If Santa Claus would have called The Search Engine Pros, this Google ranking tragedy could have been avoided.
Dear Friends,
As another year draws to a close, everyone at The Search Engine Pros wants to express our gratitude for you and your business. We’re looking forward to the new year and have some exciting things in the works.
We value your business and will continue to try and exceed your expectations wherever possible.
May the good things of life be yours not only at Christmas but throughout the coming new year. We look forward to assisting you with all of your web marketing needs in 2013 and for many years to come!
“Happy Holidays from all of us at Search Engine Pros.” To your search engine success!
Taylor Reaume
“Why just build a web site, when you can build a business!”
p.s. Are you thinking about improving your web presence next year? Send us an email and request a web strategy proposal for 2013!
What: The Monday SEO workshop is a group of local business owners talking about how to generate more leads from their website via Google site optimization and pay per click. Attendees come to learn SEO and search engine marketing from other like-minded business owners who have developed effective internet marketing strategies. When: Monday Nights 6pm-7pm Where:112 W. Cabrillo BLVD Santa Barbara, CA 93101More info:RSVP HERE
What’s The Topic This Week?
Pros and Cons of Facebook Groups vs Pages It was a cold, frustrating, non-productive, rainy day in my web marketing career. Against my better judgment, I descended into the depths of outdated Facebook “how-to” articles and ended up in a vortex of nothingness. I kept telling myself, “Breathe in deeply and exhale slowly. The answer is just around the corner.” My head was throbbing with pain after 8 hours of hellish computer research. I felt lost, frustrated, utterly dejected. Two extra-strength Advil were futile against this massive Facebook headache. Surely, eight hours of intense internet research would lead to some kind of breakthrough, like a holy scroll of final teachings after a lifelong spiritual journey. The whole day I spent searching the web for basic answers to seemingly simple questions about Facebook’s Group and Page settings. Alas, nothing. 8 Hours. Still no clarity. No light bulbs shattering overhead. No beer shooting out the nose with enlightenment. Just frustration on tap. My beloved Facebook… I will always love you, but I don’t always have to LIKE you. I just wanted to know if I should start a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group! This mental sword fighting with Facebook’s instruction manuals went on for hours and left me feeling hopeless, starving, and cross-eyed. My thinking mind was in full flight. No emergency exits. Being-ness didn’t stand a chance. Did my life have meaning? I needed professional help so I visited my therapist around 6pm after work. There I sat in the therapist’s office at the end of the day. The therapist said; “Taylor, we talked about this during your last visit. You made a promise to yourself, do you remember?” I felt numb. I couldn’t feel my legs and my head was ringing. I could barely hear the therapist’s words. I began explaining the importance of this decision to my therapist (who by the way was half listening and Facebooking on the iPhone). The squeaking sound of my stress relief toy slowly calmed me. I just sat there, dazed, paralyzed by the paradox of choice and stuttering the words “Facebook Page… Group…Page …Group….Should go with a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group for my upcoming Santa Barbara SEO workshop – a group of business owners discussing web marketing each week.” Ready to check into the psych ward now. It was one of the worst cases of internet research shell shock I’d experienced. All drama, wordplay aside, and getting to the point as a good technical article should, I felt compelled to write a blog post that might save a few lost souls from the vortex of outdated “how-to” articles on the web. Facebook account settings and features change on a monthly basis these days. Without a clear road map, this research may drive you to drink the egg nog this holiday season. Before you go Googling through the 100’s outdated Facebook “how-to” articles and losing 8 hours of precious being-ness, below are several pros and cons of Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups to help you make an informed decision.
FACEBOOK GROUPS: PROS: Groups give members more privileges by default, such as creating events or adding other group members. An open group is more likely to attract members. With an open group, any Facebook member can join the group. After somebody joins the group, they can see all the content posted to the group. The group is listed in Facebook search results for relevant terms. More members will increase exposure and bringing more opportunities for networking. Content posted to a closed group is only visible to members. A closed group allows more control over who takes part in a group. Nonmembers can see a list of members but not any of the posts. This a big-time pro for some folks because they want a higher level of control over the content. Closed groups also make it easier to prevent spammers from joining the group and annoying members. You can also set up a group with a third status — secret. This is similar to a closed group but nonmembers cannot see any details, not even a list of members. The group’s existence won’t show up in Facebook search results. This means the only way people can become aware of the group is if they are told about it by an existing member. Groups work better as a tool to gather people and tend to be geared more towards interaction with each other rather than one voice (or brand) that a fan page offers. Groups are best when you want to inform a particular group of people, for example, the members of your organization, your co-workers. The group is perfect for inner purposes. But if you are a representative or manager of some big event, company, or product you should make the FB page. Groups can invite all existing friends and they will be automatically added to the group, which helps kick things off quite a bit. Groups are unique in that they allow members to directly add their friends to the group using a link in the right sidebar. This is a nice “viral” aspect that has been said to make Groups grow faster than pages. In a Group, the most current comment appears at the top of the wall, making it easy to see the most recent conversations. When you belong to a group you can add the group to your left sidebar on your home page which makes it very easy to access. No searching around to find the group. If you run a closed group, you will need to approve applications to join. This takes time and effort (which most people lack). Users must ask permission before joining the group. This can come from a user applying to join the group and being approved by an administrator, or by an existing member inviting someone to join the group and them accepting. Once a group has 250 or more members you can no longer change its open or closed status.
