Google employs a team of search ranking engineers who’s job it is to ensure that the most relevant results are appearing at the top of each and every search performed on Google. Historically, they have never released specific details about how Google and its web crawlers are programmed to do this. This is the reason that nobody can offer you a search engine ranking guarantee. There are only guidelines as to how to produce proper search engine optimized pages and wc3 (web consortium) standards for clean HTML code.

Despite this policy, Matt Cutts, one of the engineers working at Google maintains a blog where he regularly posts about trends in Googles search algorithms. The latest of which suggests that Google is trending towards social media as a source of quality inbound links to determine its PageRank. This announcement confirms what we always thought to be the case regarding social media applications. Matt also highlights the importance of link quality, as opposed to link quantity which means creating clean, search optimised and informative copy in order to obtain maximum benefit.

The Online Marketing Strategy is social

At Paragon we recognize the benefit of applying a social media strategy is two-fold. Not only do you capture your markets that regularly interact with the social protocol in question, but you give yourself quality inbound links which can have a significant impact on your organic search marketing campaign. We maintain a strict qualitative approach to producing content within the latest guidelines from Google and other search providers. We also ensure that your content is informative as well as search optimized.

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People compete for ‘Mayorships’ (most check-ins in a 30 day period) and ‘Badges’ which, with some venues carry significant benefits. My local cafe for example gives me a 50% discount on all major menu items because I’m the mayor.

For local businesses, this presents a loyalty program with benefits second to none. It is an integrated, streamlined and hassle free way to reward your most loyal of local customers and to keep tabs on what people think of your products and services as they post reviews and tips online. The technology comes with a full suite of analytics so you have unprecedented insight into how people are interacting with your business.

The game dynamic market

These technologies are in their infancy, many of them like Foursquare are only beginning to take advantage of the true possibilities of game dynamics integrated in marketing. Soon companies will be able to create their own tasks (challenges if you like) which will require customers to perform certain tasks or meet certain conditions to earn points. These points can then be traded for rewards at local businesses such as yours. Not only does this give you the power to view what exactly your customers are doing, it actually allows you to passively control how your customers interact with your business, and they will have fun whilst doing it.

This is the new emerging marketplace

Foursquare’s growth of 3400% in the last year is a strong indicator of just how fast this social trend is growing. In Australia, I have seen very few businesses actually fully embrace it. Of all the venues I have visited in 2010, many have negative tips and Foursquare has guided my buying decisions on more than one occasion. A negative tip on Foursquare can often mean that specific demographic is turned off your business for quite some time, and this vital feedback has usually gone unnoticed by the venues management.

So with the huge emerging marketplace, the opportunities and the potential downsides of ignoring it, its a wonder more Australian businesses aren’t switched on to the game dynamic marketing scene.

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There was a similar difference in gender uptake of social media, with 20% of female business owners picking up social media technologies compared to 17% of males.

Gender wars aside, the MYOB Business Monitor provides some seriously troubling statistics about the poor uptake of online marketing technologies by Australian business owners. It seems a lack of proper available education about consumer trends, particularly among the older business demographics is a serious contributing factor to the below average uptake of new technologies by Australian businesses.

Get ahead of your competition, both foreign and domestic

If you are a local business owner, regardless of how you have marketed your business in the past, you can benefit from online marketing technologies, social media and search marketing. The possibilities are so endless we’re positive one of our expert consultants can find a new way for you to profit from online marketing technologies.

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50 Cent owns 7.5 Million shares in the company for which he paid $750,000 dollars before his series of tweets. Before 50 Cent’s investment, the company has had virtually no revenue with only $293,000 USD in its most recent quarter and is currently operating at a loss.

It has been pointed out that this sort of behavior resembles a pump & dump scheme that would typically be illegal under US law. However, there has been no technical breach by 50 Cent as he has not yet sold the stock which has already begun to drop in value down 9 cents on its peak of 39 cents per share.

It is anyones guess what 50 Cent’s final profit will be from this little episode but at the very least it illustrates the power of social media, popularity and fame as a potentially deadly mix.

The reality for Australian business

If hundreds of thousands of people in the US are willing to trust a rap singer for their financial advice, imagine how many will trust a reputable and established business through twitter? Unfortunately, Australian businesses are amongst the slowest in the world to utilize the full potential of integrated social media applications like twitter to boost their sales.

What do you need to get started with social media marketing?

Social media can be extremely effective for your business if used correctly, however unlike 50 Cent, you will probably need to establish yourself as a reputable and trustworthy business before people will take your advice unquestioningly. The best way to do this is to establish an integrated Online Marketing Strategy to manage your online presence to ensure customers can find the information they need to make their decisions as informed as possible.

It’s best to utilize social media in corroboration with the other elements of online marketing like Search Engine Optimisation, Pay-Per-Click Marketing, Online PR and Web Analytics to ensure optimum results from your campaign. Social media is most useful for building reputation, expertise and recurring traffic to drive sales, but it will not achieve these things unless you build a solid platform of new tweeters, recurring traffic and a sophisticated and professional website first.

Find out more about leveraging the power of social media and online marketing, take the first step towards marketing your business online today!

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A sign of things to come?

In most things internet we see significant similarities between the US and Australian markets with the Australian market mostly behind due to lags in technological infrastructure. However, the US still provides a significant factor for trends within Australia, particularly with lower age market segments. This is considered one of the first studies to indicate older market segments move onto streaming video.

Forces for change?

The trend towards streaming and internet TV has been linked to a number of modern factors, you-tube being repetitively hailed as the driving force towards the viability of low-bandwidth streaming video. But what else can we except to see for the future?

Apple and Google both have plans for internet-video platforms launching with major hardware manufacturers such as LG and Samsung which, combined with the ever decreasing cost of broadband should see a substantial improvement in the internet video market for Australia.

MyView is a program designed to offer any marginalised group within a community, school or region a way to develop expression, create positive self esteem and communicate to the wider community.

Entrepreneurial photography teacher Mark Williamson chose Paragon Online Marketing as his specialist web design, marketing and community management team.

We worked with Mark to come up with a design that suited the unique message and impact that Mark wanted the site to convey. The result is a site that emphasizes the fantastic photos that Mark’s students produce and a site that really advocates the program.