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Should your B2B company be using social media

Should your B2B company be using social media?

The answer is a resounding yes. I hear this question all the time, especially when talking to companies about their marketing. Most B2B companies have hopped on the social bandwagon and know social media is a valuable marketing outlet, but they don’t know how it fits into their business model. Most B2B business owners or presidents make the mistake of thinking they don’t need to be on social media because they sell products that aren’t for the everyday consumer. When thinking this, they are forgetting some of the crucial ways why social media is important. It’s not all about selling a product or creating brand awareness, it’s about much more.

It’s About SEO.  

I’m sure you have all heard the term SEO before; some marketing person telling you something about Google and how it’s important. In defense of the marketing person, it is important – better yet, it’s imperative. Despite being a B2B company, social media can be used in correlation with SEO. SEO is all about getting your website and other media on the first page of Google. This is important because it pushes your competitors media and website farther down the page and provides more outlets for your customers to contact you. There’s much more that could be said, but let’s move to the next reason.

It’s About Your Brand Story.

Utilizing social media allows you to push your brand out to the digital landscape and let people know exactly who you are and what you stand for. It’s somewhat difficult to show why you’re different and why companies should be doing business with you just from your website. With social media, you can create and push out content that is engaging and shows why companies should do business with you and only you. That’s not all though, there’s more.

It’s About Brand Integration

This may go without saying, but Integration on social media is key. Look at your website as your foundation or digital hub of sorts. Your social media allows you to have other outlets to funnel or lead the customer to your website. This gives you more opportunity to capture leads and make sales.

Final Thoughts

These are only a few ways how social media can benefit and be used by a B2B company. Just remember, simply creating social media isn’t enough and if not used properly, it can actually hurt you. It’s also a problem If you create social media and post, but the consumer doesn’t find the content valuable. Making sure you utilize the platforms and provide content that engages the audience helps with SEO, funneling your consumer to your website, and ultimately leading to more sales and business overall. Don’t be left behind while your competitors take advantage of what’s out there. Be better than your competition!

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What’s All the Buzz about Google Hummingbird?

If you’re tapped in to the SEO-verse, you’ve probably noticed some commotion in the past couple of weeks. On September 26, Google announced the birth of Hummingbird, a major update to its search algorithm. Hummingbird is perhaps Google’s most significant update since 2001, and was thought to replace all previous algorithm tweaks, like Panda and Penguin. Then on October 4, another update to Penguin rolled out. Huh?

What the heck is Hummingbird? What did it do to poor Penguin and Panda? And what does it all mean for your SEO strategy? Allow me to explain.

First off, it’s probably time to stop losing our minds every time Google releases an update. The company actually changes its search algorithm between 500-600 times per year—and we almost never know the difference. Developers following SEO best practices, in particular, should rarely take a turn for the worse after an algorithm change.

I choose you, Hummingbird

When an update is major enough to affect a significant percentage of searches, however, Google will make an announcement—usually in the form of a tweet from Matt Cutts. But Hummingbird got way more than 140 characters to declare its arrival. Hummingbird was announced at Google’s 15th birthday party—but in fact, it had already been active for more than a month without anyone knowing.

Google’s search wizards didn’t release much detail about how Hummingbird actually works. But we do know that it’s a response to our shifting reliance on search: more users are speaking questions into their smartphones (“Where can I get Chinese food nearby?”) rather than browsing at their desks.

Hummingbird is geared toward “conversational search” (also called “semantic” or “entity” search)—responding to full questions rather than random strings of keywords. It’s designed to be better than ever at sorting out irrelevant stuff—and giving users the answers they need, as quickly as possible.

What about earlier algorithm updates?

As I’ve explained before, Google’s Panda and Penguin updates were built weed out to low-quality and spam-filled sites, respectively. So did Hummingbird’s razor-sharp beak and motor-fast wings tear cuddly Panda and Penguin to shreds? Hardly.

Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land explains it this way: think of Google search like a car engine. It might be high-quality, but over years of use, it will simply become outdated. Hummingbird is like a brand-new engine. Penguin and Panda, in contrast, are like an oil filter and a fresh batch of coolant: they still help the car run its best. But they can be swapped out easily without affecting the whole system.

That means we can still expect to see Panda and Penguin updates, even with Hummingbird now in place. So no, you’re not suddenly off the hook if you’ve been using black-hat tactics—you’ll still be penalized for tricks like spammy backlinks. (Penguin 2.1, released October 4, particularly zeroed in on this issue.)

What’s an SEO to do?

