By changing their “recommend” button to a “like” button; Facebook hopes to drive more traffic and provide more opportunities for businesses to be found by potential customers. Businesses would then be ranked more on popularity as opposed to certain SEO guidelines, which could make things very interesting. Facebook seems to be slowly eliminating the need to have Facebook Fan Pages altogether by putting the “like” button all over the web instead of “Become a Fan”. Why would you have a Facebook Fan Page, when you can direct people to your actual website?

What makes the new “like” button different than the “recommend” button is that instead of it showing up in a newsfeed, they will be listed on the users profile, creating a fixed link to your content. It is a possibility that these new changes could make Facebook a bigger threat to Google, if fewer people use search engines to find the information they are looking for. However, it is unlikely that search will be eliminated completely. Facebook seems to simply be creating a different way for people to obtain the information they need.

Lately, it seems like whenever I am searching for online news articles these Facebook decals are showing up all over the place encouraging me to recommend this and that, while also showing how many people, and if any of my friends have recommended a certain article. It’s a good concept, however, it almost makes one feel like they are trying to control your every move. I’m not sure how comfortable I feel about a social media site knowing so much about me and what I’m doing online at all times. But it seems that this is the direction the business is going in, which means either enough people have to hate it to make a change or we just have to follow along like sheep.

I just read another article that stated that Facebook is now linking to whatever they want to from your profile, without your permission. So say you are like me and put “Finding Nemo” as one of your favorite movies, then Facebook will automatically link to a page with everyone that has put Finding Nemo in their profile. You may have noticed a message when you logged into your account this week, telling you to suggest all these pages based off of what you had on your profile. Here’s why you need to pay attention to that message.

It seems to be that all these new Facebook changes will be great for businesses, but I’m not so sure about personal profiles. People might to start to feel violated, which could be a major problem if enough people feel that way. Only time will tell how everything will unravel, but it should be very entertaining to watch.

Mobility is currently the driving force in the consumer world. If people are increasingly using mobile devices to search the web, accessing their email and communicating with people through social media, then there is potential for the iPad, and I’m sure other similar products down the road, to become a dominant form of personal computing.

The iPad can best be described as a cross between a personal laptop and a smart phone. It is an excellent device for searching the web, emailing, and uploading photos and videos, but is it essential for businesses to utilize? Right now, I would say no. The popularity of the iPad will depend largely on how your business operates.

The limitations I mentioned previously could be a major turn off for most businesses. However, some argue that it can fulfill the normal everyday tasks professionals need to get their business accomplished. It could also be utilized by businesses with disabled employees, since their accessibility features are built in and it’s cheaper than other devices disabled employees have had to use in the past.

The potential for the iPad to be successful is definitely there, with some consumers simply becoming ecstatic just by touching one. But in time the excitement of this new product will wear down and the functionality of it will become the main focus of discussion. The iPad most likely will not replace desktops any time soon. That does not mean that there won’t be adjustments made to meet the demands of consumers and that it won’t one day become the “way of the future.”

The question is will you be investing in an iPad for your business? If not now, will you eventually?

I’m sure with the launch of the iPad tomorrow, April 3rd, this is only the beginning of a what could be a whole new world in personal computing.

For your entertainment – David Letterman’s Top 10 with the iPad

Demand Media has figured out a way to optimize new content on a regular basis with specific keywords they know will give them a higher rankings on Google. Owning three other popular sites, ehow.com, cracked.com and livestrong.com, they are able to reach an incredibly large audience. Currently their sites are reaching over 100 million hits a month, which is more traffic than Disney, NBC, ESPN and TIME. Their article topics and the way they develop their content may seem a little unorthodox to many, but has proven to be very successful.

Demand Media has established a simple business model that has expanded into a huge revenue stream for them. Based on user-behavior data coded from search engines, YouTube, Demand’s 3 websites and their advertising data, they can determine which keywords they should create content around. This information then is fed to their algorithm, which spits out the most relevant story ideas.

From there, humans are required. The process starts with a person who earns a few cents for taking the algorithm output and turning that into a headline. Then another person is charged anywhere from $3-$15 to write the article, who then passes it on to a copy editor for fact and grammar checking. From start to finish one article can cost less than $10 to produce. Once the article is posted, it immediately starts earning ad revenue.

