As companies embark on their goals for 2012, this year officials at SEO.com said they hope to educate more people about how search engine optimization can improve their business. While marketers already realize that SEO is a rapidly growing industry, many people don’t even know what search engine optimization is.

Search engine optimization is a type of online marketing that helps improve the visibility of a website in search engines like Google and Bing. The major goal of Internet marketing is to structure, optimize and promote a company’s website in such a way that the website ranks near the top of the results when people use search terms related to the business.

But Claye Stokes, a Director of SEO at SEO.com, said his own family has no idea what he does for a living.

I try to explain it, but they really don’t understand what it is,” Stokes said. “Now I just say I’m in Internet marketing. The term search engine optimization tends to go above people’s heads unless they are in marketing or really familiar with the Web.

Instead of spelling out the acronym, Stokes said that people try to pronounce the name of his company as “see oh dot com.”

Though experts expect online marketing to grow to a $20 billion industry in 2012, even an explosion in the number of SEO companies, combined with efforts by marketing professionals to educate businesses about search engine optimization, has not greatly increased awareness of the industry.

However, Jon Reese, director of marketing for SEO.com, said that should change as more people eschew brick-and-mortar stores to do their shopping online.

Throughout 2012, Reese said SEO.com will use its website to show videos, blog and offer free webinars for those interested in learning more about search engine optimization.

There is a lot a business can do to improve where its website ranks in the search engines. We discuss those techniques,” he said. “We expect the popularity of search engine optimization to grow once companies realize that Internet marketing helps conveniently place a website in front of those who are already in the mood to buy.

Still, the term “search engine optimization” is still largely unfamiliar to the general public.

Randomly asking people if they knew the meaning of search engine optimization during a recent stroll in Salt Lake City produced some interesting results:

“It means faster ability to search,” Salt Lake City resident Jim Halcom said.

Others echoed Halcom’s explanation, believing that search engine optimization was something that occurred on the consumer end of the search engines.

“It means that I can find almost limitless sources of information in the right places. Anything I look for, there’s a lot of different things I can use to find it,” Salt Lake City resident Megan Torgersen said.

Some people admittedly had no idea what search engine optimization was.

Only one of the people who were asked knew the meaning of SEO, describing it as “calibrating the under-the-hood descriptions of a website so that it is searchable through search engines to increase the visibility of the website.”

That description was pretty close, said Jordan Kasteler, an online marketing strategist for PETA who is based in Salt Lake City.

Kasteler, a search engine optimization expert, said he has gotten used to encountering people who do not understand what he does for work.

What is SEO? Despite Industry Growth, Tech Term Still Not a Household Name is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

SLCSEM.org is a group of professional search marketers in Utah.

On the eve of the kickoff of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, a Sundance official and a speaker from Bing.com will address SLCSEM.org, a group of professional Internet marketers in Utah. The event is scheduled Jan. 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Leonardo, 209 E. 500 South in Salt Lake City.

Speakers will focus on the emergence of online video as an important Internet marketing tool for businesses. With billions of videos viewed on the Internet each week, the medium offers smaller companies a way to reach a wider audience.

Ash Buckles, president of SEO.com, a Utah-based professional SEO company, said the state’s longstanding participation in the Sundance Film Festival makes the discussion a great start to SLCSEM.org’s 2012 seminar series. Buckles is slated to speak at next week’s gathering.

Bing, which is owned by Microsoft and controls about 30 percent of the search engine market, is a major Sundance sponsor.

Bing Program Manager Troy Ma said that during the presentation he will explain how video has changed the marketing landscape for businesses online. He will describe how Bing uses video in its search results and ways companies use online video to get noticed by more customers.

Ma oversees Bing’s multimedia search team, which is responsible for Microsoft’s image and video search. He said much of his time is spent digging through data, researching and then integrating what he learns into Bing’s search engine.

“The evening’s discussion will focus on the opportunities search engines and social media provide for online marketers and Bing.com will share insight into how online marketers can start taking advantage of what Bing is doing with image search and video,” SLCSEM.org President Elisabeth Osmeloski said. “It’s critical for online marketers to understand the massive opportunity that image and video content optimization presents to any organization.”

Since Bing has sponsored the Sundance Film Festival for several years, SLCSEM.org thought it appropriate to dedicate the discussion to video search activities, Osmeloski added.

