M3 Printing » Marketing

Marketing From Your Gut

marketing dept — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:49:00 +0000

The nice thing about marketing is that it's both art and science. I was recently reminded of this while I was cleaning out some of my web browser bookmarks. As someone who's constantly bookmarking different websites, my list seems to grow daily.

I was reminded of a great site that actually tests different creative and shows you which one produced better results. In addition to being sucker for data, I know that sometimes marketing is something where you have to go with your gut. Although I wouldn't recommend that strategy as your full-time credo, there is something to be said for going with what feels right.

Okay, now the moment of truth. How good is your gut? Check out Anne Holland's Which Test Won Blog and try your hand at determining which creative outperformed the other. By way of full disclosure I don't know Ann personally but am a big fan of her blog. On a regular basis she provides insight into marketing creative and shares performance results.

What this means for you
From my perspective, I believe that I never doing enough testing. Don't get me wrong, its great fun to see if one can find the "winning" creative but the reality is that a larger message is being communicated here. How often do you test your creative? Are you learning from each webpage, every email? If you're like me the answer is no. Personally I think I'm getting better with the concept of testing but I'm not there yet.

Each time you plan a campaign, think about doing multiple versions of it. Printing post cards? Create version A and version B. Considering some new web pages? Use Google Website Optimizer and plan a couple versions of copy or designs to test. For me, the easiest way to start has always been to simply test a headline or subject line.

This may seem too simple but the reality is that headlines and subject lines account for a large percentage of readership. Prospects can't read your message if they don't open your email or envelope. Break down each of your campaigns into specific components and consider which can be versioned or tested.

Take the next step
As is true with an marketing initiative, you must begin by taking action. I hope this post at least opens your mind to the possibility of doing split testing or multi-variate (testing multiple elements simultaneously) testing. The goal is to always measure and improve upon your marketing. This enhances your return on investment and ultimately the profitability of your marketing programs.

Let me know what types of tests you're running and what type of results you're seeing. I'd be happy to share them with the rest of my blog readers!

Making Friends: Social Media Meets Facebook

marketing dept — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:39:00 +0000

I don't know about you but it seems like everywhere you turn someone is talking about Facebook. Individuals, companies, organizations - just about everybody has a Facebook account or fan page. From a marketing perspective, Facebook has always fascinated me and I've come to the conclusion that it's all about community.

People like to belong. When you belong to a group, Like a page, or follow someone, it has meaning. Many people like to judge their worth by the number of Facebook fans they have or number of Likes they receive to their pages. This seems to be a good metric. After all, the more fans or likes you have the more popular you are. Sounds a little like High School doesn't it? Well, the fascination with Facebook is here to stay and there are a few ways to use Facebook to your advantage. Begin with the following steps:

1. Create a Fan Page. Start with the creation of a fan page. By developing this virtual real estate, you create a community that allows your prospects, customers, and friends to interact, develop user generated content, and gain access to special offers.

2. Build Your Community. Having a fan page is great but the real goal is to build a community. You want people with common interests to interact with one another. The common interest could be you, your company or products.

3. Create Unique Offers. You want those who Like your page or become your fans to have access to special content or offers. This not only encourages them to take an initial action but to keep coming back for more.

4. Experiment with New Features. Facebook is continually adding new features and modules. Experiment by customizing your pages and adding a variety of features that engage your audience and enhances the community.

5. Promote your Fan page. If you want to build your community quickly and leverage your fans, you must promote your fan page. Use your website, blog, emails, and email signature to let people know that you have a fan page and there are benefits to joining. The more you promote, the more you'll convert.

The key with any social media is getting started and to keep contributing. Once you launch your fan page, don't stop there. You should continually develop the community through original contributions, moderation, and interactivity. View other fan pages and see how other companies are creating value.

When focusing on creating value, keep in mind the goal of your fans. Help them solve a problem or learn more about their needs. Facebook is a great tool for getting closer to your prospects and customers and is a community you can't afford to be without.

Creating An Online Marketing Community

marketing dept — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:34:00 +0000

A little over a year ago, I set out to build an online marketing community. And honestly, a lot of people thought I was nuts. With social media ruling the day, creating an online community could be considered old-school. But the reality is that social media has only raised the awareness of the importance of community... even in marketing.

