The Social Media Handyman

We do it, some of us to a greater degree than others, but as I write this post the ticker above my head in the right sidebar is about to trip the 36,000 member mark. Over 1,700 are online at this moment.

To what do I refer? Specifically, the social networking/blogging going on here at AR. Generally, I'm referring to the social networking going on across the entire spectrum of business world-wide. There's a lot of it and it's not all on MySpace. In fact, niche-sites are popping up all the time.

In terms of business, LinkedIn was the first I came across. More recently, some guy has been trying to get me to join Ecademy.com, which I think is a UK-based site. Facebook has morphed from a college student only site to one open to businesspeople.

A recent survey, done by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, found that "some 65% of business professionals are connecting via personal and professional social networking websites."

LinkedIN is the most popular business social network at this point, followed by Yahoo 360 (which I've never used) and MySpace. 

Here's a short list of benefits to using social networks for business purposes:

1. Low-cost -  Many of these sites are either free or very low-cost to join
2. Great for building a referral network
3. Grow list of colleagues - AR is a perfect example
4. Create mutually-beneficial alliances
   
5. Build relationships with customers - turn customers into friends
   
6. Presence on search engines - has SEO/SEM advantages
7. Way to build credibility as a trusted resource or advisor
   
8. Good for viral/word-of-mouth marketing
   
9. Another tool to build your brand 
10. Another channel for advertising
    
    

Social networks where I'm a member
Just so you'll know, here's my list of social networking sites where I'm a member:

• Active Rain - but you knew that already
• LinkedIN - If you're a LI member, join my network would ya? 
• Facebook - Just started this one
• MySpace - I don't do anything with this page
• MyBlogLog -Yes, that's a social network
• Twitter - That too

Your turn
I'd really like to hear from you on two fronts: a) What sites do you belong to and/or consider critical? b) What do you see as the business advantages to social networking?

I just know I'm going to get a rep as a sideshow barker. Last week I was was shilling for my son's blog submission business and today I'm pitching an online store called Bloggerwear. But, it's not a mere sales pitch. I've got a story to tell. 

Truth is, I was meandering around on the web the other day and came across a site I had completely forgotten about, a little online store a blogger friend of mine and I started on a whim a couple of years ago.

We were promoting something called the Professional Bloggers Association and decided to create a line of T-shirts, mugs and stuff to help pay for it. Long story short, the PBA never came to fruition and I forgot about the store. I was surprised to see it still up and running, lo these many months later. 

Well, I decided to spiff it up, removing old products that were PBA-related, and focusing on creating products using two ideas, "I Love Blogging" and "What is a blog?" 

There's all kinds of stuff in there: T-shirts, caps, mugs, a wall clock, mousepad, a shirt for your dog, baby bib, and even a...uh-hum...thong. 

If you're in the mood for some blogger swag or just want to declare your undying love for blogging check out the store, Bloggerwear.com.

PS: Did I mention that a portion of every sale goes to charity. Well, it does.

PSS: If you have an idea for a product or slogan you'd like to see included -- maybe something specific to real estate, I'll add it. Just leave a comment.  

The other was a book review in Newsday.com, which contained the following quotes…

“The authors subscribe to the notion that traditional real estate marketing techniques, such as cold calling and open houses, ‘won’t cut it in the 21st century.’ The new marketing edge? Blogging. Although this technique hasn’t hit its stride within the real estate community, the duo believe it will.

“Topics include the basics, such as blog content and length. Statistics, quotes, tips and examples of real blogs are provided along the way. One might need a magnifying glass to read some of the example boxes and blogs, though. (That’s true actually. Some images are on the smallish side.)

“Veteran bloggers can skip this book. The unenthusiastic novice will most likely yawn, while those who are highly ambitious with a pioneer spirit may get the most out of it.”

The trouble with that last statement is that there are relatively few “veteran” real estate bloggers. 

One more little tidbit. I just talked with the husband of Susie Gardner, who is updating and rewriting Blogging For Dummies, originally published by Wiley in January of last year. He tells me it's pretty much a complete rewrite. I don't know the release date, but he says she's well into it. BTW, Susie is the same lady who wrote Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies. 

Since I'm talking about Dummies books, Lisa Sabin-Wilson, the author of WordPress For Dummies, is in the editing process and will be released later this year.

One more thing...It's actually crossed my mind a time or two to write a proposal to pitch to Wiley for Typepad For Dummies. Some of you use Typepad, don't you? Anyway, it crossed my mind. 

Back to further discussion about the SEO Ranking Factors report...

In past posts on the search engine ranking report, more than once the issue of anchor text has come up, so I want to address it today.

One of my favorite quotes in the report on the topic of anchor text says, "Unless you want to rank for 'click here,' you had better start using targeted anchor text wherever and whenever possible." 

Before I go any further, let me cite a definition of the term. Anchor text is simply the visible hyperlinked text contained within a blog post or web page. For example, if I reference another blog post, instead of saying "Click here to read the post," I can insert the hyperlink into text that utilizes keywords relevant to the topic. Basically, that's what I did in the two links you see above.

But, how significant is anchor text in terms of SEO?

The participants in the ranking report gave it mixed reviews...

