We are looking for a design savvy Web Developer that also understands the technical side of SEO. This role requires proficiency in web publishing applications, web design and their impact on search engine visibility.  It also offers a chance to learn and grow as web technologies and search optimization continue to evolve.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

• Design and development of websites, email landing pages, blogs, social media backgrounds and more for clients
• Developing web, social and blog templates
• Supporting website SEO audits for clients
• Supporting web analytics and search marketing reporting
• Creation and testing of email campaigns and response tools
• Identifying and troubleshooting SEO issues with content management systems (CMS) and other dynamically generated websites

Qualifications:

• Three to five years of web development and design along with technical SEO experience.
• Experience working in an agency setting.

Proficiency in the following:

• PHP & MySQL
• WordPress
• Dreamweaver or similar
• Google Webmaster Tools & Analytics
• Forms/Landing Page Development Skills
• CSS, ASP & HTML
• Content Management Systems
• Photoshop or Fireworks
• Website Analytics & Performance Reporting

This Web Developer candidate should also have strong aptitude for client support and:

• Understand how to prioritize and manage multiple projects/tasks in a deadline-driven environment
• Strong written communication abilities
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills
• Time management skills
• Good communication skills for internal discussions
• Excellent organizational skills
• Work well with an internal team of marketing professionals to develop strategic, integrated campaigns to drive client success

TopRank Online Marketing is a leading digital marketing agency based in Minnesota that helps clients increase sales and brand visibility online as well as improve customer relationships through search, social, email and content marketing. TopRank offers a strong opportunity for advancement, extremely competitive time off policy, IRA retirement plan, premium health insurance, and a creative office environment overlooking Lake Minnetonka.

If you feel that you posses the skills that we are looking for, please contact us: Human Resources with “Web Developer 111″ in the Subject line.

Increasing Exposure to Search Engines

Assuming you’ve already identified your competitive keywords it’s essential that you keep your primary focus on providing value and making your content readable, while secondly focusing on keyword density.

Google’s algorithm (especially after the update released this week) is focused more and more in favor of quality vs. quantity, so the more difficult it is for your audience to recognize the use of keywords the better.

In the case of YouTube videos, for example, you would place keywords in the title and description of the video, as well as in the tags. The basic rule to keep in mind is that whenever a website allows you to post content, make sure your targeted keywords appear anywhere you are allowed to insert text, but be sure not to overuse them.

Steps to Increase Reader Shares

In addition to inserting keywords in your content’s title, description, headings, and body text, there are some additional steps you can take to maximize the number of shares your content receives.

1. Use calls to action. This seems rather obvious, as you would expect people to share internet content without thought – that’s the point of the internet after all isn’t it? But, your number of shares can increase dramatically when you use a call to action and tell people exactly how you want them to share your content.

2. Write an article opposite to the typical way of thinking. You’ve probably noticed many articles that begin with, “How to,” or, “7 Tips for…,” or,“Top 10 Reasons to…” There’s a reason people write this way – this type of writing often attracts people’s attention.

However, if you want to garner some significant attention, use a catchier title that goes against the grain, such as, “Learn How to Ruin Your Website in 7 Simple Steps,” or,“Terrify Your Site’s Visitors by Following This Simple Guide.”

Doing something different like this peaks people’s curiosity, making it more likely your content will be shared.

3. Know the best time to publish your content. Avoid publishing your content on Sunday mornings and holidays. Friday afternoons are also not a good time to publish because people are getting geared up for the weekend. Also be sure to be aware of differences in time zones.

In general, time your content to be published slightly before work breaks, lunch, and the early evening, when people arrive home from work. What’s the first thing they do in their free time? Jump on the internet and read the latest updates from their favorite websites.

If you take the time to follow these steps, the next time you create web content you would like shared, you will have a much higher chance for success.

The time is almost here for #FusionMEX

The 2012 Fusion Marketing Conference marks TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden’s second trip to Europe in less than one month!  The opportunity to have a presence both nationally and internationally has allowed our team to share our experience and expertise to a much broader audience.

Lee has been honored with presenting not one but two keynotes at this years conference.  If you’re looking for sessions to attend that will leave you with with actionable tips, tricks, and tactics these are two sessions you do not want to miss.

