aimClear’s demographic research product includes social media influencers from a number of channels ranking from Facebook and YouTube to forums.  We then challenge Community Managers to take these “friend leads” and convert them to organic friends over 3-5 days, at a “cost per friend lead” calculated from how much time the friend-conversion takes.  This post samples techniques to identify and qualify friend-leads, influencers and several holistic tactics proven to convert those leads to friends…

B2B, B2C…B2 anything, every marketing department would love to somehow crack the social media code. Be it by content marketing, participation in Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Flickr, Digg, Delicious, etc… invariably, the conversation turns to the same question: “What are we going to do and who’s going to actually execute on this every day at the office?”

Then comes the obligatory: “How are we going to measure it?” and, “When will we set business goals?” or, “Are we just doing this for the hell of it ‘cause everybody else does?” All are reasonable questions…

In March 2010, usage of Facebook’s internal search engine jumped approximately 48% to peak at 2.7% of U.S. searches.  Though April and May U.S. search share dipped, these numbers are still rather substantial given Facebook search’s obvious people-focus and legendary limitations.  That said compared to Google’s monolithic 63.7 percent of American search share, Facebook’s internal search usage does not seem like a big deal…

Privacy? Just to prove that we shouldn’t say “Facebook” and “privacy” in the same sentence. These numbers plain and simple don’t lie.

Here’s data profiling Facebook users “interested” in Lesbians, weed and those who (ummm…) love their feet in the UK.  Don’t eat them all at once.  (Disclaimer: We’re not passing judgment so please don’t kill the messenger…

The sun has barely risen over downtown Seattle and, uncharacteristically, there’s not a single cloud in the 5:30AM AM sky. Elliott Bay and Mount Rainer are just visible, peeking between the architecturally diverse city buildings, highlighted in contrast by Northwest Pacific morning sun.

The view from my 31rst floor downtown Westin hotel room is nothing short of stunning. Good morning Seattle…

From the inception of search in the early 90’s, individuals and monolithic companies revolutionized the world’s information management.  Since then post BBS pioneers have taken over the marketing world. Over the years, as contextual advertising platforms evolved and blossomed into robust platforms like Facebook and DoubleClick, there have been naysayers.  Contrary to nearly half a decade of “SEO is dead” hyperbole, SEO is and always will be king…

There are over 120 million English speaking Facebook users in America, over the age of 14. From the United Kingdom down to India, over to New Zealand, across to Australia and beyond, significant populations in many nations also speak English as an official language and are active on Facebook.

We’ve studied FB penetration in countries around the world where English is one of the official state languages…

aimClear is pleased to announce that our very own Merry Morud will join me on the podium at SMX Advanced London: 17 & 18 May, 2010, Grand Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden. We’ll be co-presenting on the Social Media Track “Killer Facebook Marketing Tactics” session.  It will be an honor to once again join Moderator Chris Sherman, Executive Editor, Search Engine Land on the big stage…

It’s a bit like eating an elephant, a labor-intensive conundrum of today’s online marketing ecosystem. The more keyword, contextual and competitive data available to mine, the more effort required to properly research a product’s proper place. The effort is completely worth it.

Regardless of channels we plan campaigns in (flavors of SEO, PPC, Social Media, etc…), the objective of demographic research is to attain a data-driven and comprehensive familiarity with products and categories…

The disdain on their faces is usually palpable.  I’ve been experiencing subtle Facebook derision from mainstream SEOs now for two years. Last week’s edition was a conversation with Greg Boser, President and CEO – 3 Dog Media, a new friend and brilliant speaker on the SMX Search Marketing Conference series circuit.

