If you have not been using videos on your website as a way to market your business and Orange County ecommerce website, what have you been waiting for? While we do not advocate throwing videos on your site just to have them up there, we are fairly certain that you can find a way to incorporate video into your plan to improve Orange County search engine positioning .

Here are our top three tips for using video on your website:

1. Keep it simple
A lot of people get in front of a camera and get a little goofy. If you are just beginning to use video, you can get more elaborate as you go. For now, keep your video short and to the point. Start with just one person talking in front of a simple background.

2. Tell people why they are watching
We have started to watch many a video online and been unclear as to the purpose of the video. State the reason you made the video and what you want people to do (order a product, attend a seminar, etc.).

3. Ask people to comment on your video
You do not want your video to be a static thing that just sits on your site; you want it to be part of a dialogue. So encourage people to leave comments because then they will feel as if they are connected to your organization and other people who use the site. Some people may come back to your site to read the comments of others. It takes different mediums to reach different people. Someone who may not comment on a blog, may have something to say about a video and what they say may give your organization insight into how to do more to connect with your customers and the community.

If you need help getting started, the Orange County SEO cosultants  at Increase Visibility are here to help.

Earlier in the week, we told you about a friend of ours who uses Twitter. A tweet she sent attracted the notice of a social media guru in her area. This social media guru quoted what she said in an online article and to his credit, also linked to her website so that anyone who was curious would be able to immediately access information about her.

The social media guru knew how important it is to give credit where it is due and although this mention was great, no-cost way for our friend to get some publicity, we are fairly certain that he got even more. Why? Because of what our friend did next–she told everyone that she knew about getting her name mentioned in an online article. By sending the link to more than a few friends, she guaranteed that a good number of people she knew would likely see the article and learn more about this social media guru and his services.

As they say, a little flattery goes a long way and this is an important lesson to remember if you are interested in Southern California search engine optimization. We imagine that the attention her received from our friend and her circle of acquaintances would not put anyone’s search engine ranking in Orange County over the top, but we also know that every bit helps. If this social media guru makes a habit of mentioning and promoting others, we are pretty confident that his organization does read the benefits.

And as we have said before, the only way to win the game is to play. So if you have been sitting on the sidelines hearing about other people finding ways to make the most of sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to boost Southern California SEO, now is the time for you to get in on it too.

When you employ the Orange County SEO services of Increased Visibility, we do out best to live up to our name. We will analyze your website to see where its strengths and weaknesses lie and help you figure out the keywords that will get you noticed by search engines. We can also assist you in using social media to promote your products and services.

We have been telling you for a while just how important it is to get in on the social media scene to improve Southern California search engine optimization. And a recent story we heard from a friend only goes further to prove our point.

This friend is a regular user of Twitter and one morning managed to attract the attention of an area social media guru. This social media guru liked her tweet so much that he included it in an online article that he was writing and credited her, also including a link to her business. He then sent a tweet mentioning to her that she was included in his online article. She, in turn, tweeted to thank him. Then he tweeted back to let her know about a networking workshop his organization was holding, inviting her to attend.

Are you starting to see how this all works? Those of you who think you do not have time for social media have to remember that you only need devote a small amount of your time to it and you can still get big returns. The interaction we mentioned above was not back-and-forth. If you need help managing a social media initiative, contact Increase Visibility, we would be happy to help.

When it comes to Orange County search engine positioning, you really cannot afford to ignore all of the promotional possibilities that are at your fingertips because of social media sites like Twitter. Our friend made a connection (she knew of the social media guru, but he initially knew little of her) and learned about more opportunities for strengthening that connection and meeting others. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, their online interaction was helping both of them to attract more notice from search engines because as we have mentioned that you should take advantage of Google’s inclusion of social networking.

Earlier this week, we gave some tips for people who are a little nervous about getting into Twitter. You might have also been nervous when you first set up shop in your business, but you took that plunge and surely you can navigate the waters of Twitter with ease after you get used to it.

With time, you will find that you can create meaningful interactions online, just as you do in real life. It will be easier to decide who to follow and who you want to follow you as well.

One of the things we hear from a lot of people is that they simply do not have time for Twitter. As with other search engine optimization techniques, you can invest a little time in Twitter and see a big payoff. It is all in your hands. If you want to set aside 10 minutes a day to send (or schedule) tweets and to send out quick replies to those tweets that catch your interest, you will be doing more for your online marketing campaign than if you spent those ten minutes on the phone talking to someone about how silly you think all of this social media marketing stuff is.

Your audience and bank of potential customers is much more fractured than it used to be and it is up to you to employ various methods to reach them. If you join Twitter and give out useful information as well as present your business in a genuine way, interested web user will come to you. Then you can ask questions refer them to your website or even sponsor contests via Twitter–these are the same kinds of things you already do, but in a new format.

