Sacrilicious Marketing

Is your website lonely?  Not seen a friendly backlink in months? Is it as wanton as a sailor on shore leave for a few visitors?  Well, I think I can help you tart your site up for a good night out full of just enough debauchery to get it laid (I mean new traffic and backlinks…).  The trick is “masterbation.” Whoa, whoa, slow down there cowboy and put your hand away.  I am taking about the fine art of baiting people to link to your site through the creation of sticky content.

Remedial Course: What are backlinks and why are they important?

Backlinks, links from other sites to your website or blog, help to improve your credibility with search engines, online visibility, content reach and traffic. Therefore, building quality backlinks is just as important to the health and well being of your website or blog as the content that you write. So, let’s take a good hard look at not only why and how search engines value backlinks but now you go about building quality backlinks through an easy to follow link campaign.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

So, if you have been following along the past few days, you have learned how to SEO your Facebook Fan Page, but did you know you can also SEO your Twitter profile? Social media is not immune to SEO and there are a few very simple and a few not so simple tricks that can help you to get the most bang for your buck out of your Twitter account in Google searches.

Most people think about social media in terms of socializing, but forget that it can be a powerful tool for SEO. Your Twitter account can be optimized for search engines so that you get the best possible value out of your profile. Here are a few ways to turn your Twitter account into a searchable work of art:

1. Pick a Username & Actual Name

Select a twitter user name that includes the keyword you wish to rank high in. For example, if you want people to find your Twitter profile when they search for Real Estate, make sure that ‘Real Estate’ is in your name.

Example:

@XYZrealestate

*NOTE: Do not use any dashes and make it short and simple to remember.

You can use your actual name for this or include the keyword again if it is appropriate (this doesn’t help with personalizing your account to you though).

*NOTE: If have an account already, you can fix this by logging into your Twitter account and clicking “Settings”. From there, change your ‘Name’. Do not change your ‘Username’.

2. Shorten Your Website URL

To accommodate Twitter using only the first 20 characters of your url, shorten it with bit.ly and get rid of the www. This will allow people to see the link before they click on it.

Example: http://bit.ly/ayacXC

If you need to change this, go into your Twitter account and click “settings”. From there go to the “Account” page and scroll halfway down the page.

3. Create a Bio

Be short and to the point, but make your personality stand out. You have 160 characters to make your personality stand out, so don’t waste your time with words that have no search value. Your bio should be a representation of who you are and how you want others to perceive you. This can make a huge difference in people deciding to follow you or not. Sometimes Google will include your location, so make sure that you provide this. The more exact the better!

*NOTE: To fix your location log into your Twitter account and clicking “Settings”. From there, change your “One Line Bio”.

4. SEO Your Profile Picture

Did you know that you can SEO your profile picture? You can’t add tags but, you can rename the photo before you upload it that way when it shows up in the URL it will have the keywords that you named. Be careful not to add spaces. Doing that will not translate the link very well. I don’t recommend changing your profile picture but, I would recommend changing the name of the profile picture and re-uploading it. You can do this by clicking on “Settings” and then “Picture”.

For example, rename your image ohio-real-estate.jpg and upload it and voila – you have a keyword rich url right inside your avatar picture! Sneaky but effective and your image will be indexed better in Google’s image search.

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Popularity: 11% [?]

To continue yesterday’s top secret tips on optimizing your Facebook Fan Page for Google and other search engines, here is Part II!

6.     Use Static FBML Tabs to Add Content and Call to Action Value

Since adding lengthy static blocks of keyword rich text and links is limited on your wall tab (Facebook’s default tab) you can use FBML application to build custom pages with additional text, links and images that can augment the content value of your page! I personally, advocate adding rich media like images and call to actions to not only interest search engines but get fans and visitors to more readily convert to your website and lead generation pages. Adding content boxes or tabs with FBML to your Page can be a great way to boost the content density score of your Page (note, however, that each tab lives at a separate URL in Google’s eyes).

* Power Tip – remember “alt” and “title” tags for images are great ways to add additional relevant keywords into the code and content in addition to helping your images get indexed! It’s also not a bad idea to use a service like PhotoBucket to host your images and make sure your images are names with keyword rich names since PhotoBucket retains the file name better than Flickr.