Where Will You Find Lee at #FusionMEX?

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
3:15pm – 4:00pm
Digital Marketing Integration:  the Mix of Social, Search and Content

There has been an explosion of content created on the web and marketers are finding that many consumers are becoming overwhelmed.  Along, with too much information many companies have failed to properly integrate their SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing strategies – which only leads to more confusion for customers.  In this session you will learn:

• An understanding of key content discovery, consumption, and sharing preference trends
• See how a content marketing strategy that integrates best SEO practices and social media tactics will help boost digital marketing effectiveness

Friday, May 4th, 2012
11:30am – 12:15pm
Setting up a Winning Customer-Centric Content Marketing Strategy

Improving your content marketing campaign doesn’t simply involve creating more content.  Instead, it’s about creating meaningful content targeted at a specific audience.

An effective content marketing strategy helps brands reach more people who are ready to buy, refer, and share.  This workshop provides the framework for an “optimize and socialize” approach to content marketing to attract and engage customers across the buying cycle.

Lee will also provide answers to questions many businesses ask including:

• Who are my customers?
• What do they care about?
• What content is needed to guide customers across the sales cycle – from attention to purchase to advocacy?

In his second keynote on May 4^th, Odden will help you answer these questions and others by helping you learn how to create a content marketing strategy focused more tightly on your customers.

Event Details

Fusion Marketing Conference
May 3 & May 4, 2012

Crown Plaza Hotel
Gerard le Grellelaan 10
2020 Antwerpen, Belgium

Register Now

Want to Learn More About Optimizing for Your Customers?

In a recent interview Lee Odden discusses his new book “Optimize” and why a customer centric approach to marketing is essential.

Order or reserve your copy of  ”Optimize” today!

On April 18, 2012 TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden will be presenting this holistic approach to optimization at the IonSearch conference in Leeds, UK.  In his presentation Odden will dive deeper into:

• Major shifts in consumer search and social trends
• Key opportunities to improve online marketing strategy and performance
• How to integrate customer-centric SEO with social media and content marketing
• Using this knowledge to attract, engage, and inspire more sales online

Event Details
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
9:05am-9:50am

Location

The Carriageworks
The Electric Press, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD

Register Now

Where can you learn more about an “Optimized” approach?

Lee’s new book “Optimize: How to Attract & Engage More Customers with Integrated SEO, Social Media & Content Marketing”, was written for search, marketing, social media, public relations, and communications professionals that are looking for a holistic way to include the convergence of search, social and content marketing to better attract, engage, and persuade customers online.  “Optimize” was published by Wiley and is available at multiple online retailers, and can be ordered via http://optimizebook.com

We hope to see many familiar faces at IonSearch next week.  If you’re interested in learning more please be sure to follow the conference buzz under #IonSearch on Twitter and look for updates from Lee Odden (@leeodden) and TopRank Online Marketing (@toprank) for those of you who don’t already follow us.

On April 10, 2012 Social Media Club Chicago (SMC Chicago) will be hosting an exclusive event based on Odden’s new book as well as his experience as a veteran online marketer.

What Will You Learn?

In an age of information ubiquity, consumers and technology have shifted the way we discover, consume and share information in amazing ways. Now more than ever, businesses have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the convergence of search, social media and content marketing to “optimize” brand messages and consumer experiences whether they happen on a social network or a search engine.

From 30,000 foot strategy to practical and actionable tactics, this presentation will provide attendees with a framework for optimizing their digital communications to better attract, engage and inspire communities to take action.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn the importance of creating customer segments and buyer personas
• Optimize your content for all stages in the buying cycle
• Different content ideas for multiple platforms

Event Details

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
5:30pm-7:00pm (CST)

Location:
ITA/TechNexus
200 S. Wacker Dr.
15th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606

Register Now

We hope to see you all at SMC Chicago’s event next week in Chicago.  Also, keep an eye out for tweets from TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden (@leeodden) and TopRank Online Marketing (@toprank).