Last year I launched the Internet Marketing Forum. The goal was simple, "Give a platform to marketers that allows them to share ideas, contribute, and build a real community." And I'm happy to say, a year later, The Marketing Forum has just surpassed 4,000 members. Yeah, I'm pretty pumped.

The Marketing Forum has a number of sub-forums covering everything from Internet marketing to general chat. You'll find threads and posts covering the following areas:

-Internet Marketing Forum
-Special Offers Forum
-Search Engine Optimization
-Adwords/PPC/SEM Forum
-Social Media Forum
-Affiliate Programs
-Internet Marketing Product Reviews & Ratings
-Marketing Classifieds
-Domains For Sale
-Internet Marketers For Hire
-HTML & Web Design
-Graphics & Multi-Media
-Content Management
-Web Site Programming
-General Chat
-Local Meetings, Mastermind Groups, And Events

As you can see, we cover virtually ever topic you can image and I'm so excited by the dialog that happens each and every day across these forums. Because the forum is moderated, you'll find only engaging conversations and growing list of contributors.

Help us reach our next goal of 5,000 and then 10,000 members. Join today!

Changes to the Marketing Blog in 2012

marketing dept — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:57:00 +0000

Each new year brings new opportunities and new ideas. This year is no exception. In fact, I've been spending quite a bit of time thinking about The Marketing Blog and the changes that can benefit those who read the blog as well as the advertisers that want to reach you. For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I'm a minimalist when it comes to advertising and I have turned down many advertisers in the past.

Even since the days when I started with online marketing, I've been very careful never to sell names or deal with unscrupulous advertisers. As a result, people trust me and the content on my blog. This is important to me and everyone in our community. I'm always looking for ways to connect audiences with information that may be beneficial though- and this year I'll be updating the blog to bring you more of what you want.

Changes to Design

Overall I'm pretty happy with the design of the Marketing Blog. What's nice about having your own blog is that you can keep tweaking it until you have something you're really happy with. I've avoided the "templated" approach as I want something unique that you won't find anywhere else.

My plan is to add some advertising units or take the display ads I currently have for my own services and open them up to more advertisers who provide relevant products and services to the marketing community. I'm considering some self-service type solutions to provide the flexibility needed to create a win-win situation for everyone.

Additional Content

I'd also like to experiment with additional content. Whether it's adding access to special reports, marketing magazines, or resources, additional content is important to keep everyone informed about today's marketing landscape.

I'm also looking for more guest posts this year. I can sit here and write content everyday all day but no one is an expert on everything. This is especially true when it comes to marketing. This year I'll be doing more to attract some of today's leading marketing experts and hope you find the additional content worthwhile.

What's Your Role

I love hearing from all of you - my blog readers. Let me know what additional content, features, and information you're looking for me to cover this year and I'll find the experts to educate all of us across any marketing related topic. From mobile marketing to loyalty programs, The Marketing Blog has it covered.

Site Load Speed and San Diego SEO

marketing dept — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:31:00 +0000

I'm sure you're thinking... "What does site load speed and my search engine rankings have in common?" Well, the answer is actually related to Google Analytics and site monitoring. As a successful webmaster with a ton of traffic, I've known for a long time that site load speed is a fundamental component of Google rankings. In fact, it's been one of the most importants aspect of rankings for many years.

However, Google has not always been vocal about the weight or importance of site load speed as a factor within their algorithm. I believe this is largely due to the importance of site load speed as a ranking factor. Admitting just how important it is would be like showing their cards at the table.

Now that the Google algorithm has been impacted by so many changes (Google caffeine, Instant, Panda, etc.), I believe they are ready to share what they know. My friends at a well-known San Diego SEO firm have been tracking the importance of site load speed with a number of their clients over an extended period of time and have seen significant improvements in search results when sites render more quickly.

They've used this experience to build sites like www.rankmywebsite.net to leverage their know-how and help small business owners succeed online. Using real data is truly the only way to see the impact of this ranking factor and these guys are industry experts who know what works because they’re testing around the clock.

So, how does this affect your site? Two words: Google Analytics. Eight out of ten of the world’s leading sites run it and if it’s free. Google Analytics provides invaluable insight by measuring every metric imaginable and delivering the data in a format that’s easy to understand. Recently, Google added Site Load Speed to the analytics category available through your account. The video in this post will teach you to access this information and make use of it for analyzing the speed of your site. A good measuring stick for site speed is to see how your site measures up against the frontrunners in your niche, which this software does for free (and pretty accurately). The faster your site loads in comparison to competing sites, the greater weight Google will give your site.