“It’s not just about watching kitten videos on the Internet. Users are searching for educational information on millions of topics, and a video produced and optimized for keywords surrounding your company’s product or services can deliver highly targeted traffic and ultimately, buyers from search,” she said.

SLCSEM.org will also hear from Morgan Vidakovich, marketing manager for the Sundance Institute. Vidakovich helps oversee marketing and advertising for the Sundance Film Festival. Vidakovich focuses on digital marketing and social media for Sundance.org.

“Vidakovich will discuss the challenges and opportunities related to online video and content distribution with limited resources and expanding goals,” Osmeloski said.

Officials from Bing.com, Sundance Film Festival, SEO.com Will Speak at January Marketing Event in Salt Lake City is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

In an economy comparable to a stormy sea, where many companies struggle to keep their heads above water, SEO.com has found solid ground, having been recognized several times this year for its rapid growth and increasing revenue. As the year closes, SEO.com is celebrating its success after receiving a handful of awards.

“We’ve seen continued growth and prosperity,” said Ash Buckles, president of SEO.com. “Our employees have amped up both the quality of their work, as well as their efficiency. We’re proud to have a team that dedicates themselves to our clients.”

SEO.com grew during the recession as many other businesses closed their doors. The search marketing company has been so successful that within the past two years its staff has expanded from about 45 employees to nearly 100.

Internet marketing remains a hot sector despite the lingering slow economy, according to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization. Some officials expect online marketing to grow to a $20 billion industry in 2012.

SEO.com grew during the last recession because business owners must promote themselves even in a sluggish economy, said Mike Hohl, director of sales and marketing for SEO.com.

“Businesses are usually more successful when marketing budgets are not cut during tough economic times,” Hohl explained. “Innovation and maintaining your level of marketing is critical.”

Because results from online marketing are easily tracked, companies hire SEO.com after ending advertising contracts with newspapers and magazines that are unable to reach the growing audience online.

SEO.com received several awards this year for its Internet marketing service, including being named the top search engine optimization firm by Website Magazine. SEO.com was part of MountainWest Capital Network’s Emerging Elite for the third year in a row, and was placed among the top 20 e-commerce businesses in Utah and the Emerging Eight by Utah Business magazine, which recognizes some of the fastest-growing companies in the state.

Additionally, TopSEOs.com bumped SEO.com up 38 spots to No. 7 on its list of the top 50 search engine optimization companies in the United States.

“We’re absolutely committed to reputable, high-quality search engine optimization,” said Jon Reese, director of marketing at SEO.com. “I’m thrilled to see our skilled employees getting the recognition they deserve. This is a huge win for the entire company.”

About SEO.com

SEO.com is a search engine optimization company that delivers a big return on investment for its clients by driving traffic to their websites through aggressive SEM services. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 100 companies.

SEO.com Celebrates Growth in 2011 is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Four killer ways to build links

One major factor Google considers when ranking your website in search results is whether your company is discussed other places on the Internet.

According to SEO Director Boyd Norwood, “search engines look at what you say about yourself and what others say about you.”

“You need to do link building to better your rankings,” he said.

You’re missing opportunities to improve your search engine optimization if other websites are not linking to your site.

“Search engines crawl the Internet evaluating these links and where they go,” Norwood explained. “If you get lots of links, it’s assumed by the search engines that lots of people are talking about you.”

But building links is not easy, he stressed.

For your website to be regarded as credible by the search engines, your link portfolio must appear as natural as possible.

“What others say about you is link building. When they link to you, they are voting for you,” Norwood said.

You know you’ve done something right when the New York Times or TechCrunch links to your website. But how do you build easier-to-obtain links on lesser known websites, which may also greatly improve your SEO?

Norwood offered these four link-building tips:

1. Issue press releases
2. Write guest posts for other blogs and websites
3. Conduct giveaways on popular blogs
4. Comment on other blogs when relevant to your business or industry

Press releases must attract ‘real journalists’

A press release about a worthwhile topic at just the right time may generate loads of natural links. The release should contain links to your website, which the major search engines will recognize when newspapers and television stations publish the article online.

“They might even follow up and write about your business,” Norwood said.

But press releases that are too promotional often don’t get attention from influential bloggers and journalists.

“You need to write about newsworthy topics,” Norwood stressed.

There shouldn’t be more than one link per 100 words, and most press releases shouldn’t exceed 500 words.

So your press release appears on as many websites as possible, submit the article to a distributor like PRWeb.com. Generate more exposure by contacting local reporters and emailing news outlets in your area.

