The views some high school and college students have of social media may be changing as they break this month for the holidays. Before Davis High School junior Breanna Barton took Jeff McCauley’s new social media marketing class, Facebook and YouTube were merely means for wasting time. Now Barton sees things a little differently.

“There’s so much more to [social media] than people think,” Barton said. “I didn’t really think you could market with them, but it’s amazing how much potential there is for it.”

Growth rates in social media marketing are expected to increase about 33 percent each year, from $400 million in 2010 to $2.3 billion in 2015, according to a forecast by BIA/Kelsey. Companies are no longer just dabbling in social media, but fully investing in it.

These developments are changing marketing curricula, both in high schools and colleges, McCauley said.

“I [do it] because it’s now and it’s happening,” he said. “Chances are these kids will be working a lot with social media in the future. I’m not trying to make good high school students; I’m trying to shape the next generation of marketing professionals.”

Jonah Berger, an assistant professor of marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said the school’s marketing program is also actively adjusting to the changes.

“The school as a whole is extremely interested in these issues and I think that points to the importance of it,” he said.

But Berger also said that social media is simply another weapon in the marketing arsenal.

“These are technologies, not strategies,” he said. “To be effective, you have to understand the motivations for people’s interactions on those pages.”

He said he focuses much of his teaching on how to understand people’s behavior in social media so his students can better target their audiences.

The change to social media marketing has been gradual until recently, according to Ash Buckles, president of SEO.com, a Utah-based search marketing company that offers social media to its clients.

“When companies execute a social media campaign well, communication is maximized and open,” he said. “Social media allows businesses to receive direct feedback as a listening platform as well as introduce new product ideas.”

Berger said the power of the word of mouth is unequaled by any other tool in the marketing field, and social media is but the online version of “spreading the word.”

“I believe we will continue to see a rapid shift in marketing strategy as recent graduates enter the workforce and bring their own insights on the technology they have grown up with,” Buckles said. “I am excited to see how they will revolutionize the industry.”

Facebook 101: Schools Offer Social Media Classes to the Next Generation of Marketers is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Want to double your website traffic in 2012?

Cyber Monday shoppers spent a record $1.3 billion this year as the Monday after Thanksgiving crept up on Black Friday as one of the busiest shopping days of the year. With Christmas just around the corner and so much possible revenue crammed into a short time span, businesses are rushing to capture as many holiday customers as they can.

While sales at brick-and-mortar stores the day after Thanksgiving still dwarf Cyber Monday receipts, a website that is optimized for the search engines will not only drive Internet traffic, but also foot traffic into your physical business by showing potential customers your location and the products and services you provide.

Two webinars scheduled at SEO.com in December will help you start the New Year with a website that could rank on the first page of Google when people search for your industry online. The programs are the final two installments in our Learn to SEO Like a Pro webinar series.

“This webinar series is intended to equip businesses with confidence in their ability to successfully manage SEO campaigns, or at least understand the most important components they are made up of,” said Claye Stokes, director of search engine optimization at SEO.com.

On Dec. 8, our experts will discuss strategies for doubling website traffic in 2012. Using Google Analytics to increase sales will be the topic of the Dec. 22 webinar.

Both webinars are free and you can register today.

Here are some tips from past webinars in the series in case you missed the first three installments:

SEO’s True Value Revealed

The true value of search engine optimization is revealed through demographics research. To really excel, you need to know who looks at your site and why, how they come into your site (home page or a services page), whether they are a repeat customer or not, and whether they respond to any of your calls to action.

Analyzing Demographics

Once you know something about the demographics of visitors to your site, you can then start analyzing each demographic and the return on investment you’re getting from each client. Calculating the cost per lead (CPL) can be just as useful as calculating the ROI. When you know how much you are spending per customer action, you can take steps to reduce that cost and/or increase the volume of customers you attract.

Keyword Research

It is helpful to know what keywords attract given customers. Keyword tracking is not only possible from online leads, but also through phone call tracking, which determines what keyword in an Internet search led a customer to call your phone number.

With data on your target audiences and how they respond to leads, you are finally in a position to audit your search engine marketing efforts. You will want to determine some key performance indicators and use them as a baseline to see how your efforts progress over time. Some particularly useful segments to establish indicators for are new visitors, return visitors, conversions, and non-bounce visits.

