Yeah, well you aren’t the only one.  Many of our clients have experienced that and many paid a LOT of money and never really knew what they were paying for.  Sure, it’s a science.  After learning a decent amount of  SEO, I can tell you – very few clients will want to try this on their own – it is definitely a FULL TIME  job that most of then would not care to deal with.  Thus, why is it such a secret?!

Many of my clients simply tell me, “it appears to be working”, but when I ask them for specifics, I get a “deer in headlights” look and nothing further comes from their mouth.  I guess they are treating it like “insurance” against being invisble”,  which is crazy because if they have decent content they will be in pretty good shape – certainly not invisible.

Apparently, this must be very common, because Google just announced they will REQUIRE partner Agencies to be transparent to their customers when using Google services such as AdWords.  When this goes into effect in February 2011, the Agency MUST disclose specific elements to their clients (and the client will receive a report directly), which include:

Clicks

Impressions

Spend

This will give Google the credit for the results, whereas now the Agency does not have to disclose the information and can take full credit for their “wizardry” when things go well, and disclaim everything, or get paid for more “needed” changes when things go bad.  This WILL affect those agencies who are not transparent – probably in a negative way.  However, it will affect Google in a positive way – with hundreds of thousands of accounts under third party management, it will now shine a bright light on, and weed out, bad SEO Agencies so that the negativity does not attach to Google itself.

This has been coming – it was initiated in the API terms of service years ago, then was admended, then conversation began again and a common phrase was being echoed by Google:   “Mythbusting”, I heard it many times in various conversations about transparency.

In conclusion, despite the Agencies who are going to rail against this,  I say:   TRANSPARENCY =  GOOD.  Just as in any other buying scenario, the more educated your buyer is, the better the sale.  This is simply good business and, I still believe, that most of the buyers will not go out and try to do it themselves – but at the same time, they will finally have some input into the process and will feel like they are buying a quality service instead of snake oil!

KUDOS to Google!!

How much did you want to make this year?

Affiliate marketing can be very lucrative.  You absolutely CAN make money while you sleep!  However, some people take that to mean that you don’t have to work for it.  Au Contraire!  Affiliate Marketing is very competitive these days.

The 7 basic tasks to ensure you are making money with affiiliate marketing include:

1. Creating buzz-worthy Content on a regular basis – it keeps you ranked in the search engines and shows you are knowledgeable about what you are selling!
2. SEO – optimizing [ONpage and OFFpage]  for search engines keeps you at the “top of the heap” in to order garner attention for what you are selling – top 10 is gold, top 20 silver and top 30 bronze – if you are not in the top 2 to 3 pages, you have lost to the competition – start again!
3. PPC – Pay Per Click gets you even more attention since your  ”ad” will be featured in the “hot zone” where eyeballs track!  This is the “top of the heap” at it’s finest.  Can’t afford it?  Return to 1 and 2 above. At the end of the day, Content is ALWAYS King!
4. eMail Marketing – sharing your content and affiliate link with your contact list on a regular basis will result in sales.  First, you are becoming the expert on the subject in their eyes by creating content they want to read; second you are providing it directly to people who know you, and third you are giving them a conversion opportunity with the content.  Remember, it generally takes 7 contacts to garner their interest for a buying proposition!  Write to inform, to solve a problem, to fill a need, and write to sell!
5. Display Ads:  by sharing a display ad  (that has a unique identifying link for its source)  with other websites and blogs, or even in social media, you can convey features and benefits of the product/service you are recommending and create conversion.  Best practices:  link to “more information” AND the selling page, whenever  possible.
6. Review your analytics regularly to see which pages are getting “action” and which aren’t –  which are selling and which do not. Test and modify regularly!
7. Don’t forget your WOM! Word of Mouth Marketing is someting you can do ONline and OFFline.  Spread the Word in Social Media and when you are out Networking.  If you believe in the product enough to sell it,  and you tell them how it helped you, and you now sell it – you will make more sales!  People buy from PEOPLE (even online).

Don’t forget the Mobile Market place either!  Make sure you are developing your mobile marketing strategy in the near term so you can include your affiliate opportunities with that distinct audience.

Need help?  Let us know!!