Become a guest writer

People will also link to your website when you write posts for other blogs. Begin by identifying the blogs relevant to your industry that accept content from guest writers.

Search Google for blogging opportunities by using the keyword phrases you would like to rank for and adding “guest writer,” “guest blogger” or “guest contributor” in quotation marks.

Links in guest posts often appear in author bios at the end, Norwood said.

These four websites accept guest posts:

1. http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/SubmitNews.aspx
2. http://makezine.com/submissions.csp
3. http://www.businessblogshub.com/
4. http://contributor.yahoo.com/signup.html

“You want to get the word out about your business,” Norwood said. “So it makes sense to go to as many sites as possible and submit content to get those readers to click on a link and come back to your site.”

Giveaways

Hosting contests and giveaways online is another way to build links to your website.

With your target audience in mind, contact a blogger who publishes content that is popular in your industry.

“This is a great way to get links and also to find a targeted audience that would be interested in your products,” Norwood said.

People love free stuff. They will talk about your business if you create a contest and give something away.

Enter the discussion

When you have something to contribute to an online conversation, spread the word about your company by commenting on blog posts written by authors.

Before commenting, register with your name and email so the name on your comment provides a link to your website.

“It’s a way to steal readers from one blog to come to your blog,” Norwood said.

Your comments should be meaningful for the remarks to stand up over time.

Don’t get discouraged

Building natural links takes time.

Link building is hard work and sometimes valuable links are the most difficult to obtain. Several strategies are needed for your link portfolio to appear as natural as possible.

“I do a lot of link-building methods and all of them combined get me rankings,” Norwood said. “The most creative link builders are usually those who build the best links.”

HobbyTron: Some serious fun

HobbyTron hasn’t always been the company it is today. In the beginning the business sold science experiments for kids.
“HobbyTron used to be Hobbytronics,” said Cody Sparks, marketing director for HobbyTron.

But a lot has changed. Visit the website today and you’ll find an impressive assortment of Airsoft guns, magic tricks and remote-controlled cars, airplanes and helicopters.

Though choppers account for “a good chunk of our sales,” Sparks said Airsoft guns are some of HobbyTron’s most popular items.

The fake guns, which closely resemble the real things, shoot lightweight plastic balls that are slightly larger than BBs. They are made to imitate Uzis, Ak-47s, rifles and pistols.

“You can almost get an exact replica of any type of gun,” Sparks explained. “It’s just a step down from a real BB gun or pellet gun.”

Airsoft guns have bright orange tips to distinguish them from real weapons. HobbyTron sells most of its guns to teenagers or people who are in their mid-20s. But sometimes members of the military and law enforcement buy the toys.

Most of the products are sold online, though the company recently opened its first retail store in Valencia, Calif. The shop focuses on Airsoft guns and the HobbyTron even sponsors Airsoft competitions.

“We’re really targeting a lot of Airsoft in the store because there are a lot of Airsoft playing fields in the area,” Sparks said.
Participants dress in military-like vests, helmets and knee pads, which HobbyTron also sells.

“Depending on the gun, you should have protective clothing,” Sparks said, adding that some Airsoft guns shoot about 800 feet per second.

For its younger customers HobbyTron stocks complete lines of remote-controlled cars, planes, helicopters and boats. The vehicles are mostly electric, but there are gasoline-powered cars called “nitro” that can travel 50 mph.

“A lot of people take the nitro cars to races and events,” Sparks said. “Race tracks are a little rare, but you can usually find one in your area.”
Prices for HobbyTron’s remote-controlled vehicles start at about $20.

“For any price you can find something,” Sparks said.

Meanwhile, relating to its younger demographic is easy for HobbyTron because nobody on the company’s management team is older than 30.

“We never planned to be young and hip, it just kind of happened that way,” said Sparks, who is 27 years old.

HobbyTron has about 60 employees and is based in Santa Clarita, Calif.

Sparks encourages everyone to visit the company’s website where each month there is a contest and an item is given away for free.

“It’s been Airsoft guns, helicopters, cars,” he said. “We do that to create buzz.”

It seems to work, at least in social media where HobbyTron has more than 32,500 Facebook fans. Because most of its business is conducted via HobbyTron’s e-commerce website, the company approached SEO.com a few months ago hoping to improve its rankings in search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

“We talked to five different companies and SEO.com was the only one that looked at the whole picture,” Sparks said.