Ranking Using Long-Tail Keywords

To rank high on your product or service pages, you need to choose the right keywords. Longer keyword phrases (called long-tail keywords) are much easier to rank for, and they also address specific customer needs better. However, long-tail keywords can be a little unwieldy in headings, so select the most important keywords from the long-tail phrase for your page title and then place the long-tail phrase in the opening paragraph of your page or post.

Present Your Value in Search Results

Make good use of the title tags and meta descriptions that search engines display on their results page. You will typically want it to give your product name followed by your company name. The meta description should include a clear value statement that essentially says, “This product (or service) solves your problem. It will provide you with real value. Click here to find out more about it.”

Convert Leads to Sales on Your Landing Page

When they click on your link you want to provide the product or service information and an easy way to purchase right from the landing page. A best practice is to put a call-to-action box or form in the top-right corner of the screen.

Although your text is primarily there for SEO, you need to make it easy for the viewer to read as well. You can make it scannable by using headers, bullets, white space, and some images. These will break up the flow to make it look more readable and less intimidating.

Get Your Landing Page Shared

Social media marketing is playing an increasingly important role in search engine rankings and product visibility. You need to provide your customers with a means to share your product with their friends. This is best done by providing “share this” buttons to each of the major social media tools available.

In an age when retail stores are gradually being replaced by online sales, these are crucial steps in maintaining your edge in the market.

Client Spotlight: Cleaning company is secret to others' success

It is likely you haven’t considered any behind-the-scenes efforts required to keep a company smooth sailing—which is where a firm like TEAM Solutions enters the picture. TEAM Solutions is an international technical cleaning and facility support service that is designed to optimize other companies’ performance.

TEAM Solutions has specialized in technical cleaning for nearly 30 years. Their facility-cleaning program meets the needs of several industries including aerospace and defense, automotive manufacturing, industrial cleaning, medical industry, food processing and a variety of other support services. Offering all these support services allows businesses to maintain focus on their core business activities.

TEAM Solutions works for major automotive manufacturers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, as well as food processing companies, beverage companies and aerospace and defense contractors. By keeping these facilities clean, each company is capable of operating efficiently.

“It’s all about helping our customers do what they do best in making their products as safe as they can be,” said Tom Rowland, the TEAM Solutions vice president of sales and marketing. “It’s about supporting the client so they can make the best things possible. Just as an example, we support the production of some of the best fighter jets.”

What sets TEAM Solutions apart from other facility cleaning programs is how they manage their operating system. TEAM Solutions drives operational excellence and ensures key performance at each of their sites.

“We do our job right for our clients to make sure they can focus on what they do best. Their food is safe, the cars look the best, and what we do helps them make everything better,” Rowland said.

Although some may not see any direct impact on their lives from a company like TEAM Solutions, be assured they play an indirect role in public safety. By keeping food processing facilities and the medical industry up to par with sanitation and cleanliness, TEAM Solutions in a way keeps the public in good hands.

“As an industry leader in technical cleaning facility management for a variety of industries, we touch on every aspect of people lives,” said Rowland.

Tips and Tricks: Title tags can be longer than 70 characters

Some may argue that title tags are the most important SEO tags for a website. Although most people are no stranger to the significance of a title tag for search engine optimization, there are those who could benefit from carefully crafting the right tag.

Title tags are a line of text normally found at the top of a browser window. Search engine spiders utilize title tags as a main source for understanding the topic of a page. The spiders crawl the site and determine the relevance between a title tag and the rest of the content. For this reason, using your keywords in the page title can help improve your rankings.

The length of a title tag to be displayed ranges from 60 to 70 characters for most search engines. If you use more than 70 characters, the title will be cut off on the search results page. However, even though search engines display 70 characters of a title tag, that doesn't mean they don't index titles longer than 70 characters. If you feel your unique title is limited, you can use more characters to ensure your critical keywords and phrases are included.

Utilizing title tags often helps generate quick and significant improvements for your search engine rankings. Feel free to push the boundaries of the 70 character “limit” for your title tag in order to provide the information you need for a boost.

Industry events

Online Marketing Summit: San Diego; Feb. 6-10, 2012

Search Engine Strategies Search & Social Accelerator Conference: San Diego; Feb. 9, 2012

PubCon: Honolulu; Feb. 13-15, 2012

SearchFest: Portland; Feb. 24, 2012

Search Marketing Expo West: San Jose; Feb. 28 to March 1, 2012

SEO.com events

Webinar: Double Your Website Traffic in 2012 — Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. Eastern

Webinar: Use Google Analytics to Increase Sales — Dec. 22 at 11 a.m. Eastern

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

Utah-based SEO.com recently placed seventh on Utah Business magazine’s list of the top 20 e-commerce businesses in Utah.

