Focusing on the audience is important.  Always keep in mind that what you or your client thinks is great might not appeal to the intended audience.  If your client is resistant just point out that narrowing down the audience doesn’t mean excluding people, it means focusing on those that are most likely to purchase their goods.

Trying to market to everyone isn’t realistic.  It is likely to leave you with something that doesn’t appeal to anyone.  Pulling in people that just aren’t interested in what you have to offer also isn’t very helpful.  Regardless of whether you’re looking to sell something or just inform people, bringing in the wrong people just wastes everyone’s time and energy.  If you can find a healthy niche and focus on it you might not be hitting as big an audience, but you’re likely to see better return on the people you do reach.

What Knowing Your Audience Can Do For You

No matter what it is you do, figuring out your audience has benefits.  Whether you’re a designer, a writer, a search engine optimizer or just a business owner, choosing a primary audience can save you both time and money.  It will also get you better return for your investment.

For a designer knowing the audience means knowing who to appeal to.  This makes it much easier when choosing things like colors and graphics.  Different audiences expect different things from a design and knowing who the audience is will stop you from throwing wild, off the wall things into a site meant for selling services to small businesses.  Knowing the audience will also help determine the usability curve based on how internet savvy your customers are.

If you’re a writer, audience determines what you write about as well as how you write.  When you don’t know who is reading your work it’s hard to come up with content that will keep them engaged.  Having that information can help you narrow down topics and come up with ideas.  Audience also determines the language choice and tone of writing.  Beginner guides filled with industry jargon are rarely helpful, but that same language will make perfect sense to an advanced reader.

From the SEO’s standpoint knowing your audience will help you pick better, more relevant keywords.  If you are familiar with the industry you’re building keywords for you probably know all the buzz words and jargon.  It’s fairly likely though that the customers you’re trying to bring in don’t.  Looking at things from the audience’s perspective can help you think of the keywords that they are most likely to know and search for.

Figuring Out Who Your Audience Is

Of course figuring out your audience can be a daunting task.  Just remember to be specific.  It’s okay to start broad but narrowing things down is much better.  Choosing an audience of  ‘kids’ doesn’t give you much definition to work with but  narrowing that down to girls ages six to ten is highly useful.

There are a few places to look to get a quick, easy and free idea of who your audience is.  If you have customers already find out who they are.  Have them take a survey.  If you’re using social media check out who is following you.  Ask them what they like about your product or would like to see.  Look at your competitors and see who they are marketing to.  You can choose a similar market or look for a different niche to target.

Another way to choose an audience is to break down your own product.  Look at what your product does and why someone would want those things.  Figuring out the end benefit can make it a lot easier to choose a more specific audience if you don’t have one already.  Once you’ve chosen a perspective audience, there are some things to look at to figure out what they are looking for.

Here are some basic questions to answer when looking at audience:

• What is the age range?
• Are they male, female or a mix of both?
• What is their income level and occupation?
• What is their education level?
• Where do they live?  This can be both geographical and rural versus urban etc.
• What are their families like?

Once you have the basics covered it’s good to look at some in depth things such as:

• What are their core values?
• How do they feel and think?
• What are their interests and hobbies?
• What are their attitudes?
• Will my audience benefit from my products or services?
• Are there enough people that fit my criteria?

Conclusion

Choosing an audience is an easy step to overlook.  We often want to jump right into the middle of a project and get going with the fun stuff; the building and the doing.  Not knowing your audience before you get started can lead to costly mistakes though.  It’s important to remember that whatever you do or make isn’t for you or even really your client.  It’s for those people that you are trying to reach.  Connecting with them is extremely difficult when you don’t know who those people are.  It may seem like a waste of time, but why risk ruining your entire project when it’s such a simple step to make sure you know who you’re talking to?

[Image by ninastoessinger]

Alan Bleiweiss tasked me at the end of 2011 to put together a list of the top social media conferences to have on MY radar for 2012. As I was compiling my list the thought occurred, “Hmmm…Why not turn it into a post and get everyone’s input since more and more events are combining SEO and social media?” Why not indeed. Your choices may vary from mine.

I’d love some feedback since these are conferences I’d like to attend this year and if there are ones I am not aware of I’d really like to know about them. Soooo…here are my personal choices for 2012 social media conferences.

Social Fresh - (East) February 6-7, 2012, Tampa; (West) August 20-21, 2012, San Diego - Social Fresh is a social media education company.  Their conferences are designed to inspire social media people to develop better marketing through social media channels. Some of the speakers in Tampa are Scott Monty of Ford, Shauna Causey of Nordstrom and keynote speaker Jay Baer.

The Social Media Strategies Summit 2012 - February 7-9, 2012, Las Vegas; April 18-19, 2012, Chicago – 3 full days of interactive learning to harness the power of social media to further brand reach and impact. This conference is broken down social media into six different tracks in the following categories: Corporate Case Studies; Community Engagement and Customer Service; Measurements, including analytics, ROI and tools; Sales Approach; Legal Risks & Strategies; and Marketing Strategies & Tactics.

BlogWell - March 27, 2012, San Francisco; July 18, 2012, Chicago; September 25, 2012, New York City - Put together by SocialMedia.org, a community of social media leaders helping each other by sharing ideas, best practices, & solutions, BlogWell features 8 great case studies on the best social media programs at large corporations and well known brands. I’m always curious to see what the industry giants are doing.

SocialTech 2012 - March 29-30, Seattle - Put on by online marketing community MarketingProfs, SocialTech is “described as a social media conference with a focus on B2B marketing and a B2B conference that simply can’t get enough social media, SocialTech is designed specifically for B2B marketers who want to get the most out of social media marketing for their business.” 

BlueGlass LA 2012 - April 23-24, 2012, Los Angeles, California - “2 days that will change your Internet marketing life forever…” those are strong words taken directly from the website. And I believe them. Featuring speakers like Chris Brogan, Peter Shankman, Brian Clark, Marty Weintraub & Click2Rank’s own Alan Bleiweiss along with two dozen other speakers…this is a CANNOT miss event!

BlogWorld & New Media Expo - June 5 – 7, 2012, New York City - Started in 2007, Blogworld & New Media Expo is number 2 on my list for the year. From creation, to distribution and monetization, learning from the most successful new media content creators is where I’d like to be. The Social Media Business Summit at BlogWorld is an exclusive 3-Day conference that teaches you how to use social media to gain exposure and engage with quality customers. Whether you are a small business looking to develop a social media plan, or a corporate marketer needing tips for taking your social media strategies to a new level, this conference is for you. Learn to create a social media plan, build loyal communities, supercharge your SEO efforts, engage customers in conversation, and much more.