On April 2nd, 2012 at PRSA’s Annual Digital Impact conference in New York TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be presenting a session on “Content Marketing & Public Relations: Optimize & Socialize to Persuade Your Audience to Act.” This session will teach you how to use marketing best practices to create a strategy that inspires your audience to share, purchase from, and recommend your brand online.  Other key tactics that will be discussed include:

• Developing personas for your target audience
• Instruction on researching social topics and keywords
• Discover tips for leverage your social networks to create strong relationships and promote your content

This isn’t Lee’s first time speaking at a PRSA conference.  Check out this video’s from last year’s PRSA International conference in Orlando, FL where he discusses ways to reach your consumers and integrate your social media strategy.

We hope to see you all at the PRSA Digital Impact Conference next week in New York.  Be sure to follow the conference buzz on twitter and if you’re interested in learning more about specific sessions be sure to visit the Program page on the PRSA website.  TopRank CEO Lee Odden and Jolina Pettice will be interacting and and tweeting at the event @LeeOdden and @TopRank for those of you who do not already follow us.

I do know a thing or two that I can tell you that will most certainly help with improving the appeal of the content you create. In a recent post on TopRankBlog titled How to Increase Business Blog Traffic, Readership, & Community, Lee Odden shared some tips and tricks for increasing reach through content creation. Though the post’s primary focus was about growing an online community, it also briefly touched on creating a “matrix of topics and media types” that appeal to target audiences. Making a matrix like this can go a long way to helping you create a variety of content in order to appeal to the widest audiences.

Create Your Content Marketing Media and Topics Matrix
To begin making your matrix, first you must discover your niche by asking some serious questions. What about your company, division, department or product stands out – in general or from other similar brands? How do your customers see your brand and how do you want them to view it? What about your brand is the most important to them? Thoroughly explore and identify the major problems your business or brand solves for customers, your target audiences, and the messages that are important to your brand. Then try to group those ideas into a handful of categories.

Next, think of the varying types of content that you’re capable of creating. Content ideas could include blog posts, online articles, videos, photographs, infographics, surveys, interviews, liveblogging, reports, and more. Different kinds of content appeal to different people – some may be more visually oriented while others prefer reading text and a few gravitate to videos in particular. It would be most beneficial to pursue whatever types of content you’re able to create and which suit your brand the best.

Those two steps will help lay the foundation for your content creation matrix – or rather, they should create the “X and Y axis” of it! Using a table, list the brand categories you determined in the first step across the top of the columns and the content types you can create in the rows furthest left. It should look something like this:

Once you’ve mapped out your content creation matrix, it is time to start filling it out. That means getting more detailed about specifying the actual content that you will be creating. An example content creation matrix for a local coffee shop has been depicted below.

Though this is set for one niche, it’s easy to see how this same concept can be applied to other industries and markets. How many types of content you create, whether text, video, images, online articles or whatever, are only limited by your capabilities; the topics restricted only by your brand standards. You may even consider expanding them, too – if you can’t make video but want to, buy a video camera! Apply new concepts to brand messaging or even use your blog to expand your message.

By mapping out the specific media you plan to use for your content marketing and the topics you want to cover to appeal to different segments of the market, you increase your potential for reaching the widest audience.

Content Curation Best Practices

• Make sure that the content you are curating is relevant to your audience
• Adhere to all fair use laws as it relates to content and copyright infringement
• Determine a way to measure your content curation success
• Incorporate original content as well
• Always link to the original source
• Identify industry through leaders and influencers as a source of information

Different Types of Curated Content
Content curation comes in many forms.  Some of the types of content we recommend you curate might include:

• Videos
• Industry News
• Research & Reports
• Presentations
• Case Studies
• Events
• Tips or How To’s
• Lists
• Infographics

Content Curation Tools

• Flipboard
• Storify
• Curata
• Curation Station
• CurationSoft
• Scoop.it
• Paper.li

In order to get the most value from your content curation efforts it’s important that you remember to think like a curator,  always be on the lookout for new and interesting stories to add to your content marketing mix.  Most important, be sure to share your information in a meaningful way.

As always Odden’s presentation will be flush with high level consultative advice as well as practical and tactical tips to point you in the right direction.  If you’re interested in learning about how to avoid losing all the SEO value in your website during a redesign or change of content management system (and much more) you can’t afford to miss this premiere industry event.

