Keywords count

Just as with other types of search engine savvy, the keywords you use so that you are seen by real-time search engines have a big impact, too. Use relevant keywords in your titles and in your updates. For example, you could be writing content for your “Widget X” website and the latest and greatest product updates, so you can update what you’re doing on social networks like Twitter, too.

This real-time inclusion helps your subscribers and customers feel “in the know,” which is going to bring them closer to you and make them more likely to check you out and stay on top of things — and thus keeping them loyal to you, which also means more cash in your pocket.

What keywords should you use?

Just as with any search engine search, your Tweets or status updates should include those relevant keywords. That way, someone searching for content on those keywords is going to come up with your updates or your Tweets — which in turn will lead them to your site. Remember, if you want people to find your updates, you need to use the proper keywords so that they can keep finding and following you just because they’ve put those keywords into the real-time search engine.

What do you like about your favorite “Tweeter”?

If you follow someone on Facebook or Twitter, and just maybe they happen to be a little bit “famous” (even if they are simply an expert in their field and not a celebrity), what do you like about following them? You like the intimacy of being able to see up close what that person is doing, right? And just maybe, that makes you feel a little special, right?

You can use that to your advantage with your own followers. Even though yes, of course, the ultimate goal is to get people to go to your website and give you more business, it helps if your customers (and prospective customers) feel like they know you, too. So it’s okay to cultivate followers simply because you want them to follow you and not necessarily because they’ll become customers — although of course, they almost certainly will. And again, the best way to help these people find you is to use the proper keywords.

A learning curve?  Sure

As with “the good old days,” when we were learning about keyword optimization for regular search engines, so, too, is there going to be a learning curve when it comes to real-time searches. The thing is, though, if you get ahead of the curve, you’re also going to be the one to reap the benefits. So get in on real-time searches now by using the proper keywords in your updates. It’ll bring you a lot more visibility, a lot more traffic, and a lot more customers.

About the Author:

Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” – wants to help you leverage technology to reach your goals.  Need to know what YOUR keywords REALLY are? Contact Ken for a free initial consultation to see how the web can work for you.

According to Mr. Clay and other industry insiders, search engines are going to personalize your search results. This could be based on your past search history, your geographic location and perhaps even clues to your initial intent. For instance, if you are a computer programmer and search for “java” you will get different search results than another person in the same room who is a coffee importer. This is the first of many changes we may see early in 2009.

Third party tracking cookies and Google’s ability to research IP addresses are all key factors in what is to come. From your IP address, Google can (and in test markets, already does) return relevant search results that are close to home. For example, say, you live in Dallas Texas, and you search for a Toyota for sale, you will likely see dealerships in and around the Dallas area coming up first on your search page. This has the potential to be very helpful to business and searchers alike.

Another big change coming down the pike will be in the way of Universal Search. The “robots” used to crawl the web are going to become more complex. The variables in this new complex algorithm will tell them how interesting your site is. In other words, do you have video on your site? The ones that do are going to soar in rankings and those who do not… well; the only way left is down.
Web Surfers: Some Benefits/Drawbacks of Personalized Search

For the internet surfer you should see a lot less spam and irrelevant search results. That is good news, no more having to rummage through page after page of useless search results to find the information you want.

The drawback may be that it will be harder to get information outside of your “historical” search. Like the above example, what will the computer programmer do if he really wants to search for java, as in coffee?

There are also the few people left who still do not have access to high-speed internet connections. If the main results are going to be video-intensive, that could pose serious problems for those with dial-up’s infamously slow load times.
Business Owners: Changes will require you to integrate media and fresh content into your web sites.

The good news for local businesses is they will no longer have to compete for search results on a global level. It will be nice for the small business owner who is selling handmade baskets in Montana because he or she will not have to compete with someone in India!

The downside is everyone will have to get on board with video optimization in addition to SEO. This could prove challenging but not impossible. Video marketing is already becoming more common place on the web. The best advice from professionals is to create great relevant content, integrate video and other “sticky” content, and the customers will come.

Overall, it appears that Google is trying to improve web surfing for everyone, the surfer, and the merchant. When it all comes together and spammers have a harder time high skewing our results, we all win.

About the Author:
Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar”, is a veteran technology addict, consultant, author, and President of MidTN Technology, a marketing and web design firm.

Okay, if you’re a techno programmer geek, you get it. If not, Hello World is usually the first piece of software code you write as a beginner. I thought it fit, as this is my first blog post. Well, here anyway. The title of this post might seem a little cryptic, so please let me explain. I’m really accomplishing two things:

• I’m letting you know what MidTN Technology is all about.
• I’m totally exploiting the fact that search engines will pick up the keywords and this will help boost my ranking.

Does that make me bad? I don’t think so. As long as YOU benefit from visiting this site, all will be right with the world so let’s get started.

I’ve been fascinated by computers and the internet since the mid 1980’s, when personal computers were making their debut. Can you remember when the top of the line PC was a 286 Turbo, priced around $3500? That was just before Al Gore invented the internet. J At that time, the internet was not much more than an electronic bulletin board, with message turnaround time of about 24 – 48 hours, and a graphical interface like Prodigy was making waves.

At the time, I worked for Laser Computer, Inc., a computer manufacturer and subsidiary of Vtech (you probably recognize the name on your cordless phone, or kids Vflash. Since then, computers and programming have been my passion.

If you’d like to learn more about me and what I’m doing in Murfreesboro, visit the about page. But come back here for the good stuff.

We’ll be talking a lot about Web Design and Social Media, as that’s what we’re all about, but just so you know where we’re going, let’s clarify a few things. Some people call it Web 2.0, some call it social networking , and some call it New Media. But what is it? It’s communication. It’s marketing. It’s experiencing the internet in a more personal way. It’s developing a relationship with your website viewer. It’s a transfer of power from them to you, and more.

We’ll be discussing these issues and more, all in the hopes of helping you boost sales, increase customer retention, and incorporate this exciting new media into your business marketing in a way that is easy, effective, and profitable. Oh, and we hope you’ll let us help you with that.

Typically, the victim ends up on the first page of GOOBER with a keyphrase so irrelevant that it doesn’t get 10 searches WORLDWIDE in a month.