PubCon 2012 - October 15-19, 2012, Las Vegas - PubCon is at the top of the food chain for me in 2012. There really isn’t much that can be said that hasn’t already been said about PubCon. With 9 different tracks, over 100 sessions and 200 plus speakers, this is the premier search and social conference hands down for me. If there was only one event you could go to in 2012, this would be the conference I recommend.

Those are conferences on my wishlist. What about you? Are there other social media conferences or search marketing conferences that you want to attend and people would benefit from? Leave a comment and let us know.

So the last Monday of each month we’ll be interviewing someone to learn a little more about them as well as getting their aspect on search marketing. And to get things started, we’re kicking the series off with Pamela Lund of BlueGlass Interactive.

1. Thanks for taking time to answer some questions Pamela. For those not
too familiar with you, who are you and what do you do?

I develop and manage the paid search strategies for BlueGlass Interactive.

2. How is what you’re doing for BlueGlass different from what you were
doing before? Is there anything you miss about your old job?

Before I joined BlueGlass I was freelancing as a PPC manager so my job isn’t much different. The only thing I miss is working on very small mom and pop businesses that can’t afford an agency. I’m a sucker for a small business.

3. When I first heard of you, you were one of the go to people for
PPC. Has PPC always been something you’ve been well versed in? What other
areas do you feel you’re strong in?

I was forced into PPC when AdWords launched. My degree is actually in Finance and I started out as an accountant. I then took my affinity for numbers and details and started a career in media buying and contract negotiation. My employer owned nearly 100% of the ad impression share on Google, Yahoo and MSN for all of their major keywords before the bid model become popular. I got my feet wet with Overture and other old pure bid models where we were paying $150 per click for some of our very competitive terms. Then Google announced they were launching AdWords, effectively tripling what it would cost us to get the same exposure on Google that we were currently getting for a flat fee. I had to quickly learn how to optimize AdWords campaigns in very competitive markets. I discovered I had that special kind of crazy it takes to be good at PPC. You have to love looking at rows and rows of data and picking out important pieces while also being able to write creative and effective ad copy.

I specialize in PPC so I don’t have other areas of SEM that I would say I am strong in. My only other major skill is harassing people about their diets in an attempt to make people healthier. I’ve launched Practically Primal to house my health and nutrition rants.

4. How would you encourage others in their pursuits?

I think you have to try everything to find out what you’re good at and what you enjoy. Specializing too soon can limit your growth and may prevent you from finding what you really want to do.

5. With Google integrating more social into search, how do you see
this impacting PPC? Do you see more of a focus on retargeting ads as a
result?

I never try to guess what Google is going to do. Right now it feels like they are forcing Google+ on us and it’s awkward. If they really want to make PPC social they need to incorporate other social signals. I’d be much more likely to click on an ad that had a sentiment rating for that company relative to what you’ve searched based on aggregate data than an ad that just tells me 5,000 people have +1′d that domain. That tells me nothing about the specific product or service.

I love retargeting and do think it’s going to become more important over the next few years. When done right it’s a very powerful tool.

6. What are some things you see people doing wrong with retargeting?

With retargeting, I see people just setting it up and forgetting it. You have to test various levels of frequency capping, vet the networks the ads are shown on, and do ad optimization just like a regular campaign.

7. Have you ever suggested that a client lower the budget for their
PPC with search engines other than Google? Why would/wouldn’t this be a
recommendation?

I have done this if the results on the other engines were not as good as Google and we needed more budget to get more out of Google. I think budgets should be flexible and put where they are doing the most good.

8. When planning a campaign for the first time what are some things
that you feel get “over-hyped” and what are some things that get over
looked?

The basics get overlooked which is really frustrating. People get excited about launching a campaign but don’t want to do the work to lay the proper groundwork. Proper keyword research (including negative keywords!) and ad group organization from the get go is the best way to ensure an easy to manage account. If you can’t hand off an account to someone else and have them easily understand the campaign structure, you’ve done something wrong.

I don’t think too much gets over-hyped. But, I guess any time there is a new feature people tend to get excited about that and forget about the basics.

9. What online tools do you use and recommend? Are there any that are
out that you’re curious to try but haven’t yet?

I always recommend Authority Labs and Raven Tools. Both have great features and are great companies run by great people.

10. What mistake have you learned the most from? Either for your career or personal life?

I don’t think there are any major mistakes in life. Everything I’ve done, good or bad, has made me who I am and has gotten me to this point, and I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. If you follow your heart and your gut, you’ll end up in the right place. It may not be where you thought you’d be, but it will be right. When I was 18 I thought I’d be a stock broker living in New York. Boy am I glad that didn’t happen!

11. You’re shipwrecked on a deserted island. In your backpack is a guide
to SEO published in 2000, a pack of bacon, a SMX swag bag with coasters and
bottled water. What would you use these items for in order to survive until
help could arrive?

I would use the bacon to lure prey out that I could kill for a larger supply of food. I’d use the seo guide for kindling to make a fire. I’d drink the water. And the coasters…well I guess it depends on how many. If there were enough I’d use them to make an SOS sign on the sand. If there were only a couple, I’d use them as plates to keep the sand out of the wild boar I cooked on my fire

You can follow Pamela on Twitter, catch her blogging on health at Practically Primal or about PPC at the BlueGlass blog.

While candy color ponies may have been meant for young girls they have taken the internet by storm.  The newest incarnation of My Little Pony appeals not only to its target audience, but also an older group, one that is mostly male.  If you actually take the time to watch a few episodes it’s pretty easy to see what is appealing, even if you don’t fall in love with the show yourself.

The Elements of Harmony are an important part of the show.  They allow the ponies to defeat the bad guys and give each character a defining and guiding characteristic.  These elements are something that anyone can embrace in their day to day life to make things better for everyone.  If you write for any reason, whether you’re a blog writer, a copy writer or a social media wizard, the Elements of Harmony are an easy way to keep your audience engaged and show that you’re not just a machine spitting out replies.  So let’s look at the elements and see what they can do for you.

Honesty

Honesty is always important no matter what you’re doing and especially when engaging with readers and customers.  When you stick with the truth you’re much less likely to get yourself in trouble.  Lies are pretty easy to catch and if even one person catches you you’re likely to lose face and possibly readers or clients.

People aren’t likely to trust someone that only gives them lies and half truths.  Giving the truth whenever possible is a great way to establish trust.  You don’t have to give away all your company secrets and methods, but being transparent and honest in the things that matter is a great way to become an authority and keep bringing people back.