Dude is a salty-dog SEO genius. However, as we each shared what we were planning to discuss with Australian conference attendees, I had barely started when Greg made it clear, with nary a word, that Facebook demographic segments are a bunch of bullshit…

At SMX Sydney last week, I was approached by a number of zealous attendees (prior to my Facebook PPC presentation) who informed me that they “reckoned” not enough of Australian or New Zealand citizens participate on Facebook to make FB marketing worthwhile.  The reality could not be further from the truth.  Read on for a breakout of basic demographics and a few fun samplings from categories, brands, places of employments and other interest segments from Australian & NZ markets…

Greetings from #SMX Sydney Australia, 2010. The exuberance here could light a continent.  Sydney is a shimmering study in architecture, culture, wealth & bustling cosmopolitan life. I am a lucky dude.

Take the cloistered urban grandeur of New York, mash it up with a healthy dose of San Fransisco northern CA charm and exotic melting pot romance…well that’s Sydney.   When I arrived yesterday (has it been only one day), a friend took me for a walk for miles…

Using blogs for SEO is a strategic linchpin of many a marketers’ content tactics.  Composing optimized headlines to title posts that are catchy, research driven and relevant to readers, is a classic search engine optimization mission.    This post offers two blogging SEO case studies, for constructing posts titles.

Blog post headlines are key on many levels. Most blog CMS (content management system) installations mirror the post headline as the HTML title tag, arguably the most important SEO ranking factor, for the post detail page…

One of the more challenging aspects of running an online marketing agency is mashing our process into legal agreements. Out of the legalese we typically cover in our documentation (fee structure, NDA, Term, Termination, Indemnification, Arbitration, etc…) none is more delightfully daunting than the obligatory “scope” exhibit.

Because our work is always data driven and research based, it can be tricky to make legal promises that set realistic expectations based on fact-sets as yet undiscovered…

Wow, Day 1 was a Whriling Dervish at SearchEngineStrategies New York 2010!  The content struck me as seriously next gen’. We heard plenty of new terms today like “attention frontier” and “sliding window.”  Our good friend Simon Heseltine won the engraved iPod while Lee Odden and Chris Boggs rocked the house with their well-honed approach to leveraging digital assets…

During SES New York, aimClear will be giving away 3 iPod nanos®. There’s no obligation, (absolutely no data-mining). Each iPod Is Engraved With “#SESNY Search Engine Strategies 2010. Entering is super easy and there will be three big chances to win, one each day of SES NY. The only catch: you must be a badge-carrying Search Engine Strategies New York 2010 attendee holding a Platinum, Speaker, Press or Exposition pass…

Search Engine Strategies New York is an annual conclave of rare depth and importance.  In search marketing, channels evolve at blazing speed and staying relevant is an intense and ongoing commitment.  As part of our commitment to stay cutting-edge-current, aimClear team members hit the road for about 80 days of training each year. SES New York is on the shortest-list of must-attend seminars we would simply never miss…

Google is planning to test ultra-high speed broadband networks and is considering one or more trial locations across the country. Google Fiber, so you’re considering moving to Duluth.. Join the club. In 1982 I came to visit. After a decade-long love affair with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) to the North, I finally made it here in 95’ and never left.

Google, over the coming days, we’ll be sharing aspects of our community and why aimClear, an internationally known search marketing agency, thrives here…

It’s remarkable really. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will take the stage for a “Fireside Chat” with Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of SearchEngineLand.com and conference co-chair, to kick off SMX West on March 2.  In his inaugural address directly to the search marketing community, Mr. Ballmer will discuss Microsoft’s evolution in search and his vision of the future.

Given the Microsoft/Yahoo search deal, his appearance is an especially notable gesture…

Though social media participation has exploded, we meet businesses nearly every day  that have barely, clumsily or not dipped their toes in the in the water.  They ask, “Should we have a Facebook page,“ “What about YouTube” or “Gee, should we be tweeting?”

These entrepreneurs are usually full of life, energy, present a history of offline success and have little idea what to do about social media…

Should direct marketers place Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and/or other buttons as part of the template for every email blast?   What about PPC landing pages? Should Twitter and Facebook be exit-options for every PPC landing page impression? How should advertisers think about socialization as either primary or secondary KPIs (key performance indicators A.K. A “goals.”)?

