I was recently browsing around checking out websites of digital/media/advertising/marketing agencies in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and being an SEO, I had to analyse their websites in every detail.

Not surprisingly, many were going for the ‘wow’ factor and not the SEO factor but what bothered me even more was the social media presence of these companies.

It was as if some companies couldn’t be bothered either being involved or they just didn’t feel like showing everyone they were embracing social.

It’s a bit odd if you’re on Twitter or Facebook or YouTube or Google+ but you don’t have any links/icons linking to those profiles from your footer/homepage. It’s bad enough if it’s only on the Contact page but when it’s not there altogether, that’s just plain bad.

It’s a bit like being an SEO company but not ranking anywhere decent for any relevant/worthwhile keyword. Or being a dentist with horrible teeth.

This isn’t just an issue with agencies but I cite them because if anyone should be doing this right, it should be them. But the lesson is for all and sundry:

1. Embrace social media – it’s no longer an option.

2. Don’t be afraid to share it with the world. Place icons and links from your footer (small but noticeable icons are fine if design is an issue) and be sure to include links within your email signatures (such an underused promotional tool).

3. Take the time to be active on these social networks. If you’re not sure how to make it work for you, there’s no harm or shame in seeing what the competition is up to (if they’re doing it right). If they’re running FB only competitions that are well received, you need to do that too.

Social is about being public – when you’re a business and a brand, you can’t escape this. It’s a different ball game on a personal level but that’s for you to worry about and be quite selective with whom and what you share.

As a business with an online presence, you need to be out there in the face of your customer. Just think about a company like Coca Cola. Coke is the most popular cola in the world but the company doesn’t rest on its laurels. It gets out there and in your face everywhere it can. It’s currently using social in a big way (just look at their FB page) and their ‘share a coke with <name>’ campaign is a big social success.

Learn from the big guns.

So it’s been a long time coming but I’ve finally connected my blog to Twitterfeed for automatic Tweeting of my blog posts as they happen.

This is a great concept and everyone should be using it! Saves you the bother of getting a link from your blog post, logging into Twitter, tweeting and ensuring it all fits within 140chars etc etc.

Check it out.. www.twitterfeed.com

SEO is a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365 day a year thing.

It’s as simple as that.

It begins the moment you start planning your website, it continues throughout development, launch and is as essential to your website’s success as breathing is to your well-being.

People who know SEO and are into their SEO don’t just make the magic happen between 9am and 5pm. They make it happen whenever, whereever.

It’s almost midnight and I’ve just had some great ideas for a few clients and I’m wide awake, blogging this while making some SEO magic happen for my clients.

Some say I’m working too hard. Some would say it’s not smart. Some may say that I need to train myself to make the magic happen during work hours so I can spend my free time doing other things.

SEO is my life and I make the magic happen all day, every day. From coming up with viral marketing ideas as linkbait to exploring areas for easy links – if it’s SEO, it’s on the brain, all the time.

Despite what you may think, this doesn’t prevent me from having a social life!

I carry a trusty notebook and pen with me almost everywhere because you never know when the inspiration will hit!

SEO – I know it. And I’m good at it. Hit me up!

A schedule of activities is a plan of action for your client’s SEO campaign, which gives a general view of what will be done and relative timeframes.

Giving your client an indicaiton of what will happen and when is mandatory and the least you can do for your new SEO client because it not only gives you an idea of what you need to do but also puts their minds at ease knowing that you have direction in what you’re trying to achieve.

From experience, nothing bugs clients more than having to chase you up constantly asking for updates or for your plan for the coming weeks and months. This is often not a case of ‘annoying client’ but more of ‘uninformed client’ and all because they weren’t given an idea of what’s going on.

You don’t need to get into the nitty gritty – save that for when things actually happen and for your own internal notes.

An example of an SEO schedule of activities will contain the following:

- a plan for 6 months (or otherwise, depending on your contract) – this shows long term vision!
- month by month breakdown in the areas of overall strategy, on-site SEO and link building (doesn’t hurt to give expected outcomes as well)
- indication of when reports will be prepared, distributed and discussed (and the type of reports too, eg. monthly progress report, quarterly report, half yearly report, etc)

If you’re a well-organised person, you’ll already be doing something of this nature anyway but for the rest of us, it’s a good habit to get into and once you do, you’ll wonder how you ever worked without it.

SEO is on-going and long term. Many people don’t appreciate this aspect of SEO but with a well-organised schedule of activities, you can help develop the appreciation and maintain cordial relations with your clients.

Appreciate your thoughts!

Check out this cool word cloud which represents the content of my blog:

created at wordle.net

I often get asked why I always choose server logs over data from Google Analytics. But let me clarify.

I don’t always do this and I don’t discount Google Analytics either. The reason why I like to use both and much prefer server logs than Google Analytics is that the data from a server is always going to be the most accurate. Google Analytics is known to miss a few things and is more useful in identifying trends.

Server logs gives you raw data which is useful for quick facts. Google Analytics makes it all pretty and gives you more readable data, or rather, data that is more accessible to the lay public.

Google Analytics is a great tool that is also free but I don’t recommend that you discount server logs altogether.

If you run an online store and your products are the kinds of things people wouldn’t mind sharing info about, then you really have to consider adding a little widget or button to your order confirmation page that integrates with the customer’s twitter page which tweets such information.

A classic example would be something like: “I just bought a Google Nexus One from MobiCity.com.au – http://short.url – it’s awesome!”

People like to show off a bit, esp. with gadgets and you can customise what it says and try different ones. Of course it’s totally optional but it’s handy for getting the word out to people.

Try it!

With my intimate knowledge of SEO, Social Media and the Internet as a whole, I can help with the management of your online reputation, particularly if you’re the victim of some negative publicity.

I use a combination of micro sites, social media posts, blogs, discussion forums and other methods in order to throw a veil over the negative publicity whilst promoting you in a more positive light.

If you require online reputation management, you can talk to me.

Yes, that’s right. I’m offering free SEO advice to charities!

I know I’m not the first person to do so and it’s something I’ve always done but I decided to be even more open about it.

I’ve worked for years with all sorts of charity groups in a variety of capacities…usually as their techie. I’ve built websites, designed flyers and I’ve done lots of grunt work too.

I know money is ALWAYS an issue, esp. with promoting your cause, which is why I’m more than happy to help you with your Internet strategy and provide your charity with FREE SEO.

Get in touch and let’s make it happen.

I found an IT Support company website where they had setup a blog, with an interesting twist.

Although their blog posts were about IT Support, Broadband Internet and IT Security, they somehow managed to ensure every single post, regardless of content, featured their primary keywords… and they linked those keywords back to relevant pages on their website.

Now personally, it looks like overkill. It doesn’t read too well and in all honesty, dilutes any link juice potential.

What they should rather do is focus on being very topical and ensuring that they use only relevant keywords when linking back to aspects of their website. I think this has better benefits, is less spam-like and will also read better as a whole.

Another tip regarding blog posts for your company website is not to go too crazy with keyword tagging! Keep it as relevant as possible – no more than 3-4 keywords, ideally. There’s no need to spam each post with keywords out of fear of missing out!