Kindness

A soft word and a little praise can go a long way.  Thank people for comments and make replies to any questions you get.  No one likes a bully and you’re much more likely to gain readers or fans if you are nice to people.  If you are kind to the readers and customers you have they are more likely to come back and bring their friends.

When you’re looking to bring in more readers always remember to be polite and kind.  If you are commenting on other blogs, Facebook pages or whatever always leave positive comments that add to the conversation.  Making people in your industry angry is not a good way to increase your own traffic and spamming people with useless, to them at least, links is an easy way to make people mad.  Remember, treat others the way you’d like to be treated.

Laughter

Humor is a great way to get people to remember you.  A laugh mixed in with quality content can take it from useful to memorable, and that may be the difference between a one time reader and a subscriber.  Think of commercials.  The ones that made you laugh are probably the ones you remember most, even if you don’t always remember what the commercial was for.

Just keep in mind that not everyone finds the same things funny.  Keep any jokes you make in good taste.  Also, don’t expect everyone to get the joke.  Keep your audience in mind and don’t reference things they won’t understand.  It’s also important to not go overboard with humor.  A chuckle is good but if the joke outshines the rest of your article you should think about spending more time on your content.

Generosity

Giving stuff away is always a great way to bring readers back.  Even if you’re just giving away great information, when people get something valuable from you they’re much more likely to visit your site again and recommend it to their friends.  The important thing to remember is quality.  Having quality informational articles will go much farther than throwing something together just to get content out.

There are also other things you can give away.  What you give away can be anything from prizes like iPads or gift cards to your company’s products or services.  Contests are a great way to bring in new readers or clients.  They can also be used to encourage your existing readers to do the advertising for you.  Just make sure that whatever you give away is worth the time they spend promoting you.

Loyalty

The most important thing to remember about loyalty is that it is a two way street.  Be loyal to your readers and they are more likely to be loyal to you.  Make sure you take note of those that come back again and again to comment on your posts.  Reward those that stick with you, something as small as a shout out or a link to them can go a long way.

Gaining loyalty is the whole point of creating a website, a blog, a Facebook page or a Twitter account.  Whether you are seeking to build brand recognition or even just a reader base, always remember that loyalty is the goal and make sure you give back to those that come back time and again.  You won’t regret the loyalty you show to your fans.

Magic

This is the most ambiguous of the elements.  It may not have a clear definition like the others but it is still important.  One way to look at it is that magic is that spark that makes you unique and pulls all the other elements together.  Finding what makes you, or your company, different from all the others is important.  Once you have that it is much easier to write with a unique voice and stand out.

Chances are you have competitors no matter what it is you do.  Finding your magic, what it is that makes you stand out from the others, is what will make you memorable.  It’s easy to become jaded and say that you’re special and unique just like everyone else, but building on the things that make you different are what will make a reader or customer choose you over someone else.  Different doesn’t always mean better, but it does make you appeal to the customers that fit you best.

 In Conclusion

You may still think of My Little Pony as a silly kid’s show but it does have important lessons that everyone can learn from.  If you don’t use these things already, learn the Elements of Harmony and use them and you’re likely see a difference in how your readers respond.  Business relationships aren’t that different from personal relationships in many ways, and while being professional is important, learning to be a better friend can bring you more rewards than you might expect.

For proof that Bronies exist check out this article.

Now before you go calling that number to order a set of DVDs, please finish reading this first. I get the feeling a lot of SEOs get into the motion of doing a few things, seeing some results, but never making an attempt to take their client to the next level. Be it the pay level of the client (which only means you should give your client more bang for their buck), a lack of drive or a lack of experience, when results begin to get predictable things, need to change.

Use effective tactics sparingly

Let’s be honest. Announcing a new page/section on a website might not get the same amount of attention as a merger deal. And an infographic might not be the right thing to promote at the same time you’re doing a contest (unless the two are related). Know what the client is promoting, when you’re promoting them.

When an infographic gets promoted, it usually draws one of two responses, “COOL! AN INFOGRAPHIC” or “Not another infographic”. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m starting to react like the latter with each one I see. And that goes for some of the ones clients are requesting.But it’s our job as search marketers to help our clients (and ourselves) realize stuff like that should be reserved for special occasions. Not just for the sake of “doing an infographic”.

I’ll admit, the first infographic we did for a client did really well. Their traffic increased dramatically, but as with most infographics, it slowly dwindled. So, after seeing some success, the client wanted another. A small part of me was excited to do another – the rest was kind of apprehensive.

The second one did better in other social media outlets than the first one, but traffic tapered off even more quickly. It was plateauing. The next time around we pushed a press release about an infographic along with it. This time the initial spike was higher, but it tapered off as quickly as the one before.

You can have a great first day of promotion, but if it doesn’t keep going for at least a week it’s time to reconsider something else. If you find something does well with a quick powerful burst but won’t last more than three days, consider adding it as a kick-off to a marketing campaign, or use it sparingly.

Measure and Plan For the Next Round

Once you’ve gone through one month/quarter (however you schedule out client work) plan for the next one. What worked well? What could have been better? What didn’t you use this time around you can for the next? Does anyone have any new ideas?

The planning stages between cycles is when it’s time to get creative. By now you’ve got plenty of data on what you’ve done and you can use this to create a plan for the next push.

Use Online and OFFline Marketing Methods

I was browsing a client’s analytics the other day when I noticed a spike in their traffic. I checked the referrer and it was all direct traffic to a specific landing page. I quickly looked over the past reports to make sure we didn’t do any promotions for them. I then called their marketing director and asked them if they had done anything over that period of time. “Oh yeah, we sent out a mailer to 1,000 clients”. I slapped myself in the face.

This not only explained the spike but when I took a look at the page it was of an older version of the site. So if someone navigated from the landing page to the current site they would see a different layout. I would’ve liked it to have been consistent and furthermore, if we could’ve placed some social sharing options on the page, I think this promotion might have gotten even more traction if we had included a concurrent online promotion. As it turned out, that particular promotion was for existing clientele, so pushing it out to non-clients might not have worked out as well. But it got me thinking, how many times, when a link building campaign or site audit is done, do we as search marketers take the time to ask, “What else are you guys doing?”

Part of working in an overall search marketing strategy is knowing what the client is doing. What do their promotional landing pages look like? Are they running any contests in the near future that don’t yet have a place on their site yet? Would those contests or promotions do better if synced up with a link building campaign?

These are questions I intend to begin asking more frequently. I want the client to know we are looking at more than just their on-site structure; we’re looking at the entire performance of a site in via all avenues. When online and offline facets of a business are working together, you know that it isn’t a site that’s is simple trying to game Google. It’s a business that’s promoting itself and growing.

