Are You Using Google’s Search Tool Belt?

Do you ever perform a Google search and wish you could drill down further into the results?

Although this isn’t a new feature, the Google Search Tool Belt on the left-hand navigation bar is designed for that specific purpose, yet it is often ignored. This search utility belt allows you to slice and dice your search results in many ways. From images, maps, videos, and more, these search options tend to often be overlooked by searchers (myself included).

You probably notice that, unless you are a power user, you tend to perform a search and look for the fastest most relevant-appearing result that you can find. But, next time you perform a search, give the tool belt a try. See what kind of search experience you have when you use these tools.

Try it out and tell us your feedback!

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Social Media Profits for Your Business

This Wednesday Webinar, provided by Social Media Strategist, Warren Whitlock, will discuss strategies that really work in social media and how to profit from social media.

The webinar will cover the two word marketing strategy of the future, how to get instant results from real time marketing, the three step strategy to ensure you are heard, how to leverage the conversation, how to stop selling and get more sales, when to ask for help and how to get it, and more!

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, December 28, 2011 from 12:30pm EST – 1:30pm EST. To register and for more information please visit: Social Media Profits for Your Business

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents 11 Secrets to Promoting Your Blog

This Wednesday Webinar, provided by Erik Deckers, VP of Creative Services for Professional Blog Service, will include 11 tools and techniques you can use to promote your blog and increase readers through social media.

The webinar will cover strategies to promote blogs, including blogs for SEO and blogs for readership.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, December 21, 2011 from 12:30pm EST – 1:30pm EST. To register and for more information please visit: 11 Secrets to Promoting Your Blog

Enhancements to Facebook Page Insights

Calling all Facebook Page admins…

Have you explored the latest Facebook Page Insights? Facebook’s reporting feature has been revamped and now includes advanced reporting to really give Facebook Page admins a better grasp on their community.



Here is a highlight on what some of these new metrics mean:

• Total Likes = The number of unique people who like your Page.

• Friends of Fans = The number of unique people who are friends with your fans.

• People Talking About This = The number of unique people who have created a story about your Page in the last 7 days. These stories include liking your Page, posting to your Page’s Wall, liking, commenting or sharing one of your Page Posts, answering a Question you posted, RSVPing to one of your events, mentioning your Page, photo tagging your Page, checking in at your Place, recommending your Place.

• Weekly Total Reach = The number of unique people who have seen any content associated with your Page (including any Ads or Sponsored Stories pointing to your Page) in the last 7 days.

One of my preferred metrics right now is, “People Talking About This”. Since both fans and non-fans can see this metric displayed on a Page, it really makes the need for community engagement front and center. How many fans are you losing because they saw a small number? This metric pushes for valuable content that gets the community responding.

Which new reporting metric have you benefited from the most? How did it help you improve your Facebook community?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents How to Close More Business in Less Time

This Wednesday Webinar provided by Gil Effron, experienced business advisor and marketing strategist, will include strategies to close more business in less time and improve your bottom line.

The webinar will cover strategies to speed up, shorten and streamline your online sales process to sell more, in less time, with less effort.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, December 14, 2011 from 12:30pm EST – 1:30pm EST. To register and for more information please visit: How to Close More Business in Less Time

YouTube Analytics for Better Engagement

In an effort to better understand your viewing audience, YouTube has upgraded its reporting capabilities with the launch of YouTube Analytics. Supplementary to this new feature, you can also reference the YouTube Creator Playbook. It further explains this new reporting platform as well as provides tips, best practices, and strategies for building your YouTube audience. Using both will aid in discovering how to make more compelling videos while lending value to your community.

Here are some highlights of the YouTube Analytics features:

• A Quick Overview: A new overview provides all of the information that you care about quickly, while also enabling you to easily access more detailed information.
• More Detailed Reports: Analytics now includes more detailed statistics so that you can have a more precise understanding of your content and audiences.
• Audience Builders: Discover which videos are driving the most views and subscriptions.
• Audience Retention: See how far viewers are watching through your video in the new audience retention report.

YouTube receives 800 million unique user visits each month. Are you analyzing the visits you receive to best engage your Channel viewers?

Internet Marketing doesn't work!

Actually, it does.  Unfortunately, 19 out of 20 people will not, cannot and won't learn and do what is required to succeed at online business.  That is why, for many out there, the best idea is to get a job!  There is a new job-search website that looks kind of interesting because it's world-wide.

It's called Jooble. (new window)

If a job is what you really need, then maybe you'll find it there.  Best of luck!

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents The Brand As Publisher - Should Content Be the Center of Your Marketing

This Wednesday Webinar, provided by Joe Pulizzi, content marketing evangelist, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, and CEO of SocialTract, will include strategies to help you leverage the power of content marketing.

