Thought this was a great crystallization from searchmarketland of some high level Search Engine Optimization concepts for any business. Think for a minute about your industry and how these ideas might work. Or better yet, let’s strategize together and then we can help you implement.

Three thoughts from an SEO perspective:

1. What keeps changing in your market that people love to talk about?

In the New Home Sales industry, maybe it’s interest rates, government tax credits or local market conditions. There’s a ton of stuff changing every day that your audience would be interested in.

2. What stats could you create that would be remarkable and mention-worthy?

Again, New Home Sales. Piece of cake. New sales stats, your own trafic worthy of boasting about? What about web traffic?

3. What prevents your competitors from being honest? What can’t they write about that you can?

Maybe they can’t claim the same level of community amenities or services.

See.. not that hard. Simple concepts that can help you generate valuable, relevant content for your website for search engine optimization and higher page rankings in the search results pages for better “findability”.

Proliferating a little info published in a recent search marketing newsletter…

“Recently the FTC made changes their Guide Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in
Advertising. These guides haven’t been updated since 1980, long before Al Gore invented the Internet. As
you can imagine, a lot has changed in the way marketers advertise since then, so it’s quite amazing such a
long period of time was allowed to pass between revisions.

The new revisions will require writers on the Internet to disclose any payments or free products they receive
from companies whose products they are reviewing. The FTC has not specified any standardization as to
how writers are to disclose this compensation information, only saying that the disclosure needs to be “clear
and conspicuous.” The Commission also said advertisers featuring testimonials that claim dramatic results
cannot hide behind disclaimers that the results aren’t typical.

These new guidelines could deal a blow to the blogging industry; many bloggers have built a reputation for
reviewing products and services. What hasn’t been apparent to consumers is that many of these bloggers are
compensated for their reviews. Having to disclose payments or gifts given in exchange for reviews may
compromise the validity of a blogger’s reviews and will likely affect their following.

From a search engine optimization perspective, blogger outreach has been a powerful tool for influencing
search engine rankings because most of these reviews contain a hyperlink back to the product or service.
Disclosure of compensation for reviews makes it easier for Google to discount links, since compensated
reviews are essentially paid links. But without standards, there will be quite a bit of variation in disclosures, so
it will remain a challenge for Google to pinpoint compensated reviews.

At last count Technorati claims to be tracking over 133 million blogs. While it’s unclear as to how bloggers are
going to conform to these new standards, it’s even more unclear as to how the FTC plans to police these new
guidelines. With the amount of time it took them to update these guidelines, I’m guessing they may have a
solution by 2038.”

Article by Ray Rosti
From Search Marketing Trends
by Razorfish

“We first hired Jay Dixon’s Advertising Agency – BORCZ:DIXON to design a print ad. I jokingly mentioned that we had a deadline a few days after we hired him for a monthly print ad. To our surprise, three days later, Jay presented nine – yes NINE beautiful, creative and polished print ad samples representing several branding concepts. He sailed in before the deadline and our beautiful new ad was in print before we even received the invoice. After this stellar accomplishment, we hired Jay to design our Website. Once again, Jay has surpassed our expectations, working with our dentists, several staff members, our photographer and other website professionals. His work is not only timely and creative but also extremely detail oriented. McCarl Dental Group gives the Borcz:Dixon Advertising Agency our highest endorsement!”

Here’s some intriguing news that just might make your day… and your website rankings in 2010.

A recent interview with Google’s spokesperson Matt Cutts <http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/11/13/google-page-speed-may-be-a-ranking-factor-in-2010>  revealed that another ranking factor is going to gain force as soon as Google Caffeine update fully rolls out in January 2010. This factor will be website load time (or speed) <http://www.link-assistant.com/news/check-your-site-speed.html> .

In simple words, Google promises a bonus in rankings to the websites that load faster. So sites will want Site Speed Optimization, along with Search Engine Optimization.

Today you can already get your hands on this soon-critical optimization technique – in SEO PowerSuite software. The newly-upgraded WebSite Auditor tool from SEO PowerSuite will evaluate your own site for this new important ranking factor and analyze your niche for site speed. And you will get a detailed breakdown on your website’s load speed and cutting-edge recommendations for better ranking in the A-Z Optimization Report.

This is your chance to take the unmistakable steps and optimize your website speed before your competitors even hear the rumor.