Set a Pace You and the Client Can Work At

It’s easy to get excited when signing up a new client. But one thing is certain; each client will have their own pace at which they’ll want to get things accomplished. I know every client will initially say, “We want to steamroll this now!” But as soon as the first recommendations are sent or the first round of link building is set to go out, nine times out of ten, a phone call/email comes, “Hey, we need to get this verified, then we’ll go ahead with it” or “We’re only able to get part of that done this time. What areas are the most important that we can focus on for now?”

If this is the case, it’s best to just figure out a plan that will work for them and go with it. Hopefully the restraints that are preventing them from going full force with the grand plan will be lifted after seeing some success. So be patient, keep at it and eventually, better things will come.

Rinse, Repeat, Reset Goals

By the time you get to this point, you should have plenty of data to look at. If there’s one thing the queen of analytics has told us, it’s that “Data is valuable”. Take it, read it, share it, learn from it and improve on it.

True, being social by engaging with your followers, fans, customers and/or prospective customers is definitely better than just being a firehose of information which is how old school traditional media operated. But being engaged isn’t the secret sauce of success in social media.

Empathy IS secret sauce for social media success!

What is Empathy?

Empathy is a powerful word with a lot of juice behind it. The American Heritage Dictionary says empathy means:

“Direct identification with, understanding of, and vicarious experience of another person’s situation, feelings, and motives.”

Being able to LISTEN in the present moment of what the customer is saying, without judgment, without agreement or disagreement. Focused on being compassionate to what THEY are feeling, not how YOU feel about the exchange taking place.

“I feel your pain” was/is a classic example of empathy spoken by former president Bill Clinton. Contrast that with sympathetic language below:

What Empathy is NOT

Empathy is not trying to diagnose or explain away a situation:

Advise – “I think you should…”
Interrogate – “How did it happen? What did you do wrong?”
Explain – “He said that only because…”
Correct – “That’s not how it was…”
Evaluate – “If you hadn’t been so rude…”

These responses are not empathic…and often lead to escalation. It shows that you either don’t care or are not hearing what they are saying.

Why is Empathy REQUIRED in Social Media?

Consumers LOVE the immediacy of social media. They can rant, they can find people who share the same passion or frustration. They have a voice and they no longer feel alone in what they are going through. More and more people are looking to social media to find swift resolution to problems they are experiencing.

People want their voices heard…people want to be understood…people want resolution after they’ve been heard. They want to be acknowledged and taken care of. They don’t want canned responses, given the runaround…they need results.

Social media empathy is superior customer service.

Being able to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” as the old metaphor goes is really at the heart of empathy. Being empathic in social media channels truly means being able to connect and relate with another person on an emotional level. Communicating the feelings of empathy for your community reinforces that their point of view, their experience is at the top of your daily agenda. They matter.

If you cannot connect with your community (why are you involved in social media?)… you are putting yourself and your company at a severe disadvantage. The potential is there for that lack of empathy to affect your brand in a negative light as more and more people experience it or worse…it goes viral as a community grows because of it. Remember Motrin for Moms?

Empathy is an ESSENTIAL part of being a human. Empathy is also a requirement for having a successful social media presence. Before a company or brand can expect trust/loyalty, they must cultivate compassion for people. Lacking empathy with your audience will guarantee failure.

Empathy is social currency. It has value to the customer and to the company.

What do you think?

Welcome to 2012! We figured, what’s a better way to kick off the New Year than with a list of some great plugins we’ve discovered this past year? Some of these will simply help with maintenance; others will go so far as to help out with topical focus and function of the site. But they all share one thing in common: awesomeness. So without further delay, here are five plugins to help you out in 2012!

Predictive 404

I found this plugin when it was mentioned in a post at SEOmoz by Russ Jones.

Don’t you wish there was a plugin that would automatically redirect 404 pages? Yeah, me too. Still waiting on that one, but in the meantime this plugin actually redirects misspelled URLs to the correct URL. I can’t say how many times someone may or may not misspell a URL when typing it in, but I can imagine it’s a lot – and when it happens, why not make sure they get to the right page instead of meeting a 404?

Broken Link Checker

I love this plugin, love love love. Not only will this plugin give you an alert message when you login to WordPress if a link is broken, but it will email you when a link is broken. How awesome is that? The plugin uses a variety of API and can check for links on pages/posts that have already been posted or have been scheduled. In addition to text links it also checks for links in images and videos.

After I installed this gem it found some broken links on old posts in addition to some in the comments. We either redirected them to a new part of the sites in question, or with the links left in the comments, we simply unlinked them.

Flexo Archives

I recommended another archiving plugin in a previous post, but I’ve grown to like Flexo a lot more. Mostly because its code isn’t as bulky and we all know that less code is always better. While it doesn’t have as many of the same options, it gets the job done. In short, this plugin keeps it simple…seriously.

Redirection

This is another plugin that I’ve come across (thanks Samir Balwani for the tip) that I like better than an old redirect plugin I recommended. One of the things I really like is this plugin not only lets you enter the entire URL of what you’re wanting to redirect instead of just the section after the .com/, but also keeps track of the hits each redirect is getting and tracks the date of the last access to that URL. In addition you’re given a variety of options, groups and modules to use. This plugins still keeps the redirects simple when you need them to be and also allows you to get more complex if that’s what you need.

Widget Context

If you’ve got a site with a variety of stuff in the sidebar you’d only have show up on certain pages, this plugin will help you out. Another plus of this tool is that it can help with the subject focus of each page. If you don’t want to get rid of it completely you can use this plugin to help keep the topical focus on that page and keep the information in the sidebar visible on other pages.

That’s all folks!

The links to try out these plugins are below; if you’ve used these plugins we’d love to hear what experience you’ve had with them. Or, if you know of any plugins we should check out feel free to mention it in the comments. As always, thanks for reading!

Download Links:

Predictive 404
*Install: Copy and paste the text on the page the link takes you to. Open up a file editor. Copy the text, then under the Author URI add the following line, “Text Domain: magic-404-fixer-upper” (Thanks John Doherty for finding that). Save as a php file. Move the new php file into a folder (name it whatever you want) then you can drag and drop it the folder into the plugin folder of your site via ftp (you’ll have to login to WordPress to activate it). Or if you’d rather upload it directly in WordPress, right click on the folder and send it to a compressed folder that can be uploaded and then activated.

