece of content, the higher its perceived quality.

For this reason, diversity in social media will also be important. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are still the Big 3 of social networks, but rising stars like Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, and Tumblr look like they’re here to stay — and they’ll add weight to your social signals. Currently, only a third of CEOs have any presence on social media sites, meaning that we have a long way to go before social reaches its saturation point within the business executive community.

In 2014, blending social strategies with SEO will help businesses enrich their content marketing efforts and drive organic search results.

3. Images are essential for success

As online consumers have become desensitized to banners and frame ads, the sheer number of advertisements has increased in a bid to gain attention. The emphasis today is on content that’s easily digestible; and great images help your content stand out.

Attesting to this is the rise of sites like Pinterest and Buzzfeed, the immediate popularity of infographics, and the fact that the most popular articles and blog posts with the most social shares contain clear, well-placed images. The visual nature of the Internet means that incorporating images can only help your marketing efforts.

Properly labeling images with relevant file names and ALT tags will also strengthen your SEO and improve the accessibility of your content.

4. Mobile matters more than ever

The shift toward mobile is undeniable. There are now more active mobile devices than adults in the US, and consumers are using their smartphones and tablets to research products and services, find businesses, shop directly, and more. Forbes reports that by 2017, 87 percent of connected devices sales — a category that includes desktop and laptop PCs — will be smartphones and tablets.

Next year’s Internet marketing battlefield will play out largely on mobile devices, as a growing number of users expects to access products, services, apps, and information on smartphones and tablets. Your business needs to have responsive design in place, and online features that cater to a mobile audience, in order to remain competitive.

By Drew Hendricks.  Article source: http://tech.co/4-online-marketing-trends-2014-2013-11

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Mapping World Social Media Trends

5 Online Marketing Trends Affecting Small Businesses Beyond 2013

A frequently asked questions video series is a great online marketing strategy. Image: Flickr

The last few years have been crazy for small businesses. Five to ten years ago the approach to online marketing was pretty straightforward. Companies would invest a certain amount of the marketing budget in paid search ads and perhaps try a little bit of search engine optimization. Cost per click on paid ads was relatively low and it only took a few links to rank for important keywords. Website traffic would roll in and the business would earn new customers.

But things have changed and small businesses now face different challenges.

Today, there are so many different aspects of online marketing. Search has changed. SEO has changed. There are a million different social media networks. It’s hard to know what is important and what is best left alone. However, there are a few key areas where you can feel safe investing your time and money.

1. Content-Driven SEO

Many small businesses have noticed a change in SEO during the last two years. For some, the change has been a drop in organic search website traffic. Google has pushed out two major updates – Panda and Penguin – that changed the emphasis for high rankings.

Google and other search engines continue to repeat the importance of producing content that people find interesting. This means blog posts, videos (more on that later), slideshows, and all kinds of content that will entertain, educate, and enlighten.

Search engines are getting better at determining the most relevant results for keywords. For small businesses, this means starting an ongoing content strategy in order to continue getting organic search traffic.

2. Mobile Devices

By 2017, an estimated 68% of the US population will be using a smartphone.

Smartphones are changing the way people access information. There is a higher demand for information and any company focused on providing that information has the opportunity to grow.

Small businesses have the opportunity to access target customers throughout the sales process. When your customer has a question on their morning train ride to work, your blog post could be the first answer they find when in Google. That’s content marketing.

When your customer is checking their email before bed,  your email newsletter can give them something interesting to read and an offer for your newest service. When your customer is near your location, a text message can alert them to your daily deal.

In the coming years, people will access the Internet primarily from their phones. Optimizing your marketing strategy for that new reality positions you for marketing success.

3. Higher Design and Usability Standards

Simply having a business website is still good enough for some companies, but there is a higher importance placed on design and usability. And in the coming years, websites optimized for the mobile experience will find a growing audience.

Consumers want fast experiences. Networks are improving, but websites and apps need to keep pace. Consumers won’t wait for a website to load. If it takes too long, there are plenty of other places they can find the same information and service.

Design and usability are no longer a complement to your marketing strategy. Design and usability are quickly becoming an  essential part of marketing efforts because if users don’t like what they see they’ll leave. Make it easy for them to find what they are looking for with a fast loading site that is easy to navigate.

4. Video Production

More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month. Internet users are watching more video than ever and they’re demanding more. Search engines like Google are also giving more real estate to videos in the search results. If you want access to your target market in the coming years you’ll need to build a video strategy.

