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Comment Management Tools You Should Know

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What is Comment Management?  Virtually all blog software offers commenting functionality, so why would you need a 3rd party comment management service?  Many of the comments and “reactions” to content posted on a blog never make it to the blog itself – the source of the conversation. Comment Management tools provide all the expected features and also pull in mentions & citations of the post as well. That way when someone reads a post on your blog, they can see comments made directly on the post as well as mentions made of of the post on other sites like Twitter. Should you add a comment manager tool to your blog? It depends how much of your social engagement is happening off your blog and also whether you feel it will add to the user experience to see a collected list of on and off site interactions. For many blogs, citing comment and reaction counts is simply a matter of social proofing and popularity. For others, it’s an attempt to harvest all the conversation about a post at the source. To help you decide, here are the three main comment management tools to consider: ECHO from JS-Kit offers a wide array of features. It can be embedded on a blog or static web site and pull in comments from Twitter, Digg, comments from other blogs, FriendFeed and several others. Commenters can choose to promote their comments simultaneously to Twitter, Facebook or Google Friends. Sites like Technorati and Guy Kawasaki use ECHO.  We tried JS-Kit but didn’t like not being able to show comments on top of the off site citations under each post.  JS-Kit ECHO Live is $12/year and ECHO Live white label is $48/year. There is also a PRO version with many other controls and features with costs according to page views ranging from $195 to $1995 per year. Disqus , as you may have noticed, is the commenting system we are currently using on Online Marketing Blog . Disqus lets readers choose their identity, via: Facebook Connect, OpenID, or Twitter Sign-in, when they leave a comment. Comments can be threaded and the moderation dashboard is easy to use. Off site references to your content on Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg, and YouTube are pulled in as “Reactions”. You can sort comments as we do, on top, then show the reactions below. Readers can choose to cross post their comment to other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.   You can edit comment content but not the names of commenters, which is frustrating because some spammers write really useful comment content but spam them hell out of their names and links. The base version of Disqus is free. Disqus VIP offers much hand holding support and analytics. Cost is not disclosed on the site so it must be very expensive. IntenseDebate was acquired by Automattic, the company behind WordPress and therefore, can be easily added to WordPress blogs as well as TypePad, Tumblr or Blogger blogs. There’s comment threading, notification by email, commenter profiles and points, moderation, cross posting to Twitter and several other features.  IntenseDebate is free. Which comment management tool is right for you? It depends on your use. If you have a static web site and you’d like to add comment features, then ECHO might be a fit. If you want something that offers all the basics and works natively with WordPress then maybe IntenseDebate is your pick. If you want more features and also don’t want to pay anything, then it’s possible Disqus is the choice for you. The great thing about these tools is that they are easy to install and test out. Here are other reviews you might find useful on these comment management systems. Blog Comment System Shootout: Disqus vs. Intense Debate vs. JS-Kit Echo – 40 Tech 3rd Party Comment System Roundup – Dave Mosher’s Blog Although I pinged Facebook and Twitter connections for examples of other 3rd party comment management tools that pull in off-site citations, I didn’t hear about any. I didn’t find much on Google either. There are other comment management services, tools and plug-ins, just not any (that I’ve found) that automatically pull in 3rd party mentions of your content. If you know of other comment management systems that pull in comments from other social media sites, please share in the comments. Do you use any of the the tools mentioned above? What has your experience been? What features would you like to see added? © Online Marketing Blog , 2010. | Comment Management Tools You Should Know | No comment | http://www.toprankblog.com

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Comment Management Tools You Should Know

