Biznology

Because this is my last post here at Mike’s Biznology blog for 2010, I am going to do something that I never ever do—make some predictions for upcoming year. I don’t usually do this because I am not a fortune teller and I haven’t stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in at least the past five years. This year, though, I think it is pretty safe to declare something that is both exciting and hits close to where I like to play in the Internet space. Here goes. Are you ready? (I’m stalling here because I really hate doing this.) I am declaring 2011 the Year of the Online SMB. Read the remainder of this entry »

Cover via Amazon

Some books deserve to be read and re-read. Every few years, I crack open Terms of Engagement by Dick Axelrod, to remind me of how to really bring about organizational change. So, I was heartened when I was contacted to receive a copy of the new improved Second Edition published earlier this year. Internet marketers are constantly talking about engagement, but they often overlook the engagement of their own employees when bringing about the big changes needed to implement social media in their organization. If you are charged with changing your organization for social media (or anything else) you owe it to yourself to not just read this book, but to study it.

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Image by Julia Roy via Flickr

Marketing has a (dated) reputation for being all about flash without any substance. Internet marketing, as a descendant of direct marketing, has let some of the air out of that bloated balloon, but I still occasionally run into pockets of old-speak, where marketing is magical, but actual sales are some kind of dirty business left to others. If you are running into a throwback CMO who doesn’t understand the realities of the digital era, check out my latest post on Search Engine Guide, “My CMO doesn’t think search marketing is ‘sexy.’”

Image by PhotoJonny via Flickr

by Tim Peter
How much of your traffic comes from search engines? How much from Google? If you’re like most businesses, you probably get a fair bit of your traffic from the Big G. But, what if it all went away? What if you walked in tomorrow and all your search traffic dried up? Can’t imagine it? Well, Google changes its search algorithm hundreds of times each year, on average more than once a day. And, they’re facing increasing regulatory challenges overseas and here in the US. If their next algorithm update—or a future regulatory-mandated change—knocked you out of their index, would your business survive? Here are a few handy tips to help you cope in such a scenario—and help you grow your business whether Google continues sending you lots of traffic or not.

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Image by Seven Morris via Flickr

I did a short (under 45-minute) Webinar last week for Enquiro (now part of Mediative), on a subject that I am often asked about, “How do you get C-level execs to invest in search marketing?” The Webinar, ably hosted by Bill Barnes, VP of Business Development at Mediative, allowed me to pass along five of my favorite tips. The other five tips were provided by Jennifer Lemming, Director of Marketing at DS Waters, a veteran of Coca-Cola and 3M. If you’re unsure of how to convince top management of the value of search marketing, check out “10 Tips for Selling Search to the C-Suite.”