Fan pages are great but a fan page with no fans is like a car without fuel or a driver without a driving licence. In order to get the most reach and views on your page you need as many likes as possible. Before you start sending messages to all your former school friends asking to join your page think about your audience and what you want to achieve. A strategy is needed so you target the right people on your page…

Business to business targeting – One of the most common responses we have received from business owners on Facebook advertising campaigns is “I don’t think Facebook is for us”. Many times people have a existing pre conception that Facebook is where their teenagers “hang out” chat about random events and generally waste their time. If you ruled out Facebook for business you could be making a big mistake. So how do you target for a business that is B2B ?

1. Sell the dream - As the owner of a business you have one thing in mind and that is making more money or generating more sales. Tap into this when you choose your ads image. Images like this will increase your ads click through rations and reduce your cost for fan via sponsored listings.

2. Keep it simple – When writing your ad copy keep it to a one line sentence and keep it simple. “Click Like” if you want to get more sales or Do you want to improve your business in 2012 “Click Like” now to find out how.

3. Spy on your existing fans interests – Make the effort to find out what your existing fans like or are interested in and tailor content accordingly. Dead Facebook fans on a page need to be engaged to bring them back alive and active.

4. Smile ! people respond to faces its called Facebook remember – Its easy to forget the basics of what makes Facebook so popular its faces. Including Happy faces will improve your ads responses and like numbers and drive down that fan acquisition cost.

Pick your favourite baby – Follow this same strategy when deciding on the best image to use for your ads.

5. Target, target , target – Did you know ? there are 2680 people currently studying at Oxford university that are Single ? Use Education and Workplace targeting to drill down to the right audience.

Lancashire businesses who wish to take advantage of online marketing’s many benefits, should really consider establishing a Facebook fan page. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter has been steadily increasing in importance throughout last year – and this trend is only set to increase in 2012.

Facebook fan pages are not just for personal users or enthusiasts, they have an important business function too, which Lancashire businesses can harness for their own good. They allow companies to connect with a much wider audience, throughout and beyond the Lancashire catchment area, for example.

Here’s another 10 reasons why Lancashire businesses should seriously consider setting up a Facebook fan page in 2012:

1. A huge market awaits! Facebook has over 600 million users alone, with half of this number logging on every day and spending around an hour surfing the site. Imagine how many of these are in the Lancashire area alone – then become aware of the fantastic possibilities for your business this provides!

2. Facebook provides its own analytics. With the Insights feature, Lancashire companies can track the demographics of their “fans”, sorting them by age, location and gender – thus helping you better target your marketing efforts. Comments on the page can also be tracked, helping to boost content.

3. Fan pages give you a branding opportunity. Lancashire-based companies can personalise their fan pages with their logo, bespoke backgrounds and designs – in fact, any “look” they desire to create a unique online presence.

4. There’s no limits! Unlike personal Facebook profiles, which only allow a maximum of 5,000 “friends”, there is no limit to the numbers a fan page can have – and the pages enable you to communicate directly with the fans, promoting special offers or informing of new products. For Lancashire businesses, they will be able to amass an ever-growing customer base, and communicate with them simultaneously.

5. Fan pages are great for SEO and Google. Because Google fully indexes fan pages, anything posted there will show up during an appropriate Google search, unlike personal profile content or a Facebook group. For businesses in the Lancashire area, this means that anyone in the area searching for the services your company provides will be able to find your fan page on Google – whereupon you can show them why you are the right choice!

5. Open entry. Facebook fan pages are open environments, where anyone who discovers the page can become a fan. This is unlike Facebook profiles or groups, where invitations need to be issued, or requests accepted. With potential customers in the Lancashire area stumbling upon your page via Google, they will be able to “try before they buy”.

6. High interactivity. Personal communication goes a long way in the modern digital marketing world, and fan pages are an excellent way to achieve this. Facebook fan pages mean a company can share content, videos or anything else they choose with thousands of potential customers – in Lancashire and beyond – absolutely free. This brings us to…

7. Free multimedia opportunities. Companies with a fan page can use it to upload as many files, pictures, videos, brochures and sound files as they want, with no extra charge. Compare this with the additional bandwidth charges levied by a traditional provider and you will soon see what a tremendous opportunity for engaging with your customer base this represents. Response rates to videos are much higher than just text.

8. Create events. When used together, Facebook fan pages and Facebook events are a powerful marketing tool. Fans can be swiftly informed about events or happenings related to your business in the Lancashire area.

