These days, staying ahead of social media is darn near impossible, especially when you’ve got, well…a life. With the recent rumblings about Google+ and the impact it has on search ratings, the last thing you want to hear about is yet another new social media site that you’ve got to be on top of. However, this one may leave you pleasantly surprised.

If you haven’t looked at Pinterest yet, it’s time to take the plunge. Go ahead – open it up. What stands before you on the screen is actually quite simple. Pinterest is a way to organize your interests. You create a Board, name it (“Recipes I Want to Try”), then dive into the Pins and put the ones you like (chocolate chip cookies) on your board. You can also create your own Pins with pictures from web pages (foodnetwork.com). You now have a virtual bulletin board of Pins about what interests you, hence, “Pinterest”.

Each Pin will link to the specific page where the pinned image was found, unless the person who pinned it did it incorrectly. Therefore, people on Pinterest create a web of SEO-friendly links. For your business, getting links in this web could be a very helpful way to drive traffic to your site via inbound links. So, how exactly should you go about it? Here are some helpful hints and points to consider when creating your brand on Pinterest.

• If you sell tangible objects, it can be easy to fall into a groove of just Pinning your products. Even if you have a very established brand, this will drive people away. Even Gap has an “I Want Candy” board, where they pin delicious-looking treats.
• If you don’t sell tangible objects, you’re going to have to get creative. Infographics, blog post images, and company photos are good things to start with. Then, start brainstorming interests or lifestyles that are related to your service or brand. If you own a cleaning company, post photos of really clean, cool houses. If you own a moving company, post photos of exciting locations your company has moved people to.
• Add personal touches. People want to see that Gap employees like candy. Make a several people in your company can Pin on, and all of you can post inspirational or interesting things that you like. Upload images of your head honchos meeting over lunch, or your receptionist playing Angry Birds. Fun, interesting, and exciting images are going to get clicked on.
• Pinterest does not have the same following that Facebook or Twitter do. So, advertise your Pinterest account on your other social media profiles, and anywhere else you promote your profiles.
• Follow the popular people in your category (Technology, Fitness, Food, Etc.). If you can get them to repin your Pins, you’ll reach more people.
• Pinterest is based on feeling more than thinking. Post images that will make people feel a connection, so they’ll want to click. Let’s say you sell motors. Pinning an image of a motor itself probably won’t get clicks. Posting an image of the motor in action in an awesome car is more likely to trigger some clicking.
• Create a keyword-friendly description for each Pin. Just don’t go overboard with adding links in the description, as that will turn people away. The Pin already links to your site once, so adding a bunch of links to the description area is not necessary.

Even if you follow all of these points and tips, Pinterest will just not work well for every company. For instance, let’s say you’re in the air conditioning/heating business. Pictures of air conditioner and heating units will probably not garner a whole lot of clicks, and diagrams of how your products work in houses will only get you so far.

How can you decide if Pinterest is right for your business or brand? The easiest way is to go to pinterest.com. At the top of the page under the logo, you’ll see the word “Everything.” Hovering over that word will produce a list of categories. If your business or brand fits well into one of those categories, you’ve got a much better chance than if you’ve got to stretch your imagination to make it fit.

For more information and other viewpoints about Pinterest and small business, visit these pages:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/quickerbettertech/2012/02/06/my-interest-in-pinterest/
http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/9-tips-boost-your-business-pinterest.html

When marketing a website, there are many, many variables that must be considered. Now, more than ever, one important variable that must be high on that list is fresh content. For a website to really be successful in today’s competitive market, it needs to have fresh content. Here are some ways to make sure your site looks fresh and exciting in Google’s eyes.

Update Content

Google loves sites with content that’s both relevant AND fresh. No, this doesn’t mean that you have to try to mess with your content every single week, but it’s important to consider either adding a new page or two or revamping some of your content every once in a while. Updating just a paragraph or the order of the navigation won’t do much. Instead, try to completely update whole pages of content.

Get Blogging

Having a blog on your domain that you update often would help Google to think kindly of your site, as a blog counts as fresh content. Think about what kinds of updates you could give your audience. Is there any news in your industry? Within your company? Do you have any ideas about how you could get customers involved in commenting on posts or submitting them? Get creative!

