When you are attempting to rank a site, there are several levels to go through. First, when you have some content, you need to get the thing indexed and build up some initial links using social book marking and RSS submissions. You then move into leveraged link acquisition. I think Web 2.0 is the thing that you logically pursue probably shortly after that leveraged stuff. I wouldn’t call it level three, maybe level two and a half.

There is a level three, but there is no panacea for level three. Level three is just finding good quality places to get links back from. That’s when you or someone you’re paying is going out there and finding links manually, building rank links from high quality sites.

For me personally it really doesn’t make a lot of sense. From a time perspective, I know there are companies out there that do it. I would much prefer to own my own assets and build them up over time and then point those assets at my own sites. The fundamental of business strategy is the word control. You need to be able to control your destiny and be able to influence things. To the degree that you are reliant on getting links from those other sources, in some way you have less control.

Consequently you should be trying to build up your own assets so that you can influence the results and get the results that you want. Level three is, what I tell people, is going to be manually getting links from people. Level four is really moving to the next level moving to build up your own assets. Level four would include building your own network.

There is no level five. I mean you becoming the platform that people are getting their links from. You, being the next Wikipedia or something like that, you being the next Web 2.0 site, potentially.

There are numerous different strategies you use going from the initial, let’s get it indexed to some leveraged methods and then also we use Web 2.0 and the next level up, going out searching for those really good quality links through some sort of content exchange or providing articles to have published. The next level obviously, level four is building the network and really owning those links. For what it is that we do, there’s quite a bit of work there. Some of it we outsource and some we keep in house.

We have our own network of blog sites. To be honest we don’t use them for ourselves. It’s our testing bed, our laboratory so that we can test strategies just for the development of our own SEO product. We know that whatever we’re doing is working, or when we hear of something, we can test that it works. The reality is that for our own business, we do very little SEO. It’s the cobbler’s son with no shoes sort of thing. It’s quite funny.

For us we do very little of that. What it boils down to is a discussion between SEO and business. I think the fundamental question to ask is, most people are asking what is the minimum I can do to get the biggest impact in my life, and while it’s a good question to ask from a technical perspective, it’s a bad mentality to have. It’s a much better mindset to say, how can I serve the maximum amount of people?

What we say is, making content should be part of every single business regardless of what your strategy is. Creating content, having conversation, creating fantastic value, serving as many people as you can through the value that you’re delivering through blog posts, through videos, through audios, through whatever form it takes, through software, put as much value out there as possible.

Now you’re going to put that content out there anyway. So why not put that content out there in the most leveraged optimized way possible? If you just put that content out on your own website and you don’t link to it and no one ever finds it, you’re not creating value for people. Value is created when people see the stuff that you’re putting out there.

Observe at everything you do and make sure if you’re going to do the work once, with a little bit of extra work you can receive a hundred times the reward, particularly if you’re disciplined about doing it with every single piece of content that you put out there.

Want to learn more about Daryl Guppy? Visit www.davidjenyns.com today.

The 2009 edition of Buy Tourism Online Tradeshow (16th and 17th November) was held at the historical Florence train station Stazione Leopolda, now turned into a convention center. The B.T.O. is an Italian web 2.0 and online tourism exhibition which main subject is TOURISM 2.0, the phenomenon that is drastically altering the dynamics of supply and demand of the tourist accommodation industry.

Various speakers introduced the different aspects related to Web 2.0 and social networking in the hotel industry. One of the most attention-grabbing speeches was delivered by Roberto Frua of TripAdvisor(c). The central point of Frua’s address was how social media, and most of all TripAdvisor(c), can help hoteliers in their marketing plan.

Web 2.0, or consumer-based internet content, is a reality and it is very vigorous in tourism. TripAdvisor(c), with more than 30 million traveler reviews, is a necessary tool to monitor what it is being said about your property and do something about it. Monitoring and replying to your hotel’s reviews are crucial in modern hotel business. More than ever if the reviews are unenthusiastic, the hotelier should first of know about the post and then come up with a satisfactory response. In order to assist in this task, Tripadvisor(c) has developed the Owner Center, built to help management teams of hotels, restaurants and attractions administer and optimize their properties’ presence on the portal.

