Penguin is the name adopted for a new algorithm rolled out by Google, intended to prevent websites from ‘spamming’ their way to the top of the rankings through less than kosher activities. Whilst this update has lead to some websites gaining more exposure, it has also had a negative impact upon the rankings of websites which have previously adopted aggressive ‘below the belt’ SEO tactics. As a smaller business this can work in your favour, as it has effectively ‘levelled the playing field’.

What does Penguin do?

Penguin has been created to penalise sites that engage in any kind of link spam or ‘shady activity’. It is no longer possible for a site to up their Google rankings by including irrelevant content. If the links on your site repeatedly use the same terms or keywords Google will class this as untrustworthy and you will be penalised. It is important to adopt good SEO practices to prevent your website rankings dropping dramatically.

Is SEO difficult for smaller businesses?

SEO can be a challenge for smaller businesses purely due to the fact that it can be very time consuming. You can choose to outsource this area of your business if you don’t have the available resources to devote to maintaining and improving your websites rankings, but there are still some key steps available for you to take.

The first thing is to understand what is commonly considered to be web spam, so you can avoid using this on your own website. Google has set out quality guidelines which it expects websites to adhere to, here are a few:

• Avoid hidden text and links: Hidden text or links can be created by making the text colour the same as the background colour, making it invisible to the user, this is considered to be untrustworthy by Google. If you adopt these tactics you will be hurt by the new Penguin update. To prevent this, do not employ CSS or scripts to hide text. In short, if you have placed texts and links on your page that cannot be seen by the reader it is likely that Google will class this as spam.
• Avoid using sneaky redirects or cloaking: Cloaking is the practice of serving different content or URL’s to search engines then you do to your users. For example, do not serve an HTML text site to a search engine, and a flash site to your users, this will be perceived as deceptive by Google.
• Don’t Duplicate: Whilst it may seem like a good idea to double up on keywords by duplicating pages or creating multiple domains, Google does not take kindly to this practice and will class this as a form of spam
• Malicious behaviour: If your website employs phishing tactics, or installs viruses and trojans Google will consider your website to be spam, and this will lead to you being blacklisted
• Doorway pages: Avoid doorway pages created for search engines, these tend to annoy users and are in violation of Google’s policies
• Content: Avoid adding irrelevant keywords to your page. If the content does not relate to your site or business it will be considered as spam

By following the above steps you can help to prevent your website from being downgraded by the new Penguin outdate.

If you have been hit by the update, don’t panic, the important thing is to start fresh, build a website that adheres to Google’s policies and you will start to see a recovery in your ratings. The worst thing you can do is nothing; you need to act now as your competitors will already be working to up their Google rankings and cleaning up their sites.

By following these steps you will ensure that you are presenting a clean, accessible site for your customers with content that is truly relevant to your business. This also means that on your next visit to the zoo, Penguin’s will resort back to being the cute, tuxedo wearing flightless birds that we know and love, not a source of stress and agitation.

If you’ve been pecked by the penguin or want help with your SEO find out about our SEO services here

An April 2012 report sponsored by the Social Media Examiner found the following:

• 83% of marketers felt that social media was important for their business.
• 85% said social media would help increase their business exposure and most people preferred Facebook for their social media marketing.
• A third of businesses said they set aside 11 hours of more for social media each week, and almost 60% spent at least six hours on sites including Google+, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
• 30% said they chose to outsource their social media marketing.

Quality or Quantity?

If you’re using social media to market your business, quality is more important than quantity. You’ll need to provide content that people are interested in, and want to share. The same report found that people preferred Facebook and Twitter if they were just starting out, and moved on to other sites when they had more time to commit.

Only an Hour to Spare?

The most important thing is to remember to use social media regularly. You want to be on-hand to offer fast support and quick responses to potential or current customers. After all, if they were phoning with a query you wouldn’t ignore the call for days. If you have only an hour to commit to social media each week, it’s far better to spend ten minutes a day on Facebook, Twitter or other social media websites than to spend an hour on them once a week.

Marketing can maximise your business profit. It can help in small doses, but if you’re able to spend more on marketing you can increase it even further. Take two businesses, for example:

Business A has an annual turnover of £100k. Each year, their costs total £50k, and they make a £50k profit. The people at Business A spend their year trying to reduce their costs, to increase their profits. They’ll never make more than £100k in profit, even if they eliminated all business costs.

Business B has an annual turnover of £1m. Their business costs total £500k a year. This money is spent on marketing, and they make a £500k profit. They’ve spent much more on marketing their business, but in return they’ve received ten times the profit that Business A has made.

Marketing can help you scale up your business. The initial costs can bring a greater return on investment. Think of it like selling cookies. You can buy 100 cookies costing 10p each, and you’ll have spent £10 on cookies. Sell them on for 50p each, and you’ll have a turnover of £50 and a profit of £40. Of course, if you’d invested more initially, purchasing 1000 cookies for £100, you could sell them for the same price and have a turnover of £500 and a profit of £400. You’ve spent ten times more initially, but you’ve made a profit that’s ten times bigger as well.