As much as we love Twitter, we know it is only one part of an effective online marketing campaign. So if you want help figuring out a complete online marketing plan that includes Twitter, contact Increase Visibility at 1-877 SEO ADVICE (1-877-736-2384) for a free consultation.

Not too long ago we mentioned to you that tweets were going to be indexed in search engines like Bing and Google. If you have ignored Twitter or felt as if it was not worth your time, now may be the time to consider taking advantage of this very useful social marketing tool.

It is very amusing when people make fun of Twitter and it can be misused the way any other networking tool can, but if you are serious about search engine optimization, then you should not ignore Twitter, especially now that it is being indexed and tweets can show up in online searches.

This means that while you may have a pay per click ad program and use reciprocal links, if the competition is on Twitter, they are able to be even more present online than you are. And you certainly don’t want that do you? You want interested new customers and even loyal current customers to be reminded of what you have to offer in as many ways as possible. That is what it means to increase your online visibility, something that the staff at Increase Visibility works hard to help our customers do, so if you need some help, we are here.

It can be a little intimidating to put yourself and your business out there into the Twitterverse (that’s the Twitter universe, for you newbies). So if you are nervous, first spend some time looking around Twitter’s public pages. Go to Twitter.com and do a search for topics that relate to your products and services to see what people are saying. Some of it will be relevant and useful and some of it won’t, but this will help you think about how you want to shape your own tweets once you start to participate.

Earlier this week, we mentioned that since we are a top-rated California search engine optimization company, sometimes the people who come to us for help with California SEO are not always well-versed in the ways of the internet and online social networking. Even if you are an internet pro, you might forget just how instantaneous the internet is in the heat of the moment, so these tips are for you too–

Post in haste, repent in leisure
If you are in a hurry to get some news out via Twitter or your blog, you may very well make a mistake. You may have spelling or grammar blunders that look sloppy. Or worse, in your rush to get the news out, you may not get the story right or there may be unpleasant fallout if some important detail is omitted.

The beauty of the internet is that you can get news out so fast, but this can be a blessing and a curse. Unless the news is so amazing that it cannot wait even 15 minutes, write up your post and set it aside for as long as you possibly can. Have someone else read it or re-read it yourself to make certain that the post says exactly what you want it to say.

Point to a hazy future…unless you’re sure
Be careful when you write posts about new products and services. If a new company initiative is close to being finished, find a way to talk about it that won’t get you into trouble later. In fact, giving tantalizing hints may be a great way to build interest.

Play to your strengths
Sometimes people forget that a blog, Twitter account or LinkedIn Profile is your chance to shine in the SEO California landscape. If you’re in business, it is not a medium for stream-of-consciousness meditations on your flaws (unless of course you know your audience really likes this sort of thing). Talk about all the great things your organization is doing and remind people of your triumphs.

At Increase Visibility, we certainly encourage our clients to embrace social networking and make the most of the some of the low-cost ways that you can harness the power of the internet to improve California SEO. What kind of California SEO service would we be if we did not?

People come to us because they need help with internet marketing and SEO. Some of those who come to use are new to the internet–either they have not really used it all or they have used it so infrequently that they are not completely aware of the nuances of online culture. Since the internet is a different medium for communication, it can seem alien or strange. Sometimes those of us who use it all the time can find it perplexing. Good business practices from the physical world carry over to the virtual world, of course. Still, there are some things to keep in mind when if you start to blog or use Twitter as part of your internet marketing campaign.

Social networking is a two-way street
If you go home and set out appetizers for a party, but have sent no invitations, how can you expect people to come? Even though people are aware that your business exists, they will not follow you on Twitter, read your blog or check out your company’s Facebook page if you do not tell them that these things are there. If you want to make your online social networking campaign a success, you need to spread the word.

You also need to reciprocate. Leave comments on blogs that are related to your industry. Follow and interact with people of influence in your industry on Twitter. When people see that you are willing to support them, they will start to support you too.

If you are looking for a California search engine optimization company to help you get started with making the most of the internet to boost your business, call us at 877-SEO-ADVICE (877-735-2384) or send an e-mail to info@increaseVisibility.com and we’d be happy to help get you on your way.

A while back we told you about how businesses like Comcast are using the micro-blogging site Twitter–both for publicity and to expand customer service. But did you know that hospitals are also getting in on the act? That’s right, hospitals. In order to attract new patients and generate interest in medicine, health and medical techniques, hospitals have turned to social media. This week The New York Times reported that according to one media researcher, over 250 hospitals make use of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and blogs. This expert went on to note that some of the more conservative-leaning hospitals are among that number. So this newfangled notion of using social media for promotion had caught on in even rather reserved circles.

