Social media optimization is a way for organizations and individuals to generate publicity through social networking tools like Twitter and LinkedIn, online communities like Facebook, and automated tools like TwitterFeed and Ping.fm. The term “social media optimization” was originally coined by SEO consultant extraordinaire, Rohit Bhargava, the senior vice president of Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence and author of the Influential Marketing Blog. (Bhargava’s work was so groundbreaking, Jeremiah Owyang, another social media optimization expert, even dovetailed a few of his own rules to the original work.)

Social media optimization is basically a way to promote your blog, website, or even your company’s brand, through social media, without being obnoxious or overtly commercial. Sure, you can blanket sites like Twitter with “Want to lose weight? Download my free report, ‘21 Ways to Lose Weight Fast’” over and over, or brag about your latest affiliate paycheck, but that’s not going to get you any followers. At least none worth talking to.

Bhargava calls these people”Twankers” (people who use Twitter for one-way broadcasts about their own greatness) and “Twidiots” (people who only tweet insignificant things like their latest press release or what they had for breakfast). If you’re just having one-way conversations and telling people about the minor, mundane details of your company, you’re not providing any value, and your social media optimization efforts will be wasted.

Whether you are an SEO consultant or you are new to social media marketing, there are a few rules you need to follow in order to be effective. Bhargava’s five rules of social media optimization included important things like increasing your linkability, helping your content travel, and encouraging the mash up. To that, we would add our own four rules.

* Focus on a few networks, not many. Many social media optimization beginners make the mistake of joining as many social networks as they can, and getting a few followers in each. The problem is you’re getting 10 or 20 followers in 10 networks, rather than 400 or 500 in 2 networks. If you take this shallow route, chances are you’ll attract the same followers in each one.

* Find people in allied fields, not just your own, to improve your social media optimization. Think referrals, not customers. If you’re in the financial services industry, don’t just focus on finding people who need to invest. Connect with people who can refer those same people to you, like lawyers, real estate agents, bankers, and anyone else who has clients who will need the financial services you offer.

* Provide real value to others. Telling people how they can earn money while they sleep, or “Lose Weight Fast!!!” is not valuable. Steering people to a recipe site for people who are trying a low-carb diet, or writing a blog post about the top five fat-burning foods is valuable social media optimization. Refer people to helpful websites, even if they’re not your own. And don’t be afraid to ask questions of your own. It makes you look like a real person, and not just a know-it-all.

* Commit to a social media optimization program for the long haul. It’s not enough to just use it a few times and be done with it. This is an ongoing process. You wouldn’t make a new friend and then never hang out with them, would you? Some of these people will become your online friends. Ignore them, and you’ll waste all the effort you put into your social media optimization and developing those relationships. Remember, social media marketing is actually about building real relationships, not just broadcasting one-way information. That’s what a TV is for.

By starting a social media optimization program, you’ll accomplish two things: 1) You’ll become a thought leader in your chosen field, and 2) your expertise will lead to more and bigger clients or job opportunities.

What is reverse search engine optimization? Is that even a real thing, or just some sort of search engine marketing they practice on Bizarro World?

Regular SEO means practicing positive online reputation management and making sure your website reaches the top of the search engine rankings. But reverse search engine optimization means doing the opposite, and pushing negative press and negative reviews further down the search engine results.

Use reverse search engine optimization when your company or brand has been lambasted in the online world, and that negative review is showing up at the top of the Google search results. Reverse search engine optimization pushes the negative pages down in the ranking, but doesn’t necessarily put your page at the top.

We have a friend who once had a very unpleasant experience with his personal bank, and blogged about the experience. For months afterward, if you were to Google the name of that bank — and it was a small one, so it’s not like you were spoiled for choices — his post was the #1 result. Even now, it still appears in the top ten. But if the bank were to practice a little reverse search engine optimization, they could have that problem solved in no time.

What about when customers are Googling your name or products, but your competitor’s name is showing up at the top? While you have to admire the other guy’s online reputation management, it can be aggravating when you’re selling roses, but your competition’s tulips keep popping up instead. While you can hope and pray that the other jerk goes out of business soon, you’re better off trying a little reverse search engine optimization instead. It’s cheaper, easier, and doesn’t cost other people their livelihoods. (On the other hand, anything that happens to them after your reverse search engine optimization is just a bonus.)