Marketing your business will help you get attention, will save you time and will tell people what your business is about. Look at marketing as an investment, rather than a cost…the more you spend, the greater the return you will get.

Pinterest

Pinterest is quickly becoming a social network success. In the US, it was the fastest social network to reach 12 million unique visitors. It’s a content-sharing site, offering the chance for individuals and businesses to ‘pin’ what they like for others to see. Not only does it offer the chance to share content with your audience, it offers the chance to see who’s sharing your product or website, and why.

Our Rating: 8/10

Why? It’s a popular choice, it’s caught on quickly, but does it offer enough to keep people coming back for more?

Instagram

Instagram recently hit the news after being bought out by Facebook for $1bn. It allows users to take, edit and upload images to friends, family and the world. It’s also recently launched an Android app.

Our Rating: 6/10

Why? Whether Facebook bought out Instagram just to get its hand on the audience, or whether they have big developments in the pipeline remains to be seen. What is known is that Twitter wanted Instagram some time before Facebook made their move. It could go either way.

Tumblr

Social blogging platform Tumblr lets users post a wide range of content, follow other people or opt for privacy. With approximately 50 million blogs already set up, it’s particularly popular with an audience of teenagers and young adults looking to share their thoughts and experiences online.

Our Rating: 7/10

Why? Tumblr is a brand. It’s thought that the word Tumblr could soon be searched for more than the word ‘blog’. Pinterest has recently taken over Tumblr in terms of popularity, but the site should be robust enough to come back fighting.

GiftEm

This quirky addition gives people the chance to sign up, socialise and share a limitless gift wishlist. The site will allow individuals to connect with friends and family, and see everything they’ve ever wanted. Never again will you be left wondering which handbag your wife would like. Selling a product? You’ll get an insight into whether or not it’s wanted!

Our Rating: 4/10

Why? This site’s created by Pearse Street – major players in social networking, but it seems a little self-indulgent and pretty single-minded. Not one to hold your breath for!

Diaspora

Online, and particularly on social network Facebook, we’re finding that others know more about us than we do. Google adverts can target us based on our likes and dislikes, and we share every moment on Facebook. Diaspora is a social network aiming to change all that, by providing higher levels of privacy and full control over distribution.

Our Rating: 5/10

Why? It’s a great concept, but it results in a smaller scope for marketing. People won’t be able to share your content with their friends and followers unless you’ve agreed it. As a plus, it offers the chance to group your followers into ‘aspects’, for more accurate targeting.

Path

Social networks are no longer all about the computer. Mobile social networks are coming into their own, and Path is one of the most popular. It’s like a streamlined Facebook, offering the chance to share images, videos, moments and thoughts. It can be used to tag people and places, and for businesses that means the chance to get noticed. So far, it’s available on iPhone or Android.

Our Rating: 7/10

We lead busy lives. Most of the time, we’re interacting on the go. Path is a little bit of Twitter, a little bit of Facebook and a little bit of FourSquare all in one, and has the potential to be a big social and marketing tool in the future.

Why target my marketing?

Knowing your audience and targeting your marketing towards them can save you effort in the long run. Marketing aimed at people who don’t want your service can, on occasion, convert them. Unfortunately, more often than not it simply frustrates. If you’re trying to sell windows, you focus on the homeowners and not on people renting. If you’re trying to sell dog collars, you don’t need to aim your marketing towards people with pet chickens. Whatever you sell, you want to find people who are likely to buy.

Does targeted marketing take more time?

If it’s done right, targeted marketing will save you time in the long run. Rather than capturing everyone and sifting through for the people who want your product, you can focus your attentions on genuine potential customers. It can take a little longer to find them in the first place, but once you do they’re a long-term source of income.

How can I find my target market?

Some methods of marketing will help you to find your target market with little effort, but in most cases you’ll need to have a good knowledge of who you’re targeting already. Take time to research where your target market are based, how they find your product, service or website and how you can develop the best marketing strategy to reach them. This will be different for every business, so take time to find what will work for you.

The Difference between Selling and Marketing

Selling a product or service can be time-consuming. When you sell, you explain what you’re offering and you tell someone how it could benefit them. You need to tell someone that your light bulb could help them see in the dark, in order to make them want it.

Marketing is different. Marketing is like selling in advance. You provide the information people need, and by the time they come to buy a light bulb they already know exactly what it is, and how it can help them. Effective marketing can save time and effort. Instead of selling that bulb by talking someone through its purpose and its benefits, you just have to take their order when it’s time to buy.

What happens if I do marketing?

If you put effort into marketing your product, you’ll save yourself time in future. Conversion rates will increase, because your customers will be more educated and will know what you’re offering and how it can help them. You’ll end up with more leads, more people purchasing your product or service and a shorter overall sales cycle.

What happens if I don’t do marketing?

If you rely on selling instead of marketing, you’ll end up spending a lot of your time answering basic questions and telling people why they should buy what you offer. Instead of generating leads and taking orders, you’ll be talking people through exactly what your service or product can do for them.

Marketing vs. Selling

Marketing can save you time. Potential customers will know exactly what it is you’re asking them to buy, and they’re far more likely to buy quickly. Faster purchases will lead to healthier company profits, instead of time wasted selling.