Product videos, demonstrations, testimonials and more can all be part of your online marketing strategy. As others struggle to figure out video you can take advantage now and start earning new customers before everyone realizes the importance of video in online marketing.

5. Social Media Audiences

Every business relies on an audience. A small, local business depends on their local market for new customers. They build up a customer base and those customers tell their extended network by word of mouth.

Today, social media presents a huge opportunity for small businesses to grow an audience with no location barriers. Building an audience of followers on Twitter, connections on LinkedIn, and subscribers on YouTube gives you access to an nearly unlimited amount of potential customers. It’s is quickly becoming an essential way to grow your business.

Conclusion

If you’ve noticed a change in the way your small business has acquired customers in the last couple years, you’re not alone.

Many businesses have been caught off guard by the change in online marketing. But strategies like better content, greater social media engagement, and video production will be the big items to focus on going forward. By putting a strategy in place today, you can start getting ahead of your competition.

By Andrew Pincock.  Article Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/5-online-marketing-trends-affecting-small-businesses-beyond-2013/70941/

SOCIAL ADVERTISING: HOW TWITTER CAN COMPETE WITH FACEBOOK

Twitter announced last week that it had filed for an IPO, which for many drummed up memories of a similar announcement that Facebook made last year.

It makes sense to compare the two companies. Both make money by learning their users’ interests and allowing advertisers to target those users accordingly. Both are social media tools. As of recently, both make use of hashtags.

But if both companies offered up exactly the same advertising opportunity, Facebook would be a clear choice. Facebook has 1.15 billion monthly active users compared to Twitter's rumored 240 million. Facebook also has more data about those users, who fill out detailed profiles about their interests, family members, and life stories.

Fortunately for Twitter, however, despite the two companies' similarities, the microblogging service can give advertisers some opportunities that are more difficult for Facebook to provide. Here's a look at some of Twitter areas of opportunity in the ad game:

Mobile. After Facebook went public, it had to translate its desktop advertising business to mobile. Twitter, by contrast, has been a perfect fit for mobile from the beginning. “It’s short-form,” says Ken Doctor, who follows Twitter for research firm Outsell. “It’s not like so many other things that are long-form that are trying to adjust to mobile.” From the beginning, Twitter has kept things short and in stream-form, and its advertising products have transferred from desktop to mobile without many changes.

Real-Time Conversation. One of Twitter’s biggest differentiators, from an advertising perspective, is its focus on real-time communication around events. Facebook has tried to foster the kind of conversation that happens on Twitter by borrowing features like trending topics, hashtags, and plans for algorithm updates that favor live commentary--but it’s Twitter that advertisers look to when the lights go out on the Super Bowl or their political opponent says something really stupid.

TV. Focusing on real-time interaction rather than "newspaper" synopsis also makes Twitter a great companion app to other media. The company helps television advertisers, for instance, serve promoted tweets to people who have recently seen their commercials by pinpointing users who are watching a particular show. It's not just TV that offers Twitter this type of advantage. “I would say, not just television, but even for sporting events, live, in-person sporting events, or live concerts, Twitter is that much more compatible,” says Rick Heitzmann, managing director at FirstMark Capital.

It's not that Twitter somehow has a better business plan than Facebook. There are advertising formats within which Facebook excels, formats Twitter is unlikely to tap, such as:

Friendship-Driven Sales While Twitter is certainly social, users who follow each other don’t always know each other. Its graph is based more on users interests than their real-life social connections. While Facebook's promoted posts focus on relationships (i.e., “Your friend Jane loves this product”), Twitter’s promoted tweets are based on demographics and interests.

Display Advertising Part of Facebook’s revenue comes from the ads it runs alongside social content. “Twitter by contrast doesn’t have that opportunity,” says Nate Elliott, an analyst with Forrester Research. “Most of their heavy users don’t ever show up on Twitter.com, they’re mostly accessing the Twitter feed and posting to Twitter through third-party applications."

What about an ad network?

I knew this was going to come up. Twitter purchased a company called MoPub earlier this month. Part of what MoPub does is help advertisers and publishers find each other (this is also known as an ad network). The acquisition puts Twitter in a position to sell ads not only in its own apps, but also across a network of apps.

“We are going to continue to invest and extend MoPub’s existing business, and that means selling ads in other apps on iOS and Android,” Kevin Weil, Twitter’s vice product of product for revenue, told the New York Times. Weil also told the [iTimes[/i] that the company would work to develop new native ad formats for not just Twitter, but the mobile ecosystem.

But it could be a while before those ambitions efforts materialize. What Twitter needs most help with now is better automation for ad buying on its own site, another area of MoPub’s expertise. “For Twitter, this is kind of catch-up, but it’s also the price of admission in this new business,” Doctor says.

