Every once in a while an interesting set of facts get put together in a somewhat entertaning manner – this video is one of them.

The future world of customers is rapidly changing and as a business owner, you MUST keep up.  I know, technology has taken over our lives and our businesses but in many ways, it’s still in the first stages.  We’re still in the “model T” era of integrating computers and technology into our businesses.  This video below is just one example:

What Cisco is trying to tell you with their “borderless business” concept is that growing your business in the future means integrating technology into your business today.  And integrating technology in such a way that the possibilities are seemingly endless.

It’s really all about bringing people and ideas together.  No matter where you are on the planet, technology can bring you two together.  So, it doesn’t matter what you do or sell, if you can establish yourself as an expert in your field, you will be sought out.  By everyone searching for your expertise.

Your customers are changing because they’re getting smarter.  They’re learning everyday more and more about how to conduct searches on the Internet.  How to use social media for reviews and background checks, (well, sort of background checks).  They’re doing what their parents did at business chamber meetings, they’re listening to what others are saying about you only this generation is doing the majority of the listening online.  Via emails, blogs and other social media venues, they’re listening.

So, as a small business owner, your job to keep up with all of this is to establish yourself as an expert in your field AND make yourself available via multiple venues.  Here’s how you can accomplish this and build your business.

1) Showcase what you know via a blog.  Use that blog to “talk” to your customers.  Tell them what you’re up to, what the company is up to, what the industry is up to.  Give them facts and details but keep the information as informal and “laymen” as possible.  The idea isn’t to dazzle them with fancy words, the idea is to dazzle them with what you can do for them.

2) Make yourself known through social media.  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and now Google’s Buzz are all the rage.  Why?  Because they’re easy to use.  Quick, fast and filled with tons of information about individuals, companies and much more.  Your customers will get to know you and your company.

3) Invite others to follow you, join you, listen to you, etc.  If you’re taking the time to use social media then flaunt it.  Place your social media icons everywhere.  On your email signature, in your website, everywhere!  Get folks to follow you, listen to you.  They are your greatest assets.

Many of you use Gmail – and you’re in the majority if you do.  You may notice a small change on your Gmail panel.  Right under “Inbox” in the left column you may notice the word “Buzz” – if it’s there, then you have been Buzzed.  You are now able to use Google’s latest social media marketing gadget.

What is Buzz?  Think of it as Google’s very own Twitter.  The benefit is that it’s right there on Gmail.  So, no need to open a separate screen of have a separate account or window open.  Your email, your chats and now your Tweets can all be performed, viewed, responded to right from the Gmail control panel.  Pretty slick.

Will it take over Twitter?  Who knows, it’s anybody’s guess as to what programs will still be in use months from now but one thing is for sure.  The ease of using this new gadget can’t be beat.

If you’ve already been buzzed, feel free to follow me at eckweb@gmail.com.  I’ll post my daily tips, notes and comments about this crazy SEO / Internet Marketing industry and hopefully you’ll find them useful for your own marketing.

Happy Buzzing.

Yesterday, my business coach pointed out that I very much write like I talk.  He told me “…that’s a good thing.”  (I wasn’t sure!).  But he then followed it up by commenting on my “tone” when I write.  (So, I’m assuming it’s when I talk as well).

Anyway, he mentioned that I “challenge my readers” – in not a very nice way.  Hmmm – at first I didn’t really understand but after he pointed out some examples to me I got the idea.   I guess that’s the Sicilian in me coming out – I’ll have to watch that.  So, if I sound a bit “rough” in my blogs, I apologize, it’s truly not intended.  But feel free to let me know when you notice it in my writings.

I know I try to get my clients to write as much as possible and many of them tell me it’s not easy but I remind them that if they can talk, they can write.  Blogs are so perfect for that.  Just say what’s on your mind and say it as if you were talking to someone over lunch.  Sure, everyone could have “better” writing, but, we could also all be better drivers.  That doesn’t seem to be stopping us from driving!

Do you love to text message?  Are you constantly text messaging?  Well, maybe not “constantly” but very often?

Are you frustrated with having to shorten your content within “x” number of characters?

Check out TinyBin.com – it’s free!

Basically, you go to tinybin.com – enter in a phrase or word that will become part of the URL that will be YOUR message.  Type what you want, it can be any size.  When you’re done, you are given..

1) A Direct Link – a url to your copy (so you can text message that url)

2) HTML link – you can insert this into some web copy if you so desire, or even your blog.

3) A link for forums and message boards

4) A link for Social DNS users.

Here’s my direct URL of my first TinyBin content – http://tinybin.com/eckweb

I’m not sure how it can be integrated besides using it for text messaging but the truth is, mobile web is just taking off here in the USA so it’ll be interesting to see what programs, apps, etc. will be coming in the next few years.  Who knows, this type of program may be very handy!

Give it a try!

Just spotted this great little video on youtube and wanted to share it.

How creative is that?

Socialnomics.com has a great video that pretty much summarizes WHY you should be IN social media (if you’re not already)

There’s no doubt that the impact of social media is just beginning.  Who knows what this medium will bring to businesses across the globe this year.  But what we DO know is that it’s here and it’s not going away.