CONS: Groups don’t allow you to add some of the most popular apps such as welcome Pages, Twitter integration, contest apps, etc. Publicity in a Group is generally less powerful than a page. When you join a group you are automatically ‘signed up for email notifications for all posts and comments. This is said to be overwhelming especially when the group is growing in leaps and bounds and you aren’t sure how to turn off the emails (or you cannot find time to pour over 100’s of outdated Facebook “how-to” articles and you are afraid of ending up in the therapy office). In a group, all members can directly add their friends to the group using a link in the right sidebar. This means that people can be added to the group without even knowing it. Feeling like you are being spammed really brings out the worst in some people. Proceed with caution. Group timelines show the latest posts on top and which means posts are constantly changing in order. The post with the most current comment appears near the top. This makes it difficult to keep track sometimes. Groups are reported to be harder to find, especially if you aren’t already a member. No links exist for the Photos so you have to click on a photo and then scroll from there. Since Group admins can only comment as themselves, it is difficult to show official posts. No Share Link. It’s difficult to share photos because there is no share link (you have to manually copy and paste the URL from your browser) The share button for the Group is at the very bottom of a wall so you have to scroll down, down, down, down, to find it. Confucius says: “Confused mind says no.” Opting out of the Fan Page route will lower your chances of increasing Edge Rank in your personal profile. What’s Edge Rank? Think Google Page Rank. It’s a magical formula Facebook uses when ranking posts on news feeds of both personal and fan pages. Less engagement decreases your post’s Edge Ranking, which basically means fewer people will see your posts.
FACEBOOK PAGES: PROS: Pages can add an iframe app that allows you to add HTML code. Pages generally have more features than Group, such as welcome pages, Twitter integration, contest apps that help drive traffic and engagement. Pages can post as an “independent entity” Pages can add an opt-in form Pages have better control of the content than a group. Groups may lose control of focus easier. Unlike Facebook Groups, Facebook Fan Page engagement is not limited to members only. Yes, the content for open groups is visible to anyone on Facebook, but its engagement is limited to members only. As such, only the Group members have the option to like posts and comment on posts. Posts on Facebook Pages have a button that allows you to share the post, not so on Groups. This is a significant social media buzz kill. While the term “open group” gives the impression of openness, it is still in fact quite closed. It cannot be easily spread, passed on, or shared.
CONS: Cannot auto-add Group members like you can in a Group. Lower visibility in newsfeed. While Page content can be shared, the limitation is of course low newsfeed visibility. Many of your fans, even though they liked your page, will simply never see your update. Pages are more difficult to build a following and keep their attention. Fan pages have less control over who sees the content. You cannot stop a person from initially liking your Page whereas there is far greater control over who joins a Group. While you can block certain people from your Page, the time value of money is not good, and only after a person has become a fan and proven to be a nuisance can you block them. Social Media is all about engagement. You’ve heard it before…the three E’s: Engage. Educate. Entertain. Decide what type of engagement you want to achieve with your social media communications strategy. If your goal is to engage internally, then a Group is likely the most suitable option. If you want to engage with as wide a possible community you can, consider a Facebook Fan Page (keeping in mind the newsfeed and notification limitations of pages). Seth Godin, master of the universe, expert marketer, evangelizes almost daily about the importance of “tribes”, your people…the ones that know like, and trust you. Growing your tribe should always be on top of your to-do list (for both personal and business life) and Facebook is an undeniable catalyst when it comes to growing a community of like-minded people. What do you think? Do you have a social media strategy in place? What tips do you have to share about your experience with Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups? Please leave them below.
“Why should I come to the SEO Workshop?” At the SEO workshop, you’ll pick up some handy tips on website marketing strategy and also enjoy a networking opportunity with other local business owners. Bring your business cards, your laptop, and an open mind. We hope to see you at 6pm at 112 W. Cabrillo Blvd, The Santa Barbara Veterans Building, just a few steps from Sambos Restaurant. Please RSVP here
“How much does it cost?” The meetup cost is $5. Alternatively, you can pay with a Facebook Post recommending the group to friends. We go to great lengths to prepare the workshops, and your support in helping us spread the word on Facebook is greatly appreciated. http://Facebook.com/TheSearchEnginePros
Business Networking Opportunities In Santa Barbara Contacts N Coffee: Great opportunity to network with other local businesses every Friday morning. visit here Goleta B2B Breakfast: Largest business breakfast mixer in Santa Barbara. First Tuesdays of every month. Earl Warren Showgrounds. visit here Santa Barbara Young Professionals: Business Networking with young entrepreneurs. visit here TECH BREW: Brings together hundreds of local professionals, who gather to Exchange Ideas, Network, Form Alliances, and Focus Technology and Business Growth in the Santa Barbara Region. visit here Locals That Rock: Social media smart group for advanced social media savvy business owners. visit here.
