The Easiest Ways To Personalize and Drive More Traffic With Google+

Silence … I want you to put everything you’re doing aside and pay attention to what I have to say here.
Would you like to drive traffic, build a raving fan base and engage your audience?
If you answered ‘yes’ to the above questions, Google+ is the ideal social networking platform to make your goals happen a reality quickly.
Google+ is currently the fastest growing social networking site on the Web today with more than 300 million active users. It’s a perfect and ideal platform to build relationships, foster engagement and drive traffic to a blog.
If you want to resurrect a dying blog and turn it into a money-making machine, Google+ can help you achieve that!
I’m not exaggerating—it’s the fact.
Here are smart tips to help you increase blog traffic with Google+:

Create a Profile Page
One of the first steps you must take to build a loyal fan base through Google+ is to create a comprehensive profile of who you are, what you do, what your business is about, what to expect and what makes it special.
If your website can be identified as a brand, or business, then create a stunning Google+ page for it. If not, use your personal Google+ profile to build relationships, drive traffic and connect with your blog readers.

Be smart—Create Circles
One mistake I made when starting out on this platform was adding connections and not placing them in appropriate circles. It was easy for me to quickly build connections but, as my connections grew, I neglected my readers, influencers and focused on ‘jumpy’ things (gossiping).
Be accountable and detailed. Categorize your Google+ connections and place people in appropriate circles.
Create circles for blog readers, your mentors, blog post sources and so on.

Connect
Once you’ve created your Google+ profile, start building relationships. Connect with influencers. Take time to look through the people they follow to find more amazing people to follow.
Note: as you spend time on blogs and social networks, be on the look out for links to connect with influential people on Google+.

Publish quality and interesting content to grab attention
Quality content is king; it’s a good tool to quickly build a loyal fan base on Google+.
Don’t publish links to your blog posts repeatedly and don’t be over-promotional. I’m not saying you shouldn’t share or promote your content, but don’t do it excessively (once or twice is ideal).
Pro tip: only share informative content your friends will find value in.

Word of caution: don’t be spammy— be an influencer; contribute value and you will get a stream of readers overnight.

Cross Promote
Integrate social media icons and plugins on your blog to give people as many ways to interact with you online as possible.
Don’t stick to Google+ alone; cross promote through Facebook, Google+ and Twitter!

Host Google+ hangouts
I’m a big fan of hangouts; I recommend it if you’re looking for ways to engage your readers and spike up blog traffic.

You may ask, what are Google+ hangouts?
Very simple: they’re simple video chats between 10 or more Google+ members.
You can host a hangout and tie it with a blog topic or you could even promote it as a tutorial section or virtual webinar.
The Idea is to do something unusual—something that’ll leave your blog readers hungry for more.

Become an Active Ninja
Don’t expect an avalanche of visitors if all you do is ignore your Google+ stream and gossip on Facebook and Twitter.
Update your Google+ profile page frequently, spend time to connect and interact with friends. Don’t forget to make comments on other members status.

Take away tip: remember, the more active you are, the more likely people are to remember who you are, what you do and click-through to read your content.

What do you think?
Are you using Google+ to your fullest advantage? Kindly share your experience with us. We will be waiting to reply your views and comments in the comments section…

http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/05/16/the-easiest-ways-to-personalize-and-drive-more-traffic-with-google/

Social Media Strategies No One Ever Thinks Of

Social media is one of the hottest trends on the Internet today. No matter who you are or what you do, chances are you use social media in some way. If you are involved in some type of online business, you definitely have to make use of social media. If you aren’t, then you are missing out on everything that social media has to offer.
That being said, there is a lot more to social media than just posting updates on Facebook or Twitter. Although these two are certainly tremendously useful platforms that can help your business in numerous ways, it shouldn’t end there. Here are a few tips on how to leverage the vast power of social media to benefit your online business.

Bring out the best in others — There is only so much mileage you can gain from giving properties to yourself. If you spend more time talking about other people rather than yourself, you have a much better chance of attracting the interest of a broader group of people. Never hesitate to showcase the best of other people. It’s good karma, and your readers will definitely appreciate you because of it.

Get ideas from the best of the best — Not all your posts have to come from you. Of course, you will still have to generate original content on your social media sites, but drawing from the thoughts and idea of recognized authority figures will help you come up with fresher and more engaging content.

Go beyond mobile — Don’t just focus on providing content for the mobile crowd. While more and more people are accessing the Internet from mobile devices these days, there are still a substantial number of people who use desktops and laptops. Make sure your content is accessible to people using non-mobile devices, and you will reach a wider audience.

Be yourself…no really — Everyone knows the importance of staying true to oneself on social media, but there are many who don’t actually take this to heart. Because of insecurity and other reasons, many people tend to “put on a mask” when dealing with social media. Be yourself and don’t try to be something you’re not. It’s much easier to remain consistent this way, and you will be rewarded by an army of loyal followers who will hang on your every word.

Paint a thousand words — The value of pictures on social media simply cannot be overestimated. People will be more likely to stop and check out your post if a picture first grabs their attention. Pictures also help break up a page and prevent your readers from falling prey to text fatigue.

Build it…then get ready for when they come — Many people think getting a social media site together is all the work that needs to be done. In many ways however, it is just the start. If you build it, they will come, and you have to be ready for when they do.

Media instead of surveys — For purpose of gauging your market performance, surveys can be very flattering. Unfortunately, the results of surveys aren’t always accurate. By focusing more of your attention into social media and when and how people are talking about you, you will have a much more accurate and broader picture of what areas you are strong in, and which ones you will need to bolster.

Find out where it hurts — Although getting negative feedback is never a good thing, you do have to find out where the backlash is coming from and what you can do about it. By doing so, you maybe able to address the root problem at the core and offer concrete solutions.

Spread the love — Many of the followers that you will attract have their own stories to share as well. By retweeting your visitors’ posts, you not only help pull in more visitors to your site, but it will give your existing audience the idea that you are totally behind every post and know how to show your appreciation when it is deserved.

Be a problem solver — People tend to gravitate toward those who can offer them useful solutions to their problems. The world has enough critics and haters; what we need is more people who can actually help. You don’t necessarily want to spend all of your time solving other people’s problems, but being there when you can and offering concrete solutions will help trigger a significant boost to your popularity.

