TopRank Internet Marketing News

How effective is your online marketing agency relationship? A CMO Council study last year found that just 5% of marketers report longstanding relationships with their agencies and only 37% rate their relationships as relatively stable.

At TopRank Online Marketing, we enjoy longstanding relationships with clients and a better-than-average retention rate. We asked members of the TopRank team, some of whom have been with our agency since its earliest days, what advice they have for companies seeking a more productive, lucrative relationship with their agency. Working alongside our clients on a daily basis, they’ve learned that a number of factors contribute to the success of an online marketing campaign and that companies can influence their program’s success a great deal.

Finding the Right Online Marketing Agency for Your Business Needs

Evan Prokop, Associate Account Manager, recommends an in-depth interview process to determine which of the marketing agencies your company is considering is the best fit for your program. “Ask about their history of working with clients in your industry. It shouldn’t be a deal breaker if they don’t have extensive experience, as a good agency is adaptable, but it’s always nice to have some knowledge of your business environment at the beginning,” he said.

In addition, Prokop advises companies to ask potential agencies where they think online marketing is going. “Online marketing is one of the fastest evolving industries there is; a good agency will be constantly seeking to innovate and stay cutting edge,” he noted. Finally, be sure to ask what makes them different and better than the competition. They will be asking you this question as well, and should have a good answer themselves, said Prokop.

Relationships are key, according to Executive Director of Operations, Jolina Pettice. “When interviewing agencies, it’s important to consider philosophy, approach and working style. Each company (and agency) is different, but where there’s common ground there’s efficiency, results and ultimately fun to be had,” she pointed out.

[Note from the editor: Please welcome this guest post from Jolina Pettice, Director of Client Accounts at TopRank Online Marketing.]

After many years in the agency world, I can tell you that the relationship between company and agency is not unlike any other personal or business relationship.  If it’s rewarding, mutually beneficial and dare I say fun, it’s an experience that pays dividends for both for the company and the individuals involved.

Whether you are exploring, just got started or are well into an agency relationship, the following are 6 tips to get more out of your Online Marketing Agency.

#1 - Self Assessment
It’s difficult to know where you need the most help unless you honestly explore your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, maybe your team excels at analytics but could use help creating meaningful content that drives traffic, engagement and ultimately inquiries.

The greatest content isn’t so great until people read and share it. That’s why social communities and networks are so critical for an effective content marketing program.

According to Eric Schmidt of Google, every two days we create more data and information than since the dawn of time to 2003.

Where is that data coming from? Think about this: Every 60 seconds over 1,500 blog posts are published, 72 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube, 100,000 Tweets are posted and over 700,000 status updates are made on Facebook. Google+ is gaining steam and Pinterest has had explosive adoption and growth.

Besides creating content that’s relevant to your target audience to guide them along your sales pipeline, it’s also important to consider how to spread that content. How can you help your content “pop” and stand out amongst the millions of new documents published, shared and included in search results every day?

Most marketers understand the importance of setting goals, understanding audience and making a plan for improving their search engine visibility. But despite the need for that strategic approach, online marketers are hungry for individual tips and best practices. At TopRank Online Marketing, we understand the need for both and cover the strategy in-depth at Online Marketing Blog.

For tips that you can use right now, here are 7 suggestions that will help you align your content with SEO best practices and help raise your visibility where customers are looking:

1. Avoid overuse of pronouns like “it”, “they” and “them” in favor of more descriptive keyword phrases where Google is looking for them in page titles, file names, text links between pages, image alt text and in body copy.
2. Facts tell, stories sell: Figure out why customers buy and create keyword optimized content that tells stories about how and why your products solve customer problems.

Depending on who you talk to there are many varying opinions about content curation.  Some say there is no place for curation while others believe curation should be a leading element of your online marketing strategy.  What do we suggest?  Finding a middle ground somewhere in between.  There is without a doubt a place for curation it just has to be used appropriately.  Content curation should be considered an extension of your original content on your website or blog. Below we have included some content curation best practices as well as different types of curated content.