Most of HobbyTron’s past search engine optimization was conducted in house.

“The biggest thing is time … SEO.com had a game plan,” Sparks said. “You need to keep the ball rolling constantly.”

He explained that HobbyTron’s rankings have already improved for a slew of long-tail and competitive keywords.

If you’re trying to rank on the web for local keywords, having different addresses and phone numbers tied to your business is a huge problem for your search engine optimization. But if you only focus on your Google Places page and ignore everything else, you often leave incorrect information on many online business profiles.

Tips and Tricks: Your NAP must be in order

Follow these tips to make sure your company’s name, address and phone number (NAP) is consistent across the web:

Begin with your website — Have a dedicated page on your website for each of your locations. On those pages display your official name, address and telephone number. Decide how the information will be formatted and make it the same across the web.

Once the information is standardized, mark it up with the proper schema. Schemas are html tags that webmasters use to make their pages recognizable to search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. A schema for local businesses helps identify your website as a local business in the search engines. This schema is available at http://schema.org/LocalBusiness.

Next focus on maps pages – After your individual location pages are set up on your website, make sure to create, optimize and officially claim each of your major map pages. Google, Yahoo and Bing are the big three. When setting up your maps pages use the exact same address and phone number that is listed on your website so the search engines don’t get confused.

Now check with major data providers – Several online data providers have information about your business, which they share with smaller websites. These companies include Infogroup, Acxiom and Localeze. If your business information is wrong with just one of these data providers, your data is most likely wrong in many places on the Internet. Because this confuses the search engines, it is critical that you fix your data with the major providers so the correct information is pushed to other sites.

If you’re trying to rank on the web for local keywords, having different addresses and phone numbers tied to your business is a huge problem for your search engine optimization. But if you only focus on your Google Places page and ignore everything else, you often leave incorrect information on many online business profiles.

Industry events

SLC-SEM: Salt Lake City; Oct. 19

Social Media World Forum: New York City; Nov. 1-2

PubCon: Las Vegas; Nov. 7-10

SES Chicago: Chcago; Nov. 14-18

SEO.com events

Webinar: What’s the big deal with infographics? — Oct. 13 at 9 a.m. Mountain time

Webinar: Topic to be announced — Oct. 27 at 9 a.m. Mountain time

The Link — SEO.com's October Newsletter is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

SALT LAKE CITY — SEO.com, a Utah-based search engine optimization firm, congratulates four of its clients that made the 2011 Inc. 5000. The list ranks the 5,000 fastest-growing U.S. private companies based on revenue growth over four years.

The diverse group of businesses, from a pet store to a clothing manufacturer, was recognized for rapid growth between 2007 and 2010.

“We compliment them,” SEO.com President Ash Buckles said. “We’re proud to be a part of their online marketing strategy.”

The companies included:

• BulkReefSupply.com sells products for aquariums.

• Del Sol manufacturers clothing and accessories that change color in the sun.

• PetStore.com is a website that offers pet supplies.

• Spillman Technologies creates software used by emergency dispatchers.

BulkReefSupply.com ranked highest, cracking the list’s top 300. The company, which ranked 258 on the Inc. 5000, experienced explosive growth since 2007. In four years BulkReefSupply.com grew 1,248 percent, according to Inc. magazine.

Founded in 2007, BulkReefSupply.com retails salt water and reef aquarium supplies. The company, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minn., was the fifth highest ranked retailer on the list and third highest among companies in the Minneapolis area. Revenue for BulkReefSupply.com, which employs about 16 people, topped $3.9 million in 2010.

BulkReefSupply.com strives to make aquarium supplies as affordable as possible.

Del Sol was ranked on the Inc. 5000 list for the third time. The company moved up to 4,054 in 2011 from 4,769 last year. Between 2007 and 2010 the company grew about 31 percent. Founded in 1994, Del Sol employs about 105 people and is based in Sandy, Utah.

The company manufactures clothing, accessories and toys that change color in the sun. The products are sold in more than 100 stores in about 23 countries.

PetStore.com, which grew about 9 percent since 2007, ranked 4,811 on the Inc. 5000 list. The company’s revenue last year topped $17.7 million, according to Inc. The business was founded in 1997 and employs 45 people. It is based in Garden Grove, California.

The store supplies pet owners via the Internet.

