29 April 2010
Building links and marketing on Social Networks/Blogs is now very IMPORTANT. In the last 2 years social media/blogs/networks have allowed real people to spread the word and link to your web site - e.g. someone says 'have a look at this site' on Facebook, then there's a good chance their friends will see this as a recommendation and visit the site. (Facebook, like it or hate it, has 400 million users now and will grow and grow). Even if they don't visit your site, the free link is there.

As many of you should now know... getting quality links to YOUR web site is a key, if not the main ingredient to improving your search engine's rankings / results position and of course getting more exposure to your prospective customers. The more links to your site the more chance of people finding you right ? Read on...

The Rise in Social Networks...
In the last 2 years social media/blogs/networks (e.g Facebook, BeBo, WordPress, etc) have become very important in allowing real people to spread the word and to easily link to your web site. E.G. if someone says 'have a look at this site' on Facebook, then there's a good chance their friends will see this as a recommendation and visit the site - I know I have!. Facebook, like it or hate it, has 400 million users now and will grow and grow. Even if their friends don't visit your site, the free link is there and Googel et al will find it.

As a consequence, Google and other engines have elevated these 'social votes of trust' into their search engine position formulas to such an extent that you now should think seriously about using them as a key area of your site's SEO / MArketing strategy.

It's said in SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) circles, links and comments on social networks/blogs can be worth their weight in gold if you want to improve your 'link juice'; URL exposure and ultimately have the likes of Google ranking your site better, hopefully Page 1 for your choice of keywords.

I recently got an email and it is the first I have seen that targets solely social network marketing / link building services but at a cost. Why? Because "link building" and site promotion is a very time consuming task, labour intensive & so the costs reflect that. I can't vouch for how any particular SEO company is (there are cowboys out there but many have a credible past). But I do advocate link building in general especially on social media sites, blogs and topic related sites. (i.e. if you sell car-covers, then links on car related sites will be best.

You REALLY should do link-building if you want to improve traffic to your site. Period!

You should know by now that SEO and in particular link-building with your keywords is essential to elevating your site in search engines and is now regarded as an on-going marketing cost. Now you should consider Social Networks and Blogs (i.e. user generated sites). Google loves 'em at the moment.

FOR SURE: Do nothing and your visitor count will reflect this and more than likely result in dismal online sales opportunities.

If SEO frightens you, or you think it costs too much or you just don't understand SEO then you need to get help as you most definitely are losing out in the search engine wars and so losing out on potential leads and sales.

SEO has become critical to online success ! Web sites are no longer just about pretty pictures and text - you need SEO - so I'd recommend you learn about SEO online - much of it free if you have the time (and there is lots you can do yourself) or get SEO help from us or elsewhere (**).

- Start Googling "SEO for beginners"
- Get SEO wise and beat your competitors!
- Beginners Guide: http://www.seomoz.org/article/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization
- Try Google's SEO Starter Guide - whilst it's a bit techie it should give you an overview of some of the key aspects of SEO.


**Beware of the "one-off fee / guaranteed Page 1 for €50" merchants - don't waste your money. SEO, when done properly costs more than that and is an on-going and competitive task - think of it as advertising!

Thank you and regards
Web: www.digitalidiom.co.uk
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