OMG, it's SEO.

You've heard about it and you're interested. It's called Search Engine Optimization: that fancy electronic speak for more business through more attention from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo Search. How you rank is a complicated scheme of mumbo-jumbo, witch-doctorin', and divination, but there are steps you can take to make sure you're climbing as high as you can on the charts. Here are a few tips.

Have a lot to say. Blog. Facebook. Tweet. Social media is an amazing resource, and by pushing dynamic content out your door as often as you can, Google will be only too happy to rank you.

Be popular. One way to get more hits? Get some hits. Then get more hits. Becoming popular is a long and arduous process (just ask the varsity football player from your old high school—if you dare). Take baby steps towards getting noticed, and your online presence will help you along.

Last a long time. Time IS on your side. The longer your organization exists, the kinder Google behaves when ranking your website. As Kevin Costner's friend once said in the widely-panned but still awesome hit movie The Postman: “Live. And let live.”

SEO Surgery

Grab your scrubs and scalpels, Internet interns, because today we're opening up your SEO strategy. Whether you slice through those Google rankings like a 10 blade through adipose, or hang down at the bottom of the lists like a third-year resident, you should check out these strategies to ensure your website is optimized for search engines of all varieties.

Social Media. Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. A presence on these social media sites bumps you up in the rankings because the name and Web address of your company appears in separate places of the Internet more frequently. Search engines love this.

Keyword density. One tried-and-true method for ranking on sites like Google is riding the coat-tails of common phrases your customers are likely to punch into search engines. Pick a phrase, such as “cheap engine grease” (if that's your thing) and make sure it's repeated 2 to 3 times per page. More than that, and you'll annoy Google enough into not linking your site to the phrase.

Get mentioned. The science of SEO is this: the more you're mentioned, the higher on the rank lists you'll climb. Ways to show up more include having press releases professionally distributed (and picked up by third-party media outlets), and to blog your little heart out.

LINKEDIN CAN LINK YOU UP WITH SUCCESS

I'm going to come right out and say it: I hate LinkedIn. It's too much like work. When you can spend 15 seconds banging out your favorite gummy bear color onto sites like Twitter and Facebook, the appeal of sitting down and managing professional contacts seems more a chore (and a snore). And their tagline, “Relationships Matter”? Puh-lease! But whether you're a Link-a-holic or a fellow professional-networking snob, nobody can deny that LinkedIn remains a powerful tool for promoting yourself and your business. Here's a few quick tips to maximize your presence.

Actually talk. LinkedIn works best when you actively network—meaning seeking out old acquaintances, chatting up business contacts, shooting the breeze with old college buddies. You'll never know where you'll pick up new customers or business allies.

Put in your business's URL. Put in your company phone number. Put in your email address. Put in links to your blog. Don't put in information about the family cat. That's just creepy.

Get a unique URL. LinkedIn now allows you to specify a particular user name and corresponding URL address. Make your shorthand name relevant to your business. That helps SEO.

Make it as public as possible. You're a business. This is free marketing. Don't get shy; get your info out there!

CHATTING UP SEO

Come in, brave warrior. You wish to learn the fine art of SEO. Yes, we're talking Search Engine Optimization, the delicate balance of getting your website and Web resources ranked higher on search engines like Google. Here's a few essential tips to turn social media into a promotional engine for your business.

Find fans and try more tweets. Google is always changing the way it ranks sites, and recent changes have placed more and more emphasis on actual activity on your Facebook and Twitter sites. How can you benefit? Keep an active presence that provides value to your visitors—or better yet, find a marketing company that will maintain these segments for you (ahem, like us at 36design!).

List, list, list. LinkedIn remains a great resource for static climbs in SEO. Other professional listings (including local and business directory resources) get your ranked better, too. Fill it all relevant information, including links to your website and other social media, and presto: you've got all the right ingredients for maximizing SEO exposure.

Don't forget the supporting cast. Sites like Digg.com, reddit, and StumbleUpon all work together to reinforce the bridge you've already build with social media. They get you more hits, more fans. Sometimes, simply listing on these directories can slip you up a few ranks. Try it and see for yourself.

HI HO, HI HO, LET'S TALK ABOUT SEO

Oops, we did it again: an entry that's entirely devoted to SEO. You know, search engine optimization, that mystical force behind your website that's designed to unravel the innerworkings the evil geniuses at Google have cooked up. It's all about exposure. No, not the type that lands you in the country lockup for the night—we're talking better visibility for your site. Bumping up your listing on search engines. And, through that, gaining more customers. Here's a few tips on things to do—and what to avoid.

Invest in new media.

Do: At the minimum, get yourself a Facebook and Twitter account and stay on it. When you post, put a diversity of information to help your customers. If you're feeling frisky, blogging will get you more exposure, especially if you write right.

Don't: Use Facebook/Twitter/etc. as a sales platform. Companies—yes, even big ones—often use Facebook as an extension of their catalogs and deluge their fans with product offerings and market props. I guarantee: this will lose you followers. Play nice. Provide actual value.