Search engine marketing experts tell us that most people don’t visit the second or third page of results. So the goal behind reverse search engine optimization is to push a negative review like that off of the first page, and possibly into the fourth or fifth page.

So what are some reverse search engine optimization techniques? What can you ETHICALLY do to make sure your bad press or your competition’s results are being pushed farther down the search page?

The biggest weapon in our reverse search engine optimization arsenal: start blogging. Search engines love blogs, because they provide fresh content. And the more fresh content you have, the higher you place in the search engine results. Publish a new blog post at least two or three times a week (10 times a month).

Another reverse search engine optimization technique is to write press releases filled with your search engine marketing terms. If you sell roses in Chicago, write press releases about roses in Chicago. It helps search engines find your content useful, which boosts you up in the rankings, and pushes the other websites down.

Leaving comments in other websites is another reverse search engine optimization practice. By leaving comments on other blogs, discussion forums, and social networks with links that point to your blog posts, you tell the search engines your blog is important. If you find a blog about removing thorns from roses, leave useful comments like “I wrote about five ways to safely remove thorns on my own blog,” and then link it to your blog.

Finally, joining social networks is another great reverse search engine optimization method. Believe it or not, search engines will even post results from Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube in their search results. So don’t forget to include valuable content (including keywords) on these other sites, which will then start appearing on the top search pages.

Reverse SEO has become one of the most effective strategies for pushing down bad publicity within the search engines’ organic listings.  It is an online reputation management tool of SEO consultants who manage public relations online.  Too often, companies become targets for negative press online. Angered customers start blogs to take businesses to task for grievances suffered, real or imagined. Dishonest competitors will often go to great lengths to distribute fraudulent reports online. Still others post untruthful reports about companies simply to cause mischief. The problem is that these blogs, pages, and reports can start ranking well in Google and Yahoo.

Reverse SEO can be used to suppress any negative publicity that targets your company in the organic listings. By pushing bad press onto the second, third, and fourth pages of Google, those pages will be prevented from gaining traction or attention. In today’s article, we’ll explain the potentially devastating effects of negative press and how reverse SEO can help you manage your company’s public relations online. We’ll also describe what you can expect when you work with an experienced SEO consulting service.

Why Reverse SEO Tactics Are Used

The reason to use reverse SEO is based upon current societal trends. Many of your customers are likely to research your company on Google, Yahoo, or Bing before purchasing a product or service from you. When they find reviews, they tend to believe them. Unfortunately, there are few barriers that prevent people from posting negative reports online about your business.

For example, a disgruntled employee can start an anonymous blog vilifying your company. An unsatisfied customer can post a less-than-honest story about your business on ripoffreport.com. Your competitors can do the same. The reputations of more than a few companies have been decimated in this way.

When prospective customers find these pages on the search engines, they give them unwarranted credibility. Reverse SEO minimizes the damage. Studies have shown that a large majority of searchers never venture onto the second page of listings. Of those who do, a small fraction progress to the third page. By pushing negative publicity off the first page of Google’s listings, a reverse SEO strategy removes them from sight.

Reverse Search Engine Optimization Curbs Negative Publicity

Negative publicity, if left unchecked, gains momentum in the search engines. Highly-ranked pages attract links. As inbound links increase to these pages, they become harder to remove. This is why it is important to launch a reverse SEO campaign as soon as bad press emerges, if not beforehand. By suppressing negative pages quickly, you can prevent them from gaining traction. Cut off from a supply of links, they will eventually submerge into the depths of the search engines’ listings.

The Basic Strategy Of Reverse SEO

In the same way that a search engine optimization project requires a refined approach, a reverse SEO campaign should also follow a rigid formula. The basic strategy relies upon a network of authoritative sites to control the first page of organic listings for your company’s name. That includes article and press release syndication, capturing keyword-rich subdomains on authoritative blog sites, and carefully using social networking properties. There are also a number of formidable online tools that can be used to further support your reverse SEO efforts.