Make sure to build your blog on a subfolder page (mysite.com/blog), rather than a subdomain (blog.mysite.com) or new domain (myblog.com). A subfolder keeps a good amount of the authority that your domain already has, whereas a subdomain or new domain does not. A page will benefit from being on an already powerful domain or subdomain.

Build Links

Link building is important in general, but it is also important when looking at site freshness. If you have some new links every month then your site looks fresh, especially if those links are from other fresh sites. Be careful here, though, because Google could detect something fishy if you’ve got too many new links in a short amount of time.

Keep Users Around

Google takes user behavior into account when ranking search results. A page that users spent time on will look better than one they clicked on, then navigated away from right away. People are naturally going to stay on your site longer if you’ve got up-to-date, fresh content.

Watch for Updates

On November 2nd, 2011, Google announced that they had released a new update that can figure out when to give the searcher really up-to-date content. Depending on the content/purpose of your website, this update may not affect you. For instance, search “Decision 2012″. This phrase uses Google’s new results update, as you can see by the very timely results. Most of the results have time stamps from the last couple months or days, even though popular content exists from 2010. Now, search “house plant”. See the difference? No time stamps or recent news stories appear in the results, as they did for “Decision 2012”.

Whether this Google update affects your site or not, it is important to keep your content up to date, fresh, and interesting. Think about the sites you visit on a regular basis. Would you keep going to them if new stuff didn’t pop up? Also, watch your competitors’ sites. How do they keep their content fresh? Just make sure not to copy them. Use your creativity! The writers of Field of Dreams got it right: If you build it, they will come.

For more information about Google’s update, watch SEOmoz’s Whiteboard Friday clip.
For more information about the importance of fresh content, check out this great article, also from SEOmoz.

As 2012 kicks into gear, it’s time to think about your current marketing plan. If you’ve finally gotten Facebook and Twitter down to a science, or if you’re just beginning your social media marketing journey, you’re probably wondering about Google+. How important is it for your small business, and just how much time should you spend looking into it and/or setting it up? Here are some important points to consider when these difficult questions are hot on your mind.

The +1 Button SEO Boost

You’ve either seen first hand or read about the evidence that Facebook “Likes” and Twitter “Followers” and “Retweets” can boost your SEO rankings. There’s evidence that +1′s will do the same. This tidbit from Google’s Google+ Webmaster FAQ page explains:

“Content recommended by friends and acquaintances is often more relevant than content from strangers. For example, a movie review from an expert is useful, but a movie review from a friend who shares your tastes can be even better. Because of this, +1′s from friends and contacts can be a useful signal to Google when determining the relevance of your page to a user’s query. This is just one of many signals Google may use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, and we’re constantly tweaking and improving our algorithm to improve overall search quality.”

Hangouts

Hangouts are like Skype for Google. Google+ opens your webcam, and you can instantly video chat with anyone in your circles who’s online. This can be really handy for:

1. Internal meetings: Say you’ve got an employee working remotely, and you’re going to have an important meeting. If you start a hangout, that employee and the other meeting attendees can chat face-to-face via webcam. Also, since you’re already on the Google platform, if you use Google’s document or calendar sharing functions, those are only a click away.
2. Connecting with customers: Pretend for a moment that you’re a web design company, and you’ve got some people in your circles who’ve seen your work and are thinking about getting a new website. You can host a general information session during which you invite your potential clients and show them, all at once, what your company is capable of. Not only do you get to show off, but your customers also feel more connected to you, since they can see your face and interact with you directly.

Circles

Circles are categories that you can add your followers to, and then you can post updates just to specific ones. For instance, say you have 3 circles: Clients, Potential Clients, and Employees. You can post a special offer to your potential clients that your clients won’t see. Or, you can make a post reminding your employees about an upcoming meeting, and your client circles won’t see it.

The Cons

While those three features are great for small businesses, there are a couple things that you should be aware of when considering investing time in Google+.