Get in the trenches — Social media really is all about connecting with other people. Don’t just sit behind your desk and let it do all the work for you. By engaging your readers as often as possible in as many different ways as possible, you will help establish your image as an approachable human being with whom they can relate.

http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/04/19/social-media-strategies-no-one-ever-thinks-of/

How to Build an Active List Using Social Media

Social media and e-mail marketing are two powerful business tools and, if you bring them together, you could greatly improve your marketing response. It was once thought that social media might replace e-mail as a marketing medium, but people soon began to realize combining the two could bring greater results for their marketing efforts.
Social media marketing and e-mail marketing are similar in that they both give you the opportunity to build relationships with your subscribers and/or followers.
As we know, building relationships is the foundation of a successful business.
But how do we most effectively combine the two power tools to achieve the desired outcome?
Below are some tips and ideas on how to use social media to build a strong, active and profitable e-mail list.

1. Subscription Form — Be sure to add subscription forms when possible to your social pages. Make it as easy as possible for people to sign up.

2. Incentive for Subscribing — Always offer people an incentive for subscribing to your mailing list. A free report, free eBook or gift of some sort will help guide and encourage people to sign up for your newsletter.

3. Interact with Your Social Contacts — Always respond promptly to comments, questions and likes. Ask for people’s opinions and ideas. Making people feel important and appreciated will go a long way.

4. Post Teasers — Post little teasers for upcoming issues such as “Coming tomorrow,” or “Releasing soon.” Snippets like this will heighten anticipation and generate more interest in your newsletter.

5. Sample Issues — Let your followers know they can read a sample issue. Post and tweet links to one of your best issues. Do this on a regular basis, not just once.

6. Has Been Sent Notification — Let your followers know when your newsletter has been sent. Announce this to your network as well.

7. Social Link Access — To establish the connection between e-mail and social media be sure to publish your social links in your newsletter. You want to connect your e-mail with your social pages as much as possible.

8. Host Events — Host regular events on your Facebook page and other social sites to increase awareness and interest for your newsletter. Offer exclusive gifts and incentives for people attending your event to subscribe to your newsletter.

9. Games and Prizes — Run a weekly contest or game in your newsletter and offer a prize. Keep your followers and fans posted on this game as well to get their attention focused on your newsletter.

10. Read More Link — Post helpful content on your social pages and add a quick subscribe link with a “Read more helpful information here.” Let your network know your newsletter contains useful information and resources.

Developing a deep connection with your social sites and mailing list can have a substantial effect on your business success. Use the ideas above but also try to expand on them to come up with more fun and creative ways to get your social network interested in and signed up for your e-mail list.
Always be raising awareness of your mailing list and what you have to offer. You cannot assume people from your social sites will go visit your business site so bring the best of your business to them!

http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/02/19/how-to-build-an-active-list-using-social-media/

6 Must Read Internet Marketing Articles

I wanted to share 6 resources including articles that I have found personally useful to my success making money online. I hope you will take the time to review these and share your favorite marketing articles below in the comment section.

#1) Google’s Own Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

As you know search engine optimization can be an important way to get free website visitors. The problem is that it can be hit or miss, and a difficult thing to completely understand. Even though you can’t rely completley on SEO as your only traffic source I still advise you to at least make sure you have the basics implemented on your site.
Google has actually created their own Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide as a PDF that you can download and read at your convenience.
Click Here for Google’s SEO Starter Guide PDF
To further enhance the SEO you do moving forward make sure you are using social sharing buttons on your site. These are links that visitors can click on to share the content on your site to Facebook, TWitter, Google+, LinkedIn, etc.
If you are using WordPress you can use the Digg Digg plugin or for your static HTML or PHP sites you can use the sharing options available at www.AddThis.com. They also have a WordPress plgin you can use.
The key to good SEO is having good content that is good for your users, and that will lead to shares and potential backlinks for your content.


#2) Get The Inside Scoop On Joint Ventures
Arguably the fastest and most targeted source of website traffic will come from joint venture partners. These are people in your niche market that have email lists that can promote for you. Eric Holmlund of Eric’s Tips lays out in detail the process he goes through to get joint venture partners.
Eric knows his stuff about this topic and he has made millions in the process because of joint venture partners. He is one of the most qualified people in the industry to talk about this topic. I am also proud to say Eric is a good friend and business partner with myself and Jeff Wellman in the Real Coaching Club.
If there is any lesson you take to heart it is this one on joint ventures.
Click Here For Eric’s Joint Venture Lesson

#3) Make Your website Work Across Multiple Devices

Learn how to build a website that works on all devices from smartphones, to laptops, to tablets, TVs, and more. With changing technologies more and more people are accessing the web away from their desktop computers or laptops for that matter.
It is more important than ever before to ensure you have a site that works across all platforms. This article will help you learn the basics of multi-device websites, teach you how to test your current website, and further assist with the building of a multi-device website.
This is a collection of articles from Google’s new Think Insights. You can get full articles and case studies here to ensure you are on top of the trends with mobile site optimization, and how this plays into your marketing efforts.

#4) How To Make $1,000,000 Per Month With Digital Products

This is by far the best interview I have ever read on the topic of making money with digital products. Even though this interview was done about 2 years ago it is still extremely relevant today, and this is some awesome evergreen content on the topic of information marketing. Mike Greary who is famous for his course on Clickbank called “The Truth About Abs” reveals deep insights into how he has taken this one digital product and transformed it into an enterprise that is generating over $1,000,000 in sales each and every month!
You also can’t go wrong with the interviewer which is Tim Ferriss.


Click Here To Read The Interview With Mike Greary

#5) 10 Lessons From A 100K Pageview Post

This article gives you a behind the scenes look at how the author had a single blog post get over 100,000 views! You can glean a lot of insight into how to create content for your blog so you increase the shares, traffic, and exposure for your website online.
Creating content like he lays out is exactly what the search engines are looking for. Use his insights as a guide for your next blog post, and you should see some great results!
Click Here To Read This Article

#6) What To Expect In SEO The Coming Months

Anyone remotely interested in getting free, targeted traffic from Google or other search engines through search engine optimization should watch this recent video from Matt Cutts who works at Google.

He provides some of the top information out there, and gives you insights that only a Google employee can. You can click here to go to his blog post.

http://www.paulcounts.com/6-must-read-marketing-articles

The Benefits of Social Media Marketing Using Facebook & Twitter

Social Media & Social Change

http://www.thebestcolleges.org/social-media-social-change/

10 Things Entrepreneurs Should Be Tweeting About

Image credit: 1000 Words | Shutterstock.com
 

Apart from creating a vibrant branded Twitter account for your startup, business owners should consider creating their own personal account on Twitter. Fans and followers often want to connect with the person behind the brand.
Giving customers and prospects a glimpse into the entrepreneur's life and mindset can allow them to cultivate a deeper relationship with customers separately from the brand. The goal, of course, is to increase customers' loyalty to the brand.
Here are 10 things every entrepreneur can tweet about, which can allow your clients and prospects to see another side of you:
1. Personal news: Share the big events of your personal life -- vacations, weddings, births -- the type of info you'd share with close friends. It can help keep your followers feeling like they're "in the loop." You're also more likely to make a connection with followers who have experienced something similar.