Broken Link Checker

Flexo Archives

Redirection

Widget Context
[Image Credit Immortal Penguin]

Landing pages and splash pages seem very similar, and for those not familiar with the finer workings of web design, SEO or another web based industry it can be hard to see the differences.  In actuality each has a distinctive purpose and time it should be used.  Getting them confused can annoy your users and cost you in search traffic.

Splash Pages

A splash page is a page that shows up before your home page as an introduction to your site.  They are not as common on the modern web as they used to be.  Many contain images or flash videos and all will have an entrance link to the actual site.  While this may seem like a great idea and a way to give your users some unique content up front it also presents a number of problems.

Splash pages are bad for search engine optimization for several reasons.  First, web crawlers will index your splash page instead of the homepage for your site.  This means the search engine will be driving traffic to your splash page rather than your home page.  The second problem is that splash pages tend to lack in keywords and content which makes it difficult for the search engine to decide what your site is about.  Images and flash can’t effectively be read by web crawlers giving them little to work with.  You can add more content but then there’s little point in bothering with a splash page.   A third problem is that the web crawler is likely to get stuck on the splash page so the rest of your site might not ever be indexed.

There are also several usability issues related to splash pages.  With a splash page the user has to make an extra click to get to your actual content.  This can annoy users and many will leave the site on the spot.  Splash pages also provide little actual information to the users.  You only have a few seconds to make a good impression and using that time to force them to look at something you think is neat isn’t always a good way to use those seconds.  A graphic or flash intensive splash page can also cause problems for users that have a slower internet connection.

While splash pages have a number of issues there are some instances when they are useful and should be used.  If the site has any type of controlled content such as brand sites for alcohol a splash page can be used to help control traffic.  Splash pages are also useful if the site is international and available in more than one language.

Landing Pages

A landing page can easily be confused with a splash page.  They share some of the same aspects, but the big difference is that a landing page is a page focused on a specific action where the splash page is a preface to the whole website.  Where splash pages take the place of the home page landing pages should link from specific sources such as an email or a targeted link or ad.

Landing pages are created to promote a specific thing, be it a new product, a special offer or anything else.  This page should have good information about whatever the focus is and not just be full of fluff.  It is also a place for action and should encourage the user to do something, even if it’s just subscribing.  Done correctly, a landing page can be an effective marketing tool.

There are some things to keep in mind to make a landing page effective.  First is to write a good headline.  Make it memorable and distinctive and you’re more likely to keep your user on the page long enough to get to the call to action.  Next, keep things simple.  That’s something you hear constantly but it really is important.  If a landing page loses its main focus it’s not likely to be very effective.  Keep the same branding used on the rest of the site but make a landing page distinctive.  Use a cut down layout that gets rid of any extra distracting information.

Most importantly, remember your audience.  All websites should be built for a specific audience and this is no exception.  With a landing page you know where the user is coming from so you should have an even better idea of who your audience is.  Use this information to get the best reaction you can.

There are many tools in a designer’s or SEO’s inventory and it’s important to know what they are and how to use them.  Landing pages and splash pages both have their uses and their differences should always be kept in mind when you think about using them.  Always remember that you only have a few seconds to convince the user that you have what they need, make the best of that time.

[Image by newmediarchitect]

1.       Excessive Code aka “Code Bloat”

It doesn’t matter if it’s lazy coding, ignorant coding or “we need to impress everyone with our mad coding skills” coding, somewhere in the source code there are more snippets of code than actual text for users to read. I’m not saying the solution is to add more content than there is code when this happens, I’m saying you need to have someone other than the person who coded that page look at it, clean it up and keep the same functions working. Clean coding is good coding.

2.       Sidebars aka “Shiny Objects”

Sidebars, IMO, get overused and abused. It’s as if site owners want to cram as much “cool” stuff in there as possible. From twitter updates to blog rolls and random quotes to videos it’s clutter that can take away from the main message of the current page.

Does this mean you get rid of the stuff there? No, not entirely. It just means you should look at it and ask yourself, “Does this enhance or add to the message I’m trying to convey here?” If it does then keep it, if not I’d consider getting rid of it.

3.       External Links aka “Worm Holes”

Have you clicked a link on a site hoping to find a great resource then another link on that site then a link on that site then another; next thing you know you’re creating your own lolcatz and tweeting them out. FYI it was really hard not to link out to a hilarious lolcat…appreciate my restraint by tweeting and commenting below…okay now I’m rambling. Moving on, ahem.

People link away from their sites for numerous reasons, but no matter the reason these links should be pointed at sites that are relevant to the material on the page containing the link.  When search engines see external links on a page they are looking for a relationship, for commonality between the pieces of content that make sense. Sure it is funny to link out to a funny video on YouTube rickrolling users, but there is a time and place for that and such pieces of content most likely are trying to rank for highly competitive terms. When that’s the case it’s better to keep the links focused at the topic at hand and less about Mr. Astley.

4.       Internal Links aka “Rabbit Holes”

When site owners hear that linking internally will help their SEO efforts they immediately begin cross linking pages without paying attention to the pages being linked together. Internal links need to have a good focus on the relationship between the pages. Linking a page about laptops to a page about computer accessories might seem like a good idea, but it’d be even better if both pages were laptop specific.

If you’ve got a great navigation already in place then there really isn’t a need to link the top level pages to each other internally. Instead focus on helping the search engines discover the relationships between the child pages.

5.       Random Content aka “Rambling Writer Syndrome”

One thing site owners can be guilty of when writing the content for their site is not staying focused. A page begins describing how great a service is then after a few paragraphs the topic shifts to another service, then another and before you know it all of the services have either been written in full or have a paragraph or two written. This might sound fine if it were on the home page, quick snippets linking to the other pages, but stuff like this happens on other pages.

If you’re going to write the content for your own site understand each page needs to have a specific focus and the content needs to revolve around that focus. Mentioning other services or products that aren’t related to the original focus is only going to confuse the search engines and the users. Stay on topic, and keep it simple.

6.       Social Media Addons aka “Look What Cool Stuff We’re Saying Here”

With social media playing a bigger and bigger role in SEO it can be really easy to get in the mind set, “We need our tweets and fanpage information EVERYWHERE!” So it gets placed in the header, footer or sidebars, sometimes all at once. If you’ve got the social icons on the page pointing to your profiles then great, but do you really need your latest Fanpage post or a live stream of your tweets?

If these are just on your site for the sake of being there, that’s not a good reason. You need to have a plan in place for using social media on your site. But if it’s taking away from the content on a certain page, remove it from that page and focus on the content.

