January 2009

GetListed.org – Get Listed in Local Search Results

by Andy Brudtkuhl on January 26, 2009

GetListed.org is a small business resource to help your website become more findable through online listings. One of my first Search Engine Marketing recommendations to any business – especially local businesses – is to get yourself listed on FREE directories like Google Local and Yahoo Local. According to their launch statement, their product “the LocalDashboard™, shows business owners simply and clearly where
their business exists on major search engines like Google Maps and
Yahoo! Local. The tool displays information such as business name,
address, phone number, and website address as they are indexed by these
major engines.”

These are the very first listings that show up when you search for something like [Location] – [Service], i.e. “Des Moines Plumber”.

This is extremely important in your SEM strategy and should be included in any web strategy planning phase. GetListed.org attempts to make this easier on you by creating a dashboard for your local listings and provides you links to get listed on the major directories.

GetListed also has a great resource center containing links and articles on Local Search Engine Marketing.

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Latest Podcast – Web Analytics and SEO

by Andy Brudtkuhl on January 26, 2009

In our latest episode of Managing the Edge we discuss web analytics and Search Engine Optimization. Our goal was to de-mystify these two important aspects of your web strategy. We give best practices for handling your own SEO using WordPress as well as important metrics you should be analyzing in your web analytics reports.

[audio:http://managingtheedge.com/podpress_trac/web/27/0/EdgeCast003.mp3]

Managing The Edge is an internet business podcast to help your business become more findable and engaging on the web. Subscribe on iTunes today (link opens iTunes)!

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Plinky – Bringing the Fun Back to Microblogging

by Andy Brudtkuhl on January 22, 2009

Right when I got into Plinky I was instantly disappointed… Why? I was expecting something COMPLETELY different. When I first heard of the service, I saw their tagline which was something to the effect of “Have writer’s block? We’ll inspire you and help you create interesting content”. I made that tagline up – but that was my impression of their pre-release “pitch”. I thought it was going to be a research tool to help you find stuff to blog about. Boy was I wrong.

I would toss Plinky into the microblogging category – very much like Tumblr, only different :-) Plinky is an outlier to these other services in a way I’ve not seen yet. It’s not about conversations, discussions, or sharing links and videos. It’s about creating content, and is integrated into services like FriendFeed, Twitter, or WordPress to publish the thoughts you have created using Plinky.

This is a very cool service, however not something I see myself using on a regular basis. Louis Gray does a great job (as usual) of summing up the service:

“If you think you are a social media guru and power user, or you’re one of those bloggers who is posting stuff every day, Plinky might seem a little light for you, but for the much larger audience who gets writers’ block and can go weeks without updating their blog, or maybe they posted a picture of their kid once and never came back, after sending a mass e-mail to their friends and family, Plinky is a fun way to get re-engaged with new ideas, as you answer prompts, see what other friends have said to the same questions, and can pass that data out to the rest of your online presence.” – Louis Gray

To me, Plinky is a fun distraction from the rigors of regular blogging and social media of which I live in a tech/web vacuum. For instance, today on Plinky I just posted on what clothes I change into when I get home from work…

Overall, I must say I LOVE the Plinky design and usability.. It really is a gorgeous site. And, it’s fun… Great work guys..

If you sign up, you can follow me here.

And I’m sure you’ll see some better coverage and analysis over by our good friends over at Microblink.

UPDATE: Scoble interviews Jason Shellen, founder of Plinky…

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What Now? – A Six Part Entrepreneurial Survival Guide

by Andy Brudtkuhl on January 22, 2009

Today we’re pleased to announce “What Now?” – a six-part entrepreneurial survival guide. 48Web has partnered with Lava Row and Impromptu Studio to bring you an educational series for recent entrepreneurs, layoff casualties, and anyone interested in “Firing Your Boss“. If you are interested in learning about all the things we faced when starting our own business please join us. I wish this had been available when I made the jump.

We’ve lined up some killer speakers from right here in Des Moines, IA to talk about several key issues you run into when you start your own business…

You can get a series pass for $150 or pay what you want for individual sessions. All proceeds go to keeping Impromptu Studio a kickass place for entrepreneurs to succeed in Des Moines, IA. If you are interested, please register here.

If you aren’t in Des Moines or are reading this from elsewhere in the world but want to check out the presentations from this lineup of great Iowan thinkers, we will be recording them and archiving them *somewhere* after the presentations. We’ll let you know when they are available.

Here’s the lineup…
[click to continue…]

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Daily Digest 01/22/2009

by Andy Brudtkuhl on January 21, 2009

Local Search Optimization | Internet Marketing Strategy

The top web search results are buried by three local search results. If you’re a local business, and you want to get traffic, you’d better get placement in that ‘three box’ (or in some cases, ‘ten box’) that shows local results.

On the bright side, this version of universal search gives you yet another way to hop, skip and jump right past all the other web search results. All you need to know is how to best position your site for a local search listing.

tags: strategy, web strategy, search, local, hyperlocal, internet marketing, getanewbrowser
Media, media, media. And rarely a word about…

The all important conversation of the customer cannot be translated, by its teachers, into words legible for a CEO or CFO.

The teachers, social media consultants and ad/marketing agencies and PR firms, refuse to whisper the magic phrase that unlocks the checkbook of millions of businesses. These are the same potential clients who await the power of digital media to connect, more and with less expense, with their customers. And connect with them in ways that are meaningful to the customer…and meaningful to the business.

What’s the magic phrase? I can increase your cash-flows…

tags: getanewbrowser, business