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#Ravenchat wrapup: July 2012 with netmeg

Marketing

#Ravenchat wrapup: July 2012 with netmeg

netmeg-is-mysterious
For our July #Ravenchat on Twitter, in which we’re regularly joined by some of our smartest friends in Internet marketing, we got to hang out with the snarky, sassy and supersmart Meg Geddes, aka netmeg.

Netmeg’s an internet/marketing consultant focusing on SEO, PPC, e-commerce and usability who also writes at Webmaster World, Outspoken Media and right here at Raven, among other locations.

During the chat, we talked about the worst marketing mistakes she’s seeing out there, what she thinks Google’s up to and some of her favorite tools. Read on for a Storify recap, and be sure to join us again for #Ravenchat in August.


Ravenchat July 2012: Netmeg!

We chatted with Internet marketer Netmeg on July 25, 2012 about SEO/PPC best practices and worst habits, the state of Google, her favorite tools and more.

Storified by Raven Tools · Thu, Jul 26 2012 08:01:05

Tune in at 4 today for @netmeg’s #ravenchat. Ask her about SEO, PPC & whatever other things you like. #trickquestionsarebestAmy Africa
is bringin’ her berries to the #Ravenchat with… wait.. ME! Are your bringin’ yours? http://pic.twitter.com/JoErncv7netmeg
I’m pulling up a chair to #Ravenchat with @netmeg and @RavenTools :) Starts in 10 minutes! http://raven.im/NxeeDe #ravenchatNate Baker
She rocks: RT @raventools: We’ll be tweeting up a storm in just a few minutes with @netmeg for #Ravenchat! Hope you can join us!Chris Countey
Ready, set, go! for #Ravenchat with @netmeg. Today we’re talking SEO, tips, tools and more. Say hello… (and then we’ll kick off with Q1)Raven Tools
Yikes. How can that be??? RT @netmeg: Um.. hello! and remember kids, only five months till Christmas. #ravenchatLisa Sanner
Q1: BIGGEST SEO/PPC MISTAKES
Speaking of Christmas, @netmeg, let’s go with Q1: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see people making lately in SEO/PPC? #ravenchatRaven Tools
A1: The biggest mistake I see with *everything* is a bad business model to start. If foundation sucks, nothing good comes. #ravenchatnetmeg
… cont A1. I don’t deal with a lot of SEOs, I deal with clients (and my own stuff) SHORTCUTS DON’T FRICKIN’ WORK ANYMORE #ravenchatnetmeg
Amen sistah RT @netmeg SHORTCUTS DON’T FRICKIN’ WORK ANYMORE #ravenchatChrista Watson
… cont A1 Believe me, I’ve tried em all on my own stuff. Wasted a ton of time and money and effort #ravenchatnetmeg
A1: What kind of shortcuts? #RavenchatRaven Tools
A1: Mostly sacrificing true quality and *authority* for games. #ravenchatnetmeg
A1 you’re never gonna compete with Amazon on books fer chrissakes. But you can compete with them on other stuff #ravenchatnetmeg
A1 also the sun don’t rise and set and Google. yea I said it. #ravenchatnetmeg
er that shoulda been rise and set ON Google #ravenchatnetmeg
@netmeg A1 Technically the earth rotates. #ravenchatArienne Holland
@RavenArienne so does Google earth. #ravenchatGregory Jones
@netmeg Although there is a Sun button in Google Earth. http://nate.at/NK1l7G #ravenchatNate Baker
@RavenArienne A1 yes but I have no pithy saying that takes that into account yet. #ravenchatnetmeg
A1 (final) if I hold a gun to your head and you can’t tell me in 10 seconds what your UPV is over your competition, say bye bye #ravenchatnetmeg
@netmeg @raventools Amen. All the marketing in the world doesn’t matter if your core biz sucks. #ravenchatDawn Wentzell
@saffyre9 heh can’t tell you how many times somebody calls up and says "I want to market a new myspace, but for GOLF! ork ork #ravenchatnetmeg
Q1: Are you talking about unique value propositions for your clients, or as SEOs/SEMs? #RavenchatRaven Tools
@RavenTools A1 I meant clients, but both. How do you pick one over the other? I haven’t taken on a new client in years so I dunno #ravenchatnetmeg
Q2: CLIENT RELATIONSHIP STRATEGIES
