aimClear® Search Marketing Blog

Did you get the memo? With Google’s increased focus on content freshness and other social-laced algorithmic updates, marketers already keen on blogging and other recurrent content strategies have a definite leg up. But how far do SEOs need to go and at how great a cost for what results?

What results can churn-and-burn-puppy-mill SEO-laced assembly content attain? Are there advantages to going “high-end” and really making an ongoing content investment, and how might that affect results? Sure, we all know the objectives are to drive traffic, earn links, generate social signals, compel & motivate conversion… but what results are reasonably attainable for which types of content? Read the rest of this entry »

My content marketing mentors were marvelous gray-haired men and woman, who cut their teeth during the Mad Men era. They trained me to develop story headlines first by brainstorming quickly through numerous theory statements, choosing the appropriate concept to develop, and then taking time to build out a polished headline.

The timeless premise is that it’s important to fully understand what needs to be communicated before attempting to package it in a headline. Otherwise, time may be wasted on spin and tone without a clear vision of what needs to be imparted. When one attempts to shred numerous ideas at the same time, as flashy finalized bytes for every idea on the table, it puts way too much pressure on the creative process and slows things down. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome back to aimClear’s coverage of #SMX East! It was the rank spank heard round the world: Google Panda, an algorithm update by-and-large focused on quality content, rolled out in waves starting February 24, 2011. Panda thematically dominated SMX Advanced back in June, and by proxy, the Best of SMX Advanced Track this go-round at East. The morning kicked off with Google Survival Tips and lead into the afternoon with inspirational and informative techniques for Panda-Proofing Your Content.

Moderator Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine Land, Q&A moderator John Doherty, SEO Consultant, Distilled, and speakers Horst Joepen, CEO, Searchmetrics, Heather Lloyd-Martin, President and CEO, SuccessWorks Search Marketing, and Chris Silver Smith, Director of Optimization Strategies, KeyRelevance took turns sharing actionable advice for creating top-quality content designed to satisfy users, rank well in search engines, and of course, please the Panda. aimClear live-tweeted this session via @beebow. Takeaways live after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome back to our ongoing coverage of #SES San Francisco! A true content wizard, Lee Odden’s (@leeodden) Content Marketing Optimization session reminded the audience that content can make or break your website. When you’re looking to optimize your site, you have to take everything from rich media to web pages to digital assets to PDF documents to both created and shared content into account. Always remember: “If it’s searchable, it’s optimizable.”

With so many people looking to break into the already well-established online marketing realm, brand marketers have to go after the Holy Grail of content marketing optimization – that is to say, they must be efficient and improve the impact of their SEO and social media efforts. aimClear live-tweeted this session via @ericasendros Keep on reading for the real deal.

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Welcome back to coverage of Day 1 #SESSF! Whether you believe online content is king, queen, or almighty empress of the universe, one thing’s for sure: content is sexy. Or, at least, it should be. How else can it be expected to gain attention from social communities, garner traffic, eyeballs, links in abundance, and eventually translate to new business?

Of course, we don’t all have the luxury of writing copy for lingerie and foxy sports cars. The sexiness therein is pretty much inherent. What of those marketing home insurance and funeral parlors and B2B medicinal equipment? Gussying up such content so that it excites people is no easy feat. And doing it on the cheap? Pfft.

Fortunately, Noran El-Shinnawy, Director of Marketing, BoostCTR was ready to led social-savvy speakers Liana Evans, Author and Co-Founder & CEO, LiBeck Integrated Marketing, Jeffrey Harmon, Chief Marketing Officer, Orabrush, Mike La Rotonda, CEO and Co-Founder, Votigo, and Jeff Revoy, Chief Product, Marketing & Strategy Officer, iContact through the late morning audience choice session, Like Me! Social & Viral Content Tips for Making Your Brand More Sexy. Together, the team of panelists shared case studies featuring… arguably less than sexy brands… and how they were able to gain meaningful traction by means of social media in a cost-effective manner.

aimClear live-tweeted this session via @beebow. Read on for the full effect. Read the rest of this entry »