Facebook ended its experiments with its own ad network before its IPO. Elliott doesn't see Facebook picking them up again anytime soon. "If you’re going to do a successful ad exchange or network, leveraging your data is the most important piece," he says. "Facebook has a lot more data. And a lot more users. That means that if they both pursued the same strategy, that Facebook would be more successful. But I don’t think Facebook is chasing in that direction, and it looks like Twitter is."

Lucky for Twitter, the same could be said for several aspects of its emerging advertising business.

By SARAH KESSLER. Article source: http://www.fastcompany.com/3017472/social-advertising-how-twitter-can-compete-with-facebook

Twitter's Plan To Make Money? It's All In Your Stream

Twitter employees at work, in a photo tweeted Wednesday by the company. (Twitter)

Twitter will soon make its stock market debut. Its recent record gives a glimpse of several ways it plans to make a profit.

Luckily for Twitter, it's evolved from a simple, text-based service to a more complete media company, with a video platform (Vine), content partnerships (too many to count) and a feed that shows full-blown embedded media in its stream. That content no longer appears in strictly reverse-chronological order, opening up different opportunities for adding advertising into your streams. There are a few ways Twitter will likely bring in the moolah. The company's recent moves have telegraphed the possibilities:Twitter, the social media platform credited for both spreading democratic uprisings and the twerk seen 'round the world, is going public. It's a company that, according to analysts, probably hasn't earned $1 billion in revenue yet, but is valued somewhere around ten times that. Once Twitter stock is available, capitalism governs that it's gotta keep making money.

Second Screen

If you're a Twitter user who still watches any appointment television, like Monday Night Football or, say, Breaking Bad each Sunday, you know how Twitter can serve as a "second screen" to check while watching TV. It's kind of nice to have the vast social media universe there when you want to complain about a ref's bad call, you know?

Twitter's pitch is that advertisers can take advantage of the community that comes together around events to overlay and target their marketing. For example, during the Superbowl blackout in New Orleans in February, Oreo played off the unplanned incident by tweeting out a now-famous viral missive, "You can dunk in the dark."

A Forrester Research analyst told The Guardian that the effort "has not been a success" financially so far. But Twitter's just getting started. To better marry data on social conversations with advertising, Twitter has acquired two startups this year thatanalyze social-network activity related to TV.

Embedded Ads In Your Stream

The changes are subtle if you're not an obsessive Twitter user, but its main timeline or stream had previously presented tweets in strictly reverse chronological order. Now, it bumps up older tweets in order to make conversations read more smoothly. This change presents an opportunity: Since Twitter now shows video and photos, imagine the value for advertisers if their visual ads didn't even have to get clicked on, they just played in existing streams.

Mobile Advertising

Twitter says it has about 200 million users sending more than 400 million tweets daily. And it says nearly 60 percent of the tweets are sent through mobile devices. This is a huge opportunity area for Twitter, which this week bought MoPub for $350 million. MoPub is a global mobile ad exchange, giving Twitter a platform to sell mobile ads that target users based on data. And a lot of that data will be what Twitter has collected from its users. Former Facebook advertising executive Antonio Garcia wrote that the move makes Twitter "the most interesting company in advertising right now."

By Elise Hu.  Article source: http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/221884025/twitter-s-plan-to-make-money-it-s-all-in-your-stream

3 Strategies for Finding Customers With Social Media

Do you need a strategy to reach your ideal prospects with social media?

Are you overwhelmed by all the social media options?

If so, you’re not alone. Social media overwhelm is one of the biggest challenges businesses face.

In this article, I’m going to show you three social media strategies so you can focus your efforts on the channels that best align with your business objective and target audience.

The Simple Solution

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution for it: only focus on where your customers are.

Where are your customers on social media? Image source: iStockPhoto.

Once you find out where your customers are on social media, it becomes easier tocome up with a strategy that will help you find your future customers.

Here are three strategies you should consider:

Strategy #1: Ask Your Customers

Asking is the low-hanging fruit that’s easy for small business owners to overlook. It’s such a simple thing to do and allows you to further cement the personal connection you have with your customers.

If you have a brick-and-mortar business, when your customers visit your location, ask whether they use social media. If you have another type of business, figure out the best time and place to ask your customers whether they use social media.

If they do use social media, ask them what channels they spend their time on. Is it Facebook? Pinterest? Maybe it’s LinkedIn.

Maybe they don’t even use social media. By asking, you’d know.

