Working on the social media side of SEO isn’t as easy as it seems, and should not be used merely to get links. Firstly, it is very time consuming and secondly there is a certain way to go about it. Spamming forums or blog comment boxes with “I agree!” type comments isn’t exactly giving you or your company a good reputation, nor will it earn you any traffic.

I am going to touch on 5 social media practices: forums, social bookmarking, blogging, article submission and social networking sites. Not everyone will agree that all of these topics fall into social media, and that’s fine. The way I see it, all of these topics deal directly with people and therefore fall into the social media category. But enough of that and on to the subject at hand.

1. Forums
Forums are a great source of information. You will find a wide range of expertise on the subject matter of your choice, from beginners to gurus, and all levels of people use forums to share their opinions and knowledge.

Generally, there are a few things that you need to remember when using forums:

- You may only be using them to try and find information but they are a great way to get your brand out there and get some backlinks – that doesn’t mean you should spam them with replies or threads that don’t really contribute or are merely for advertising purposes. Start threads that will entice people to reply or click the link in your signature, when you reply, reply with something helpful. Ask your own questions. Using forums in this way builds a good reputation for you and your brand, earning traffic as well as links. If you spam the sites people won’t give your contributions a second glance and you may even get banned.

- You should read the rules for the forums that you join, that way there is less chance of you being banned for something you might not have known you were doing that is wrong.

- If you do have links to your websites in your signature, try not to list more than 3 otherwise it looks spammy. I’m more inclined to only list 1 as it is more “authentic” but most forums suggest no more than 3.

- The most important thing to remember is that it’s not just about getting the links, this is a good opportunity to find regular traffic and learn new things, make it count.

Some good forums are webmaster-talk.com, www.irishwebmasterforum.com and webproworld.com.

2. Social bookmarking
This is another good way to get links and if you use it, the right kind of traffic too. Social bookmarking is simply telling bookmarking sites that you like certain articles or stories, and sharing those articles with other members when you submit them. You can vote on stories that you like or don’t like and leave reviews.

Of course you can submit your own blog posts or article submissions, but if people see only submissions relating to your site, you could lose valuable traffic because you look like you are spamming the sites.

There is no “trick” to using this kind of social media – all you have to do is not “pretend” to look authentic…but actually be authentic. You will receive worthwhile traffic and build a good reputation this way. Submit interesting articles you read, or blog posts you find funny, include a profile picture…do anything a real user would do – because that is what you should be. There is no quick fix. You need to act like a human in order to receive human interaction with your site.

Some sites you can use are StumbleUpon, Digg and Sphinn.

3. Blogging
By owning a blog you get to share your thoughts, ideas and business with a huge audience. If your content is useful enough you will get links and loyal followers too.

The trick here is to not make the blog about you, make it about your audience. If you have specials running, sure, share it with them…but don’t make your entire blog about specials your company is running. That will encourage…nothing. No links, no loyal followers and no comments.

Make your content relevant and interesting to read. Comment on other blogs you find interesting too – people read those comments and you may get some extra traffic if you contribute something worthwhile, maybe even a link from the blogger whose post you are commenting on – if you get their attention. Interaction is key to making your blog successful.

Other ways of getting more traffic and links in this social media category is by guest posting on other blogs and sponsoring competitions (you will earn links from the bloggers running those competitions etc).

Some good blogs for SEO are mattcutts.com/blog, seobook.com, seo-scoop.com and www.interleado.com/blog.

4. Article submission
There are many online article submission sites you can use to showcase your articles. As with blogging, if they are interesting and helpful enough, they will earn you links and traffic.

Most of these social media sites require an article length of around 500 words – this is to help to ensure that the articles that are submitted are worthwhile reading. As with the other mentioned social media categories, making an article all about a special you are running won’t earn you anything and will probably not be published – most sites have a waiting period of up to 7 days so that the articles can be reviewed.

There are many free article submission sites online such as eZineArticles and ArticleBase. You will be able to find lists of these sites on forums and in blogs – all you have to do is search.