7.       Related Posts aka “These aren’t really related posts”

Even if a site is using the “related posts plugin” there’s no guarantee the posts linked at the bottom will truly be related. Sure, they might be in the same category but it doesn’t mean they are “related”. An article can be about link building and the related articles may point to posts about keyword research or information architecture. All related to SEO, but focused on different aspects.

If you’re going to use a section called “related posts” make sure they’re related at the content level instead of a broad category level.

8.       Other Shoppers Viewed aka “Please Buy More Stuff”

I used to think it was hilarious looking for items for my wife online and seeing not only other pieces of jewelry but toys, and articles of clothing for sale. While it may be convenient for people shopping to see what others have viewed, if those products aren’t even in the same category then they shouldn’t be on that page. Instead of focusing on sending users to other areas of the site to buy stuff, keep the focus on that section of the site.

It all goes back to internal linking; the pages linking to each other need a closer relationship other than “the same people that viewed this also viewed”. Think along the lines of product specific accessories, or even newer models, it keeps the focus and gets the users to look at other items they may need for the stuff they are purchasing.

9.       Spammy Comments aka “Look we have a lot of people on our blog”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, comments are awesome. They can enhance a blog, generate debate and in the end help educate others. Now, while a lot of spam has been easy to spot in the past I’ve seen a rise in “attempted genuine spam”. You’ve seen it too more than likely, generic comments like, “I must say I don’t agree with everything you’ve written here but you’ve given me something to consider.” Even if it’s just the one comment, it isn’t really saying anything direct about the post itself. So why bother with trashing it?

You ever had a soda that had all the ice cubes melt? That’s basically what approved spam comments are going to do, dilute the main subject of the article until it isn’t palatable.

10.   Fluff Content aka “Pointless Information”

Yet another instance when site owners attempt to write the copy for their website. Somewhere a site owner read something about “keyword density” and now instead of focusing on creating quality content the effort is now on adding enough content so that the keyword being focused on is hitting the desired “percentage”. Content should never be used to “fill some space”.

Now before the comments begin with “Well I’ve got a Facebook Fanpage link on EVERY page and my site does just fine!” Let me state, what it all comes down to is how much dilution is taking place. The fact of the matter is every site to some degree has a little dilution taking place, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harming that site. If the main subject/content is greater than the rest of the “shiny objects” on the page you’re probably fine, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a second look and make sure the main focus of each page is greater than anything else on the page.

Now what about you? Do you think topical dilution is something to be wary of? Is there something missed on this list?

The trick for marketing, do it without anyone noticing - @leolaporte #pubcon

November 8, 2011 9:10 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MerryMorud

Merry Morud

Did you know that the Pork Belly Association hired Edward Bernays to sell more bacon? That explains my love for PR and bacon. #PubCon

November 8, 2011 9:14 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@AdrienneRehm

Adrienne Rehm

When you serve a niche & serve it well, you create a community that is engaged & does the marketing for you. @leolaporte #pubcon

November 8, 2011 9:19 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@YoYoSEO

Yo! Yo! SEO

#pubcon if you want to be successful at marketing get someone to do it for you. @leoparte #pubcon

November 8, 2011 9:21 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@dhdoxey

Mr Doxey

Marketing isn't about how many people you can reach, but how uniquely you connect w/ individuals. Engage! @leolaporte #pubcon #socialmedia

November 8, 2011 9:25 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@socialmeteor

Troy Janisch

Everything is changing. You really can't make a strategy that will work in 6 months. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 9:28 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@lindsaylorraine

Lindsay Childs

Sometimes it's better not to focus on growing the audience by leaps and bounds but to grow through engagement and participation #pubcon

November 8, 2011 9:35 am via TwitterrificReplyRetweetFavorite

@ryngrn

Ryan Green

Education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 9:37 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@matthewleeparks

Matt Parks

Geek mentions during presos update for #pubcon - Star Wars=2; The Matrix=1; BSG=0

November 8, 2011 9:37 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@adeletiblier

Adele Tiblier

Create great content and make it easy for your community to share that content to draw new people into your world #pubcon

November 8, 2011 9:39 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@Plus_Charles

Charles Montgomery

Don't forget photos for local seo benefits. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:11 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@joeyabna

Joey Abna

Foundation to ORM: Don't rush #Pubcon via @AndyBeal

November 8, 2011 10:11 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@AlanBleiweiss

Alan Bleiweiss

krisjonescom social media is now part of the fabric of 6pm eventing news - when grama joins facebook you need to step back & look #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:12 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@aknecht

Alan K'necht

Website architecture session at #pubcon with @stoneyd "creating websites that search engines (and People) love"

November 8, 2011 10:14 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@optimizethis

Keith Brown

What to monitor? Your brands, employees, trademarks, secrets (esp if public trade co), slogans/campaigns, etc. @andybeal #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:15 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MollyCRyan

Molly C Ryan

"I love making ppl angry. When ppl get angry, they lose control, don't think rationally. They link to you & complain." @graywolf #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:38 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@beebow

Lauren Litwinka

Problems with ranking locally? Ask "What am I not doing that my competitors ARE doing?" @chiropractic #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:50 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@AJutah

Andrew Johnson

Most essential work in information architecture is done before your menu labels are decided. Before keyword research is completed. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:51 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@PrestonVanDyke

Preston Van Dyke

Social push: tweets have lifespan of 3-5 hours, stagger reweets, ask friends, real trusted account > 1,000 zombie accounts @graywolf #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:52 am via TwitterrificReplyRetweetFavorite

@kevgibbo

Kevin Gibbons

Fundamentals of SEO r still strong & social will never take away from that. Do Social on top of what you're already doing. #pubcon @joehall

November 8, 2011 10:54 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@dan_patterson

Dan Patterson

Don't listen to anyone saying that social media is about exposure & not sales. We wouldn't have social budget if we weren't selling. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 10:57 am via TwitterrificReplyRetweetFavorite

@scottcowley

Scott Cowley

"To many choices means no choice for users" @tedulle #pubcon #Information #Architecture

November 8, 2011 10:59 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@sausebrause

stefanie benthin

Fix the cause not the symptom - online conversation about your company is basically free market research @pbeckermann @josiecino #pubcon

November 8, 2011 11:01 am via Mobile WebReplyRetweetFavorite

@taylorprestidge

Taylor Prestidge

Identify your "geek" clients and read their blog posts, etc. Complement them on it and they'll love you and probably mention you. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 11:17 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@SEOMike

SEOMike

George says typical problems with organic entry pages: files with no nav, old pages, 404s, bad keyword/page combo. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 11:35 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@janetdmiller

Janet DriscollMiller

Amen. Canonicalization won't fix bad SEO architecture RT @niftymarketing Canonicalization is a hint... not an absolute via @uberjill #pubcon