 

2. Mistakes and lessons: Sharing mistakes and what you learned is a sign of growth, not weakness. Try doing a "What I learned this week" tweet and see how your followers respond.
3. Answers to questions: If someone asks a question on Twitter and you know the answer, share it. This can also be a way to develop a FAQ within your industry, which you can later point them to via a link.

4. Links to articles: They key to sharing articles is to also include your unique opinion. Let others know why you liked or didn't like an article.
Just remember that your opinion paints a public image, which means you should be cautious about which opinions you choose to share -- ideally only those which are congruent with your market. Keep the rest to yourself.
5. Pictures of unusual things you see: If something catches your attention, it's probably going to catch the attention of others, too. So why not share it? This includes visually impressive products, food and architecture.
6. Wisdom from the book you're reading: When you hit a "golden nugget" of wisdom in a book, share it. It not only shows that you're well read, but that you value wisdom. Those are two things that can only help your reputation.
7. Interesting advertising: When a billboard or any other advertising catches your attention, take a picture and tweet it. Everyone can benefit from seeing smart marketing.

8. Fun purchases: Sharing your recent purchases, such as music, video games or sports equipment can stir up comments and conversations from others that have bought similar items and enjoy the same kind of entertainment.
9. Share wisdom from outside the world of business: Quotes from sports heroes, military leaders and artists can teach us about innovation and leadership, which are essential to business success.
10. Your work: The greatest links you can share are links to your personal work, but don't limit that to what you do professionally only. If you have a hobby or passion for something creative, share it.


http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/224972

10 Tips for Using Twitter Like a Pro

It's been seven years since the popular social network was first launched.
In honor of the milestone, we've compiled this list of tips for how entrepreneurs can get the most out of Twitter for their businesses:

1. Ensure your Twitter account reflects your brand.
Believe it or not, some companies don't take full advantage of Twitter for branding purposes. When setting up your account, create a handle that's related to your brand name and use your company logo as your Twitter picture.

 

2. Keep photo size in mind.
When choosing images for your profile, be mindful of the type of image you're selecting and the size it will appear. Profile pictures, for instance, are small: 81 x 81 pixels. Your header image should measure 520 x 260 pixels.
3. Go beyond general, impersonal marketing messages.
Of course you want to use Twitter to spread the word about your products and services. But if that's all you share, and if you share them frequently, you can bore your customers and turn them away. In addition to your marketing, sprinkle in unique, personalized messages that engage consumers one-on-one, as well as links to interesting, useful articles online.
4. Don't ignore customer service.
An increasing number of your customers are most likely taking to Twitter to voice their satisfaction -- and potentially their problems -- with your products and services. Don't ignore these messages. Monitor Twitter for mentions of your brand and respond quickly to any questions or concerns. You might also consider creating a secondary account specifically for customer service.
5. Use hashtags wisely.
You can use hashtags -- a word or series of characters preceded by the # symbol -- to categorize messages and can make it easier for other Twitter users to search for tweets. But remember that you can't control what your followers and others on Twitter will say using hashtags you've created. Some of those comments could be negative or otherwise used in ways you didn't intend.
6. Play nice.
You might be tempted to talk politics on Twitter. Or bash your competition or voice personal opinions about sensitive topics. But if you wouldn't say these things in front of clients, it's probably best to keep them off your branded social media accounts. On Twitter, adopt a tone that reflects your company's image and keep your personal opinions to yourself.
7. Try creating a Twitter contest.
Help spread the word about your products and services for free. When a third party spreads positive comments about your products or services, it gives your company credibility and helps sell your products.
8. Track analytics to develop more effective marketing campaigns.
Although Twitter doesn't really offer an internal analytics program for standard users, tools such as Tweriod and Followerwonk can allow users to track things like the geographic distribution of followers and the hours your followers are most active. Understanding this type of information can help you plan more effective marketing campaign and schedules.
9. Clean up your account.
On Twitter, one of your primary goals should be to interact with followers. Consider unfollowing low-quality accounts including spammers and people who don't follow you back. FriendorFollow is a popular service that makes it easy to see and disconnect from any non-followers.
10. Change your password regularly.
You don't want your branded Twitter account falling into the hands of hackers. Change your passwords frequently, and consider using random numbers, letters and symbols that aren't necessarily related to your brand.


http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226178

Ranking #1 in Google for 110K Exact in 30 Days

Using Twitter for Sales and Marketing

image credit: theglobepress.com

 

Businesses are discovering that Twitter is a very effective tool for marketing, sales, technical support, and customer support. Your prospects and customers are talking about you and your competitors on Twitter, so you need to be listening to what they say and adapting your Twitter strategy to respond to their conversations. You can also use Twitter to proactively promote your brand, generate leads, promote company events and engage with your customers and prospects in real time.
Here are some ideas for using Twitter as a marketing channel:
Promote your brand by optimizing your Twitter profile.
Be sure to:

Use your logo as your profile picture.

• Use your brand name as your Twitter handle and your Twitter username.
• Use your brand name in your Twitter bio, and add a link to a white paper in your bio.
• Add your website's URL to your profile.
• Use your brand name as your hashtag and include it in all Tweets.

Generate leads by offering white papers, instructional videos, e-books and product samples if appropriate.
Write a compelling Tweet with a link to the lead generation asset. Always send visitors to a separate landing page with an opt-in form for each asset you Tweeted about. After visitors opt in to receive the asset, follow up with a series of emails that introduce them to your products and to additional white papers, videos and e-books. Track your results so you know which assets are most popular and which Tweets generate the best response. Tweets are like subject lines in your emails, so track your Tweets in a spreadsheet so you know which work best.
Promote webinars, conferences, training classes, and other events sponsored by your company.
Write Tweets that promote the events, and include a link to a landing page where customers can sign up for the events. Again, use a separate landing page for each event and track your results.
Display the Twitter logo prominently on your website and encourage people to follow you on Twitter.
Also add links to your Twitter page in your email footer, on your blogs and in your email newsletters. Constantly ask people to follow you in all your marketing materials.

