If any of you wonder why I have put so much energy into exposing the LocalAdLink scam and warning those considering LocalAdLink, refer to this comment from Blogger Kira_la on LocalAdLink - Is this unknown search directory worth advertising on

> "The $700 I invested may not seem like much to some people, but as a single mom, it makes me sick thinking about how many groceries I could have purchased with that and new school shoes. When I signed up for LAL I made sacrifices to do so because I wanted to improve my kids' lives and better our family financial future. Instead, I made things worse.

> "There have been times over the last few months that I have not wanted to go on. The stress from having my hopes dashed and the disappointment I feel from letting my children down is more than I can take. I see the big corporate people at LAL talking about how successful it is without actually backing it up. It makes me sick."


The LocalAdLink scam makes me sick.

Kira_la, I wish you the best of luck finding new ways to support your family. Your energy and enthusiasm will pay off with a company that provides a legitimate product or service. Unfortunately, LocalAdLink does neither.

Fortunately, LocalAdLink's false advertising is catching up with it. The LocalAdLink scam is in the process of collapsing.


See:
Another One Bites The Dust
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_(A_to_Z)/Stocks_B/threadview?m=tm&bn=93151&tid=645&mid=645&tof=1&frt=2

> "This will be the last email from this member site and the site will be shut down effective immediately.

> The reason for this decision is based on the following observations that are ProAdLink's opinion.

> 1. Checks are nearly a month behind AGAIN with some top producers reporting being owed as much as $10,000 or more in commissions.

> 2. No real live customer or rep support via telephone. Reports from the field are not good with regards to the new CRM. They still produce canned replies and nothing gets handled in a timely manner as promised.

> 3. Most important, the ads themselves are not giving a real, tangible return on investment to the endline user. The "geo targeting" is not accurate (ads pulled via an IP address 90 miles away is not local).

> The above three bullets are ProAdLink's opinion and you are free to decide whether or not you agree. But ProAdLink will no longer endorse LocalAdLink until these matters are resolved.

> Checks must go out on time and not bounce.

> Customers and Brand Builders must be able to pick up the phone and resolve issues with a support rep.

> You must be able to sell an ad to any small business in any town in the country and be able to show the business owner how he has benefited from that ad. The benefit would be real local people coming into his establishment from finding the ad online.


Apparently ProAdLink was one of the largest sellers of LocalAdLink. That they no longer endorse or will work with LocalAdLink is quite revealing about how LocalAdLink takes the money and returns nothing.

ProAdLink's Web sites have been taken offline:
www.proadlinkteam.com
www.training.proadlink.info

Also see:
LocalAdLink reps optimize for "LocalAdLink scam"

LocalAdLink is for the Greedy to Take from the Gullible

Search Marketing Scams to Avoid

LocalAdLink traffic dropped 1/3rd in June


Bye-bye, LocalAdLink. Do your executives have enough money left for attorneys?

Labels: Organic SEO, PPC Advertising, SEM Back to Basics

More often than you'd expect, keywords are not used within the main navigation of a Web site. You see "Who We Are", "What We Do", etc. Using generic words within your navigation hinders your organic search visibility. Instead of "What We Do", say what you actually do or what products you sell. "Books", "Investment Consulting", etc. Take advantage of free keyword research tools such as Google AdWords Keyword Tool, to find the most searched and relevant key phrases for your products / services and then use those phrases within your Web site's navigation.

Search engines follow links. That's how they crawl through your Web site and the Web as a whole. Search engines take the text for each link into great consideration. The links' text assists search engines in categorizing what your Web site is about and its overall focus. The link text is also used by search engines in determining how your Web site will rank within the search results.

All other factors null, a Web site with key phrases within links on the main navigation will have higher organic search visibility than a Web site that does not.

Labels: SEM Back to Basics

An article by Jeremiah Owyang, "The Future of the Social Web" predicts some changes that Social Networks, and the Internet as a whole are facing while becoming a 'shared social experience.'

Social Networks like Facebook and LinkedIn allow users to connect, share resources and ideas, communicate and so much more. Connection is at the heart of all Social Networks, yet the communities themselves are separate islands. Currently, your experiences within each Social Network are not seamlessly connected across the Internet. You have usernames to log into your Facebook account, other passwords for your email accounts, and a separate login altogether to get into your favorite ecommerce Web sites. We are developing relationships through Social Networks, but those relationships are confined within each Social Community.

Jeremiah believes that the Social Web is going to develop into something even larger and more connected than what it already is. In his article, Jeremiah states "Portable ID's and the changes they enable will transform how consumers and brands will use social networks to interact." He believes we will see the progress at work later this year, with the further development of technologies such as OpenID and Facebook Connect. These technologies are already opening the doors for users to integrate different facets of their online experience. Improvements to these technologies will allow people to create seamless Internet experiences, no matter what they're doing online.