November 8, 2011 11:35 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@davidcarrillo

David Carrillo

Longer, more mature page titles perform better. @uberjill #seo #pubcon

November 8, 2011 11:37 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@wanderama

Jeff Gregory

Too much crap content is like wearing cement shoes you are going to sink #pubcon

November 8, 2011 11:46 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@joeyabna

Joey Abna

Look at your site's content performance ratio - what is the ratio btw all pgs indexed and the total number of organic landing pages?#Pubcon

November 8, 2011 11:46 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@WeIncrease

Danis Fickewirth

Exact match anchor text is dead. Stop using it now! #pubcon "kiss of death"

November 8, 2011 11:56 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@ZashBrown

Chelsi Brown

"You don't get, if you don't ask." Or a closed mouth doesn't get fed. #PubCon @andybeal #repmgmt

November 8, 2011 1:59 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@wrightimc

WrightIMC

See correlations in all data. Customer routines, time of day to likely convert, adjust accordingly @bg_theory #ppc #pubcon

November 8, 2011 2:03 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@adeletiblier

Adele Tiblier

Continually blogging about a specific industry will enhance your rep & attract reporters to you as an expert source @seanthinks #pubcon

November 8, 2011 2:39 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MollyCRyan

Molly C Ryan

PR is all about positioning yourself as an expert. Social media gives us the ability to do that @lisabuyer #pubcon

November 8, 2011 2:05 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JoelRobbins11

Joel Robbins

You think you have a good button? just double the size - you will be shocked... @tim_ash at #PubCon

November 8, 2011 4:06 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@pascalfantou

Pascal Fantou

Myth: Ideas spread because they're good #pubcon

November 8, 2011 4:17 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@Steve_Stiffler

Steve Stiffler

Google update: Freshness of content - impacted 33% of searches. Content is king again. #pubcon

November 8, 2011 4:21 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@kaleidico

Kaleidico

Identify yourself authoritatively, then stop talking about yourself. #PubCon

November 8, 2011 4:27 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@JNels08

Jessica Nelson

Who wants more traffic? *every hand goes up* Silence. You should want more money. @ruthburr #pubcon

November 8, 2011 4:28 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@katemorris

Kate Morris

98% of Facebook fans view content through their Newsfeed. Focus on great content not fancy tabs on your page. @alison #pubcon

November 8, 2011 4:30 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@lookadoo

Dana Lookadoo

Greg Boser: "If the # of pages indexed is much > the number of pages driving organic traffic you have a problem." #pubcon RT @SEOCatfish

November 9, 2011 8:00 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@stonetemple

Eric Enge

Google is no longer "page focused" but "site focused." – Greg Boser #PubCon

November 9, 2011 8:40 am via UberSocial for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@Areahouse40

Ashish Rai

“You do not want to go where search engines are, you want to go where search engines are going to be.” Matt Cutts #pubcon

November 9, 2011 8:59 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@DavidAngotti

David Angotti

"SEO is not dead" @Mattcutts #pubcon

November 9, 2011 9:02 am via Mobile WebReplyRetweetFavorite

@Huldalgaard

Sanne Huldalgaard

What's a cellphone? It's a computer you carry with you everywhere. @mattcutts #pubcon

November 9, 2011 9:04 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@LukeAlley

Luke Alley

Googlebot is getting smarter. ~@mattcutts #pubcon #keynote

November 9, 2011 9:06 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@MichelleDLowery

Michelle Lowery

#pubcon Matt Cutts - you can have a small company succeed. Google-webmaster tools are an equalizer. @mattcutts

November 9, 2011 9:24 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@WeIncrease

Danis Fickewirth

The beautiful thing about the internet is that small business can compete & often outrank big brands if they're focused. #pubcon #keynote

November 9, 2011 9:28 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@optimizethis

Keith Brown

If you're 1 of the 96% you download KWs and then BUY them from AdWords. Reverse engineer and get the query anyway. #pubcon @mattcutts

November 9, 2011 9:33 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@TonyVerre

Tony Verre

#pubcon It is much harder to fake natural than be natural. @mattcutts

November 9, 2011 9:35 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@lyena

lyena

A really good editorial link can go a long way says @mattcutts #pubcon.

November 9, 2011 9:41 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@lindsaylorraine

Lindsay Childs

With personalized search results in Google, site rank becomes seriously complicated. #PubCon @BruceClayInc

November 9, 2011 10:21 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@kariebarrett

Karie Barrett

Top 5 shareable words: name of site, why, most, world, how. aka people want MORE than news headlines. @danzarrella #pubcon

November 9, 2011 10:41 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@AJutah

Andrew Johnson

"Google is relating the brand to a person", so plan before rushing to create your Google+ page - @virtualmarketer #pubcon

November 9, 2011 10:44 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@JohnWEllis

John W. Ellis

Paid & organic search are still top influencers, not social media, yet. -- @jennifercario #pubcon

November 9, 2011 11:01 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@ERontheWeb

Erin

Start your Infographics with quality idea. Make something of quality not quantity. @davidwallace #pubcon

November 9, 2011 11:02 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@dhdoxey

Mr Doxey

You have to have a good, SEO-mature site before you target competitors with keyword search. #pubcon

November 9, 2011 11:39 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@JNels08

Jessica Nelson

If you don't have revenue, don't worry about how many twitter followers you don't have. - @robsnell #pubcon

November 9, 2011 11:47 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@TimBiden

Tim Biden

Beyond every keyboard is a person. Treat them as such. #PubCon

November 9, 2011 12:04 pm via UberSocial for BlackBerryReplyRetweetFavorite

@wrightimc

WrightIMC

a like = an opportunity to keep them interested. via @briancarter #pubcon

November 9, 2011 12:06 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@katebuckjr

Kate Buck Jr

Huge difference between being a businessman and a hustler. Businessmen think long term. Hustlers look for the quickest buck. #pubcon

November 9, 2011 12:09 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JoeyBLS

Joey Lax-Salinas

47% of people expect a better experience using a mobile app, than walking into a store. Focus on quality! #pubcon

November 9, 2011 12:29 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@hanskaspersetz

Hans Kaspersetz

Informational queries take SEO CTR higher while comercial queries take PPC CTR higher. #SEOxPPC #Pubcon

November 9, 2011 12:33 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MarceloPerim

Marcelo Perim

For a search engine that few people care about, it would have been good if the speaker actually showed up for the Bing session #pubcon

November 9, 2011 1:26 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@Go_Casey