In 2011, Spillman Technologies fell to No. 4,925 on the Inc. 5000. The company, which employs about 205 people, ranked 4,516 in 2010, 4,738 in 2009 and 4,540 in 2008, according to Inc.

From 2007 to 2010 Spillman grew about 5 percent, with revenue exceeding $31.2 million last year. A leading supplier of dispatch software for police and fire departments, Spillman has been in business since 1982. The company is headquartered in Salt Lake City.

About SEO.com

SEO.com is a professional SEO firm that delivers a big ROI for its clients by driving traffic to their websites through aggressive search engine marketing. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 50 companies.

Congrats to our Clients on the Inc. 5000 is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Optimize now so your site ranks well for the holidays

Fewer Americans are poised to wake up early the day after Thanksgiving to brave Black Friday crowds. Instead, shoppers will wait for Cyber Monday, when businesses roll out sizzling holiday deals online.

Internet sales the Monday after Thanksgiving have nearly doubled since 2006. Last year, Cyber Monday shoppers spent more than $1 billion.

Statistics show that Cyber Monday – the day many people return to work after Thanksgiving – might surpass Black Friday in popularity, which has businesses shifting their marketing strategies to target online shoppers.

To take advantage of one of the biggest shopping days of the year, merchants are directing more of their advertising dollars toward online marketing, said Rick Hardman, a search engine optimization manager at SEO.com.

“Within the next couple years, it is expected that Cyber Monday sales will outpace Black Friday,” Hardman said.

Traditional advertising mediums like print have taken a hit as businesses turn to strategies like search engine optimization to boost their website traffic. A survey conducted by Econsultancy showed that the search marketing industry in North America will grow 16 percent in 2011 to a value of more than $19 billion.

But Cyber Monday is just the beginning.

It may seem silly discussing Christmas shopping in September, however, with a flurry of Web purchases expected this year, many businesses have already begun their online marketing efforts for December.

“Now is absolutely the time they need to be thinking and talking about this,” Hardman said.

It can take several months of aggressive search engine optimization for your website rankings to improve.

“If you wait until October or November, it’s too late for this holiday season.”

A way to increase revenue is making sure your company’s website appears on the first page of the search results when people look for your product or service online. Businesses using SEO improve their website rankings in search engines like Google.

Here are 11 tips from SEO.com for generating more holiday sales:

1. Start early and be consistent – Make sure you have momentum going into the holidays, begin an SEO campaign immediately.

2. Get your promotions in order – Prepare for sales, shipping and inventory control.

3. Prepare for large crowds – You don’t want your website crashing during holiday shopping.

4. Research your holiday keywords – Target the words customers will use to search for products or services you offer online.

5. Audit your on-site optimization – Use images and content that target specific holiday search terms.

6. Consider your design – Make sure your website is appealing and professional.

7. Prepare your navigation – Users should be able to find what they are looking for within three clicks.

8. Increase product placement throughout your site – Popular items should be displayed more prominently throughout your website.

9. Grow your social media influence – Secure your social media profiles and begin to make friends who would be interested in you and your story. Add a few links to your specials, newsletter and other social profiles. Invite your friends to participate in local holiday activities with you.

10. Review your links – Make sure you have an ever-growing portfolio of links from sites that are relevant to yours and from articles or press releases you have written or have been written about you.

11. Improve your check out – It should be easy for people to purchase items on your website. Remove any obstacles.

Visit our holiday readiness checklist for other tips.

Client Spotlight: Boutique born on the streets

A few years ago Annie Kennedy didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. So she looked into attending culinary school in New Orleans.

At 19 years old, it was in the Big Easy where Kennedy stumbled upon the funky, eclectic clothing boutique that

Annie Kennedy

Kennedy made a mental note to return when the store opened the next day. She liked the boutique so much that within a year of meeting Hemline’s owner, she had opened the company’s first franchise store in Kansas City, Mo., her hometown.

Today Kennedy is a partner in Hemline and oversees ShopHemline.com, the company’s online store.

“I was a baby pretty much when we started,” she said. “I feel like I have never had an adult life without Hemline.”

The Hemline story begins in New Orleans in the 1990s, when Hemline founder Brigitte Holthausen used to park a cart in the French Quarter to sell purses and other clothing accessories. Customers loved the items she imported from Brazil, her South American homeland.

“From there Holthausen opened her first actual store in the French Quarter,” Kennedy explained.

At one time there were four Hemline boutiques in New Orleans, but Hurricane Katrina changed that.