5. Social networking sites
These sites put you in touch with people of similar interests. You are able to create groups that you can send updates to, network with other members and on some sites post articles that the members of the groups may find interesting. Some examples are LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

The thing to remember with social media is that pretending to be involved isn’t enough to earn you the traffic you need. If you are interested, people will be interested in you – show them your interest. Let your audience know that you have opinions and knowledge to share, or questions to ask.

More importantly – make sure your business will benefit from this aspect of SEO as it is time consuming and hard work needs to be put in. Articles and blog posts need to be optimised for the search engines, profiles needs to be created, forums and blogs need to be checked and contributed to. But what’s anything without a little hard work?

You’ve always been curious to know who’s been visiting your website or blog, yet never did find a solution. Well, now is a chance to do so. If you’re a member of Xanga, simply visit TrackBig.com. TrackBig helps you track the visitors who are visiting your Xanga page. Your visitors maybe either Xanga members or anonymous users. No matter what the user, TrackBig helps you keep a check on all your visitors. Statistical information along with the IP address, visitor’s photograph, the visited page, among others is reported. To add the icing on the cake, this tracker service comes absolutely FREE!

About TrackBig

TrackBig.com is a provider of quality Xanga utilities like Xanga tracking service, Xanga modules, Xanga layouts and images. It provides the following unique features:

• Visitors Photo

• Xanga Layouts

• Last 10 visitors

• Tracker Statistics

• Personal messages to your visitors

• Email alert when a friend visits your Xanga page

• Blocks unknown users

• Disables right click

• Graphs, IP statistics, Visitor Statistics, Referrer Statistics, Pageview statistics and much more!

How does TrackBig work?

Xanga members first need to create an account, which comes absolutely FREE. After the account is activated, they need to login and install two codes into their Xanga page, namely the Tracker Code and the Module Code.

The Tracker Code is a JavaScript code that tracks the Xanga users who are visiting the Xanga member’s Xanga pages. The code is available in the ‘Xanga Tracker’ Section.

Another code which needs to be installed is the Module Code. It is available in the ‘Xanga Module’ Section. This is also a JavaScript code which provides the features like

• Displays the recent 10 visitors in their Xanga page.

• Displays visitor count stats in their Xanga page.

• Shows personal messages to their visitors.

• Sends email alerts to you when friends visit their Xanga page.

• Blocks unknown users from visiting their Xanga page.

• Disables right click ability on their Xanga page.

Contact Us

Website: http://www.trackbig.com

Boost your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with Social Media Marketing Strategies. impaqt’s Vanessa Cooper explains how to leverage Social Media tactics for Search Engine Marketing campaigns by touching upon: the effects of Online Video on SEO, the importance of Social Bookmarking for an Enterprise-Level Company and the Role of Marketing in Online Communities. Learn more about Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, and Online Video by contacting IMPAQT. www.IMPAQT.com.

Importance of Incoming Links

Most of us trying to optimize our sites for search engine traffic know one of the single most important ways to get our sites listed higher on search engines is through obtaining incoming links. For Google, the quality of the website providing the incoming link is also important. It’s very important to get incoming links from high page rank (PR) web pages. Most search engine optimization ( SEO )articles mention this importance. However, many search engine optimization articles do not go into specifics about how to obtain these links.

Avoid Excessive Link Exchanges

A simple way is to have a link exchange whereby websites swap text links from their index or other pages in an attempt to build links. This system used to work very well in the past until Google decided that it didn’t like websites exchanging links simply to perform better in Google’s search algorithm. Google’s position now is that link exchanges are alright as long as they are not excessive. It is unclear how Google defines ‘excessive’.

An alternative approach to building incoming links apart from simple link exchange is to have an A-B-C link exchange. In this scenario site A links to site B. Site C links to site A in exchange for the link to site B. It is widely held that Google’s algorithm is aware of this situation and accounts for it. 