9. Facebook fan pages direct traffic your way. All forward-thinking Lancashire businesses ought to have their own dedicated website, and fan pages are a great way to introduce first-time visitors to the site, by setting up the page as a mini-version – complete with ability to place orders or make enquiries. Facebook and the sponsored listings available also offer an excellent way of reaching your audience via a specific demographic.

10. Fan page design offers a great way to provide a highly professional presence for your business online. Engage with your audience on a regular basis and form a special relationship with your client base…

Google webmaster videos are the holy grail of Webmasters and Internet marketing professionals across the globe. Matt Cutts and the team at Google provide information and training via the channel. We decided it would be a great idea to list the videos with the most views so here are the Top 5 Google Webmaster videos -

1. – Google Webmaster Tools

Introduction to Google Webmaster Tools. Learn more: http://www.google.com/webmasters

2. – Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web ranking

3. – Using Webmaster Tools like an SEO

4. – Canonical Link Element

5. – Improving website performance with Page Speed

Businesses can’t get away from social media these days. If you’re operating a start up, or managing an established business, you’ve got to have a social media campaign strategy. Many businesses are on board with using Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to promote their brand, attract new clients, and hold contests in exchange for retweets, new followers, Facebook likes, +1s and the like. This is all well and good, but one thing I think a lot of businesses are missing out on is the opportunity to connect with their clients. After all, everyone responds better to being treated like a human being than being subjected to a constant, one-sided stream of advertising.

Let’s talk about Twitter, for example. Twitter has been a smash hit since its launch in 2006, and people have been figuring out what to use it for ever since. Its popularity and social penetration obviously make Twitter a candidate for any business, but using it effectively takes some planning.  Besides the obvious uses (posting photos of your lunch, retweeting George Takei) Twitter presents a great medium for providing quick customer service and fostering good client relationships. Many problems a client may have can easily be answered in 140 characters or less. If a bit more explanation is needed, you can always use a tweet to invite your client to email or call for a more in-depth conversation.

Twitter is also a great way to keep in touch with what people are saying about your company or your industry. There are multiple Twitter applications for computers, phones and tablets, and saving a search with a few choice keywords is easy enough. But simply listening in on conversations isn’t enough. Being proactive is a must for your social media strategy. However, it can be a bit difficult to find the right tone of voice. Some companies’ Twitter feeds come across as too stilted, too spammy, or tweet too often or not enough. Twitter is largely an informal means of communication, but you still must take care to represent yourself and your company well. This doesn’t mean you can’t be yourself. Take a look at Zappos’ Twitter feed  for a great example of how to combine customer service, personability and brand promotion.

What value does this have? Pretend you’re a potential client for a minute, instead of the CEO of Company X. You’ve heard all about Company X and how its amazing widgets, so you take a look at Company X’s Twitter feed. Which would you rather see? A one-sided stream of promotions, specials, deals and contests, or Company X having conversations with clients in a straight forward, friendly manner? Communication is the key to every successful relationship, and this holds true in business. Twitter isn’t offering anything new – just another way to interact with other human beings. I’m a firm believer that everyone speaks to captive audiences, to one degree or another. And what do we talk to our friends about? That’s right! Last night’s episode of True Blood, and business. If Client A has need of your widgets, odds are pretty good he knows Potential Clients B, C and D, who work in similar fields, have similar needs or are otherwise interested in your widgets. The better you treat Client A, the likelier you’ll convert him or her into a brand ambassador.

Don’t get me wrong: Twitter is absolutely the medium for quick announcements of promotions, but this should not be the only thing your company is using Twitter for. If you’ve ever tweeted about an iPad2, you’ve likely gotten a reply from the worst way to use Twitter: an automated bot. The best way to promote yourself on any social media platform is to be human, be interesting and be worth the trouble of following.

Tyler Moore lives in Indianapolis and works as an SEO consultant. When he isn’t busy trying to cram his hilarious observations into 140 characters, he consults with DocRaptor, a Ruby on Rails application that allows users to convert HTML to PDF or Excel format.

The ultimate clique term right ? It seems every man and his dog who has a good day in the office suddenly is a Hero. “Heros”, “Experts” an SEO’s brain becomes immune to such superbly. Recipients of the title Hero should be people of the highest order, achievers, winners…

So I am here to argue why Rand Fishkin is fully deserving of this title due to his contribution, achievements and developments with SEO Moz which are of the highest order.

On that rainy Wednesday afternoon or that point in the week when things are not going to plan. The useful tools and community on SEO Moz are there to help unlock those problems…

But its much more than just a helpful tool. The Q & A’s and the very existence of SEO Moz and Rand helps bring a figure head for the industry. An industry where making friends with fellow SEOs in the UK especially is difficult as it is such a competitive arena.The SEO industry doesn’t need characters like Alec Baldwin in Glen Garry Glenross who have left real estate and have “brass balls” . It needs more people like Rand Fishkin…

A figure head, an authority, a trend setter and role model for SEO’s to follow was well overdue.