“When Katrina hit, the economy was bad and they ended up moving to Baton Rouge to get away from the storm,” Kennedy said. “They combined a few of the New Orleans stores into one in Baton Rouge, and it worked.”

Today there are 10 locations. And half of the boutiques are in Louisiana. Other Hemline stores are in Houston, Dallas and Nashville, Tenn.

With products for women from more than 200 designers, Kennedy describes Hemline’s clothing as “very pretty, very bohemian and very natural.”

“The style is very sexy,” she added.

Despite the sluggish economy, Kennedy said revenue at her store has tripled since she opened seven years ago.

However, many people’s buying habits changed during the economic recession, which the inventory at Hemline needed to reflect.

When she opened in 2004, Kennedy said she didn’t carry as much lower-priced clothing as today.

“A lot of companies were set on what they were and they didn’t change. So they didn’t do as well during the recession,” she said. “We all knew that something had to change and we just made it happen.”

Visiting Kennedy’s shop you would not suspect that she caters to customers with budgets in any price range.

“It looks like a high-end store,” she said.

The shop has purple walls, hardwood floors and the racks are all handmade.

“We’re actually one of the more funky stores in Kansas City,” Kennedy said.

With talk of opening her second location, Kennedy said she is pushing to sell more merchandise online. She hired SEO.com to help improve her website rankings in search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

“When we opened we were on the verge of people being able to shop online,” Kennedy said.

Today Kennedy stocks about a third of her inventory on her website. She hopes to make more items available to Internet shoppers once traffic to her site picks up.

“If you’re not online, you’re not a legitimate business,” she said. “It’s a big deal.”

SEO Tip of the Month

You’ve created a Twitter account for your business but you don’t know what to do next. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

With social media playing an important role in search engine results, you know this much: more followers help your website rank higher in Google. Senior SEO Specialist Andrew Johnson (@AJUtah) said following as many people as you can is one way to get noticed. But here are some better tips for engaging more customers on Twitter:

• Spruce up your profile page. Your profile picture should be a square version of your company logo or a professional headshot. Your bio shouldn’t be longer than 160 characters, and should contain keywords and a clear call to action. Your profile is important because Google will index the information, and users will get a better understanding of your company and what you’re all about.

• Conduct Twitter searches (http://search.twitter.com) based on the keywords you are targeting. Follow others in your industry and region. Follow profiles for local media and retweet information relevant to your company. Cite the original author or website for an almost-guaranteed follow.

• People on Twitter often respond to questions. You can gain followers by simply replying to questions and responses from others using the @reply method.

• Use keywords in your tweets, but don’t overdo it or else others may consider your tweets spam.

• Gain followers by using hashtags. Use the # symbol in front of words to draw attention to the key parts of the tweet. For example, a tweet about the latest search marketing conference could include the hashtag #SEO. Those searching for the hashtag on Twitter may find your tweet and follow you.

• Participate in chats on Twitter that are relevant to your company and industry. You will gain followers and exposure by interacting with others.

• Set up a Google Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) to be notified whenever someone writes about your company or the industry, and use Twitter to follow the author and retweet it to your followers.

Industry Events

SMX East: New York City, Sept. 13-15

BlueGlass TPA: Tampa, Sept. 26-27

eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit: New York City, Oct. 17-21

PubCon: Las Vegas, Nov. 7-10

SEO.com Events

Webinar: Off-page optimization and link building — Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. MDT

The Link — SEO.com's September Newsletter is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

SALT LAKE CITY — Internet marketing firms are seeing professionals leave their jobs to begin careers in search engine optimization. The search marketing industry has been growing steadily for years.

“I know several marketers who have moved across the country for opportunities in search marketing,” SEO.com President Ash Buckles said.

While those skilled in Web development are a hot commodity, officials said even someone with no marketing experience may find a satisfying career as a in professional SEO.

“It’s definitely something that we’re aware of,” said Ann Shannon, a spokeswoman for the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization.

Starting salaries for search marketers might be a factor, she said.

A recent study by SEMPO showed the majority of search marketers surveyed, with fewer than three years of experience, earned between $30,001 and $60,000.

But more money was not the reason John Doherty left his job at a software company to join an Internet marketing firm. Today Doherty works as an SEO consultant at Distilled in New York City.

He said he was relieved to escape corporate America.

“[SEO] is a much more laid back, enjoy-who-you-are and enjoy-what-you-do sort of industry,” he explained. “It’s not for everybody. But if you love it, it can be a very good way to work and live.”

