Counting ads served and not ads seen is one of the biggest problems plaguing digital media. In fact, according to comScore’s figures, more than 30 percent of ads served go unseen by consumers, which means 1/3 of advertisers’ dollars are wasted.

So, how does CPX differ from CPC and CPI? From the looks of the screenshot on the article page, it looks as though less ads that are given better real estate and premium space ensures the exposure, which in turn can assure advertisers that they are in fact getting what they are paying for. Do you think CPX could be effective? Would you invest in it?

1. A Blogger’s Approach to SEO: Liam Dempsey discusses in dazzling detail how he handles SEO within his own blogging and blog-hopping endeavors on a day-to-day basis. Whether you’re a blogger, a marketer, or like me and a little bit of both, you’ll definitely want to read over this great post.
2. Eight out of 10 PRs work with bloggers to gain coverage: The Drum discusses how 82% of polled public relations professionals confess to working with bloggers in order to provide coverage for bloggers. Overall, 98% of polled PR reps indicated that bloggers are useful to their work. If this doesn’t solidify our opinion that bloggers are a great source for SEO as well as general website/brand promotion, I don’t know what is!
3. 12 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic: a must-read for increasing traffic to your own blogs. Many thanks to SEO Moz for providing valuable content, as always.
4. SEO for Corporate Blogs: Where to Use Keywords: so relevant from an SEO standpoint, this post deserves more than a skim.
5. From Google Plus: 6 Firefox Add-Ons That Can Help Bloggers Improve Their Blogs SEO

Many bloggers are open to the idea of working with marketers. Some understand from the get-go your needs, while others may not know exactly what it is you’re looking for, or how they can help you. It’s best to take the time to not only introduce yourself and your website to them, but to let them know how they can help you.

Link exchanges are quite popular, though not all bloggers participate in link exchanges or link swaps outside of their circle of friends.

Paid links are considered black hat SEO techniques, and should never be employed unless the links are marked as nofollow, and the blogger discloses somewhere on their blog the presence of paid links.

Product reviews and giveaways are a very viable option. You get the traffic, exposure and SEO boost you’re looking for, while the blogger gets a free product and some additional traffic and readership as a result of the giveaway.

When communicating with bloggers, it’s important to keep an open dialog, and always bounce these and other ideas back and forth.

What do you get if you cross a Panda & a Penguin?…. a Skunk!

I will have more advice coming soon…

My heart really goes out the these stores that don’t know what to-do right now, with the unemployement rate so high… I only hope for the best :(

Sincerely,

Catherine Seven – C7 or Cat

Founder of SEOwhat.com
Online Marketing Couch,  eMarketing & Optimization (SEO)  Strategies

Read my unedited version @www.CatherineSeven.com (beware spelling, grammar is not qualified)

1. Group keywords properly, and always focus on keyword conversion rates. Creating proper groups of keywords is essential to asisting search engines in displaying ads that are on-target. By resisting the urge to group all of your keywords together, you’ll be able to more effectively test your campaign’s strength in individual sectors, and then make keyword tweaks where necessary. Also, by focusing on keyword conversion rates overall, you’ll be able to see the overall conversion for purchases, rather than just the click-throughs.
2. Link to specific parts of your website. Resist the urge to direct click-throughs to your homepage for the most traffic “diversion” potential. People who are redirected to website homepages tend to become distracted or bored, or worse, mistaken in terms of thinking that they clicked on the wrong link or ad. By directing links to specific web pages on your site, you make sure that every click counts, and that the landing pages that are served up are relevant to what users are clicking for.
3. Target campaigns based on region. Ideally, ads should be displayed based on the geographical location of the visitor. By organizing keywords into groups that are geographically-defined, you can customize ads to draw people in based on their location – which often also correlates to their culture, shopping habits, and more.