Casey Bond

Let your performance guide your structural changes #pubcon @RavenPratt

November 9, 2011 1:41 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@mikehernalsteen

Mike Hernalsteen

If you hear IPV6 from the IT dept., dual stacking is the way to go. Translation may add to page load times says @shendison #pubcon

November 9, 2011 1:45 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@jessicabowman

jessicabowman

"More people have mobile phones than they do toothbrushes." ~ @kirstenwright #pubcon @pubcon

November 9, 2011 1:49 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@nerdgirlagogo

Jennifer Kelton

Avoid money imagery (or currency symbols) if you're asking for donations. #pubcon #brainfluence

November 9, 2011 1:51 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@OptimizedMom

Amanda

Go with the flow and let your fb page reflect that @alialison#pubcon

November 9, 2011 1:54 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@JoelRobbins11

Joel Robbins

Clustered hosting is the best kind of shared hosting and can be way better than a VPS. @davidvmc #PubCon

November 9, 2011 1:59 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@kariebarrett

Karie Barrett

"You're Information Architecture is like your floor plan." @lookadoo Without it you could end up with nothing. #PubCon

November 9, 2011 2:02 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@CFlewellen

Cameron Flewellen

Fresh, regular content essential to any content marketing strategy #pubcon

November 9, 2011 2:07 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@contentriche

Richard Eldridge 

Autoplacement sites with high CPAs: take them out of current ad group and put into a managed placements to try to lower CPA @szetela #pubcon

November 9, 2011 2:16 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@michellemsem

Michelle Morgan

@johnstraw The pages that get tweets are not the pages that get links. --- Interesting! #pubcon

November 9, 2011 3:19 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@BarryBirkett

Barry Birkett

Everyone should have goals on their google analytics to compare to @ashishvij #pubcon

November 9, 2011 3:22 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@romanocog

Jen Romano Bergstrom

If you can't make your site worse then you're in trouble @hubpages #pubcon

November 9, 2011 3:44 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@mesimoniv

Mark Simon

Make sure that you're involved with every team so they all understand that SEO is important to what they do. Great advice at #pubcon

November 10, 2011 9:38 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@JTPotts

Jason Potts

Google bowling, backlink sniping, hacking your site for robots.txt... Competition gets scandalous. #Pubcon

November 10, 2011 9:53 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@WeIncrease

Danis Fickewirth

Today’s online newsroom is targeted to customers, prospects, industry analysts & search engines. - @lisabuyer #pubcon

November 10, 2011 10:19 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@lindsaylorraine

Lindsay Childs

When going after blogs to evangelize your brand, vet it: watch comments, followers, content, and social interaction for relevance. #pubcon

November 10, 2011 10:36 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@JNels08

Jessica Nelson

You can write a resourceful, 800-word post and link out to 40 different sites - well worth it if it garners a ton of links. @arniek #pubcon

November 10, 2011 11:00 am via TwitterrificReplyRetweetFavorite

@scottcowley

Scott Cowley

Communities are largely built on characteristics companies choose - missed opp to take cues from community members -@katrinaklier #pubcon

November 10, 2011 11:40 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@ruthburr

Ruth Burr

@seanthinks Tweet of the Day "If you are not talking online today...you will be shouting at the wind tomorrow." #pubcon

November 10, 2011 12:02 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@derekmcclain

DerekMcClain (D-Mac)

SEO for CMS driven Flash site - feed XML content from CMS to a div on page and then have flash read the div on the page to populate #PubCon

November 10, 2011 12:16 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@Red_Mud_Rookie

Ralph du Plessis

Duplicate content is not a penalty. They’re not penalizing you, you’re just confusing the search engines.~ Kate Morris #pubcon

November 10, 2011 1:13 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@websuccess

Janette Speyer

Use incompetence to YOUR ADVANTAGE -@streko #pubcon

November 10, 2011 1:37 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MerryMorud

Merry Morud

'GWMT is awesome! If you aren't using Google WMT then you're stupid' @kronis #pubcon

November 10, 2011 1:58 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@adeletiblier

Adele Tiblier

recovering from PANDA is not a simple architectural tweak or content or etc. No quick fix. It's a business-model fix #pubcon @gregboser

November 10, 2011 2:13 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@TonyVerre

Tony Verre

Observation from interactive site reviews: everyone needs more focus on humanity and especially more video. #pubcon

November 10, 2011 2:32 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@kyl33t

Kylee Wall

Jane's big tip: Take note of competitor's volume of links & links' DA, PA, PR - compete on those metrics , don't copy the tactic ! #pubcon

November 10, 2011 2:10 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@beebow

Lauren Litwinka

Correlation is important, Google don't tell us the answers. Facebook shares currently top human engagement factor @GregBoser #pubcon

November 10, 2011 2:16 pm via TwitterrificReplyRetweetFavorite

@kevgibbo

Kevin Gibbons

Googles extreme localization has turned my SERP into boring yellow pages @gregboser #Pubcon

November 10, 2011 2:19 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@Jonahstein

Jonah Stein

.@RavenPratt - three elements of converting landing page: get attention, keep engaged, call them to action. #pubcon

November 10, 2011 3:17 pm via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@janetdmiller

Janet DriscollMiller

"Tell people you are what you want to be. Get respect for that." via @giovanni #pubcon

November 10, 2011 3:29 pm via EchofonReplyRetweetFavorite

@katebuckjr

Kate Buck Jr

Define community rules and expectations. @rhea #pubcon Yes, yes, yes!

November 10, 2011 3:30 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@ERontheWeb

Erin

Good info for older brands: Moving onsite or catalog customers and visitors onto social networks. #pubcon

November 10, 2011 3:40 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@sassologist

janet stauble

"If you use squidoo, you are using a link wheel." @steveplunkett #pubcon

November 10, 2011 3:44 pm via TweetCaster for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@schachin

Kristine Schachinger

Start looking for questions people are asking about your topic, then create content that answers that question -@gregboser #pubcon

November 10, 2011 3:51 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@ruthburr

Ruth Burr

If your link velocity/anchor text profile doesn't match other/older sites in your industry you prob got it unnaturally -@gregboser #pubcon

November 10, 2011 4:05 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@OptimizedMom

Amanda

Faster site = Higher #SEO = Higher #conversion!! #pubcon

November 10, 2011 5:35 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@hetshah84

Het Shah

If you’re up for further reading of the sessions Search Engine Journal did an awesome job collecting  a mix of live blogging and recaps from a variety of sources including Outspoken Media, Aimclear, Bruce Clay and many others. If you’ve got a tidbit that wasn’t listed you thought was awesome we’d love to read about it in the comments!