SEO is a hot buzz word for the modern era because of the rise of digital marketing. Much of our world has moved online, where companies scramble all day, every day to gain a following and find customers.
The problem is that the internet now has many of the issues that plagued the marketplace as a whole during the rise of mass advertising. Positioning brands in a crowded marketplace has never been easy, but those who were able to catch the initial tidal wave (such as Pop Labs) of web traffic and social media expansion were able to secure an advantage of stragglers who were late to the scene.

Now that advantage has changed with the times. SEO has become less of an edge and more of a requirement. If your company can’t be found on the internet, it can’t be found in the place where more and more consumers are turning to purchase goods on a daily basis.

In other words, you can’t be found by your customers. And that’s a problem.

As if the lack of presence weren’t bad enough, a lack of positive SEO scores hurts other aspects of your business, too. Pumping out a beautiful press release covering huge news can benefit from multiple media distribution, but you’d be a sucker not to make sure it shows up on search engine results. SEO boosts the chances that Joe Q. Internet Journalist will find your news and give your company the publicity you were looking for when you wrote the release in the first place.

Maybe you have an ultimately engaging social media site or blog where the masses of your company’s niche gather to discuss the latest and greatest advancements in your industry. Will that help your net presence? Of course.

But would it help more if you optimized your search results with appropriate tags, coding, and link redirection? Definitely.

So if you haven’t yet taken care of business as you should, upgrade your SEO now by synchronizing and cross-applying your current fundamental marketing tools with a keyword/SEO strategy. Pop Labs has focused on building up its knowledge of SEO and using that knowledge to synchronize marketing fundamentals in ways that promote positive business image and boost revenue for our clients. Because we are SEO experts, Pop Labs understands how to drive your online presence through the roof. Our research and design team works every day to discover new ways of fighting for our clients and putting them on the top page of search results so the world can find them and buy their products and services. Pop Labs knows that our clients must optimize their search so it doesn’t take a search party to find them.

Share on Facebook

#1: Different Networks have Different Functions
American Architect Louis Sullivan once said that “form follows function”, a rule used by architects and designers throughout the entire twentieth and still-young twenty-first centuries. Social networks follow the same rule. Different networks have different forms which creates different functions. Facebook allows for comprehensive lifestyle tracking, but it’s not so good for privacy. Twitter is great at tracking conversational trends, but leaves much to be desired in terms of following actual conversation or gathering in one place. Google+ is still in its infancy (or perhaps toddler phase), but its clearest distinction is circles, an aspect that allows users to (theoretically) share specialized information with specialized groups. Foursquare has little to no conversation, instead choosing to focus on physical location.

Because of these differentiations, each individual network has different users who join for different purposes. Followers follow form which follows function. By integrating platforms, you keep all of your followers satisfied.

#2: Search Upgrade
Google has begun using Google+ in its search results, a major advantage for smaller businesses. YouTube also has a strong effect on search outcome. With the right keywords, LinkedIn is a great tool for putting your name on the front page of relevant search results. Leveraging those results still takes some social media know-how, but key here is that social media knowledge is a great way to improve your online search presence.

One of the keys to elevating your group has to do with cross-linking your sites. Failing to integrate social media sites with one another means missing out on a key opportunity to create a traffic whirlwind from the content and conversations you post. External links are one of the deciding factors when it comes to general search, so make sure your social media sites includes one another’s external links.

#3: Blog KABOOM!
Your blog is a tool used to show expertise in the field, draw in readers, increase interaction and (eventually) drive exposure/sales. If you create killer content and optimize it for search, you’ve won half the battle.

But the key drivers of digital conversation are social networks. To that end, you want your blog post to spread to a variety of internet corners. Managing networks independently means five times the work for equivalent results. If your social networks feeds are integrated, disseminating your blog posts is simple. One post will take your ultra-important message to center stage and encourage the wired-in crowd from all corners of the digital atmosphere to read, discuss and respond to your ideas.

Share on Facebook

In our last post, we gave you the scoop on the features that would be available to businesses once Google+ greets them with open arms. Below I wanted to outline specifically what it is that Google+ Pages will bring to your social media tool belt that will be good for small to medium-sized businesses. See below for the top 5:

• A New Meaning for Live Streaming? Recently, Google disabled Realtime Search, which displayed tweets from Twitter and posts from Facebook. The end of Realtime Search might be a hint for what Google has planned for the future – Google’s live feed. If Google integrated this feature into its search options businesses with a Google+ page could utilize live streaming to appear organically in real-time on a search query.

• Location, Location, Location. Facebook uses location so it’s inevitable that Google+ will too. Companies may also have the ability to link their Google+ to their Google Maps and Google Places listings. The Google+ profile “Info” could be directly linked to a Google Places page. This could also allow users to have a live feed of business reviews from customers and feedback or promotions from the business owners and employees all in one place.

• Apps & More. Google’s Apps for Business productivity suite offers businesses everything they need & more once you look at the benefits of being able to share spreadsheets, calendars and documents online. These tools, in addition to Google’s booming Apps Marketplace & Google+ provide companies with a web presence and social networking platform in one – quite possibly the perfect pair.

• Click +1. Facebook users can “Like” and comment on Web pages, but Google lets you help your friends find the best products, sites and services by simply clicking “+1″. The Google+1 system only arrived in March, but is quickly catching on. If Google+ grows in popularity, it’s possible that the “+1″ could become the new “Like.”

• Google+ Sells. Google+ may be competing with more than just Facebook. PayPal may also have a new rival in the Google Checkout payment system. If Google+ utilized the Google Checkout system on business pages, customers could actually purchase products on Google+ business pages.

Taking a new spin-off of what is currently available to you through Facebook Pages, Google+ is planned to be much more robust. It will be interesting to see who wins out in the long run, but one thing is certain: If your target audience is represented on Google+, your brand definitely should be as well.

Share on Facebook