At this year’s SES London Odden will be co-presenting a session titled “Site Redesign?  Don’t Forget SEO Migration!” and will bring his broad online marketer expertise as moderator of three session:  “Social Media Solutions on a Budget”, “Developing a Video Optimisation and Marketing Campaign”, and “Duplicate Content and Multiple Site Issues.” Want to learn more?

SES London 2012

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
3:30pm-4:30pm (GMT)
Site Redesign?  Don’t Forget SEO Migration!

Presenters
Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of “Optimize”
Russell O’Sullivan, Healthspan Digital Marketing Manager

While the planning, creation, and implementation of a new website design or content management system (CMS) can be exciting many companies do not consider how this change can affect their search engine visibility.  This session will provide a best practices approach for anyone looking to implement a new:

• Website Design
• Content Management System
• Aggregation of Multiple Websites

Odden’s presentation will provide insights into SEO migration issues involving both technical SEO and content marketing considerations.

Of course this isn’t Lee’s first time speaking at SES London. Watch this “scoop” video interview with Google’s Adam Lasnik where he discusses how to avoid issues with rich media and duplicate content penalties in 2008. Note his reference to proper Author attribution which is even more important today:

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
9:30am-10:30am (GMT)
Social Media Solutions on a Budget

Moderator: Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of “Optimize”

Presenters
Andrew Girdwood, bigmouthmedia Media Innovations Director
Paul Madden, Automica Limited Owner
Marcus Tober, SearchMetrics Inc. CTO

Social Media Marketing is an industry that is so quickly evolving businesses large and small can become easily overwhelmed.  No matter the size of your organization there is a way for you to become and remain social media relevant.  Starting this process does not have to involve a large investment as their are a multitude of free or low-cost tools at your disposal.  By implementing some of these resources you can begin generating new business, create awareness, and engage your target audience via social media.

Thursday, February 23, 2012
12:45pm-1:45pm (GMT)
Developing a Video Optimisation and Marketing Campaign

Moderator: Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of “Optimize”

Presenters
Massimo Burgio, Global Search Interactive Founder & Chief Strategist
Greg Jarboe, SEO-PR President & Co-Founder

What makes a successful video marketing campaign?  While breaking into video production and marketing can be a daunting task you don’t have to blend an iPhone or sit on a horse backwards pitching shower gel to have a successful video marketing campaign.  This session will share case studies of successful video marketing campaigns, specific advanced optimisation tactics, and YouTube networking advice aimed at taking your next video marketing projects to a higher level.

Thursday, February 23, 2012
3:30pm-4:30pm (GMT)
Duplicate Content and Multiple Site Issues

Moderator: Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of “Optimize”

Presenters
Samuel Crocker, OMD SEO Associate Director
Ralph Tegtmeier, Fantomaster

The fear of creating duplicate content and being penalized by search engines is in the mind of many marketers today.  This session will take a look at various options that are available to you and answer questions such as:

• If you run mirror sites, will search engines ban you?
• What happens if you syndicate content through RSS and feeds?
• With other sites be considered the “real” site and rob you of a rightful place in search results?

Event Details
SES London
February 20-24, 2012

The Queen Elizabeth II
Conference Centre
Broad Sanctuary, London

Register Now

Below is a video interview from SES London in 2001 with Bas van den Beld from State of Search blog and  Lee that discusses personalized search and Lee’s lack of confidence at the time about social search as a stand alone method of consumer discovery. He discusses a more holistic approach towards consumer information discovery, consumption and sharing and recommends optimizing for that – vs. soley for search or just social media.

We hope to see you all at SES London next week.  Be sure to follow the conference buzz on Twitter under the hashtag: #SESLondon.  If you’re interested in learning more about the specific sessions be sure to visit the Agenda page on the SES London website. TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be Tweeting, and interacting at the event and can be found on Twitter at @LeeOdden for those of you who don’t already follow him.

TopRank Online Marketing makes it our mission to deliver the results that we promise to our clients.  SEO agencies, corporate marketers and PR firms around the world use PRWeb as an essential tool in their mix of SEO and online marketing tactics.  As a testament to our expertise and longstanding relationship, PRWeb has chosen to work with TopRank Online Marketing to be it’s SEO agency.   We would also like to take this opportunity to share what has made the TopRank Online Marketing and  PRWeb’s SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing program successful.

