I generally do not do too much affiliate promotion on the blog here, but when there is an offer that I use that saves our readers money I am all over it. Why not share it? Just as I once promoted the Microsoft adCenter coupon (which has since went away) I am glad to have come across another sweet promotional code – this time for Business.com directory inclusions.

Google Approved Links

In 2009 there are few places where you can buy links without making a Google engineer frown. The Yahoo! Directory, BOTW, and Business.com are 3 of the most trusted web directories that have rigorous enough editorial policies which Google likes. They have been around a long time and Google trusts them.

For our community members I scored a Business.com coupon about a year ago, and surprisingly, Business.com just recently got on CJ offering public discount codes. I have not yet bought any of their PPC product, but I have been a BIG buyer of their directory listings…we literally have dozens of them! It is part of our SEO process for the sites we care about most and really invest in.

So if you have not yet submitted to Business.com, now might be a good time to submit your site while this coupon is still available publicly. This link is a great link, especially for new websites and websites that have not yet reached the top of the search results. And for larger businesses you can also submit key deep links as well.

$50 Directory Listing Coupon

To save $50 off Business.com directory listings click the following link.

$100 in Free PPC Clicks

Business.com also offers a $100 promo code for webmasters looking to buy traffic through their PPC program. You can click the following link for that promo

The following is a guest post by Ari Ozick, a member of our SEO Community who frequently shares great insights.

The above graph is based on an intensive questionnaire of over 2500 world class SEOs, including freelancers, in-house corporate types and SEO entrepreneurs. In the questionnaire, I asked one simple question – what is the most profitable activity in your business. The results are in, and as the graph clearly shows, Twittering away the day is by far the most profitable activity for most SEOs. Apparently there is more money to be made on twitter then there is in link building and out ranking the competition.

Obviously (I hope), I’m lying. I didn’t conduct any survey. I just made up the graph with Smart Draw. In fact, if I had to guess, I imagine the most profitable activities for companies would be conversion optimization, link building, and public relations.

Here’s the thing, though: I don’t have to guess about any of these answers for my business. I know. If you’re guessing or following other people’s advice on pretty charts (even if it’s backed up by third party expert opinions), then you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Let me show you how, with a little change in thinking and how you approach business, you can make a lot more money out of what you do, everyday.

Most SEO Blogs have an Agenda

Aaron recently mentioned that there are over 5,000 SEO blogs out there today. A lot of people read the more popular SEO blogs as if they were the Gospel itself. What most of them don’t realize, or don’t want to realize, is that almost all of these blogs have one of a few agendas:

• To promote the business running the blog so they can get more clients
• To promote the blogger as an SEO expert so he can get more clients.
• To get lots of links, so that they can rank for [SEO] and, you got it, get more clients and sell advertising

Granted, there are a few exceptions. The bottom line is, however, that most of these blogs are fundamentally aimed at increasing their readership, their clients, and their reputation. That means that the information they offer is less aimed at being fundamentally useful, and more about furthering their goals. It very rarely is about providing concrete, useful tips that will lead to a direct increase in your ROI.

Don’t Believe Anything Anybody says

Often, someone will come to me and tell me that they’ve stopped writing content, or that they don’t want any reciprocal links, or that they don’t want to be listed on site X. Then I ask them why. Invariably, the answer I get is “I read it on a blog” or “It was on a forum”, or “I saw it on Twitter”. You need to make a business decision based on data, not on what something written somewhere on some forgotten piece of the internet.

Different sites will also have different focuses that provide higher ROI. E-Commerce stores may put more focus on optimizing for conversions from existing traffic, while sites like blogs and forums that sell advertising on a CPM or flat rate model will optimize for higher traffic – link baiting and public relations. Niche Adsense publishers and others operating on the longer tail of search will look to create volume quality content and build links in a more focused manner, sending link juice to the pages that need it most.

Data is King

The only way to make a decision is by looking at data gathered and seeing if the data provides you with enough information to make an informed decision. I think Diorex said it best:

I will share with you the same answer that my employees get.