By leveraging the ranking ability of these authoritative sites for your company’s name, you can control the first page of organic listings. That pushes negative press downward beyond your customers’ field of view.

The Positive Effects Of Reverse SEO Require Time

It’s worth emphasizing that a reverse SEO campaign takes time to gain momentum. Even though you will be leveraging authoritative sites that rank more quickly than other properties, controlling the first page of Google is not an overnight process. However, once these sites climb to the top positions, they are incredibly difficult to remove. Their ranking ability does not guarantee immediate results, but results tend to last over the long run. That means future attempts to attack your company with negative publicity will be forced to climb a much higher wall to do so. In effect, your business will be insulated.

Working With A Reverse SEO Consulting Service

The full-service SEO agency with whom your company works will already have a honed strategy for deploying a reverse SEO campaign. They will maintain a list of authoritative sites that are groomed for your circumstances. They’ll research your website’s position in the search engines as well as the positions of any negative press that currently populates the organic listings. Rather than pursuing reverse SEO methods that are unethical and thus, have only short-term results, they will use principled tactics that prevent bad publicity from gaining traction in the future.

Reverse SEO is becoming a popular method for minimizing the damage from complaints and negative reports, whether they are valid or not. In fact, a growing number of companies are relying upon reverse SEO tactics as a preemptive strategy for managing their public relations online.

Hiring an SEO Consultant has become critical to the success of online business. As every industry has become more competitive online, business owners are struggling to expand their revenue. Search engine optimization offers a cost-effective solution. When executed properly, it can build your website’s exposure, increase your traffic, and improve your conversions. But, an effective search engine optimization campaign requires the trained proficiency of an experienced SEO consultant.

Many business owners have been surprised to learn that their own efforts have sabotaged their ability to rank competitively in Google’s organic listings. That problem is easy to avoid. Below, you’ll discover the four key advantages of hiring an SEO consultant.

#1 - A Comprehensive Approach

The search engine optimization landscape changes quickly. Achieving and maintaining a top ranking requires a careful approach that brings together several disciplines. It is no longer sufficient to stuff keywords onto pages. Similarly, link popularity has given way to link authority. Thematic content should be woven into web 2.0 properties. An SEO consultant will provide a comprehensive approach that integrates the most effective optimization techniques.

#2 - Clarity of Purpose and Goals

With each change in the search engines’ ranking algorithms, a new crop of rumors and speculative theories emerge. As a result, business owners unwittingly adopt search engine optimization methodologies that are based upon fallacies. They lead nowhere and poor organic rankings predictably follow. Experienced SEO consulting specialists have developed a keen sense for sensible strategies that yield long-term results. In effect, a skilled SEO consultant can cut through the noise and identify the most advantageous path toward a high ranking.

#3 - Increased Exposure And Traffic

The goal of an SEO consultant is to lift your website to the top organic rankings for your main keywords. In doing so, you’ll enjoy more exposure to your targeted audience. But, mere exposure is not enough. When your audience sees your site at the top of Google’s listings, they must be compelled to click through and visit. Search engine optimization experts realize that exposure without traffic offers little value. Part of an SEO consultant’s job is to bring that traffic to your site.

#4 - Access To Hard-Earned Expertise

Search engine optimization requires a blend of several refined skills. From SEO copy writing to thematic link building and from web 2.0 integration to social media marketing, SEO consulting is both art and science. Not only does it take years to develop these skills, but an effective SEO consultant realizes that algorithms change constantly. Keeping up with them is not a part-time endeavor; it requires dedication. When you hire an SEO consultant, you’ll gain access to their hard-earned expertise.

One of the main challenges for business owners who want to reach their audience online is to create a reliable funnel of search engine traffic. But, the days when search engine optimization could be performed quickly and simply are long gone. It is now a complex discipline incorporating multiple skills. By hiring an SEO consultant, you can tap into these skills and enjoy measurable, long-term results.

SEO consulting practices differ from one SEO Consultant to another. Hiring an SEO Consultant who uses optimal SEO practices can make the difference between high search engine ranking and not being found in search engine results. If you are marketing a website or are responsible for reviewing SEO Consultants or SEM Experts for your company, you cannot afford to overlook this information. Read this article and you will find the top 10 SEO practices to consider before hiring an SEO Consulting Firm.