Demand Media has been widely discussed over the past couple of months with people claiming their online articles are lacking actual knowledge and depth calling them, “fast food content” or “content farms.” Since they use thousands of cheap freelance writers, to generate revenue very quickly and are getting away with it – it is starting to make people question what Google and other search engines are finding important when ranking websites.

There are critics on both sides of this issue. Some are proclaiming that Demand Media is a threat to real journalism, SEO and social media sites, while others are saying it is helping businesses attract more customers, which is the overall objective. Based on everything I’ve read about the issue, it seems that most people are opposed to Demand Media’s strategy and believe that if low quality content continues to dominant the search results, then it will have a negative impact on the industry.

Some argue that Demand Media poses more of a threat to social media than journalists, since they provide searched optimized content for corporate sites and evergreen content for news. Others are also mentioning how these “content farms” are operating very similar to how “link farms” once did back in the day.

The almost toxic desire to develop a presence in social media and search results has lead to clogging search with cheap content, which may eventually start to turn users away. However, Demand Media does not show any sign of slowing down any time soon. At this rate it seems they will be around for a a while, but for how long is uncertain. If there is one thing I’ve learned in this industry it’s how unpredictable it can be, which means time will only tell what the outcome will eventually be. Will quality content beat out quantity? Better pay close attention to find out.

Podcasts can be a great asset for your business to not only update your website with new information on a regular basis, but also help you build and maintain relationships with your community and potential customers.

Today I am going to review some of the benefits of podcasting and why businesses should consider starting one.

Reach a New Audience

A podcast is a great way to tap into a new audience. Even though most people might think that podcasts attract young, technologically advanced listeners, research has shown that a considerable amount of older people (ages 35 – 50) are also listening to them. Podcasts are accessible from anyone at any time which means you have the potential to reach people in a completely new way. People can listen to your podcast in their car, on their computer or on a walk around their neighborhood. This expands your reach and builds more awareness of you and your business.

Build Relationships with Listeners

Podcasts are also an excellent way to build relationships with your listeners. You could use your podcast to address frequently asked questions your customers might have or share information related to your industry to show your authority. If you are not providing any value to your listeners, then you shouldn’t start a podcast. If you are planning to use your podcast as just an advertisement or infomercial, then you will not receive many subscribers and your podcast will be a waste of time. The most successful podcasts are ones that offer advice or insight on the industry you are in.

Advertising Potential

Once your podcast becomes a hit, you might even be able to start selling ad slots. This is a great way to also attract more listeners and create more revenue. This makes your podcast even more worthwhile for your business.

Easy to Produce

Podcasts are easy to produce. All that is required is a microphone and some audio software for recording and editing. Once you have recorded your podcast, you can easily submit it to iTunes after you have created an rss feed. On iTunes you can create a channel for your podcast that is accessible by anyone. On this channel you can include any information you want listeners to know. New episodes will be automatically uploaded to iTunes once you have updated your rss feed. Learn more about what is required to submit your podcast here.

The main objective for creating a podcast is to attract subscribers who will listen to it on a regular basis. For this reason it is important to plan a schedule of when you will produce new podcasts. The more frequently you add more episodes to your podcasts, the better chance you have of increasing your subscribers and fan base. To learn the different ways to track your subscriptions please check out this website.

TM started a podcast series “TM Web Talk Radio Show” in the summer of 2009, talking to industry professionals about a variety of topics such as SEO, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Link Building and more. Our objective was to provide listeners with more information about these topics and not only build awareness of TM, but develop us as a valuable resource. So far it has proven to be successful for us, which is why we recommend others looking into developing their own.

Contact TM if you would like help learning more about podcasts and how you can get started!

The question ‘Where were you when…” may now not be as easy to answer as it has been in the past. Everyone, for the most part, remembers where they were for certain events, but with the rise of the internet, social media and mobile devices, the possibility of you remembering exactly where you were may become more difficult. Not everyone has to cram around a TV to watch breaking news, you can simply listen or watch the news over your phone or on your computer. You could be anywhere at any time and receive news instantly.