PRWeb

Company Background
PRWeb is a leading provider of online press release distribution services.  The company strives to provide a robust tool at an affordable price for organizations of any size, enabling them to increase online visibility in news and regular search engines like Google as well as attract new customers.

How it Works
PRWeb thrives on creating a simple and efficient means of distributing your company announcements on major news sites and search engines on the Internet.  The graphic below shares a sampling of just a few of the online news sources that PRWeb will interact with on your behalf.

Photo provided by www.PRWeb.com

History with TopRank Online Marketing
PRWeb began working with TopRank Online Marketing over 4 years ago.  Our program has consisted of a combination of SEO, Content Marketing, and Social Media.  Some of the program details include:

Customer Goals

• Increase traffic to PRWeb.com and Service.prweb.com
• Improve visibility of press releases through targeted optimization
• Identify new content creation opportunities

How TopRank Online Marketing Helped PRWeb Increase Traffic to Multiple Destinations

• SEO Services: An aggressive SEO Implementation program aimed at improving overall search performance of PRWeb websites to attract public relations, marketing professionals and small business customers
• Blogging: The teams have developed concepts based on search trends and customer pain points to provide a cohesive content marketing strategy.
• Content Marketing Optimization: TopRank worked with PRWeb to identify keywords that resonated with their target audience.  A multi pronged approach was leveraged to develop new optimized content while also repurposing existing content to better align with customer needs

What Were Our Results?

We have found that by implementing a cohesive program based both on search engine visibility and unique content we are able to drive traffic and build awareness.  The improvement of quality traffic has ultimately led to an increase in customers for PRWeb.

Not sure if working with a company like TopRank is a fit for your organization?  Please take some time to review the statements below:

• I would like to better engage my current and potential customers.
• I know that I need to execute a meaningful content strategy but am not sure where to begin.
• I am currently executing an online strategy but my results are not aligned with my efforts.
• I simply don’t have time to formulate and execute an online marketing strategy.
• Ultimately, I would like to acquire and retain more customers.

If you believe that any of the statements above reflect your current situation and you too would like to get in front of more customers by executing a cohesive, engaging, customer centric marketing strategy please do not hesitate to contact us today.

At this years conference TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be giving a solo presentation titled “Optimize This: Integrating Social, SEO, & Content” and co-presenting a session titled “The Convergence of Search, Social, & Content Marketing”.  Want to learn more?

Online Marketing Summit 2012

Tuesday, February 7, 2012
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM – Optimize This: Integrating Social, SEO, & Content
Location: Sapphire H
Solo Presentation by: Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of “Optimize”

Lee Odden is a firm believer that If it can be searched it can be optimized and that it’s far more valuable to optimize for customers before keywords.  This session will provide principles and best practices for attracting and engaging more customers through an “Optimize and Socialize” approach to Content Marketing. You’ll learn:

• Strategies for integrating content marketing with SEO and social media across the enterprise
• Develop customer persona-driven content that attracts, engages and inspires action
• Killer creative content ideas for websites, blogging, social media and re-purposed content

As the online marketplace evolves and becomes increasingly competitive, marketers around the world are searching for advantages that can increase their efficiencies, and improve the performance of online marketing efforts.  Many companies are implementing Content Marketing, SEO and Social Media programs but few are integrating them or coordinating optimized and socialized content across the organization. This session will provide a valuable perspective, roadmap and tactical mix for integrating Content Marketing, SEO and Social Media in ways that you can implement today.

Event Details
OMS San Diego
February 6-10, 2012

Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101

More Info & Register
(Use Discount code TOPRANK10 and save 10%)

SES Accelerator

Tuesday, February 9, 2012
10:00 AM – 10:50 AM – The Convergence of Search, Social, & Content Marketing
Location: Sapphire I
Presenters
Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of  “Optimize”
Arnie Kuenn, Vertical Measures President and author of “Accelerate”

What makes great content?  Content does not become great until your audience finds it, reads it, and shares it.  Curious to know what you can do to increase your odds of being found in both Search and Social Media?  This session featuring Lee Odden and Arnie Kuenn will present an approach to content optimization that emphasizes the convergence of Search, Social Media and Content.  Lee and Arnie will provide step-by-step advice and examples that can be applied by an organization of any size to increase relevant website and social media traffic.

