How Google has Changed Super Bowl Marketing

Super Bowl 2011 Kicks Off New Ads

I’m reading Marketing in the Age of Google by former Google employee and SEO expert, Vanessa Fox. In her introduction, she uses the example of the 2009 Super Bowl ads and related search engine trends to illustrate how viewer’s behavior during and after the big game has evolved to include online search. Some advertisers included their website addresses and integrated their “offline” marketing directly with  online search marketing to drive traffic to the website.
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GoDaddy.com features Super Bowl ads about new  .co domains

This year, Super Bowl XLV was no exception. GoDaddy.com, a leading domain registration service, promoted the new .co global domains in two Super Bowl ads, one featured Joan Rivers as a new “Go Daddy Girl”.  During and after the big game, I checked Google Trends and found that most of the top 10 search topics and searches were somehow related to the Super Bowl. Do you realize how powerful this marketing information can be to your small business marketing as well? By using the market intelligence from Google Trends, for example, you can immediately fine-tune your blog posts to incorporate the topics that are most important to your potential customers at that moment! As an infopreneur, you can be more agile and flexible than the big guys.

Before the game started, topics included “What time is Super Bowl 2011” and “adthe” (which apparently was a site that streamed sports live and was shut down). After the game, many of us are searching for (and talking about) what we think are the best Super Bowl ads. What was your favorite ad?

Super Bowl XLV Ads–Did They Mostly Fumble?

You can view all 100 ads in the video clip and related article below. Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts about this year’s ads and online marketing.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=7875

Best Super Bowl 2011 Commercials: MyFoxDETROIT.com

How Your Website is Like a Restaurant

I bet you’ve never thought about how your website is like a restaurant.  I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

I’m a huge fan of “Kitchen Nightmares” on BBC with Chef Gordon Ramsay. It’s one of the few shows I save on my DVR because I like his bold style and his cutting advice (pardon the pun), that is, after I got past his foul language.  Another SEO consultant blogged about how Chef Ramsay’s advice can be  applied to website user experiences as well. That started me thinking. . .
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In one show I watched recently, he rocketed in to an English pub that was serving fancy dishes with French sauces that the locals didn’t like. The pub’s restaurant traffic and revenues were so depressed he was about to lose his life savings and 30 years investment in being a restaurateur. Chef Ramsay changed the menu to typical pub food, and created a unique “social marketing” campaign for the pub around “Real Gravy”. They marched up and down the streets of the town with banners and tee-shirts handing out samples of Yorkshire pudding with real gravy to very delighted potential customers. Business and profits quadrupled from the word-of-mouth, in spite of a new competitor starting up right down the street.

I’ve condensed what I’ve learned from Chef Ramsay’s show into these three rules of good service. I’d love to hear what you think about it:

1.  Create the perfect “menu”–offer fresh, high-quality dishes that the locals and visitors are looking for. (This is your fresh article content and blog posts.)

2.  Attract “guests” to enjoy it!–go out to the places where people are hanging out and let them sample your goods, see others liking your offerings,  and get comfortable with you. (This is social media, news releases, and other online and offline marketing and promotions)

3.  Mind the “numbers”–keep your eye on the daily visitors, time they’re spending at your site, how much they’re buying, how much it’s costing you, and how often they return. (This is making good use of web analytics and business analysis.)

You can use these rules to make your website more profitable, too.

Find out more about how to do this at my free webinar:

“SEO for Business Results—Wake Up From a Kitchen Nightmare”

Borrowing a theme from Chef Gordon Ramsay’s TV show, Kitchen Nightmares, see how your website is a lot like a restaurant. In this free LinkShare webinar I’m hosting, you’ll take away quick pointers on how to turn your website into an attractive, profitable, and visitor-friendly place that guests want to return to frequently. You’ll also get the recipe for “SEO Secret Sauce for 2010”.

Here’s the link to the webinar recording.