If appropriate, offer discount codes in your Tweets.
Twitter has also become a very effective sales tool for both B2B and B2C businesses. In B2B sales, Twitter helps you keep your name in front of prospects when you have a long sales cycle. In B2C sales, you can Tweet promotions and coupon codes and create contests to generate sales. Here are some ideas for using Twitter for sales:
Listen!
Monitor your competitors' brand names and hashtags to see what people are saying about them on Twitter. When you see negative Tweets about their products or service, use it as a competitive selling point. Listen for positive and negative comments about your products and services as well. Engage unsatisfied customers or prospects immediately to defuse the situation. The key is to address their concerns quickly so you can turn the negative sentiment into positive sentiment publicly.
Use Twitter Search to find people using your target keywords in their Twitter profiles, hashtags, and Tweets.
They may be dissatisfied with your competitor's product and are looking for a solution to their problem. These people are potential prospects, so you should check out their profiles and follow them. After you follow them, see who they're following and keep following more potential prospects as you find them. Add your prospects to a Twitter list so it's easier for you to monitor and communicate with them.
When you have a prospect in your sales funnel, engage them in conversation publicly on Twitter.
Send them links to new white papers or videos to introduce them to new features in your products.
Hold contests to generate sales.
You could have people Tweet a picture of themselves using your product, with the winner receiving a discount on their next purchase.
Tweet coupon codes.
One of the most popular searches on Twitter Search is for "coupon codes" for specific brands or products.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226149#ixzz2R0ACiSRZ

How to Increase Your Twitter Traffic

In a few short years, Twitter has become extremely popular around the world. People tweet about many different topics. Many talk about their personal interests while others use Twitter as a way to promote their business, website or artwork. Twitter is one of the most effective ways to increase traffic to your website.
With increased traffic, you’ll likely make more sales. But, how can you increase your Twitter traffic? Here are some effective ways to do that.
A good place to begin is by letting others know that you are on Twitter. You can include a link to your Twitter profile in emails, blog posts, and your website.
Tweeting regularly also helps to drive traffic to your site. This will help you to gain followers who may visit your site through links in your tweets. Also be sure to have a link to your site on your profile.
Find quality accounts in your niche to follow and retweet some of their best content. Many of them will follow you back.
You will want to build good relationships with your followers. Don’t inundate your followers with promotions or too many links. Concentrate on posting helpful information and interacting with your followers.
Using Twitter can be a lot of fun, but it also takes hard work to use it effectively to promote your business. Don’t expect results overnight. It takes time to build up a respectable following of people who trust you enough to further investigate your business. If you concentrate on quality instead of taking shortcuts, you will no doubt find Twitter to be a very effective tool for reaching out to your customers.

http://newmarketspace.com/how-to-increase-your-twitter-traffic/

5 Underutilized LinkedIn Marketing Tools

Shutterstock

When it comes to nurturing professional relationships and developing a community, LinkedIn is one of the best resources. But while entrepreneurs might already be aware of important features such as its custom groups or the Question and Answer section, there are a number of tools and features that the professional networking site offers that have gone mostly unnoticed.
I recently connected with Fenot Tekle,senior communications manager from LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions team. Here's what she had to say about how small-business owners can use LinkedIn to help take their ventures to the next level:
Entrepreneur: What LinkedIn tools are underutilized by small-business owners?
Tekle: We offer a number of tools that small-business owners should be aware of when considering how best to engage with professionals on the platform, including:

 

Partner Messages: Small-business owners can utilize LinkedIn's InMail messaging platform to deliver relevant messages to specific audience segments.
Polls: This allows users to easily find answers to their business and market research questions. You can share a poll through LinkedIn's Facebook or Twitter integrations, or embed the voting module on your own website or blog.
Display Ads: Yes, businesses can advertise on LinkedIn. The display ads service allows advertisers to target specific groups of professionals through display ads on the LinkedIn platform.
Recommendation Ads: These ads display the number of recommendations that a small-business owner's product or service has generated on their LinkedIn Company Page.
Targeted Status Updates: Users can tailor the content in their status updates to specific types of company followers. Make sure the right people are seeing the right content.

Entrepreneur: What's the best application for an entrepreneur to promote their business?
Tekle: The targeted status updates, a feature that increases the relevance of conversations between companies and members. Accessible from a LinkedIn Company Page, the targeted status update allows an entrepreneur to tailor relevant messages to professionals who follow their company.
Entrepreneur: For business owners, what's the most important metric to measure?
Tekle: Key metrics will vary from one company to the next, but, in general, business owners are interested in seeing an increase in engagement.
An increase in engagement is the beginning of turning followers into advocates for the business. Engagement analytics are accessible on any established Company Page, so it's convenient for business owners to track their progress.
Entrepreneur: What does an entrepreneur need to know to get the most out of LinkedIn advertising?
Tekle: Have a clear understanding of the target audience. There are many tools available to marketers to attract desirable targets, but campaigns will likely be most effective if business owners reach the right audience, with the most the appropriate content in the right context.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/224337

4 Things You Need to be Doing on Social Media -- Now

Image credit: Shutterstock

By now, if social media isn't a critical element in your online marketing strategy, it should be. Having a presence on sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can add value to your product, to customer service and ultimately to your brand.
But simply having an account and broadcasting company news isn't enough. To attract and keep customers -- and to build a strong brand online -- business owners need to be active on social media. They have to provide valuable information and engage with their followers.
Here are four things businesses should be doing on social media in order to grow the brand online:
1. Engage with followers and provide customer service.
Your customers are engaging with your brand wherever they are -- including over social media. Don't miss this opportunity to listen to what they're saying to and about you, and to provide the best customer service.
Why is this so important? Responding to customer questions and resolving issues over social media shows everyone who's following you -- and potentially anyone who is online -- that your company cares about its customers, potential customers and goes the extra mile for people.

Tools like Hootsuite and Tweedeck can be handy for monitoring mentions of your brand over social media. As for when and who you respond to, set the tone early. If you reply often, people will expect it. If you don't reply a lot, people will see that as well and might stop engaging with you as often.
2. Crowdsource ideas.
Use social media as a marketing research tool. Just as people can reach out to you, follow you and stay connected with you, business owners can do the same with their customers. Social media is a two-way street.
Say, for instance, you're getting ready to launch a new product. You can ask your fans and followers what they think about specific details like which colors they prefer or what types of features they want. Not only can you get real, valuable market research at no cost, you're involving the consumer in decisions. Asking customers for their opinions can help show that they matter, and when they see their ideas become a reality, ideally you create brand and product champions.