Obtaining One-Way Incoming Links

The vastly superior way is to have one-way incoming links. One-way links are links which point to your site without you having to link back to their site or set of sites. This is clearly the superior method for building incoming links. However, this method may take a long period of time as external websites find your web pages useful and link in to them. No matter the quality of your content it takes time to build natural links in. Such natural links may come from web directories or sites related to your topic which find your website useful and link to your site without being asked.

This SEO article is written specifically to address the problem of building one-way links to your website. By taking some short-cuts it’s easy to get high Page Rank websites to provide one-way links to your website. One of the simplest and easiest ways to gain incoming links is by taking advantage of social bookmark sites. These social bookmark sites include high page rank social bookmark sites such as ma.gnolia.com, simpy.com, furl.net, and del.icio.us.

It’s free to signup and start using these various bookmark sites. Most of them will require that you install their icon into your web browser toolbar. Once installed, simply click the bookmark icon when you’re on any web page which you’d like to have bookmarked. Ideally you may wish to bookmark all the web pages of your site. You can use these bookmark sites to create a URL containing all your own website links.

Once you have the URLs containing your websites then submit these URLs to Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines of your choosing. Place links to these URLs on your own websites or on other sites such as within blog comments.

Once these newly created bookmark webpage URLs get indexed and search engines crawl them then your websites will benefit from having quality one-way links.

Importance of Anchor Text

Always remember that the anchor text used to link to your site is extremely important as search engines such as Google attribute the anchor text to your website. The anchor text is simply the hot-linked words that refer to your website. If for example you operate a car dealership then for anchor text you may choose something like “cars for sale” or “buy cars”. It’s good to use adjectives sometimes when choosing anchor text. Continuing with the example above you may choose anchor text such as “autos for sale” or “buy automobiles”. It’s a good idea to vary the anchor text and not use the same anchor text for all incoming links. Keep this in mind when naming your websites as you manage your bookmarks.

 LinkedIn has become one of the most popular professional social networking sites on the Internet. However, LinkedIn’s “younger brothers” sites have been overlooked when it comes to quality business networking. The following sites are free and user-friendly. Reap the benefits from these sites and watch your business grow!

* Brand/promote your company to millions of people across the world

* Use it as a recruiting/human resources tool for your company – find new employees or clients

Plaxo makes it easy to connect with both new and established business contacts. Plaxo is similar to other social networking sites but offers unique features such as:

Pulse – Main dashboard page allows you to see and interact with your contacts. You can post status updates, messages, etc. This is the hub of Plaxo. Suggested friends and your contacts’ birthdays are also shown on your Pulse page.

Share photos, videos, links and reviews with your contacts. You can maintain your own privacy and control what others can and can’t see on your page.

In the Profile section, you can add and share websites that you frequently use (such as Flickr, Digg, YouTube, Twitter, etc.)

Set up your profile and you decide what to share with others. This is a great marketing tool because you can also add your company name and bio information.

In the More section, you can sync your address books to your Plaxo account and add your business contacts (you have the option of connecting them as either friend or business contact)

Add Calendars from Yahoo, Google Mail and Outlook to Plaxo – helps keep you on track during your busy work week! It’s also compatible with Mac.

Set up Pulse and the address book on your mobile phone – network while on the go!

Ryze is a great way to build business contacts and increase company sales.

Business networking home page

* Re-connect with business contacts/colleagues you already know

* Interact and send personal messages other Ryze members

* Join specialized Networks according to your niche/industry, location and/or interests.

* When you sign up, Ryze sends you links of other business contacts in your geographical area (country, state, etc) to check out.

* Over 500,000 members in 200 countries

* Publicize company events, products and services on Networks

Naymz boasts over million members to help expand your professional networks. If you want to expand your business or career, this dynamic professional social networking platform does it all!

* Exchange ideas, status updates, etc. in “real time”

* Reputation Assessment/RepScore – Asks members to fill out assessment of contacts and score each other – encourages trust and relationship building amongst members (add ONLY quality contacts)

* Network Activity – Sends updates any time your contacts make changes to their profiles, etc.

* Reputation Monitor – Keeps tabs on your reputation. Sends you updates when your name/company name is cited on blogs, websites, social networks, etc.