Soon, marketers will be able to “track any action that can be taken on Facebook downstream from an ad”, Facebook’s own product manager, David Baser, was quoted as saying to ClickZ. Baser went on to explain that any action that a developer can embed into Facebook’s API will be trackable through the new Facebook ad analytics Ads Manager dashboard.

Will the new and improved Facebook Ads Manager entice you to try or branch out ad campaigns on Facebook?

Paid search ads will be new territory for Foursquare, who up until this point has been a purely organic application. While specials and promotions are available, as well as syndicated deals from Groupon, Gilt City, ScoutMob, LivingSocial, and others, these specials and promotions have only appeared from the Explore > Specials feature – and not directly in searches or other areas of the application.

If you don’t exercise social media within your business you are missing out on a large sector of consumers. Social media is all about expressing opinions on brands, products, and much more. When social media is used correctly it can give you a huge competitive advantage. Besides gaining customer insight social media can also benefit your business by gaining new customers. An easy way to use social media to your advantage is to ask customers to vote on new products you may have or have customers vote on user submissions through various contests using video or photo submissions. Doing this will engage your target market giving you an insider perspective about with consumers really want.

When customers feel their feedback is valued by companies they are more likely to become loyal customers and recommend your products or services. Adding incentives through social media such as discounts rewards your customers which in return will also incorporate their positive feedback through social media.

At Bing, we want to keep things simple by proposing the “one URL per content item” strategy. For each website, instead of having different URLs per platform (one URL for desktop, another for mobile devices, etc.), our feedback is that producing fewer variations of URLs will benefit you by avoiding sub-optimal and underperforming results. It can help manage unwanted bandwidth usage as well.

There’s definitely an advantage to having just one URL to access content with: there’s only one URL to remember! Furthermore, from a search engine optimization standpoint, just one URL means having more rankings coming in via just one URL, which means better search engine ranking benefits.

If affected by Penguin a way to recover from the Penguin update is to remove any spam you may have on your page. Chances are if you do have spam content Google may have sent you a message, possibly in the past, about spamming. Make sure to check your Google Webmaster Central to notice any messages, and to verify your account. Within the Google Webmaster Central there is an opportunity to fill out a “reconsideration request”, but, since the Penguin has taken effect the new update will no longer accept reconsideration requests. Google has said, “Because this is an algorithmic change, Google has no plans to make manual exceptions. Webmasters cannot ask for reconsideration of their site, but we’re happy to hear feedback about the change on our webmaster forum.”

• Offer guest blogging on other sites. Create unique, high quality articles that are 200-300 words in length and include 1-2 credit links to you in the opening or ending disclosure. You get high quality back links, and the blog your guest post is published on receives unique content to boost its rankings as well.
• Link to other websites. Then, email those owners to let them know that you did so. You can request a link in return, or hope that they will be courteous enough to link to you, even if you don’t ask.
• As always, focus on quality content. Quality content encourages more visitors, and the more visitors you have, the more likely it is that your website will be linked to by other sites.

But did you know that Google’s +1 Button and search engine optimization go hand in hand? It’s no surprise, really, considering that Google is all about the SEO. As a February article from Mashable explains, the +1 button indeed has an effect on your site’s search engine ranking. The more stamps of approval a particular piece of content from your website has, the more likely it is that it’ll rank higher in search engine results – which in turn can potentially mean the higher your site ranks, overall.

To explain a bit further: links that are +1′ed often lead to higher CTRs (click-through-ratings), which means that the links are more likely to be shared on social networks. In these instances, shared and retweeted links had a positive correlation between the number of their shares/retweets and their overall rankings/positions in Google’s search results.

To put it simply? +1 your links whenever possible, and encourage visitors to do the same.

Google has “upped” the ante and has made PDF’s and scanable books searchable But Google still hasn’t accomplished what they would like, they have a messaging system in the works that will make attaching content through Google + a snap. Along with this Google has more in the works: fax machine re placer, Hello Fax and video editing mechanism, We Video. The Google Drive allows for 5GB of space, which is not very big, and will be widely used among an array of consumers because of its ease and accessibility’s. As always Google has more in the works and has released with the Google Drive, a statement: “there is a lot more to come”, which is no shock to us.

