MyFanMachine

Making Your Business Social

Google Plus For Business – Quick Tips You Can Use Today

by

Google+ Services Integration
All Things Lead to Google+

Has Google+ become an afterthought in your social media marketing plan? When is the last time you even took a look over there? You may even be asking yourself if Google+ is or ever will be a viable tool for your business. You’re not alone because many are still divided whether or not to even spend any time or effort on Google+.

Why we feel it’s worthwhile now and in the future!

It’s being shared that Google+ is now outpacing Twitter. Even though this in no way “feels” true, it quite possibly is. Just the proliferation of Gmail and the simplicity of having Google’s entire suite of web services displayed the same time has probably sealed the deal. Not only that, but since Google Plus Local Listings already features such small business services as Zagat, StreetView and Google+ User ratings, it has effectively replaced Yelp.

Also, Google Hangouts has a direct influence on where Google+ is headed as well. The advantage of using a Hangout, as an alternative to perhaps Skype, to do video conferencing is a major plus (no pun intended). Yes, we realize that Hangouts is still a tad clunky and a pain to figure out, however if you do, it’s by far the leader of the pack. Just the integration and automation that Hangouts shares with YouTube is worth the price of admission. (Which of course is free!)

So how are businesses using Google+?

There are a number of uses of Google+ in your small business. Here’s just a few:

  • Build networks of like-minded individuals with Google+ Circles
  • Use #hashtags to allow posts appear in Google search
  • Be sure and Link Google+ to your blog or site, and enjoy the Google Authorship benefit in the search pages
  • Do live video chat with Google Hangouts
  • Use tags in Google+ to reach out to people directly

To experience a wonderfully comprehensive selection of strategies and infographic for Google+, see this post on Copyblogger. Google+ may not feel like it’s worthy of effort just yet, but we feel as though it is both in the present and future!

What SEO Should Startups Make Sure They Do?

by

BusinessConflict_Small
Arguing About the Right SEO?

When you say “SEO” to a business owner or manager, it’s hard to know exactly what they are going to think of. It’s a craft that’s rather inexact and challenging to define, much less implement. The idea of the “right” SEO has changed over the years.

A lot of startups tend to ignore it as they get going.

This is a significant mistake.

The key reason why is that it gives Google the wrong impression right from the start. They try to index pages, and without some semblance of SEO, often times they’re either unable to index, index the page incorrectly, or because on-page and internal SEO is such a large part of the search ranking algorithm, bury it so far down the search results it is useless.

That’s a shame, as there are some solutions to begin to do SEO that don’t require a graduate of MIT to accomplish.

Heard about Minimum Viable SEO?

The folks at Priceonomics.com coined the term, “minimum viable SEO“, which means exactly how much SEO can you get by with to start. While not an ideal strategy, it sure beats not doing anything. Here are a few of the items they mentioned, with a few of our own thoughts tossed in because I couldn’t help myself!

Decide on a keyword strategy – This will help you see not just what your site structure will look like, but also how quickly you’ll be into profit. One option is to go after the long tail of search, meaning keywords which are commonly 3-5 words long, often with product or model numbers. They don’t get a ton of searches everyday, but are infinitely easier to rank for. Add a few thousand of these up, and you win. Another way to go is to go after a single keyword, like “auto insurance San Diego” you’ll typically be attempting to rank only your home page. For those who have a business with a local presence, make sure you have local geo-modifiers on your keywords, as in the previously mentioned example.

Use breadcrumb navigation – You’ve seen this before. It is simply a set of links that show where you’ve been on the site, and where you are now. This really is of great help for the searcher, (which Google likes) and takes care of a good deal of internal linkage. Here is what it typically looks like: Home > Tablets > Apple > Ipad 2 3g

Use accurate title tags – Making sure the title tag on your page is accurate, which means it is or contains the keyword you would like that page ranked for, is probably the most important SEO task you can do. Using local geo-modifiers is very important here too.

Performing minimum viable SEO is a good way to start, and infinitely better than doing nothing. Just don’t let it end there!

Danger of Subtle Fear

by

When you’re starting up a new project, whether its a Facebook page, a web site, or an entire new business, you have forces working against you.

The biggest one is fear.

It’s not big ugly dog barking in your face fear. Its more subtle.

Its a kind of fear that you might not even notice, but its just strong enough to keep you from moving forward and following through on your ideas.

Its the whispers on the back of your mind.

“what if this doesn’t work”

“what if people don’t like it”

“what if someone else steals my idea”

“what if I fall flat on my face”

Be assured that all great creators have had these thoughts. What makes them great is that they were able to push through these fears and keep moving toward their vision.

Will there be stumbles?

Yes.

Will there be failures?

Yes.

Its part of the process.

Recognize the fear and keep working past it. You will surprise yourself with what you can achieve if you just keep moving forward.

Keep on going. The world needs your great ideas.