The list has been based in past years on a company’s gross billing, number of clients and the number of full-time employees.

Atop the list were companies like Ancestry.com, Overstock.com and Backcountry.com.

“We’re thrilled to be listed with such prominent companies,” said Mike Hohl, vice president of sales and marketing at SEO.com. “E-commerce is becoming more and more competitive, and we are committed to not only keeping ourselves high on that list, but also bringing our clients along with us.”

One of SEO.com’s clients, PRMarketing.com, was also on the list, ranking thirteenth.

“SEO.com has done incredible things for us,” said Lori Gilson, president of PRMarketing.com. “Their expertise and superior client relations truly set them apart from other search engine optimization companies out there.”

SEO.com specializes in search engine optimization, which is the practice of increasing visibility for websites in search engine results. Done by researching search terms people use in search engines and then optimizing websites and online activity accordingly, the goal of search engine optimization is to place websites as high as possible in search engine results to generate Internet traffic.

SEO.com has seen huge success with some of their major clients, like H&R Block and Mrs. Fields, according to Jon Reese, marketing director at SEO.com. Touting high returns on investment for those companies, SEO.com has also developed online marketing strategies and SEO for small businesses.

“We realize there are people out there who are not so convinced of the effectiveness of SEO,” Reese said. “But we are committed to offering the very best, not just in ROI, but also client relations and transparency.”

SEO.com named as one of the top 20 e-commerce Businesses in Utah is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Online sales the Monday after Thanksgiving have doubled since 2006 as fewer Americans braved Black Friday crowds, instead waiting for Cyber Monday to begin their holiday shopping on the Internet. With so much possible revenue crammed into such a short time span, officials at SEO.com advised business owners to explore every possible advantage for outpacing the competition in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

“The online world basically mimics the offline world without the geographic constraints,” said Claye Stokes, director of search engine optimization at SEO.com. “You have to set aside an entire day to go store to store. But you can see a lot more websites in a smaller amount of time and do more cost comparisons.”

Though it’s too late for some Internet marketing services to increase the bottom line this Christmas, Stokes had some last-minute search engine marketing tips for business owners hoping to make their companies more visible on the Internet in time for holiday shoppers.

One of the most effective ways to find more online customers is to list products the company sells in Google Product Search, according to Stokes.

“A lot of websites aren’t doing that yet,” he explained.

Listing a business in Google Product Search allows shoppers to easily find your products when they search online. The items appear in a box with Google’s shopping results, and local businesses are highlighted when online shoppers click to find out where the items can be purchased.

“Google Product Search is great for local companies,” Stokes said. “If they get into these product feeds, it’s a good way to let Google and local customers know you have these products.”

The Bing search engine has its own product feed called Bing Shopping. Merchants may use the Google and Bing shopping feeds for free.

Once products are listed in the shopping feeds, it’s important to advertise holiday markdowns and reduced shipping costs so the search engines quickly notice the business and move it to the top of the search results.

Listing a company in Google Product Search is simple, but it requires some data entry or development, and a Google Merchant Center account.

“If businesses get a shopping feed put together before Cyber Monday they have an opportunity to really benefit from one of the busiest days of the year,” said Mike Hohl, vice president of sales and marketing for SEO.com. “But this is going to help you every day, until Christmas and beyond.”

Hohl said retailers also sell more items during the holidays when they prominently feature their products on their home page.

“Featuring items on the home page will get more attention for those products,” he said.

Internet Marketers Offer Last-minute Tips for Businesses Trying to Lure Holiday Shoppers is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Use infographics to boost your SEO

Though the popularity of infographics has exploded over the past few years, questions may always linger about how to design and promote graphics that generate leads, build your reputation or expand your company's reach on Facebook and Twitter.

Infographics, also known as information graphics, are visual representations of data or knowledge. They present complex information in a quick, clear manner that makes it interesting to the average person.

Some examples of infographic topics have included: “Father’s Day vs. Mother’s Day”, “How Are Smartphones Being Used?” and “What is a Stock.” The information was presented using colorful pictures, graphs and charts. And the data came together in the end as one image known as an infographic.

