Blog Facts - Blogging companies get traffic!

Just in case there was any doubt, yes! blogging does help your business.Here are two blogging stats that should catch your attention:

- Businesses that blog 20 times or more per month generate 5 times more traffic than those that blog fewer than 4 times per month

- Businesses that blog at least 20 times or more per month generate nearly 4x more leads than those that don’t blog

If you don't have a blog set up for your company contact us and we'll be happy to get it going for you and we can even set up a content plan so you know what to post. Contact us at sales@amerisol.com for a free quote

How to stop phishing

phishing DMARC and email security

Email security is a huge problem nowadays and phishing is one of the biggest security problems with email. Phishing is when a spammer manipulates an email so that it seems as if someone else sent it thus fooling the recipient into opening it and believing it's authentic. In this way phishers get confidential information from unsuspecting users. This causes millions of dollars in losses every year.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is a coalition of companies that have come together to try to solve the problem. Google, AOL, Yahoo and other large providers are some of the companies involved. DMARC's announcement yesterday could represent a great improvement in anti-phishing protection.

DMARC builds upon previous email security standards like SPF and DKIM by creating a standardized protocol where providers can measure the authenticity of email. 

Your company can also be alert to this threat by training employees to follow the following best practices when they open email:
- check the header of received emails
- never provide a password on the phone to anyone
- make them aware that banks and service providers do not request passwords, if someone asks for that it is suspicious and they should check with the technical staff

Sources:

Google Email Security Blog
DMARC

Google+ and Search Plus Your World (SPEW)

Google has been working hard on social networking. First they launched Google+ which has now reached 90 million users, then Google+ commercial pages and now they have introduced Search Plus Your World or SPEW. 

If, for instance, you search for "Italian restaurant" the first results shown will be those restaurants that have more "plus ones". 

Local business stand to gain a lot from these changes as SPEW integrates social with search results. So a local business that gets a "plus one" (the equivalent of 'like' on Facebook) stands to get better positioning.

It's time to get your social efforts going - if you need help contact us at sales@amerisol.com and we'll help create an expert plan for you. 

ROI Planning for Return on Investment

ROI or Return on Investment is one of the most useful tools a company can use to set goals and measure progress on their internet marketing and traditional marketing campaigns. This graphic shows the main elements involved. 

If you want to use ROI at your company contact amerisol for a free quote and we will help you integrate this valuable resource into your marketing mix. 

Google Plus Your World (GPYW)

Google has launched a service call Google Plus Your World (GPYW). This is probably the biggest change in Google Search in years and companies should pay attention to this.  

GPYW is Google's way of promoting it's Google+ service by including it within everyone's search results. The results include postings in Google+,  photos, videos and whatever else has been shared in Google+

Here's an example of how it looks: 

A user will see information drawn from Google+ in their search results. 

Users will not see private information - they will only see information of other users that are within their Google circles. Google will roll this service out globally in phases. 

The implications of this move are huge for companies that are actively working to improve their search rankings through SEO and internet marketing. Google's search is used by billions of people so working Google+ actively is a smart move. 

Source: Google Plus Your World  

Mobile use grows very quickly

Mobile use is increasing rapidly as this chart shows: 

Are you ready for the mobile explosion? Contact us at sales@amerisol.com

Source: Google

SEO budgets to increase in 2012

A study shows that companies intend to increase their SEO and online advertising budgets in 2012. It is important to keep investing in areas that give you visibility and are strategic for continued growth and to curtail the competition.

Source: Social Media Examiner

Email Marketing to be used in 2012

Now that you are thinking of what to do in 2012 you should definitely consider email marketing. This is a very powerful tool that can get you closer to your customers and let them get to know your brand better as well as reward them for their loyalty.  

Free - try our premiere email marketing platform here now  


If you already have an email bulletin contact us and we'll help you make it more effective. Contact us at sales@amerisol.com


Source:  www.socialmediaexaminer.com

Social Media lets buyers get advice

This chart shows what areas potential buyers use in order to research a purchase.

Source: ROI Research and Performics

2011 Checklist for your Website

We continue our listing of items to take care of in your internet presence at the beginning of the year: 

• Update any prices / rates 
• Update contact forms that may still have the year '2011' as an option
• Update any inventory management systems
• Plan out your specials and offers - it's best to have your full year ready at the beginning at the year. That gives you time to plan/produce/proof/publish/market them in time as the year progresses. 
• Measure last year's web and internet presence results so you can set up targets in 2012 and adjust your budget accordingly 

Big Internet Trends in 2012

Happy New Year! Yes, it's the beginning of the year and it's time to review performance during the last year and what to in 2012.

Also, hopefully by now, you have decided where you want to allocate resources - this chart by channels may help you

This is also the time of year when we forecast what will be big in the coming year. Since most of our customers provide services to international customers we have prioritized the list accordingly:

- Mobile
  Mobile devices are growing in number. Here are some facts:
  - by 2015 there may be more mobile users than PC users.
  - 40 million US mobile users acces social media daily

A mobile site is very important and will become increasingly critical. Make sure you have mobile site creation in your plans for early 2012.

- Local

Local commerce, nearby restaurants, where to shop or get your car fixed is the holy grail of many internet companies including Google and Facebook. Although great strides were made in 2011 there is still a long way to go and many changes will occur before the "local" vision becomes the reality that is envisioned by these and startup companies.

In the meantime your company should be looking at local pay per click campaigns on Google and Facebook, directory sites, promotional sites / coupon sites such as Groupon, QR codes, and check-in services like Foursquare and Facebook checkin and Google+.

- Content
As always, content is king. High quality content should be in development constantly.

- Links
Links to authoritative sites and links towards your site are very important also. How you create the links are also important.

 

Many changes are in store for us this year and they will probably take place in the areas mentioned above but there will invariably also be new things on the horizon.

Keep reading our blog for up to the minute updates with all topics related to internet marketing and SEO and don't hesitate to contact us for a free evaluation of your current digital presence at sales@amerisol.com