So, if you’re not yet involved in social media or you think it’s just a fad, the numbers tell the story.  So listen and get involved!!

If you haven’t yet read or heard about Google’s rollout of changes as of late, let me inform you that one of them is Google Personalization.

What is that?

Well, it USED to be that IF you had a Google account and you were signed in to your Google account  while you were using the Google search engine, the results that you got back were tailored to your history and your geo location.

But NOW you don’t have to have a Google account and you don’t have to be signed in to a Google account at all.  ALL your searches on Google are being recorded and kept in a history just for you.

Let me explain how the personalized search thing works.  Let’s say you previously searched for Pizza joints in the past a few times and you chose a particular pizza joint a few times, the next time you looked for a pizza joint, that particular one that you chose before pops up as the #1 result.  Even if that particular pizza joint is ACTUALLY on page 20 of the search results, it doesn’t matter.  Because YOUR web history shows that you liked this particular pizza joint, Google is giving you what it believes you like.

It’s Google Personalized to you!

Kinda sounds great – for users.  Maybe, we’ll have to see.  But for website owners and Internet marketers (like me) it’s uhhhh, not so great.  SDInteractive says it best when they outlined the following…

“Below is a list of ways that Google personalization is changing search engine optimization today:

• Everybody now sees different Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) based on their searching patterns making measuring a consistent ranking no longer possible.

• Content development simply for increased page count and link building no longer has as much influence on your site’s rank.

• People who visit their own sites are getting the wrong impression that their sites are ranking well in the SERPs and are stopping SEO services.

Other ways that Google personalization are changing optimization are listed below:

• People who visit their competitor’s sites are getting the wrong impression that their sites AREN’T ranking well in the SERPs and are blaming their SEO company.

• Search spam is starting to get filtered out as people, by and large, do not revisit spammy pages.

• Fresh content is becoming essential for rankings, as new pages stand out in someone’s personalized SERPs and are getting searchers to come back to your site. Social media content is now critical and is being done at increased levels.”

What does Google Personalization Mean To Your SEO Campaign?

Well, for starters, it means you can’t avoid social media anymore.  It also means that you absolutely have to pay attention to each individual page of your website, not just the overall website anymore.

If your SEO firm has been trying to get you to open (and use) a Facebook page or Twitter or even Blog and you’ve been resisting, well, 2010 is the year you will have to give in and cry uncle.  There’s no doubt that the fresh content provided through social media will only enhance your Internet marketing campaign.

Let me explain how.

In the past, SEO marketing success was based on the ranking the website reached.  If it was #1 for a specific keyword phrase then the expectation was that the ranking brought in traffic and the campaign was a success.  In the last few years, that has shifted from “being #1 for a keyword phrase” to “being #1 for a productive keyword phrase” – in other words, the keyword phrase had to bring in relevant traffic.  The kind of traffic that converted into sales.  That made sense.

But now, with Google personalization in full swing, the focus shifts.  Since search results will be different for everyone, we can’t rely on that anymore.  Instead, we have to now focus on other methods of getting traffic to the website and today, that means social media.

You will still get traffic from your rankings, after all, if there is no search history for “divorce attorney in florida“, then the natural search engine rankings will remain intact.  But it will be less traffic than in the past.  So, the game is now changed.

1) Increase traffic to your site via article marketing, social media and blogging.
2) Increase website usability to encouraging your site to be shared or bookmarked.
3) Stop fighting with your SEO firm – after all, if you don’t win, they don’t win.

Okey dokey, has everyone swallowed the latest Google news and algorithmic changes?  Are you ready to embrace the new way of thinking about your SEO campaigns?  If not, well, don’t wait too long.  Before you know it, you’ll be left behind and other SEO firms will be way ahead of you in marketing their websites.

According to Search Engine Journal, …”SEOs are going to have to focus on two new concepts in their marketing plan in 2010:

1) Social Media
2) Mobile Search”

Basically, what the article points to, and I believe they’re correct, is that the future of the “relevancy of a website” (at least in the eyes of the search engine) will be how “interacted upon” the website is.  In other words, how many visitors come to the page and how many refer the page, how many talk about the page, how many twitter about it, facebook about it, share it.

And not just “share it” but “engage with it”.  All the hoopla about Personalized Search – Search Engine Journal boils it down to, “The more users engage with a document, the more it will show up in their personalized results.”   In addition, it’s not just the actual page the user will be interacting with, but what comes before and what comes after.  “Google will look to categorize a document according to the sites a user navigates to before and after the document in question.”  I know, it can all be quite frightening.  But, with Bing in the background, as search marketers, we have to remember that we need to optimize for Google, yes, but also for Bing as it grows and we’ll see how it grows!

So, what’s the bottom line?  Change, that’s the bottom line.

Basically, Internet Marketing firms have to make some changes…

1) Drop the old ranking game.  You can’t track rankings anymore.  You have to track visitors, conversions and usability.

2) Make the websites more informative and interactive.  You can’t just market the website for “denver dentist” anymore.  You need to add to the site so that the users will “interact” with it.  Share it.  Talk about it.  Refer it.

3) Stop ignoring the mobile web.  It’s time to go mobile and begin tracking how users go through (or not) your mobile sites.