We don’t know much yet about how Hummingbird actually works. So it’s hard to say how to make the most of it. Because Hummingbird seems to favor content written as answers to potential search queries, it might be tempting to frame every page title in the form of a question. Eric Ward, also at Search Engine Land, cautions against this—as past updates have taught us, there are consequences for going overboard or trying to game the system. He does offer a few tips for how you might use Hummingbird to your advantage and integrate it naturally into your site.

Above all, there doesn’t seem to be much cause for concern. As Google’s been telling us for years now, we should stop obsessing over the algorithm’s particulars. Instead, create awesome content that’s helpful to users, and traffic will follow.

Does your site match up to Google’s latest guidelines? Give Atomic a call, and we’ll get you up to speed.

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SEO: Slow and Steady Wins the Ranks

Google released an update to its Penguin algorithm last month. And naturally, bloggers all over the web are sharing their thoughts. I read one article that summed up Penguin 2.0’s impact pretty well: SEO “silver bullets” are no more.

Before Google’s search algorithms got as smart as they are now, there were plenty of backhanded, “black-hat” strategies SEOs could use to boost their rankings. Things like building inbound links from phony sites, stuffing keywords unnecessarily into content, or posting click-grubbing comments on external blogs.

Savvy SEO pros gave these tactics up years ago. But the truth is, even among so-called “white hat” techniques, there’s no one fix that will guarantee the search ranking you want—and keep you immune to Google’s changing algorithms.

That’s because the “silver bullets” of past SEO dogma focus on the short term. But as SEO’s evolution shows, rankings with true staying power don’t come cheap. You’ve gotta work for them.

What’s an SEO master to do? Keep sites fresh with regular, relevant content.

Of course, I can’t make Atomic’s clients do content marketing. But I can help them get started on the right track. Here are a few things we suggest:

• Set up a blog. And actually use it. We encourage clients to plan a calendar for publishing blogs—and make sure everyone understands who’s responsible for what (even if that means outsourcing to a copywriting team). Regular updates means Google will index your site more quickly—and you’ll build authority in your area of expertise.

• Schedule regular check-ups. I recommend an overall site review at least twice a year to ensure links are functional, verify information is correct, and adjust, if needed, to the demands of new search guidelines. This reveals less obvious problems inadvertently sabotaging your rank.

• Look at your numbers. A peek at your site’s analytics can show how users are engaging with your site. Are they finding you primarily on mobile devices or via social links? Mainly through mentions on other sites? These insights can help you build a better user experience over time.

Content marketing and ongoing site review aren’t the easiest ways to do SEO. But they’re the closest thing to a silver bullet we’ve got (more like a slow, strategically planned attack than a single bullet, really).

Best of all, they’re sustainable—they’ll keep you on top no matter what algorithm tweaks come and go. And if search result domination is what you want, the effort is worth it.

It’s time to stop searching for the next quick fix—and instead, commit to great content. Let’s get to work.

Need help refining your site’s long-term SEO strategy? Let the Atomic team help.

 

3 Tips for SEO Superpowers

As Atomic’s digital marketing and SEO pro, it’s up to me to know the latest in keeping web content optimized for Google. It’s not an easy job. The tricky thing about SEO is, the rules are always changing—and what’s right for one industry doesn’t necessarily work for another. But there are a few tips I try to apply to just about every client project. And lucky for you, I’m willing to share.

1. First things first: You need a strategy. If there’s one thing you don’t want to go at blind, it’s your website’s SEO. (Okay, and maybe climbing Mt. Everest. But SEO is a close second.)

That’s because when you’re optimizing your site for search, you have to be clear about what exactly you want it to show up in search results for. Google’s site-scanners are smart—but they can’t read minds. And if the words on your site don’t reflect the search terms you’re after, you’ll be banished to the far pages of Google’s search results. So decide where you want to stake your claim before you start developing content.

2. Choose your keywords wisely. You have a general idea of how you want to position your site. Now, how do you make sure it pops up on Page 1 of a search?

First, try tools like Google Suggest (those words that drop down when you’re typing in a query) and Google Trends (which shows how many people have searched for different terms, over time and by region). Type in a few terms related to your industry or product, and see what people are searching for. You’ll see that more generic terms tend to get lots of hits, which is a plus—but it also means that lots of sites are likely “optimizing” (read: competing) for them, too.

The key is to strike a balance between using keywords and phrases that people are likely to search for—and carving out a keyword niche that your brand can own. For example, if you sell rock climbing gear, a word like “climbing” is probably too broad. But optimizing for a phrase like “rock climbing shoes”—or whatever other product you want to spotlight—will help deliver users straight to your homepage.

