Pittsburgh SEO – SEM – SEA | Internet Marketing and Website Design | Blackball Online

Twitter is Self Cleansing

As we have gone through the process of learning to use Twitter for our business we have tried to take you with us for the ride. We have learned many things along the way which are listed in the Twitter category of the Blackball Online SEO Newsblog. We have travelled this road without a map. None exists that I know of. There are no rules of the road on Twitter. It’s more like asking for directions every so many miles in the Wild West.

We have tried to be courteous of others as we would have them return the favor to us. We have had our share of missteps and been loved and scorned for the exact same practices, go figure. To each their own. With such a wide open medium which is still finding its way, I see no reason to chastise a Twitter user for something that I may find in bad taste or annoying. That is my problem. I just unfollow or pay no attention. Can you imagine walking down the street and having everyone tell you everything they think is annoying? I may never leave the house.

I personally have had a follower DM me for tweeting too much for his liking. Well, unfollow me. That’s OK. I am not about to go to his place of business and set the hours he can open his doors. In retrospect I may have been a little overzealous, it happens. Twitter has set the limit for this and many other things like Twitters you can follow in a day, Tweets per hour, API calls, etc. That is the ultimate law of the land.

In another article Eight Twitter Habits That May Get You Unfollowed or Semi-Followed, the writer goes on to say what is annoying to him. This is fine. That’s what it’s all about, open discussion. Everyone sees and uses Twitter in a different way. That is the beauty of the medium. Like I’ve previously stated, there is no road map.

As reported in the BBC News at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8204842.stm, “Twitter tweets are 40% babble.” We say one person’s babble is another person’s bullion. Gold that is. Define babble by the way. In my estimation it is an opinion; All subjective and all fine.

If you are truly involved in the conversation, and you don’t like it, change it. Everyone has their own personal or business uses for Twitter. It’s uncharted territory. What is important or interesting to me may not be your cup of tea. Part of the beauty of Twitter, and of this world, is that we can peacefully coexist – follow each other, and help each other in a meaningful way without ever interacting if we choose not to. Until a time comes in the future, say a time of crisis, breaking news, or when we find a common topic of interest that we find we are all just people sharing our message and pursuing our dreams. Twitter is just the medium.

Internet Marketing for Small Business; Take Your Best Shot.

Pittsburgh, PA - Yankee Ingenuity, only Americans can claim that term, that state of mind – nobody else. One of the things that makes America unique and standout from all other countries is that only in America do you have the inborn right and opportunity to take your best shot. The caveat – nobody is going to make it easy.

So what does that have to do with Online Marketing or Search Engine Optimization? Well…plenty. Not that far back, small businesses had to come up with all kind of creative ways to say “hey, I’m over here” without the marketing and advertising resources of the “bigger boys.”

Then along came the Internet. Next the World Wide Web, and you pretty much know the rest. Now just about any small business can get a Website at real good price and it goes without saying it’s an obvious business must-have. But you still have the “hey, I’m over here” dilemma.

Enter Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online or Internet Marketing, whatever you want to call it and ta-da; you now have the tools to shout as loud as the big players without the big price tag. With some creativity (Yankee Ingenuity), help from a qualified SEO, and commitment, you can beat the bigger players in the “hey, I’m over here” department and do more business. We’re seeing and being part of it first hand. So, take your best shot.

Contact Blackball Online at (412)377-7280 or visit our Pittsburgh SEO website for a free consultation. We specialize in Internet Marketing for small business.

Pittsburgh SEO for Small Business (Part 1) – Choose an SEO that Researches your Industry

Pittsburgh, PA - We have seen the rise of the SEO. A lot of old school marketing and advertising companies are now professing to be Search Engine Optimization Specialists. I speak with potential clients in the Pittsburgh area who have been approached by SEO companies who never even ask what the company does. We believe that Industry research for your target market is essential to your SEO initiative.

If you have a pre-existing website, an introductory review must be completed to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. How else would an SEO know what course of action to proceed with? A review of your site’s content and structure for search engine ranking factors such as keyword research, links, proper use of Meta information, and a number of other factors should be included.

The next step is to analyze the market itself. Is this a niche market with little competition or is the field so competitive that a diversified approach is required? Are there many players? This is something that is impossible to determine without the proper background and Internet Marketing Research.

Your SEO, we believe, should not be guarded about answering any and all questions about technical procedures. This affects your company and your rankings dramatically. Advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript and robots files all fall under the category of SEO Consulting and we feel these are valid questions and open for discussion. If your prospective or current SEO is secretive about these items it raises a red flag. It is possible that your SEO could be harming more than helping.

We encourage our customers to be involved in every step of the SEO initiative. Content development is a major area. After all nobody knows your business like you do. An SEO can gain valuable insight and information about your company and market complexities by asking some basic questions.

Management of online business development campaigns and advertising is all dependent upon the research previously mentioned. Why spend valuable dollars and assets with someone who doesn’t have a plan of attack, a course of action, and the verifiable means to achieve your goals? Our business is to get you business.

We try to educate our customers about the SEO process if they want to be involved. An educated customer can be one of our most valuable resources. We are available to aid in SEO training to help in this process. At the same time, we want to learn about your business and market to better do our job. By doing this we can gain expertise in your specific markets and geographies and use it to drive business to your site/s.

It takes a lot more than adding a bunch of keywords to your site to be a good SEO. SEO requires Research, and a lot of it. Contact Us at Blackball Online Marketing for a free initial consultation and we’d be happy to discuss you business goals and objectives.