If your customers are using social media, take it a step further and ask them how they like to be engaged on those channels. This will give you invaluable insight into how you can best add value in a way they’ll find useful.

You can also take the same approach if your business is online.

Most online businesses have an email list. Send your customer contacts an email and ask the same questions. It doesn’t have to be the subject of an entire email, necessarily; just a simple “P.S.” at the end of your weekly newsletter or part of a quarterly survey you send out should work wonders.

Ask you using a P.S. in your email.

Implementing this strategy can separate you and your business from your competitors, because so few businesses make the effort to ask. Asking removes any assumptions you may have about where your customers are hanging out online and shows them how much you care.

This is an easy way to get the important information you need to set up a successful social media strategy for your business.

Strategy #2: Use Google Alerts

I’m sure you’ve heard of Google Alerts, but are you using them?

If not, you’re missing a simple and free way to monitor what’s going on in your industry and find where your customers are online.

Google Alerts are updates you can set up in Google that allow you to keep track of a specific topic anytime it’s mentioned on the web.

For example, you can monitor if you or your business is mentioned across the web or keep track of industry news. When there’s a mention of your topic, you receive an email with a link to that search result.

How does this help you find your customers on social media?

Say you’re a small toy company that specializes in locally made wooden toys. You have an online presence but want to expand it and you think that social media might be an effective strategy. You’re unsure, though, which channels your target audience is using.

You could use Google Alerts to find this out.

You decide to enter “birthday gift ideas for kids” as a search query in Google Alerts. And the results show Pinterest boards and articles on “mommy blogs” that are relevant to your business.

When checking out the Pinterest board, you also find several other boards that are similar to your niche. Bingo! Pinterest may be one social channel you want to focus on.

Here’s how to set up your Google Alerts:

• Go to Google Alerts.
• Enter the term or phrase you want to monitor in the Search Query field.
• Choose the type of results you’d like to get in the Result Type field. (I recommend starting out with “Everything.” You can always change it once you see the type of results you’re getting.)
• Then choose how often you want to receive the results, how many results you want (I recommend “Only the best results”) and the email where you want to receive them.
  

  Here's how to set up Google Alerts.

Google Alerts require a little market research, but can get you the valuable information you need to find the social media strategy that works best for your business.

Strategy #3: Use the Search Function Within Social Channels

Sometimes you may want to take a deeper dive into researching your customerson a specific social media platform. Or you may love using a certain social platform and want to know whether your customers are there too. You can use the platform’s search functionality to quickly find out if your customers use the same one.

Each social channel has a search function that gives you the opportunity to instantly determine whether your customers are using it. And this can be as simple as entering the names of some of your customers in the search box on the social platform.

You can also search on things like your niche topic, relevant industry leaders, brands within your niche and any competitors you might have.

Using the search function is another simple and effective strategy that’s often overlooked, yet it will give you great insight into whether your customers are actively using that platform.

If you have a large customer base, consider pulling together a short list selection of the typical customers you want to reach on social media, and thensearch for them on a social media platform. This would give you information to work with.

Use the Google+ Communities Search:

Google+ Community search.

Or use the LinkedIn Search:

LinkedIn search.

Twitter’s Advanced Search is especially effective because not only can you search by all the attributes mentioned above, you can also search within a specific geographic region.

Twitter Advanced Search includes geographic locations.

Remember to stay up to date with changes on your favorite social platform. For example, there have been developments recently with Facebook Graph Search.

Conducting a little research on your customers using the search functions on the social platforms can help you determine where you should invest your social media marketing.

Finding Your Customers Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

Use these simple, effective (and free!) ideas to find which social channels your customers are using.

As a business, if you’re not engaging with your customers on their terms, you’re missing a huge opportunity to add value and ultimately grow your business.

Focus your efforts on the few channels that align with your customers andbusiness objectives and let your competitors be overwhelmed by thinking they need to be on every social media platform.

What do you think? Have you used any of these simple strategies to find out which social channels your customers are using? What other strategies have you used to find where your customers are online? Let me know in the comments below.

Author: Rick Mulready.  Article source: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-strategies-for-finding-customers-with-social-media/

How to Use Social Media To Generate More Leads

Using Social Media for Lead Generation

They say you can get famous on social media within a week, but getting famous is only half of the money game. How do you convert those “Likes” — “Followers” into happy and paying customers? What is your strategy about using social media for lead generation?

According to statistics compiled by Wishpond, they create social media marketing application if you didn’t know that, 77 percent of business to consumer (B2C) marketers have acquired customers though Facebook, while business to business (B2B) marketers have found more success on LinkedIn — finding it a surprisingly 277 percent more effective than Facebook or Twitter.

