Solid stats on Twitter

Here are some helpful stats on Twitter:

• 72.5% of all users joining during the first five months of 2009.
• 85.3% of all Twitter users post less than one update/day
• 21% of users have never posted a Tweet 93.6% of users have less than 100 followers, while 92.4% follow less than 100 people.
• 5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity
• New York has the most Twitters users, followed by Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco and Boston; while Detroit was the fast-growing city over the first five months of 2009
• More than 50% of all updates are published using tools, mobile and Web-based, other than Twitter.com. TweetDeck is the most popular non-Twitter.com tool with 19.7% market share.
• There are more women on Twitter (53%) than men (47%)
• Of the people who identify themselves as marketers, 15% follow more than 2,000 people. This compares with 0.29% of overall Twitter users who follow more than 2,000 people.

Source: http://www.sysomos.com/insidetwitter/

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#1 Marketing Strategy: SEO

No single internet strategy beats SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO creates a level playing field for businesses of all sizes, here is why:

FACT: Increases profits. A top 10 page rank will rapidly increase traffic, which ultimately leads to increased sales. 

FACT: Cost-effective marketing. Search Engine Marketing has a lower cost to gain customers than any other form of marketing including email, Yellow Pages, banner ads, and direct mail. Think less input and more output.

FACT:  Product category domination. SEO allows you to be percieved as a leader in your product category by dominating the search queries for your target market’s keywords.  Even though this may not be true in the offline world - online perception can translate into offline success. 

FACT: Makes you a household name. When you appear in the top 10 you become a conversation piece with regards to your target market.

FACT: Gain qualified leads. Remember, customers use the search engines the same way that they use to use the yellow pages.  This means your customers are searching for you. 

FACT: Increased brand awareness and credibility. Effective SEO builds brand awareness and every time you appear and re-appear in people’s search queries your brand is strengthened.

FACT: Long lasting payoffs. Once you spend the time and make the effort to reach your SEO goals, maintaining your top 10 status costs very little, if anything at all. With effective SEO, you can enjoy top online branding status for years to come with minimal cost or effort.

FACT: Outsmarts your competition. High page rank reduces your competitors’ relevance and increases yours. Wouldn’t you like to see your business ranking higher than the rest?

FACT: Twenty-Four-Seven advertisement. With good SEO your web site is constantly advertising for you 24/7, 365 days a year. Customers can find you anytime, anywhere.

The Most Overlooked Web 2.0 Marketing Strategies

Besides quality content and the number of back links coming into your site, there are other areas that the search engines look at. Here are some often overlooked areas that you can address to make your website more succesful.

1. Visitors Time on Site - The time that a visitor is on your site is something that Google considers and grades in their ranking criteria. If people click on your site then immediately click back out then that tells the search engine that your site is less valuable than a site that is sticky and keeps people on site.

2. Age of Your Site - It is a rather simple notion, the longer your site has been around the better it will rank. This means plan for the long term and stick around.

3. Registering Your Domain Name for Multiple Years – This really touches on the previous point, by registering your domain name for several years, this tells the search engines that you are going to be around for the long term.

4. ALT Text on Images - Every image on the page should have a tag and a brief description pertaining to the tag. By taking the time to describe your images your site will rank better.  

5. Increase Google Crawl in Analytics – by increasing the rate that Google crawls your site and by staying true to the crawl by regularly updating your site with fresh and original content you will increase your rankings.

Small Business Branding Techniques: The Design of Your Website

The design of a website is essential to projecting the capabilities and integrity of your small business. Check out these two sites for inspiration: 

Imagine Wellness Chiropractic Center is a new facility offering spinal correction for individuals seeking health, wellness and healing.  Dr. Roxane Zamora treats sees her patients from her North Phoenix offices addressing everything from migraines to neck and shoulder pain to sports injuries using state-of-the-art chiropractic techniques.

Metro Maintenance offers plumbing and electrician work throughout the entire Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area.  Owner / Operator Derman Brown has over 20 years experience with electrical and plumbing systems and works by the motto "prompt and effecient" service.  He offers a 24 hour emergency service.