Marcus Tandler - Anchor Text is still the single most important factor

Jill Whalen - Another biggie.

Rae Hoffman - I think it matters, for sure. But, I think you need additional items besides just anchor text.

Eric Ward - Like all things, yes and no. Depends on the site giving and the site getting. 

OK, so if these folks can't completely agree on its worth, what do others have to say?

An article in WebProNews on anchor text optimization (See, I did it again) says, "The inclusion of important keywords in the anchor text can make a big difference in the final ranking of your site pages. All search engines that matter, give significant weight to the anchor text on your pages." (BTW, this article is a pretty good tutorial on how to use anchor text.)

One topic the article addresses is link-building campaigns - that is, getting others to link to your site from theirs. That's one thing I love about blogs. Linking is woven into its fabric. But, how can you assure that the blogger linking to you uses relevant anchor text in the hyperlink? Well, you can't. But, you can influence it by using keywords in your post title.

I have to admit, using keyword-optimized anchor text doesn't come as second nature to me. I have to think about it...and I don't always. That's partially because I'm less concerned than I should be sometimes about whether I rank well. Nonetheless, you know as well as I, it's a good practice to put into play.  

Now, your turn...let me hear from you on this topic.  

I have to admit that what you are about to read is a bit promotional. Not for me though, but for my son, Alan.

Back in the days when I ran a business blog consulting agency - Radiant Marketing Group it was called - my son, Alan, worked with me in submitting client blogs to an extensive list of blog directories and search engines, as well as major engines like Google and Yahoo. He's now started his own business providing that service. It's something he's very adept at and enjoys doing.

More on that in a minute. Let me talk about why I think submitting your site to these various and sundry directories is a good idea, regardless of whether you do it yourself or get someone to do it for you.

First of all, the list to which I refer is known as Robin Good Top 55, though now there are well over 200 such directories and engines included on the list. Here's what the list's creator has to say...

"As more and more people get involved with the Internet and as more Web sites, blogs, news services and other online resources continue to grow in number and variety it becomes increasingly important to maintain high visibility and exposure for the content being generated.

Until now the web was populated by Web sites and other HTML-based content pages, and the main vehicle for reaching content has been the large use of major search engines and directories.

As a rapidly increasing number of content sources, new and old, migrate or add RSS as a key distribution channel, and as more people utilize RSS newsreaders and aggregators to keep themselves informed, the ability to maintain high exposure and visibility is gradually shifted from a complete attention to major search engines and content optimization techniques to an increasing awareness of RSS feed directories and search tools."

Here's what the About.com Web Search guide had to say about blog submission: "If you haven’t already submitted to blog directories, you are missing out on some great one-way links. Many of the top directories can be found on Robin Good's Top 55 list."

Personally, I think there are two distinct advantages to submitting your blog to these blog-specific directories and search engines, which is why we offered this service to clients back during the Radiant Marketing days to begin with:

1. Added Google Juice - To one degree or another, these site have authority with Google. As such, having links from these have bearing on your PageRank and standing in Google. I'm not suggesting that simply by having your blog (and your RSS feed) listed on these sites will suddenly vault you up the rankings so that your blog is achieving first page returns. I am suggesting that inclusion in these directories will help. It is yet another way to build incoming links to your site and serves as another promotion strategy.
   
   (BTW, some of these sites do a good job of in promoting themselves via SEO, and it's not unusual to see them showing up in front page returns on Google keyword searches.)
   
   
2. More ways for readers to find you - These blog directories and search engines not only have relevance to search engines, but have real human beings who use them as well. It's yet another way for people to find you based on category and keywords. 

Special Offer to Active Rain members

Normally, Alan will submit a blog to 100 of the most relevant of these directories/search engines for $99. However, he has, at my request, agreed to offer Active Rain members submission to 150 of the most relevant of these sites for that price. Considering the work involved, that's a very good deal, folks!

Here's the information you need to send him:

• Your name
• Blog URL
• RSS Feed URL
• Contact information including address, phone number, and email address
• A 200 word description of your site (less than 200 words is fine, but not more than that)
  
• A list of relevant keywords
• A list of relevant categories (obviously 'real estate' would be one of those)

Once he has that information (and your payment of $99) he will begin the process which usually takes a couple of weeks. When the process is completed he will send you an Excel spreadsheet containing the list of sites he's submitted to and whether the submission was accepted by a given site. (Just because a site is submitted doesn't always mean it's accepted, but normally it is.)

You could do this yourself of course. However, it is a time-consuming process that is manually done. That's the best way to ensure inclusion as each of these sites require different information. The basic being the blog URL and/or the blog RSS feed URL.

I personally vouch that Alan will do a good, comprehensive job for you and in a timely manner. He just provided this service to Ines and I think she would vouch for him as well. 

He is in the process of getting a website up to promote the service, but it's not finished. In the meantime, you can contact him via email. His address is: achaney82@gmail.com. He takes payment via PayPal.

Finally, I hope you don't mind too much that I'm schilling for my son, but, well, he's my son and, as his dad, I couldn't be happier that he's taking an entrepreneurial step to provide a useful service to bloggers.

PS: He's not a bad looking kid either, despite the fact that I'm his father! :-)