Infographics are powerful tools for improving your website search engine optimization. They boost SEO by providing visibility and brand awareness, generating social signals and creating natural backlinks.

Infographics also generate visibility by pushing your brand to the forefront of social media marketing.

“If it’s interesting enough for the average individual then it’s very promotable. It gets shared and helps drives traffic to the website,” said Greg Shuey, vice president of client services for SEO.com.

This can create natural backlinks. When search engines see that your website is receiving lots of shares across the popular social networks, the search engines begin viewing the page as a trustworthy source.

But for an infographic to be successful, you need to have an awesome concept and amazing design. If these elements are not present, then your graphic will not make an impression.

"If you have unique data pertaining to your company, utilize it to create an infographic," Shuey said.

Infographics with new data that is not publicly available thrive in social media, he added.

Your team must also be excited about the project for an infographic to really be successful. It is important that everybody involved in the infographic be committed and eager to participate and promote it.

“When the client is brought in, they begin pushing it through their organization. They’re sharing it with their friends, their neighbors and out on Facebook … We get a whole lot more promotion, we get a whole lot more visibility and more eyeballs on the website when we have that excited team,” Shuey said.

However, design is only one component when it comes to utilizing infographics for SEO. Before you start creating your infographic, you must develop specific goals for the content. Decide what you want the infographic to achieve before diving into the process. Do you want 15,000 page views? How about 65 new backlinks or 25 new leads?

“The goals can really be anything, but you want goals that will help build the business,” Shuey said.

Laying out the goals of the infographic beforehand is important because it can play a major role in the design.

Another key element to using infographics to boost SEO marketing is developing a plan for promotion. Simply uploading the content to your website or blog won’t cut it. Work at getting your infographic into the public eye. Otherwise, only your followers are going to see it.

“If you don’t have a solid promotion plan in place, you’re probably not going to have a very successful infographic,” Shuey said.

It is important to tailor your promotion plan to your design. Some infographics fare better than others when it comes to different social media outlets. There are many ways to get your infographic noticed and earn natural backlinks. It’s important to reach out and connect with networks of individuals who share content.

Shuey recommended contacting the blogger community by utilizing websites such as Tumblr and Pinterest. Leveraging social media like Facebook, Twitter and Digg is also important, but these should not be your only promotional techniques.

When infographics are created and promoted correctly, they will continue to acquire backlinks and be shared through social media networks long after your campaign is complete.

Listen to Shuey's webinar for more infographic tips.

Client Spotlight: Michigan company sees boom despite the slow economy

One of the largest industries in the United States is the automobile industry, and Michigan is its hub. The state also bears the stigma of a gloomy economic landscape. However, for Alta Equipment Company, this is not the case.

Alta Equipment Company is a family-owned business, which was founded by Steve Greenawalt in 1984. The firm provides industrial forklifts, heavy construction equipment, and warehouse solutions to a variety of companies in the Midwest. They currently have 14 branches located in Michigan, Illinois and northwestern Indiana, and they carry an array of brands from Combilift forklifts to Volvo construction equipment.

The Automobile Industry

Automobile manufacturers comprise one of the most prominent industries served by Alta Equipment Company.

“We provide the automobile companies with lifts and other equipment to assist in the building of vehicles,” said Kristina Heimbaugh, Alta Equipment Company's marketing director.

Going Green

The environmental movement promotes the sustainable management of Earth’s resources. As the movement has grown in popularity, more companies have strived to reduce their carbon footprints. Alta Equipment Company is currently in the process of organizing an educational seminar on environmental responsibility.

“We are putting together this seminar to help our customers become a little greener,” Heimbaugh said.

The seminar will cover ways Alta Equipment Company’s customers can move toward alternative fuel and eco-friendly batteries.

Pride and Passion

Employees at Alta Equipment Company have pride in the business, and it definitely shows.

“We all love being here,” Heimbaugh said. “The salespeople and managers are great. Everybody does their part and they’re really here to support each other.”

They also have a passion for their customers and the service they provide.

“All companies say they’re about service, but we really are about service,” Heimbaugh said.

Tips and Tricks: Two awesome tools for link prospecting

Citation Labs founder Garrett French

Citation Labs has created some useful tools you can use for search engine optimization. These two tools — the Outbound Link Scraper Tool and the Contact Finder — may be found at citationlabs.com. They can save you lots of time (and headaches) when it comes to prospecting for links.