Ok Rand openly admitted on email to me – he found it difficult as a consultant making his company grow so then moved into the development of software. But the passion and enthusiasm he and his colleagues bring to the table with the Whiteboard Fridays and highly intuitive blogs posts. Enlighten an intuitive SEO looking for inspiration..

A reminder to me and many others who started off in the business in the first place why they did. A memento of the past and injection of energy across the industry. I don’t want this to turn into some blatant attempt and cheap way of getting some back links from sucking up to Rand I do genuinely mean all of the above. We are great believers that not enough people are encouraged and told “wow your doing a really great job”. Rand you just had your 15 minutes of fame on the blog.

Ok here is the fun part I mentioned to Rand I have been a big fan for a while and also with the recent Movember events I decided to emulate Rand with his “Man beard” Take a look here at the results…

Garry Pickles grows a beard like Rand Fishkin ...

Why not show your pride and display your “Rand Fishkin is my SEO Hero” banner on your site. Below is a 125×125 banner -

Keep up the great work Rand and the team at SEO Moz.

Using Facebook to stay in touch with friends and family has become such a natural online activity for millions of people across the planet. It is so addictive ! Status updates, like buttons, photo galleries and communities. It is so easy to see why ! So when a new Social media platform arrives you start asking the question “Why try and reinvent the wheel?”, “If its not broke why fix it” and so on …

Google is the king of search the practice of searching for products, services or interests online but Facebook is pulling in the other direction you don’t search for information the information finds you via a ever updating newsfeed. Facebooks recent dominance and increases in traffic have meant Google has had to stand up and take notice.

This is in my opinion the natural course of evolution for the internet. Speed and delivery is increasing but more so the means in which information is changing. So Google is quite rightly changing with the times. Yesterday we discussed the change in Algorithm across the net . The great guys at SEO Moz including Rand Fishkin dedicated their popular series of “Whiteboard Fridays” to the Google Freshness update. The Google Freshness update looks at the age and freshness of the release of an article or webpage which in turn will determine its relevance and ranking on Google.

I had just joined Google Plus a few months back and decided to start adding people to my circle. I notice a few celebrities Hugh Jackman for instance, I had always liked his portrayal of wolverine so I added him and then spotted British Chairman of the Virgin Group Richard Branson so I quickly added him to my circle hoping I could gain some interesting insights.

Since the release of Google plus I have spoken to several people including clients recommending they join. It is not known the overall percentage factor of how the Google plus button effects rankings but it does effect rankings. Now going back to Facebook a few days later I search for Facebook on Google which I tend to do instead of going direct to the destination url.

I found the following -

Yes thats right Google plus effecting rankings and Richard Branson is at the top of the list above Hugh Jackman. I then asked why is Richard Branson above Hugh Jackman in the rankings (I know not many people have asked this before right).

see below Richard is in more circles than Hugh.

It is well worth taking 15 minutes to sign up and get to know the platform so you can keep ahead of the game like Richard.

Long recognised as one of the fastest-growing internet marketing companies in the Lancashire region, staff at Online Media Direct celebrated this week after discovering that the Rawtenstall-based company is now ranked as one of the top ten in the whole of the UK by search engine giant Google when it comes to searches under the term “internet marketing”.

Based at the Kingfisher Centre in Rawtenstall, Online Media Direct has managed to successfully combine a strong local sensibility with a national – and occasionally international – reach. The company has helped numerous companies in Lancashire and across the UK increase their visibility online, their own rankings on Google and other search engines, plus greatly increased site traffic and conversions.

Online Media Direct managing director Garry Pickles said: “I am thrilled that our hard work has paid off and that such an indispensable internet tool as Google has placed us in its top ten rankings. This is an endorsement of the full-inclusive, high-quality service that Online Media Direct provides.”

Services available from Online Media Direct include:

•    All-in-one internet marketing solutions
•    Affordable Search Engine Optimisation
•    Cost per click management
•    Competitor analysis
•    Blog setup services
•    Social networking campaigns
•    Article writing services
•    Outsource your internet marketing
•    Link building campaigns
•    Google adwords professionals
•    Keyword analysis
•    Google analytics

Notes for Editors:

Online Media Direct is based in north west England at The Kingfisher Centre, Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire, BB4 8EQ
Reg. Company No.6103468
Vat Number : 906 7714 12