3. Keep content up to date. A big SEO no-no is a site with broken links, incorrect meta tags, and outdated content. To make sure your hard-earned ranking stays strong over time, you’ll need to perform regular maintenance to make sure all of your site’s nuts and bolts are tight.

One great way to do this? Pair your SEO strategy (remember Tip #1?) with a regular content marketing strategy. If you’re regularly publishing blogs, social media content, and case studies on your site, Google will see that your site is alive and well. That’s called organic marketing—and it’s great for SEO!

Plus, there’s no better time to check that links, title tags, and other back-end stuff on your site is up to date…than when you’re already updating. Plan to schedule a regular “SEO check” at the same time you’re uploading your blog posts for the month, for example.

I can’t predict what Google’s next algorithm update will demand of SEO marketers. But I do know this: if you want your site to get noticed, you can’t afford to ignore SEO. It doesn’t have to be scary—but like climbing a mountain, running a marathon, or anything else, the first step is to winning is getting in the game.

Need help developing an SEO strategy or keeping your site ranking strong? Call Atomic, and we’ll show you how it’s done.

 

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The Skinny on Digital Press Releases

At Atomic, we want to help you spread the word about your brand. We do that through awesome-looking websites and killer social media strategy. But we also do it the old-fashioned way: by creating and distributing press releases.

Press releases are a great way to build brand awareness. They’re perfect for letting people know about a cool new website or upcoming product launch. Their format has changed plenty since the snail mail days: now, press releases are media-rich, and built with sharing in mind. (Today’s press release isn’t complete without a custom hashtag, a tweet-worthy title, high-quality images and video, and links to social sites.)

We write and distribute content to press release companies, who then share info with relevant news outlets. News can get picked up by anyone from bloggers to traditional journalists in print or broadcast media. But like every other corner of the content world, there are plenty of people out there trying to game the system, manipulating distribution services to boost exposure.

News wires are starting to fight back, which is good news for the rest of us. Until then, we tell our clients this: focus on content. If it’s unique, creative, and informative, the links will come. Here are some of our other musts for creating a quality release:

• Present a legitimate news angle. If it’s not new or timely, journalists won’t be interested. Ditto releases that copy previously submitted content.

• Give proper attribution. Correctly name key players (don’t forget to check spelling!), and clearly describe who did what.

• Use an objective tone. Save casual, first-person language for blogging—it doesn’t belong in a news release.

• Be free of ‘salesy’ language. You know what I’m talking about: “Are YOU looking for ways to make money online??” “Buy now!!!” Don’t do it.

• Not contain excessive links. Direct readers to your content—not all over the Web.

• Be at least 250 words. The more detail and depth you offer, the better writers can describe your brand—and the greater your chances of getting picked up.

In a world of oversharing and SEO, you might think that press releases don’t matter much. But it’s actually the opposite: successful press releases lead to instant web traffic. They also raise trust in your brand—among journalists, customers, and Google alike.

Need help creating a headline-grabbing digital press release? Contact Atomic, and we’ll help you out.

 

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Attack of the Penguin (Update)

Google rolled out version three of its Penguin algorithm a few weeks back, and SEO folk everywhere took note. The original Penguin was released in April, and targeted sites that Google considers spam. (In contrast to last year’s Panda, which went after low-quality sites, Penguin is built to weed out violators of Google’s anti-spam guidelines.)

What’s new with Penguin 3

Victims of Penguin’s wrath include keyword-stuffed sites, link schemes (manipulation of links to or from a site), “cloaking” (showing search engines and users different content), and content that’s purposefully duplicated from other pages.

With each update, Penguin has gotten smarter. The first version of the algorithm affected 3.1 percent of sites across the web; the latest update affected just 0.3 percent, as most sneaky sites have already been sorted out.

Who cares? You might be wondering. If you’re not one of the sad content creators still trying to boost rankings the shady way, you’ve got nothing to worry about, right? Well, yes and no. If you’re following Google’s quality guidelines and aren’t doing anything clearly unethical, you shouldn’t get hit too hard. On the other hand, you could be racking up penalties unintentionally.

For example, maybe you haven’t updated your site in a while, and some of your outbound links are now defunct. Or maybe you have just one more keyword per paragraph than Penguin likes. You may not notice a huge ranking change, but you’ll pay the price.

How to fight back

What’s an upstanding SEO manager to do? Stay informed on updates like Penguin. There are plenty of plugins and software you can download to make sure you’re in the clear (I use free plugin SEOquake). Also, check out SEO news sites, blogs, and head Google spam-slayer Matt Cutts’ infamous Twitter feed.