Outbound Link Scraper Tool

The Outbound Link Scraper Tool is not only useful, but it is very easy to use. With this tool, all you have to do is insert a URL and it gathers all outbound links on the page and returns the links to you in a csv file. This allows you to quickly go through and capture URLs that are relevant to what you are searching for.

Contact Finder

The Contact Finder is a tool that allows you to harvest contact information without manually going from site to site. The first step is adding the URLs you generated from the Outbound Link Scraper Tool. Next, specify what anchor text you want the tool to look for on a website, for example, the about us or contact page. Then identify what to pick out, including email addresses and phone numbers.

These tools are both easy to use and save lots of time. There are costs associated with the use of these tools, but they are definitely worth the price. One hundred megabytes of bandwidth starts at $10, and 1,000 megabytes at $50.

Find out how SEO.com Vice President of Client Services Greg Shuey used these tools to find 400 qualified link prospects in eight minutes.

Industry events

SES Chicago: Chicago; Nov. 14-18

SES Singapore: Singapore; Nov. 22-23

SMX Social Media Marketing: Scottsdale, Ariz.; Dec. 5-6

SEO.com events

Webinar: Is your website attracting visitors? — Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. Eastern

Webinar: Creating successful landing pages — Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. Eastern

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

SALT LAKE CITY — For the third year in a row, SEO.com, an organic SEO company, claimed a spot on MountainWest Capital Network’s Emerging Elite, a list that recognizes some of the fastest-growing businesses in Utah.

The 2011 Emerging Elite was comprised of 15 companies that have each been in business for fewer than five years.

“We are honored to be recognized once again by MountainWest Capital Network,” SEO.com President Ash Buckles said. “This recognition for our company is a reflection of the hard work of our dedicated employees, who we proudly thank for their efforts.”

The winners were announced during a ceremony on Oct. 6 for the annual Utah 100 Awards.

According to MountainWest Capital Network, the Emerging Elite are young Utah companies “that show significant promise for future success.”

Other businesses on the list included: 2GIG Technologies, CampusBookRentals.com, Candlelight Homes, LLC, Cariloha, Coherex Medical, Inc., GOAL ZERO, Infuse Medical, Matchbin, Inc., Miche Bag, LLC, OptConnect, Orabrush, OrangeSoda, Qivana, LLC and Zoobies.

“Utah continues to prove its resiliency and economic prowess as one of the most business-friendly states in the country,” said Jason F. Watson, president of MountainWest Capital Network.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert praised the businesses for growing during a sluggish economy. He applauded the companies for the job growth and economic development they provide the state.

For SEO.com, the growth is a testament to the company’s strong leadership and business concept, Buckles said.

SEO.com increases revenue for its clients by driving more traffic to their websites. Through search engine optimization and social media marketing, employees at SEO.com push for the websites to dominate search results when people look for the products or services online.

“SEO.com continues to grow because we offer what every business needs, a powerful Internet presence that gets a company noticed by the search engines,” Buckles said. “We will build on this momentum by continuing to provide our clients with the best possible technology, along with fast, friendly customer service.”

The Emerging Elite award came on the heels of SEO.com being named to the 2011 Emerging 8 by Utah Business magazine.

About MountainWest Capital Network

Founded in Salt Lake City in 1983, the objective of the MountainWest Capital Network is to support entrepreneurial success and enable business growth by fostering the dynamic flow of information about capital formation and distribution, educating and mentoring excellence, recognizing and rewarding business success and performance, and fostering synergistic relationships through networking.

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 search engine marketing. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 50 companies.

SEO.com Claims Spot Among Utah's Fastest-Growing Companies is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah-based SEO.com was named the top search marketing firm in the October 2011 publication of Website Magazine.

Website Magazine has only released the rankings twice this year and both times, SEO.com has been at the top of the list.

According to Website Magazine, rankings are calculated using a proprietary method that focuses on average daily unique visitors and page views over a specified period of time, as reported by multiple data sources. The website with the highest combination of factors is ranked in the first position.

Pete Prestipino, editor in chief of Website Magazine, said this method helped them determine which search marketing agency produces the best search engine results.

“If they can do that for themselves,” he said, “they can do it for their clients.”

SEO.com Vice President of Sales and Marketing Mike Hohl said his team is thrilled to be at the top of the list.

“It’s a terrific honor to be ranked number one again,” Hohl said. “We continue to be absolutely committed to providing the very best service to our clients.”