There has been much debate lately, internally and externally with a variety of colleagues AND clients over the value of a quality back link vs. a relevant back link for SEO benefits.

I invite you to check out some input on both sides of the argument and share your own two cents.

Personally, I think both sides are right. Both a quality link and a relevant link will benefit your sites SEO. A relevant (related to the topic or theme of your website or page) and quality (High Page Rank) together would be the goal.

Ultimately though, I believe relevance to be more beneficial than quality and would look to build links that are relevant before I expanded to simply quality links with no relevance to my sites theme.

Here’s some other thoughts….
1. From SEOSapien (http://twitter.com/seosapien)
Having backlinks from un-related sites isn’t going to harm you but it will be a lot harder and most time won’t look natural to get a backlink for a Used Cars website in a Gucci Handbags blog. Also you have to consider that backlinks can generate valuable traffic so it is always recommended to stick to your niche.

Building links in PR0 domains won’t harm you but it won’t help you as much as a higher PR site.

2. http://twitter.com/phdimov
Whoever told you that relativity is a myth is wrong. PR is given by industry and search engines have said that relevancy is what matters the most. Of course I would never deny a link from a high PR site that’s not related to my topic but relevant links are the best.

I would concentrate all my efforts in getting links from relevant sites and whatever comes my way thats of good quality I will take.

Think of links as a votes: would you rather buy a car recommended by 10 friends that don’t have a driving license or buy a car that is recommended by 3 mechanics? If all 13 (related and un-related sites) vote/link for that car than it is a sure purchase, if only 10 friends without a license (un-related sites) recommend that car you should consider it but ask for a second opinion, if 3 mechanics (related and high PR sites) tell you to buy a car it is 99.9% a sure purchase. The search engines pretty much “think” the same way

3. Jon Myers – Trust and Quality is what links is all about. Make sure the sites you get links from are high PR and well trusted by Google and you will get great success.

Article Segment:
Luckily, search engines can also identify worthy sites as well, and as a result, they can distinguish between endorsements by thugs versus trusted friends. These trusted sites are identified by features such as:

The quality and quantity of their inbound and outbound links (especially those built over time)
The quality and quantity of their original content, as well as its consistency over time
The relative content refresh rate and the age of the site (older sites are considered more reliable because they have a history of consistent performance over time)

Blog Post:
Anyone who really believes bad links can get you de-listed should have a go at picking on some of the PR10’s out there. These guys are where they are because of the HUGE number of inbounds – from the good, and from the bad. Assume every site linking to apple.com or adobe.com is a “great” site? Of course not. There are most likely thousands, even 10’s of thousands of site’s that are de-indexed that have links pointing to those domains. The search engines might not like where they come from, but if they see enough of them, they have to start thinking what’s so great about the destination – everyone links to it.
So both things are half true. It will always be easier to get back links from related websites but it won’t harm you if you don’t. You should always take into consideration PR not because of the green bar in the google toolbar but because usually those sites give a more reputable and heavier link “power” to you.Relevant Links vs. Quality PR Links

I don’t want to be one of the naysayers who haven’t bought into the whole notion of Social Network Marketing (Heck, it’s part of my core business), I’m just not sure it’s right for all businesses including new home sales. It’s certainly not a silver bullet, nor would I recommend it as the first or even second component of your overall marketing program. But if you’ve properly leveraged other elements of your marketing, advertising and online marketing programs, Social Network Marketing (SNM) could be a nice addition to the team so long as you understand the benefits.

Following is a dialogue between myself and some clients that I thought you might find interesting on the topic.

It all started a few days ago when my client received the following email and forwarded on to me for my thoughts….

Who Do Your Customers Trust?
By Meredith Oliver
In my seminars and workshops, I frequently talk about the dramatic plunge in consumer confidence and how that impacts their willingness to buy your goods and services. I cite a study conducted by PR firm Edelman which studied “informed publics” between the ages of 25 to 64 and explored this group’s level of trust in four institutions: business, government, media and NGOs. Results reveal the lowest across-the-board levels of trust since the survey began ten years ago. What does this mean to you? Your consumers don’t trust you!
The solution I am proposing is to use social media to reestablish trust by allowing your raving fans to do the selling for you! Who do consumers trust? Each other! We naturally trust our neighbor’s referral over any type of formal advertising. Traditionally this has been called “word-of -mouth” marketing.
Here is the GREAT news. Social media is word-of-mouth networking on steriods. And, this is no longer just my supposition. TodayeMarketer.com published a study that confirms online advertising trust is on the rise worldwide. “According to the “Global Online Consumer Survey” by Nielsen, 41% of worldwide Internet users trusted online advertising.” In fact, the study reveals the number one advertising tactic trusted by consumers is “recommendations from people I know”. You should definitely check out this fantastic article by eMarketer.com.