Finally, an important caveat to always consider when trying to improve your website visibility is that Google will never publish their proprietary formula for delivering search results; if they did, they would reveal the secrets that make their search results so accurate and most of what you’d see would be spam or low quality content. The best determinant of what works is simply testing everything you do. Keeping good records and regularly analyzing your on-site and off-site search engine optimization efforts will pay dividends that far outweigh the extra time it takes to do so.

Growth In Mobile Marketing

marketing dept — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:31:00 +0000

We've heard about it for years, but it seems that 2011 might be the year that mobile marketing finally grows up and plays with the big boys. Over the past year, growth in mobile marketing has risen dramatically on many fronts. With apps, mobile search advertising and now retail, the mobile marketing space is delivering the numbers (and revenues).

In today's guest post, Pavel Webb from TextMagic gives us some global insights into mobile marketing. If you're not using mobile as a marketer just yet, consider how quickly this marketing channel is moving.

Let's have a look at what's happening in mobile marketing.
Everywhere you look you see more on the power of mobile marketing. As a field, mobile marketing has been growing faster than almost any other marketing segment from both a user and advertising standpoint. Until now yo may have been considering mobile marketing but haven't yet integrated it into your marketing mix. There are a number of ways to get started and the best way is to see what industry leading brands are doing.

Brands are creating their own apps
With over 300,000 apps developed in the last three years and with a predicted 29 billion app downloads this year alone, the demand for apps is rising and is expected to peak around 2013. Brands have realized the power of being able to push their content out to mobile users with many well-known retail companies, utilities and restaurant chains jumping onto the handset with their own branded apps.

Mobile advertising
Mobile advertising spend worldwide is expected to break US$3.3billion by the end of 2011 and is predicted to rise to a massive US$20.6 billion by 2015. The main gainers here are in mobile paid search advertising and local mobile ads. In the US, over half of all mobile ad spending is on local search ads.
Of course, Google is at the forefront of pushing this growth, recently announcing that mobile website quality is now a ranking factor in their AdWords mobile ad ranking. They have even gone so far as to invest in a whole site dedicated to helping businesses 'go mobile' (HowToGoMo.com) by optimizing their websites and advertising. Interestingly, in Germany mobile web advertising remains the most effective form of mobile advertising.

SMS marketing
2011 marks a banner year for SMS, with over 8 trillion SMS messages predicted to be exchanged by the end of the year. For marketers, SMS remains a popular choice, especially as it reaches nearly all the 4 billion handsets out there.

SMS marketing is most effectively used as a way to engage customers by offering a level of service via reminders, notices and coupon codes. As well, various countries show a preference for opt-in SMS marketing, especially the UK and France.

Retail now biggest growth category
Although not specifically advertising, we thought it was worth mentioning the massive change in user behavior, because this is where the advertising spend in 2012 will likely focus. According to eMarketer, mobile retail use over the past year has risen an astonishing 95% rise among US mobile users.

What's more important for retailers and marketers to pay attention to is why those users are visiting mobile retail sites. The same study revealed among mobile users visiting retail sites:

- 46% are researching prices
- 36% are looking for coupons or promotions
- 28% are researching new products
- 13% purchased a product

No doubt that tablet use, like Apple's iPad, are pushing these numbers upwards and it's not going to slow down any time soon as mobile internet use is predicted to surpass desktop internet use some time in 2014.

About the Author: Pavel Webb is the affiliate manager at TextMagic, a company based in United Kingdom, which provides SMS API for businesses and developers.

The Latest In Social Media Websites: Introducing Pinterest

marketing dept — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:27:00 +0000

Okay, here's a new one... a virtual pin board. I have to admit that I love learning about new social websites and online applications. When I heard about the latest edition to the emerging list of novel sites I had to turn to a fellow social media users to better understand what this was all about. This week, Lianne Froggatt tells us more about a new site that serves as a virtual pin board to collect everything beautiful or meaningful on the web.

I confess I am completely addicted to Pinterest. I think this may be the most compelled I have been to a social media site since MySpace first came on the scene back in my youth. However, since becoming embroiled in the world of online marketing and SEO, I can’t help but be drawn not only to the pretty pictures but the incredible potential that this site can offer.