The webinar will provide examples and case studies of successful content marketing and will detail the 8 things you should do right now with your content marketing.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, December 7, 2011 from 12:30pm EST – 1:30pm EST. To register and for more information please visit: The Brand As Publisher - Should Content Be the Center of Your Marketing

The Termination of Google Wave

We all knew this day would come, but it has now been made official – Google Wave will soon be no more.

Google Wave was positioned as a collaborative “working environment” and although seeming like a useful tool, the platform just never stuck.

Below are details from The Wave Team announcement:

As we announced in August 2010, we are not continuing active development of Google Wave as a stand-alone product. Google Wave will be shut down in April 2012. This page details the implication of the turn down process for Google Wave.

Stage 1: Google Wave is read-only -- January 31, 2012

In this stage, you will no longer be able to create or edit waves. Marking a wave as read will also not be saved.

During this time, you will continue to be able to export your waves using the existing PDF export feature. You’ll still be able to read existing waves and access the Google Wave client.

Stage 2: Google Wave shut down -- April 30, 2012

In this stage, all the Google Wave servers will be shut down and you will no longer be able to get to your waves. Make sure to export any waves you want to save before that time.

I’m sorry for the sad news Wavers…

So the question remains, will Google incorporate “Waves” into Google+?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents How to Generate REAL Business on LinkedIn

This Wednesday Webinar provided by Neal Schaffer, Senior Vice President of Social Media Strategy for Social 5150 and Vice President of Social Media Strategy for Green Dream Social, will include expert strategies for generating business on LinkedIn.

The webinar will cover strategies including creating a sales-oriented page, generating connections to help you drive business, the power of groups, and much more.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, November 30, 2011 from 12:30pm EST – 1:30pm EST. To register and for more information please visit: How to Generate REAL Business on LinkedIn

Personalized Google Pay Per Click Ads

While using Google search, have you noticed the link, “Why these ads?”


Upon clicking this link, Google advises that the ads are based on your current search terms. You also have the option to visit Google’s Ads Preferences Manager to learn more or opt-out.

The “learn more” section goes on to explain, “Google tries to show you the most relevant ads, whether or not you're opted in to seeing personalized ads. While we often match ads with specific pages (based on the page content or the search terms you enter), additional information helps us to personalize your ads.”

You also have the option to block specific advertisers’ ads if you don’t find them useful.

Personalized Ads Statistics

Fewer ads: Those who are opted-in see 19% fewer ads than opted-out users.
More relevant: Opted-in users are 59% more likely to click on ads than opted-out users.



Do you find yourself more inclined to utilize personalized ads due to the relevancy?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Unleashing the Millionaire Ideas Bouncing Around In Your Head

This Wednesday Webinar, provided by John Lawlor, will include strategies to create dramatic profit from the ideas you have bouncing around in your head.

The webinar will cover strategies in creating, developing, implementing, and evolving business ideas into profits.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, November 23, 2011 from 12:30pm EST – 1:30pm EST. To register and for more information please visit: Unleashing the Millionaire Ideas Bouncing Around In Your Head

Simple Tool to Create Your Google+ Profile Banner

Are you looking for an easy to use tool for creating your photo banner on Google+?

The website, GPlusBanner.com, offers a tool to crop a photo into individual banner-optimized images. Mashable recommends, for the best results start with an image that’s already 685 x 125 pixels.

Here’s a neat way to incorporate the Brand Page main image with the photo banner:

Local Music Vibe:


Please remember, this is just a free tool to get started with. It may not work perfectly with all images.

How do you see the Brand Page photo banner differing from a Facebook photo ribbon? They are awfully similar to me, although I do feel the Google+ photo banner offers a much cleaner design.

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Ten Things You Need to Know About Google+

This Wednesday Webinar, presented by Jay Berkowitz, CEO of TenGoldenRules.com and Founder of the InternetMarketingClub.org, will explain the "Ten Things You Need to Know About Google+."

The webinar will cover how to create your own Google Plus for Business page, how G+ is affecting SEO, information about circles, groups, hangouts, etc., and the first mover advantage.

If the last thing you needed was ANOTHER social network, Jay will show you how deal with it in this webinar.

This free webinar will take place on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 from 12:30pm EST - 1:30pm EST. To register, and for more information, please visit: Ten Things You Need to Know About Google+.

Tips for Google+ Brand Pages

Now that Google+ Brand Pages are FINALLY available, are you looking for tips to optimize your Brand Page’s presence? It is critical to establish your Brand Page now before your competitors do. Begin growing and nurturing your community from the start. Despite the talk of whether or not Google+ is dead, brands are jumping on the opportunity to create their Google+ Page, are you?

Below are 4 helpful articles to get you started with your Google+ Brand Page:

How to Optimize Your Google+ Business Page [Free Ebook!]

Google+ Pages: 4 Tips To Create A Community Page

10 Tips and Tricks for Better Google+ Brand Pages

It’s also recommended that you implement the new Google+ Badge on your website. This is a requirement for inclusion in Google Direct Connect.

