Online Reputation Management

Since the Internet has become the first place for many people to go for research, it’s not hard to understand how important it is for you to monitor and control your online reputation. This is true for both individuals and businesses.

Most people now have 2 types of branding – online and offline. Controlling your online reputation is time-consuming and extremely important. Through social media websites, blogs, etc., YOU can actually control how people view you or your company.

If you have an interest, please contact me (Mary Rabalais at mrab@lunaweb.com). I work with LunaWeb and together we’ll help you get back a positive online reputation. LunaWeb has a group of social media experts who will ensure your online identity is filled with positive web pages, and I will assist with a linking campaign and search engine optimization. If you are a doctor, lawyer, business executive or just an ‘average citizen’, we can help. We just need to consult with you for an hour or so, then we do all of the work.

Don’t be embarrassed about what others are saying about you online – we can teach you how to monitor what others are saying as well as introduce you to tools that help you to remain proactive  in keeping an eye out on your online reputation.

Competitor Spying

For years I was a ‘secret shopper’ – I shopped at restaurants and stores incognito.  I would purchase specific foods, a service (like an oil change) or a product and I’d ask the employees specific questions and report back on their customer service, presentation, etc.  It was always fun and if the pay were better, I’d still do it!  

Later on I became intrigued by participating in focus group studies – even more so after I consulted at a focus group facility in Memphis and managed their website design and online advertising.  Well…I’ve promoted myself to competitor spying and it’s a blast!  Using various web tools, you can find out if anyone snagged the copy from your website, as well as your title and meta tags, you can get automatic emails when a competitor changes anything on their website -along with- details on the changes they made, find out how much competitors are spending on pay-per-click (PPC) ads, and even get an email when their name is mentioned in a Tweet on Twitter and when Google lists a new web page that mentions their company name!  It’s mind-blowing how much you can find out about a competitor – all you need is time and lots of patience to stay on top of the new tools introduced constantly.

A successful business person knows what their competitors are up to.  And with the Web, it’s eerie when you realize just how much you can find out about them.  Think about it – what you know about your competitor can only help you, never hurt.  Learn something new today! 

“The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.”   Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Social Media Expedition – Memphis, TN

If you’re just dabbling around in social media or want to learn more, there’s a group of people who meet monthly for breakfast to share ideas and learn more. The name of the group, sponsored by LunaWeb, is called Social Media Expedition.

The next breakfast is Wednesday, March 4th, at The Crescent Club from 7:30 – 9:30 AM. You can read more about it and sign up here: http://www.socialmediaexpedition.com/?page_id=67

Come on and join in the fun! You will always leave with a smile and oodles of new ideas.

Social Media – Join in, or lag behind

By now, everyone has heard of a few of the popular social media websites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Is it something you should invest time in? Most definitely!

When you search using your top keywords, notice how your competitors may come up on the first results page of Google, Yahoo! or MSN with a YouTube link, a link to their LinkedIn profile, or even a CraigsList link. All of these are social media sites that your competitors are using. Each time one of these sites come up with a link to your competitors site, your website is listed even lower on the results page of the search engine you’re using. So don’t just sit there – jump in and grab a piece of the pie too!

Search engines LOVE social networking sites and are listing them on their results pages. It’s one of those things that can only help you – not hurt. However, if you think your neighbors son who is ‘always on the internet’ can do this for you, think again. There’s a way to utilize these tools the correct way. If not, you’re just wasting your time. Hire a professional to help you – you’ll be glad you did. You go to a dentist when you have a toothache and hire a plumber when your toilet doesn’t work. So hire a SEO professional for SEO work – I promise you, you won’t regret it. Jump in or get left in the social media dust.

Until next time… You can contact me directly at mrab@lunaweb.com

Is your website coming up high in the search engines?

If you type your top keyword phrase in, is your website coming up on the first page of Google, Yahoo! or MSN? What about the second page? If not, then your site needs to be optimized for the search engines. It’s not your web designers fault – you paid them to design your website. Optimizing your website for the search engines if a completely different service.

It entails adding seo-friendly copy to your website, developing a linking campaign, and getting your company out there via every channel possible. But first research must be done to find out what people are typing in to find your type of product or service. For example, if they’re looking for a SEO expert in Memphis, are they typing in ‘seo company memphis’ or ‘seo expert memphis’? This is important to know and it’s always surprising to show clients which keyword phrases people are actually using for their search. It’s important to also use these keywords in your title and meta tags, as well as your page copy.