Pinterest allows users to pin images from any site onto virtual boards under any topic from crafts to food. Described as a ‘virtual pinboard’, this image bookmarking site provides an interesting platform on which to create a buzz about a website and potentially lots of links back to it. As it currently stands, Pinterest allows followed links which means that every time something is pinned or re-pinned, the original source will receive a backlink to their domain from a powerful, authoritative website (unlike most other social media platforms)

Pinterest not only provides a bookmarklet that users can use to pin products and images whenever but there is also a Pin It button available for websites and blogs. The value of embracing Pinterest in this manner could be extremely beneficial for your company and social media profile.

Not only can Pinterest provide links in this fashion which proves extremely beneficial for search marketing, the very nature of the site is inherently different from the main other social network sites out there.

Twitter is getting better at displaying images, but is still very much a text based medium encouraging conversation and debate. Facebook has emphasized photo sharing to its user base, yet with the excellent tagging feature they put the focus firmly on the relationship between images and people. Facebook business pages can be brilliant for engagement and providing information about your company’s products and services, but Pinterest allows the emphasis to be primarily on the products.

Other sites that focus on images such as Flickr or Photobucket have a marked difference to Pinterest; the primary focus is on the organisation and sharing of your own photos as opposed to the Pinterest which encourages people to share anything that they like or enjoy. Sites like these also don’t have the visual impact of Pinterest which is minimal in terms of text or surrounding space- it is all about the images.

So, what can this innovative and exciting social media platform mean for your business? Many companies have already been utilising Pinterest, creating their own accounts and using this platform as a tool to promote their business, a good example being Warner Bros shop’s Pinterest boards.

So, as promised, here are five top tips for using Pinterest to help market your company:

1. For visual businesses a Pinterest account will simply be a brilliant online gallery of your work, be that photography, clothing or crafts and help create an awareness of your stuff. Make sure you update your boards regularly and keep the items you pin in keeping with the feel of the site. Hand out flyers in your shop or at your gallery opening complete with QR codes that will take people directly to your online gallery.
2. Create an ‘online catalog’ using different boards for different item groups and help your potential customers navigate around what you have to offer.
3. A Pinterest led marketing campaign would be a brilliant and unique way to promote your business. Create a hidden landing page on your site for an exclusive product that can only be accessed through the Pinterest link. Or run a teaser board in the run up to the launch of a new product or event, your pins alluding to what it could be and the final pin being a reveal. Having interesting boards will encourage people to follow them and share your content.
4. If you run a service as opposed to having products, take photos of your finished work, for example a hairdresser could create different boards of short styles, up do’s and so on. Currently Pinterest is mainly used by women so it will be particularly good for these types of services.
5. Get leaflets printed with QR codes linking directly to your boards. Hand them out at an opening or event, or simply have them lying around in your shop. Take your customers directly to your boards and keep your work in the forefront of their minds.

As a relative new-comer in the social media network for businesses, there is a real opportunity with Pinterest to create a unique and exciting buzz about your company. Currently the site is invitation only; you can request an invite or be invited by a current member. I do have a few invites left so feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email and I will send one over.

Happy Pinning!

This post is written by Lianne Froggatt, a fresh faced internet marketer at IdeasByNet, a UK promotional gifts distributor. Interested in social media marketing, SEO and general internet marketing, she would love your feedback. Find her at lianne.froggatt@ideasbynet.com or tweet her @Lianne_Froggatt.

Go To Market Strategy

marketing dept — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:50:00 +0000

I'm often asked about the art and science of a go-to-market strategy. Although there's really not perfect plan when it comes to developing effective marketing programs for your products or services, I do believe that there are a number of key components to the best go-to-marketing programs.

If you're not familiar with a go-to-market strategy, it's really a road map for introducing your offering to the marketplace. It's based on creating a unique position in the market which includes pricing, messaging, and promotional campaigns. Essentials of a strong go-to-market plan include:

1. Product positing. Determine what your unique selling proposition is. What is your differentiation and who are you trying to sell to? Once you know just how different your products is and who your target is you can make decisions on price, packaging, and so on.

2. Know your customer. Do you have a clear picture of who will pay for your product or service? Understanding the purchase decision process of your buyer - how they use the product, the need your product solves, what they are willing to pay for - makes all the difference.

