TopRank Internet Marketing News

The Wind & The Sun, arguing over who is stronger, decide to settle their dispute based on which can compel a passing traveler to remove his coat.  The harder the wind blows, the more the traveler clutches his jacket tightly.  The sun, meanwhile, must simply shine gently until the warm traveler is compelled to remove his coat of his own accord. -Paraphrased from Aesop’s Fables

If you are a marketer breathlessly trying to convince your C-suite of the need for content marketing, you likely identify with the wind’s role in the fable above.

Search Engine Optimization and Social Media are no longer distinct channels. They are forever intertwined, each affecting the other in terms of how digital information is discovered, consumed and shared. The subsequent impact on reach and engagement means the integration of these channels is as relevant for Public Relations as it is for Marketing.

I was asked by Melanie Mitchell, SVP of Search Marketing at Digitas to give a presentation on holistic SEO at ad:tech San Francisco where I caught up with another amazingly smart friend, Susan Bratton. She recorded an interview with me on the Social & SEO for Public Relations topic for her popular DishyMix podcast and shared the transcript with me to repost.

John Jantsch & Lee Odden at BlogWorld New York 2011 - Photo thx to @ducttape

Blogs are perfectly suited as social media information hubs for companies or individuals that want to dominate their niche online. TopRank Online Marketing has been an active proponent and pioneer of blog marketing as the centerpiece of social content strategy for many years. We’ve been working with companies ranging from B2C retailers like J&O Fabrics to Fortune 15 company, McKesson on blogging, social media and SEO with impressive results.

Four in 10 US consumers interact with retailers through social networking sites, according to a new survey from Deloitte.
Via MarketingCharts

State of Search: Strong SEM Industry Growth Projected in 2011. The study projects 2011 spending in the North American Search Engine Marketing sector to grow from $16.6 billion to $19.3 billion in 2011, a $2.7 billion increase. Via Search Engine Watch.

20 Amazing Custom Facebook Page Designs plus Tips to create a good custom facebook page. Via Daily Bloggr.

Are your social media and search marketing teams talking to each other? They should be.

In an upcoming webcast, Rand Fishkin and Lee Odden will explain why, plus share practical tips on how to boost your SEO results through blogging, online PR, and smart coordination between social media and search. We’ll look at:

• How brands are coordinating Search Optimization and Social Media efforts
• A content marketing model for implementing a coordinated Social SEO program
• Why Google & Bing’s Love Affair w/ Twitter & Facebook is Just Beginning
• What Signals Matter in a Tweet / Share

This week, TopRank received two outstanding awards related to the TopRank Online Marketing Blog. While recognition is only a byproduct of producing quality content and doing good work on behalf of our clients, it is an honor to be recognized as the top content marketing blog in the Junta42 Top Content Marketing Blogs list and as the #2 Social Media Marketing blog according to Social Media Examiner.

Each week there are a number of articles and posts that stand-out because of the quality of the information shared or the importance of the news itself. This week was no different.

Fourquare made a pitch to businesses to take ownership of their own venues and to provide additional campaign content that would better engage users on the popular geolocation site. (MobileBeat)

You can pick up some great Twitter tips for brands seeking to create a popular community. See 6 Winning Strategies to Learn From that profiles some major brands that have balanced corporate needs and social media. (Mashable)

Have you ever noticed how young children figure out a maze? At first they may struggle going through each path only to realize that they can’t get through. By then, the paper may be filled up with messy crayon or pencil marks that make it virtually impossible to find the right way. Then as they get just a little older, you might see them look at the end point. They may even start at the finish line and work backwards to the beginning of the maze. It’s creative problem solving at its finest.

Over 175 million users are now registered on Twitter, and per data cited by PCMag, 95% of accounts have been created in the last two years.  And where ever 175 million gather, marketers will follow.

The number of registered Twitter users, and sharp growth over the last twenty-four months alone, suggest a channel that is more than just rapidly expanding.  They suggest an environment that is extremely noisy, extremely volatile – and in the case of unprepared marketers – an environment rife with opportunity for misstep.