SEO: Post-Penguin Era Craves More Promotion than Content

Much confusion still abounds within the web-world as to how exactly the recent Google algorithm updates have affected rankings for established and new websites. While great debates over links, content, and keyword strategy still rage – often times contradicting from source to source – one marketing practice has remained virtually unaffected by the updates: promotion.

The bottom line of search engine optimization is, and always has been, increasing visibility. Many websites and pages’ rankings on Google’s search results immediately declined right after the algorithms had been updated. While their placing slipped on Google, placing remained virtually unchanged, or – in some cases – had risen higher on other engines such as Yahoo, Bing, etc.

Increased rankings on other search engines are always a good thing, though Google is still the most widely used search engine, by far.

There still is no 100% effective way of guaranteeing your site a high Google ranking, but promotion is a 100% effective way of gaining visibility to your site. Whether your content is informative, entertaining, or just simply “sought-after,” good content will draw-in traffic, if only it is properly promoted. Guest-blogging on other sites, advertising, social media interaction, and reaching into new forms of media are all very good forms of promotion.

As regular web-users become more savvy and comfortable with delving into new devices, hardware, and software; brands and companies also need to feel comfortable reaching into these media outlets. Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, and other apps/sites are virally becoming more and more popular. With their growing popularity, comes a necessity for businesses and websites to acquire an understanding of and familiarity with these products.

Though promotion within these various sites and applications is a growing necessity, maintaining and creating new and relevant promotional content in numerous locations is requiring more and more time, making it a full-time job for not only one person, but a staff of dozens.

This need for promotion management is boosting business and requiring more employees for marketing and SEO firms alike. While marketing and advertisement agencies had been hit hard by the move from print to web promotion in the past, businesses that embrace classic promotion tactics and implement them into new forms of technology have a wealth of opportunities ahead of them.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” was quoted by Alphonse Karr in the 19th Century, but as we are reaching further into the 21st Century, the quote is still relevant. While big changes are afoot within the online community, adaptation and promotion continue to produce great results that allow your brand and company to remain visible, successful, and profitable.

Zachary Ankeny

After attaining my Associates Degree in Visual communications in 2000, I set off on a long career as a freelance writer and graphic designer. I have designed and headed many marketing campaigns for companies big and small all around the country. It is my belief that graphic design and writing go hand-in-hand, as they are both forms of communication. My non-fiction works have been published in dozens of magazines and publications. I have written for – and worked with – organizations such as: Banner Hospitals, The Jerome Historical Society, The Arizona Historical Society, City of Tempe, City of Bakersfield, Town of Gilbert, Wildhorse Ranch Rescue, Cynic Magazine, e|Fiction Magazine, and many more. Writing and designing is my passion and I look forward to continuing on with it for many years to come.

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3 of the Best Games for iPad that are Changing the Media Market

In 2009, the video game industry sold 273 million units, leading to $10.5 billion dollars in revenue (according to NPD Group). This astounding number has been growing exponentially in the past few years as video games have moved into the corners of social networks and telecommunications.

 

With the growing popularity of handheld devices such as tablets, iPhones, and Android phones, these devices have become another platform for entertainment and games. From quick and basic games to full-on hi-resolution epics, games designed specifically for handheld devices are creating a whole new side to gaming, and simultaneously opening the industry as a marketing tool for businesses in other markets.

 

Here, we will highlight a few games that are changing the classic view on marketing and gaming…

 

 

 

“The Dark Meadow” – A true game-changer, this game has some of the most intense and well thought out storylines for a game on any platform, making its strict iPad-only availability so surprising. The game’s high definition graphics, mind-boggling special effects, and frightfully realistic sounds and voices pull the player into a surreal world. Furthering the limitless interactivity of the game is the fact that the player is given incentives to try out other products. These incentives and bonuses are given to the player if they view sponsored sites, demo other games, or order products. Certain items in the game are only obtainable with “Sun Coins.” While these coins can be purchased with “real-world money,” the gamer can also earn these coins by interacting with their sponsors’ web pages or advertisements. This, of course, is not the first game to employ real monetary costs into its storyline, but Dark Meadow has brought it to an all new level.

 

“Six Guns” – Following Dark Meadow’s marketing tactics, Six Guns employs the same sponsor and advertisement techniques as its dark predecessor. The one difference is that Six Guns is an open ended game that doesn’t have much of a beginning, end, or straight storyline. The plot and how the stories unfold is based on the user controlling the character. Similar to the Everquest and World of Warcraft realms, an ever-growing collection of cities, states and regions are constantly being created and updated. This move keeps the gamer interested in the game for years to come. Coupling this long-term use with the ever-growing list of sponsors and advertisers, the platform has the potential to generate a never-ending amount of revenue.

 

“Dominos Pizza Hero” – Quite possibly the most ingenious marketing ploy every created, this app/game took the act of purchasing a product and turned it into a highly addictive game. Tens of thousands of consumers order pizza every night. Many of those ordering have given up the traditional phone call order for the web-based ordering system – as it is more dynamic and fun. With the unveiling of the Pizza Hero App, many are soon to move to a new system of ordering. With this app, you quite literally make your own pizza. From rolling out the dough to saucing the pie, to placing your choice toppings, you control exactly how your pizza will be made. After you’ve made your entire pizza, you can browse through a list of coupons for your area, enter payment information, and even receive promotional news, deals and more. Both fun and functional, you can expect to see more brands taking a cue from Dominos and implementing this same tactic in their own ordering procedures.

 

These are just a few of the newest marketing opportunities being coupled with mobile-gaming, and new apps are appearing in app stores every day. In the days, weeks and years to come, we are sure to see increasingly dynamic and original uses for marketing in video games.

 

 

Zachary Ankeny

After attaining my Associates Degree in Visual communications in 2000, I set off on a long career as a freelance writer and graphic designer. I have designed and headed many marketing campaigns for companies big and small all around the country. It is my belief that graphic design and writing go hand-in-hand, as they are both forms of communication. My non-fiction works have been published in dozens of magazines and publications. I have written for – and worked with – organizations such as: Banner Hospitals, The Jerome Historical Society, The Arizona Historical Society, City of Tempe, City of Bakersfield, Town of Gilbert, Wildhorse Ranch Rescue, Cynic Magazine, e|Fiction Magazine, and many more. Writing and designing is my passion and I look forward to continuing on with it for many years to come.

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Happy Easter from Eminent SEO!

Happy Easter from all of us at the Eminent SEOEminent Social Media office!

Give yourself and your company an Easter gift this holiday- let us create & manage your online marketing strategy and social media. Give us a call today!

Team Eminent SEO

Eminent SEO is an Arizona website services and strategic internet marketing company.

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