3. Segment by event. Are there specific buying occasions that are important to your buyer? In the past, most go to market plans were based on product launches or arbitrary media dates. Today, in order to be effective, you need to consider significant buying times for your customers. What events are times of year drive behavior? Knowing and capitalizing on these events is essential fr your go-to-market plan.

4. Determine your sales strategy. Before rolling our your marketing plans you need to consider the sales strategy. Are you going to drive prospects to a face-to-face meeting, leverage your inside sales team, or move them into an online purchase funnel? Consider all of the buying steps before going to market.

5. Pilot your program. The most effective programs are those which are tested on a small scale. Before you put all of your marketing eggs into a single basket, consider rolling out your plans on a small test group. This allows you to better control and test all aspects of your marketing plan while minimizing risk.

6. Refine your go-to-market strategy. Once you begin to roll out your plan, be mindful of what's working and what needs improvement. The goal of marketing isn't perfect but continuous improvement. Through measurement and refinement, you can get the most from your go-to-market plan.

7. Test. Test. Test. Don't settle for good. Focus on great. After you do the initial launch of your plan, document what works, what doesn't, and what you'll do differently next time. Documentation is the key to avoiding mistakes in the future and building on your successes.

Go-to-market strategies always vary in size, scope, and timing. But effective strategies have all considered the key elements of: positioning, knowing your customers, segmenting by event, sales strategy, pilot programs, refining and testing your plan. If you want to success with your next marketing roll out, make sure you've considered all of these elements as part of your go-to-market plan.

New Study: How Online Marketing Drives Growth and Profitability in Professional Services Firms

marketing dept — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Online marketing has its roots in consumer and product marketing, so it is not surprising that the professional services have been slower to embrace it. Today, many firms continue to believe that finding new clients is all about relationships and referrals. Well, a new study of online marketing for professional services firms is blowing that theory right out of the water.

This study of 500 firms, supplemented by an expert panel of 20 top digital marketing authorities, uncovers dramatic evidence that could accelerate firms’ adoption of online marketing techniques. Below are seven key findings from the study, which our research team released last week:

1. Firms that generate at least 40% of their leads online grow 4X faster than firms that do not generate any online leads. This fact alone gives firms that embrace online lead generation a tremendous competitive advantage. But the old ways of generating business aren’t obsolete yet. The highest growth rates occur when there is a balance between online and offline leads (40-60% of leads from online sources).

2. Increasing online lead generation boosts profitability for the entire firm. Profitability doubles in firms that generate 60% or more of their leads online. So online lead generation accelerates both growth and profitability. As far as we have been able to determine, this is the first time that correlation has been documented in the professional services.

3. The effectiveness of online marketing is directly related to the level of usage. We asked the firms to rate 15 popular online marketing tools on two criteria: how much they used them and how effective they were. We found that firms that used the tools more frequently enjoyed better results. Obviously, you can’t dabble in online marketing techniques and expect solid results.

4. Search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing are driving the success of professional services firms. In terms of overall effectiveness, SEO was rated the top technique by study participants and our panel of experts, followed closely by web analytics, blogging, usability testing and whitepapers.

This is a powerful combination, and it is well suited to the habits of professional services buyers. Professional services markets are typically very competitive, and the sales process is complex. As a result, buyers are actively seeking education and information. So sellers need a way to be found and distinguish themselves.

5. Social media for the professional services is dominated by LinkedIn and Twitter. These two tools are well established in many firms. YouTube and Facebook have potential, but today they lag well behind in rated effectiveness.

6. Online marketing is also useful in recruiting new employees. Recruiting top talent is an ongoing challenge for many professional services firms. After all, their people are their product. About 55% of firms report recruiting new hires online, while one in four firms hire 40% or more of their people that way. Digital recruiting is particularly strong in the government contracting and technology sectors.

7. Online marketing in the professional services is poised to take off. Consider this. Almost half (46%) of professional services firms have redesigned their website in the last year. For firms that fit our “high growth” profile, the figure is over 85%. In addition, two thirds of firms plan to increase their online marketing budget next year, while less than 1% plan to decrease it. And the average increase in online spending is a hefty 56%. Clearly, momentum is building.

So what does this all mean for professional services firms? I see three big implications.

First, if your firm is not generating new business or new hires from online sources, you are missing out on huge opportunities for growth and profit. Sticking with traditional marketing tactics is not going to be a sustainable strategy. While relationships and referrals remain important, they are — literally — only half of the picture.