5 Ways to Leverage Real Time Search in Your Online Marketing Mix

Posted by BlogPostman under Pay-Per-Click

Since late 2009 when Google introduced real time search, the concept has gained a lot of attention. Today, real time search is at the top of the priority lists for all the major search engines – Google, Bing and Yahoo!. As part of the new technology, Google is combining live updates from sites like Twitter with the latest news headlines and blog posts in search results. For web searchers, real time search means the ability to discover breaking news the minute it’s happening. For marketers, it presents a whole host of opportunities to increase online visibility. Here, we’ve provided five ways to leverage real time search in your online marketing efforts. 1. Develop the type of content that supports real time SEO With real time search, frequently publishing online content becomes a must. Try incorporating these three types of content to support both traditional and real time SEO programs: Tweets and Facebook fan page updates: Micro content from social sites now has the ability to appear in search results. It’s quick and easy to frequently post Tweets and Facebook fan pages updates, so both should play a big role in your real time SEO content strategy. Blog posts: Blogging presents the opportunity to help your content rank and show thought leadership at the same time – since blog posts can offer more valuable information than micro content. Optimized press releases: By optimizing press releases and submitting them through authoritative newswires, you can help your content achieve high rankings. 2. Mobilize your fan base Creating a core group of brand advocates is important for a number of reasons. They recommend your products and services to their friends and family, defend your reputation in times of trouble and are more likely to adopt future products and services you introduce. Now add one more benefit to the list: Brand advocates – particularly authoritative ones – can link to your content to help keep in the real time stream. In addition, brand advocates who are active on social sites like Twitter can create their own content about your company that can appear in real time search results. 3. Know what’s hot in the news With real time search, it’s important to recognize both what users are searching for online and what they’re discussing via social channels – at this very minute. Create frequently updated content that speaks to the latest topics and trends, and is optimized for the latest search terms. A variety of tools exist to help monitor search and conversation trends: Google Trends : Use this free tool to find the hottest topics and hottest searches in Google Social Mention : Determine the strength, sentiment and reach for terms used throughout the social web, including blogs, microblogs, social networks, video sites and news sites BlogPulse : Find the top blog posts, key phrases, new stories and more from across the search universe or related a specific topic Delicious : See the types of content that goes wild across the social web Trendistic : Learn trending topics in Twitter over the last 24 hours, week, month or more (see image below) Trendistic shows “online marketing” trends over the past 30 days. 4. Time your content promotion efforts wisely Give your content an extra boost by monitoring when blog posts, articles and other online content are indexes in Google News or Google Blog Search. Then ensure tweets, Facebook fan page updates and other social content promotions are timed right after the content is indexed. Doing so will help you take advantage of every opportunity to appear in real time search results. 5. Optimize your web site and online content for mobile technologies Real time search is relevant on many mobile devices, including Android and iPhone devices. So Web site optimization for mobile technologies becomes even more important. Consider these few mobile SEO tips: Limit the use of images Keep the design simple and clean Test to ensure your site appears as it should across various mobile devices The bottom line is, it’s crucial to take advantage of every real time search opportunity that comes around. Remember that these opportunities won’t stick around for long – presenting themselves quickly and then disappearing. It is real time, after all. Have you implemented real time SEO into your online marketing mix? Tell us what best practices you’ve found so far. © Online Marketing Blog , 2010. | 5 Ways to Leverage Real Time Search in Your Online Marketing Mix | No comment | http://www.toprankblog.com

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5 Ways to Leverage Real Time Search in Your Online Marketing Mix

Sponsored Posts – Measure The Risk Carefully

Posted by under Pay-Per-Click

Sponsored posts have been a hot topic in the blogosphere and among marketers the last few years. What exactly is a sponsored post?  The simple answer is:  a company pays a blogger cash to blog about their product or service.  This is different than an advertorial since the blogger is paid cash to write the content as opposed to the sponsor creating the message. An entire cottage industry of companies such as IZEA, Smorty and a slew of others have sprung up to offer a variety of methods to pay for sponsored posts.  Some require bloggers to say good things.  Others tell bloggers they are free to write what they wish.  But in either case, there are potential risks involved marketers should be aware of. Many digital audiences appear to have an  issue with sponsored posts because they see it as a breach of unwritten editorial rules of the web.  It is for that core reason sponsored posts remain controversial. For the purposes of this post, I am just talking about cash for blog posts.  This a different animal than offering sampling, trials or demos of products. Let’s dig into why sponsored – aka cash for blog posts – are something you should measure the risk of carefully: Sponsored posts may draw the eyes of the engines Cash for blog posts could be risky behavior if the sponsored links are follow links.  Matt Cutts at Google has publicly stated that paid posts should not affect search engines .   A simple solution for companies brokering sponsored posts is to require the no-follow attribute added to links within the content.  Some pay-per-post companies offering this service state they require it.  Some bloggers may adhere.  But many bloggers have no idea what a no-follow attribute is and may not follow this guideline.  Additionally, bloggers and marketers engaging in outright cash-for-play are involved in risky behavior even with no-follow links.  This is due to halo effect of linking in the social web, and may walk a thin line with the engines who are paying attention to these campaigns. Before engaging in sponsored posts, consider organic outreach More than 80% of bloggers are already writing on products and brands .  In other words: be remarkable, have great marketing/PR and you’ll be talked about.  Learn the intersection of social media and PR , begin content marketing and engage in strategies that inspire natural coverage, conversation and influence.  The organic approach yields the highest results: since sponsored posts must have no-follow links, the SEO and PR intersection does not exist. Sponsored posts may train audiences to expect cash to write about you By engaging in sponsored posts, you may succeed in training audiences to expect a return every time they mention your brand or product.  Instead of growing in an organic fashion, sponsored posts may keep your brand out of the natural conversations and put you on a treadmill of having to pay cash for coverage.  And that’s not a sustainable way to grow a web community . May be seen as inauthentic Due to FCC rules , all sponsored content must be disclosed.  With this disclosure and transparency, readers see the content was influenced by cash, not the author’s true perception of the product or brand.  This potentially destroys the true power of word of mouth .  It affects the blogger as well:  they may lose the trust of a carefully built audience.  Audiences may not believe a blogger thought a product was great because that blogger was paid to talk about it. Sponsored posts are advertising – not social media Companies who pay bloggers cash to write about them are engaging in advertising, not social media.  Would you pay someone cash to talk about your company or product at a party?  What would everyone else at the party think?  That’s exactly what happens on the social web when users see bloggers taking cash to write up products.  So if you think it’s a risky play to pay people cash to talk about your brand or product in person, it’s equally so online (perhaps even more so since the web is referential). Organic push methods do exist Newswires, article submissions, advertorials, syndication products, and other paid methods of gaining exposure amongst web audiences exist.  The social web as a whole has less issues with these services because they are not paying individuals directly to talk about them.  Rather, they are paying to have their messages added to areas they will be found – and then reacted to – without cash going directly to users or leveraging a personal brand for influence.  Communications professionals can use paid tools to cross the editorial line with less risk than directly paying cash to individuals. Conclusion Forrester research has been touting the positives of sponsored conversations.  Jeremiah Owyang says they are here to stay .  There are companies engaging in this tactic and doing fine.  I’m not ruling the tactic out entirely, but I do wish to caution marketing and PR professionals to weigh the risk carefully.  Sponsored posts may run counter to a social media marketing strategy focused on inspiring organic attention and building a community based on trust.  They do not provide the SEO benefits of organic outreach.  Consider your larger objectives and strategies carefully and ask yourself  if sponsored posts are the tactic for you.

