You already know about the great potential in social networking sites for marketing your business, but you may not have thought of using the YouTube digital marketing channel as a part of your social media marketing mix, especially if your business isn’t media-related. However, it is a top way to show off your products or services, while engaging your current customers and reaching potential ones.

The possibilities are endless on how you can create intriguing videos and here are a few ways of using YouTube to drive traffic to your website that you should use once you commit, the top three of which are described below.

Top Way #1 – Identify the Keywords that Need to be Included in the Video
YouTube is the worlds 2nd largest search engine. It has hundreds of millions a user a day and every day thousands of hours of video content are added. YouTube is 4th largest web property in the world and is on the path to become the source of advertising and publishing new content.

Use the most highly searched, relevant keywords in your video title and description. There are tools that you can use to help you discover the keywords that are relevant to your business.

You can change your video’s title and description at any time if you find that the video is no longer coming up high in searches or if you want to explore a new “keyword market.” The right keywords will get you ranked higher in both YouTube and search engine searches.

When thinking of a title for your video, you should consider descriptive, eye catching phrases that the user would think of inserting in the search field in a search Engine. Possibly adding dates, time, location or something more unique and specific can drive higher ranking to your video.

When you add a description to your video, try to use complete sentences, add details like place, location, dates and something the user can relate to. When adding tags to your video always be consistent, use descriptive keywords and avoid keyword stuffing.

YouTube highly recommends using there Insight tool which gives results of demographics and data that can give you a better hand on whats working and whats not. Insight will help generate reports that tell you where there traffic is arriving from, what keywords are being searched and provide data that will help you see which target audience is viewing your video.

Top Way #2 – Include a Transcript of the Video
The transcript makes it easier for search engine spiders to identify the topic of your video, so indexing is more accurate, and any keywords in the dialog of your video get included, too, which can translate to higher ranking. Transcripts should be saved in the .txt format and can be uploaded using the Edit Captions button on your video’s YouTube page.

Follow this link to find a few very useful tips on how to create free high quality captions and check out a screenshot of what the Captions screen looks like:

Top Way #3 – Include a Call to Action
Perhaps the most important tip is to include a "call to action" in your video. In other words, tell the viewer what you want them to do (visit your site), why they should do so (for example, to purchase the product you’ve just showcased), and give them the means to do it.

There are several ways to go about it. There is a call-to-action overlay that you can customize to take viewers directly to your site from within the video.

In addition, remember to include your domain name in the description – use the complete URL to create an automatic hyperlink. You can also add annotations to your video.

These small, pop-up boxes can be used for things like recommending other related videos of yours, reminding viewers to subscribe to your channel and to like and share the video.

Want to share your Facebook business page with all of your friends? First, sign into your Facebook profile (personal page). Then navigate to the url of your business page (i.e. www.facebook.com/your business name. If you are currently an admin of the business page, you will see a tab on the right side under Admins that says 'Invite Friends'. When you click on that button, the default window pops open to 'recent interactions', but if you hold down that drop down menu, you can select 'Search All Friends'. Click on each check box button of the individuals that you want to share your business Facebook page with then click submit. A confirmation window pops up stating 'We've let your friends know about your Page." 

Every day I get the question, "How can I get found on search engines" or "What can I do to improve my seo results?"  When you type in this question on Google search, you get over 9 MILLION results (most of which offer "guaranteed top of page one" for a mere $1,000/month!) I wish I had that secret formula, but the answer is not that simple. 

Now, Google has introduced 'Search plus your World', and now search results get even better by including photos, posts, and more from you and your friends. When signed in with Google+, you’ll find personal results and profiles of people you know or follow. You can even expand your world by discovering people related to your search.

Here is a great explanation of the difference in search results (whether you are logged into Google+ or not) by Lee Odden, CEO of @TopRank:

Logged out – Google search results when you or other users are not logged in are as close to “generic” as you’ll get, but they are still customized according to your geographic location and your click activity during the session.  The days of generic search results that can be predictably viewed by more than one person in different locations is gone. If you do search while logged out, you’ll get a more generic experience than logged in – so it’s worth noting the difference.

Logged in – Users of Google services who are logged in while searching will almost certainly be presented with unique search results.  Personalization can be influenced by a variety of factors, including the recent social signals integration of Google+ into Google search results – aka Google Search Plus Your World and especially from the universal Google product data sharing that will start March 1st 2012. Other influences include past search history, geographic location and your interaction with search results are factors for Google to adjust search results just for you. Keep in mind, logged in or out, there are over 20o signals used to sort search results.


Take a look at the video below, to learn more about the new way that search results work:

We always appreciate the kind words, and the referrals!


Our philosophy:

• Do the job right and 'as promised'.
  
• Honesty ALWAYS.
  
• Give it your all.
  

We've built a business on that philosophy... and look forward to meeting many more individuals and businesses who are looking for an online presence with a company they can trust.

If you keep seeing a name, it starts to sink into your memory. This is basically the same strategy to increase your search engine optimization (SEO). To maximize this effort, you want to spread your company’s name on as many useful websites as possible whether it be a social networking site or maybe a search engine.

Having your company be active on different sites. This will increase the average user’s knowledge of your company. Here are some ways to do this.

Use blogs and free social networking websites to post articles about your company.
--Make comments on other blogs or social pages.
--Aside from posting articles, you should try to leave comments on other sites – especially ones that have similar interests to your company. What can happen? Users will check out your company’s profile on the social networking site and your webpage.  Make it meaningful or it may get deleted.

