A brief comparison of Google Profile and Facebook, followed by the 1,2,3 strategy Google can employ to take over the social networking world.

How GoogleMe Can Win “Web War III.0″

Let’s start by looking at both Facebook and Google from an overall utility perspective. Almost everyone agrees that of any tool that is available online, search engines are by far themost widely and extensively used. With that in mind, Google is considered the Cadillac of search engines. It is fast, runs clean and has all the geeks wanting to work on its engine. Facebook on the other hand, can arguably be described as the Mazda Miata of the web… It has sold very well for a few years running now, looks kind of nice, girls love it, boys love girls so they love it too and it to top it all off it is easy enough for grandma to drive.

The problem for Facebook here is that short of its chintzy retractable roof and great sales figures, there is nothing really special about it. Google can and almost certainly will use this lack of broader utility to launch a loud beta of their own social network, recently dubbed GoogleMe. With this product, Google has the opportunity to make its network’s users entire web experience more social, seemless and informative. Here’s how:

Imagine you are trying to find information on effectively marketing your business online. As of today, most of your searches lead you to company websites and blogs that are vague, incomplete and ultimately try to make you buy something. Now imagine that when you were a member of GoogleMe and searched for this information, you got relevant data from members of your social network and found out that your best friend from High School is an internet marketing expert. Touch of a button later you are connecting with an old friend in a meaningful way that is not really practicle today.

This would not only improve Google by making searches social, it would also represent a major improvment to social networking as a whole and provided there are no major buckles in the nuts and bolts of their regular social networking interface sign the eventual death toll for what is currently the largest social club in the world. Barring Google being nice and partnering with Facebook, there is really little that can be done to save it if the rumor of Google’s latest project is true. 2-4 years from now Facebook will look like MySpace, Google will be bigger than the Catholic Church and I will hopefully be sipping hurricanes on a beach somewhere here in sunny San Diego.

Want to learn more about Google Profiles? Click Here.

A Catchy Title
In most cases, the title is the only thing people will read when it comes to deciding whether to hit delete or open an email. The key to creating a successful title is to keep is short and to the point. Long titles are more likely to be ignored and deleted compared to short, direct, and if possibly catchy email titles.

Offer Plain Text version as well as HTML Version
One of the challenges of email marketing is that people view emails in various browsers, software applications, and operating systems and often times have custom settings which make emails appear differently. Offering a plain text version of your email for those users who do not accept HTML emails is great practice. Constant Contact offers a great email marketing solution that solves this challenge.

Image Alt Tags
Because many users have images turned off it is important to offer them an alternative when they open your email. Using Alt tags, some text will appear where the image should be which at least helps fill the space of the email.

Use Buttons For Call-to-Action
Research has shown that using buttons as a link (rather than a flat hyperlink) will get more clicks. You don’t need to make your buttons overly fancy, just as long as they POP and stand out as a call to action for users.

Keep Text Short n’ Sweet
Many email campaigns love to post long articles. The reality is that very few users will read through a long article within your email. The key is to provide a few short paragraphs for each topic or article that you are providing. A good rule of thumb is 3 articles with two paragraphs each or 2 articles with 3 paragraphs each. Then use a more… link that takes users to your website to continue reading the article. This is yet another call to action and way to get users back to your website for more information.

Email marketing is a widely used component of a successful internet marketing strategy. Creating successful emails is a whole separate challenge. Constant Contact is a leader in email marketing and their blog, Constant Commentary, is a great resource on this subject.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

There are multiple resources available on the internet to drive users to your website. Social networking sites are now becoming very mature and offer even more capabilities than their early years. Sites like Yelp, Kudzu, StumbleUpon, and Delicious encourage user interaction which makes for a great user experience. Being involved in a community based site has more value than a paid advertisement, because you can let your clients advertise for you and often times these services are free.

When you search for your company on a search engine how many results do you show up in? A successful internet marketing plan will have your company listed in multiple resources making you look like an established and professional business.

Other components of a successful internet marketing strategy include email marketing, blogging, and search engine marketing (also referred to as SEM, PPC, or CCP advertising). Utilizing multiple resources is the best strategy for gaining users from across the web. Simultaneously, while taking advantage of these tools you will in turn be helping your search engine rankings by increasing you inbound link activity and establishing a better web presence.

When designing your website, it is vital to take advantage of white-hat search engine optmization – SEO – best practices, but don’t overlook these other areas or think your job is done once the on-page SEO components are taken care of. SEO is only the beginning of how you can achieve internet marketing success.

What are the benefits of providing free information?
To start, you need to give your customers a reason to listen to you when you make a recommendation for why they should buy your product or service. Demonstrating the do’s and don’ts, things to be aware of in competitors, etc. are great information for clients that don’t have your industry knowledge. This is a way of building trust.

A company that constantly provides new and valuable information gives people a reason to keep coming back to your website, reading your emails, and listening to your message. If your marketing materials are full of sales pitches about how great you are, then you won’t get the repeat visitors that you will if you constantly provide new articles about industry related information.

example: A real estate agent may create a blog and post articles on the latest news revolving around federal tax credits for first time home buyers, HOA loans, foreclosers in the neighborhood, things to look for when buying a home, etc. This will give prospective buyers a resource of information when they are considering buying a home. And who do you think they are going to call when the time is right? The Expert!