Jon Reese, SEO.com’s director of marketing, said the most significant trait that sets his firm apart from the competition is its transparency with clients.

“Through regular communication we are able to keep clients up to speed on next steps and truly manage their expectations,” Reese said. “They’re not worried about a lack of success or [return on investment] because we keep them constantly apprised of their campaign’s progress.”

SEO.com’s ability to orchestrate specific, individualized campaigns is another distinguishing characteristic of the firm, according to Reese.

“Search engine optimization is often seen as a kind of magic and we try to clarify it for our clients by keeping them aware of what’s going on with their campaigns,” Reese said.

SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of improving visibility for companies in search engine results. Generally speaking, the better a website ranks in search results, the more visitors it receives. Companies then have various strategies for converting those visitors into customers.

SEO.com has seen huge success over the last couple years, working with such clients as Mrs. Fields, H&R Block and Dell. While working with Mrs. Fields, organic traffic increased by 33 percent, the number of traffic-producing keywords increased by 51 percent and the return on investment with SEO.com was 1,033 percent. Information on this case as well as others can be found at http://www.seo.com.

About SEO.com

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

SEO.com named top Search Marketing Firm by Website Magazine is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

SALT LAKE CITY — With more than 175 million users, it can be difficult to get your voice heard on Twitter, especially by those in your industry. Because of this, companies like SEO.com, politicians, celebrities and other Twitter users are hosting Twitter chats.

The chats, similar to Internet chat rooms, are started by people who want to speak to many members of an industry all at once.

Courtesy of Tribe Count

One of the longest-running Twitter chats is #Blogchat, which started in March 2009.

Each week the group discusses a different topic related to blogging, #Blogchat founder Mack Collier explained.

“A Sunday night chat will generate anywhere from 10 to 20 million impressions,” he said in a telephone interview.

Though he knew people have lots of questions about blogging, Collier said he did not expect #Blogchat to reach nearly two million people each week.

“The big reason why it has grown is simply because I have stuck with it,” he said. “I love the conversations on Twitter and I love connecting with people … I’ve had so many people tell me that Blogchat has been a huge help for them.”

He advised businesses considering starting a Twitter chat to not focus their discussions on selling products.

“Instead, think about how your customers are going to use the products … Most people enjoy Blogchat because there is so much information” Collier said. “For those trying to get a chat off the ground, the biggest hurdle is having the chat as frequently as possible.”

Twitter chats encourage networking by segmenting the market for you. Those following the chat are already interested in the topic, creating a targeted audience. Finding a chat on a specific topic is easy by searching the keywords in Twitter.

#SEOchat is a weekly Twitter discussion co-hosted by Ash Buckles, president of SEO.com, a professional SEO firm.

Buckles said Twitter chats are effective ways to engage people in your industry.

“SEOchat has grown into a forum where top industry experts discuss their findings and where industry newbies can learn more,” Buckles said. “Twitter chats allow you to help others, which in turn promotes your brand.”

Greg Shuey, vice president of client services for SEO.com, co-hosts #SEOchat. New connections he has made through the weekly discussions have been the primary benefit, he said.

“We created SEOchat because we wanted people to have a place where they could share the latest ideas and discoveries in SEO,” Shuey added. “We also wanted business owners to be able get SEO help for their websites.”

#SEOchat is every Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

“Simply by searching ‘#SEOchat’ anyone can follow everything the chat is saying,” Shuey explained. “The best part for me though is seeing business owners using the chat as a resource. That’s when I know it’s fulfilling its purpose.”

If a chat does not exist about a particular topic, Shuey said it is easy to start your own. Choose a title for the chat and place a hashtag in front of it. Announce you are beginning by tweeting the information to your followers. Mention those who are not following you in your tweets so others will find out about the chat.

Popular Twitter chats for marketing and public relations professionals include: #smbiz, #hcsm, #journchat, #brandchat, #socialchat and #commschat.

Businesses woo customers in Twitter chats is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Rand Fishkin, CEO of Seattle-based SEOmoz.org, was in Salt Lake City this week speaking at the first stop on this summer’s Family MozCation tour. In between sipping Corona, signing autographs and posing in pictures with Utah fans, Fishkin spoke with SEO.com about, among other things, his relationship with Google Spam Czar Matt Cutts.

Fishkin’s company is a leading provider of search engine optimization software and his efforts to get websites to rank in Google have compelled Fishkin to delve deeply into why some sites show up No. 1 as others don’t even make it into the top 100 search results.

