This topic is a hot one and just about every year at this time, I like to remind my clients, friends and family of the importance of owning their domain names.  Do you own the .com for your personal name?  If so, congratulations.  You purchased a good investment.  Even if you have not decided on plans for your domain yet, its reservation makes it yours and prevents anyone else with

When looking at metrics like cost per lead, it is vital to consider the options you’re not yet paying for. Leads are the lifeblood of your business so it stands to reason that the more leads you generate, the better–provided that the leads you’re generating are of high quality.  Let’s assume you’ve done a good job qualifying your leads to date and that all of the leads generated so far

Whether you started your business yesterday or ten years ago, you started for a reason.  You had a plan, a desire and a purpose for doing so, or you would never have taken the necessary steps involved in embarking on such a difficult journey. I’m writing this to the entrepreneurs of ten years ago.  If you started your company more than a decade ago, you no doubt had to adapt

I just read an article on search engine marketing, reporting on a study that indicates double-digit industry growth for 2010.  This isn’t necessarily surprising to me.  What is surprising is the fact that of the 1,500 advertisers surveyed for the study, 56% of them reported that their keywords have become more expensive over the last year. This opens the floodgates to a world of implications, but I’ll share three of

Many companies with which we consult ask us how to pay per click for online advertising.  This is usually an indicator that they’ve done some research, but still don’t know what they should do or why.  The problem with pay per click, whether it is on Google, Yahoo, Bing or even Facebook is that it looks and sounds so easy to do that most people try it without doing any

At Cyentist, we have long been proponents of a cohesive online marketing strategy. Fundamentally speaking, companies need good design, a social media plan and search marketing activity to create a firm foundation for success in marketing their brands online—locally, regionally and nationally. We know that these elements work together to create online results for business.  Cyentist has always recognized that the relationship between social and search are invariably connected and

Traffic is the lifeblood of every web site. Without visitors, your web site will never be seen. In order to achieve the results that matter to your web site, you must attract highly targeted traffic. This means, you need to show up in the search results when people are searching for exactly what you do. It is no secret that in order to achieve high traffic volume for your web

The subject of ROI is a hot one when social media hits the boardroom table.  I can’t help but laugh to myself when a potential client asks me what type of ROI they can expect from their social media program–especially when the client is a referral that originated from Twitter or Facebook or someone who reads this blog.  I have to say, Erik Qualman has done it again with his

Have you tried using Twitter Search? This is a remarkable tool that allows you to conduct keyword-specific search queries that yield real-time tweets containing your search terms. Searching tweets in real-time is a great opportunity to strike up a conversation about your industry.  Many people are looking for conversations to join that are somehow connected to their brands.  Twitter Search opens the door to just such a possibility.  The other