1. You have to have a personal Google+ page to have a business page, and it is tied to your personal account. However, personal pages are easy to create if you don’t have one yet. Also, you can give other people rights to edit your business page, and they won’t see your personal stuff.
2. Facebook and Twitter still win. They’ve still got many more users than Google+, and people are much more active in general on them. However, if Google+ is going to blow up in the future, this lull gives you time to figure it out and grow with it.
3. You can add other businesses to your circles, but you can’t add individual people until they add you first. This is sort of the same thing as Facebook, though. Your updates don’t appear on peoples’ walls until they “Like” you.

Decisions, Decisions

The decision about whether or not Google+ is a good investment for your small business is ultimately up to you. If you already barely use Facebook and you see no benefit in getting a Google+ page, then perhaps it’s not for you. If any of the above functionalities appeal to you, then maybe it’s worth a try. Either way, it’s a social media-eat-social media world, and we’ll all be watching as Google+ takes its place in the social food chain.

For more information about Google+ and small business, check out these resources:
http://mashable.com/2011/12/25/google-plus-for-small-business/
http://www.cio.in/news/seven-ways-use-google-help-your-enterprise-209692012

Forget what you’ve heard! The infographic is not dead! Oh sure there are bad designers out there doing their best to try and kill it, but the infographic remains the best way to communicate complex information quickly and clearly.

A good infographic can increase traffic to your website.
Since 2008 the number of searches for the term “infographics” has increased exponentially. Infographics can help your company with its social success online. Making your infographic embeddable allows people to share and re-post the image to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. It is also helpful to create social sharing buttons in your infographic that will allow your visitors to easily Tweet or share a link to your site.

Infographics are a great way to build brand identity. As more and more people view and share your infographic they will be sure to notice the brand logo you have appropriately placed within the design. It is also best to use relevant data in your infographic, making it more accessible within search engines.

Lastly, a successful infographic creates alot of links by being shared or adopted by other users. It is easier and more engaging to share an infographic rather than a blog post full of text. It is the propensity to be shared that makes the infographic such a powerful SEO and marketing tool and its visual appeal makes it that much more fun to share. We are, after all, visual creatures.

Brothers and sisters the infographic is not dead! Viva la infographic!


Check out Arcstone’s infographic work!

Infographics for Barrett Moving and Storage, Meshbesher & Spence, and Gassen.

Signed up on LinkedIn (LI) but feeling like you’re still in no mans land? Maybe you’re right. When people search for your skill set or industry, what are you doing to ensure that you beat out thousands of other profiles to grab their attention?

By now were all familiar with the term search engine optimization (SEO), used to increase your search engine rankings so that potential clients can find your business. But what you may not realize is that LI employs search in a very similar way. For those that don’t know the secrets to LinkedIn Search Optimization (LSO), LI can feel like a ghost town.

Connections
Rankings on LI take into consideration, keywords, recommendations and connections. The more people know you on LI, the more known you are in search. Rule #1 Connect.

Get Specific
Using the right keywords can bring qualified leads to you. But in order to get those leads you need to stand out in sea of people who do what you do. Evaluate your title, does it really tell people what you can do for them? Try to think like someone looking for your service. Would they search for that title or something else? Just like SEO, long-tailed keywords are your friend and don’t be afraid to use more than one title. The more specific you can be about what you do, without being too rare, the better.

Complete your profile
No picture, little to no information, zero recommendations  you might as well throw in the towel. Be thorough, remember this is your online resume and in essence, the advertisement for you or your business. First impressions count.

Add your Websites
This one is often missed and its a shame because you can drive traffic right to your site. Interested parties can and will click your link for more information. LI gives you three, enough to add your company(ies) and your blog.

Summary
The summary is your shot  now pitch. Yours shouldn’t read like a flat list of jobs. Speak directly to the people landing on your page. Let them know who you are and what you can do for them in a clear, concise manner that is peppered with keywords. Point out your experience and accomplishments but most important, focus on what you can do for them now.

Recommendations
Some people feel intimidated asking for recommendations  don’t. If they’re on LI they know how this works and have probably been in your shoes. Always offer to reciprocate and do so immediately.  It ensures your chances of getting a timely recommendation and one that may sparkle just a little bit more. If you’re tied for keywords with someone else in your industry, your recommendations and connections are the tie breakers  get them.