Recently a client was astonished to find that NO ONE uses ‘preowned’ to find their products – instead, they use ‘used’. Of course, ‘preowned’ sounds nicer and more glamorous. This is critical and can be the difference between success and failure. Think about it. Ready to move ahead of your competition? It’s possible.

Happy New Year!

I want to wish all of you a happy, holy, healthy, safe and prosperous New Year!

2008 is now behind us, and what a year it was!  Social Media became THE talk of the Internet world and slowly, but cautiously, many people dipped their toes in the social media pool of opportunities.  There are many skeptics, but those who had a little faith saw positive results.

My hesitation was ‘time’, but once I made time (slept a few less hours), I learned more, tested, and celebrated many successes with clients.

Social Media falls under the Search Engine Optimization umbrella.  It’s also one of those things you can’t just go out and sell to a client or prospect.  If you try, they will think you’re just trying to up-sell them.  However, if they heard the buzz and gave us a call, they soon realized that the ‘hype’ was well worth the time investment.  And guess what?  They now believe!!

In 2009, go ahead and take a few more risks with your website.  It’s by far the cheapest form of advertising you’ll ever have in your media mix, and it will only help.  Try it – you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Don’t stress out – give it a whirl and I bet you’ll get addicted!

Enjoy life now. It’s the only one you have. Until later…

We’re one of the featured Memphis, Tennessee seo firms at Finders directory - SEO directory

SEO Success Today

I can’t stop smiling and probably will not be able to sleep tonite.

We just went LIVE with a website that we made search-engine friendly last week and

tonite they are showing up on the 1st page of Google when you search 15 of their 16 keyword phrases.  Incredible!  And unusually quick to happen.

I only hope the client is as happy as I am!!  

The site actually comes up FIRST when 9 of their keyword phrases are searched for in Google.

Truly, I think my voodoo chant under the full moon last night helped. 

So many sites not Search Engine Optimized

Every day I run across so many websites that are not search engine optimized.  Why is that?  Are people just not informed about the positive effect it’ll have on their business if their sites ARE search engine optimized, or do they ’assume’ it’s just too expensive?

Whatever the case may be, these businesses are missing out.  If your website is not search engine optimized, you’re probably not coming up very high in the search engines -and- you think your website is useless for bringing in new business.  The good news is…it’s NOT very expensive.  Usually for under $2,000 the top tier pages of your website can become SEO-friendly and you’ll see the results for a long time.

Every week I talk to or meet with people who try to diss their web designer for not doing this for them and I have to explain.  It isn’t the desingers fault – the designers job is to make your website look pretty and function well.  That’s all that you pay them for — the design.  Seasoned Web designers are seldom interested in SEO because this is a totally different game.  And to become good at SEO, you’ve got to invest many many hours each month to stay on top of your game.  It’s a science and that’s why others (non-designers, like me) specialize in this — it’s fun, challenging, and always changing.

If your website is not coming up on the 1st or 2nd pages of Google, Yahoo! or MSN, your website needs to be optimized for the search engines.  Read about it so you’ll be informed, then hire a professional to do the work for you.  Hire someone who is passionate about SEO.  And good luck!  You’ll soon find that your investment is well worth it.

Presidential Campaign and Social Media

Watched the presidential debate earlier this evening. I think both candidates did an excellent job .  OK – enough said about that!

It’s interesting to see which forms of social media each of the candidates are using.  Initially Obama seemed to be more into social media, but since Sarah Palin has joined McCain, their use of social media has escalated, which is very cool!  I’m following both candidates on Twitter, and boy, Obama evidently joined much earlier than McCain.  Obama has 86,000 followers and McCain (at this time) only has 2,000 followers!

Their YouTube videos are multiplying daily, as well as the use of other blogspots.  Since I’m in the SEO industy, it’s good to watch how social media will help in promoting each of the candidates.  Spread the word, people!  If you don’t join in, you’ll be left in the dust!!

And what a beautiful day in the MidSouth for the big party at Ole Miss today.  It was fun to see both planes land in/near Memphis for the big debate.  What fun for the local Memphis media.

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