1. Find an SEO Consultant with a proven track record of high ranking in search engines and make sure their clients are still ranking today. SEO Consulting practices of yesterday do not matter because the search engines’ considerations for higher search engine ranking change with time.
2. SEO, search engine optimization, is the practice of optimizing your site to be viewed as you intended by search engines and your online target audience. Hire an SEO Consulting firm which understands that your online market may differ from your offline market and that the demographics of that market may change as well. Find an SEO Consultant who understands your online market and the search engines will be more likely to find your site.
3. Your SEO Consultant should include SEM, search engine marketing, practices in their SEO consulting formula. SEM is a form of internet marketing used to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results. It differs from search engine optimization and the SEO Consulting firms that use SEM provide benefits to their clients by obtaining higher search engine rankings. Hire an SEO firm that does not use SEM and your competitors will rank higher.
4. Find an SEO consulting services firm that uses social media marketing and web 2.0 content to provide higher search engine ranking for their clients’ websites. If the SEO consulting firm does not include social media, do not hire them.
5. If your SEO Consultant focuses on obtaining search engine rankings lower than the top 10, or past the first page listings in search engines, you are wasting your time. 89% of clicks on search engine results are made on the first page listings.
6. Hire an SEO Consulting firm that acknowledges a difference between organic ranking and paid keyword advertising. Achieving search engine ranking through paid keyword advertising is like turning a traffic faucet on and off. Pay and the traffic is there. Stop paying and it goes away. A professional SEO consulting firm will use best SEO consulting practices to rank your site on the first organic rank, which is number 4 in search results, within the most competitive paid keyword advertising categories. If a search engine user clicks on your organic listing, that visit to your website is free.
7. Find an SEO Consultant that has a history of ranking in the #1 position on Google. 42% of clicks that come from search engine results are made on the #1 position in Google search results. 67% of the online searches are done on Google. Rank in the number one position in Google and receive 42% of the traffic on that keyword. Rank organically and that traffic will not go away.
8. Make sure your SEO Consultant is using ethical practices to promote your website. If your SEO Consultant is using poor SEO consulting practices, black hat tactics, your URL could be banned from search engine results.
9. The best SEO Consultants focus on obtaining one way links back to your site to increase your website’s value to the search engines. If your SEO Consultant does not include backlinks in your SEO SEM plan, you will have a difficult time ranking in search engine results.
10. SEO Consulting firms using research that can be substantiated by hard numbers and statistics are the only companies worth your time. If your SEO Consultant cannot back up research with solid stats of daily visitors, competitive keyword data, and keyword advertising competition, you will not benefit from high search engine ranking. This data is accessible to professional SEO Consultants and should always be available to you, the client.

Before hiring an SEO Consulting services firm, ensure that your firm meets the criteria on this “Best SEO Consulting Practices List.” This is a best practices SEO Consulting Formula which includes an understanding of SEO (search engine optimization), SEM (search engine marketing), and also incorporates web 2.0 applications of social media marketing techniques as an additional way to rank your site higher in the search engines. Apply it and you will benefit from obtaining the highest organic search engine rankings and your results will be sustainable.

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• SEO Consultants Introduce Social Marketing, SEM, and Web 2.0 into Public Relations (rostinreagorsmith.com)

In SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) could there actually be a formula? It is possible to combine expert theories on the subject of search engine marketing and find a formula that works….for today that is? In search engine optimization, there are no secrets.  To rank higher in search engines and drive quality traffic to your site, you will spend some time marketing your online product. Search engine marketing formulas used by the SEO and SEM Experts work if you are willing to work.  It is that simple.  Work the following SEO SEM Expert Formula and you will get ranked with the search engines, drive quality business to your company and be able to manage your company’s reputation in the process.

This formula is used by others online, who are successful because they are willing to work. These SEM SEO Experts achieve higher search engine ranking, drive quality business, manage corporate public relations efforts and online reputation, and profit online. Simply put: these internet marketing professionals make money online.