At Atomic, we keep our clients’ websites search-friendly by running a checkup every few months using a checklist of SEO guidelines. Staying current and updating regularly saves us time in the long run—and ensures that we’re prepared for what’s ahead. That way, when the SEO gods at Google unleash their next beast (Platypus? Prairie Dog?), we’ll be ready for it.

SEO still a total mystery? Contact Atomic and we’ll help you fight off Penguin and Panda alike.

Five Things a Legit SEO Marketing Company Won’t Do

Marketing a business online through search engine optimization is a great way to draw in targeted customers at a low cost. The problem with most companies, though, is that many don’t know how to get their website ranking for the keywords they want. This is where a search engine marketing company will come into play. With thousands of SEO companies out there, it’s important to distinguish the good from the bad. Since so many scams are floating around in cyberspace, here are five things a legitimate SEO company will never do:

#1 Guaranteed Rankings – To the Top in 48 Hours!

Search engines can be very unpredictable and if a company ever claims that they can get you number one rankings, it’s best to run very fast. First off, how can they get these number on rankings? Do they have some special relationship with the search engines? Probably not. With a natural marketing strategy, rankings will usually follow.

#2 Unknown Company Name – Who are They?

A great SEO company won’t only offer a great sales pitch but they will have a great presence online. Since they will practice what they preach, a good company will rank for great terms and have a great reputation online. Usually, a quick search for the company will bring up some decent results. If you’re reading a lot of negativity or nothing at all, it’s safe to say that this company may not know what they are doing. Now, this isn’t always the case, but if you can’t find anything about them, it’s safe to consider someone else.

#3 It’s a Secret – We Won’t Share

If a company won’t talk about their marketing strategy or content development up front, then there’s probably something to hide. See, most search engines rely on hundreds of factors. One of those main factors include gaining backlinks from other sources to your website. If your website has thousands of unnatural looking backlinks, then this can actually come around to bite you in the butt down the road. A great company will not only lay out a plan but they will tell you exactly how they are going to promote you to the top. Always make sure that you get this information in writing.

#4 Spelling and Grammar

Upon landing on a SEO website, it’s important to read the content that they have written. A lot of the bad SEO services out there are outsourced through countries such as the Philippines or India. While there are great companies in these countries, a lot of them have shady tactics that just don’t work. A great way to find these bad businesses is simply by reading their sales copy on the front page. Since there’s a good chance that they will work on content development for your website, would you want the world to know that your website can’t spell or write right?

#5 Bad References – Nothing to Show

A great company can showcase a lot of the clients that they worked for. Wouldn’t it be impressive if a company could rank a client for the terms like “credit cards.” If they can prove they can do something like this, then the proof is in the pudding. Yes, it’s a cliché, but it’s so true. Always ask for references and a portfolio before signing a long-term contract.

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The New Face of SEO: Life After Google’s Panda Update

In 2011, Google changed how it ranks websites in its search results. Google’s new ranking algorithm is called Google Panda, and this algorithm is intended to promote high-quality, informative websites and weed out spam-filled web pages. Marketers and business owners alike should be aware of these changes. Websites that continue to use old practices will fall in the rankings under the new guidelines and this can cause companies to lose potential customers and clients. Keep reading to find out more about life after Google’s Panda update and important new SEO practices.

No More Keyword Stuffing

The new changes penalize websites for stuffing their content with keywords. Articles need to be informative and well-written. A large number of spelling mistakes and other typos on a website can also damage its search engine ranking. Instead of trying to game the search engine system, companies should focus on creating articles that website visitors will find legitimately valuable. Keywords can still be used sparingly, but should no longer be the primary focus of any article.

Plagiarized Website Copy Can Get A Website Banned 

One of the worst things that a company can do is steal content from another website. Although this practice has been common in the past, the Google Panda algorithm specifically looks for instances of plagiarism. If a website is determined to be composed of stolen content, Google might delete the page from its search engine entirely. Companies should invest in original, well-written content for their web pages.

Relationships And Contacts Are Key

Google’s Panda algorithm wants to promote websites that are considered trustworthy and authoritative, and one of the ways Google Panda makes this determination is by counting the number of pages that link back to the original article. Companies should work on relationship building by encouraging visitors to share articles and features. By including social media buttons, websites can make it easier for visitors to share pages. Social media engagement can help boost a website’s search engine ranking and help companies with relationship building online. Marketers should make sure that every article published on their client’s website is worthy of sharing.

Fresh Content Is More Important Than Ever

Under the new search ranking guidelines, fresh, high-quality content is more important than ever. Google Panda privileges websites that are updated frequently over those that are not. Companies should make sure that their pages are not filled with stale content. Updating a website at least once a week is a good strategy. Of course, in the attempt to produce fresh content and comply with new SEO practices, website managers should not forget that all their content should be original, error-free, and informative.