Over the past year, YouTube has started experimenting with live video, showing not only the Tiger Woods news conference, but showing political debates, Obama’s inauguration and other live interviews. The ability to view live videos online will make it easier than ever before for people to hear or watch the news. If enough people tuned into YouTube to watch Tiger Woods today, it could definitely shake up other news networks and give them something to worry about.

YouTube videos have proven to be very beneficial for businesses looking to increase their website traffic and performance. While your business may not be able to utilize live video streams, you should consider creating  a channel to showcase videos on your website. YouTube has become enormously popular over the past couple of years, based on the fact that most people enjoy informative or entertaining visuals. If your business is able to bring that to your customers, you have a better chance of converting your traffic into sales. Here at TM, we recommend to most of our clients that they start a YouTube channel because it is an excellent way to form better relationships with your customers and your community.

One of our clients, FLAME Furnace, has successfully utilized online videos to not only educate the community about heating and cooling topics, but also improve awareness of their overall brand. Their videos have established FLAME as a resource that customers can depend on for information, which is something all businesses should strive to achieve. And now with recent developments with mobile phones, you can access these videos pretty much anywhere, which makes YouTube even more appealing for businesses to utilize.

If YouTube is able to successfully deliver live videos, I believe it will definitely become a real game changer in the news industry and possibly for your business in the future. It will be exciting to see how this develops down the road.

If you’d like to learn more about how YouTube can help your business, contact TM today.

So, why should you care about these changes? You should care because over 400 million people are currently on Facebook and the numbers are continuing to grow. Maybe the new redesign isn’t something you think will affect you or perhaps your business. However Facebook is where the people are and where businesses have an opportunity to become larger and more prominent. For this reason, it would seem beneficial for you to keep up with current trends, to know how and if changes may affect your business in some way. I predict that we will see more improvements on Facebook particularly when it comes to business development in the not so distant future. But that is just my prediction.

These new Facebook developments should not come as a surprise, seeing as the social media monster continues to grow and impact our lives (whether we like it or not). The new design and recent developments are meant to not only keep Facebook ahead of the game, but enhance the user experience.

Besides the redesign Facebook homepage, they are also launching a new webmail product, to essentially cut your current email out of the equation. This new webmail will allow you to receive notifications or friend requests directly, therefore enticing you to stay on Facebook even longer then you already do!

Facebook is also doing their best to become a more prominent news source. The more time users spend on this social media platform, the more convenient it will be to receive news feeds directly there. Bascially, Facebook is trying to make you find a reason to leave their network, and if everything is right there for you, then you never have to.

If these new developments work properly, and more people are staying on Facebook longer, don’t you think it would be smart to become more involved in this network?

Did you know that you can develop your own app to promote anything you want about your business? Well you can, and what’s cool is that now with this new design your app could potentially have a prominent spot on a user’s page. If you don’t feel like getting that crafty, then becoming active on Facebook is just another way to be where the people are and strengthen your overall brand. But remember, it’s not about just having a profile or a page, but engaging with other people and forming positive relationships.

Overall Facebook has a lot to celebrate and a lot to look forward to down the road. I have a feeling this is just the beginning.

It has been reported that in just a single day social media websites, Facebook and Twitter, have raised nearly $1.2 million. It has also been reported that they have raised more than $3 million all together, since the Earthquake.

So why has social media made such a major impact? The answer should seem rather obvious. It’s because people are hearing about Haiti relief funds from their friends on Facebook and Twitter and feel these are more credible resources than someone they do not know asking them to help. It is no secret that social media websites are based on the relationships you form with others, which makes spreading the word virally through these websites very easy and FAST!

Tweeters from Haiti have quickly been able to report updates on the situation, helping people around the world realize first-hand the impact this Earthquake is having. Twitter has played the biggest role of raising awareness and spreading the word to receive donations. Yesterday it was reported that 4 of the most popular topics on Twitter were related to the Earthequake in Haiti. Meanwhile, Facebook has launched a Global Relief Page to help “spotlight efforts” people are making in response to the crisis.

Mobile donations are also a successful way to raise funds because it’s an easy way to donate and there is no personal commitment for individuals who wish to help out.  Cell phone users can simply text their pledge and the donation is automatically added to their cell phone bill.