3. Keep an eye on the competition.
Remember the old saying: Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.
When it comes to business, it's good to know what your competitors and other companies in your market niche are doing. By keeping an eye on their social media feeds, you can learn a lot about a company -- what it is doing differently, what it's good at and what it's bad it. Use this information to implement things in your strategy that you might be missing such as contests, giveaways or forms of content that their followers respond to most.
4. Establish yourself as an industry expert.
Nobody can know what you know unless you share your knowledge. By sharing information like tips, advice and answering questions about your industry, you can position yourself as a valuable resource.
Develop a content-sharing strategy where you respond to questions daily, provide unsolicited tips and share your perspective on industry news. Over sites like Twitter and reddit, also consider scheduling events such as question and answer sessions. Let your followers know that you'll be hosting the session, set the date and time, and determine the theme or topic you'd like to discuss. Then let your followers know that you'll try to answer everything they ask.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226214

Should Your Business Have a Podcast?

Image credit: Shutterstock

Your business probably has a website, Twitter account and Facebook page, but does it need a podcast? Consumers enjoy podcasts because it gives them alternative and more convenient ways to consume content, says Deborah Shane, a Florida-based branding expert and podcast host.
She says that more professionals are using podcasts as a marketing tool to establish expertise and distinguish themselves from the competition. Shane's Metropolis Radio business podcast has featured more than 350 guests and has been downloaded 245,000 times in the last four years. The 15 to 30 minute segments consist of interviews with expert guests on topics such as branding, social media, and entrepreneurship. "Podcasting has opened up more doors than just about any platform I've used," Shane says. By inviting experts as guests on her show, she's networking, building credibility, and making professional connections.
 But podcasting is a time commitment. Shane suggests waiting a month before you start promoting your podcast. Use that time to create visual branding for your site, think about the content you'll provide, the show's format, how frequently you'll record the podcast and which guests you'll invite on the show, etc.
Shane recommends using BlogTalkRadio, which offers a free, turnkey solution to record your show and link it to iTunes, Facebook and Twitter. Once a show is scheduled through BlogTalkRadio, the host and their guest(s) call a special number and are patched through to a "studio" dashboard that the host controls on his or her computer where he or she can take calls live or interview through the switchboard.
The show is recorded live and archived as a podcast, where it's made available on iTunes and can be shared on social networks or blogs. Editing is not available with the free version, but premium paid levels (which range from $39-$249 a month) allow users to edit their shows.
Here are six things to consider before starting a podcast:
1. Choose your format. Shane uses a late night talk show format and discusses talking points with her guests beforehand, but allows the conversation to evolve on the show. Another popular format is giving a tutorial or lecture on a topic relevant to your business that many people have questions about.
2. Record a podcast at least once a week. You want to listeners to know when to expect new content. While "live listeners" (people listening to the show as it airs) are great, Shane says the goal is to increase the number of downloads your podcast receives once it's posted.
3. Find guests with energy. Your guest may be brilliant in their field, but you want someone who's interesting and with whom you can have a good conversation. Shane suggests reaching out to experts in your field who have written a book or have a lot of Twitter followers, so they can promote their appearance on your show. The appearance is mutually beneficial, as they are gaining credibility as an expert, and you're building an audience and area of expertise.
"Great guests are actively marketing on their own social media platforms. They have energy, articulate well and know how to tell their story," Shane says.
4. Practice. Do two or three practice shows to get the feel for podcasting. Shane recommends recording a few test shows and posting them on your site to become comfortable with the process before promoting the podcast. You can set the show as "test" or "private" when scheduling your podcast.
5. Promote your podcast consistently. Use your other social media platforms, blog, website, etc. to promote your podcast before, during, and after the show has been recorded. BlogTalkRadio allows you to post updates automatically to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
6. Get ideas from the competition. Visit podcast.com or iTunes to see how other businesses are using podcasts to promote themselves.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226298

5 Online Marketing Strategies for a Tight Budget

Image credit: Shutterstock

In a world where attention is currency, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to attract the eyes and ears of your target market. Not only are you up against larger companies with nicely funded marketing departments, you're also competing with social media and a multitude of other distractions for the attention of your prospects.
But that doesn't mean your marketing efforts have to cost a ton of money or be overly dramatic in order to stand out from the crowd. Here are five creative and inexpensive ways to market your business in a digital world:
1. Get endorsed by a local celebrity.
Many business owners dream of having their product or service endorsed by a global celebrity. But instead of trying to get a superstar to support your business, try seeking out a local celebrity instead.
Who exactly are local celebrities? These are people your local paper is writing about -- perhaps an "unsung hero" such as a teacher or a resident who's doing something positive and newsworthy. Since they're in your neighborhood, these people should be relatively easy to locate and contact by phone or e-mail. Let them know you'd like to send them a gift, namely your product or service.

 

The only catch: you'd like to follow up with them in a few days to get their honest feedback. Their responses can make for useful blog or marketing content.

2. Create a LinkedIn group.
Not only is a LinkedIn group free to create, it can enable you to offer your professional network a vibrant, useful information resource all while driving traffic to your site and increasing sales. Just don't use the platform to hard sell anyone.
It can take time and effort to get one going, but the goal should be to help provide resources and start discussions on topics that can benefit your community. Groups should also be a place for your members to network with other professionals online.
3. Get published on niche blogs.
While it may be difficult to get on the front cover of a major magazine, you can create marketing opportunities by being featured in a popular niche blog. Identify three to five blogs that target your market then contact the creator and offer a few ideas of how you'd like to bring value to his or her readers. You can:

• Demonstrate good will by offering the niche blog owner a small amount of your product or service for free, which they can give away to their audience as a gift. This is different than a product review, which only offers information.
• Send ideas for blog posts you'd like to write and explain why they would be helpful for their readers.
• Ask if you can interview them for your site. This might entice the blog manager to promote your content since it highlights his or her business.

4. Create videos for YouTube.
With more than 800 million unique visitors a month, YouTube can be a powerful platform for marketing a business online. To do so, go beyond simply posting random videos of your product or sharing your thoughts.