At first gape, these questions seem easy, yes?  “Of course, yes, socialize everything” you shout!”  “After all, isn’t the ‘net  all about social media these days?” How could it be wrong to ever consider omitting the all-powerful and ubiquitous social media click-me-now badges?

Caveat:  We understand that as social-trust augments and even partially supplants trust rank in how content is ranked by search engines, having influential tweeps and and wielding one’s own street cred’ is of paramount importance…

credit: rahady
We’ve reviewed many sites where supposed search engine optimization “experts” damaged a business with archaic techniques and/or outmoded business practices.  While it’s easy to spot most scumbags, it can be much harder for laypersons to sift out previously germane SEO dinosaurs– now dangerously out of step.

To fill the void, this post offers wary small business owners, CMOs and marketing managers a 30,000 guerrilla vendor gut-check litmus test…

I got a bit of push-back last year when I was quoted in the SEOmoz ranking factors survey  that Google might include things-associated-with Tweets as a ranking factor. Well read it and weep. Check out this Google search for our KnowEm friend Michael Streko.

Obviously Google is now cruising realtime search and Twitter for SERPs suggestions.

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Search moves at the speed of lightning, so staying current is crucial.  This list of over 1,500 search industry articles, ideas, tweets, tool reviews, notes and snippets was our 2009 internal agency-training library of  content. The aimClear team has embraced systemic review of this “Daily Training List” and contribute content.

This mutual commitment to reading helps our shop keep a fresh awareness of current developments and is an important component of our training…

To begin, this post is not a black hat tutorial teaching how to build spam-scraper-copyright-infringing websites. Rather we’ll highlight simple white hat techniques to successfully republish and rank “duplicate” content, all the while creating new value for users.  Please don’t use these methods for evil.

In my opinion the tactic outlined herein is one of the most fun white hat “give it up” tips we encountered in 2009…

We invite SES Chicago attendees to  join us today at 12:45PM. I’ll have the pleasure of moderating the Facebook Rockstars RoundTable: Marketing For the Other Internet session.  350 million fanatically engaged users in one place means understanding Facebook’s no-search-engines-allowed community walled garden system of “organic” and paid visibility is now essential. Shell-shocked brand managers unite! We’ll share how to plan, pilot and ramp successful Facebook programs…

Welcome to Search Engine Strategies Chicago 2009! The sun has not yet risen but excitement is palpable here at the ornate and venerable  Hilton hotel.

If you’re reading this post you should definitely be here. Nothing is as effective as gleaning first hand information from the best online marketers in the biz’ along with an incredible helping of camaraderie and business bonding. That said we’re stunned at the array of talent embodied in the correspondents conference organizers have assembled to document the proceedings…

Since the onset of personalized search, frustrated SEO sharpshooters have sought tactics to somehow get a grip on the ensuing chaos.  Now that most users on gets different customized search results, the days of search engine optimization measurable in the SERPs are long gone.

This post offers a useful method to optimize for micro-demographics in a way that, not only neutralizes, but also ruthlessly exploits personalized search to the SEO’s benefit, one user at a time…

It’s our privilege to share this Thanksgiving gift of song and perspective with our community.

If there is justice my friend Pamela McNeill will experience fame and fortune to match years of critical acclaim for her music from media and fans.  The story of how her latest album, “Heartaches and Miracles,” came to be is truly the stuff of  Thanksgiving and inspiration.

Pamela’s credits range from stadium performances with Rick Astley and gigging London’s storied underground to writing movie soundtrack songs with Yanni…and lots in between…

I’ve been watching TweetDeck all morning  for the real-time search “thankful.” Feeling extremely grateful, I asked a couple a’  thousand of our closest friends what exactly they were thankful for. Some of the answers from tweeps were warm and touching. We found some  snarky-ass results in Twitter search segment SERPs, which we grabbed to RT-share here.

ummm…