“Do you have any data?” The answer is usually “No”, or they would not have asked the question.

To which I respond “Well why don’t you run a test and get some data.” Once a test has been run, they no longer ask my opinion because they now have an answer (good or bad, testing will give an answer)

I have said it before and will probably say it again, buying data in the form of testing is the best investment you can make in your business. It is not cheap, which is what scares most would be internet marketers away.

Getting the Data

So Data is what helps make informed decisions. How do you get the data? If you’re doing anything PPC/CPM based, you just need to start running a test campaign and use that data to scale, or alternatively shut down the project before you lose too much money.

SEO is a bit different – no two web sites have the same link profile, and minor differences can lead to very different results in terms of how certain types of links and on page changes will effect changes in search results. That being said, it’s best to have a secondary group of sites so you can measure the effectiveness of different link building methods, without endangering your profitable, money making sites.

Ideally you also need to have a good idea of the link graph in the verticals you work in, and an idea of what competitors are trying to accomplish. To that end, I highly recommend Majestic SEO and SEM Rush (I’m a happy customer, nothing more). There’s nothing like having fairly accurate data without being at the complete mercy of a search engine. It’s a liberating feeling.

What Data Has Taught Me

Data has taught me that what works for one site doesn’t necessarily work for another site. Strong sites with aged links have consistently performed better when they receive low quality links, while newer sites have languished until they received some better links.

In one test, we sent low quality links to an aged authority site in a competitive niche. These are links that are probably not your top priority on your link building list, and certainly not given the time of day on most SEO blogs, yet we saw a definite increase in rankings on competitive terms. In the vertical we had a newer, less linked to site – there was absolutely no movement in either direction for that site. Our testing on authority sites has shown us that you can send almost any type of link and get some benefit, either in rankings boost on a specific keyword or a larger net for long tail keywords. Yet if you tried to rank a new site using the same tactics that clearly work on an old, trusted crusty site, there’s a very good chance the new site would at the very least be filtered, and at the top end of the spectrum be penalized. Of course, defining what is an authority site is another issue – I suggest you go out and test what exactly is an authority site, and reach your own conclusions.

The Bottom Line

You need to be actively running tests and making efforts to build your business and your sites. The only data that you should trust is your own. While it’s good to have an idea of what’s going on in the larger SEO community, what really matters is your rankings. Everything else is, and should remain, secondary.

Ari Ozick is CEO of Wired Rhino and occasionally blogs at AriOzick.com. He would love any constructive feedback or questions you have, either in the comments or direct via email: first name @ wiredrhino.com

Ah, relationships. Good relationships are strong, meaningful bonds that act to hold people or objects together.  Like the furniture maker’s forgotten “dovetail” joint that once held a strong piece of furniture together and is now replaced with weak staples between faux wood fiberboard, relationships seem to be the forgotten glue that once held the business world together. Oh relationships, where have you gone?

Actually, relationships are alive and well, out there, calling your name with opportunities awaiting just beyond that first handshake. And why do we love relationships? Relationships lead to links online! Some of the best links that a business can acquire to their website are those developed through real-life relationships.

The best advice to grab these links is to get out from behind that keyboard and monitor (don’t worry, you can take your iPhone or BlackBerry with you) and go meet some real PEOPLE.

By meeting people and developing real relationships with them, you have the opportunity to garner quality links to your website. If you’re networking in the right places, these links are often targeted and of relative high value for SEO and for traffic purposes.

What do we mean by “real-life” relationships? These are relationships with people that you’ve spoken to on the telephone or have met in person. These are actual people you’ve developed a rapport with at some point at an event or in online social networking.

How does one go about garnering links from real life relationships?

First, you need to initiate or develop the relationship:

• Start by attending industry conferences and social events. Those who you meet at industry conferences, if you have a similar philosophy, will allow you to link to them and visa versa. The great thing about industry conferences is that you meet targeted prospects for link opportunities. Sometimes there are dot-org (.org) website owners who run trade or industry sites and are willing to link to you.  We all love .orgs, don’t we, for many of them are trustworthy and non-commercial in nature.