This strategy will require risk on your part. What if the reverse happens? What if someone says something negative? Can negative comments destroy all the trust you’ve worked to build up? Yes, if you don’t have a service recovery plan in place. You need a step by step plan in place to handle any negative posts. The plan should answer the following questions:• How fast will you respond?
• What will your message be?
• How will you reassure your other online followers?

With a plan a place you can effectively handle negative posts. AND, get this….you can actually earn MORE trust by allowing an honest dialogue to take place, showing that you have a plan in place and that you take your customer’s concerns seriously. This is the mark of a trustworthy company.
But, let me quell your concerns about negative posts. I monitor a lot of “business” social media sites. I don’t see a lot of negative posts EXCEPT for the big “corporation” type companies. Why? No one wants to fire the first shot across the bow. I believe we are all thinking “If I start the negative avalanche it will eventually catch up to me!” We are afraid to say something negative about another business in fear someone else will do it to our business. Make sense? In fact, I mostly find social media pages for small businesses to be a sickening love fest of unrealistic proportions!
Start allowing your past, current and future customers to talk to each. They can sell you better than you ever will. Open up the dialogue and reap the rewards.

My response was as follows….
Basically, she is correct. The trick is to a. get followers and b. get them to start talking about you.
I love my community. I’ve lived there for 10 years and I wouldn’t think of living anywhere else (much like you and Mimi feel about Mountain Brook… understandably)
When the topic of communities and great places to live come up in conversation, I’m the first to sing the praises of my community. But I’ve never translated that to any online dialog.
I think that space (like most venues for public discussion) are reserved for the few, the screamers and the evangelists. The majority of us are just too darn busy to bother. I believe, that like other venues where the few, the screamers and the evangelists voices have become questionable will likely follow online. Savvy consumers who might tap into these public discussions when making a decision about something (ie. a new home purchase) will likely be just a skeptical of the discussion as any other medium.

For example, before I spend .¢99 on a song I’m not 100% familiar with on iTunes, I frequently check out the user ratings and or comments. This is for a .¢99 purchase. They don’t necessarily dissuade me from buying or not buying the song, I’m just curious what others thought. The same goes for Amazon.com purchases.

Or how about going to the movies. You listen to the litany of reviews before going. Sometimes you heed poor reviews and see something else. Sometimes you go b/c of a good review. Most likely, you trust a friend’s opinion over any of them.

The same would be true even more so with these online forums. Unless you know the individual spouting their opinion (good or bad) savvy buyers will take it with a grain of salt. Thus the effectiveness of the ‘ole fashion referral programs.

Then there’s the cost, either in real dollars for someone else’s time to maintain this process or your time. At the end of the day, it’s just another arrow in your quiver. Not a silver bullet. People are sooo excited about SNM b/c it’s “theoretically” free. Just like traditional Public Relations . I hear those PR firms are real cheap.

Here’s an excerpt from a recent article in Ideas (NAHB’s mag)

“Social media, reputation management, and public relations provide an interactive forum for home builders to relate to buyers, increase key words and enhance search engine optimization. A strong social media program can even drown out negative online placements while playing a key role in reputation management.
It may be helpful to think of social media as an extension of traditional public relations. Successful home builders who want to stay in front of print subscribers have always employed strong public relations tactics. When a press release results in a newspaper article, it is seen as a third party endorsement of the home builder or community. Proactive public relations costs a fraction of print advertising and can be 10 times as effective in reaching the right target audience, creating impressions and building brand.
Now apply that concept to the Internet. Home builders and developers who find ways to use social bookmarking (Digg, Delicious), Social Networking (Active Rain, FaceBook), blogs (Word Press, Blogger), video (YouTube) and more are reaching buyers in new ways. Social media optimization is a strong tool, and it’s not just for teenagers anymore. It can provide third party credibility online, just as public relations does in print.”
FYI – While I don’t sound like much of a proponent, we actually provide SNM services for clients who want to leverage this additional “arrow”. I just caution the expectations and over-zealousness surrounding the medium these days. It is a worthwhile tactic once other more direct tactics are in place and working to their fullest capacity.