1. Compile and analyze data. Figure out which subjects and links are getting the most clicks, and make note of those topics – and be sure to include similar topics in the future. Also, while working on adding more well-performing content, you should also think about removing poorly-performing content, thus freeing up valuable space for other content that may provide better results.
2. Make things short and sweet. Divide your newsletter up into separate sections, being sure to use large, bold headings and color-coded images and links to distinguish areas from one another. This makes it easier for readers to quickly zero in on content that interests them.
3. Segment subscribers. If you have a lot of subscribers and a lot of content, think about creating different versions of your newsletters based on what your subscribers want.
4. Survey your subscribers. If in doubt, survey your subscribers and ask them what they’d like to see – and not see – in your newsletters. Then, change up your newsletters accordingly.

Simply put, black hat search engine optimization is a collection of SEO techniques that are unethical. Many website developers are guilty of using black hat seo techniques in order to unfairly obtain higher search engine and keyword rankings. In most instances, black hat seo techniques break the guidelines and rules set forth by search engines and provide a poor user experience. Utilizing one or more black hat search engine optimization techniques may boost your site in the short term, but in the long run you lose the risk of being discovered by one or more search engines and losing your ill-gotten ranking temporarily, or possibly permanently.

White hat search engine optimization, on the other hand, are SEO strategies and techniques that are above board – fair, ethical, and practical, with a focus on delivering high quality content to visitors rather than trying to simply pander to search engines. Whether you’re going to be handling your website’s search engine optimization needs, or outsourcing to a search engine optimization company, make sure that white hat SEO techniques are the only ones you use.

This is definitely the social network’s largest acquisition to date (though possibly not the largest or the last), and probably the most exciting, given how popular Instagram is among Apple — and now Android — users. From the article:

With Instagram, Facebook will get a formidable mobile player – an area that is seen as a weakness for the sprawling social network.

In a post on his profile page, Facebook’s chief Mark Zuckerberg said Instagram would continue to work with rival social networks.

Facebook announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Instagram, a fun, popular photo-sharing app for mobile devices.

Given how popular Instagram is, and how popular Facebook is, one can only imagine what how great of a merger this is for both companies.

1. Target by gender. Studies have shown that just 34% of marketers target by gender; and this is a missed opportunity. See the performance of your ads jump by targeting ads by gender. In this case, segmenting is a good thing.
2. Utilize Sponsored Stories. Sponsored Stories were introduced last year, and are available in all feeds, and are a very viable option for all marketers. Sponsored Stories are content-focused, and dissimilar in appearance from traditional ads, meaning that your ads have the opportunity to really “pop”. Currently, about 55% of respondents to surveys aren’t using them, so here’s your chance to break in a fresh market.
3. Refresh your ad creative several times a week. Refreshing your content several times a week ensures that your ads won’t go stale. Most ads have clicks that peak within the first 72 hours of going live; thus, it makes sense to offer new content to catch your targets’ eyes.
4. Scale campaigns with ad management software. Ad management software, which is offered by numerous Facebook ad API partners, can help you with managing campaigns at scale. Bringing in third party software can help you with strategy, creation, and execution.
5. Going after smaller audiences? Try CPM pricing. Cut back on campaign prices by trying out CPM (cost-per-thousand-views) pricing options for smaller audiences. Facebook offers this along with CPC (cost-per-click). CPM is best and most effective for audiences under 1,000.

As we all know Pinterest has become a HUGE social media forum, especially for women, but how is it benefiting people from a business perspective? Many people, 11 million to be exact, have jumped on the Pinterest band wagon which has sparked the eyes of many Marketing firms. However, Pinterest has never had a model for businesses or even e-commerce sites.