Earn income with The Search Engine Pros Affiliates: Simply sign up for our Affiliate Program and place our banners on your site to start earning monthly referral fees from us. Sales Pros: If you would like to take your relationship with The Search Engine Pros to the next level and become a sales agent, please apply here. If you pass our initial screening, we’ll get in touch to discuss your increased commission level. Writers: Do you have technical writing skills? We are hiring writers on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here. Graphic Designers: We have immediate openings for Graphic Designers. We are hiring graphic designers on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here. Social Media Experts: Can you curate content with the best of them? We are hiring social media experts on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here. PPC Pros: Have you managed Google Adwords campaigns before? We are hiring PPC experts on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here.
Get Online. Get Ranked. Successful websites launch with 100 helpful articles In order to rank well on the internet’s largest search engines, your site must contain informative, original content that contains the relevant keywords from which you’d like to capture traffic. Part of the success of your business depends on your ability to generate top ranks on Google and other major search engines. Santa Barbara’s Only SEO Meetup Group Join us for an hour filled with interesting conversations about online business. With over 81% of consumers making purchasing decisions online, websites are no longer optional. If you have a good product or service, then driving traffic to your site is a matter of SEO. Taylor Reaume, The Search Engine Pros Founder, will discuss:
– The latest cutting edge marketing strategies – How to wine and dine the Google spider at your website. – 4 powerful SEO Tools to help increase visitors to your website. Learn SEO and internet marketing strategies at the weekly SEO meetup. Share ideas with other local business owners who have developed innovative internet marketing strategies.
SEO With a Personal Touch. Tired of roadblocks in your marketing campaigns? Does your web marketing team have the communication skills to help bring your visions to reality? The Search Engine Pros are practitioners of compassionate communication. Learn more about our web strategy and workshops hosted by Taylor Reaume. Subscribe to our blog for fresh articles. If we can’t help, we know someone who can! Get a quote. Work with a team that cares for all the right things. Inquire today. 800.605.4988
What does your Thanksgiving turkey have in common with your blog? Lots! Cooking a turkey is a lot like writing an SEO friendly blog post. Follow these helpful tips to wine and dine the search engine spiders with your Thanksgiving holiday blog post.
Fresh Turkey. Fresh Content. Stale content is like stale turkey. Google ranks fresh content higher. It’s essential to provide fresh content on your blog to stay on top the search engines and keep your customers engaged.
Have you ever eaten a turkey that was cooked in a rush? Don’t rush through writing your blog post. Preparation is key. Brush up on the basics of SEO. Don’t expect to pull a full Thanksgiving meal together if you can’t even boil water. Same goes for SEO. Get comfortable with the basic SEO fundamentals first.
Are you using a Turkey Thermometer? Are you using Google Analytics on your blog? Did you include the Google Analytics code snippet so you can track visitors to your blog post?
Did you forget to add Turkey seasoning? A Thanksgiving turkey without the proper seasoning is like a blog post without strategic keywords sprinkled in here and there. Keywords are an essential element to any SEO success or failure.
Cooking a Turkey is a team effort. You will not likely make it to the Turkey championships without a few kitchen helpers. Kitchen helpers are like guest bloggers. They are happy to help out, provided you give them some recognition! Guest bloggers are a great way to build your blog.
Presentation. You wouldn’t expect your Thanksgiving host to just slop down some food on the table in a KFC container, right? The same is true of your blog article. Before hitting the publish button, add a little panache by including images, nice fonts, emphasize important words with bold font, and italicize certain phrases to increase readability.
The Crescendo! Ring the supper bell! Ever heard of http://pingomatic.com ? Ping-O-Matic is a service to update different search engines that your blog has updated. Enter your final blog post URL to alert the search engines of your delicious new content. It’s time to wine and dine the search engine spiders!
Leftovers. Did someone say Turkey sandwiches? Turkey soup, turkey casserole, turkey salad? What about repurposing snippets of your blog post to Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin? Everybody loves leftovers. Don’t let your delicious content go to waste. You’ll generate more traffic if you repurpose the content at your social sites.
Lastly, consider the following: If nobody shows up your Turkey Dinner, would it really matter how delicious your Turkey was? The same is true of your blog post. If people can’t find your blog post, it’s lessens the deliciousness, or the value of your blog post. Be sure to include those popular keywords and follow these simple tips to increase the number of eyeballs on your blog post.
We have lots of helpful, free information at our website to help you learn how to do your own Search Engine Optimizing. Also if you live in Santa Barbara, The Search Engine Pros host a weekly SEO Workshop in Santa Barbara designed to help you understand what you need to do or have done in order to get the right traffic to your website.
