Owning multiple domains containing keywords relevant to your business can boost your search rankings and help rake in significantly bigger traffic - right?  Wrong. It can actually prove to be much more trouble than it’s worth.

Many businesses mistakenly believe that search rankings will be dramatically improved if their domain name contains one or more of the keywords being searched for. However, experts say that the process that makes this work is actually very complicated.

An article on SEOmoz.org provides some valuable insights into the pitfalls of buying too many keyword-rich domains. For instance, the article says that Google is on the lookout for organizations that take advantage of domain names purely for SEO purposes. Depending on how severe Google’s almighty powers deem your offense to be, you could be meted out with some pretty serious penalties.

In the long run, experts say you’re wasting your time with this practice. There are number of complications that can arise, and the article explains in detail why having keyword-rich domains may sound good, but once implemented things start to turn sour.

To get a clearer view of the pros and cons (and there’s much more of the latter), visit

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/its-a-feeding-frenzy-for-keywordrich-domains.

It’s undeniable that social networks serve as more than just a medium for expanding your social circle these days. Considering their vast potential, businesses of all kinds are tapping into the social networking phenomenon. In fact, one site has been created solely for the purpose of expanding your professional circles specifically.

LinkedIn is a great way for professionals and companies - especially small ones - to put themselves on the map, establish more business contacts, and strengthen their professional networks. With a carefully crafted profile on LinkedIn, you and your services will get increased visibility since LinkedIn, which has a fairly high PageRank, allows you to make your profile searchable through search engines like Google.

LinkedIn showcases your credentials and accomplishments, so make sure that you include both previous and current information in your LinkedIn profile. This will enable searchers to immediately see your qualifications for the job. And since LinkedIn is built on connections, your professional circle of contacts (especially those who recommend you) improves your reputation and adds to your list of credentials.

All in all, LinkedIn is a quick and easy way to establish valuable contacts that will help your business grow. Creating a profile on LinkedIn is free, so you lose nothing by getting the word out about who you are and what you can do.

One effective way to boost your image online is to tap into popular social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. The dynamics behind how these sites operate can help promote your brand and company by catching the eye of thousands of potential customers and clients.

There are many ways to use social networking sites, and one of the most effective is to tap into your existing customer base. You can put small banners or streamers on your website for customers to “Follow” you on Twitter and “Become a Fan” on Facebook. It’s a relatively inexpensive online marketing campaign that makes use of existing customers to help spread the word about your products or services to people they are connected with. And the more fans and followers you have, the more presence your company will have - creating an image of respectability and popularity among a large number of people.

If you’d like to explore this and other online marketing options, give us a call and we’ll be happy to develop a strategy that fits your particular needs

A lot of people think it’s easy to write for the web, and in a sense they’re right. It’s shorter than other types of copy, and operates on the principle that people who browse websites - prospective clients and visitors alike - have little time to spend reading tons of copy.

But therein lies the challenge. While short, it has to be sweet as well. It’s important that all the relevant information is contained in a short blog-like post that’s easy to read and understand.

So what makes good web copy?

• It goes straight to the point. Use less embellishments and flowery language, and speak in layman’s terms - not everyone is impressed with lots of technical terms and jargon.

• It’s broken down into bullet points, subheadings, or both, so that it’s less intimidating and more readable to people who visit your site.

• It’s visually easy to read. Even the spaces between text are important - don’t make your page look text heavy.

Getting your web copy right can do wonders for your website. If you need some help in maximizing your website content, we’ll be happy to help out.

Reference: http://www.marketingtechblog.com/web-design/readability/

Yesterday’s post went into some detail on search Page Rank and the role of good and bad link building. Today I got an email that is a perfect example of useless link building - that someone is paying for and maybe feeling good they get reports from their vendor of all the new links.

People Google is smart to this. If you’re going to invest; invest in quality links, from quality sites, that share a content relevancy with you.

Here’s the email I got…

Hi,

My name is Mark. I recently came across your website http://prontomarketing.com / through search engine and found it is informative for our website’s visitors.
I would like to exchange link with our websites CheapestRoomsLondon.co.uk and CheapRoomsLondon.co.uk.

As you are probably aware, reciprocal linking benefits both of us by raising the search engine rankings and generating more traffic to both of our websites.