The marketing videos you create should include the following elements:

• A keyword-researched headline
• A clear editorial message (don't try to accomplish too much in one video)
• A call to action (tell the viewer to do something, such as subscribing to your channel)

While you can spend a small fortune on cameras, lighting equipment and editing software, the camera built into your smartphone should be able to capture suitable online video. As for editing, if you're on a Mac, for instance, you should already have iMovie in your applications. Even if you don't have a Mac you can find free software online or hire a professional editor on sites such as Fiverr.com, possibly for as little as $5 depending on the scope of the work.
5. Write an e-book about the biggest issues in your industry.
No longer do you need a publishing company or thousands of dollars to get distribution for a book. Amazon, for instance, will let you upload a digital book for free, with a 33 percent take on every sale. The goal is not to make a profit from direct book sales but to use it as a lead generation tool, encouraging readers to opt into your website for further information.
Even time-strapped entrepreneurs who aren't great writers should consider this. You can search sites like E-lance or Odesk to hire an affordable ghostwriter who can help you convert your blog posts or audio recordings into book format.
When it comes to marketing your book, set the price between $1 and $5 -- which makes it affordable -- then use social media, video marketing and e-mail list marketing to promote it. To generate more leads, keep in mind that Amazon allows prospective buyers of your book to take a sneak peek of the first few pages. Be sure to embed links into these early pages so you can capture leads from people who were interested but didn't wind up buying your book.


http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226146

Maximize Twitter to Monetize Your Brand

Twitter is one of the most widely recognized and versatile social marketing tools appropriate for your personal branding efforts — as long as you know how to maximize its benefits.
Twitter isn’t just about tweeting popular information or conversing with associates. It is about networking with as many individuals as you can.
But, therein lies the question: how do you expand the visibility of your brand? Excessive tweeting and even posting valuable information or helpful links isn’t necessarily going to improve awareness. There are certain tools and techniques that need to be applied to make the most of your online Twitter existence.
Improve your following
One of the most powerful tools on Twitter is the hashtag (#). Ensure you use hashtags to grab the attention of others on special days like #FF (Follow Friday). This is a tool that allows you to recommend other Twitter accounts and mentionable brands.
It’s a great opportunity to improve your number of followers, and is likely to get you some recommendations as well. Remember, Twitter is a network that works well if you work with others. Competing will only hinder your efforts. Just be sure to leave room when making a recommendation so those you recommended can thank you or re-tweet it later (perhaps including it in their favorites).
Spark a conversation
When commenting on valuable content that has been tweeted, posted, or otherwise written, be sure your comment is thorough and self-explanatory. What made it valuable to your specific area of expertise? Don’t just recommend it; explain why it is your recommendation. You are working toward word-of-mouth marketing by recommending those that will return the favor — this will improve your visibility and expertise.
When re-tweeting, expand your material by adding in valuable commentary that can be linked back to you. Re-tweets are often limited to simply saying “what they said,” but it doesn’t benefit you as much as it could. Additionally, keep in mind that short URL’s should be used for the sake of space, plus it allows you to comment on it or clarify its purpose (be sure that you do so).
Mention to generate attention
Twitter feeds can be littered with a largely unorganized mess of conversations, which is why the @mention should be used to help clarify a conversation. It can be used in another way as well. Have you recently added new followers? Investigate them — what is it that they do? Brand? Professional experience? Application? Find something to initiate a conversation with them by @mentioning them as a recommendation, showing appreciation for the follow, or otherwise begin developing a stronger network with them.
As a helpful hint, when acknowledging an article, mention the author as well (using their twitter account). This is far more likely to get the author’s attention than simply mentioning or linking to their article.
Twitter has an array of tools, all of which must be used to maximize your networking experience. Be sure you make the most of your opportunity by mentioning, recommending and sharing others so they will share you too.

---

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks, a word-of-mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops — taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy, buzz2bucks.com.

http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/04/05/maximize-twitter-to-monetize-your-brand/

10 SEO Reasons to Add Facebook to Your Content Strategy

Over a year ago now, both Google and Bing announced that they factor social signals from social media into their organic search algorithms. As the lines between social media and search engine optimization continue to thin, social media will gain importance for SEO. As Google described it, social media is about relationships and relationships prove relevance. Relevance is at the core of organic search.
It’s well known that Facebook has 845 million active users and 50% log in daily. These numbers are astounding! I guarantee you that your customers and prospects are included in those numbers. They are on Facebook and they’re likely trying to engage with your brand.
If you don’t yet have a Facebook Page for your organization, you really ought to consider optimizing your content marketing strategy to include one.
Here are 10 SEO reasons why your organization needs a Facebook presence:

1. Google and Bing crawl and index Facebook Pages because they are publicly available. As a result, Facebook Pages do indeed come up in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
2. Google announced in early November 2011 that they now crawl and index Facebook Comments.
3. People are starting their branded searches at the Facebook search box. Test to see if your brand comes up when you search for it in Facebook.
4. SEO is now about web presence optimization (WPO) and Facebook is a must for any web presence.
5. Your target audience (unless you think they’re not included in the 845 million Facebook users) is hanging out there.
6. The “Like” button is the new “backlink.”
7. The “Liker” (the Facebook User who did the “Liking”) is the new “lead” or “contact.”
8. Your Facebook presence adds quality backlinks to your website.
9. Facebook is accessible on mobile devices, giving your prospects and clients easy access to your content and brand.
10. Your competitors most likely have a Facebook presence.

SEO as a digital marketing tactic continues to evolve because our friends, at places such as Google, keep adjusting their organic search algorithms. In fact, it is estimated that in the past 12 months Google made 500 adjustments to their algorithm. As the lines between SEO and social media continue to fade, we can count on one thing – that Google will continue to tweak their algorithm to include more emphasis on social signals coming from not just Facebook, but also Twitter and Google +1.
Learn how to optimize your Facebook Page for organic search and improve your web presence. DOWNLOAD: SEO your Business Facebook Page for Google – A How-To Guide
This is a guest post by Krista LaRiviere, CoFounder & CEO of gShift Labs, a web presence optimization company. She blogs and speaks about SEO and the importance of social media, public relations, and press releases to SEO. Her team has helped hundreds of organizations get control of their entire web presence in order to rank higher organically in the search engines. She believes SEO campaigns should be just as easy to execute, track, manage, and measure as email marketing and paid search. Connect with Krista: @KristaLariviere, +KristaLariviere, @gShiftLabs, +gShiftLabs, and on Facebook.

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/04/03/facebook-seo-content-strategy

The Benefits of Online 'Office Hours': Why You Should Consider Live-Tweet Sessions

Last week the White House launched a new “Office Hours” Twitter program, in which U.S. citizens are invited to tweet their questions and concerns over the nation’s deficit reduction and debt ceiling negotiations. Using Twitter to encourage healthy dialogue between individuals and large corporate entities is nothing new, but establishing predetermined times for concentrated discussion is a trend still growing in the Twitterverse.
The White House office hours grew out of last month’s Twitter “townhall”; people were encouraged to #AskObama questions concerning the economy, healthcare, and the like. The president answered in true Twitter fashion, making him the first president to live-tweet to the nation.