Though this technology sounds exciting, it will be met with resistance. As the technologies give us a more social and personal Internet experiences, privacy issues may drive some people away. These portable IDs of the future will allow brands to know your gender, location, and other, more personal details, if you so choose. While this may have an amazing effect on personalized, relevant search results, it may also be too much information for some people to give.

Along with privacy issues, these changes in the Internet may lead to an overload of information and connections for some people. These hiccups that our technology may face illustrate the individuality of Internet users. For this technology to truly work, it has to take into account the personal needs and preferences of the users. The successful brands will be the ones that incorporate these changes, work with the technology, and allow consumers to integrate their technology preferences into their experiences with brands.

What are all these changes going to mean for businesses? For successful businesses, these changes are going to mean a shift in marketing and branding. The increase in interactivity will mean that businesses will need to rethink traditional advertising, and focus their budgets and attention on the Internet. Public Relations and Marketing initiatives will fall less on the shoulders of the brands, and be handled more by influential members of Social Networks. Learning how to reach those influential users, how to appeal to the masses on Social Networks, how to increase online visibility through both Social Networks and Search Engines will be the tickets to future online successes.

Companies will need to embrace these technologies, and actively work to brand themselves online, staying current with changing practices and trends. Times are changing; technologies are shifting faster than ever. Now is the time to begin adopting a proactive, forward thinking strategy for your future online.

Labels: Social Marketing

Why do so many LocalAdLink reps search optimize Web pages and place ads targeting "LocalAdLink scam?"

You can see this by searching LocalAdLink scam on Google. Look at the numerous ads from LocalAdLink reps targeting "LocalAdLink scam." You can also see pages and ads by LocalAdLink reps optimizing for "LocalAdLink scam" by searching on Bing and Yahoo.

Why is "LocalAdLink scam" so popular to optimize for?

First off, LocalAdLink makes fraudulent claims. It grossly overstates traffic claming "millions of visitors a day" whereas it attracts only a few hundreds of thousands of visitors each month. It claims partnerships with top Web sites, though it has no special relationships except for using Google AdWords content network where its ads occasionally appear on these sites. It promises commissions to its sales reps, though many LocalAdLink reps claim not being paid the commissions they are due.

Many in the search engine marketing and multilevel marketing (MLM) communities, as well as former LocalAdLink reps have noted how LocalAdLink is a scam. See:

Yahoo Finance - Beyond Commerce Message Board

Local Ad Link Review: It's a Scam People! Here's Why…

Watch Out for the Local Ad Link Scam!

Local Ad Link on Scam.com

Local Ad Link Reviews

LocalAdLink

LocalAdLink is a SCAM

Report: LocalAdLink, Local Ad Link, Local Ad Link MLM Scam

Local AdLink - Opportunity or Scam?

So there are many posts on the Web claiming LocalAdLink is a scam. No wonder so many Web pages from LocalAdLink and its reps are trying to knock these posts down in search results.

Nonetheless, the complaints are numerous and consistent. LocalAdLink does not deliver like it claims. The "millions of visitors a day" from top Web sites has never materialized into reality.

See my previous posts on LocalAdLink and search marketing scams:

LocalAdLink - Is this unknown search directory worth advertising on

LocalAdLink is for the Greedy to Take from the Gullible

Search Marketing Scams to Avoid

Also read more recent Blog posts -

LocalAdLink Scam is Collapsing

LocalAdLink traffic dropped 1/3rd in June

Supported with a PR and advertising blitz, Microsoft launched Bing to replace its MSN/Live search engine. Now that the hype has settled down a bit, let's consider the value of search results offered by Bing vs Google and Yahoo.

Search "cell phone" on each of the search engines. All populate search results with cell phone providers, vendors and reviews. Does any of the three return poor first page search results?

Bing shows cellphonessold.com in the #3 position. This site is a Blog about cell phone news of moderate value. It does not belong in such a lofty search position.

Two other first page positions go to phonedog.com which misspells "Cingular" in one of its page titles. A top site should not have misspellings of a featured brand.

If Bing was a well-tuned search engine, then it would not show two search positions to the same site for such a popular search phrase. Besides phonedog.com, Bing displays multiple first page search positions for cnet.com and wirefly.com. These are strong sites, but one search position is enough.

One last bang on Bing. One of the "Videos of cell phone" includes a news report about the protests in Iran over its election. What does this have to do with cell phones?

All in all, Bing is slightly better than MSN/Live.

Google search results are all relevant providers, vendors and reviews. There are no multiple listings to the same Web site. There are recent news, local dealers, recent Blog posts, books, and searches related to cell phone. Google displays quality, relevant and diverse search results as we have come to expect from it.

