While every texting, blogging, and Twittering Generation X and Generation Y member loves social networks, a new study finds that your grandma and grandpa may just be on Facebook and Twitter too!
Fastest Growing Group of Social Media Users
In a new research study conducted by Pew Research, older internet users are rapidly embracing social networks, quickly outpacing the growth rate amongst younger generations. In fact, between May 2009 and May 2010, internet users older than 50 doubled their social networking activities, soaring from 22% to 42% of the age segment. To contrast, in the same time period, the growth of social networking use for those between the ages of 18 and 29 rose by just 13%, from 75% to 86% of internet users.
Who Tweets and Posts on Facebook?
These older users are not only utilizing social networks to get back in touch with old friends and classmates, but to share updates on their daily lives as well. In fact, one out of 10 internet users who are 50 years or older Tweet about their day, update their Facebook pages, or utilize other social networks. On an average day, 20% of 50 – 64 year olds online will log onto their social networks.
What Does the Study Mean for Your Business?
If your target audience includes older adults, then social media is your ticket to reaching them. Tweet for their attention and add Facebook posts to become a resource they visit often. In the Pew Research study, many older adults utilize social media and blogs to stay abreast of chronic health issues, and if your business is in the health industry, social media is a double prescription for reaching your audience!
If you don’t have time to tweet or blog, let Communicate Better, your loyal literary sidekick, do all the work for you. We offer Twitter management and blog publication packages that allow you to garner the benefits of social media – without lifting a finger.
Read moreDid you register the .co domain for your website yet? If you missed the launch on July 20th, your next order of business may be to visit your registrar to protect your internet properties – and to see if the short, snappy, or keyword-rich domain name you’ve always wanted is available.
.co Makes Logical Sense
In the 25 years since .com launched, more than 90 million .com websites have been registered. While other top level domains (TLDs) have come and gone, .co is speculated to be the next .com due to its association with “company,” “commerce,” and “corporation,” as well as the familiarity of .co in country-specific domains, such as .co.uk and .co.jp. In the two weeks since the launch, nearly 400,000 .co domains have already been registered.
Fortune 500 Companies Buying .co Domains
It’s not just cybersquatters who snapped up .co domain names at $30 per year. In fact, 70% of companies who are in the Brand Finance Top 500 have purchased .co extensions, including Apple, American Express, Amazon, BMW, Canon, Cartier, CNN, Disney, Ebay, Coca-Cola, Ford, Hilton, Google, Honda, IKEA, Kodak, IBM, McDonalds, MTV, Microsoft, Nokia, Nike, Sony, Samsung, Toyota, Toshiba, Visa, Yahoo, and numerous others.
Opportunity to Shorten Your Domain
Other companies are viewing the .cos as a smart opportunity to rebrand themselves with the domain names they’ve always coveted. Twitter purchased t.co, while Overstock bought o.co for $350,000, and e.co’s auction ended at $81,000. Other interesting purchases of .co domains include:
Categorized as a “Global” Extension by Google
Before the launch, some critics of .co were wary about the possibility that the Columbia-based extension would be considered by Google to remain a country code top-level domain (ccTLD), as it did with the .cm extension, making SEO difficult on a global level. However, two days after the launch, an official Google spokesperson remarked, ”We will rank .co domains appropriately if the content is globally targeted. Webmasters will soon have the functionality to be able to specify this by using the geotargeting options in Google Webmaster Tools.” Google will treat .co domains in the same fashion as .com, .org, .net, and other internationally used extensions – making .co indeed a viable, mainstream alternative to .com.
At 90 million domain names, .com is indeed beyond saturated, and .co may just be the extension to open another 90 million opportunities in the years to come.
Read moreThanks to our new Twitter management service, you can take full advantage of Tweets without lifting a feather!
Communicate Better is proud to announce its customized, manual Twitter management services that build your followers, promote your website, and engage your audience with custom tweets – which translate into hands-free Tweeting for you.
Through our services, we help you harness the power of Twitter in building your traffic and potential customers, solidifying your brand, and deepening loyalty amongst your customers.
