Top 10 ActiveEdge Blog Posts of 2010

ActiveEdge wrote about a lot of interesting topics this year, but we wanted to find out exactly which stories most caught the attention of our blog readers in 2010?

To do that, we reviewed our handy dandy analytic software to determine the most popular blog articles of 2010.  Here’s what we found.

Overall, readers were most drawn to our digital and social media related topics. In fact 9 of the top 10 articles focused on digital marketing and social media themes with only two articles being traditional marketing subject matters.

Following is a list the top 10 stories that ActiveEdge blog readers agreed were the most noteworthy.

1. Organic Search vs. Paid Search
2. Social Media Breakfast New Hampshire Revisits Nashua
3. 3 Ways to Increase Your Company’s Presence without Starting a Blog
4. Build a Business Brand with Brand Standards
5. 140 Conference Comes to Boston
6. 3 Good Reasons to Update Your Logo and One Good Reason Not To
7. Managing Social Media’s Information Overload
8. PodCamp Boston – Preparing for the Future
9. ActiveEdge Helps Nashua Businesses Become Social Media Savvy
10. 3 Things You Can Do Now to Boost Your 2011 Social Media Strategy

Which are your favorites? What else would you like to see us write about?

How SEO Is Like An Old Phone Book

Search engine optimization is much like an old phone book

Ahhh, phone books. You do remember phone books, don’t you? You know, those big fat books with super thin pages bound in torn and tattered yellow covers.

They got used for pretty much everything including booster seats, door stops, and as proof by body builders that they were strong. I still don’t know how they tore them up into pieces. Oh yeah, and people used them (regularly) to look up phone numbers to contact you or your business. Inside those well worn yellow covers you could find anything or anyone.

Phone books were pretty useful. It was how people and business got found. Everyone used them and even if you didn’t want to advertise, you still had to be listed. It was the price of doing business.

Well, today’s Search Engine Optimization is kind of like an old phone book. You may not like the idea of having to go through the trouble of optimizing your website, but it is today’s cost of doing business, and it’s what you have to do to ‘get listed’ on search engines.

Just like the yellow pages though, you have to optimize your site, and then keep doing it again at regular intervals to stay current. You couldn’t just pay for a yellow pages advertisement once and then get it listed forever, right?

If you’re just starting out with search engine optimization, think of it like the yellow pages in those old phone books. You weren’t listed under every category out there, just the ones that best described your company in general. For instance Al’s Masonry would be listed under Masonry. That same approach works for search engine optimization.

General phrases can work best for the home page. For the interior pages, use product lines or service categories to help people find the things you carry, or what you do. That’s the equivalent of paying for extra listings to be printed under multiple categories.

Although it sounds a bit more complicated than the old phone books, it’s worth it. Find and work with an SEO consultant that you know and trust. They’ll use the right SEO tools and offer a number of different SEO packages to suit your needs.

After all, if you’re not listed, you can’t be found.

ActiveEdge helps Nashua Businesses Become Social Media Savvy

Deepak Gurshaney of ActivEdge fielding a question about useful social media tactics and tools.

A panel full of Social Media pros drew a sold out crowd at the IUGO event on Wednesday, November 17^th held at the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce in downtown Nashua, NH.

On the agenda: Becoming A Social Media Star in the “Real World”.

Tim McMahon, MCM Social Media moderated a talented panel including:

• Jon Gaffney, Vibram FiveFingers
• Kyle Bishop, Fox 25 Boston
• Steve Spain, co-founder of Couptopia
• Shana Hoch of the Nashua Telegraph and NH.com
• And our own Deepak Gursahaney of ActiveEdge

Attendees got a chance to listen to some real life experiences, learn some new tools, and network with others using Mobinett Plug, a newly introduced mobile networking app now in Beta testing.

Lots of Social Media topics were discussed including the big three, Twitter, Facebook,and LinkedIn. Questions from the crowd kept the discussion flowing. When asked about a certain tactic or tool that has been successfully employed in Social Media, ActiveEdge’s Deepak Gursahaney fielded the response. He commented on how a blog can help improve search engine optimization, increase site traffic, and position a company as a knowledgeable resource.

What tools or tactics do you use in your Social Media marketing? We’d be interested to hear your success stories.