Google+ Badges Make it Simple for Users to Connect With Brands

I wouldn’t discount the importance and influence Google+ Brand Pages will have with search. Although this is yet to be fully explained, it doesn’t take much time to set these Pages up, so it’s worth the test.

What has your experience been like with Google+ Brand Pages so far?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Become A B2B Superstar With Social Media Lead Generation

This Wednesday Webinar, presented by Kipp Bodnar of HubSpot and Jeffrey L. Cohen of Radian6, will include social media lead generation strategies to help you become a B2B superstar.

The webinar will uncover the secrets of generating B2B leads using social media. Become the superstar of your company by increasing revenue.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, November 9th, 2011, from 12:30pm EST - 1:30pm EST. To register and for more information, please visit: Become A B2B Superstar With Social Media Lead Generation

Google Chrome Browser Improvements

Earlier this month it was announced that Google’s Chrome Browser now has 200 million users and counting. While gaining continuous popularity, Google has rolled out additional features and enhancements to improve the browser.

Watch below to learn more:



For those of you who are new to Google Chrome or if you just want to brush up on your knowledge about the browser, check out the “New to Google Chrome” tour. You might find some useful tips like “Incognito”. Did you know that Google Chrome allows you to browse the web in a private mode? This stealthy setting is perfect for times when you need to surf the web but not have your search history, cookies etc tracked (i.e. planning a surprise office party).

Which browser do you prefer to use and why? Please share your comments below.

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents The Relationship Between Social Media, Search & Your Brand

This Wednesday Webinar, provided by President & CEO of Karner Blue Marketing, Rebecca Murtagh, will explain the relationship between social media, search and your brand.

This webinar will cover strategies to leverage visibility in social media and search to create conversions in today's competitive digital market.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, November 2, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT - 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: The Relationship Between Social Media, Search & Your Brand

Latest Changes to Google Reader

Are you ready for the next set of Google product updates?

Posted by Alan Green, Google Software Engineer, Google Reader is next on the list for a facelift from Google. These changes are scheduled to happen any day now.

The updates are to include:

• Brand new design similar to other Google products
• Ability to share Google Reader feeds directly to your Google+ circles
• Retirement of features such as following, friending and shared links (soon you will be able to use these features in Google+ instead)

This tight integration with Google+ has been conveyed as a highly requested feature.

Is this change not for you?

Google is enabling a Google Reader export feature which provides you with the ability to take the following data:

• Your subscriptions
• Your shared items
• Your friends
• Your likes
• Your starred items

I’m a big fan of Google Reader and I do use Google+, so the change doesn’t personally affect me much. However, I can see this change being received as a major frustration for some.

Why is this update helpful or frustrating for you? Please leave your comments below.

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Monetize Yourself: 10 Ethical Strategies to Make Money Online from Your Expertise

This Wednesday Webinar, presented by Jay Berkowitz, CEO of TenGoldenRules.com and Founder of the InternetMarketingClub.org, will share 10 strategies to monetize yourself.

In this presentation, you will learn how to monetize yourself, how to create your online 'home base', several approaches to creating revenue through your passion, The Britney Spears model, and how to position yourself for your future career.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, October 26, 2011 from 12:30 EDT-1:30 EDT. To register and for more information, please visit: Monetize Yourself: 10 Ethical Strategies to Make Money Online from Your Expertise

Would You Use an Electronic Wallet?

The introduction of the Google Wallet concept may slowly become a revolutionary trend as more merchants participate in this inevitable push into the future. However, many questions are likely to arise regarding the consumer’s comfort level with this technology.

What is Google Wallet?

Google Wallet is an Android app that makes your phone your wallet. It stores virtual versions of your existing plastic credit cards on your phone. Simply tap your phone to pay and redeem offers using near field communication, or NFC.

The Google Wallet SingleTap experience is also being deployed at select stores. This allows you to not only pay but also redeem coupons and/or earn rewards points with a single tap of your phone.

Initial Thoughts?

One word – security.

Although the idea seems perfect for many – from the business executive to the college student – I need to gain a better understanding of the security of the phone. What happens if you misplace your phone? Although it is just as simple to lose a credit card, the concept is still new and uneasy.

Do you see the Google Wallet concept being easily adopted?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents The Digital Marketer's Roadmap - The Top 3 Tactics for Internet Marketing Right Now

In this Wednesday Webinar, provided by Jay Berkowitz, CEO of TenGoldenRules.com and Founder of the InternetMarketingClub.org, Jay will share the top 3 tactics that are working right now in internet marketing.

This webinar will help you learn a new tactic that generates leads for 3 times less than Google Pay Per Click (PPC), a critical element your website needs to succeed in internet marketing, and another tactic that brings customers back to your site to make a sale.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT - 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Digital Marketer's Roadmap - The Top 3 Tactics for Internet Marketing Right Now

Free Google eBook: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth

What is the Zero Moment of Truth?