With a background in technical writing, Doherty said a career in search marketing was a perfect fit.

“I think it definitely helps to have a technical knowledge and knowledge about how the Internet works, but it is not required,” he said. “There are people I work with who didn’t have that technical knowledge, but they had the hustle, they had the creativity and they were really good at getting things done.”

David Zimmerman, an SEO manager at Ephricon Web Marketing, worked for a decade as a pastor before he was hired by the North Carolina-based Internet marketing firm.

“My job for my church was to go to new places and start new churches,” Zimmerman said in a telephone interview. “A lot of that was marketing and other communication skills.”

Zimmerman also created websites for his ministry. He learned programming languages like HTML, PHP and JavaScript.

“SEO really became a best of all worlds. Now I can embrace my technical side and my communication side all in one career,” he said.

Using search engine optimization, Internet marketing firms help clients boost sales by making sure their websites appear prominently in Google, Yahoo and Bing. According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, search marketing will grow by about 16 percent this year to a nearly $20 billion industry.

Rich Harding was a police officer in Utah before he took a position in search marketing. Today he is an SEO manager at SEO.com.

“Business and online marketing have always intrigued me and I liked the idea of being able to reach millions of people through marketing. I was very fascinated with the idea of helping companies grow and increase their bottom line, and to be able to show six-figure [returns on investment] based on work I was doing,” Harding said. “I got to the point in law enforcement where I felt I was kind of bottlenecked in growth, and what I could do … I saw in online marketing that growth was limitless.”

Meanwhile, Buckles explained that several colleges even offer classes in search marketing.

“We’re beginning to see the University of Utah, Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University focusing on online marketing curriculum with their students,” he said. “Some assignments now mimic the needs of the market so students can enter into their careers with exposure to search engine optimization, search marketing and social media.”

Many leaving traditional jobs to pursue careers in Internet marketing is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Businesses Must Finely Tune Twitter Campaigns

Twitter serves up fantastic ways for businesses to provide customer service, promote sales and manage their reputations online. But when composed correctly your tweets might even improve your company’s rankings in the search engines.

“If you are tweeting regularly and you’ve got a good reputation, then sometimes if there is enough chatter, Google will actually show your tweets at the top of the results,” said Albert Mitchell, an SEO director at SEO.com. “We want to have as many shots as possible to be on the front page and Twitter is one of those things.”

But your company’s tweets won’t rank on the first page until you finely tune your Twitter campaign. Mitchell can’t tell you exactly what to tweet, but had these tips for best optimizing 140 characters:

1. Have a plan

You should have an understanding of your audience and know what you want to tweet about before promoting your company on Twitter.

“You need to have a purpose and know what your purpose is,” Mitchell said.

Whether providing customer service or monitoring complaints, many companies use multiple Twitter accounts, each tailored to a specific need.

“Segment out your Twitter accounts,” Mitchell advised.

Then when somebody online gripes about your product or service you respond with your Twitter handle that is dedicated to customer service.

2. Tweet regularly; respond quickly

Tweeting regularly is key. But quickly responding to feedback is critical if you’re trying to forge a reputable online persona.

Mitchell said he complained to his telecommunications provider via Twitter when the Internet service at his home recently crashed. The company replied to Mitchell the next morning after he sent the tweet the night before.

“They’re listening. It took them a little while, but they actually got back to me,” Mitchell said. “If you have a Twitter account, you need to stay on top of it. You need to address these concerns because I expected them to respond to me.”

3. Use keywords to brand tweets

Branding your tweets may help boost their influence in the search engines.

Create a custom link shortener so your tweets are quickly recognized. Both Google and bitly offer link-shortening tools. Include the name of your company with your custom link.

“For SEO purposes you want something that is established and can be used forever,” Mitchell said.

Some people won’t click a generic shortened link. Customized links boost your brand’s credibility.

“They look at it quickly and know it’s good and reputable,” Mitchell said.

And it’s best to link your anchor text to pages deep within your website.

“Link to the page that is most relevant to your tweet,” Mitchell said. “I don’t want to have to dig through the whole entire site to find the one piece of information that I need.”

Targeting a set of broad keywords with tweets might also help propel your posts to better rankings. The keywords should be high volume and relevant to your industry. Continually associate your brand with those keywords and include one or two with your tweets.