Keep Ads From Cluttering The Page

Google Panda also will penalize websites for overcrowding pages with advertisements. Not only does the inclusion of too many ads make it difficult for readers to navigate a website, but will also cause the page to drop in the search engine rankings. Companies should choose ads for their websites strategically, and should make sure that any ads that are posted do not distract visitors.

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3 Blogging Basics: Why, What, and How

Most of the websites we create include blogs. We consider them a critical component of most websites and most successful SEO strategies.

However, blogging usually represents foreign territory for our clients. They’re unsure why it’s important or what they should write about. And if they’re not IT people, the whole process can seem intimidating.

For those just venturing into business blogging, here’s a basic explanation of why it’s is so darn important — and some quick tips on what to write about.

Why blog at all?

First off, there are too many websites for search engines to monitor in real time. Therefore, how often they crawl a given website depends in large part on how often new content is added.

For example, Google might crawl your website after an absence of three weeks. If new content has been added since then, Google will be more likely to return after only two weeks. And if there’s always new content, that’s a sure sign to Google that someone cares about this website. They’ll start crawling even more frequently.

Conversely, if Google never finds any new content on your site, their spiders might not return for a month or even longer. That means your site is going to do poorly in search results.

So adding new content to your site is a critical way of promoting your search rankings. And what’s the easiest place on a website to add new content? Your blog.

What in the world should I write about?

Once our clients get the importance of new content, they’re willing to start blogging. The next stumbling block? Figuring out what to write about.

Here are some fail-safe suggests.

  • Client problems and the solutions you provided
  • New developments within the company — new employees, a new office
  • Developments within the industry — Is there a new product available? What technology is pushing your industry to change?
  • Fun topics — company parties, company pets, a particularly interesting project
  • Writing specifically for keyword phrases. For example, a client of ours specializes in exterior home improvements and is interested in acquiring roofing leads. He and I created an article on energy-efficient roofing solutions, frequently linking from the article to his roofing page.

 

How do I do it?

I’m not going to belabor this point. Suffice it to say that once I sit down with a new blogger and show them the incredibly easy GUI that modern blogging platforms provide, they’re sold. They can see the parallels between Word and WordPress, and see how easy it is to make the leap.

A final suggestion

So this is the basic information I give to our clients about getting started with blogging. One final suggestion: In terms of content, don’t limit yourself —remember that nearly any content is helpful.

After all, Google learned what you’re selling the first time it crawled your site. It also probably knows 500 other websites selling the same thing. Start blogging and differentiate yourself by out-content-ing your competitors.

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Using Google Analytics to Refine Your Keywords: 4 Basic Steps

Optimizing your website for search is a critical way of bringing visitors to your site. And you do that, in part, by matching the keywords in your site with the words that users type into their search engines. Sounds straightforward enough.

But finding just the right keywords? That’s another matter.

Tools like Google Adwords can be helpful in developing an initial list of targeted keywords and phrases. But there’s no way to predict exactly what phrases web users are going to search to find your site. And it’s difficult to predict what phrases Google will associate with your site.

The answer? Google Analytics.

After your site has been initially optimized and is up and running, you can use Google Analytics to learn exactly what phrases were typed into search engines to find your site. By regularly checking what phrases are attracting visitors, you’ll get a better idea of what phrases should be dominant on your website, and which to target. Often, Google Analytics will turn up phrases that would never have occurred to you on your own.

Here’s an example.

Say you’re a beanbag importer and you’ve optimized a page on your site for “Beanbag Chairs. ” But when you check Google Analytics, you discover that “Children’s Furniture” is unexpectedly attracting lots of web users to your site.

Now you have real-world data on how real users are getting to your site. Here’s what you do in response.

  • Search. The first step is Googling “Children’s Furniture” and locating the first page of your website that appears on Google. You’ll want to make this page your landing page for “Children’s Furniture.”
  • Adjust. Once you’ve identified that page, you can adjust the page’s meta data, content, headlines, images, and image alt tags to increase number of times this new phrase appears.
  • Observe. Over time, these adjustments should improve the Google positioning of your site when “Children’s Furniture” is searched, thus increasing the number of visits to your site.
  • Repeat. Monthly or quarterly, you should repeat this process, discovering what new phrases are taking hold and bringing visitors to your site. And you would adjust your landing pages and content accordingly.

This process is time-consuming and can be tedious, but it’s a critical part of a complete SEO process. Doing it religiously is the only way to ensure that your site stays aligned with what real users are searching for online.