These hospitals know that they must increase their online visibility in order to remain viable. Sure, everyone knows what kind of services that hospitals provide, so it is not as it people are unaware of the medical field as a whole. Still, when it comes to making the choice for where to go for medical care, this is where social media can make a difference. Some hospitals as letting observing residents use Twitter to provide information during surgery. One hospital found that using social media engendered what is called “the halo effect,” where people felt that if a hospital could do a good job with a complicated procedure, such as a heart transplant, then that same medical facility would be a good choice for surgery that carried fewer risks.

Hospitals are also search social media outlets like Twitter and blogs to see what the public is saying about them, and then responding when it is appropriate.

If hospitals are doing what they can to make the most of their presence on the web, shouldn’t you do the same? As we said, people know what hospitals do, but if you are in a field that is not so obvious, you need to get the word out there. And as the case of hospitals proves, you can be a business that is well-defined, but you will still need to differentiate yourself from the pack. Increase Visibility can help you do this. Call us today at 877-SEO-ADVICE (877-736-2384) to learn more about our SEO plans and how we can help you to harness the power of social media.

Without even trying the micro-blogging site Twitter found that getting the endorsement of some celebrities helps Increase Visibility.

We’ve mentioned before that Twitter and social media can expand your reach, and as if to prove this celebrities have signed on in a big way. If you hadn’t heard, actor Ashton Kutcher is on Twitter, and at one point he challenged CNN to see who could get up to one million followers the fastest. Now of course Mr. Kutcher was not out to gain attention for Twitter or even for CNN; he is a celebrity and businessperson who knows there is a need to feed the publicity machine to keep his name out there. The actor won, as you may have guessed (if you didn’t already know–hey, even Ashton Kutcher can’t reach everyone).

 
Twitter is a micro-blogging site where you are limited to writing just 140 characters for each post. Now someone may thing that you cannot say much in 140 words, but people are exchanging useful information and making important business connections via these short communications.  Those of you who are intimidated by the thought of writing blog posts that consist of complete paragraphs should consider Twitter, where communication is quite brief.

 
Twitter has received endorsements and lots of press because of celebs that Oprah and Diddy, as well as from everyday citizens who use this micro-blogging service. And as we mentioned before, (as far as we know), Twitter did not pay for or go out and seek these endorsements. Twitter made its presence known and soon word spread, until the mainstream media caught Twitter mania. Now articles about Twitter pop up in newspapers, magazines, online–everywhere.

 
You may not be able to get a Hollywood star to spontaneously endorse your business or product, so you will probably have to be a little more deliberate about increasing your visibility online. One way for you to do this is to engage in Reciprocal Link Exchange. When you seek our help to increase link popularity, this will greatly aid in boosting your natural positions and give you some targeted traffic from other sites of interest. This will drastically improve your PR and search engine position over a period of time if used correctly.  With the assistance and guidance of Increase Visibility, your link exchange campaign can help to make your site a winner. Building a good set of reciprocal link exchange partners can be a long task, which is why our service is competitively priced.

 
We have 4 different link monthly packages, they can be purchased separately or are also included as part of our full SEO packages.

Earlier in the week we talked about how sometimes when it comes to SEO, service providers may feel left out of the game. The notion that optimizing your website matters little because you are not online selling a product that people can order and have shipped to them is incorrect. As a service provider, you are selling your expertise. Even though it does not come in a box, you still want to make sure that your website does more than list your address and phone number. You want your website to project your professionalism and authority. And if it already does that–great! Now you need to get the word out to the masses so that you can increase your client base.

 
One medical consortium found that making the most of their website was a boon to their online traffic. After implementing search engine optimization techniques to get people to the site, they use social networking to further strengthen the connection and to stay on search engines’ radar. By having doctors who are part of the consortium blog on the site, they were able to increase the site’s original content, something that search engines value. They also were able to reach out to existing and potential patients who were able to get to know more about the doctors that work for them.

 
Their increased web visibility certainly helped more new patients find them. And it also helped potential employees find them also. Doctors, nurses and other professionals who were looking to work for a forward-thinking medical group are likely to be impressed when they see an up-to-date website.

 
The Social Media Marketing component that you get when you choose one of Increase Visibility’s SEO plans includes:

 
• Blog Commenting – in an effort to build link popularity and drive direct traffic to your site, we will find blogs with relative content and post comments about your products and/or services.
• Social Bookmarking – in addition to posting blog comments, we will also promote any mention of you in blogs, articles, news releases, etc. in social bookmarking sites which will help drive traffic to your site.
• Article Marketing – if you have any articles that you have written about your company, products or services, we will submit those to top article marketing sites, blogs and social bookmarking sites.