Resource: Custom Facebook Fan Pages

In order to add a custom content box or tab to your Page, follow these steps:

• Go to the “Static FBML” application on Facebook.
• Click “Add to my Page” on the top left side, and choose the page you’d like to add a custom content box or tab to.
• Once you’ve chosen one, close the dialog box, go to your Page, and click “Edit page” under your Page’s profile picture.
• In the applications list on the resulting page, you should see an application called “FBML 1″. Click the pencil icon on the right, and choose “Edit.”
• You’ll be taken to a page with 2 fields: “Box Title” and “FBML.” Enter the name you’d like to give the box or tab in the “Box Title” field. Enter the HTML you’d like to use in the “FBML” field (FBML stands for Facebook Markup Language, and is a subset of HTML.), and then click the Save Changes button.
• Once changes are saved, click the “Edit” link at the top of your Page to return to your Page’s application settings page. Click the pencil icon next to the name of the FBML application you just created, and choose “Application Settings.”
• If you want to add the FBML you just entered as a box, choose “Add” next to the Box option. The custom FBML box will by default appear on the Boxes tab, so if you want to move it to the left side of your Wall tab, you’ll need to then go to the Boxes tab, click the pencil icon on your FBML box, and choose “Move to Wall tab.”
• Or, if you want to add the FBML you just entered as a tab, choose “Add” next to the Tab option. The custom content should then automatically appear on its own tab on your Page. Note, however, that Facebook truncates tab titles after 10 characters, so you’ll need to choose a short title.

Need help with this? Hire Sacrilicious to create your customized high impact Facebook Fan Page!

You can set your new FBML page to be the default view for new visitors before they become fans by editing your Fan Page and changing the “Settings” by selecting the name of your new FBML page in the drop down menu.

* Power Tip: ALWAYS name your new FBML page something relevant that will get clicked after an initial visit. So, “Search Homes” or “Special Offers” or “Menu” or “Concert Schedule” or “New Music” would be more valuable in terms of clicks than “Welcome” or “Become a Fan.” You can always change the name of the tab after it is created by editing the Page and then editing the FBML application.

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Most people forget that social media is more than socializing and lead generation – it can be a great source of SEO. Your Facebook Fan Page and Profile can be optimized for search engines so you get the best possible value out of your profile and updates.

1.     Pick a page name with keywords

Select a name for your page that includes keywords people would likely be searching when looking for your service, product or business.

Example:

Colorado Springs Real Estate

Celebration Florida Town Tavern

Capital Grill Boston

*NOTE: once you pick a name for your fan page, you CANNOT change it so select wisely.

Nobody is searching for “you” unless you are a celebrity so don’t create a fan page in your name unless your name has existing brand value. Use keywords that describe your product or service or if you have a physical location like a store-front include your location. For popular bars, restaurants and clubs, you should use your business name and location (town/city). Also, be aware you cannot give your page a generic name like “Boston” or “Real Estate” – Facebook has recently been disabling updates for generically named Pages – effectively neutering their ability to reach their Facebook fans.

2.     Select the proper category for your page

When you create a page, Facebook allows you select a specific category for your page – always select the MOST relevant category to index your page within. READ THROUGH ALL THE SELECTIONS BEFORE MAKING YOUR CHOICE. This is how Facebook will index your company, brand, celebrity personality so be very thoughtful when making your selection.

3.     Use the Vanity URL Feature

Facebook allows you to choose a vanity URL or as Facebook calls it, a “username” for your fan page once you have 100 fans. This is hands down the most valuable SEO tool you within Facebook, so select your vanity URL wisely.

Example:

www.facebook.com/coloradospringsrealestate

www.facebook.com/papajohnspizza

www.facebook.com/capitalgrillboston

This is where you have a better opportunity to include generic keywords than the page name, so be sure to include your most valuable keyword but still be sure to keep the vanity url short. The best solution is to combine your business name with a relevant keyword.

Usernames can be selected at www.facebook.com/username

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Truth be told, your social networking started back in kindergarten. You know how you are supposed to learn all kinds of crap in kindergarten that will serve you later (All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten). Well, making friends, sharing, keeping in touch, those are valuable skills you learn way back when. They are also the key components of social networking! So, the very skills you would use to make and keep friends offline are the very same ones you need to use online.