Moving along to Q2: @netmeg Working with clients isn’t always easy. Any strategies for getting buy-in and trust from clients? #ravenchatRaven Tools
Q2 thats always the biggest problem. Most people want LOW price #ravenchatStuart Lieberman
@RavenTools Q2 Most of my clients have been with me for over 5 years now. They already trust me. New inquiries because they see #ravenchatnetmeg
Q2 my posts and/or rants on WebmasterWorld or the twitter or in a Matt Cutts post on Google+. #ravenchat I usually have to pass them onnetmeg
Q2 I think the trust issue also has to do with whether or not they’ve been burned by crummy SEO practices in the past #ravenchatnetmeg
A2: Sounds like your clients buy-in because they trust your online reputation. What if you’re just getting started? Any advice? #ravenchatRaven Tools
A2 Yea but I didn’t always have an online reputation. Honestly, if I was looking for clients, I’d be jumping into as many #ravenchatnetmeg
A2 conversations as I could – forums, conferences, whatever. The most biz cards I ever handed out was at an AdWords Seminar #ravenchatnetmeg
A2 where I was asking advanced questions, and even though I was there to learn, people were fighting to sit next to me at lunch. #ravenchatnetmeg
@netmeg you have had an online reputation for a long, long time #ravenchatEdward Vielmetti
@vielmetti yea but that was an entirely different reputation #ravenchat (@vielmetti has known me since I started watching idiots online)netmeg
A2 the bottom line is if you’re just starting out, you’re not gonna get the big contracts or retainers. You have to start small #ravenchatnetmeg
A2 my biggest client now was teeny tiny when we started together in 1997, we grew together into something really great #ravenchatnetmeg
Have y’all noticed a trend in potential clients knowing more about SEO than before? #ravenchatNate Baker
@RavenNate I’m not sure if "knowing more" would be the phrase. More like "hearing and repeating more" #ravenchatChrista Watson
@christawatson Sounds like one of the keys to gaining new SEO clients is to be a great SEO and a great educator. #ravenchatNate Baker
@RavenNate I also think they want to know more & trust less because most have been burned by low price overseas gimmicks #ravenchatChrista Watson
@RavenArienne I won’t waste my time on something that a) isn’t well thought out and b) isn’t viable #ravenchatnetmeg
@RavenArienne if I can’t go to biggest competition and find holes in their offering that I think we can exploit, it’s not my gig #ravenchatnetmeg
Ha! @netmeg: LOVE looking at competitors (mine & clients) and finding holes in their biz models that I can drive a truck thru. #ravenchatBrannan Atkinson
.@RavenArienne spending time on things that aren’t well-thought-out is how entrepreneurism works! // @netmegScott Offord
@RavenArienne @offordscott I’d go along with that. All my own personal sites are about solving some kind problem or answering a ? #ravenchatnetmeg
Q3: STATE OF GOOGLE
Q3 @netmeg What do you make of Google’s direction on search lately? #ravenchatRaven Tools
Q3 Well… they’re trying. Don’t like the cattle call into G+. Communication improved but still lacking. But we are not #ravenchatnetmeg
Q3 the target demographic. What Google cares about: Users, Google. Advertisers. What Google doesn’t care about: #ravenchatnetmeg
Correction big-budget Advertisers (consolidation around head terms) RT @netmeg: Q3 What Google cares about: Users, Advertisers. #ravenchatChris Kostecki
Q3 cont… what Google doesn’t care about: webmasters, SEOs and publishers. Get over it. #ravenchatnetmeg
Q3 Why don’t you think Google cares about webmasters and publishers? Don’t they need them? (SEOs: arguable) #ravenchatArienne Holland
@RavenArienne Because for every one they blow off, ten more will take their place. I’m all of those things (except for Google) #ravenchatnetmeg