And, of course, if you prefer…you can leave the technical tedious work to the PROS. That’s our job. That’s what we’re good at! Find out how you can double your traffic and double your income next month, by aligning with The Search Engine Pros – your online marketing team.
Contact us directly if you have any questions. We offer a 30 minute Consultation to explain how we would approach your e-business plan. But please take action and optimize your next blog post. You will be glad you did and happy with the results!
The staff at The Search Engine Pros would like to wish you and your family a warm and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
The Search Engine Pros thanks the numerous individuals, families, business owners, interns, companies and organizations working closely with us to create a truly effective web strategy for our clients.
May you remember all the many things you have to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely, Taylor Reaume and The Search Engine Pros
What: The Monday SEO workshop is a group of local business owners talking about how to generate more leads from their website via google site optimization and pay per click. Attendees come to learn SEO and search engine marketing from other like-minded business owners who have developed effective internet marketing strategies. When: Monday Nights 6pm-7pm Where:112 W. Cabrillo BLVD Santa Barbara, CA 93101More info:RSVP HERE
What’s The Topic This Week? Logo Design: 7 Factors You Must Consider: This week we will hear a presentation by Julia Chen, graphic designer, and marketing specialist. She will share her insights and ideas about the importance of a remarkable logo. A logo design is essential for a company’s branding because it is a visual representation of your company’s values and features. A good logo can improve a company’s brand awareness and exposure. There are several factors to consider when designing a logo for your company. In this article, I will explain seven important factors and give examples for each. Before you pick a logo (or hire a designer), you must consider the message your logo will send to consumers. In order to design a logo that will resonate with your target market, you must determine your company’s identity and the elements that separate you from your competitors. Consumers should be able to identify your business by looking at its logo. It should be distinguishable enough to interest your target market, create trust, and build your brand. Whether you use a catchy font or a well-designed symbol, your logo should stick in consumers’ minds. Does your company’s logo capture the essence of your business? Come down to THE SEO WORKSHOP and share your logo with the group for honest discussion and feedback. We would love to see you on Monday, November 19th at 6pm at The Santa Barbara Veterans Building.
(These logos may be misconstrued by viewers.)
“Why should I come to the SEO Workshop?” At the SEO workshop, you’ll pick up some handy tips on website marketing strategy and also enjoy a networking opportunity with other local business owners. Bring your business cards, your laptop, and an open mind. We hope to see you at 6pm at 112 W. Cabrillo Blvd, The Santa Barbara Veterans Building, just a few steps from Sambos Restaurant. Please RSVP here
“How much does it cost?” The meetup cost is $5. Alternatively, you can pay with a Facebook Post recommending the group to friends. We go to great lengths to prepare the workshops, and your support in helping us spread the word on Facebook is greatly appreciated. http://Facebook.com/TheSearchEnginePros
Business Networking Opportunities In Santa Barbara Contacts N Coffee: Great opportunity to network with other local businesses every Friday morning. visit here Santa Barbara Young Professionals: Business Networking with young entrepreneurs. visit here TECH BREW: Brings together hundreds of local professionals, who gather to Exchange Ideas, Network, Form Alliances, and Focus Technology and Business Growth in the Santa Barbara Region. visit here Locals That Rock:Social media smart group for advanced social media savvy business owners. visit here.
Earn income with The Search Engine Pros
Affiliates: Simply sign up for our Affiliate Program and place our banners on your site to start earning monthly referral fees from us. Sales Pros: If you would like to take your relationship with The Search Engine Pros to the next level and become a sales agent, please apply here. If you pass our initial screening, we’ll get in touch to discuss your increased commission level. Writers: Do you have technical writing skills? We are hiring writers on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here. Graphic Designers: We have immediate openings for Graphic Designers. We are hiring graphic designers on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here. Social Media Experts: Can you curate content with the best of them? We are hiring social media experts on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here. PPC Pros: Have you managed Google Adwords campaigns before? We are hiring PPC experts on a temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here.
Get Online. Get Ranked.
Successful websites launch with 100 helpful articles In order to rank well on the internet’s largest search engines, your site must contain informative, original content that contains the relevant keywords from which you’d like to capture traffic. Part of the success of your business depends on your ability to generate top ranks on Google and other major search engines.
Santa Barbara’s Only SEO Meetup Group
Join us for an hour filled with interesting conversations about online business. With over 81% of consumers making purchasing decisions online, websites are no longer optional. If you have a good product or service, then driving traffic to your site is a matter of SEO. Taylor Reaume, The Search Engine Pros Founder, will discuss: – The latest cutting edge marketing strategies – How to wine and dine the Google spider at your website. – 4 powerful SEO Tools to help increase visitors to your website. Learn SEO and internet marketing strategies at the weekly SEO meetup. Share ideas with other local business owners who have developed innovative internet marketing strategies.