SEO Tips To Boost Your Business

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All businesses hosted online could use a boost in sales, traffic, and production with the online competition becoming fiercer each day. New businesses may have a rough beginning especially if the competing market is high. Regardless of your business’s status, you can give the business a very nice boost by embracing and understanding the concept of search engine marketing or SEO. While the term may sound intimidating, search engine marketing is actually quite easy to master and if done consistently will take your business to higher heights. Here are some of the useful tips that can add some great value to your business’s success. Get Lots of Backlinks The relationship between backlinks and search engine optimization is very simple. The more backlinks that you have, the more popular your site is leading to a greater likelihood that your site will appear on your favorite search engines. One of the most popular ways of acquiring these backlinks are by means of posting optimized articles in the many article directories available. By simply placing the link of your business website, a backlink is counted. Others prefer browsing blogs, forums, and other sites that are related to the business and posting a link if it is allowed. Once you have lots of backlinks, you will notice more visitors every day. Place a lot of Content Article directories are not just about getting some backlinks because a good number of people actually read the content thoroughly to see if any of the questions in mind are answered. The safest way to answer all these questions is by placing a lot of relevant content. Good content doesn’t necessarily have to be the longest, but making sure the content makes sense is vital for the search engine optimization to do its job completely. If you still insist on making long content, take advantage by scattering more keywords among the many paragraphs. Optimize your Content Optimizing your content starts with the usual spelling and grammar checking as not only will small errors affect the SEO performance, but may turn off some users that are expecting a professional presentation. Reread your content and add any missing optimization techniques to make your business more valuable. If this proves to be too difficult, perform the spelling and grammar check features of Microsoft Word and remove any bloat. Stay Ahead of the Competition To get real organic traffic that may one day turn into sales, you need to be focused on not only adding new and unique content, but also checking what the competing sites use in order to succeed. In fact you can learn valuable search engine optimization techniques just by looking at other people’s businesses and using keyword analysis tools like the one Google applies to see what keywords are used and how competitive they are. Get only the keywords that are not heavily competitive and incorporate these keywords to future content that will be added. The only challenge in SEO involves thinking of the right keywords and making sure they are not very competitive. The rest is easy as long as you have a passion of writing or updating your site daily. There are also SEO specialists and professional writers that are more than willing to assist, but try dedicating a month towards SEO and you could be surprised with the results.

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SEO Tips To Boost Your Business

Blog Marketing – Creating Dynamic Content

Posted by BlogPostman under Blog Marketing

Those online business owners and website entrepreneurs that have done their homework on what makes a successful website different from an unsuccessful one already know that content is the key. Content provides material for the search engines to inspect and use to rank you higher in the search results, as well as dynamic material that will keep visitors returning to your site again and again.

A common mistake for rookie website owners to make is that they will work hard on their web pages, and then leave them to stagnate while they focus on other parts of the business. Although you can’t be redesigning your home page over and over, blog marketing is a great way to display unique content every day.

If you’re interested in ways that you can leverage dynamic content more efficiently so that it will help you to climb up even higher in the search engine rankings for the keywords that you are associated with, you’ve got to consider blog marketing and all the ways it can increase your visibility.

Those who have heard of blogging, but never heard of blog marketing will be interested to learn that it is a method for driving interested viewers to your web pages by creating attention grabbing posts and linking them to your main website.

Many people want to take advantage of blog marketing, but don’t have the writing skills or the time necessary to accomplish this goal efficiently. This is when you should think about turning to an experienced internet marketing firm for help.

Those advertising firms that have a lot of experience with online companies will know just how to set up a blog marketing platform that can be easily updated, and that will attract attention from the major search engines, like Google and Yahoo. Then, if you so choose, these firms can have their teams of talented writers post content for you on a regular basis.

When you have a successful blog marketing campaign in place, you will have the advantage of additional sites linking to your site on a regular basis. The search engines will notice this, and they will note that the content on the blogs seems to be relevant to your site. As a result, you are likely to move up in the search rankings.

When it comes to internet marketing you have to be creative in order to survive. Click here to learn more about how blog marketing can increase your site’s visibility and traffic.