Google describes this online decision-making moment, Zero Moment of Truth as, “The way we shop is changing and marketing strategies are simply not keeping pace. Whether we're shopping for corn flakes, concert tickets or a honeymoon in Paris, the Internet has changed how we decide what to buy. Today we're all digital explorers, seeking out online ratings, social media-based peer reviews, videos, and in-depth product details as we move down the path to purchase. Marketing has evolved and modern marketing strategies have to evolve with the changing shape of shopping.”

Google’s free eBook will teach you how this new consumer decision-making moment is changing marketing as a whole.



Jim Lecinski, Managing Director of US Sales & Service at Google, poses the question, “Ask yourself, who on my team has as his or her primary job, helping us win the Zero Moment of Truth?”

I recommend you review the eBook to get a better understanding of the shift in the marketing landscape from Google’s perspective.

Did the eBook change your frame of mind about online decision-making?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Maximizing and Monetizing Content For Increased Traffic, Visibility, Leads and More!

This Wednesday Webinar, presented by Wendy Montes de Oca, M.B.A. of Precision Marketing and Media, LLC, will include web marketing strategies designed to drive more traffic, buzz, leads and sales for your business.

This webinar will cover free ways to maximize content syndication, online PR, social networking, social bookmarking, article directories and guerrilla marketing through forums and message boards. Wendy will explain how, even on a tight budget, you can achieve results.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, October 12, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Maximizing and Monetizing Content For Increased Traffic, Visibility, Leads and More!

New Twitter Account for Advertising

Twitter has officially debuted its advertising blog and @TwitterAds account. The profile description for this account is described as, “We Tweet for Brands.”

How Do You Use The New Blog and Twitter Account?

Both will be used to funnel the latest in Twitter’s advertising products. Furthermore, it will act as a means for Twitter to share case studies and best practices from brands that are successfully using Twitter for engagement.

From Twitter’s Advertising Blog:

Twitter’s first ad product, called Promoted Tweets, was introduced last year with six advertising partners. Since then we've added Promoted Accounts, Promoted Trends, new analytics tools and additional targeting capabilities. We’ve also grown from that small handful of initial partners to more than 1,600 brands.

On average, marketers have seen a 3-5% engagement rate for Promoted Tweets in search.

So the infamous question: Is Twitter at Its End?

Eh, I wouldn’t say Twitter is dead just yet. I think it is more a matter of Twitter trying to figure out its purpose. It isn’t the shiny new toy for fellow Internet geeks anymore. Not only is it trying to figure out its true purpose, but also how to monetize “that” purpose.

Is Twitter dead to you? Leave your comments below.

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents How to Use Amazon to Market You, Your Book, and Your Business

This Wednesday Webinar, provided by Brent Sampson from Outskirts Press, will include strategies for using Amazon to market you, your book, and your business. Brent is a leading online retailer and will teach you how to leverage Amazon's free tools as valuable opportunities for promotion and marketing even if you are not a published author.

This webinar will cover how to use your Amazon "signature" for promotion, how to use Amazon "Guides" to establish expertise, how to self-publish books and how to guides, and how to redirect visitors to your business from Amazon using different Amazon profiles.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, October 5, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: How to Use Amazon to Market You, Your Book, and Your Business

Say Goodbye to Facebook Reviews & Discussion Tabs

Facebook has announced as of October 31st, Reviews and Discussions tabs will be removed from Facebook Pages.


What is the reason for this?

Facebook explains this change is a way to make Facebook Pages better. This is their attempt to aid in making the management of your Page as effective as possible.

Additional details from Facebook include:

“We've found that the best way to encourage conversation and feedback is through posts and comments on your Wall. We've removed these tabs for now as we work on tools to help you moderate and filter content. Our goal is to help you manage everything from one powerful place. Stay tuned.”

I think this change is aligned with plans for Facebook Timeline for brands…

What are your thoughts on this change? Will this affect your Facebook community strategy?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Ten Leading SEO Strategies and Tactics

This Wednesday Webinar, presented by Jay Berkowitz, CEO of TenGoldenRules.com, will provide Ten Leading Strategies and Tactics for Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

This webinar will cover how to read the minds of prospective consumers, how to use tools to measure how Google reads your site, website build best practices for SEO , keyword research, link building, meta tags and the new Google Panda update.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, September 28, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Ten Leading SEO Strategies and Tactics

My First Thoughts on Facebook Timeline

Announced today, Facebook is completely overhauling its profiles with Facebook Timeline.