If you would like to do the link exchange with us, please place our link on your website with the following details.
Title: CheapestRoomsLondon
Description: Find cheapest rooms to rent in London
Link: http://www.cheapestroomslondon.co.uk/
Title : CheapRoomsLondon
Desc : Find rooms with cheap rent in London.
Url : http://www.cheaproomslondon.co.uk/

Then, please inform me by replying to this email with your details (title and description) or use the following links to post your details. Youe links will be shown once we approve them within a few days.
http://cheapestroomslondon.co.uk/link-to-us
http://www.cheaproomslondon.co.uk/link-to-us

Look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Mark Jain

Interesting article in TechCrunch today:LinkedIn Deepens Integration With Twitter; Becomes A Full-Fledged Client.  There are getting to be more and more easy and smart ways for Managed Service Providers and other IT service companies to link up and leverage their social networks and company websites.

If you need a little help getting going we’ve developed some step-by-step guides in the Pronto Help Center.

On the surface, social media and social networking might seem to be just a fad with no real business value - but a deeper look into the issue has revealed that many organizations are seriously studying the potential business value of phenomenon.

According to a survey by social media news website SmartBrief, as much as 75% of businesses are now looking into learning more about social media. Furthermore, as much as half of their respondents indicated that they are already using social networking for their business, while another 30% are taking steps to start using social media.

Another survey by BtoB and the Web Analytics Association finds that almost half of their respondents are looking to tap into social networking for their own use, and almost 25% are even allotting additional budget for their company’s foray into social media.

These numbers are an indication that businesses are beginning to see that social media has a power of its own - it can increase their network of contacts, allow them to receive a wide range of feedback, and let them market themselves better. Of course, there are a few cons, such as the ability of social media to magnify bad news or feedback. However, most business people realize that in there will always be risks, and it seems at this point that the benefits of using social networking outweigh the possible disadvantages.

Many companies are taking bold steps to use social networking to their advantage. If you don’t want to be left behind, check out social media and see what it can do for your business.

Read more here:

http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2010/04/22/smartbrief-stats-how-business-leaders-view-social-media/

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100412/FREE/304089975/1445/FREE

With Google Local Business, you can perform a local search of a particular industry. For example, the results of a search for “Nevada IT” returns a Google Local Listing, which is naturally more localized than searching for the term “IT”.

Appearing at the top of these lists is very important, especially for small companies who want to penetrate their local markets. Here are some tips to help you achieve top listings.

First, fill out ALL the information requested when you create your Google Local Business Center account.

• Emphasize that your business is dynamic and always on the go.
• Evaluate your competition and expand on information or services they lack.
• Complement the information you provide, by adding relevant high-resolution photographs and videos.

Next, expand your exposure.

• Get listed in other directories and listings (Google will factor them into your ranking).
• The more listings you are included in, the better.
• Remember to provide consistent and accurate information in all instances.

Last, track and analyze the data from your Google Local Listings account.

• Evaluate which areas need improvement and which elements of your business make you more searchable.
• Minimize or expand your approach and marketing based on the trends you identify.

Maximizing your local search exposure is key to helping your business become better known - especially now that so many people rely on the internet as their source of information. A top page listing will expose your business to more potential clients and increase your business substantially.

In 2009 we conducted an MSP Marketing Survey and I thought it about time to get an update and be able to make some year over year comparisons. The results will provide you some important marketing benchmarks for your company. In the survey we ask for some basic company size information up front so that you can compare to your peers as well across the broader industry.

It will take about 10 minutes to complete and we don’t ask for any registration information - it’s all anonymous. Theirs is an optional sign-up to get the survey via email at the end but I will also post the results back here with some analysis.

Why don’t you take a few moments and share your marketing experiences and plans with your peers so we can all learn something.

Take the 2010 MSP Marketing Survey - Now

Here’s the 2009 Survey

On February 3 I delivered this presentation as part of the Microsoft 5W/25 Webcast Series.  It covers the core areas in online marketing with ideas on how to improve your MSP Marketing performance. This includes Website, SEO, Local Business Listings, Newsletter and more.

You can find the outline of the Webcast in this blog: Webcast: Building Your Online Marketing Engine Advanced Strategies

Here’s the first one in the series: Webinair - Building Your Online Marketing Engine

I hope you find this helpful.