1. Get ranked in search engines.

2. Drive quality online business.

3. Manage your online reputation

4.  Profit now and in years to come.

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• SEO Consultants Introduce Social Marketing, SEM, and Web 2.0 into Public Relations (rostinreagorsmith.com)

True to business profit, these SEM SEO Experts understand the core of online marketing.  Rostin Reagor Smith defines Search Engine Marketing. Unique to the world of SEO Consulting, we are strategists who understand online behavior. We apply our knowledge of the online world to reach the people who will respond and ultimately bring business, sales and profit to our clients.

Rostin Reagor Smith has refined the SEM SEO Expert Formula. It ranks in search engines, drives qualified buyers and profit to business. Our clients work with us because we make them money.

In the ever changing space of search engine rankings, we find trends in what we like to call a formula. A formula as we know it is associated to a mathematical equation, which in the case of search engine rankings and Alexa rankings, is not something that is ever going to be made public. Search engine marketers have been debating trends on the subject since the Internet’s inception. The formula is an everlasting debate.

Discussions like the one that follows can be found on Internet Marketing forums, comments on blogs, and abundantly, over web 2.0 platforms and social media. This question was recently posed to me:

Does the Alexa ranking impact search results? To my knowledge it doesn’t.

It’s only an indicator that doesn’t in reality mean much.

In your case it does because you’re focused on valid keywords.

My answer:

Who knows what the actual formula is in search engine rankings?  Search Engine Marketers, SEM SEO Experts have been debating this question for years. I believe the strongest part of the Alexa ranking formula is associated to traffic and the secondary is associated to search engine ranking and backlinks: There is definitely a relationship to the Alexa ranking there.

Alexa also includes domain age as a factor. However we have rapidly ranked sites into higher Alexa rankings, which indicates domain age is not a strong link in the equation. I do not believe the search engines look to Alexa ratings as a large percentage of the search engine ranking equation.

Search engines are mostly concerned with serving the highest quality content to users, and the strongest link in that equation would be backlinks and valuable site content. Alexa and search engine ranking have that in common: They are both looking for backlinks and valuable site content. Serve valuable content and you shall rank… for today.

Someone recently debated the fact that their SEO SEM formula was - and should remain a secret.

There are no secrets in secrets in SEO and SEM. It is all out there for us to learn. We just have to be around long enough and work hard enough to apply the SEM strategies.. The real secret is held in the search engine ranking formula. That is the real secret.

Alexa Rankings Formula is listed here.

The SEO SEM Formula to rank higher in search engines is driven by social marketing, web 2.0, but when did it become crucial to the public relations effort? As soon as corporate marketing and public relations budgets came out this year, marketing and public relations executives began to find ways to stretch budgets. If you are depending on an income in marketing or public relations, you cannot afford to ignore this. We will show you how to use search engine marketing and this formula for search engine optimization to monitor your public relations effort.

SEO Consulting was once a small portion of the search engine marketing budget, but has become a major line item in the public relations budget. Top firms are hiring social marketing and media professionals to not only monitor, but to drive public relations efforts for the small business to the fortune 500.

The fact is that there are many companies out there who still believe internet marketing should only be in the marketing budget to target the 18-34 year old consumer market. At the most, some believe SEO and SEM should only drive internet marketing efforts to target consumer buyers. Not only is the internet and Web 2.0 specifically, the medium to drive business for B2B marketing efforts, social media is the medium to build and manage a brand.

SEO Consultants and Social Marketing / Media Experts are filling Keynote Speaker Roles. Recently, at marketing summits for Cisco Systems, corporate marketers witnessed multiple presentations on the subjects of SEO, SEM, Web 2.0 and how to apply social marketing to their efforts to reach business to business technology clients.

To follow are a few free social media applications to use in both management and monitoring of internet marketing efforts for marketing and public relations efforts. The practice of managing Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, and social marketing efforts can be found in this SEM SEO Expert Formula. Apply it to public relations and you will receive exponential return. Leave it out of your plan and your competitor may adopt these SEM practices and benefit from them. Use social marketing and the following resources to increase return on public relations efforts, through increased lead generation, customer retention, and brand management.

Social Marketing and Social Media: Manage Your Online Reputation Here.
Rostin Reagor Smith, Inc. SEO SEM Expert Formula
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