As we all could have figured Pinterest does has an upcoming rivalry, Fancy, which does benefit e-commerce sites. Fancy, like Pinterest, allows users to express their self expression through visual appearance and wish lists. Unlike Pinterest, Fancy considers itself a blog, magazine and wish list all in one. Fancy is currently being used by many small and large companies for e commerce purposes. “Instead of thinking of us as a self-expression platform, think of us as really laser-focused on a modern commerce model,” said Fancy’s founder Joe Einhorn. Fancy is beneficial and an upcoming phenomenon for businesses and consumers.

Fancy applies to e-commerce in a couple ways.

1. Links Directly to E-commerce Sites

Like Pinterest, users are able to upload photos, however, they are usually uploaded from an e-commerce site. When “Fancied” consumers are brought to the site and are able to purchase through a “buy it” button.

2. “I want to sell it” Link

Fancy allows merchants to purchase directly on the Fancy site. Once consumers have “fancied” their products companies have the ability to look at what users have posted and place a bid on the item through a “I want to sell it” link to claim customers.

Once merchants have chosen the “I want to sell it” link they are brought to a registration web page where they are able to list their availability of the hot product. Fancy users can easily purchase their wanted item through the Fancy site from the direct merchant.

Running a giveaway or contest on Facebook is one of the easiest ways to utilize social media in order to generate buzz, encourage fan engagement, and increase your fan following. But Facebook has very strict rules concerning campaigns held on its site (and even campaigns held on other sites that involve it), and it’s important that you follow them in order to protect your Facebook presence. More than anything, it’s important to keep in mind that Facebook does not want any contests, giveaways, or other promotions to be held directly on its site. It’s fine to promote them on Facebook, but the collection of entries and drawing of winners must be done elsewhere. The easiest way to do this is to use third party apps or software.

For more information, I highly recommend checking out Social Media Examiner’s article, Facebook Promotions: What You Need To Know, which has a very thorough breakdown on Facebook promotions and how to go about doing them.

First, let’s focus on space and images. Make sure that you’re not making the common mistake of under-utilizing space and images. Take advantage of the full image size allowed, and make sure that the image you use is interesting to the audience, and relevant to your advertisement. And in terms of space – again, make sure that the space is taken up by the image! Maybe make use of a large space for an image by adding a caption to a smaller image.

Next, make sure that the focus of your ad is to tell your audience why they’re interested. Market the ad to them by focusing on them, not on you. An easy way to make sure your ad accomplishes this is by asking yourself if it meets the criteria for What’s In It For Me (WIIFM).

Finally, don’t hide the real value of what it is you have to offer. Any text that’s in your Facebook ad should draw your audience in and make it compelling for them to click and then follow through.

For the last week and a half Android users have been rejoicing, because the long-awaited release of Instagram for Android operating systems (primarily on mobile devices, but also on tablets) is finally here. The official blog post released on Instagram.com summed up the announcement perfectly: Instagram for Android — Available Now.. Over 430,000 Android users had been chomping at the bit for a taste of Android — and contending themselves with alternatives such as PicPlz (the closest thing I have personally found to be as great and feature-packed as Android) in the meantime.

Android users are happy to to be able to use Instagram right on their own Android devices. Get your own copy of the fun app directly from your phone (visit the Android Market or Google Play store), or online at the Google Play Store.

• Avoid unrelated keywords. If you’re writing about Dyson vacuum cleaners, don’t include links to pet care websites. Instead, focus on related content and keywords.
• Don’t overly stuff keywords into your content. Write sentences that make sense to both human and search engine visitors, and avoid the urge to stuff keywords into every single sentence.
• Don’t add tiny or hidden text or links to your website. The only content you should post on your website is content that you intend on displaying for everyone to view.
• Never cloak your content. Be strictly honest and create websites that answer what your visitors are searching for.
• Don’t create spammy blogs, also known as splogs.