The Doctor Is In: The Marketing Advantages of “Office Hours”

Having established hours when you’ll be available on Twitter has its advantages. Twitter’s integration with mobile phones encourages instantaneous responses and fast-paced tweeting, but a disconnect still exists between users most of the time. For introducing questions, it feels a bit like throwing a fishing line into a murky lake – there’s no telling if anyone is really out there.
Setting up a real-time Q&A session on Twitter guarantees visitors that someone is listening and establishes reliable conversation.
I had a recent nightmare experience with Comcast customer support, as I was forced to speak to numerous androids, and then human representatives who weren’t much more help. I had to call five separate times before finally finding a kind ear, who was able to help me quite easily.
As humans, we have a desperate desire to be heard. Businesses rely on social media because it helps establish community; but communities can’t happen with a single person hollering down a well and waiting for an answer.
A live tweet session is a great way to provide people with live personalized attention without a direct phone call.
Take a look at how others have used established tweet-times to garner interest:

• Fashism hosts “ask the expert” Summer Fridays in which folks tweet their fashion woes and have live celebrity fashionistas respond with style tips.

• Community online shopping site Moxsie introduced #BuyerChat events on Twitter in which followers play the part of virtual shoppers, providing clothing designers with real-time feedback.

• The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum organizes online “Dialogues” – monthly live Twitter discussions with artists in conjunction with in-house museum events.

• Lucky Magazine hosts regular fashion Q&A sessions to help prevent fashion faux pas.

Have Something to Offer

Naturally if you’re hosting a live Twitter event, you’ll want to be prepared; that means taking time to think about the kinds of questions that might be posed, and having answers ready.
Not all questions have simple answers, in which case you may want to use Obama’s technique of having material ready to link to in order to explain more complicated answers (as you can imagine, the debt crisis doesn’t fit easily into 140 characters).

Hashtag Television

Live tweeting in the form of hashtag television is becoming increasingly popular, as TV watchers unite on Twitter to discuss the thrills and triumphs of their favorite characters live with other like-minded devotees.

Originating with the #trumproast, other television shows, such as Glee, have begun displaying their hashtags in the lower corner throughout new episodes.
With tablets and smart phones growing ever more popular, it’s not uncommon for TV viewers to divide attention between the big tube and smaller screens in a show of multi-tasking mastery. Seeing a hashtag during a favorite show prompts the viewer to find out more, even if they aren’t sure what it is (although who mistakes a pound sign for a hashtag anymore?).

Show Them You Care by Being There

Live tweeting is a technique that is still catching on with most companies, but it’s a great idea to consider. Many groups host one-time live Twitter events, but making them a regular routine fosters community and user loyalty. Talking with live individuals reminds users that you are indeed human, and are truly listening!
Make being present a habit, and customers will reward you with devotion and virtual hugs.

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2011/08/04/live-twitter-office-hours

Twitter Paid Advertising for Small Businesses: How to Get the Most Out of the Promoted Tweets Platform

 

Twitter’s pay-per-click advertising platform, now in beta, has opened up to offer access to some small businesses in addition to the larger advertisers who have been able to advertise via Twitter ads for some time. Getting access to the promoted tweets platform and understanding the different types of advertising available to you via Twitter could be a point of confusion for small businesses, so let’s outline the different means of advertising on Twitter.

Available Forms of Twitter Advertising

There are a few different ways you can advertise on Twitter:

• Promote Tweets to Twitter Search – You can pin a promoted Tweet to a specific search (you could choose some of your core keywords or advertise on a competitor’s brand name).
• Promote Tweets to Your Followers – You can also promote specific tweets to people who already follow you – this might be a good place to promote a specific offer you want followers to take, to promote your presence at events, or to promote content you want to get more exposure for.
• Promote Tweets to Users Similar to Yours – This is a good way to get additional exposure beyond your follower base, as the platform will find users similar to your followers and show them your promoted Tweets, which might promote certain offers and/or content.
• Promote Tweets to Trends – Similar to search, you can promote a Tweet in response to a specific trend, such as showing an ad for NBA jerseys in response to an #NBAfinals trend.
• Brand Pages – You can create an “Enhanced Profile Page” which is a branded page similar to a Facebook fan page.
• Sponsored Accounts – You can also pay to have your Twitter account sponsored to users who the platform determines would be interested in your account.

If you’re a larger advertiser and can commit to at least $15,000 over three months, you can have access to all of these features, or if you’re a smaller business and want to test the platform via self-serve ads you can leverage the promoted accounts and promoted tweets (to users similar to yours).
You can learn more about the small business platform and get $100 in free ads here:
https://business.twitter.com/en/smallbiz/
And you can sign up for a new Twitter ad account here:
https://business.twitter.com/en/advertise/start/
For a small business, self-serve account you can designate how much you want to pay per follower, for the promoted accounts product, and you can designate a daily budget as well as a cost to pay per new follower:

As you can see a bid is recommended and they project how many new followers you can expect per day.
Promoted tweets is very similar, but in addition to controlling budget and cost per follower, you can also accept or reject actual tweets to promote to Twitter users who are similar to your followers:

You can promote specific content you want to gain exposure for (such as link baits, Webinars, white papers, discounts or coupons, etc.) and while you can’t hand-designate specific tweets you can “reject” tweets to help cultivate the five tweets that actually show up as promoted.
Pushing hard offers via Twitter ads can be very ineffective, but investing in growing your follower base and exposing your tweets to more Twitter users can be a great way to help generate more exposure for your content and can actually drive leads and sales to specific types of offers. You have much less targeted control with many of Twitter’s promoted products as you’re basically promoting an existing account or tweet that you’re using for another purpose, rather than hand-crafting an account to drive specific traffic to a specific page via a specific ad as you would with AdWords. But if you’re cognizant of the prices you’re paying (in some cases as low as .50 per engagement) and the traffic and interaction with your site that’s being generated as a result, Twitter ads can be a valuable part of a balanced set of lead generation channels that also includes PPC, content marketing and so on.
About the Author
Tom Demers is co-founder and managing partner at Measured SEM LLC, a boutique Boston, MA SEO and PPC agency offering search marketing consulting services including pay-per-click account management, a comprehensive SEO audit, content marketing strategy, reputation management for SEO and link building services and strategies for a variety of specific niches such as B2B SEO services.
You can learn more about how Measured SEM can help your business by getting in touch with Tom directly via email at tom at measuredsem.com, or by following him on Twitter.

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/06/25/twitter-advertising-promoted-tweets

How to Drive Google Image Search Traffic That's Actually Relevant

My personal blog gets a lot of traffic through Google Image Search. In fact, two of my top 10 organic keyword referrers are “jeff bridges” and “young jeff bridges,” thanks to a post in which I ask the age-old question, who’s the ultimate in “cocky-hot,” a young Jeff Bridges or James Spader circa Pretty in Pink? (Scientists have not yet reached consensus on this issue.)