SEO With a Personal Touch. Tired of roadblocks in your marketing campaigns? Does your web marketing team have the communication skills to help bring your visions to reality? The Search Engine Pros are practitioners of compassionate communication. Learn more about our web strategy and workshops hosted by Taylor Reaume. Subscribe to our blog for fresh articles. If we can’t help, we know someone who can! Get a quote. Work with a team that cares for all the right things. Inquire today. 800.605.4988
Marketing your web site WITHOUT a solid web statistics software is like throwing darts in the wind. Are you tracking or guessing with your web site marketing efforts? If you’re not tracking where each of your web site visitors is coming from, i.e. which search engines, social sites, link partners, etc you’re guessing, and you should never guess with your marketing dollars. Enter Clicky. Clicky is a real time website analytics service. This means that when you login and view your analytics, you are seeing up to the minute data on the traffic to your web site. Most services don’t let you see what’s happening “today” until the day after. Clicky Web Analytics is the brainchild of the Roxr team, founded in late 2006, and based in Portland, OR, USA. Clicky is directly tracking more than 200,000 web sites, and an additional 500,000+ through their partners and licensees. So why all the buzz about real time web site stats? Real time data lets you react to changes in your traffic as they occur. For example, if you had an article that hit the front page of a popular site like digg.com, you would see the traffic spike immediately, along with links back to the sources sending you the traffic. Knowing this, you could make changes to your site or to the article itself to take advantage of the situation. When you sign up with Clicky, you’ll get a dashboard that shows you the types of traffic sources to your web site. Each item has a number next to it representing how many visitors arrived from that type of traffic source. To the right of that number is what’s called the “trend” for that item, vs the day before, taking into account the current time of day. (Green percentages are “good”, and red are “bad”. Green usually means “more”, but sometimes more is bad). To view the history for any item, simply click on the trend percentage, as shown below. By default you will see the last 30 days of data for that item, but there is a date drop down menu right above the graph which lets you view the daily values for up to 180 days, or the weekly sums for 26 weeks (half a year), or the monthly sums for the last 12 months. Some data types also support hourly data.
Wondering how Clicky stacks up against web analytics providers?
Check out this chart below which gives you a birds-eye perspective of how they are different than the other top web stats services. http://getclicky.com/compare/
If you are looking for one of the best real-time analytics systems on the web, we highly recommend Clicky web statistics! Check them out today, and tell them The Search Engine Pros sent you.
One of the most important things I’ve realized in running my web business is the importance of video tutorials for employees. We’re all juggling multiple tasks, and the need to “save time” is increasingly important these days.
I think it was about the 10th time I found myself explaining how to setup Google Apps to my workers that I had the bright idea to record tutorials on video. By recording the process of setting up Google Apps, I could then save time by simply sending the video to the workers and having them follow each step. Better yet, they are able to pause and rewind the video, and go at their own pace.
One day my worker said to me: “Taylor, your voice is really slow, can you talk faster because it takes a long time to get through these videos. Is there any way to speed up video tutorials in the site?”
He explained to me that there is a sense of uneasiness when you have to sit through a slow tutorial. I knew exactly how he felt, having experienced the same thing. When you are “in control” something magical happens, you suddenly become more engaged, and absorb more of the information.
Needless to say, the workers comments were golden feedback for me, and I’m happy to report that I’ve found a solution to the problem. I stumbled across a Enounce My Speed; a $29.99 desktop software called that enables watching videos at 5 times faster or 3 times slower than their normal speed.
Initially I was skeptical. I assumed it would make me sound like a chipmunk and be totally useless. I was pleasantly surprised to be totally wrong! This software totally rocks and I highly recommend it.
I purchased the software and installed it on my desktop in the office. Now my workers are so happy because they can watch the video tutorials at a speed that is comfortable to them. They feel more “in control” and the experience is generally more engaging.
I am also using the software when watching internet marketing video tutorials for my own education as a web marketing professional and I really love the way I am streamline the information at a speed that’s comfortable for me. It’s extremely easy to use and has a user interface that is a breeze to operate.
Enounce My Speed has made the learning process for my staff so much easier! The software is easy to use and when you combine all of the features along with a one-time low price, you will be happy you found this essential software to speed up video. Definitely a 10!
Besides motivating staff to watch video tutorials, there are many other applications and situations where this software might be valuable. For example, Veterans Halls often record hour long meetings every month and then transcribe the meeting notes into a word document. By using ennounce, one could speed up the sound and complete an hour long transcription job in 20 minutes. Other uses might be Boy Scout Meetings, Legal proceedings, City Council meetings, tradeshow conferences, the list goes on.
You can download a full-featured version of MySpeed 5 Premier for Windows or MySpeed Premier for Mac for 7 days. Enjoy HTML5 (currently Windows only) and Flash videos at 5 times faster or 3 times slower than their normal speed! If you can view videos on YouTube, MySpeed will work. Try it FREE for 7 days, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it!