I want to make this clear, the Prom Queens among the glut of geeks in social media are people who are unafraid to network up and be as hated by some as they are loved by others. We win the social media lottery every time because we are social people- we are fun, witty, wise and know how to make real friends and keep them and know when to let some go. We know to use our real offline network of friends to help build a whole new network of online friends. But there are rules to this process…

Rule 1: Collect Fascinating Friends Offline and Connect With Them Online

I learned a long time ago to collect fascinating friends. Friends that have never been beaten down by life and always maintain a lust for experience! It makes for wonderfully irreverent stories and the most satisfying friendships and networking experiences. Now, I don’t know about you but I still have friends from first grade. In fact, one of my dearest and oldest friends , Bernadett Vajda (yeah yeah- the face, the legend, the model, the macaroon maker and Hungarian Princess (she also grew up next to Jay Leno’s mother)) is one such friend that I have known for so many years we can say a single word or phrase and burst out laughing. We have the kind of legendary stories that we can’t get through without busting out into incoherent laughter. Then, there are all the wonderful ladies from my Girls night Out Club in Orlando which includes Courtney Neitzl (Playboy Golf Model) and the ever wild and crazy mommy extraordinaire, Rachel Lovely… And, of course, there are all the wonderful rockstars I know like Bahnz Selby and the boys of The Enemy Lovers. The people you collect in your life should be diverse and interesting and allow you to expand your personal Dunbar Number so you can network most effectively.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

This is a repost by popular demand. So, last year I wrote a really scathing post about Trulia blackhatting SEO and getting banned.  It was, shall we say, riddled with sarcasm and I may or may not have used the term “flock taco” to describe their SEO. Hint, I definitely did. In any case, it resulted in about 200 direct messages, emails and IMs that could only be described as “break ups.” I personally found them hilarious and had to repost them with my own commentary. When I decided to restart this blog, it was a post that people kept begging me repost – so without further preamble…

So, the great Trulia post of 2009 made such a hit on Twitter and AR, I received over 100 “break up” tweets, emails, comments and messages. Who knew so many people felt like they were basically dating me? I was also told by Rich Jacobson of Active Rain that I need to get God/Jesus/Restoration in my life. Seriously, even God got dragged into the conversation! God, really? I need God cuz I use the F word? That has an awesome factor not even I could have seen coming and I know awesomeness. OK, I need to pull in an outside opinion on this one – Winston Churchill said “Profanity is only a crime against polite society not God.” And I think Winston told Hitler, Himmler, Lady Astor, all of India and a whole slew of other peeps and countries to “flock off” and he totally saved England, so I’m gonna go with that as sage advice. Although, I do apologize for ignoring the AR TOS, but hey- I break rules, it’s what I do. I promise to not break it again in the same way.

Now, since I am actually a connoisseur of hate mail – I have a special folder for it and I love to read it over and over because it makes me laugh that someone who doesn’t know me at all would spend so much time telling me all the ways in which I am a complete douche bag, why they hate me and why they will never listen to anything I ever say again even though I keep seeing their mug on MyBlogLog widget. I kind of look at hate mail to people you don’t know as the equivalent of sending a Porn Star fan mail with the request for a date and glorious professions of love. You know, pathetic. So, without further ado – my top 5 tweets from people that “broke up” with me yesterday and today.

1. TWEET – You’ve changed, unfollowed

WHAT POPS INTO MARY’S MIND WHEN SHE READS THAT TWEET? – Who the flock is this person? How do you know me – I don’t know you and if you don’t know me how do you know I changed? I am so bloody confused, my mind can’t even handle the circular loop it has found itself in after reading this.

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Popularity: -1% [?]

Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac

My rant on why everyone in the music industry should have a basic understanding of what white, gray and black hat SEO can and should be used for.

So, every once in a while I get a comment or a cluster of comments (suspiciously from the same IP yet registered to different emails and domains, hmmm… how diabolical of you) where I get told I don’t know what I am talking about or I am a black hat SEO and give black hat (I guess this is the code for “bad”) advice. Let’s set the record straight here. I am an active member of a number of black hat forums. I practice and experiment with all forms of SEO which includes black hat techniques. Why? Because in order to speak with any authority on the overall subject of SEO, shouldn’t I know how to practice and apply each discipline within the study? You don’t go to medical school and say “I will read the books but not cut the cadaver” or “I know this is about the whole body but I’m not interested in learning about the anus – I just don’t feel right about it.”

OK, back to the topic at hand. So, yeah, I know some black hat stuff. Could I make a living at it? Probably not, but I understand and can effectively use the principles to get a site to the top of the engines very quickly for valuable terms. Does that make me a “black hat?” In some people’s eyes it may. Do I take offense to it? No. I consider it a compliment. When I get a comment asserting that I am a black hat, it indicates that the commenter recognized I had a knowledge base of more than just white hat SEO. So, while, the commenter more often than not cannot correctly identify black hat tactics, I still consider it a great compliment that they felt my knowledge base extended to things he/she is too “ethical” to study. Now, because we also know I am a bitch, I want to add, I also highly suspect the commenter still has his V card and lives in his mama’s basement.

So, for you to understand what the various disciplines within the study of SEO are here is my best explanation:

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Popularity: 2% [?]