I plan to continue to give Scrappy Upstarts REAL how-to info on all things small business and the web.

Andrew Warner’s blog at http://blog.mixergy.com/ is a great example.

Andrew does audio interviews with people instrumental in building web businesses.

They tend to focus on specific tactics small businesses can take. That to me is more important than the constant 30,000 foot level coverage we hear about “social media”, “twitter” etc.

His most recent interview with Chris Winfield who is the Co-Founder and President of 10e20, a search and social media marketing firm, offers some real how-tos for social media and your small business.

Thanks Andrew and Chris for actually giving real information not pontification.
Listen to the whole interview here. And more at mixergy.com

Tweet This

There is a lot you can learn from digging into aggregate query data. Google knows a great deal about us as Bill Tancer’s book, “Click” revealed.It can also has the potential to be used as a yard stick for the future.

So using Google Insights Steve Rubel from AdAge was able to crunch some data and spot three internet trends (US only).

• We’re growing comfortable with social networks. Not surprisingly, social-network-related searches grew 178% in 2008. Historically the top searches in the category have reflected privacy concerns and last year was no different. The top keywords included “hide friends” (No. 7) and “hide comments” (No. 8). However, search volume on these keywords actually declined last year. This, perhaps, is the biggest indicator that as a nation we’re becoming more comfortable living on social networks.
• Blogging may be making a comeback. Searches related to blogging resources and services posted 64% growth in 2004. Then they basically flat-lined the next three years. However, in 2008 they climbed 24%. It’s highly likely that both the growth in 2004 and 2008 was fueled by elections. But my gut is that something deeper is going on here. Perhaps some see blogs as a powerful personal branding tool that can help them weather the recession. Searches for the keywords “personal brand” are also up significantly.
• The recession drove consumers to shop online. Perhaps surprisingly, shopping-related searches grew 50% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. Of course, between 2004 and 2007, search volume typically reached the same apex in December. But this year was different. Consumers were also looking for deals. Coupon-related searches grew 61% in fourth quarter. If consumers continue to find deals online, then the trend could stick.

Full article here.

Tweet This

Your small business blog needs to constantly be refined for maximum pull through. There are certain topics your blog can cover, and even certain keywords you can use to attract more people to your blog. The trick is in knowing which keywords to use and how to make the most of them. This process is commonly known on the internet as SEO, or Search Engine Marketing. It might sound complicated, but all you do is research keywords relevant to your industry, add them to your blog titles and topics, and the traffic will generate itself.

How do I know what words to use?

That’s the easy part. First, you have to think like a consumer. What would they search for? If you have a real estate business in the Atlanta area, for example, you would focus on what a person would look up if they wanted to find homes in Atlanta. If you can’t think of them on your own, there are keyword search sites where you can find the most popular phrases and keywords based on your subject. Using words like ‘Atlanta real estate’ or ‘Atlanta homes for sale’, for example, would be much more relevant to consumers than choosing phrases like ‘real estate for sale in Atlanta’ or ‘homes Atlanta for sale’, and so on.

Ok, I’ve got my keywords. Now what?

Now, you create a blog, or add to the one you have. Give it an SEO-friendly title, and make sure each post title is relevant, as well. Then, in your content, take the keywords you’ve found and use them 5-10 times, depending on the length of the blog. Just remember, with SEO, less is really more, so don’t overstuff it. That will actually have an adverse effect on your website, because it’s bad practice and frowned upon by search engines.

Having a blog is going to be a big part of your success in today’s online market. Making sure that blog is seen by optimizing it with SEO practices will only help to drive traffic to your website. Even in a slow economy, people are still buying, so you need to make sure you’re doing everything you can to get them to buy from you. One of those crucial elements is using SEO in your blog. For more information, the SEOBook offers detailed insight.

Tweet This

I am convinced after watching this.

I love that he was yelled at for predicting EXACTLY what we are seeing.

Thanks to Brian Jones for originally posting this.

More importantly, see Peter talking about 2009 last month, he was still getting yelled at!

Tweet This

According to comScore - holiday e-commerce was down 3% year-over-year - spending totaled $25.54 billion, from $26.33 billion during a similar period last year.

First time since 2001 when they started tracking this.

Some winners: HP site visitors jumped 28%; Amazon’s traffic increased 7%.

Ebay was the most visited site but was 4% down from last year.

No surprise Circuitcity.com visits were down 21%, and Dell dropped 17%

Tweet This

The Great Disruption. Is this how we will be referring to our current economic times?

Scott Anthony poses that question at Harvard Business Publishing.

He goes on to discuss how to Thrive in the Great Disruption stating it requires a particular breed of innovator.

Specifically, innovators should look to master three disciplines:

1. Placing a premium on progress.
2. Mastering paradox.
3. Learning to love the low end

Tweet This

I don’t care about Steve Jobs or Michael Dell.

There I said it. I don’t even care about the guy who just secured $9 million in venture funding. I don’t care about Tim O’Reily waxing philosphical about online serendipity. I don’t care that TechCrunch says Google and Adobe are great places to work.

I care about the guys (and women) in the long tail of it all. Not making a million bucks, but making it. Cashing a $2,000 adsense check? Good for you! How? Getting by on 8 new customers a month? Great! How? Figured out how to make a living without going into an office? Fantastic! How? Moved your brick-and-mortar successfully online? Awesome! How?

Look there is a tremendous amount to learn from the analogs of Steve and Mike and the rest - no question - I’ll watch, I’ll read - but for the love of God, stop letting internet media stay at the 30,000 foot level - You want to succeed? DIG DEEPER!

Philosophical diatribes won’t help you succeed in the trenches. Vague predictions about “new media” or “social marketing” aren’t going to put food on the table.

Tactics, execution, dedication - How are you doing it? Be specific! Speak up!

[Author's note: No one is going to respond to me. I know it. Either no one is listening (possible, this site is only a month old), no one cares - that too, then you might as well go back to solitaire, or no one has any idea how to really do it...Then tell me that.]

Tweet This