Though your goal may be to reach as many potentials as you can by optimizing for search, keep in mind that its real connections and the value you bring to them that seals deals.

Follow ArcStone Technologies on LinkedIn.

Vanessa Nix Anthony is freelance journalist, SEO copywriter and SMM Strategist living in Portland, Oregon. She writes for a variety newspapers, magazines, websites and businesses nationwide. Her commercial work includes Copywriting and PR solutions as well as branding and reputation management for a diverse array of clients such as physicians, lawyers, photographers, graphic designers, filmmakers, fashion designers and media personalities.

Earlier this month Google rolled out a new feature called “Google Instant.” From Google’s official blog:

“Google Instant is search-before-you-type. Instant takes what you have typed already, predicts the most likely completion and streams results in real-time for those predictions—yielding a smarter and faster search that is interactive, predictive and powerful.”

Currently Google Instant is only available to logged in users. The search behemoth plans to roll-out the mobile version “soon.”

Right away I wondered how this latest feature would impact SEO and Reputation Management, my main focus at ArcStone Technologies.

I tested the roll-out by starting to type in ArcStone. By the time I typed ArcSt – Google instant produced results for ArcStone (http://www.arcstone.com).

What does it mean for your brand?

If a company can dominate the search results for a keyword term or their company name this will increase the company’s visibility in a big way.

Similarly if you can achieve high rankings for some popular Google Instant results you will be able to significantly impact your website’s traffic.

Google claims that Google Instant will save searchers time. I’m not sure I buy this. Yes, Google Instant allows you to refine your search on the fly so you can get the results you want to see but will you save loads of time using it?

How will this change the SEO game?

Google Instant adds another layer to SEO. Fortunately most SEOs are in the field because they like the fast-paced, always-evolving demands of the job. Google Instant will definitely impact the keywords we select for optimization. SEOs will look for trending themes and try to rank for those keywords. For example, if I was working with a Minnesota Car Accident Lawyer or a Minneapolis Moving Company, I’d probably look for opportunities around trending Google Instant “Minnesota” searches. I’d capitalize on these searches by creating and optimizing content that ties-in to the Minnesota Vikings or Minnesota State Fair.

Google Instant will impact longtail keyword opportunities because Instant will finish the query before the searcher will be able to type in their longer, more specific query.

It’s too early to tell the consequences for SEO. Time will tell.

Deciding to overhaul your company’s website is no small decision. Beyond setting aside a moderate budget for the project, there are important decisions to be made: what should it look like? Who should you hire to handle the coding and design? What does it even need to do, that it doesn’t do now?

Given these tough questions, and the expense of a quality website, it’s no wonder so many business owners and marketing managers decide to put off upgrading their sites. Deciding to hesitate, however, is usually false economy: it ends up costing you more than you’d save, when you consider lost online sales, lowered impressions of your company, and so on. For most businesses, an outdated website is like having a salesman with a polyester suit and bell-bottom pants—it’s telling people that you aren’t with the times.

To keep you fashionably profitable, here are five tips for taking the website redesign plunge:

1. Ask questions. A critical part of the web design process happens before a single pixel is placed. Some of the things you’ll want to know before you begin your new site are what it’s going to look like, how long it’s going to take, what the costs will be, which features will be added, and so on. Don’t be afraid to ask about things you aren’t familiar with, either. A good web design partner can help steer you towards the features and platforms you need, rather than just the ones you’re most comfortable with.

2. Think of all the numbers involved. What you end up paying for your website isn’t nearly as important as what it ends up paying you back. Most business owners understand this point on a certain level, but find it’s easy to forget once they’re looking at different bids. Make sure to compare apples to apples and remember that six months from now, it’s what your site is earning that will matter most.

3. Consider design, functionality and marketing. Lots of clients never get past the first mockup picture; they become so mesmerized by the new look of their website that they get into a rush to put it online without much further thought. Most profits, however, come from what your site can do… not just what it looks like, so give as much time to the functions and programming as you do to the artistic vision.