Where do I provide valuable information?
There are multiple avenues for informing and educating your customers and prospects. Here are a few resources you can use which will also play directly into your marketing

• Your website – make your website worth reading. Don’t make it full of sales pitches and reviews, provide a learning environment.
• Create a Blog – blogs are great way to post articles on valuable information. They also have a high amount of value for search engine optimization (SEO).
• E-mail marketing – emails are a great way to stay in touch with prospects and teach them something of value that they didn’t know
• Video – create tutorials, a YouTube channel, or another way to create tutorials, reviews, and demos.

For more information about how to become an expert in your industry and develop a strategy for providing valuable information, contact CPD.

You can set the options for what you want the sponsored link to say. The choices are:

1. Highlight a Coupon that you create (ex. 10% OFF, or Free Shipping)
2. Highlight photos of your business (upload these to your Google Places profile first)
3. Highlight videos of your business (upload these to your Google Places profile first)
4. Highlight your website (another link to your site)

Results from your sponsored tag can be tracked in Google Places along with your number of impressions and clicks from free business listing materials. Data shows the number of times your tag was expanded by users to see more, and how many times people directly click though toi your site from the sponsored tag link. This gives you the ability to see how well your tag is performing and whether it is worth the $25/mo investment.

Disadvantages to using the sponsored tag link are that the link says ‘sponsored link’ next to it and is highlighted in yellow. This lets users know that it is not an organic part of your free listing which may turn-off certain advanced users.

Google is offering promotions for a free 30-day trial of using a Sponsored Tag on your listing. Contact CPD for more information on getting a free 30-day trial for your listing.

This unique technology is part of what Google Maps is developing as a ‘Favorite Places’ feature. Favorite places allows users to mark their favorite locations (whether it be shopping stores, hiking trails, or restaurants) Users can draw shapes to represent areas and lines to represent journeys and then publish your locations for public viewing.

If you have a new website launched on a new domain and you are in a competitive industry, it is going to take a long time to gain competitive search rankings. Likewise if your website is small (5-15 pages) and is rarely updated with fresh content, you are going to have a hard time gaining results overnight.

Internet Marketing strategies are unique to every business. Here are some of the components to how an internet marketing strategy may improve your web presence:

Email Marketing
Providing your prospect and customer databases with information is a great way to stay on their radar screen. Your email campaigns should be filled with helpful content and not loaded with sales pitches on your company, product, or service. Providing free information goes a long way. With that said, combining special offers and promotions are a great addition to your email marketing.

Search Engine Optimization
SEO is not an area that you should poor your entire budget, but certainly an aspect of your overall strategy. SEO is a long-run approach to increasing your web traffic overtime. Take care of the essential aspects of SEO early on and then continuously improve your web content.

Social Networking
Having a presence on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter is critical in today’s online environment. Many of these platforms are free and are a great way to make noise and reach customers outside of your own website.

Blogging
Find the places online that your target market visiting on a regular basis. Locate blogs that get high traffic already and contribute content to them. Providing links to your website on industry related blog posts is also excellent for SEO.

Paid Advertising
Google Adwords, Yahoo Search, and other online forms of advertisement will drive traffic to your site in the short term. Create a strategy around this that will work with your overall budget.

These components and others are what will help make a successful Internet Marketing strategy. If you are a small business, don’t get married into an SEO plan that won’t result in short term gains for your business.

San Diego based Crown Point Design (CPD) can help you develop an internet marketing strategy. For more information call (858) 352-6292.

In one CNET review I watched about an LG TV, I learned about Netflix streaming which allows you to connect to your online Netflix account and essentially watch any movie within your que. Only a few years ago, the ability to mail movies back and forth took over the retail movie rentals industry. Now TVs will make it even more convenient for users.

Marketers can start preparing for these advancements and look for opportunities to advertise in the appropriate places. Perhaps building one of these TV widgets that promotes your branding will go a long way. Although the technology is still young and the user community is still small… marketers prepare!

How it Started
Facebook was started with the intention of connecting college students from all areas to keep in touch with old friends. Members used to be exclusively college students based on whether their school allowed it. If we look back only a generation ago, people used to go off to college and not have contact with their old high school friends until coming back for thanksgiving, Christmas break, or summer vacation. Remember that it was a time when nobody had cell phones or email and communication was a lot different.

Enter Facebook, a tool that allowed you to keep in touch with your childhood friends, teammates, and peers. You could see pictures of them, send messages, and learn about their new interests. It also allowed you to connect with people that you otherwise would not have had more than the casual greeting with. The classmates that you may not have associated with, you could now get to know a little better through a comfortable online atmosphere.

In the early days Facebook was THE HYPE, very similar to the current seen of Twitter. It was a new tool that solved a communication barrier and hit a significant tipping point.

Why it is Still Successful
It is interesting to step back and consider why Facebook has not died off and lost users interest. Here are three good reasons for its lasting internet footprint:

1) Like any successful business Facebook has been able to adapt to the latest trends in online communication before they have reached their maturity. During the boom of YouTube in 06-07, Facebook saw the need to incorporate video as a resource for sharing. The current Facebook design is based around the success of Twitter and the idea of “status updates.” This adaptation and foresight has been the single largest factor into the current success and user growth.

2) Over the years Facebook has taken on new internet applications that have enhanced the user experience. An open source framework has allowed programmers to create applications and content that the company itself had not thought of.

3) It is also important to consider the multiple site re-designs that have taken place. Each re-design causes users to complain and “demand the old Facebook back” due to the new training that must occur. This however has been one of the strongest attributes to the sites longevity. Users do not get board, there is always new content provided by people they know and in various formats.

Will it Last?
The question is now whether or not Facebook and other social networking sites can maintain and continue to redefine content presentation, user experience, and future trends. Only time will tell…