By accessing to the Owner Center, hoteliers are able to provide and update information about their hotels and most of all keep track of their reviews and respond in an opportune manner. It actually helps to save time on a very time-consuming job. Managers can see their performance on the customer satisfaction index and also keep an eye on how their direct competitors are performing.

Nowadays TripAdvisor(c) is an essential tool for hoteliers that want to engage with their former and possible guests. The innovation of the Web 2.0 is that customers have their say and what they think about your property is going to be out there, for the whole online community to see. It is a mistake to ignore this reality that may hurt the hotel integrity and image in the World Wide Web. Be it through the handy Owner Center or not, it is really sensible to observe what is being said about your property in TripAdvisor(c) and act in response: The first effort to being part of any online community is to listen to the conversation, and then to join in.

Stefano Maranzana is PR Director for EPOQUE HOTELS, and AVANTGARDE HOTELS

categories: tripadvisor,hoteliers,social marketing,web 2.0,monitor social media,hotels,owner center,hotel industry,social media,internet marketing,travel,hotel industry,social media

MySpace is a hugely popular social networking platform and has currently over one hundred million participants! MySpace, like many other social networking websites allows you to create your own profile, which is your own personal web page.

Once your page has been created, you can invite others to become a member of your network and visa versa. As well as having a normal profile page with your personal details, you can also include pictures, video clips, and music. And MySpace is entirely free of charge.

MySpace has literally taken the world by storm. This is because, in what seemed like no time at all, MySpace has grown to become one of the most popular social media websites in all of cyberspace. Particularly popular with music lovers. many bands have developed a following and released music videos through Myspace.

Recent studies have indicated over 50% of the users at MySpace are over the age of 30, so it’s no longer just a place for teens to share pictures and chat about the latest music!

Small businesses in particular are now using MySpace to enlarge their customer network and increase traffic to their websites. A Myspace profile should be a key part of your social media marketing strategy.

The first step to join this online social network is to register for an account. This can be done in literally minutes and is simple to do. Although you can look at MySpace pages without registering, you can’t really be very involved without your own MySpace account.

Your MySpace Profile

Once you join MySpace, you can create your own profile page. Don’t settle for the ordinary profile page you are first presented with!

You need to change this profile right away so it looks different and complements your business image. Use the editor facility to change the colors, add background images and photos, and fill in your personal information. Then add plenty of good content, including photos and links to your other sites.

To help the beginner, MySpace has a fairly large collection of templates available to spruce up profiles. These templates not only have an impact on the background of your profile page, but the text fonts as well. In addition to using the pre-designed templates, you can also create your own, especially if you have basic knowledge of HTML. You can also buy custom layout profiles or hire a professional designer to make you something really unique if you wanted. Try googling for “myspace templates” to get an idea of what you can do.

Don’t forget the MySpace profile is an extension of you in this online community so you want it give a good reason why people would want to know you. Get across your personality and don’t just post loads of spam or business discussions; remember surfers visit MySpace to meet other people so if you appear to be a fake on your page then you won’t get on with this site.

You can (and should!) even post an auto responder form right on your profile page and offer visitors a free gift for joining your newsletter!

After after creating your own MySpace profile it’s easy to search for others. You can search for others with a huge range of different keyword phrases. If you are searching for someone who lives near you, you can look for your city. If you are searching for a person who shares your interest in soccer, you can look for sports fans. If you find the MySpace page of someone who you’d like to make friends with, you can invite them to be added to your network. In addition to inviting others to join your network, there is every chance that you will be asked to join others this is the biggest benefit of being on MySpace.

Interested in a affordable seo? For free seo tips visit Alison’s website www.seotrainingclub.com.

categories: social media,web 2.0,internet marketing,social media optimization,internet