4. Test out a new design using a landing page. Not sure about redesigning your entire site? Start with a baby step. A landing page is a good way to try out a new look, logo or message. Make sure there is a clear call-to-action and use analytics tools like CrazyEgg to conduct A-B testing. Check out the landing page we did for Donnay Homes.

5. Find a design partner you can trust. Redesigning a website is a longer and harder process than most people think; there are layouts, meetings, changes, more meetings, and a whole lot of tests and opinions. For that reason, it’s important you choose a design partner you trust to lead you through the process. Otherwise, you could find yourself several weeks – and several checks – into the process feeling more confused than when you began.

Think your website could use an overhaul? Contact ArcStone Technologies today to find out about our web design services and get a free website evaluation. It probably costs less than you think, and we’ll keep your site looking better than ever – both online and on the bottom line.

One of the greatest things about the Internet is that it’s allowed people to share information and impressions with each other at an absolutely unprecedented rate. Review sites for different products, vendors, and services are popping up all over the Internet. If you run across something you’re interested in buying, but haven’t heard of before, or using a company you’ve never heard of, it usually only takes a few mouse clicks to figure out what others’ impressions have been, which is a great thing…

As long as it’s being done honestly and legitimately.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. There is a growing trend among some unscrupulous businesses to go online and post negative reviews about their competitors. Because these review sites carry a lot of weight with search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, it only takes one or two bad comments to put a major dent in your sales – online and off. Here are four things you can do to stop review sites from killing your online reputation:

Encourage reviews.
Of course, the best thing you can do is make sure every customer you have is happy with you, and telling the world about it. Just as bad reviews can kill your business, good ones can push it over the top and help you gather more customers than ever. In fact, a steady stream of strong reviews will usually drown out one or two instances of average or poor feedback, so do what you can to encourage happy customers to speak out.

Monitor the sites yourself.
You don’t want to find out you’ve gotten a bad review weeks or months after it has been posted. Take a bit of time every couple of weeks – marking your calendar if that’s what it takes to remember – and look through what customers are saying. It should only take you a minute, but the information you’ll get is invaluable. Use tools like Google Alerts to monitor your reputation. Create alerts for your business name, key personnel or products.

Dispute malicious or incorrect information.
If someone has posted information about your company that just isn’t true, then make sure to find it. Most review sites have set policies for challenging entries, and it’s usually easy to have one removed if it’s obviously been posted by a competitor or someone who hasn’t done business with you. Again, a keen eye is your best weapon.

Take feedback to heart.
There are going to be times, of course, when you get a poor review and it’s your fault. There isn’t much you can do in that situation except trying to remedy the situation with the customer (who might in turn remove or edit their review), or vowing to do better in the future. Over time, your reviews will likely show a positive or negative trend, depending on how hard you’re willing to work to improve your product or service.

Want to keep closer tabs on your online reputation? Ask us about ArcStone’s Reputation Management Services, which scans all major websites, and the web in general, for feedback and information provided about your company. It’s the ultimate tool for any company that wants to make a positive impression on their next customer.

Recently I was working on a client’s search marketing campaign. Within a few clicks it became apparent just how important monitoring and managing your reputation online can be.

Contributor sites like Yelp, CitySearch & Google Maps / Local make it very easy for anyone on the web to write and publish a review about your business. You might be thinking, “That’s great! We really strive to provide great service, an awesome product (fill in the blank).”

But what about the dangerous cocktail of that one customer who received bad service, slipped through the cracks and likes to talk? You may provide great service 99.9% of the time but one negative review or comment can spread like a nasty virus. You’ve worked for months – even years to build your brand – don’t let one disgruntled person wipe it all away.

Fortunately my client’s online reputation was all very positive but one of their main competitors had numerous scathing, negative reviews and comments that I would guess they know nothing about.

Monitor what people are saying about you

First of all, in order to take action against negative comments about your business you need to know that they exist. If you don’t know they’re out there how can you possibly respond quickly and effectively?

Is the buzz about your business good or bad?