As search engine optimization continues to evolve, it can be all too easy to focus on today’s must-do SEO tactics, and forget about the basics. As a reminder, here are the basics of SEO that you should never neglect:

1. Put together a great website
2. Get your brand out there – introduced, recognized, trusted
3. Produce original, quality content on a daily basis
4. Incorporate basic SEO strategies into your website
5. Build plenty of inbound traffic, but only via white hat SEO tecniques
6. Carefully record and analyze all data
7. Test opimitzation and conversion techniques
8. Tweak as necessary

New SEO strategies will come and go, but you should always have the basics of SEO to start with and fall back on.

Meta SEO Inspector: use Meta SEO Inspector to inspect description and title tags, and find out additional info about them.

Mozbar: use Mozbar to see at-a-glance SEO metrics, highlight follow/no-follow links, view internal and external links, research and compare keywords, and more.

SEO Site Tools: use SEO Site Tools to view on-page as well as external metrics, information on social media, Google SERPs, and more.

Pinterest’s primary users are female – roughly 60 percent of them – and the over half of those female users are between the ages of 25 and 44. The majority of visitors, both male and female, hail from Califonia and Texas, with plenty of visitors coming from the midwestern, northwestern, and southeastern states, too.

Read more at Search Engine Watch.

From their blog:

This morning, we filed suit in federal court in San Francisco against five of the most aggressive tool providers and spammers. With this suit, we’re going straight to the source. By shutting down tool providers, we will prevent other spammers from having these services at their disposal. Further, we hope the suit acts as a deterrent to other spammers, demonstrating the strength of our commitment to keep them off Twitter.

Good move, Twitter. Taking spammers to court may seem like a dramatic move, but it’s an example that needs to be set.

Are all the pages on my site, especially those I plan to link into… You always want to check and re-check to make sure that all links and images are in place and working, contact pages and other relevant pages are present, and that keywords match corresponding URLs and information.

Do you have a credit card or PayPal account open and available? This may seem like an obvious one, but it never hurts to double check. Whether you’re submitting to premium directories, or you’re setting up direct advertisement or promotional opportunities with bloggers and other commercial sites, you want to make sure that one or more payment options are available.

Does your website have a Twitter account set up? Yes, yes, and yes! We can’t stress this one enough. Social media presence is of paramount importance, so make sure your Twitter account is set up, filled out, and active!

1. Take a break from your computer. Sometimes, stepping away from your computer is the best thing to do if you want to clear your head and come up with new, or at least new-to-you, strategies. Brainstorm while going for a drive or a walk. Think about existing strategies that could be re-made with your own goals in mind; or, be inspired by existing strategies and come up with new ones. Sometimes all it takes is you driving by a car wash who is doing local advertising to give you the perfect idea for your online advertising needs.
2. Re-purpose old techniques. You may be tied the computer, but chances are there are older, “offline” techniques that may work just as well for online purposes. Why re-invent the wheel when all you need to do is put a new spin on it (no pun intended)? Search not only your direct competition but other related and even non-related industries to see what works for them. Research all sorts of sites and ideas to see what you may find that’ll work for you.
3. Concoct your own recipe. Who says you need to follow a, b, and c to the letter? Use a little of a, a lot of b, and skip c entirely, if that’s what it takes! Multiple good ideas can come together to create even better ideas.

-go to your posts and save images to your computer that you want to be salvaged.

-export all of your posts or delete your account for your own security (under settings)

Your Meme account will be available up until May 25, but, on April 25 Meme will enter “reduced functionality” mode meaning Meme will not be allowing new users or posts to be made. One May 25 Meme will be shutting down its social media website and all URL’s will become inaccessible. FYI your yahoo account will not be affected by this change you will just no longer be a Meme user. As stated by Yahoo the why’s to this action are as stated, “As part of Yahoo!’s commitment to delivering Web content and tools that matter most to people, we are reprioritizing our portfolio so we can focus on our core strengths and new innovations.”