Yahoo search results show relevant providers, vendors, reviews and news. What it does not display that both Bing and Google offer is local cell phone dealers. Why is Yahoo not geo-targeting? This is 2009 after all.

Yahoo also has the fewest first page organic search results and the most paid ads compared with Bing and Google.

These are signs that Yahoo is falling further behind Google and now Bing.

In summary, Bing is better than MSN but still not up to the standard set by Google. Yahoo is not advancing its search engine as it should and will likely lose more market share.

As the third most trafficked site on the World Wide Web, Facebook has quickly become THE online community to be part of as both a person and a business. With over 200 million active users and 600,000 new users joining every day, there are many ways for you to connect, promote and expand your business on the free social networking site. The trick is to understand what Facebook can offer your company and how to correctly and efficiently utilize the tools to build and maintain relationships; as well as how to effectively communicate with your consumers.

To start, there are two ways to be an active user on Facebook. The first and most common way is to create a Personal Profile. This is simply becoming part of the community as a person and not an organization. Unfortunately, many businesses mistakenly use a profile instead of the second and more business-specific option. This alternative is called the Business Page and it offers options to promote your company that the Personal Profile does not. Compared side-by-side the Personal Profile and Business Page look almost identical, but knowing which one to use important.

Creating a popular and engaging Business Page is easily done by following the guidelines that E-Power recommends for Web sites - the content has to be appealing to the target audience and engaging to keep them interested today and tomorrow. Content on your Business Page starts with your company's description and can include any of the following:

• Company and product news - New team members, revamped product packaging, industry awards and more are all things that can and should be shared with your fans.

• Videos and photos - Multimedia is a great way to entertain and keep fans coming back, create some fun videos for amusement and instructional clips for education and post photos of your facility, company outings or current projects.

• Resourceful links - Not just links to your company website, but to sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and other locations where you are interacting with audiences.

• Blog posts - Your writing should be shared and the Business Page wall is a great place to post blurbs of your recent posts with links back to your Blog.

• Facebook applications - There are hundreds, maybe thousands of fun, interactive applications available for you to place in your Business Page. Find some that relate to your business and industry or create your own.

• Thoughts and Discussions - Word of mouth is a strong influencer and Facebook is all about creating that two-way communication. Take advantage of being able to speak with your fans and find out what they are thinking, it's invaluable.

Taking your company to Facebook to effectively connect, promote and expand your business can be easily done when the correct guidelines are followed. Your Business Page should be an online location where customers can interact with and discuss your brand and products. The key is to keep it fresh and interesting so your fans and their friends are drawn in.

Labels: Social Marketing

This week, Facebook announced the availability of usernames for Facebook user profiles and business pages beginning at 12:01 am EDT Saturday, June 13, 2009. This announcement means that you will be able to create a personalized URL for your Facebook page. This option is available for both personal profiles and business pages. These names will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, as long as the names meet the Facebook requirements.

Create your Facebook username for both profiles and pages on Saturday June 13th, 2009.

The username you choose must have at least five characters and can only be made up of alpha-numeric characters (A-Z, 0-9), or a period("."). The Facebook username you choose cannot be changed in the future or even transferred to another account once it has been submitted for a certain account. Plan carefully when choosing your username.

Requirements for Creating Facebook Usernames for Business Pages
Facebook has established a set of criteria that Business Pages need to meet in order to claim their usernames. The Facebook business page has to have been online via Facebook since May 31, 2009. The business page also had to have had at least 1,000 fans as of May 31, 2009.

Requirements for Creating Facebook Usernames for Personal Profiles
To create a username for your Facebook profile on June 13th you must have joined Facebook prior to June 9th, 2009. If you were not a Facebook member before June 9th you will be able to choose your username beginning June 28th.

Preventing the Registration of a Trademark
Concerned about your trademark being used as a username? Facebook has a form that is already available to protect against this sort of thing. You must use the correct Trademarked name and have the Trademark registration number in order to complete this form.

Facebook Fan Base Too Small?
There has been a lot of talk and concern from small businesses about the 1,000 fan requirement on the Facebook business pages. Facebook claims they have instituted this requirement in order to protect companies, and guard against squatting, if you fall into the category of a business page without enough fans to claim a username yet, please be sure to protect your trademarked name through the form mentioned above, and stay tuned for further opportunities for smaller businesses to get access to the personalized URLs.

Additional Resources
Still have questions regarding the Facebook Username changes and how it may affect your Facebook experience? Follow these links from Facebook for more information...

• Facebook Blog post regarding profile usernames


• Form to Reserve trademarked names


• Frequently asked questions about Facebook Business Pages


• Frequently asked questions about the Facebook Usernames

E-Power Marketing will have posts relating to this topic in the near future. We'll soon have a post on how to make Facebook effective for your company, and another post discussing where the Social Web is headed in the future.