Tools to help you manage your reputation online

One free tool that I like is WhosTalkin. This site lets you search social media conversations. Their search and sorting algorithm uses data from over 60 social media websites like Twitter and WordPress.

WhosTalkin for Reputation Management

Another essential tool for managing your online reputation is Google Alerts.

Google Alerts is an extremely useful tool when you want to know what both consumers and the press are saying about a brand, company, issue or event, or, if you want to know how the public feels about something.

Setting up Alerts is easy. Simply go to Google News and click on the ‘Alerts’ button in the left hand column, choose the word or phrase you wish to monitor, what kind of alerts you want and how often. You can edit and add new ones whenever you like but remember to use quotations to designate an “exact search” if you are monitoring a phrase rather than a single word or you’ll get a lot of irrelevant results.

Google Alerts for Managing Your Reputation Online

Google Alerts can be useful to track the evolution of a news story such as the H1-N1 virus or follow an industry trend. I use it to track SEO trends and product news. It can also be very useful to track the competition and as a reputation management tool. For example, if a disgruntled employee bashes your business on a blog site you will be notified and you can take action.

What should you do if you find a bad review?

Find out who wrote the comment. Who are they? Who do they work for? Is it a competitor? Try to determine what their comment will mean for your business? Is the comment posted on a well-respected, heavily trafficked site? What is their audience reach?

Determine whether the comment is factually incorrect. If it is, request removal or retraction of the comment. Offer to keep the person who wrote the comment up to date on your business via email. If you receive no response leave a comment in your defense at the site. Keep in mind that this should be your last resort. You really want the comment removed.

What if the comment is negative but true?

Try to share your side of the story. Were there extenuating circumstances that kept your business from performing well that day? Note – Don’t make excuses. Show how you are resolving the issue. Did you make an additional hire to help assist customers? Did you change a policy or procedure? Indicate that you are willing to take additional questions or comments via email. Doing so will make the public conversation private.

What can positive review do for you?

Other than giving you a nice stroke and ego boost, a positive comment can have a positive effect in your local search rankings. Local search rankings are influenced by the number of reviews and citations the business has. Citations are “mentions” of your website (may not have a link).

How can you get more positive reviews?

Writing a review for your business may not be on the top of your customer’s list. Let’s face it – It’s a pain. Make it as easy as possible for them to give you good feedback. At ArcStone we use RRR (Ratings, Reviews & Recommendations) pages to help facilitate gathering reviews. The RRR page provides links to the local search sites and explains the process.

Good luck managing your online reputation! Remember if it’s too daunting or you’re just too busy doing what you do – reputation management is a service we specialize in at ArcStone Technologies. Please contact me at lisa@arcstone.com if you’d like details on our SEO & Search Marketing Services.

My Local Movers, an on-line directory of preferred local movers, came to ArcStone for a design refresh. What they left with was a striking, professional new design, quality content, and a complete SEO strategy that puts their new site to work garnering more customers.

A Professional Design To Match
My Local Movers specializes in partnering with pre-screened professional movers that operate in a handful of local markets. ArcStone created a design that mirrored the professionalism of their movers, and made distinct local market pages with high quality photos and market specific resources.

Designed For Humans Searches & Search Engines
A critical aspect of the redesign was making the site easier for people AND search engines to navigate. Having a market specific home page, and quote request pages for each local mover market, helps My Local Movers market to specific regions and allows users to quickly navigate to the information pertaining to their move.

For instance, Houston area users can visit /houston/moving-quote to get multiple moving quotes from Houston local movers.

Real Results
At ArcStone we don’t just strive to produce top quality work, we like to see it working for our clients. After the new My Local Movers site launched we carefully studied traffic statistics and leveraged Google analytics to help gauge the redesign’s success. In a few weeks it became clear that our strategy was paying off.

Visit www.mylocalmovers.com to see our work and get multiple moving quotes for your local market. MyLocalMovers.com initially launched in eight markets – Minneapolis/St. Paul; Chicago; Houston; Dallas; Fort Worth; Austin, TX; Milwaukee and Kenosha/Racine, WI. Visit ArcStone’s products & services page to see our capabilities or check out our SEO services page for more information about search engine marketing.