“You’ve got a very limited number of characters, so you’ve got to be very accurate and composed with these tweets,” Mitchell said. “It is not an easy thing.”

Few outside the Googleplex know exactly how the search giant’s algorithm weighs tweets when providing universal search results.

“It depends on the chatter … I think it’s due partly to how people interact,” Mitchell said. “If you are talking about it enough and there are other people tweeting about it then it’s likely you will see it.”

Always tweet when items in the news are relevant to your industry.

“Look to see what people are talking about right now and if it’s relevant, use it in your tweet,” Mitchell said. “If it’s trending on Twitter, there might be enough time for it to show up on the (Google) news results.”

Client Spotlight: Spectrum Climbs to the Top of its Industry

Corey Hyer grew up rock climbing in Utah, where he has stood atop some of the finest routes in the world.

But today Hyer works around a different type of crag. He is a spokesman for Utah-based Spectrum Sports, which builds artificial climbing walls and patented auto belay devices that make it easy for beginners to experience the thrill of climbing.

“We developed the first hands-free auto belay device,” Hyer explained in a telephone interview. “Our device takes care of everything.”

“Belaying” describes the process of taking up slack from a rope as a climber ascends, and safely lowering the climber when they fall or wish to come down. In the woods, climbers have traditionally needed belay partners to climb safely – someone who operates a device that helps catch climbers when they fall.

But you don’t need a partner when climbing a wall designed by Spectrum Sports. Using hydraulics, the auto belay system attached to the wall safely collects slack as the climber ascends. When finished, the climber is safely lowered as oil flowing through the device restricts the rope.

Some indoor climbing gyms used to have to turn away novices when instructors were not available to help belay beginners.

“Most gyms are struggling to end’s meet,” Hyer said.

The auto belay system has allowed climbing gyms to capitalize on thousands of dollars in walk-in business.

“We were the first company to offer an auto belay device to climbing gyms,” Hyer explained. “It really did expand the amount of people who had the opportunity to participate in the climbing experience. It really opened up the experience to people in the middle of America.”

Spectrum Sports opened in the 1990s, manufacturing accessories for trampolines.

“It transitioned from those amusement devices to rock climbing,” Hyer said.

He described the staff at Spectrum Sports as “a very adventurous group.”

“We like to have fun and we like to share that with people,” Hyer said.

All Spectrum products are manufactured at the company’s headquarters in Cache Valley, Utah. Spectrum belay devices are used on portable walls and in climbing gyms throughout the country.

Though not many companies manufacture artificial walls and auto belay devices, Hyer said the industry is extremely competitive. Spectrum Sports hired SEO.com after traditional marketing methods started producing fewer leads.

“People in our industry used to come to trade shows to see what is new, now they’re going online to see what is new in the industry,” Hyer said. “In the past we have had a marketing mix that relied heavily on paid advertisements and trade shows.”

Thanks to SEO.com, the company’s website now appears on the first page of Google when people search for several competitive keywords.

And the professional SEO efforts will likely continue as Spectrum Sports attempts to corner a new market The company expects to unveil its first portable zipline later this year.

“There is a strong demand for the zipline experience right now. But the only way to experience it currently is to travel to a remote location. People who live elsewhere can’t experience it,” Hyer said. “We’re all about taking that to the mass public.”

SEO Tip of the Month

Not only do schemas help search engines more accurately determine what your site is about, but in 2012 they are going to be a factor in your actual ranking.

What:

Incorporate schemas (think metadata or “HTML tags”) into your HTML coding.

Why:

Search engines more accurately understand your website through schemas. When they parse your data, they look for schemas, or html tags, which tell them what your content is.

Bing has officially announced that schemas will affect search results starting in 2012. It’s safe to assume the same for Google and Yahoo. Additionally, adding schemas to your html will help you rank for more accurate search terms.

How:

You can learn to write schemas yourself or find generators online that write them for you. A good generator is http://schema-creator.org.

Whether your write them or get them generated, make sure to insert them into your HTML.

Industry Events

SES San Francisco: San Francisco; Aug. 15-19

PubCon: Las Vegas; Nov. 7-10

#SEOchat: Thursdays at 7 p.m. MDT. Ash Buckles and Greg Shuey operate this chat where all things SEO are discussed.

SEO.com Events

Webinar: Google Local Search – Aug. 25 at 9 a.m. MDT

The Link — SEO.com's August Newsletter is a post by SEO expert pparkinson. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.