For more on how social media marketing helps generate business leads and ideas to stand out to potential customers, I have arranged this infographic for you. Take a look at this infographic below and we may discuss it later in the comments box.

You may also like reading: The Art of Getting Retweets: How You Can Get More Retweets on Twitter

What is your strategy about using social media for lead generation? How do you plan to promote you product through social media to achieve your sales goals? Please share with us…

By S A Rahman Bukhari.  Article source: http://www.itsuccesscenter.com.

Conversion: Ensuring the Success of Your Social Media Strategy

Face it! None of us is in this to gain Fans, Followers, Re-Pins, etc. We’re in this to make money. Even if you’re a non-profit, you’re using social media to support your cause and donations are a big part of that support. So, CONVERSION is the key. 

What is conversion? 

Conversion should be tied to your social media goals. The most common types of conversion are: 

1. Sales — the mother of all conversions 
2. Subscriptions – let’s you continue working on getting sales 

Sure, other things matter in getting conversion and these elements should be reflected in your goals — things like positive sentiment, increased awareness, good quality perceptions. So, don’t forget these non-financial outcomes of a good marketing and social media campaign, but today I REALLY want to talk about conversion. 

How to encourage conversion? 

I love all my brothers in social media — except when they compete for an account I really want — but vanity metrics, such as #Fans, #Followers, etc really doesn’t mean a lot when you talk about conversion. Sure, building a strong community is important — look at the HOGS (Harley Owner’s Group) to see how a committed, loyal following impacts your bottom line. But, I’m not sure that’s what some folks are building on social networks, especially when they use “tricks” like contests to attract Fans or buy Followers. These aren’t engaged users and they DON’T impact your bottom line. They’re a distraction and frankly more of a bother than a benefit to the firm. 

Fans and followers only matter to the extent they support conversion by amplifying your message, defending your brand, creating user-generated content, and similar engagement outcomes. 

So, if your highly paid social media firm promises lots of Fans/Followers ask them how much your sales will increase from this increase. And, don’t accept standard figures estimating the average value of a fan. Most I’ve seen are bogus and have NO reality to them. 

That doesn’t mean social media doesn’t support conversion. It does. And, social media might produce the highest ROI (Return on Investment) of any marketing tool in your arsenal. But, like any tool, it takes skill and instruction to use it right. I’m convinced that most folks are using it wrong. 

Conversion 

While social media does a LOT to support your brand, your website is where consumers come to buy (or not buy) your products. So, the entire social media process should focus on … are you ready? Here’s the secret to making your business a success….. Your website’s ENTIRE goal is: 

BRINGING PROSPECTS TO YOUR WEBSITE AND ENCOURAGING 

EXISTING CUSTOMERS TO KEEP BUYING YOUR STUFF. 

That’s it. No big secret. Everything else you do online MUST support this overarching goal!!!!!! 

That means your blog, forum, chat room, bulletin board, or other communication channel is CRITICAL for your success. These content sharing platforms give you something to talk about over social networks, attract the Google bot to visit your site and serve it up to searchers, and keeps customers coming back for more. 

Getting visitors 

Getting visitors to your website is also not such a big secret. 

GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT! 

Don’t talk about yourself. Help solve their problems. Entertain them. Let them show off a little. The key to a successful social media marketing program is to focus on customers, not YOU. 

This may sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many firms just don’t get this. They feel like they’re wasting money if they’re not talking about themselves 100% of the time. Instead, they should be talking about their customer and helping solve their problems 90-95% of the time and only talking about themselves rarely. 

Creating great content 

I posted last week some secrets to creating great content. But, the more I think about it, the key is really being a social business and these tactics help once you’re a social business. Your business should be like the old general store in the small towns where I spent much of my youth. Places where everybody congregated to just talk and the owner knew everyone in town by name. Heck, they knew your entire life, sometimes better than you did. The owners were real — they were part of the community. 

I remember when Barnes and Noble opened and folks thought they were crazy putting in benches and comfy chairs that invited readers to tarry over a good book. Other were convinced they’d lose all their business because folks would just read the books and magazines, rather than buying them. Instead, for a generation, they became the first place folks thought about when they needed a book or just wanted a place to meet friends or hang out for a couple of hours. It was genius until folks decided Amazon was just more convenient. 

Tell a good story and folks will fall all over themselves to share it.

By Angela Hausman.  Article Source: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/conversion-ensuring-the-success-of-your-social-media-strategy-0547081