Perhaps the best part is the unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your purchase of Enounce software, you may contact within 30 days of your purchase to request a refund.
The average reader digests 200 – 250 words per minute while the speed of most speech is just 100 – 125 words per minute. MySpeed will speed up video clips and help you absorb critical information faster. Or you can slow things down when you have to take notes, comprehend complex concepts, or simply want to see anything in detail, from how-to instruction to an awesome wipe-out!
In the old days, knowledge was power, but now it seems knowledge is everywhere, and the importance of “efficiency” seems to be taking center stage in the increasingly fast paced digitial business landscape. Understanding the time value of money concept is a key success factor for your business. Enounce My Speed is a great little software that will save you time and money. Pick up a copy here and tell them The Search Engine Pros sent you!
The first presidential nominating convention, held in 1832, was meant to give Americans a voice in the selection of the presidential nominee. Fast forward to 2012 and these conventions still represent a major moment in American politics—and we’re helping the conventions reach a larger audience by being the official live stream provider and social networking platform for the Republican National Convention in Tampa and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
In conjunction with our on-the-ground efforts, we’re making a number of online tools available to help you get organized and informed as Election Day approaches.
Get informed
Our Google Politics & Elections site enables you to see the latest Google News, YouTube videos, search and video trends, and Google+ content about the election in one place. You can also visit our live Elections Hub to watch the national political conventions, debates and even election night LIVE right from your mobile phone or laptop.
Register to vote
To make it easy to navigate the rules and deadlines about registering to vote and how to vote by mail, we put together an online voter guide. We’ve also added a special section to make it easier for military and overseas voters to find information about their different rules and deadlines.
As we approach the final days of the election, we’ll continue to develop useful ways for voters and campaigns to engage one another around the important issues in 2012.
We hope these tools will help you stay informed and participate in the election!
The Monday SEO workshop is a group of local business owners talking about how to generate more leads from their website via google site optimization and pay per click. Attendees come to learn SEO and search engine marketing from other like-minded business owners who have developed effective internet marketing strategies. When: Monday Nights 6pm-7pm Where: THE SANTA BARBARA VETERANS BUILDING 112 W. Cabrillo BLVD Santa Barbara, CA 93101
K.I.S.S. Keep it, simple sweetheart. In order for any website to be effective, it must not underestimate the importance of keeping things simple. It’s an ancient principle in marketing, simpler is usually better.
Come down to the workshop this evening and learn the three cardinal sins to avoid when designing your website. The group members will share insights and tips to help you design a higher-converting website. Web Sites are no longer optional. Get Online. Get Ranked. We hope to see you this week at the workshop.
Business Networking Opportunities In Santa Barbara:
Contacts N Coffee: Great opportunity to network with other local businesses every Friday morning. visit here
Goleta B2B Breakfast: Largest business breakfast mixer in Santa Barbara. First Tuesdays of every month. Earl Warren Showgrounds. visit here
Santa Barbara Young Professionals: Business Networking with young entreprenuers. visit here
TECH BREW: Brings together hundreds of local professionals, who gather to Exchange Ideas, Network, Form Alliances and Focus Technology and Business Growth in the Santa Barbara Region. visit here
Locals That Rock: Social media smart group for advanced social media savvy business owners. visit here.
Get $100 for every referral! Marketing Superstars Wanted – See our Affiliate Program
Get Online. Get Ranked.
Successful websites launch with 100 helpful articles In order to rank well on the internet’s largest search engines, you site must contain informative, original content that contains the relevant keywords from which you’d like to capture traffic. Part of the success of your business depends on your ability to generate top ranks on Google and other major search engines.
Join us for an hour filled with interesting conversations about online business. With over 81% of consumers making purchasing decisions online, websites are no longer optional. If you have a good product or service, then driving traffic to your site is a matter of SEO. Taylor Reaume, The Search Engine Pros Founder, will discuss: – The latest cutting-edge marketing strategies. – How to wine and dine the Google spider at your website. – Discover 4 powerful SEO Tools to help increase visitors to your website.
Santa Barbara’s Only SEO Meetup Group Learn SEO and internet marketing strategies at the weekly SEO meetup. Every Thursday at The Eagle Inn in Santa Barbara, California, The Search Engine Pros offer an SEO class that teaches ethical SEO strategies. Share ideas with other local business owners who have developed innovative internet marketing strategies.
Tired of roadblocks in your marketing campaigns? To make it to the championships you need a fully synchronized team effort. Does your web marketing team have the communication skills to help bring your visions to reality? The Search Engine Pros are practitioners of compassionate communication and social business. Work with a team that cares for all the right things. Inquire today. 800.605.4988
It’s official! See who made the cut for our top 5 summer festivals in Santa Barbara.
Summertime in Santa Barbara is wonderful. There are so many events going on and endless fun things to do in Santa Barbara during the summer. The summer weekends here in the American riviera are always full of a wide range of festivities, attracting locals and tourists alike.
