What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

SEO campaigns combine marketing strategies with specialized web techniques to gain a greater exposure (or rank) in the search engines used today such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.  Today’s internet user will use a combination of real language and specialized terms to search for a product or service of a general or specific nature.  It is in the interest of the search engines to provide them the best results possible.  Likewise, it is in the interest of the typical website owner to have their site be most easily found.  Nonetheless, many sites are created without these SEO strategies in mind, and a good SEO strategy can be as valuable for a business as a multimedia advertising campaign.

If you have more questions about SEO or would like to hire MJC as a consultant, please contact us at marilyn@mjacksoncomputers.com.

Lately it has gained a lot of buzz as a vehicle for news and this is just another example of how dynamic this new media application can be.  Of course, it is a bit of a untamed beast but used properly, it can be a great tool for you or your business – gaining access into a more  personal relationship with who you want to reach.

For the beginner, there exists a significant learning curve in orientating oneself with exactly what is going on.  It invovles new vocabulary (to tweet, mentions, follow, etc.) and a small comittment.

Twitter has received both praise and criticsm by many experts in the communications and marketing industry.  Regardless, is has lately proven itself as a very interesting business tool for the short to medium term.

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There are many out there who would stress a lesser significance for the website but they fail to grasp the current trends in their audience.

In the first place, this is increasingly a world that is becoming more attune to those superficial elements associated with social networking.  Snippets of text on twitter, tagged pictures on Facebook, and catchy headlines on blog posts are really what the mainstream marketing world has been forced to take into account.  What does this mean?  People are simply now more judgmental when it comes to the first impression of something they see on the computer screen. They simply expect more. And profile builders on social networking sites have realized that their audience enjoys this kind of exhibitionism.  They will feed whoever their viewers are with carefully cultivated “status updates” and “tweets”.  This isn’t necessarily a bad development as this is an exercise from a different perspective  However, when it comes to analyzing your audience this is the practical way of looking at it.

Really, its a sign that our Internet Community has matured and these are the themes that your website needs to welcome.  Indicative of this is the sheer number of companies that have adopted social networking approaches, all with the motive of creating that mystical buzz of their products.  It also must be said that these approaches are not necessary for every client, however, we firmly believe that the audience of the 21st century expects a certain quality when visiting a website.  The representation of your company, blog, or campaign will depend on it.

You could also look at it alternatively.  If your website and web presence is stagnant or from an older generation, many things can be inferred about your company that you may not necessarily want to transmit.

There is a principle in business communication: Whatever you may be doing, it is impossible to ever stop communicating.  When it comes to your presence on the web,your silence may even be subject to interpretation.

The most healthy approach: At MJC, we believe the most healthy approach is to be assertive and to respond to your audience.  Many people want a website for the various practical reasons they make perfect sense: to share information with clients being one of them.

But a website is now more than that.  The theme we take away from the social networking phenomenon is that it is important to foster the conversation between business and client.  And we go about doing that in the most creative ways.

Keeping up with new technology obviously implies a certain commitment.  One that many of us are not willing to invest much time in.  We live in a time where developments in technology have come very fast, and we may not have had the time to adapt to them all.  Social networking is a field that had new players each day and it is easy to get lost in the confusion.  However, these  developments have caused a fundamental change in what our audience expects to perceive, and that is something we cannot afford to ignore when properly marketing yourself or your business.

Another way that you can learn new technology skills is to look online for tutorial sites.  For instance you can go to Smashing Magazine, Adobe, Microsoft for Office Suite and Delicious to look for online tutorials in your area of interest.