Labels: Social Marketing

The trend is clear. The Web changed everything. Certainly marketing will never be the same.

Newspapers are dying because the Web provides faster, more in-depth information. Online retail sales are exploding. A generation has no idea what magazine bingo cards are.

The Web is the best way to connect with your audience. How well are you doing it?

Consider The Two Secret Ingredients to Search Marketing Success. They are Engagement and Commitment.

Are you engaged and committed on the Web? Are you reaching out on the Web engaging your audience to gain feedback so you can conduct business more effectively? Are you committing the resources to educate your audience about better ways of doing things so they look to you as the expert? Are you committed to strengthening your presence on the Web?

If you are not, know that some of your competitors are. In the process they are gaining a competitive edge on the Web. Can you afford to be left behind your competitors on the Web?

Labels: SEM Back to Basics, Social Marketing

I blogged LocalAdLink – Is this unknown search directory worth advertising on? because it is easily confirmed that LocalAdLink's claim of "millions of visitors a day" is fraudulent. Even LocalAdLink's own press release stated that its visitor traffic for March 2009 was only 500,000.

I felt an obligation to warn people that this service would not deliver the traffic it claims, making it expensive with little return. Most know how marketing on the Web is important, but few understand how it works. This makes too many business owners gullible to sales reps promising results, especially if the reps are their friend, family or search marketer.

LocalAdLink's MLM get rich scheme energized greed in tens of thousands of people. Even search marketers who should have analyzed LocalAdLink traffic and seen that the claims are malarkey pushed this product.

I really question the competency of search marketers who offer LocalAdLink. Either they do not understand how search engines operate, or they are greedy. Either way their clients who bought LocalAdLink should fire their search marketer.

To search marketers pushing LocalAdLink, why are you selling this? Why do you think LocalAdLink is ethical search engine marketing? If you claim it is generating traffic, please provide data.

See more recent Blog posts:

LocalAdLink reps optimize for "LocalAdLink scam"

LocalAdLink Scam is Collapsing

LocalAdLink traffic dropped 1/3rd in June

Labels: Organic SEO, PPC Advertising, SEM Back to Basics

After a week in Seattle for the SMX Advanced Search Engine Marketing Conference, not only did I come back with a lot of great tips and confirmation, I got to thinking about different strategies, avenues, etc and came to discover the two secret ingredients for Search Marketing success - Commitment and Engagement.

Engagement

"Social media has overtaken email as the most popular consumer activity according to a recent Nielsen study. Importantly, consumer growth is coming from an older demographic than social media's historical base; for example, Facebook's strongest growth is coming from 35-49 year olds adding twice as many 50-64 year olds as opposed to those under 18. (Nielson "Global Faces & Networked Places," March 9, 2009; MediaPost Blogs Research Brief, "Social Networking Is No Respecter of Age," March 18, 2009.)"

Source: iab. Social Advertising Best Practices, Released May 2009.

As a business you need to engage your customers from the start. You may not be on Twitter, but I can almost guarantee your customers are. You may not like Facebook, but the market does. Your market is all over the web, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, or YouTube. Research your competitors, I bet some of them are already ahead of the game. Your competitors could be attracting customers that otherwise would have came to you.

Not only do you need to engage your customers on Social Media avenues, but also on your web site. Incorporate interactive features on your web site. Add a blog, videos, a photo gallery, polls and questionnaires, news, etc. Provide visitors a reason to be engaged on your web site. By keeping visitors engaged on your web site not only do you keep them onsite longer, but they usually come back again for more.

Commitment

In order to achieve engagement with your customers you must also provide a great deal of commitment. Being engaged on various Social Media avenues and to your web site requires a considerable amount of time and expertise. Your business must be committed to providing the resources necessary in order for your Search Marketing program to thrive.

Sure, anyone can "tweet", but can they "tweet" effectively in reaching your business objectives and goals. Can they be active on Twitter making your tweets a resourceful avenue? Someone can quickly throw up a Facebook Business Page, but can they turn it into an interactive hub for customers to ask questions and discuss your products or services?

If your business is not completely committed to search marketing efforts, the program will not reach its full potential. Your business needs to be committed to designing a search friendly web site, continually adding content and growing the web site, being active on various Social Media networks and opening up the direct line of communication with customers. If top management isn't on board your success on the web will be limited.

An integrated Search Marketing program including Organic Search Engine Optimization, Pay per Click Advertising and Social Media Marketing along with an engaged and committed core on behalf of the business equals the potential for long lasting success on the web.

Labels: Organic SEO, PPC Advertising, Social Marketing