Just a thought…

Which conjured up additional input from another party…

Adding my two cents here, of course Jay is correct but in this economy and this housing market we need all the “arrows” that we can shove into our quiver.

And social media does give us additional opportunities to link to our web sites providing additional organic “visibility” to the search engines.

Besides, it’s not like the sales people all have jam packed days with prospects walking in. This gives them something to do while awaiting traffic and keeps them with a positive attitude which is essential today.

So after all this, we created a straight forward Social Network Marketing program for our clients if they want to jump on the ole bandwagon.
See the details here: http://www.borczdixon.com/social_network_marketing.html

Thought you might find this interesting reading.

Following are some excerpts the current issue of the NAHB’s IDEAS Sales + Marketing cover story on the Do’s & Don’t of Internet Marketing. By Scott Huber

• 1/3 of home buyers used the Internet as the FIRST step in the home buying process.

• 87% of all home buyers and 94% of buyers aged 25 to 44 years used the internet to search for homes.
(Source: NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2008 study. Nov. 2008)

DON’T – Buy Web traffic with Traditional media.
While you need to put your web address in all of your marketing materials, some marketing directors tell me this is a strategy in driving traffic to their Website. Another example is the spike in Web traffic after a full-page ad runs in the Sunday real estate section. How much did that traffic cost? Break down the math. You can buy clicks on Google for $1 to $4 each. What if you $10,000 on that ad and had only 1,000 visitors? That is $10 CPC. Buying web traffic using traditional media is costly, ineffective, and hard to quantify.

DON’T – Do Social Media When You Can’t Do The Basics.
No Doubt about it, social media marketing is the hot new thing. It can help generate buzz about a community or your product, but it takes someone on your staff’s time to constantly manage it. If your website can’t take advantage of the traffic it receives, and if you can’t measure results of your efforts, take a pass on social media right now and focus on the basics. (More on Social Network Marketing below….)

Internet Marketing is the present and the future.Focus on making an effective Website and measure the results. It will be the foundation of your business, and will give you excellent returns for years to come. You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Pick up the latest issue for the full article: http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?genericContentID=98051

For more information on how BORCZ:DIXON can help your business with internet marketing, click here: www.borczdixon.com

An now she needs YOUR VOTE!

So far, she has made it through the panel of judges and now the contestants ONLY advance based on the number of votes they receive from you, your friends and family. So please watch each week and VOTE immediately following the show on Wednesday night.

Shows air Wednesdays (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and weekly results shows will air on Thursdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

Some notes on voting:
1. Vote by phone only (you must call). The show does not handle text voting like other programs.
2. There is no indication that you are limited to any number of votes. So vote as much as you can!
3. Voting begins immediately after the show (10pm ET) and last for 2 hours only!

Link to voting rules FAQs
http://fox.com/blogs/dance/2009/05/22/voting-faq

As talented as Caitlin is, she will only advance based on the votes she receives. So please FORWARD THIS MESSAGE to all of your friends and family and help spread the word.

To follow Caitlin’s journey, visit her website at: http://www.caitlinkinney.com
(We created the website and are instigating a viral marketing campaign, which means we need you to forward this info to everyone!)
Thanks for your support and enjoy the show.

How do I create buzz about my product, business or service via SNM (Social Network Marketing)?
Simple answer: YOU don’t.

The very nature of Social Network Marketing (SNM) is based on cohesion NOT coercion.

When people willingly generate a collective interest in your product, business or service they will perpetuate that message (good or bad). That is the basis of viral marketing.

Coercion is just the opposite — persuading an unwilling party to act. That is the role of traditional advertising (broadcast, print, or online).

When considering SNM for your business, product or service, the question you should be asking is “How do I encourage people to willingly promote my products and services?

Another simple answer: Make sure your product or service is so unique people want to share it with others.

If you don’t think your products or services are unique enough, don’t bother with SNM. It won’t work.

Consider this: SNM is a giant cocktail party. Is your product or service that guy everyone is gathering around, laughing with and can’t get enough of? Or, are you the guy in the corner talking to yourself and eating all the finger food?

Want to know which “guy” you are? Do you need coercion or can you create cohesion?
Check out www.borczdixon.com and contact us to find out before you invest a lot of time and money.