Utah is the only spot in North America that SEOmoz will visit during MozCation. Next Fishkin is off to Brazil, Peru and Spain.

SEO.com: Do you and Cutts have a pretty interesting relationship?

Fishkin: “Interesting” is a very good adjective to describe it. He is a good guy, but … I want to be very transparent and open.”

SEO.com: Will you characterize your interaction with Google since starting your career in SEO?

Fishkin: Early in my career I struggled for a long time to figure out how Google ranked pages and why some things ranked and some things didn’t … It’s frustrating to those in the (SEO) industry and it’s frustrating to me too.

The reason that I am frustrated with them is that I don’t feel there is a conflict. We’re on the same team as Google. I’ll use a football analogy; Google is a quarterback refusing to use us — all its great receivers. Throw the ball and let people like us move it forward for you.

SEO.com: How does Google view SEO companies?

Fishkin: My bias would be that I think Google views the situation more risky than it really is … So they operate from a perspective of fear.

SEO.com: What’s your major beef with the search giant?

Fishkin: They’re not transparent. We’re very open, and if Google would go that one step to be much more transparent they would earn a lot of people’s trust and they would earn a lot of forgiveness when they screw up.

SEO.com: When has Google “screwed up” in the past?

Fishkin: Google spam is a huge problem.

SEO.com: How is SEOmoz more open with information than Google?

Fishkin: There is not very much that we would not make public. Clearly, transparency has been really good for us. I’ll tell you our revenue, the number of users who have a pro account. I’ll tell you the sources I am pursuing for venture capital financing.

And that’s exactly what I would do with all the results I care about.

Interview: Rand Fishkin Dishes on Google is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

SALT LAKE CITY – Some have called Utah’s technology industry “Silicon Slopes,” because the tech sector is situated so close to the Wasatch Range. Adobe and Microsoft have offices in the state so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that many search engine optimization firms call Utah home.

Because search engine optimization is a newer field, many working in SEO are only in their 20s. Some of the top SEO minds are college dropouts while others are still working on degrees. Some wear shorts and flip-flops to the office, but one thing remains constant: SEOs are passionate about getting their clients’ websites to rank at the top of the search engines.

On Wednesday, rock stars in the industry, Seattle-based SEOmoz, visited Salt Lake City during the first stop on this summer’s Family MozCation tour. SEOmoz is a leading provider of SEO software.

Because Utah has so many SEO professionals, SEOmoz CEO Rand Fishkin said Salt Lake City was an obvious choice for a tour stop.

“The Salt Lake City SEO community is absolutely phenomenal,” Fishkin said. “If you are a website that wants to rank on the Internet you should come to Salt Lake City.”

The couple hundred people who attended MozCation in Utah would compare with a crowd of 50,000 at a New York City SEO event, he said.

“In terms of population, it’s a substantive number,” Fishkin explained in between signing autographs and appearing in photos with fans.

Some employed in the industry said one reason so many SEO firms have opened in Utah is because of the friendly business climate in the state. Low taxes and few health care mandates make Utah a popular place for startups.

“There are a bunch of entrepreneurial minded people in Utah,” said Tyson Hymas, an SEO manager at Utah-based SEO.com.

If you are a website that wants to rank on the Internet you should come to Salt Lake City.”

- SEOmoz CEO Rand Fishkin

Colleges in Utah also churn out SEOs.

“Schools like the University of Utah and [Brigham Young University] pump out fairly technologically savvy students ready to make an impact,” said Jordan Kasteler, a managing partner at BlueGlass in Salt Lake City. “Salt Lake and Utah County people tend to be well-educated and youthful thus an interest in the Internet and technology.”

In May, SEOmoz requested nominations from cities interested in hosting a MozCation stop. Submissions from Utah poured in.

“I’ve been participating in local events in Utah for about six years, and have seen interest increase during that time. We have a great search community in Utah that heavily supports these local events,” SEO.com President Ash Buckles said.

Fishkin was the main presenter. He spoke about social media and whether Facebook and Twitter posts influence search engine rankings.

Other MozCation meetups are planned this summer in Brazil, Peru and Spain.

“The fact that Salt Lake City is the only English-speaking destination on the MozCation tour speaks volumes about our SEO professionals, and our excitement about the industry,” said Claye Stokes, an SEO director at SEO.com.

Utah SEOs Pack First MozCation Tour Stop is a post by SEO expert seodotcom. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.