Immediately after news of the Earthquake in Haiti, Wyclef Jean tweeted a message asking for donations, creating “Give on the Go” which is a fundraising division of a mobile marketing company, Red Fish Media.  Together they have  raised over $750,000. Please Text YELE to 501501, if you wish to donate to Wyclef’s charity. Red Cross has also launched a campaign to donate $10 to Haiti via text message. Text Haiti to 90999.

The Haiti Earthquake proves that charity can go viral, which shows the impact social media has had and will have on the world. Social media has now received great recognition as a vital tool to get news out there FAST and create a dramatic impact.

In order for “Near Me Now” to work properly you must let your iPhone or Android browser send your location to Google and you must be logged into your Google Account. Once this is set-up correctly  “Near Me Now” apparently shows up as a new link on the Google.com mobile home page.

It seems that anything that Google creates becomes the new “IT” thing. Will their new Near Me Now app run out competitors like Yelp and Urbanspoon simply because of their larger than life marketshare? How do you see “Near Me Now” impacting mobile search?

It will be interesting to see how the new FTC regulations play out in 2010. How will these rules be enforced and regulated? If you haven’t heard, these new rules require disclosure and transparency regarding testimonials and endorsements when a product or service is being offered for sale. Any business relationship between the endorsers and the company must be made known to the potential buyer. If these rules are strictly enforced, this could have a major impact on affiliate or online marketing.

People in the search industry are on both sides of the issue. Some believe the FTC regulations will create a more honest environment online, if everyone is forced to disclose, while others believe it will be too difficult to hold everyone to the same standards. Only time will tell how this will affect internet marketing in 2010, but I am sure it will continue to be major topic.

There is no doubt, Google will have a tremendous effect on Internet Marketing in 2010. With their recent developments and upcoming changes, it is critical to keep up-to-date with what is happening with Google in order to stay ahead of the game. The list below highlights the key events that have been discussed this year.

1. Google Caffeine – One of most popular topics of 2009 were the discussions of Google launching a new search algorithm, Caffeine. In the past, Google updates have had a dramatic affect on search engine rankings, which is why there is cause for concern. It has been announced that this new algorithm will take affect early next year, and no one knows for certain what the kind of affect it will have on the industry. Google has stressed Caffeine should not cause major panic, but that it is intended to enhance the user experience. At this point, we must wait to see what happens when Google Caffeine is officially launched.

2. “Real Time” Search – Another big topic discussed in 2009 was the introduction of “Real Time” search featured in Google’s SERPs. This new development will make social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace more significant and will definitely change the game for SEO, since there is now a new route to getting on top of Google. How much of an affect is yet to be determined, but it will be interesting to see the impact real time search will have on the industry in 2010.

3. Site Loading Times – Matt Cutts recently announced that website loading times will be a ranking factor in the new Google. If your site takes too long to load, then you can bet you will slip down on the rankings.

4. Visual Search – Recently we have seen Google move more towards visual search with their introduction of Google Goggles for mobile phones. You simply just take a picture and you get Google results instantly – no typing. This could be a new avenue for internet marketers and could definitely be a game changer in the industry.

5. Personalized Search – Google is moving towards personalized search which make the jobs of SEOs and Internet Marketers a lot more challenging. If everyone can chose their own results, it will become difficult, to get in their top results.

With all of these new changes in the search industry, it will be fascinating to see how they will unravel in 2010. Will Yahoo/Bing be able to give Google a run for their money? Can big-name key worded domains start directly pulling in web traffic?

The new FTC regulations and the new Google developments will definitely make Internet Marketing more important than ever before. TM plans on embracing these changes and continuing to enhance the online presence of our clients, but it’s important to be aware of what the changes were over this past year and how to best prepare for them in 2010. Contact TM today to learn more about Internet Marketing.

Check out the transcript of TM’s conversation with Debra Mastaler.

Businesses are constantly looking for new ways to market their name, brand, and products.  But, online-based companies are finding that link building, paid links, and utilizing social media websites, like Twitter, are some of the most effective ways to market themselves.  Even though all businesses are in competition with one another, there are different avenues that can be taken to be one of the best.  Trademark Productions’, Dwight Zahringer, had the opportunity to welcome Debra Mastaler from Alliance-Link to the Trademark Productions Podcast Radio Show.