Facebook Timeline is defined as:

The story of your life

• All your stories
• All your apps
• Express who you are

The Facebook Timeline is being portrayed as a new way to express who you are. The cover photo affords you the opportunity to tell the story of who you are without even reading anything about you. You will now be able to visually learn someone’s story just by scrolling through their timeline. For example, a traveler’s timeline versus a chef’s timeline will now jump off the page at you – pictures from around the world and snapshots of delicious food dishes.

Do I personally want to invest the time into documenting my entire life on a social network? I’m not completely convinced right now. Although I do see this as an attempt for Facebook to try to emotionally connect with me, I’m not sure that I’m ready to catalog my life.

Did you miss the f8 conference? You can find the entire recording here: http://f8.facebook.com/

Watch below for an introduction to the Facebook timeline:

The New Facebook

Are you watching this? How will Facebook make even more changes? Check this out http://mashable.com/2011/09/22/facebook-f8-live-video/ - I will recap after.

Get response with an autoresponder

"What do I need an autoresponder for?"  That's a question that you will face over and over again as a TrafficWave affiliate.  Of course, TrafficWave is an MLM business with a digital product.  But that product just happens to be what every Internet Marketing pro uses on a daily basis.  In other words, if someone asks, "Why do I need an autoresponder?", you should answer with a question of your own:  "Are you truly serious about online business?"

If you have a website, blog or online ad without a capture form (or at least a link to one), then you are throwing all your work and money right down the drain.  You work so hard to get traffic to your sites, but if you can't (or won't) capture the email addresses of those visitors, how will you ever market to them again? Your autoresponder should be the foundation of everything that you do with online business.

As far as which autoresponder to use, my choice is obviously TrafficWave - and that's for three reasons:

1)  The affiliate plan blows everyone else away.
2)  Flat-Rate pricing for endless campaigns.
3)  The software works great!

Whether or not you are interested in the Team co-op that I talk about on this blog, and whether or not you care about any other program or tool that I have discussed or recommened in the past, TrafficWave is just a no-brainer.  Because if you don't think you need an autoresponder in this industry, then I just don't believe that you're truly serious.

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click?

This Wednesday Webinar, provided by Dr. Susan Weinschenk, will explore the real reasons people decide to go to a website, return to a website, refer a site to others, make a purchase, register, etc.

Dr. Weinschenk has a Ph.D. in Psychology and has over 30 years of experience in applying psychology to web design. In this session, Dr. Susan Weinschenk will share insights from her book, Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click?, including research on the unconscious decisions users make when visiting websites.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, September 21, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click?

Just What We Want, More Ads!

Twiiter's Promoted Tweets program is expanding!!! you may see ads from people you don't even follow!

Ads can now apprear:

• At the top of relevant search results pages on twitter.com.
• In search results for a Promoted Trend.
• Users’ “home” timelines.
• Official Twitter clients.
• Third-party Twitter clients.

The good new is that Promoted Tweets will only appear once at the top of the user timeline. Just like other tweets, it will scroll down the stream like any other tweet. Also, once a Promoted Tweet appears in a user’s timeline, the user will never see that tweet again.

Happy Tweeting!

Please Fasten Your Seat Belts as Google Debuts Flight Search

Yes, it’s true – Google has another new service.

As a follow up to Google’s acquisition of ITA, it has now released the new Google Flight Search. Currently available to a limited number of U.S. cities, this service will allow you to search for flights by time, destination and compare prices all within the same real time search interface.


Google explains that the Flight Search feature allows you to:

• Get super-fast results. Speed is critical to all the things we love on the web, and travel planning should be no exception. Making changes to dates, destinations, and filters should be as fast as we hope you’ve come to expect from Google.

• See a simple list of the most relevant flights. Flight Search shows you an easy-to-scan list to help you get to your destination quickly and inexpensively.

• Figure out when to travel. Quickly see which travel dates are least expensive by dragging the date selector forward or backward, or check out the bar chart to compare lots of dates at once.

• Consider your destination options. Flight Search helps you explore possible destinations, letting you filter them by airline, flight time and price. For example, you can use the map and filters to see where you can go from San Francisco within 3 hours for less than $300.

What are my favorite aspects of this feature?

I appreciate the focus on the speed of the results. You don’t have to wait at an interstitial page watching the “searching for flights” screen any longer. Another aspect to highlight is the focus on pricing. It gives you the ability to locate other flights at nearby airports (that may be at a lower cost) and a calendar feature to quickly find the lowest prices.

Do you see yourself using Google Flight Search?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Advanced Lead, Prospect and Client Acquisition Strategies for a Local Internet Marketing Agency

This Wednesday Webinar provided by Scott Gallagher from Local Marketing Source, LLC, will include strategies acquired over 20 years to win new business from local companies. Initially developed in 2006, Scott will teach his SEO Sales Trail, a systematic solution selling approach earning the right to do business with local companies, including questioning techniques, closing techniques and after sale service strategies.

