TopRank Digital Marketing News

This question has the potential to ruffle the feathers of SEO professionals on either side of the debate: “Are paid links a bad idea?”

‘Paid links’ are exactly what they sound like – paying someone or some company to link to your content.  Like any other practice that involves the word ‘paid’, paid links can straddle the line between legitimate (for example, a paid online directory) or laughably illegitimate (think the linking equivalent of a Nigerian email scam).

So why the prickliness over this question that has been weighed in on by most online marketing and SEO professionals, including our own experts at Online Marketing Blog?

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Where was TopRank® Online Marketing talked about on the web the first half of October, 2009? Here you go:

• Technorati – Top Business Blogs. Top Small Business Blogs – TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog is ranked a top 30 business blog and the #1 small business blog by Technorati.
• Multi-Lingual Search – Lee Odden visits WebCertain. TopRank visited the York, England offices of WebCertain and was subsequently quizzed by a roomful of international SEOs on social media topics.
• Search Engine Watch – eMarketer Report Says Keep Video Ads Short and Relevant. Lee Odden’s review of the book YouTube and Video Marketing an Hour a Day” was cited in this article.

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This fall, public relations professionals of all experience levels will be afforded the opportunity to take their game to a ‘whole new ballpark’, as the Minnesota chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) hosts its 2009 Professional Practices Conference.

Featuring keynotes from Kevin Smith, Executive Director of Public Affairs for the Minnesota Twins, and Mary T. Henige, Director of Social Media, Broadcast, Diversity & Consumer Communications for General Motors, this conference will help professionals step up their game by clearing the lines between online public relations, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media tactics.

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What TopRank does for internet marketing clients is really about content marketing and therefore our content development staff are instrumental in client online marketing programs. Content and media optimization is a growing opportunity for companies to capitalize on the changing nature of search and social media marketing. TopRank continues to build out a talented team in this area by adding another copywriter to the team.

Please welcome Michelle Bowles as a new Copywriter at TopRank Online Marketing!

To get to know Michelle a little more check out the following Top 10 things @TopRank fans need to know about Michelle Bowles:

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TopRankMarketing.com has a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Online Marketing Account Manager (Mad People Skills + Superior Project Management Mojo and Plenty of SEO, Analytics and Social Media Marketing Savvy) to join our excellent team of internet marketing professionals.

The perfect person for this career is passionate about internet marketing, (if internet marketing were a person, you’d be stalking it) ongoing learning and making a difference for clients.   Leadership, marketing creativity, organization and problem solving skills are second nature right along with the ability to provide both strategic direction and development of tactical marketing plans for clients. Success in this position means being comfortable providing guidance and consulting to the Fortune 500 companies we serve as well as TopRank team members.

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Where was TopRank® Online Marketing talked about on the web the week of Oct 2, 2009? Here you go:

• Murray Newlands – Social Media Relations Tool BuzzStream. TopRankBlog was cited as a recommended social media resource.
• WebMarketing Today – How to Grow Your Social Network Through Search. Dr. Ralph Wilson interviewed TopRank CEO Lee Odden on using search engine optimization to attract new members to social networks.
• Minnov8 – Minnov8 + MIMA = Movies. Phil Wilson interviewed TopRank CEO Lee Odden about his upcoming presentation at the sold-out MIMA Summit on the intersection of Search Engine Optimization and Social Media.

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Especially in difficult economic times like these, marketers are under constant pressure to gain even more ROI from their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts. Search marketing strategies not only must increase search rankings for companies, but also convert those high rankings into sales.

On Oct. 19, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden will offer best practices and ideas for successful SEO campaigns in the “Search Engine Marketing Experience” session during DMA09. Along with other industry thought leaders, Odden will demonstrate:

• Common ways direct marketers fail in their SEO efforts, and how to avoid those mistakes

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Each year, Search Engine Strategies (SES) hosts large-scale conferences all across the globe to provide the latest information and trends in search engine marketing and search engine optimization. But this October in London, SES will offer more in-depth training taught in a small classroom setting. These half-day and full-day SEO workshops to be held Oct. 26 allow for more hands-on training, one-on-one instruction and small group discussions.

TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden will teach an intensive half-day course, “Social Media & SEO Synergies Workshop.” Odden will discuss the benefits of integrating social media and SEO, including the ability to grow social networks via search-based discovery and leverage social channels for promoting content.

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For those of us who grew up reading Mad Magazine, the image above makes the difference between white hat and black hat SEO crystal clear.

For the rest of us, black hat SEO can best be defined as a ‘morally and ethically ambiguous’ business practice.  Black hat SEO practitioners, in an effort to secure high rankings, will break search engine regulations and throw any notion of a positive search experience out the window.

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Where was TopRank® Online Marketing talked about on the web the week of September 11, 2009? Here you go:

• evancarmichael – The Top 50 Social Media Blogs Of The Year. TopRank Blog was included in this list of top blogs covering the social media space.
• Who’s Blogging What – Most Useful Blog Posts of August 2009. TopRank Blog was cited in the Social Media category for a post about SMO, “16 Rules For Social Media Optimization Revisited”.
• Jeff Bullas’s Blog – 8 Tips For Optimizing Social Media Video To Help Your Brand “Get Found Online”. TopRank’s post on Digital Asset Optimization was featured.

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