Second, even if you are actively involved in online marketing, you have more to do. While there are no silver bullets, the study’s high growth firms and panel of experts revealed many opportunities for average firms to enhance their marketing effectiveness, including SEO, usability testing and webinars.

Third, if you are not aggressively investing in online marketing, you are falling behind. This situation will put you at a growing disadvantage as other firms increase their budgets and, in due course, enjoy greater profits and faster growth. As time passes, it will get more costly and difficult to catch up.

The good news is that it is not too late to get in the game. But the results of this study underscore the need to act quickly. The ROI is there. The model is proven. And the momentum is shifting.

Lee Frederiksen is Managing Partner of Hinge, a firm specializing in branding and marketing for professional services. Lee, who was the Research Director for the online marketing study described in this post, welcomes your comments and feedback.

Optimize Your Videos For YouTube

marketing dept — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:25:00 +0000

One of the most popular search engines online today was actually started created by three former PayPal employees back in February 2005. It’s not Google, Yahoo, or Bing – it’s YouTube. The site attracts countless viewers every day and is considered to be the largest video based website on the Internet.

Developing and promoting videos is a great way to generate traffic and promote your products, services, and special offers. The question everyone wants answered is how to get your videos ranked high on YouTube and even appear in organic search results too. The good news is that by following a few basic optimization principles, you can quickly and easily optimize your videos for YouTube.

Let’s start with some basic YouTube ranking factors. This search engine works differently than other search algorithms. From my experience, where you appear on the platform and in relation to specific search queries depends on a few factors.

1. Relevancy. Metadata is exceptionally important on YouTube because of the search algorithm itself as well as the role that related videos play as part of the overall video viewing experience. Your video title, description, keywords, etc. are heavily weighed as part of search queries.

2. Ratings. YouTube, just like Amazon, puts a lot of weight on user ratings. The rating and quantity of reviews indicates the viewer’s approval of your video and tells the search algorithm that your video is ideal to promote to the rest of the YouTube universe.

3. Responses. YouTube is also very interested in the comments and responses that others are making. When individuals take the time to submit video responses in addition to comments, YouTube gauges the additional interest as a key indicator of popularity, thus moving your video higher and higher in search results.

Optimizing your video is based on four simple, yet powerful steps. True video optimization begins with the video itself. It’s then followed by properly formatted titles, tags, and descriptions.

Video

When you produce your video, keep your video length longer than one and a half minutes but shorter than eight minutes. Videos that seem to rank well both on YouTube and organically follow this general rule of thumb with regard to length. Also, be sure to speak clearly when producing your video, using keywords in the first 10 seconds of the video and last 10 seconds of the video. It’s believed that Google is actually indexing some of your audio.

Title

Title your video like you would a pay-per-click ad. You want users to click through on your title to improve interactivity and views. It's certainly believed that having a strong title and good click-through-rate can boost the rankings of your video.

When creating your title, include your most important keywords at the beginning of the title and keep the title brief. The shorter the title the more weight you're giving to your keyword phrases. However, you want the title to be powerful enough to encourage clicks. Remember to use your keywords first, branding last, and encourage click-throughs.

Descriptions

When creating your description, again, be sure to use your keywords in the beginning. You definitely have more room than you did in your title or even on conventional search engines to describe your video. Keep in mind that you can use the description to include information about your video in general and provide specific info on products or services.

I always like to place a URL to a site I’d like to promote at the very beginning of my YouTube video description. This ensures that the URL is visible and clickable next to your video. It’s a great way to promote third-party sites, passing authority and link juice of significant proportion.

Tags

One of the best ways to optimize your tags is to again begin with your chosen keyword phrase. The second step is to do some research in the channel that your video will likely fit into. What types of tags are being used by the top ranking videos? You should integrate some of the same tags into the tags associate with your video to ensure a good ranking among similar videos that have already been posted.

Just the Beginning

Optimizing just a few features on YouTube such as the video itself, title, description, and video tags is a good starting point for improving the ranking of your videos. There are a variety of additional techniques to further optimize videos for YouTube that deal more closely with the social aspect of the video site itself. Views, reviews, etc. are all significant factors designed to manipulate video rankings on YouTube. I’ll be sure to cover these additional factors in future posts.