* Visitor Reporting – Alerts you when someone visits your profile and allows you to see who’s interested in you/your company.

BizNik appeals to entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to help each other succeed. Biznik puts business contacts face-to-face with other in the virtual sense.

Biznik’s features include:
* Members use their real names and company information – allows for a stronger, reputable online presence

* Join appropriate niche/industry-related groups – allows you to interact and send direct messages to group members

* Write professional articles and share with other members in your industry – position yourself as an expert in your field

* Connect with business contacts specifically in your city (based on geographical locations/regions)

* Add company events to the “Events” Section (cross-promote special events, etc.)

* Biz Talk forums allow you to introduce yourself to other members, ask questions and share your professional experiences.

If you liked this article, please tell your friends about it. If you really liked it, feel free to publish it on your blog or website (please don’t forget to mention www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog as the original source).

I like this video on Google’s advice on just what social media marketing sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can do for you and your small business.

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, “The Father Of The Internet” and VP, Chief Internet Evangelist for Google shares with ogilvyone Singapore on how brands can tap into the social media phenomenon. For more enquiries, email socialmedia.apac@ogilvy.com

Mashable.com is one of the largest and most trafficked blogs on the Internet. It keeps track of such social networking giants as Facebook, Myspace, Youtube and Bebo, plus many other social networking sites. When a new social networking site is created, when an existing one adds a new feature, when there are problems with a networking site, Mashable reports it.

There is a lot to be said for using social networking sites to promote and sell your real estate. Social networking sites are home to millions of users, some of which, it must be allowed, are searching for property. The social networking phenomenon is a relatively new one, though, so it pays to keep track of what applications and updates can benefit you as a realtor. This is where Mashable comes in.

A casual search on Mashable.com for keywords relating to real estate nets articles about Trulia.com integrating their search with Google Streetview, Zillow.com’s funding being now worth $87 million, and the introduction of propertyqube.com, a new social network for people interested in real estate. And these are just three examples of information relating directly to the real estate industry on a popular blog that doesn’t target it as a subject.

For the busy realtor, a site that keeps track of innovations in the social networking scene can be invaluable for taking advantage of the latest and hottest sites, features, and applications. If you’re using multiple social networking sites to promote your real estate, it can be time consuming to keep track of the latest innovations and websites.

Mashable isn’t just a passive information repository. It also has an active community, a web-related marketplace and hosts a huge social network grid where you can search for fellow Mashable members on popular networking sites.

Finding out what potential clients are using to keep connected and how to connect to them is a crucial element of using the Internet to find property buyers. Mashable.com makes a great shortcut and is a huge repository of information for the social network-minded realtor.

Alex Brown’s love of horses started long before he launched the blog, Alex Brown Racing, but it was Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro that pushed the blog into prominence — and eventually established it as a site dedicated to the welfare of horses. Along the way, Brown learned many things about creating and nurturing an online community using tools, including Wikis, Facebook and Twitter, and following certain principles, such as: Be authentic, be transparent, be consistent and build trust. Brown, one of whose goals is to rescue horses destined for the slaughter house, talked with Knowledge@Wharton about his strategies for bringing attention — and money — to the cause. Transcript can be found at: knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

This video from LinkedIn Success Stories shows Sasha Strauss, CEO of brand strategy consulting firm Innovation Partners, talking about how he used LinkedIn to hire everyone in his agency – through trusted referrals.

There is no doubt that LinkedIn is widely used in the business community as a type of “online resume.”  Anyone that has conducted a successful LinkedIn job search can tell you, it’s so much more than that. It’s a powerful tool to reach out to your industry in a new and credible way.  Follow these steps and  you’ll be one step closer to making strong connections to employers and industry recruiters on LinkedIn.

Step 1
Complete Your Profile
Your profile is like your online resume, only better, because people can endorse your work right on your profile.  If you haven’t fully completed your profile, you aren’t giving anyone enough information to determine if you are a person they would want to share networks with.  You are asking for people to open their rolodex to you, so to speak.  You must have a complete profile that shows them you are worthy networking partner.