The webinar will cover strategies in lead acquisition, prospect meetings including pain creation using SEO reports such as the Rank and Link Popularity reports and finally closing techniques such as effective proposal creation and closing questions.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, September 14, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Advanced Lead, Prospect and Client Acquisition Strategies for a Local Internet Marketing Agency

Volunteer Work Now Included In LinkedIn Profiles

Announced this week, LinkedIn will now allow its users to add “Volunteer Experience & Causes” to their profiles. This new section of LinkedIn profiles allows users to answer, “What causes do you care about?” and “Which organizations do you support?”

Mashable reports, “The company polled nearly 2,000 U.S. professionals and found that 41% said that when they are evaluating candidates, they consider volunteer work just as much as paid work. Of the hiring managers surveyed, 20% said they gave a job based on a candidate’s volunteer work experience.”

I see this feature as an enhancement to LinkedIn profiles. This has the potential to give causes and organizations additional exposure to gain even more volunteers. And for those who prefer to keep their volunteer work private, this feature is completely optional.

Do you think this feature will give LinkedIn users an incentive to volunteer more? Leave your comments below.

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Tips and Tools To Power Up Your Social Media

Are you giving up on social media because it's taking up too much of your time?

Let's face it, social media represents a great opportunity for getting ahead in your business and your career. The challenge is dealing with all the platforms and keeping up with the posts. How can you run a business and participate in social media? What are the best ways to integrate social media into your profession?

In this Wednesday Webinar, we will explore some of the best tools and techniques to help you make the most of your time online. So join us on September 7th and get ready to get social like never before!

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, September 7, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Tips and Tools To Power Up Your Social Media

Get Paid for Hacking Facebook

For almost a month now, Facebook has been running a “hacking initiative” to uncover bugs within their system. Facebook is inviting individuals to send in any details of vulnerabilities within the platform. If the reported defects check out, Facebook will pay the individual a minimum of $500, and even more for extraordinary bugs.



Don’t worry – Facebook assures they will not take legal action against anyone who engages in less-than-legal methods for discovering the bugs.



For those of you who have these skills, hack on!



Image credit: tamasrepus

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents The Ultimate Formula to Improve Conversions

It's a small formula. But it will have a big impact on your conversion rates, if you follow each of the elements of the equation in a systematic, methodical way.



Conversion = (Content + Usability + Motivation + Incentive) - (Friction + Anxiety)



Byron White, CEO of ideaLaunch, will walk you through this simple but powerful conversion-rate improvement formula that they put to work every day across the web and for multiple channels.



In this webinar, you'll learn:



• Conversion: How to make your conversion rates even better.

• Content: How to produce targeted content for different readers.

• Usability: Learn how to get out of your own way and get buyers to the right place.

• Motivation: How to motivate customers to take action and feel great about it!

• Incentive: How to push customers over the edge in simple and positive ways.

• Friction: How to find friction and reduce it to maximize conversions.

• Anxiety: How to reduce both your own anxiety and your customers'.



This free webinar will take place Wednesday, August 31, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: The Ultimate Formula to Improve Conversions

Simple Tip for Monitoring Your Online Reputation

Are you looking for a simple and cost effective way to monitor your online reputation? There are a few quality online reputation management (paid) tools in the market, but if you are looking for a solution that you can implement right now, the answer is – Google Alerts.



You can set up Google Alerts to deliver via email or RSS feed. Nowadays, I receive more emails than I can keep up with, so the RSS feature is perfect.



How do you set up Google Alerts?



1. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts

2. Select the type of alert you want to be notified about

3. Select how often you want to be notified

4. Select the volume for the alerts

5. For the “Deliver To” field, select the email address you would like the alerts sent to OR “Feed” for the RSS option



You must be signed into your Google Account for the RSS integration to automatically occur. The RSS option will then automatically link the Google Alert to your Google Reader account.



Now how simple was that? :)

Basics of SEO

Search Engine Optimization is hands down the most important part of business online. When designing a website, SEO should be the first discussion topic and nothing else should be done until you are decisive in which direction you are headed. Content is king of SEO, so a good marketer will build a strong court.

Research to find the keyword phrases that best describe your product or service. This will give you your initial starting point. Taking those phrases and working them into each page that they most efficiently describe will break your layout down considerably. Working the phrase or phrases into the title and description of the page is important to tell the engines what the page is about. Make it as laser focused and relevant as humanly possible.

Having social plug-ins is the second major part of SEO in today's market. The search engines, especially Google, want online business's that their clients (searchers) can trust and get what they came looking for. Having full social sharing ability, including the ever forgotten e-mail plug-in on any and every site is crucial. This way if others are willing to take the time to praise you, Google will praise you with good search positions.

By focusing on these points when doing business and marketing online you will have the best chance of ranking well and beating out the competition. Never stop researching and developing your SEO practices. Even though most will say that SEO is technical, and the foundation is, overall adaptive management of site SEO is key to the big returns.