Event Details
SES Search & Social Accelerator
February 9, 2012

Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101

More Info & Register
(Use Discount code TOPRANK10 and save 10%)

We hope to see you all at the Online Marketing Summit and SES Accelerator in San Diego next week.  Be sure to follow the conference buzz on Twitter under the hashtag: #OMS12.  If you’re interested in learning more about the specific sessions or workshops be sure to visit the Schedule page on the OMS website or the Agenda on the SES Accelerator site.

TopRank will be live blogging, Tweeting and networking at the event of course and can find us on Twitter at: @LeeOdden or @AZeckman.

Looking for some interesting things to do while you’re in San Diego?  I found this great list of “25 Fun & Free Things to Do in San Diego.”  Also, I don’t know if there are any other “Top Chef” fans out there but I have heard a lot of great things about Chef Brain Malarkey’s restaurant Searsucker and it’s less than a mile from the conference.  Hope to see you all there!

• What’s the right time to understand who your best customers are? Who are your “worst” customers?
• When is it a good time to know what your prospects and customers care about and why they buy?
• What triggers your prospects to discover, consume and engage with content that inspires sales, social shares and referrals?
• Does having no content plan really mean you’re planning to fail?
• If you don’t tie your SEO, Social Media and Online Public Relations efforts together in a way that’s “manageable” and efficient now, will you wait until your competition does?
• When will you need a community of supporters to help promote your content, provide you with new content and serve as an on-demand focus group?
• When is it a good time to create more efficient and effective means for journalists and the media to use your content in their news stories?
• When is the right time to measure which content messages are working, which are not and to gain actionable insights that will improve overall marketing and PR performance?

The questions above get at some of the core principles and benefits of content marketing. Online marketers rely on channels like email, online PR, search and social media to generate awareness, leads and sales. Content is at the core of all those means of communication and without a plan that coordinates content planning, creation, optimization, social promotion and measurement, companies are simply guessing and getting lucky with their current online marketing efforts.

Without planned content designed to attract, engage and inspire action with prospects, customers and industry influentials, companies may find themselves looking in the tail lights of their competitors in the distance. Why wait to start the race when you can get a head start with Content Marketing today?

I want to really connect with my customers.
The first step in connecting with your customers involves knowing who they are.  Run a survey of your existing customers to help develop personas based upon their answers.  From there you will have a better sense of what type of communication they prefer, how they interact with content, and their pain points.  What steps should you take to get this accomplished?

• Create a 5-10 question survey using a service like www.surveymonkey.com
• Email the survey out to existing customers with a brief explanation stating that you want to better understand their needs.
• Review the data collected and create 3-5 unique personas based on the information.
• Begin creating a marketing plan with unique content streams aimed at reaching those persona types

I want to implement a social media plan and stick with it.
In order to map out a social media strategy you need to first understand where you are at.  A meaningful and engaging social media strategy should be focused on increasing interaction and generating results.

• Repurpose Content: Be thoughtful about the manner in which you are repurposing content.  By slightly changing your posts you can easily highlight different key points while avoiding the need to start from scratch.
• Interact Regularly:  A successful social media strategy contains 1 part promotion, 3 parts great content, and 6 parts engagement.  Plan on scheduling time to interact with potential customers and current clients on a regular basis.
• Optimize Your Content: If your content can be searched online it can be optimized.  Use proper keywords and search phrases when creating customer centric content.

I want to start a blog to share with my customers.
Starting a new blog or refreshing an existing blog can be a daunting experience.  However, there are some simple best practices that you can implement to improve the experience for yourself as well as your customers.

• Sourcing Content:  A great way to source content for your blog is to survey your existing customers.  This will give you insight into their pain points and information that they would like to learn more about.
• Stand Out:  In a sea of blogs, social media sites, and content it is imperative that you create a unique hook or angle that differentiates your blog from other blogs online.
• Do Your Homework:  Spend some time looking at the blogs that you follow and determine what attracts you to them.  Also, you will want to spend some time researching your top competitors to determine how their customers react and engage with their content.