Marketing isn’t easy. It takes time and effort, and it can be tough to keep up with the latest trends and developments. Your time is important, and you’ve probably got other things to focus on. As you deal with everything else, you can trust Xander Marketing to offer a virtual marketing service that offers a great return on investment.

What can a virtual marketing department do for you?

• We offer a full marketing service, so you’re covered from Strategy to SEO, and from branding to graphic design.
• We work as part of your team to develop your brand and business.
• We’ll help you build your customer base, bring traffic to your site and be an integral part of what you do.
• We build a virtual marketing department that suits your business. Every SME is different, and we use the skills of a professional virtual marketing team to ensure the best fit.
• We deliver a cost effective service. We’ll be your reliable virtual marketing team and we’ll deliver results consistently.
• We provide a continuous, reliable virtual marketing service. We keep track of all that goes on in the marketing world, and we work together to save you the hassle of finding different people for different aspects of marketing.
• We’ll provide our expertise, so you won’t need to find it in current or future employees. That leaves you to build your team around the other areas of your business.
• We’ll be on hand for all your marketing needs.
• We’ll help to source customers and promote what you do, so you can get on with doing it.
• Though we’re always thinking about what’s best for your business, we’ll only work when you need us. Why pay for a full time service when you don’t need it?

To learn more about our virtual marketing team, and the benefits of virtual marketing, just give us a call on 0118 321 7620. You can also email us, or find out more about our virtual marketing service.

Or is it?

In the past, when a potential sale didn’t convert, you had to hope you’d be remembered when someone became a little less busy. Now, you get more chances when you pay for remarketing. Google AdWords remarketing, at that.

What is remarketing? You’re sure to have seen it in action. You’ll have been on a website, done some research and moved on. You’ll have gone to another website only to see that the products you were previously browsing are back on the screen. Remarketing adverts take your computer’s cookies, check what you’ve been viewing and promote it again, in the hope that you’ll return to complete your purchase.

Remarketing adverts can be seen on any site that’s part of the Google Display Network. They’re sites that display AdWords advertising. They make money from their advertising space, and you make money by tagging your adverts to link them with pages the people have browsed on your site. Along with the potential for an increase in instant conversions, Google AdWords remarketing allows your brand to pop up all over the web, getting into the mind of visitors in ‘subliminal messaging’ style. Additionally, you can provide a special offer that customer wouldn’t have initially seen, to lure them back.

Remarketing can improve your conversion rates by up to 75%, business dependent. All that’s left is to choose how to target people you thought you’d lost. Capture those who’ve abandoned their shopping carts, and those who did nothing more than browse. When that customer returns with their cup of coffee, they’ll be far more likely to buy.

Looking to find remarketing solutions that work for your business? Contact us now, and put Xander Marketing at the front of your Google remarketing strategy, for marketing solutions that really work.

Here we explore what it is, who it’s for, why it could be important, and how to get started.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a social network that allows users to share, curate and discover new interests by posting, also known as ‘pinning’ images or videos to their own or others’ pinboards. Content can either be uploaded or pinned from the web.

It’s about creating virtual pinboards and as it’s a social network commenting, repining and interaction with other social networks like Facebook and Twitter is encouraged, as is sharing content via email.

Who is Pinterest for?

Businesses using Pinterest tend to be businesses that are image heavy for example fashion, arts and crafts or cake businesses. It’s a great way to share images, however other businesses are using it to share infographics or photos of their latest office gathering.

Why does Pinterest matter?

• You can feature visual content: Pictures you have, visuals from blogs, infographics, eBook covers, photos of your customers
• Traffic: Early research indicates Pinterest is more effective in driving traffic to websites compared to other social media sites, even Facebook
• Links: If you use the “Pin It” button every page that is pinned becomes a link back to your website
• Social sharing: You can login through Facebook and Twitter encouraging interaction between social media websites

Getting started

At the time of writing you still need an invite to join Pinterest. However go to Pinterest.com and request an invite and you’ll receive an email with in a day or two. Then login, create a pinboard, add some content, follow some people or brands and have a play.

Is Pinterest the next big thing?

It’s still too early to say and is still largely a US social network however it’s quickly making ground in the UK. It’s growing faster than Google+ (which at the time was the fastest growing social network ever) however still has a long way to go until it gets anywhere near Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. If you sell products that are visual then it may be worth getting started there. For now it’s defiantly worth being aware of.

Huddlebuy is the biggest group buying site in the UK and is for ‘entrepreneurs, freelancers and managers’.

It works with a similar concept to Groupon – no up front costs and your deal gets broadcast across email and social media to its large database of followers.

Usually one new deal a day, deals tend to stay on the website for a few days. Huddlebuy supplies you leads and like Groupon takes a commission on business that lead generates.

Who is it for?

If your target market is small businesses or freelancers then this is a great way to get a lot of leads quickly with no up front marketing costs. Maybe you’re on a limited budget, or maybe you’re looking at new ways to reach your target audience. Find out more about getting your deal on the site here.

If this isn’t your target market but you’re a business owner and want the best deals for your business then why not sign up for Huddlebuy’s daily deals here.