[click image for larger size]

According to the infographic provided by Gigya:

Using Facebook as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  46%
• Entertainment Sites:  52%
• News Sites:  25%
• B2B Sites:  37%

Using Twitter as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  14%
• Entertainment Sites:  15%
• News Sites:  45%
• B2B Sites:  18%

Using YAHOO as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  13%
• Entertainment Sites:  11%
• News Sites: 10%
• B2B Sites:  18%

Using MY SPACE as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  7%
• Entertainment Sites:  14%
• News Sites:  1%
• B2B Sites:  3%

Using Linked In as a Global Login ID:

• Across all sites:  2%
• Entertainment Sites:  0%
• News Sites:  1%
• B2B Sites:  3%

AOL and ther IDs reported at 1% or less.

Source: Gigya. See the full infographic.

This great infographic will help you define where on the spectrum your friendships are, and help you grow them to the next level.

(Click image for a larger -easier to read view)

Thanks to Mike Auaraz:  http://www.mikearauz.com/images/spectrum_friendship.jpg

Do you use Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, or the endless list of Google services for your business?

How many of them are “free”?

Now, define “free” for me.

For YEARS I have been telling my clients, friends, family…even strangers who start up conversations with me about the Internet [while I am wolfing down a Panera Fuji Apple Salad and doing my online College classwork] that there is NOTHING FREE on the Internet.

Immediately, they disagree and come back with an entire list of free services, as I did above.  Sometimes I smile and continue to eat and work…other times I explain what they give up for those “freebies”….and sometimes – if they are REALLY interested – I tell them the true cost of those freebies (data centers, datalines, staff, legal review, coders, testers, etc).

Anything you get for FREE has a price.  The price tag for the services that I listed above is YOU.  You are the price tag.  YOU are their target for behavioral marketing, search, and other services those listed businesses actually sell.

I believe we have all gotten far too used to the “freebies” on the web, we have all become “comfortably numb” (thanks Pink Floyd) to their real cost, and then when someone takes away your “assumed right” to privacy, you scream.

It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee – either pay for a similar service where you have the right to your privacy, or assume YOU are the price for free use of their service.  Those, really, are your choices.

Really hard.

If you have been to a seminar on Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Blogging, or anything else that is made to look SIMPLE to do…and 48 hours later you still have not done it….

then you just may have

“Magellan Ship Syndrome”.

What is that?

It’s when seeing is not believing.

Magellan explored many islands without opposition.  The theory is that the natives did not attack Magellan as one would have expected them to do upon the arrival of  his big ships with a bunch of strange looking creatures on them.

Why?  The natives did not know what they were looking at – they had absolutely no point of reference.  In fact, they were so taken by what they saw, they laid down their spears and brought their canoes ashore. Watching the big ship with huge billowing sales was so far from any experience they had previously had, that they were in awe, welcoming Magellan and his crew, and treating them like Gods.

Lucky for Magellan he got out of town before the Natives were able to discern what he was really doing, and what would follow!

I’m Just SAYIN! that is why there are College Degrees for this stuff!

Quoted Source:  Stephen Simon, Producer

Effective today, March 1, 2010 Impulse Connect states our intention:

We will begin our plan to create 100+ new jobs in 2010.

Off we go!!

UPDATE:

On June 1, 2010 we signed a five year contract with a value of $5,000,000/yr with PrimaryCareDirect.com and ReturnOnHealthcare.org.

After six weeks of tons of reading, attending online classes, and taking quizzes, I am a WOM and Social Media Marketing Specialist!

WOM and Social Media Certificate - Sharon O'Dell

Google still has the #1 position, but steady continued growth by Facebook could erode that standing.  Facebook grew by 80% from Jan 09 to July 09, and another 8% from July 09 to Jan 10.  Facebook grew 105% in 2009, and took the number one position among social networks for the first time in May 2009.

Despite Google’s firm hold (for now) on the #1 spot, Facebook garners more attention.  In January 2010, 11.6% of all time spent online was spent on Facebook, compared to 4.25% for Yahoo and 4.1% for Google.

I think this is a strong indicator of the economic downturn. People and businesses who previously shunned social media as a strong tool for marketing and growing their businesses are now flocking to the site in an attempt to create conversations with “friends” and “fans” to increase the awareness, as they hope for conversions.

What do YOU think!?

Source:  http://bit.ly/bto06H