In addition to building your followers, our Twitter management service monitors those who may be tweeting @ you and engages in the conversation, thus building an active and viral community.
Enhance your online presence and utilize our keyword infused tweets to target the search engines while simultaneously building your credibility via timely customized content aimed at your industry.
By utilizing the power of social sites, via our social bookmarking services, or our new Twitter management service, your business can tap in to an expansive and vast audience while enjoying enhanced search engine rankings. You can now reach a large and growing audience, as well as targeted traffic, at a fraction of the cost of PPC campaigns.
Communicate Better is dedicated to your success, and we will continue to offer innovative content development and SEO enhancing services to help you reach or exceed your goals!
Read moreIf you are hoping to rise to the top of search results, the key is to start small. While seemingly counterintuitive, specialization is the key to befriending Google, according to Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s webspam team.
Building Your Reputation
In a recent seminar, Cutts advised business owners, “If you want to get a reputation, start small, expand in your niche.” For example, rather than targeting the general, universal term of “content,” Communicate Better’s website focuses on becoming an authority on SEO content and SEO website copy. If you want to break into the insurance industry, instead of attempting to rank for the broad term “insurance,” a more powerful strategy would be to publish SEO content on umbrella insurance in California, for example.
When Google begins to view your website as an authority site for your niche, you gain credibility and relevance, which builds your long-term reputation for the search engines (and customers!). Starting with small niche steps not only builds your short-term search results and traffic, but is the building blocks to ranking well in the long-term for your broad terms.
Riding the Success of Long Tail Keywords
Although the long-term goal of many websites is to rank in the first position for their industry’s most powerful one-word keyword, this should not be your primary strategy. Instead, target relevant long-tail keywords through your SEO content, which not only have less competition for rankings, but will likely result in more targeted traffic and conversions. According to Search Engine Watch’s Josh McCoy, “…when you look at the big picture all the long tail keyword traffic…will collectively drive much more traffic to the site and convert better than the competitive broad term that became an obsession.”
Consider your own psychology and behavior when you conduct a search. If you are looking to hire a writer for your website, do you type “writer” into the Google search bar, or do you utilize the more effective phrase “SEO content writer” instead?
In addition, you can experience higher rankings in the search results more quickly with long-tail keywords – which means more traffic and more sales both now and in the future.
Rather than exhaust your efforts in fighting the war for placement for your broad terms, why not win plenty of battles in ranking for niche, long-tail keywords?
Read moreSEO benefits, branding advantages, and consumer loyalty: these are all the direct results of blogging. However, did you know that the humble blog could propel your business to the top of your industry?
Indeed, according to Technorati’s State of the Blogsophere report for 2009, blogging translates into greater visibility and industry leadership. Some of the key highlight statistics from the report include:
Any industry can benefit from the addition of a corporate blog. If you have clients and potential customers, then you have an audience base that is just waiting to be tapped. Consider these top 15 corporate blogs, as ranked by their Technorati Authority by Marketing Nirvana:
From computers and software programs to GPS systems and cars, clearly any industry can benefit from blogging. Whether you share an inside look into your daily operations, helpful resources, previews of new products, or anecdotal stories, your blog can be a powerful springboard for your company.
Isn’t it time you leveraged blogging to catapult to the top of your industry? If you don’t have time to personally pen your blog posts, take advantage of our ghostwritten blog writing and publishing packages, which is the ultimate hands-free blogging solution for busy business owners.
Read moreOnline prose typically falls into two realms: informative content or sales copy. Which type of composition translates into the best conversion rates? Does snazzy sales copy win more dollars than humble, informative content with infused soft sells?
Copy and Content: Attached at the Hip
The truth is that both types of content play an important role in your online success. Informative content brings visitors to your door and builds their trust in your website, while sales copy compels them to open their pocketbooks. Just like flour needs yeast to rise, sales copy needs informative content to help close the sale – and help your profits rise.