Content Curation Best Practices

• Make sure that the content you are curating is relevant to your audience
• Adhere to all fair use laws as it relates to content and copyright infringement
• Determine a way to measure your content curation success
• Incorporate original content as well
• Always link to the original source

Blogs are great for promoting key messages and distributing information about a brand, company or organizations. Starting a blog can be a valuable tool to help businesses sell their products while making better connections with customers, but it’s not as simple as slapping up some content. Creating a blog that is seen, shared and respected takes some research, strategy and consistency. Here are a few tips that I incorporate at Online Marketing Blog which other companies can follow to increase the value their corporate blog provides.

Research & Use Keywords. Optimize your blog for search engines. Use a keyword research tool to create a keyword glossary of words related to your brand, business, topic or industry that are in demand. Content creators should use the glossary as a reference for planning, writing and publishing content online.

LinkedIn has long been the social media tool of choice by many professionals.  In the past it was used mostly as a contact database of everyone you have interacted with on a business level.  Recently LinkedIn has added some additional features that make it easier for marketers to reach their target audience. What are some best practice approaches to using LinkedIn for engagement?

Update Your Status Frequently
Your LinkedIn contacts will be very interested to know what you’re doing professionally.  Why? The majority these contacts will most likely be colleagues, prospects, or networking contacts. Your LinkedIn personal profile is a great stage for sharing your professional development and sharing things that you think they will find to be of interest.

Optimize Your Posts
It’s very important that you are always providing great content.  In addition to great content you want to make your entries as searchable as possible.  Implement a strong keyword strategy for your LinkedIn strategy as you would any other online marketing strategy.

The culmination of a deal signed just over a year ago is that Microsoft’s Bing now powers Yahoo! search. The actual search impact remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that the two search engines together (Yahoo! and Bing) account for only about 30% of U.S. searches – with Google at 65%.

The real SEO news is that Bing is launching its brand-new Adaptive Search. This is a tool by means of which Microsoft will attempt to adjust its algorithm to take into account the contextual relationship of a user’s search history.  Microsoft’s Aidan Cook explains the Bing Adaptive Search this way: “Every time you search on Bing, the information provided helps Bing understand what you’re trying to do. The more you search, the more Bing can learn – and use that information to adapt the experience so you can spend less time searching and accomplish what you set out to do.”

MarketingProfs University

In an ever-evolving age of interactive media, search marketers walk a tight rope.  Between paid and organic search, social media, optimization, search rankings and measuring success, it’s no surprise that this balancing act presents challenges.

MarketingProfs University is offering a 13-class course addressing popular questions on these topics to help search marketers find the perfect balance and be more effective in their careers.

Event details:
MarketingProfs University Search Marketing School
Modern SEO Strategy: Adapt or Die
Monday, Sept. 19, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Register and attend online classes live or access recordings

MarketingProfs University provides affordable, comprehensive online training across the disciplines that make up every business’ marketing mix. In addition to learning what businesses need to plan, build and measure successful marketing programs, course attendees have the opportunity to review best practices from peers, discover new tools and processes, and see what’s working in marketing today.  Search Marketing School is a live online presentation featuring several speakers throughout the day.

DreamForce Cloud Computing Event on SEO

Historically, the social media aspects of selling have been controlled by marketers.  Sales people traditionally are kept out of the loop until after a new lead is generated.  In today’s business landscape, successful sales reps are taking control of emerging social technologies to bring in new leads and close deals more quickly, marking the onset of a new era in social selling.

On Aug. 31, Dreamforce ’11 will host a session on tips and techniques addressing how businesses can effectively adopt the integration of sales and social media as a new norm.

Event details:

Dreamforce ‘11
Social Sales Revolution: 7 Steps to Get Ahead
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Moscone Center
747 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103-3118