Wikipedia: get your company on it.
--When something comes up on Wikipedia, people assume that it is credible. It is after all the modern enclyopedia. But getting on it can be a challenge. It usually requires a Wikipedia-approved writer. Also, some people do not know that it should come from someone other than at your company and should be newsworthy. Another plus to Wikipedia is that it feeds directly into Facebook and that means more chances that people will connect to your company. Wikipedia entries often show up at the top of search results.

Sell your product on multiple websites.
--Aside from selling your service or product on your own website, why not try Craigslist, eBay, and Amazon.com? By putting your product on these types of sites, you can increase the links back to your site and increase your SEO for organic search.

So, just like commercials, the more information about your company available to internet users, the better it is for business. Of course, the information can’t be a jingle; instead it needs to be helpful information on history and service. By doing this, you will increase awareness of your company and reach a wider pool of potential clients.

You've been in business a long time and you've had a lot of press releases written over the years. So you know what it takes to capture the attention of the press and get your business in the limelight. But what if you're making your move online and you want to publish press releases on your website or distribute them to press agencies over the Internet. Should they be re-written?

This is a tricky question because in the end a press release is a press release. It serves one purpose. You are trying to win the attention of news editors in order to get them to write a story about you. Is there a different strategy for online press releases?

Yes and no.

You'd write the press release for online distribution pretty much the same way you'd write it for off line distribution except for one big difference. It's called SEO. Search engine optimization.

Your press release will get a lot more attention if it is written as much for the search engine audience as it is for the news audience. That means you want it to rank well for specific key phrases that people (news professionals) will search for. 

Also, you must realize that your press releases published online have the potential to be read by members of the general public so you really have three audiences: 1) Search engines; 2) News professionals; 3) The general public. As long as you address the needs of your three audiences, your press releases will do their jobs well.

Do you know what kind of domain names are best for PPC and SEO? According to a study conducted by Domain Sherpa, the best domain names are generic domain names. 

Why would that be the case?

If you think about how searchers search for information online, they almost always conduct searches based on keywords - not brands. 

For instance, a searcher in Adams County, Pa. looking to buy a house will likely search for "real estate for sale" and then they might add a specific geographic area to narrow their search. But they are more likely to conduct a generic search for real estate for sale than to search for a specific real estate agent or broker. The same goes for searchers looking for information on purchasing an automobile, researching iPods, and those looking for suitable golf courses.

Generic domain names match the needs of searchers seeking information on generic topics. If a searcher is looking for a specific brand, they are more likely to type the name of the brand into their Web browsers. Or they might search for that brand. 

Bottom line, if you want to cast a wide net and snag prospects looking for generic information, then target them with a generic domain name.

The nuts and bolts of SEO marketing are keywords. They are important for one reason and one reason only. They allow businesses who seek search engine rankings to target their rankings by using the correct language. 

If you think about it, this is what good marketing has always done. Marketers deploy language for the purpose of persuasion. They hope to get their target audience to think about things by using the correct language and getting them to think and take action. SEOs do this using a specific type of language that is intended for two audiences.

The first audience is the human audience. You want your online content to speak to your human target audience in a way that your human audience takes action. That action, you hope, is to do business with you.

Your second audience is the search engines. Or their spiders. Search engine spiders are computer programs that crawl the Web through links and analyze the content on the pages. Today's search engine spiders are very sophisticated compared to the spiders of fifteen or twenty years ago. They analyze keywords, links, images, and a host of other on-page and off-page factors to determine the rankings of web pages for specific key phrases.

Because search engines have a ranking system, search engine optimizers try to target their content to the spiders in order to influence them on that ranking system. The goal is to increase their chances at getting good rankings.

Keywords are the nuts and bolts, the basic building fundamentals, of good SEO. If you want to rank well, start with good keyword research.

Talk to some online marketers and SEO is everything. Talk to others and they know nothing about it. My philosophy is somewhere in the middle.

I think SEO is important. It isn't everything, but it is important.

Let's look at domain names, for instance. Many successful online companies have built solid brands without keyword-based domain names. Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, Bing, eBay, Facebook ... just to name a few. Have you noticed that all of these companies are in the top 10 most trafficked websites online? Facebook is No. 1 and Google is No. 2.

That's not to say that these websites aren't SEOd. They have certainly considered SEO in their overall marketing plan online, but they don't put SEO as the point to emphasize against all other points. There is something to be said for branding as well.

When you build your online presence, think about SEO, but don't think about just SEO. Think about your overall marketing goals and how SEO can fit into that.

Website design is both an art and a science. There is something about a unique website design that keeps visitors returning and customers buying. No matter what type of business you are in, here are 5 practical web design tips that can help you as you build your first business site online.

1. Don't make your header too big (or too small) - Your header is the first thing people will see on your website when they visit it. If it takes up the entire window on their Web browser, they may not go any further. Leave some room for a catchy headline. By the same token, you do want them to see your header and logo so don't make them too small.
2. Think about SEO before you start - Search engine optimization is the art and science of designing websites and writing content that gets your web pages to rank well in the search engines. You should think about SEO before you start designing your website - not after.
3. Make sure your site is easy to navigate - Use a website structure that makes sense for your website and make it easy for your visitors to navigate through.
4. Make your graphics support the content - Content sells. Graphics enhance. Keep in mind that your content is the main feature and your graphics serve to support the content. Get it backward and you'll just have a pretty website that won't sell.
5. Keep your website updated often - The more often you update your website, the higher your chances of seeing your website rank for your important words. Every time you update your website, the search engines come back and crawl it. A static website can sit for years with no search engine attention.

Follow these 5 simple and practical tips the next time you design a website and you will improve your prospects for higher rankings, more visitors, and better results.