Mastaler knows a thing or two about link building.  After spending over 15 years with a Fortune 500 company, she unknowingly created her own link building business, Organic Way Market.  With Organic Way Market a thing of the past, she is currently President of Alliance-Link, an interactive marketing company that provides their clients with custom link-building campaigns and link training. Mastaler’s original link building business, Organic Way Market, was receiving more than its fair share of popularity, even though she had no idea what she was doing.  Even though she no longer owns the domain, Organic Way Market provided her with a foundation in the world of link building.

“I used the Internet to look for things.  And as I used it I began to understand that there was not a lot of resources online in one particular place for organic information.  So I developed a directory called the Organic Way Market. I didn’t really know what I was doing at that point; I didn’t realize that I was making a directory.  There was no Google yet.”

In order to gain a following, a strong customer base, link building is very important.  But, there are many different ways to go about link building effectively.  Using Mastaler’s basic tactics is critical to achieve success, and anyone, regardless of what demographic or geographic location the business is trying to attract, can boost their visibility online.

“Go to your Chamber of Commerce, and buy a membership so that you have the visibility there.  You would join your association.  When you join the association online, you get a link from your association.  You would do all of the major directories.  Directories are real important.  They are people like Yahoo.com, Business.com, BestOfTheWeb.  And while it’s hard to say you should do exactly the same thing for everybody, those types of things are foundational and everybody can do it.”

Unfortunately, many companies and businesses manipulate the link building process in order to get link popularity and higher rankings within the search engines.  While search engines, like Yahoo! and Google have made it very clear that they frown upon such an act, it can’t be stopped.  Even though there are individuals and groups who effectively manipulate the system, gaining link popularity is all about relevancy.

“I think part of the issue with link popularity, there are four components; one of them is link quantity, the number of links.  Link quality.  Some people equate this with page rank; it’s the quality of the pages that link to you.  Link anchor text is the third one, and the fourth one is relevancy.  Sites that are similar or complementary have a tendency to link out and to reference each other.”

There are many ways that companies try to attract link popularity and traffic to their websites.  While some are more creative than others, some tactics are not effective.  For Mastaler and Alliance Link, the start of any of their relationships between company and client is through surveys, which they have found is the number one and most effective way to link build.

“We send a survey to their customer base, and we’ll ask them some very basic questions, which is something any business should be doing occasionally anyway, just to keep a pulse on what their client base wants.  All the demographics that go behind your products, all of the people, all of what they do, you need to know that so you can produce content or create content that they will be attracted to.”

In the most recent of years, social media and social networking websites have been one of the most effective ways that a company or business has been able build their brand.  The company gains a following, and is able to reach out to a wide demographic of individuals, who may not necessarily be from the same geographic location.  Twitter, one of the leading social networking websites, has been a great tool for research and identity purposes.

“Twitter is probably one of the best research tools now that we have out there.  Your link-building is only as good as the research provides, so you have to find sites and you have to find partners and you have to find opportunities, and that takes a lot of time; it takes a ton of time when you’re online trying to figure out who you can approach or where’s your demographic or what can you create on your site that’s going to draw eyeballs.”

There are numerous businesses and companies who want to use link building and search engine optimization in the coming of months.  In order to effectively add these techniques to their marketing strategies, Mastaler shares some tools and ideas to get these companies off to the right start.

“My number one tool that I use that I cannot live without are my alert services – Google Alerts.  But if you sit down and go on the computer and just search for ‘alert services,’ many, many, many different types of them will come back. The other thing I can’t live without are my press release submission tools.  PR Web is the one that I like the best, although I use several different companies.  And if we’re doing content, if you’re creating content on your site, you need to let the world know it’s there, and the press release submission programs are the best way to get that out initially.”

Even though there are many ways that companies and businesses can link build, each technique and tool needs to be utilized accordingly.  Not every tool will work as well for one company over another, but it is also dependent upon how it is used.  Mastaler, who was a self-starter, shares some of her tips on how to get the most out of link building, and what can come out of it when it is used properly.  Mastaler, frequently writes on Link Spiel, her personal blog where she shares advice about link building.