During the summer, there are five notable festivals that I believe deserve special recognition by our team here at The Search Engine Pros. These festivals in particular not only draw in a huge crowd of hundreds–perhaps even thousands–of tourists to our beautiful town of Santa Barbara, but they are what characterize SB summers as something special from ones spent anywhere else.
1. Santa Barbara Solstice Summer Festival What better way to kick off summer but with the Santa Barbara Solstice Festival? Taking place each year in mid-June, right around the day of the solstice itself, this festival lasts for the whole weekend, from Friday to Sunday. SBSF also has the Solstice parade on Saturday, which travels down State Street to Micheltorena, then finally making its way to Alameda Park. At the park, festival-goers can enjoy live music, delicious food, and festive merchandise. Plus, here’s an added bonus: because the parade ends at Alameda Park itself, people can admire and even take pictures with the floats set up along the entrance of the park, so you can enjoy the parade even if you missed it! All of the parade floats were made by local businesses, clubs, and organizations for spectators’ amusement. Perhaps what sets Summer Solstice apart from other summer festivals in Santa Barbara is that each year the festival has a new theme. Festival-goers dress up accordingly, and parade floats are designed to the theme as well. For example, this year’s theme was Fantasy, and last year 2011’s theme was Jungle. The jury is in! Summer Solstice is one of our favorite summer festivals in Santa Barbara! What will next year’s theme be?
2. Goleta Fireworks Summer Festival When it’s the Fourth of July, every Goletian knows where to go to hit up some awesome fireworks, and that’s Girsh Park! Each year, Girsh Park in Goleta is transformed into a patriotic palooza to celebrate our nation’s birth. This festival attracts mostly the local crowd in Goleta, but its close quarters within the park make it the perfect atmosphere for family bonding on the Fourth. Of course, SB festivals are nothing without its live entertainment, gourmet food, festive merchandise, and overall fun spirit, which the Goleta Fireworks Festival is sure not to be stingy about. Not to mention, the festival’s catering towards locals allows for more fun activities and attractions in comparison to this festival’s West Beach counterpart during Fourth of July (which caters to Santa Barbara locals as well as tourists more). At the end of the night, festival-goers crowd together to watch the fireworks blaze over Goleta.
3. French Festival The Santa Barbara French Festival made a comeback this year after being put on hiatus last year due to new ownership/management. Even after its one-year break, this fun filled summer festival in Santa Barbara still proved outstanding for its comeback. Located at Oak Park and held usually in mid-July around Bastille Day weekend, this fun, foreign fest features all kinds of French food, entertainment, goods, and fun–with a Santa Barbara twist! Local restaurants, businesses, and organizations are invited to present their French-inspired foods or products, as well as goods from other countries, though mostly France. The summer festival itself is split on two halves of Oak Park, each with a stage of different kinds of entertainment. One stage features singers, musicians, and other types of musical performers, while the other stage is dedicated to dance of all sorts. Festival-goers are even invited to participate in some dancing on the latter stage. If you’re in Santa Barbara and have always wanted to go to France, or are just itching for a feel of French flavor, the Santa Barbara French Festival is the closest you’ll get to it. We’re proudly adding the French Festival to our list of favorite summer festivals in Santa Barbara.
4. Greek Festival The Santa Barbara Greek festival is just like its French counterpart, except Greek, and held at the end of July rather than mid-(though still at Oak Park). In my opinion, the SB Greek festival is the most underrated of all the SB summer fests. The Greeks are known for their light, yet tasteful cuisine and fervent music and dancing, which this festival certainly doesn’t pass up on. Indeed, the Greek festival is when Santa Barbara truly lives up to its Mediterranean name. So, if you want awesome Mediterranean food, Greek music and dancing, and overall summer fun, check out the Greek Festival at Oak Park – it made our top list of summer festivals in Santa Barbara!
5. Santa Barbara Fiesta: Old Spanish Days Last but certainly not least is Fiesta: Old Spanish Days. Besides being known for its Mediterranean weather, Santa Barbara is perhaps best known for its Spanish-inspired culture and architecture. If you ever get the chance to do some history on the city of Santa Barbara, you’ll be able to see just how much of an influence the Spanish had on the formation of this town. Thus, we have fiesta to reflect back on this town’s history as well as learn about and appreciate the influence the Spanish had on it. Fiesta is celebrated all throughout the downtown area of Santa Barbara, from El Mercado De la Guerra and Del Norte to the Sunken Gardens in the Courthouse, from the Santa Barbara Mission to State Street itself. Santa Barbara Fiesta features everything from the best Mexican cuisine to dance performances to Spanish music concerts. Plus, you simply can’t have fiesta without its infamous cascarones (don’t know what that is? Look it up, or come to SB Fiesta to find out!), which can be sold at literally every block along State Street during the festivities. Some other highlights are Fiesta Pequena and .