@netmeg Ah, so you mean they don’t care about *individual* webmasters, SEOs, publishers. There’s always someone else coming up. #ravenchatArienne Holland
@RavenArienne Q3 Yea. We’re all replaceable. All our sites are replaceable. All our efforts are replaceable. #ravenchatnetmeg
lol! RT @netmeg: Q3 Google is like one of those dinosaurs who can’t see you close up. They just step on you and move on. #ravenchatChris Countey
@netmeg Well, that’s depressing. Any bright side? How do you stay the course for the long haul? #ravenchatArienne Holland
How to be a long-haul SEO: RT @netmeg I work on projects I like and believe in, and where I think I can create authority. #ravenchatArienne Holland
@RavenArienne Q3 and I really really try to work on other channels besides the big G. Strong believer in email mktg #ravenchatnetmeg
@RavenArienne that is how you fight Google’s big brand bias; cause if they can’t find an authority, they’ll go brand every time #ravenchatnetmeg
Google didn’t say "Big brands are better" – Their users did through data, that’s why Google rewards big brands. Plus, we has more linksRyan Jones
@RavenArienne @RyanJones I never said Google said that big brands are better. If the big brand is also the authority, it wins #ravenchatnetmeg
@RavenArienne @RyanJones but I have clients competing with Amazon, because small as they are, they have the niche authority #ravenchatnetmeg
@RavenArienne @RyanJones Amazon gets the tire kickers, sure. My client gets the contracts. #ravenchatnetmeg
@netmeg @ravenarienne niche is key those complaining about bias are trying to compete head on.Ryan Jones
@RyanJones @RavenArienne of course. I’m not gonna compete with Amazon for books or Ford for whatever they’re selling these days #ravenchatnetmeg
Q4: NETMEG’S FAVORITE TOOLS
Q4 (our last question for @netmeg during #ravenchat): What are your favorite tools, depending on the channel you use?Raven Tools
@RavenTools Q4 Obviously @RavenTools – use mostly for competitive research, plus insights and metrics; client reports #ravenchatnetmeg
Internet Marketing Tools for SEO and Social Media | Raven"Raven is by far the most superior and comprehensive SEO toolset we have found to date."Ken Knorr, President/CEO of SEO Company "I love t…
Q4 clients have been made very anxious by new Google Analytics, prefer Raven reports. Other things I can’t live without: #ravenchatnetmeg
Q4 I make big use of SEMRush; Hootsuite (now they let you schedule G+ posts, that’s a big plus) #ravenchatnetmeg
SEMRush – service for competitors research, shows organic and Ads keywords for any site or domainSemRush.com
HootSuite – Social Media Dashboard for Teams using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedinWith a suite of tools designed to enhance audience engagement — like drafts, bulk scheduling, search streams and message assignments — …
Q4 And one of my biggest assists and tools remains http://WebmasterWorld.com. It pisses me off a lot & it’s old school, but I learn. #ravenchatnetmeg
WebmasterWorld News and Discussion for the Web ProfessionalWelcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 108.171.187.163 register , login , search , glossary , subscribe , help , library , PubCon , announc…
:) RT @netmeg: …biggest tool may be twitter. You all may think Im just funny but Im secretly eating ALL YOUR BRAINS #ravenchatChris Kostecki
Thanks to @netmeg for keeping it to 140 characters at a time on today’s #Ravenchat. It’s a wrap, but be sure to follow her for daily wisdom!Raven Tools
.@RavenTools you’re welcome, and I hope there was something useful in there. #ravenchatnetmeg

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Courtney Seiter wrangles a smart, savvy community of Internet marketers as Raven Tools' Community Manager. She also speaks and blogs about social media a lot. Her first job was as an intern at Playboy (yes, she'll tell you the stories if you ask).

More about Courtney Seiter | @RavenCourtney

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