In Matt Cutts' most recent video blog he explained how the team at Google evaluates paid link building services. In the past few months Google has gotten even stricter on link building strategies including backlinking and guest blogging. In this particular video he explains the fine line between paid link building, which can be the difference of receiving a free trial to receiving a gift card for providing links.

Well, let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read you begin with ABC, when you blog you begin with marketing goals. (Okay, so Rodgers and Hammerstein may not exactly like my rendition…)

Let’s start by remembering the overall goal of internet marketing for your business and ultimately the answer behind the question ‘Why Blog?’--

You want more customers and more sales.

To effectively reach the right audience it’s essential to have your buyer personas established and a part of your business's internet marketing strategy. Knowing who your ideal customers are will help you tremendously with your marketing efforts. Many businesses leave this part out or don't realize how important this aspect really is.

In the past websites were built with the idea of an electronic business card, but that's not really the mindset anymore of what makes a good website. Sadly this create-it and leave-it mentality is still lingering in small business owners today.

This past Friday I had the privilege of being part of a group of “experts” at an event that ChicoStart put together called “Spring Training.” It was a bit like speed dating for entrepreneurs and startup companies. There were seven stations with experts in business pitch, funding, strategic planning, human resources, technical, legal and HR/Payroll, and marketing for startups. Each company or individual got 7 minutes to pitch their idea at each station and ask advice or get input. True to the baseball analogy, there were 7 innings, then a 7 inning stretch, followed by 3 more innings where they could go back to a station where they hoped for more input. By that 10^th inning of “overtime” we were all glassy eyed and tired, but what a great time! The participants I interacted with were enthusiastic and engaged, teachable and hopeful!

Today, I was reminded of life’s uncertainty as I realized the unexpected passing of a kind man I have worked with over the last nine months. Even though I have never met him, I feel like I know him, and I’m left with a lump in my throat and a sadness in my heart that I will not be interacting with him any longer.

Twitter is one of the best places to put your lead generation techniques to the test. You have a large audience, it’s a social atmosphere and there are people just waiting to find and learn about new companies and services. If you aren’t already doing this, what are you waiting for? You’re missing out!

In the past three days I have had three conversations with three separate business people who represent three completely different industries. In every case there was a common theme. Why blog? Each of these very bright people who are leaders in their respective buisnesses are convinced that blogging is not right for their industry. They are convinced that nobody they would gain as a client would ever read a blog post so writing blogs would be a huge time suck that would gain them little or nothing.

Are you lost when it comes keywording your website? Don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone. SEO can be extremely confusing, especially when it comes to optimizing your website with relevant and targeted keywords. Keep on reading to learn some SEO basics that will guide you through how to add keywords to a website.  

No really, people make purchases after talking about brands and products on social media. So, if you are a business owner, that’s the answer to your question “Why is social media important?”