This one of a kind summer festival in Santa Barbara begins on Wednesday night–yes Wednesday, and end on Sunday night, but the memories–and perhaps even the confetti–last the whole summer. (You can check the calendar of events on the website for a better idea of events during fiesta weekend.)
So there you have it, SEPro’s reviews of the top five festivals of summer in Santa Barbara. These festivals are a great way to reach out to the community, enjoy the summer weather, spend time with friends and family, and overall just have a great time. Looking for some things to do during the summer? SB is the place to be! We hope to see you this summer at one of these festivals!
Facebook marketing is one of the hottest marketing platforms for disseminating information about your business today.
There is no question that technology and media in the 21st century is continually evolving. Facebook marketing has been proven to be one of the most effective media platforms for promoting one’s business. Yet many people who are eager to promote their brand, business, and product are unaware of HOW to successfully market themselves through these mediums. Questions such as “How do I make my business look attractive to the public”, and “How do I get more ‘likes’ or ‘friend requests’?” seem to be an overarching theme.
Whether you’re a startup, or a seasoned business, chances are you’re probably trying to research ways to get your business on the social web. You’re in luck! Here are 7 secrets to successfully market your business on Facebook:
Facebook Marketing Power Tip #1: FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE EVERYTHING, FACEBOOK IS NO EXCEPTION.
To be an attractive business, you must have an attractive Facebook page. With the newly employed ‘Timeline’, Facebook lets you show who you are and what you stand for in an instant with the giant cover photo. Make sure the photo corresponds to your company’s ideals or philosophy, which is simply good branding. You may want to get professional photographs taken, or put your company’s logo up as long as its clean and simple. Aesthetics are everything these days, so make sure your pictures and profile photos correspond attractively in the eyes of those who see your page.
Facebook Marketing Power Tip #2: TELL THE VIEWERS NOT JUST WHAT YOU DO, BUT WHY YOU DO IT.
On the info section you want to show what you stand for. Anyone can pitch an idea or product, but this won’t get people to BELIEVE in it. Make sure you state your mission statement clearly, describing what you stand for and why you do what it is that you do. If people believe in your cause, they are much more likely to accept your product, as it is not simply seen as a rudimentary good idea, but rather an idea that is apart of them. This pertains to Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle”, which states that the most successful businesses such as Apple have become successful because they base their products on the “WHY?” and allow people to believe in its cause, rather than aiming it at what they do.
Facebook Marketing Power Tip #3: EVERYTHING MUST BE FRESH AND NEW.
People need new material in their lives; it mentally stimulates them. When people see that you are posting new material each day, with new and interesting topics, blogs, articles, videos, and pictures, your business will benefit substantially. Educational Facebook marketing is very powerful on the social web. This is because people will see that your business is an active engager in its field, rather than being old or irrelevant. They will see your company name more often, which keeps it longer in their conscious and subconscious minds, and thus creates more brand awareness (think top of mind). Make sure you post actively, most social media gurus recommend posting 5-7 times per week, and with information that has at least some connection to your business. Pictures and videos are huge, as it takes up more space on their news feed and is easy to view.
Facebook Marketing Power Tip #4: ENGAGE YOUR FANS.
Being active on your page is more than simply posting articles: you must communicate with your target audience. Ask them questions such as “What do you think of this new product?” Be enthusiastic and encourage them to post their opinions on your page, but make sure your questions are simple and easy to answer. It will bring more traffic to your page as their friends see them posting on yours, and you will get more insight on what they want. Marketing is a two-way street, so don’t forget to go both directions.
Facebook Marketing Power Tip #5: HOLD A CONTEST, MAKE THEM WANT IT.
A great way to engage your fans is to hold a contest or sweepstakes. The prize doesn’t have to be anything expensive, or even necessarily one of your products. It should however have some connection to your business. You can have a photo or video contest, or give prizes to the fans who give the best feedback or idea of how to better your product or business. This all goes back to the give and take principle of marketing.
Facebook Marketing Power Tip #6: KNOW WHAT YOUR COMPETITION IS DOING.
In order to be ahead of your competition, you must know what your competition is doing. By monitoring their use and effectiveness, you can see what you must do to stay ahead of the game. Several new tools such as http://monitor.wildfireapp.com/ allow you to do just this.
Facebook Marketing Power Tip #7: BE THE MASTER OF YOUR DOMAIN.
To be credible to others, you have to play the part. Being the authority figure in regards to information in your specific area incorporates all the previous steps together. It means posting confidently, helping out fans who are looking for more information (this may mean comparing your business’s benefits to your competitions’), and simply being active and aware of how you are communicating with others. Engaging your fans’ inquiries with diligence and thought gives your target audience the impression that you know what you are talking about, and they will appreciate your assistance and likely respect your business more.
I hope these Facebook marketing power tips have helped you gain more insight into the world of social media marketing.
Remember that high-quality, continuous fan involvement and site activity can lead to an improved reputation, which can take your business a long way.