Well, traffic is traffic, right? Meh – maybe for a blog that has no real business goals. But let’s pretend for a second that I am running a business and have goals to reach. As such, there are a few problems with this traffic:

• It’s irrelevant – People who search Google Images for pictures of Jeff Bridges don’t really care what I have to say, about Jeff Bridges or otherwise probably – they just want to look at Jeff Bridges, or maybe they want to find a picture of him to use on their own site. My blog isn’t about Jeff Bridges or movies or acting or celebrities at all.
• It bounces/doesn’t come back – Once visitors get what they came for and realize that I don’t deliver an endless stream of Jeff Bridges pics, they are unlikely to bookmark my site and put it into their regular reading rotation.

Sometimes people use image search because they just want to steal your cute cat pictures and put them on their own blogs. But sometimes, people are genuinely looking for information (or products) that can be represented visually.
If you’re running a business site/blog, you should always be thinking about how you can build a return audience with your content. If people find your site and convert right away, great! Have a Hershey’s kiss. But often with content marketing, the goal is to form a new relationship, to nudge the prospect down the funnel and one step closer to eventually becoming a customer. So you want most of your visitors, even new visitors who find you through a Google search, to be relevant to your business.
With that in mind, here are three ways you can maximize your Google image search traffic.

Think of Google Image Search as an Easy Win

Several months ago we made a conscious effort to better optimize our site for Google image search rankings. Notice the strong upward trend in traffic from image searches:

The bounce rate for this traffic is also relatively low – in fact it’s lower than our site average. (To look at your own Google image search numbers in Analytics, go to Traffic Sources -> Sources -> Referrals, then click on google.com, then /imgres.)
It’s often easier to drive traffic through image search or video search than plaid old regular search – in part because there’s less competition and in part because the competition is less likely to be properly optimized. So think of image search as an easy win. If you play your cards right you can start to drive traffic from image search pretty quickly. The trick is making sure that traffic is relevant and valuable. That brings us to our next section.

Create Visual Content that Speaks to Leads

When trying to create content that ranks for your SEO keywords, it’s always a good idea to start with those keywords, rather than writing whatever and forcing keywords into your content after the fact. Similarly, when optimizing for image search, start with keywords and go from there.
Many keywords lend themselves naturally to visual content, but almost any kind of content can be enhanced with images. “How to” keywords are especially conducive to image-heavy content, because it’s often easier to illustrate a process than simply explain it. (This is why some build-it-yourself furniture comes with instructions that are all diagrams, no language.) How-to keywords are also great for driving highly relevant long-tail traffic, and when you can provide the perfect answer to a question, you increase your chances of converting that visitor to a customer later on.
Here are some examples of how you can create visual content to support how-to keywords for different business types:

In all these examples, you’re going after traffic that is highly relevant to your business, and you’re using images to help you attract and keep that traffic. The thinking is, even for informational keywords like this that might not directly lead to a sale, you’re raising awareness of your brand and positioning yourself as an authority on the topic at hand. This can only help you down the line. (Hint: Look for opportunities to capture some lead information, for example by prompting blog visitors to sign up for your email list, so you can nurture them with targeted offers. Or set up a remarketing campaign in AdWords, so those visitors continue to see your display ads for the next month or so. If they were looking for information in your field, they may need more help, in the form of products or services, in the near future.)
So how do you make sure that your images show up in the Google results for your target keywords? I was just getting to that!

Use Image File Name and Tags to Your Advantage

A lot of sites don’t properly optimize their images, whether from laziness or ignorance, which makes it easier for you to step in and outrank them. Our internal tests suggest that optimized images actually improve your rankings in regular web search, too.
Google can’t “read” your images yet (and still no flying cars!), so you need to use the text that surrounds the image to tell Google what the picture is “about.” To optimize your images for Google image search, there are two main elements you need to focus on:

• The image file name – When you save your images, use file names that describe the photo and are optimized for the keyword set you’re targeting. In the “how to dress for a job interview” example above, you might save a picture as “mens-suit-for-job-interview.jpg” – notice that this is readable, descriptive text, compared to some meaningless string of numbers like “IMG0009.jpg”
• The alt attribute – When you code an image into your site, you can use the alt attribute to describe the image in text. If someone’s browser won’t display the image, they’ll see the alt text instead. Google can also crawl the alt text to learn what the image looks like. This is a good place to put one of your keywords – ideally, the keyword will actually describe the image accurately! The HTML might look like this: img src="mens-suit-for-job-interview.jpg " alt="job interview appropriate suit". Or you can add it via your content management system – here’s what the field looks like in Drupal:

Secondary elements that could also influence your rankings are the text near the images/on the same page (the caption, surrounding text) and anchor text in links that point to the image or the page with the image.
Remember to apply your keyword research here – your file names and alt attributes should describe the images you’re using, but your choices should also be driven by your SEO goals. If you’re targeting a keyword like “email marketing guide” and all your images are cute cat photos, you’re not really maximizing the relevance factor. Also remember that ads/banners are images – if you’re using display creative on your web pages, don’t forget to optimize those too.
Finally, make sure your images aren’t ugly, distorted, slow to load, or otherwise unwieldy. Here are Google’s recommendations for keeping images user-friendly:

• Good-quality photos appeal to users more than blurry, unclear images. In addition, other webmasters are much more likely to link to a good-quality image, which can increase visits to your site. Crisp, sharp images will also appear better in the thumbnail versions we display in our search results, and may therefore be more likely to be clicked on by users.
• Even if your image appears on several pages on your site, consider creating a standalone landing page for each image, where you can gather all its related information. If you do this, be sure to provide unique information—such as descriptive titles and captions—on each page. You could also enable comments, discussions, or ratings for each picture.
• Not all users scroll to the bottom of a page, so consider putting your images high up on the page where it can be immediately seen.
• Consider structuring your directories so that similar images are saved together. For example, you might have one directory for thumbnails and another for full-size images; or you could create separate directories for each category of images (for example, you could create separate directories for Hawaii, Ghana, and Ireland under your Travel directory). If your site contains adult images, we recommend storing these in one or more directories separate from the rest of the images on your site.
• Specify a width and height for all images. A web browser can begin to render a page even before images are downloaded, provided that it knows the dimensions to wrap non-replaceable elements around. Specifying these dimensions can speed up page loading and improve the user experience. For more information about optimizing your images, see Optimizing Web Graphics on the site Let's Make the Web Faster.

By following these tips, you should see an increase in your Google image search traffic – and it will be quality traffic you can actually capitalize on

http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2013/01/23/google-image-search-traffic