Most Powerful Types of Informative Content
While there are many ways to approach SEO content writing, providing valuable information to the reader is the most powerful strategy. Not only will valuable content prompt a visitor to read more and stay longer on your website, but it will also build their trust in your expertise and knowledge. With that said, there are several ways you can present valuable information, including:
Publishing helpful, informative content lures visitors to your website, as well as initiates the first course of dialogue between a potential customer and your business. The more value you can give to your readers through content, the more likely they will convert into customers.
Read moreYou may not have multimillion dollar advertising budgets or prime retail space on Rodeo Drive, but you can still fiercely compete against Fortune 500 companies online. In fact, with the right SEO strategies, you can easily overtake Fortune 500 companies in the search engines.
Fortune 500 Companies: Dismal Online Exposure
According to the “Natural Search Trends of the Fortune 500” 2009 report from Conductor, Fortune 500 companies are nearly “invisible” online. In analyzing 6.7 million paid keywords and natural search engine results, Conductor discovered the following trends:
What the Study Means for the Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, the takeaway message from the report is clear: capitalize on search engine optimization to easily overtake Fortune 500 companies in natural search results.
Thankfully, search engine optimization strategies are affordable, even for modest budgets. Two of the most important SEO strategies include:
While it may not be easy to compete against Fortune 500 companies in the traditional advertising game, the online realm is an entirely different league. Take advantage of our affordable SEO writing, press release distribution, and manual article directory submission services to target your most important keywords – and easily beat out your Fortune 500 competition!
Read morePay per click has been the backbone of many marketing campaigns, but reaching customers through PPC may be an antiquated strategy. In fact, according to research presented by comScore, the number of people who click on PPC ads has plummeted from 32% in 2007 to only 16% of all internet users in 2009. Even more interesting is that 85% of all clicks are now attributed to only 8% of all internet users!
Adding more nails to the PPC coffin, however, are browser add-ons that are literally making PPC advertisements invisible.
Ad-Blocking Programs are Changing the Face of Online Marketing
The demand for ad-free web enjoyment continues to skyrocket, and the application developers are taking note, introducing browser add-ons that cloak PPC advertisements. Adblock Plus for Firefox is a leading example, and since 2006, more than 67,500,000 internet users have downloaded the add-on! Each week, nearly one million additional users download the program just for Firefox alone.
The staggering numbers of internet users downloading ad-blocking software means that PPC is quickly becoming obsolete as a primary marketing strategy. This beckons the question: if your PPC ads are made invisible by browser add-ons, how can you reach your target customers?
The Growing Importance of Natural Search Results
With more PPC ads being shielded by browser add-ons, the importance of organic search results grows even greater. Not only are organic search results the most cost-effective for your long-term marketing strategy, but they also generate more traffic and legitimacy to your website.
With the introduction of Google Caffeine and changes in the algorithm, today’s natural search rankings may be rearranged tomorrow. For the next generation of online marketing, the importance of fresh content cannot be underestimated for either Google Caffeine or Bing. Working with your content writer to produce original, fresh, and regular content will help drive your website to the top of search results, improving your market reach and solving the problem of PPC ad-blocking browser add-ons.
Nearly one million internet users download ad-blocking browser programs each week for Firefox alone, but your advertising campaign does not need to be short changed. Focusing on your organic, natural search results will help your endeavors prosper as the world of online marketing evolves.
Read more2010 heralds a year of major changes for Google’s search algorithm – and your website’s rankings within the search engine! Your New Year’s resolution of propelling to the top of Google may just be answered with Google Caffeine’s real-time results.
“Latest Results” are Replacing Google’s Top Results
Google’s most dramatic update with Caffeine will revolve around its real-time search results. Superseding all the search results is the “latest results” section, which will showcase the latest blog posts, news stories, press releases, and social network updates pertaining to the search term. Google published a Caffeine video demonstrating where the “latest results” section will appear, and clearly, this is a traffic gold mine just waiting to be tapped.