Profile description with personality – this is the place where you need to sell yourself. Think “cover letter meets 30 second elevator pitch.”

List all positions – Listing all your past positions allows the system to find more people who you may already know or who have a workplace or school in common.  LinkedIn suggests people to network with based on information in your profile.

Education – For the same reason, list all the schools you attended.  It may seem silly to list your high school in a resume, but LinkedIn is different.  Since it uses this information to help bring people together, it’s important to include everything.  You never know where your fellow classmates ended up that may help your career.

Recommendations – Endorsements are always important.  LinkedIn is no exception.  Ask people from each sector of your worklife to endorse the work you did when they knew you.  Make sure you get clients, bosses, employees, vendors, etc.

Link to Website – You can provide up to 3 websites that relate to your work, either an online resume or your website if you have one, or one that you worked on.

SEO your profile – Always think “keywords, keywords, keywords” in everything you do online.  Make sure you that are using the same words when you write your profile that someone would use to search for someone like you.

LinkedIn Applications – Utilize the applications that are relevant, integrating blogs, presentations, etc.

Step 2
Reach Out – Build Your Network
When you make a first level connection with someone, it means you know them directly.  When you connect with someone, you gain a broader reach than just that person because all of the people that they know are now part of your network as 2nd level connections.  Similarly, all of the second level’s connections now become your third level connections.  What all this means is that you can exponentially grow your network by making smart connections to people you already know or strategic people in your industry. 

Building your network is helpful if you want to ask an industry question to your connections.  Your entire network is posed the question, so the more people you are connected to the more brains you are reaching.  When you get ready to search jobs, the broader your network is, the greater your access to jobs posted by your network.

Connect to people you already know – Import your address book to see who you know that is already on LinkedIn.  Reach out to colleagues, friends, classmates, vendors, etc.

Strategic new connections – See who your connections know.  Do you also know them?  Should you know them?  If so, invite them to connect with a personal message of why it would be beneficial for them to share networks with you.

Step 3
Build Credibility
http://www.linkedin.com/answers

LinkedIn’s Answers section is a great way to build your industry credibility in your online community.  If you have strategically connected with people in your industry, they will see your posed questions, or see that you have answered questions and come to realize that you are someone who has something meaningful to contribute. This can help you in a job search, or for general industry networking.

Step 4
Research
Once your profile has been built and you have begun your quest for online industry credibility, you are ready to start searching for positions posted by people in your network.

Search Jobs
http://www.linkedin.com/jobs
LinkedIn Jobs has openings posted by people in your network.  You can search LinkedIn only or you can search throughout the web for any jobs posted online that fit your search criteria.

JobsInsider tool
This LinkedIn tool allows you to see who you know at any company who has listed open jobs, request an introduction to the hiring manager and see open job postings at Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, Craigslist, SimplyHired, Dice, or Vault.  The link to download the tool is located at the bottom of each LinkedIn page:
http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=jobsinsider_download&trk=hb_ft_jobsins

Companies Section
This section of LinkedIn contains information about various companies whose employees are on LinkedIn.  It will show you who is in your network at that company, who has recently been hired or promoted there and will list their open positions. It also shows you where people who work there used to work, and where they went after they worked there.  Knowing what’s up at a company is important for networking your way in.

Step 5
Request Introductions
When you are ready, you can request an introduction to someone in a company that either has an opening, or one that you wish you target.  Professionally request the introduction, letting them know why it would benefit the receiver to know you, so the referrer feels confident in making the introduction.  Make sure you have something to contribute. If it’s all about you, there is a chance your request will be ignored.    Once the introduction has been made, be sure to thank the referrer.  Make contact with the person and show them why connecting with you is a great career move for you both. 

Get Started!
Now you are well on your way to a successful job search via LinkedIn.  Be sure to commit time and effort to growing and maintaining your network.  Help put others in touch so they will help you in return.  Networking has always been a strong career development practice.  It hasn’t changed, we just have more tools available to help make it easier.  But just because it’s easier, doesn’t make it any less important.  Now get out there and network!