Think Twitter Isn’t Worth Monitoring?

Peter Shankman, a well-known social media speaker, NASA enthusiast and carnivore, was recently traveling home from a business trip from Tampa when he sent out a tweet that showed customer service at its finest.

Simply put:

After his flight landed on time (a rarity which anyone who has flown in or out of EWR would know):

First, WOW, @Mortens now delivers and takes orders off Twitter!! Just kidding, but what this does show, is that they are paying attention. Whether they know Mr. Shankman is a frequent dinner or that they monitor Twitter and wanted to pull one of the best customer service stunts in the history of social media (so far). Maybe they got lucky and picked the right person who has over 100,000 followers and is a media mogul. For whatever the reason, the company showed how all companies should be utilizing social media and not too bad of a publicity stunt!

No matter your business size, what are you doing to improve your customer service to make them go and tell their friends? With Google Panda updates social is playing a bigger role in how your customers can find you. There is no budget constraint, no specific entry point, just jump in and LISTEN to your customers!

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Increasing Your Productivity & Profits Through Outsourcing

Join us for this week’s InternetMarketingClub.org Wednesday Webinar as we present, “Increasing Your Productivity & Profits Through Outsourcing,” with John Jonas (http://ReplaceMyself.com) and Gonzalo Paternoster (Founder of Pay For Results Coaching).



Topics this presentation will cover include:



• Why hire full-time people in the Philippines for your business?

• Cultural differences that make outsourcing work

• Understanding how much to pay for outsourced work

• How to find virtual assistants in the Philippines

• Tips on hiring for tasks that VAs (Virtual Assistants) cannot usually do well



This free webinar will take place Wednesday, August 24, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Increasing Your Productivity & Profits Through Outsourcing

Be Careful Where You Tweet!

While eating dinner at the Down House in Houston, Allison Matsu was thrown out for using Twitter. Her tweet was calling a bartender a “twerp” and used #jerkoff. Manager, Forrest DeSpain, who runs the Twitter account for the restaurant saw the tweet and took action against Matsu. This story has made national news, and caused Twitter to explode with reactions. Something interesting and true to the saying of, “there is no such thing as bad press,” I found this from @petetmayo – “The whole Twitter fiasco actually made me and my gf go check out @DownHouseHTX. Great place! Be back soon...with friends!” @jess_lw posted, “Honestly, all this craziness about @DownHouseHTX just reminded me how I've been meaning to check it out!”

Have you ever visited a place because it was in the news or trending is social media to see what they hype was about?

Content Sharing Strategy

I recently read a great blog post by John Jantsch on his Duct Tape Marketing blog. I subscribe to more than my fair share of blogs via Google Reader. If you don't have Google Reader, I highly recommend you consider it for organizing your RSS feeds. I love that I can read my feeds on my phone now. But I digress....



What do you do after you post blog content?

1) Nothing. I sit back and wait

2) Post it to all my social networks at the same time

3) Implement a sharing strategy based on what I know about my audience



Now you know the right answer here but take a moment to read Mr Jantsch strategy. It's a great mix of Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Delicious. And be sure to read the comments, too.

Google Related – The New Google Toy

Google explains the new Google Related feature as a tool that can show you helpful and interesting content while browsing the web. This includes maps, reviews, videos and more, which are all accessible while viewing a website.



The Google Related results display in a thin bar at the bottom of your browser screen.





The results from the toolbar will not display until you hover over the individual sections. Alternatively, you can hide the toolbar for specific pages and/or sites through the options menu.



This new feature is currently only available for Internet Explorer and Chrome browsers.



I recently installed Google Related so I haven’t had a lot of time to test it out yet. However, I do see potential benefits for users. For instance, it can save the time of having to search around for additional sources of information in multiple browsing sessions.



Below I’m watching a video while still on the website:





One question that initially popped in my head - how will Google Related results be reflected, if at all, within Google Analytics?



You can learn more about this new feature by watching the following video:

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Live Website Analysis: How To Improve the Overall User Experience

Join Margie Schneider, VP Operations of TenGoldenRules.com, as she presents, “Live Website Analysis: How To Improve the Overall User Experience.” This Wednesday Webinar provides you with the opportunity to submit your website for a live website analysis.



This presentation will explain the following topics:



• Best practices for adhering to web convention standards

• Recommendations for improving the overall user experience

• How to effectively optimize your website for the search engines

• Understanding the standards for overall website usability



Want us to review how your website measures up to web standards? Submit your website for a live website analysis! To submit your website, please post your website submission in the following forum thread: http://bit.ly/WebsiteSubmissions



This free webinar will take place Wednesday, August 17, 2011 from 12:30pm EDT – 1:30pm EDT. To register and for more information please visit: Live Website Analysis: How To Improve the Overall User Experience

The Facebook Killer: Why Google+ Could Take The Lead

I don't know about you but over the last two days, my Facebook feed has been clogged with updates like this.



