Testing has revealed that Google Caffeine’s real-time capabilities are incredibly powerful. For example, Tweets are being returned in relevant Google searches within mere minutes of publication. Each time you update your blog with new posts, you can expect a surge of natural traffic from the power of Google’s “latest results.”
How to Capitalize on Google Caffeine’s Real Time Search Results
Clearly, Google Caffeine provides you with an unparalleled opportunity to literally jump to the top of Google’s search results for your important keywords. Each time your content writer publishes new, relevant content to your blog, searchers will see your website first and foremost. With your eloquent content writer by your side, climbing to the top of the first page of Google results is now easier than ever.
Even before Google Caffeine is officially unleashed in early 2010, you can already witness the implementation of real-time search in “old fashioned” Google. Some guinea pig users have randomly seen their Google search results sorted by date, while all searchers can now click on “show options” and select how they want their results displayed:
Google’s goal in organizing search results by time is to generate more relevant, accurate results – and this is certainly good news for every website that is savvy enough to take advantage of fresh compositions from their content writer.
The Decaffeinated Fate of Websites without Updates
SEO experts are speculating that Google Caffeine’s emphasis on fresh, real-time results will not bode well for websites that do not update their content frequently. Websites that do not add new content may receive poorer search rankings, as there is a greater probability that the website is no longer relevant or accurate.
If you only make one New Year’s SEO resolution, it should be solely focused on updating your website constantly with content. As we ring in the New Year, make sure your content writer is standing by, ready to compose fresh content that will jolt your website to the top of Google Caffeine’s search results!
Read moreGoogle Caffeine promises to recharge the search engine with significant changes, but how will this impact your website’s ranking?
Based upon a Digital Connections analysis, the change could be dramatic. For example, in evaluating 10 two-word keywords for the retail industry, more than 47% of websites that currently appear on the first page were dropped in Caffeine. For 10 of the four-word long tail keywords evaluated, nearly 26% of websites currently ranked first in search results lost their position in Caffeine.
The Caffeine update promises to be as dramatic as the “Big Daddy” update that occurred in 2005 and 2006. According to Google, Caffeine will improve the “size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and effectiveness” of its search engine – which could mean major changes for your SEO efforts.
Why Content is the Real Caffeine King
The search engine marketer’s adage, “content is king” holds more weight for Google Caffeine than ever before. In an effort to deliver quality search results, Google is reducing the weight of backlinks. Instead, the search engine will be ranking websites with better content higher in the results than those with better backlinks. This means that Google will return more searches based upon the on-page text your content writer composes, rather than the keywords of backlinks to the website. Indeed, content returns to its pinnacle reign as king in Caffeine.
With Caffeine, there will be more than one way to benefit from the power of content. Google Caffeine may offer real-time search, which would allow users to sort search results based upon temporal relevancy. The value of real-time content has already been made apparent with Bing. This makes publishing frequent, relevant, and timely articles from your content writer even more important in improving your ranking and driving traffic to your website. Updating your blogs and issuing press releases can all help to jolt your pages upwards in Caffeine.
Prepare for Changes in Your Keywords
Based upon beta testing, the world of keywords will also change in Caffeine. The competition amongst single keywords will amplify, while decreasing amongst long-tail searches. Google Caffeine intends to index a higher volume of pages, which will increase the amount of competition for single keywords. However, there is good news for the webmaster. Google will be more accurately indexing long-tail keywords, which translates into less competition for these phrases. Although you may experience more competition for your single keywords, you should also enjoy a growth in traffic from more relevant long-tail searches. Now is the time for your content writer to begin targeting your articles for powerful long-tail keywords.
When to Expect a Shot of Caffeine
The full rainbow of changes that result from the Caffeine update remain to be seen. However, we do know there will be a bevy of intriguing factors that Google Caffeine will begin using to rank websites, including site speed.
One data center has already been switched to the Caffeine algorithm, and according to Matt Cutts, a wider introduction of Caffeine will occur throughout multiple Google data centers after the holidays. Before 2010 arrives, make sure your New Year’s resolutions include preparing for the jolt of Google Caffeine!
Read more