You might enjoy this fun clip of Chef Ramsay,” The Screaming Chef”, with David Letterman:

Bon appétit!

Top 3 Takeaways for SMB Online Marketers from PubCon South 2010

Last week, I got to hang out with some of the smartest folks in search engine optimization and social media marketing at PubCon South 2010 in Dallas.  It was also my first opportunity to “live blog” an event for LinkShare. You can read more highlights of each session I attended at the LinkShare blog for PubCon South 2010 Day One Highlights and PubCon South 2010 Day Two Highlights.
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If you want the quick takeaways, here’s my (unpolished) 3-minute video with the top three ideas for your plan to become an expert:

Summary:

1.  Local search: Claim and completely describe expertise in your local business listings on Google Places and other local search directories. Include website and blog content for each region, state and local area you serve and each location of your business.

2.  Inbound links: Your great blog content will help you get more inbound links to your website with appropriate anchor text for your top keywords (related to your niche and area of expertise) to help your business get found online.

3. Fresh, frequent content: Your website must be more than a 24/7 online brochure for your expertise and business.  Include fresh,  relevant articles, blog posts, images, and video to improve your visibility with the new universal search.

My Top 45 Tips on Becoming an Expert for March

Tips to Become an Expert Online

If you didn’t have a chance to follow my “micro-blog”posts on Twitter @CYL4G_SallyAnne, here’s a summary of my top tips and related links to help you become an expert online:

1. Recycle your online content to get more bang for your buck. 7 ways to repurpose articles and blog posts creatively. http://kl.am/9Mqv
2. Considering a site redesign or migration for your blog? Helpful tips to make it successful for search engine findability. http://kl.am/9IbN
3. DalaiLama The greater the level of calmness of our mind, the greater our peace of mind, and the greater our ability to enjoy a happy and joyful life.
4. zappos “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” -Anonymous
5. “If you want to write the fortunes for…cookies that don’t exist any more…lead your own tribe and hire yourself.” Seth http://kl.am/9FBV
6. More than a biz expert. . .be a “maven”. . . passionate and sharing helpful information with others on your website/blog. http://kl.am/9EPl
7. Need ideas for your biz blog topics? Copyblogger has 50 ideas to help your customers get the most from your service. http://kl.am/9BJv
8. Become an expert. Start your own online business. Take away some of the uncertainty of a “job”. http://kl.am/9wr3
9. Everything on your website/blog is “content”. So who writes those “404 Error” message pages? Do they help your visitors? http://kl.am/9sBA
10. SEO tip to Capture lost link juice… How to Redirect 404’s to your Home Page in WordPress (cont) http://tl.gd/k2so8
11. 8 mistakes you’re probably making on your website and how to correct them with keywords, links, calls to action and more. http://kl.am/9o3a
12. Make the new FTC guidelines on disclosure your best friend for your website and affiliate marketing copywriting. http://kl.am/9jPY
13. SMBs use social media for real results to build relationships, engage local community, & provide extraordinary service: http://kl.am/9h4j
14. The art of deep conversation can lead to happiness. That’s something you can’t Tweet in 140 characters! NYT article http://kl.am/9dOt 10:40 PM Mar 21st via web
15. thatbradleyguy just found a very cool new website: http://bit.ly/2Sj0IV (it’s called muselife)
16. Your best online content begins with solid keyword research. Brush up on how to’s with these great tips from Copyblogger. http://kl.am/92sx
17. Creative marketing genious, Seth Godin: “You can’t out Amazon Amazon” & other gems. Great video interview about Linchpin. http://kl.am/8YSa
18. Eureka! Guy who dipped a chunk of ice cream in chocolate and invented Eskimo Pies had a creative genius idea. You can too. http://kl.am/8XpM
19. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about.” – Ben Franklin. Blogging is for Benjamins ($) http://kl.am/8UaU
20. Small biz spends higher % of total mktg budget on content. Why? Higher rankings, better brand building, cost-effective. http://kl.am/8SIo
21. Chris Brogan has some quick customer touch points to help you manage your social networking time and efforts wisely. http://kl.am/8S2I
22. SMBs fail at marketing online with content because they don’t niche small enough! Small is the new big, as Seth Godin says. http://kl.am/8PDp
23. Why grow your SMB? Small is a great destination in itself. Build a profitable, satisfying biz, and be happy! Tim Ferriss http://kl.am/8Nql
24. How self promotion online will change the world – P. Shankman at SXSW. Relevance, helpfulness, transparency are critical. http://kl.am/8Jm2
25. “Chances are that your job likes you precisely as much as you like it. But no more.” – N.Hill. Find the best in it. Focus. http://kl.am/8IOk
26. Spend your time creating thoughtful, valuable blog posts with your insights. Automate distribution to Facebook fan page, Twitter, LinkedIn.
27. tferriss too much focus on distribution, not enough on good content #sxsweird 7:30 PM Mar 14th via txt Retweeted by you and 8 others.
28. Online marketing success–not about magic SEO tricks or super PR insider connections, it’s fresh, relevant content. http://kl.am/8Ck5 #SXSW
29. Even a SMB needs a content strategy–fancy name for marketing plan. Determine your customer-focused message and goals. http://kl.am/8y4D
30. For SMB bloggers trying to figure out where and how to spend time on other social media efforts, CMO has a great chart. http://kl.am/8xJX
31. Local search is a hot topic in search engine optimization circles. How can you help your small biz be found by searchers? http://kl.am/8uHc
32. “The climb upward will be easier if you take others along with you.” Take the initiative. Inspire those around you. http://www.naphill.org/
33. 8 essential apps for your brand’s Facebook fan page, including Twitter, Notes, blog RSS, Flash, and Posted Items Pro. http://kl.am/8qrU
34. I just read a great post by Outspoken Media on “Personal Branding and Finding Your Naked Super Hero.” Found yours yet? http://kl.am/8mIh
35. “The surest way to promote yourself is to help others get ahead.”–Napoleon Hill http://kl.am/8kom Does your biz focus on clients’ success?
36. Want to start your own small biz? Go solo with consulting? Take this 2-minute quiz to see if you’re entrepreneur material. http://kl.am/8hd5
37. Want to use Twitter as a small biz private messaging IM group–for projects or customer support? Mashable has some tips http://kl.am/8aZv
38. Public speaking tips to nip negative tweets RT @mashable: 5 Ways to Use Twitter to Avoid a Backchannel Disaster – http://bit.ly/d5rOfm
39. Is your online biz ready? Google’s “caffeine” update is affecting your rankings now. Content–fresh, relevant, linked, social–is critical!
40. Got the “woulda, coulda, shoulda’s” about your affiliate marketing publisher site? Read SugarRae’s inspiring success story http://kl.am/87zd
41. “In the cacophony of voices, the leader is the one who can make sense of the din.” –Paul Gillin. Are you and your biz ‘din’ or ‘sense’?
42. You can get HBR case studies for $7. Check out the HubSpot Inbound Marketing case study to improve your online business. http://kl.am/81G7
43. Create case studies on your expertise and success stories, and share them on Facebook, Twitter, SlideShare for viral WOM. http://kl.am/80gO
44. How to build and promote your personal or SMB brand? Become an expert and act like a publisher. BNET tips from 7 gurus: http://kl.am/7Z8o
45. What’s Sprezzatura? Experts make it look easy with grace, elan and class. RT @ThisIsSethsBlog Seth’s Blog: Sprezzatura http://bit.ly/bzFurb

Update:  By the way, if you are looking for creative ways to find topics for your own expert blog, you can do the same type of post by “curating” your Twitter posts, IMs, Facebook fan page updates and other social media content. I wrote about this recently in the LinkShare blog on “Twitter Your Way to a Blog Post.” This technique also makes your Twitter posts more search-engine friendly for SEO value.