It seems our friends at Facebook have been at it again. This time pulling data from your phone book to sync the mobile numbers of your friends and display them in your Contacts. Their "auto-opt-in" strategy may be just the thing that drives away their 700 million user community into the arms of Google+. The social network giant is already collecting every bit of personal information they can about you under the guise of a more personalized experience. For instance, that's how that one person you can't stand keeps coming up in your "People You May Know" feature.



It might be time to rethink that strategy as users begin to fully understand the pitfalls of just how much data Facebook owns and how they use it. This is not the first time Facebook has published data that some would consider private. Remember when many a birthday was ruined because your dear friend Facebook published your shopping purchase? If these types of releases continues it could be the Tipping Point for Google+. With 25 million users in the just a few short weeks, Google+ is on track to give Facebook a run for the money. If Facebook makes enough of their users angry, they will start looking for options like Google+. It's boils down to trust.



What do you think?



Want to control your data online? Here are some articles to get you started:

A guide to controlling privacy info on Google+ via MSNBC



Facebook Privacy Tips: 9 Settings To Check Now via Huffington Post (Note: Does not include today's updates)



LinkedIn Privacy: What You Need To Know via PCWorld

How To Implement Google Authorship

A little over a month ago, I explained how Google released an enhancement to Google’s SERP called “Authorship.” Here is some additional information on this feature based on a video Google recently released:







Below are essential tips I also extracted from the Google Authorship Help Article:



Create a rich Google Profile



• Update your Google Profile with links to any of your other author pages around the web.

• Your profile picture must be a photograph of yourself and of high quality (to be eligible for a thumbnail to display in search results).

• To easily link to your Google Profile, add the Profile button to your site.



Single-author blogs and sites



Once you’ve linked to your Google Profile from your blog, add your blog URL to the Links section of your Google Profile.



Multiple-author blogs and sites



In confirming authorship, Google looks for two things:



• Links from the content page to the author page (if the path of links continues to a Google Profile, they can also show Profile information in search results).

• A path of links back from your Google Profile to your content.



These reciprocal links are important: without them, anyone could attribute content to you, or you could take credit for any content on the web.



Example of an inclusion of rel=“author” from a Wired.com article:





Don’t forget the last step!

After you’ve followed the instructions on the Google Authorship Help Article, fill out the form at the bottom of the article. This will allow Google to inform you of any implementation issues (although they do not guarantee they can get back to everyone individually).

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Marketing Basics with Christopher S. Penn

Join Christopher S. Penn for a look at social media marketing strategy and what's missing from yours - the basics! You'll see and learn about topics that should have been included in your social media manual, but never were, such as Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT analysis, and much more.



Christopher S. Penn has been featured as a recognized authority in many books, publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, BusinessWeek and US News & World Report, and television networks such as PBS, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and ABC News for his leadership in new media and marketing.



Mr. Penn is Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Blue Sky Factory, an email marketing company based in Baltimore, as well as co-founder of the groundbreaking PodCamp New Media Community Conference, and co-host of the Marketing Over Coffee marketing podcast. He is an adjunct professor of Internet marketing and the lead subject matter expert and professor of Advanced Social Media at the University of San Francisco. He’s also the author of Marketing White Belt: Basics for the Digital Marketer.



This free webinar will take place Wednesday, August 10, 2011 12:30pmEDT – 1:30pmEDT. To register and for more information please visit: Marketing Basics with Christopher S. Penn

Google+’s Business Profiles & The Influence of Social Video

So the question still remains – when will Google allow business profiles on Google+?

Jolie O’Dell (Venture Beat) reports Google will be unveiling specially tweaked profiles with analytics and more sophisticated sharing options, all coming during (or shortly after) Q3 2011.

In the meantime, have you thought about how your business will take advantage of the rich social video opportunities Google+ offers? Google+ opens up a new world for video usage. From Hangouts to sharing features, brands will soon be able to get more exposure.

Below are 5 ways Google+ will drive social video growth as explained in a post from Mashable.com:

1. More focused sharing via Circles
2. Co-viewing experiences with Hangouts
3. Mobile reach
4. Better data and reporting
5. SEO opportunities (between the +1 button, Google+, and Google Search)


Google+ Business Profiles & Reporting

A Google spokesperson said, “You can expect to see a level of analytics and measurement that you’d typically find in Google products as well as a nuanced approach to how things are shared. It encourages and enhances conversation; it doesn’t just put things in the stream.”

With the new social data insights and reporting that Google will offer, social video will be an important component as well as your use of YouTube campaigns. I would imagine Google will provide a really intuitive solution for integration between the two.

Although I’m not suggesting putting all of your marketing focus solely on Google+, I do encourage you to continue to explore this platform.

I still wonder why Google didn’t include business profiles in its beta launch…