Know Your Audience.  Take the time to learn your audience as well as your competitors.  What Facebook pages do your potential customers like? What sort of information are they sharing?  By identifying and researching your customers you are able to identify what they are doing well (and wrong) and how users are responding to the information that they are providing.

Use Relevant Keywords.  Not only does Facebook have it’s own robust search engine but the content housed on Facebook also filters through to other search engines such as Google and Bing.  Optimize your information and content the same way that you would any other digital media.  Using relevant keywords and keyword phrases will increase your changes of visibility.

Interact Regularly.  Facebook is not a one way street.  Simply soliciting followers to become “fans” of your page is a one sided marketing strategy.  There are some very simple actions you can take to increase your visibility.  For example you may want to consider following prospective clients that you have identified.  If you find a post of theirs interesting take the extra step to not only “like” the information but interact with it as well by posting a sincere comment responding to the topic.

Be Friendly.  Brands, individuals, and organizations like to interact with people that are friendly.  Inserting personality and personalization to posts encourages others to share your content.  In order to increase your following provide information on things that people like that will encourage further communication or next steps.

Create Strong Calls to Action.  Asking questions is a great way to encourage interaction with Facebook users.  However, what other tactics can be used to inspire engagement?  There are a variety of free tools available to create polls, surveys, and run contests to encourage interaction with your Facebook audience.  A simple landing page that offers “10 tips on improving your marketing strategy” for filling out a couple lines of contact information is also a great way to entice your audience to take next steps.   Because you are offering something of value that can be applied their business they will be more likely to participate.

As with any other marketing initiative your Facebook presence should be an ongoing strategy.  You should be constantly researching, creating fresh content, monitoring results, and adapting your strategy to improve results.

Research & Use Keywords. Optimize your blog for search engines. Use a keyword research tool to create a keyword glossary of words related to your brand, business, topic or industry that are in demand. Content creators should use the glossary as a reference for planning, writing and publishing content online.

Create a Content Plan. Create a structured, yet flexible content plan for your business blog. Assign topics and keywords to any planned articles, blog posts, curated news and other content. Its okay to expect some “wildcard” posts in case breaking industry news occurs, as long as content creators expect to consult the keyword list when posting.

Use Keywords Everywhere. Have you noticed a theme? Keywords are a blog’s most important feature for attracting organic traffic, but repetitive use in body text can turn readers off. To increase keyword density without sacrificing content quality, use keywords everywhere: In post titles, anchor text for URLs, tags, post categories, image alt text, audio and video title names, metadata, etc.

Create Valuable Content. Varied, compelling content draws readers back frequently to check for updates. Include wide-ranging content and formats in your blog posts, as they relate to your business, brand or industry. Some examples of types of posts that are popular include lists, FAQs, how-tos, interviews, industry news, current events, photo spreads and infographics.

The Three Cs. Get some of your content from the outside your organization through Curation, Comments and Crowdsourcing. Share posts from important blogs in your industry. Write posts that address poignant comments. Create surveys, polls and contests that result in content from your target market. Give audiences motivation to participate. Don’t forget to link – outbound links attract inbound links!

Quality Over Quantity. Some people post once a month, others by the week and even a few swear by blogging every day. But the quantity of posts that you publish isn’t as important as the quality. Quality over quantity will keep the readers of your business blog engaged and coming back for more.

Balance. Find a balance of optimizing blog text keywords and context for readers and search engines: Don’t forget that your target reader isn’t a computer. Offset curated content with original content. Find the right timing, for you and your brand, to publish new posts and remain consistent.

Incorporate Gadgets. You can share your work, but truly successful blog posts are distributed far and wide by zealous readers. Encourage this with gadgets embedded in each post or on each page, like RSS syndication feeds, widgets for social bookmark sites and buttons to instantly share posts via Twitter, Facebook or other social media sites. This gives more visibility and can help to build more links.

Getting the most value from a business blog takes a little knowledge and a lot of strategy, but it doesn’t have to be time consuming. Follow the tips above and you’ll be well on your way to reaping the benefits blogs can provide to companies.