• If you’re not able to afford major industry conferences, it’s helpful to look for local networking groups and informal gatherings within your industry. It doesn’t have to be a huge once-annual event to attract a strong, focused group of attendees.

• Within industry magazines, find vendors who are offering related products but aren’t direct competitors.  Approach them and let them know that they have an opportunity with you.

• Within industry trade journals, find other businesses and organizations that you can call on to work up a relationship. Offer up lunch in your neighborhood and then discuss with them your online opportunities.

• Look to your local Chamber of Commerce, get involved and become active as a volunteer / member. Make sure to get some linking going from the Chamber website.

• Use online social networking sites like Meetup.com, LinkedIn.com and even Twitter.com to network with users who have like-minded interests.  The search features in these sites are solid and can lead you to some of the most valuable relationships anywhere.
  • Visit targeted users’ websites from their profiles to see if they could be a good linking candidate.
  • Find local MeetUp groups with people who are interested in like-minded topics or even topics that are slightly related.  For example, if you’re in the art-supply business, find a MeetUp of artists such as photographers, painters and/or sculptors.  Attend the MeetUp, be friendly and good things will happen.
• Twitter can be a great resource for finding links because the search is efficient, targeted, pretty much real time, and the initial pitch only has to be 140 characters in a direct message!

Once you’ve established a relationship, simply brief the target linker on the potential of the relationship.  If you think it’s a good linking partner based on audiences (and not solely on SEO weighting), chances are this is a very easy pitch and beneficial to both parties. Engage and see if there can be a meaningful way to share information between sites and help each other out in whatever form would work for both parties.

Granted, in a fair amount of cases you may end up with reciprocal relationships, but a targeted and natural-looking reciprocal link may be better than no link at all, both for SEO purposes and for actual traffic over time!  In many cases too there are simple, overlooked opportunities to garner one-way links directly back to your site and content.

Linking is a cumulative effort. Don’t expect to get hundreds of links overnight from this method. This is an organic, methodical process and not one which will bounce you to page #1 for all of your target or most competitive keywords in a day, or even a week. BUT, if you start out and say to yourself, “I’m going to garner quality, meaningful links over the course of time through hard work” - and set your goals to do so – it will happen. If you take the opportunity to ask for a link from most encounters and relationships you develop in your industry, good things will happen.

Relying on real-world networking, going out and pressing the flesh and meeting people in your industry (both at events and in online social networking websites) allows you to start on this path of natural linking success.  You’ll find that your business “dovetails” with some of the best places on the Internet!

Social networking and the establishment and maintenance of relationships isn’t new to marketing. Businesses have been doing that for years. However, only recently have we moved to a new method of interaction – online participatory marketing.

Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) marketers still have to interact with their audience, but now they’re doing it in a much more personal way thanks to the proliferation of online Social Networks. They can now meet their potential customers on their own turf. Whereas, consumers used to only have advertising forced upon them through mediums like television, magazines and radio.

Roles have also evolved thanks to the Internet. For example, consumers now hold the trump card – the card of choice. Pop-up ads can be blocked, spammy emails can be filtered, and annoying Twitter users can be blocked. That has led to a marketing approach that requires authenticity, trust and transparency.

How B2B Marketers Can Take Advantage of Social Media

• Recruiting
• Evangelizing
• Lead Creation

How B2C Marketers Can Take Advantage of Social Media

• Support
• Announcements
• Providing Consumer Resources
• Lead Creation

Without the use of Social Networks, all of the above reasons would require face-to-face communication. There are now several Social Media sites you can use to engage potential customers. The list below provides just a few of the social networking options available to businesses.

• LinkedIn – Establishing and developing business connections (for all industries)
• GovLoop – Social networking for government employees
• LawLink - Social networking for attorneys
• Fohboh – Social networking for those in the restaurant industry
• Sales Spider – Social networking site dedicated to the small and mid-sized business owner and executive

Social networking and the establishment and maintenance of relationships isn’t new to marketing. Businesses have been doing that for years. However, only recently have we moved to a new method of interaction – online participatory marketing.

Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) marketers still have to interact with their audience, but now they’re doing it in a much more personal way thanks to the proliferation of online Social Networks. They can now meet their potential customers on their own turf. Whereas, consumers used to only have advertising forced upon them through mediums like television, magazines and radio.

Roles have also evolved thanks to the Internet. For example, consumers now hold the trump card – the card of choice. Pop-up ads can be blocked, spammy emails can be filtered, and annoying Twitter users can be blocked. That has led to a marketing approach that requires authenticity, trust and transparency.

How B2B Marketers Can Take Advantage of Social Media

• Recruiting
• Evangelizing
• Lead Creation

How B2C Marketers Can Take Advantage of Social Media

• Support
• Announcements
• Providing Consumer Resources
• Lead Creation

Without the use of Social Networks, all of the above reasons would require face-to-face communication. There are now several Social Media sites you can use to engage potential customers. The list below provides just a few of the social networking options available to businesses.

• LinkedIn – Establishing and developing business connections (for all industries)
• GovLoop – Social networking for government employees
• LawLink - Social networking for attorneys
• Fohboh – Social networking for those in the restaurant industry
• Sales Spider – Social networking site dedicated to the small and mid-sized business owner and executive

ay 1 of SMX East has drawn to a close. This is my first time attending the show, and I was pretty surprised to see so many new faces — this conference will prove should be great for networking and meeting new people in the Internet marketing business. I only had the opportunity to sit through one and a half sessions, but I was impressed with the information I heard. Below are the biggest takeaways from the Mobile Apps and Local Search panels.

Mobile Search Apps and Opportunities

Everyone did a nice job in this session but I thought that Rachel Pasqua, the Director of Mobile Strategy for iCrossing, shared some especially interesting information about iPhone apps:

• The average shelf life of a free iPhone app is 30 days
• The average cost to build an iPhone app is $50-150k

Why bother with iPhone apps if their shelf life is so short and they’re so costly to build? Well, the iPhone goes everywhere with the user, serving as a phone, calculator, browser, map, and more. Users are becoming increasingly dependent on their device to run their everyday lives. Thus, marketing through the iPhone is a smart move.

Rachel’s downloaded about 160 apps and has deleted most of them for being sucky. The apps she’s deleted have a lot in common, such as:

• They lacked essential functionality needed in the mobile context
• They were built to show off iPhone functionality and not the brand
• There was no actionable connection to the brand

The apps she does use offer the following:

• Easier access to useful content than even a mobile website (KISS)
• Useful and location-specific functionality that brings the user back again and again
• A drive/desire to purchase/patronize their stores and services

Things to keep in mind when developing an iPhone app:

• Don’t think you need an app because your competitor has one — make sure you have a smartphone audience (examine your demographic and site analytics) to see if it’s a good idea to build an app.
• Put user experience and strategy first and technology last
• Learn from the apps you yourself enjoy (What do these apps do well? What do they have in common?)

For a more comprehensive coverage of the Mobile Search Apps session, check out Outspoken Media’s blog coverage. Great job to the other speakers on the panel as well (Michael Martin, Scott Dunlap and Matt Siltala).

Ranking Tactics for Local Search
This panel had a whopping 5 speakers and I only sat through about half of them before I had to duck out to attend an off-site meeting. Nonetheless, I’ll share what I felt were the most interesting nougat-y nuggets of information (for thorough coverage of the local search ranking tactics session, head over to Outspoken Media).

Local search ranking factors:

• Having a verified local business listing
• Off-page/off-listing criteria
• Customer reviews
• Traditional on-page criteria

Develop your local mindset:

• Local is different than traditional SEO
• Local is about optimizing locations rather than websites
• Keep the name, address and phone number consistent (and don’t use tracking phone numbers)
• Don’t try to stuff keywords in your business name

How Google scores your website for local rankings:

• Inbound links from documents that mention the business with full/partial name and/or address
• Inbound links with the business name in the anchor text
• Busines name in title tag
• All or part of the business name in the domain name

That’s all I had for local search. Tune in tomorrow for some more conference coverage!