Content is king.

Do: Cycle fresh content through your website. Whether you blog, maintain a news feed, or use some CMS setup to connect with customers, every change on your site helps your rank.

Don't: Cut the ribbon on your brand-spankin' new site and forget about it. A website is an amazingly powerful tool, but it's up to you to maintain content and promote that fabulously flashy functionality

Go for the body count.

Do: Get listed. Submit your site to as many free listings as you can. Post on forums. The more times the 'net mentions your site, the more piqued Google's interest.

Don't: Focus only on keywords. That's so 90's. If you want those hits, go for Web address, phrases, and your type of business.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR NEW BUSINESSES

Congratulations on forming your new business! Before you pop that cork, relax in the company of friends, and/or pass out in the punchbowl, let's chat about your strategy. Forget trimming up your waistline and calling your mother more often—here are a few ideas that make sense for your new enterprise and make you money in the process.

1. Develop a marketing plan and stick to it. Sporadic marketing (we call it “popcorn” marketing) costs you time and energy and often brings little results. Develop a plan and stick to it. Set realistic goals: a mailing campaign that reaches 1000 businesses by March. Mailers and brochures out by July. A new website sometime in '10.

2. Work on SEO. More customers are moving online—you should too. Submit your site to local business listings, write website content that hits specific, realistic keyphrases your customers would search for, and blog/facebook/twitter regularly.

3. Network! Your friends are you best assets. Pass out business cards (you DO have those made up already, right?). Connect with business partners. You never know where potential customers could come from.

4. Break out the branding. In addition to an outstanding product, brand recognition is the number one reason for repeat business. Have your mark custom-crafted professionally and never hesitate to whip it out.

5 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR SITE'S RANKING

All hail the mighty Google! Up to 30% of your business comes from attraction, if you're guessing that includes blokes banging out your name or company type into search engines, you get a gold star. Read on for some quick tips to maximize your potential.

1. Write for SEO. In addition to your site being a lovely treasure chest of information, it's also a proving ground for search engine crawlers. Key phrases get your noticed. Too few and you won't rank. Too many and your site won't read well. Get the right mix and you're on your way up.

2. Get noticed. If you know people in your industry, get them buzzing about your site. Give out helpful tips in electronic forums, impress blogging communities, donate your time, do some positive PR'ing. The more times your name pops up across the Internet, the higher you'll climb.

3. Blog. Twitter. Facebook. Provide interesting content and useful information, and your visitor list will grow. Offering a fresh stream of info is a great way to improve your visibility and gain some new clients.

4. Wait. The top ranked sites all have one thing in common: they've been around for years. Google and similar search engines treat incumbent sites very generously, so if you're the patient type, you'll get results. Eventually.

5. Hire a pack of experts (like us). Professional marketing companies condense your SEO "to do" list and get you noticed faster.

HOW FACEBOOK IS TRANSFORMING BLACK FRIDAY

Do you tweet more than you troll for sales? Update your Facebook more often than you update your Amazon.com wish list? You're not alone. 2009 is seeing the first shift in buying habits from solitary to social. Away from stores and even online vendors, the move toward social media like Facebook is happening; just like the experts have been predicting. And the shift is significant. According to eMarketer, 17% more bleary-eyed Black Friday shopaholics are skipping the stores and staying mercifully at home. Here are 3 trends on Facebook that are scoring some serious sales.

1. Early Intelligence: One function Facebook performs brilliantly is announcing information. This year, retails can bait customers even before the post-Thanksgiving circus begins. Stores like Target lets their fan base order early too: Black Friday without the Friday.

2. Facebook-Only Offers: It's a little reward for being electronically savvy. This year, Sears is offering special deals on merchandise with coupon codes and Facebook-only sweepstakes. Not a bad bargain!

3. Shopping Done for You: This year, Best Buy is taking interactive shopping a step further. A special app crawls your Facebook home page for pertinent information, interests, friends, and favorite music to put together a customized wishlist built for you.

Analytics for current and future customers

Learn what your viewers are doing throughout your site. How long they are staying on certain pages; how they are getting there; and what they are using to view your site. This is all vital; and free

There is no catch, just let us know you would like to take advantage of this tool and we will install it for you on your current site (as long as we designed or manage it) or your future site. There are just a few steps that will need your co-operation regarding email confirmations, other than that we will do the dirty work for you. "Google Analytics is the enterprise-class web analytics solution that gives you rich insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. Powerful, flexible and easy-to-use features now let you see and analyze your traffic data in an entirely new way. With Google Analytics, you're more prepared to write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and create higher converting websites." - Mr. Google, www.google.com/analytics

This offer lasts until November 1st, 2009 unless you really twist our arm.

Analytics: Vital Statistics make your site work for you...

The web has begun to take form. For a while there people just wanted to put as much as they could online. Why not...it was new technology; seemingly everyone was doing it; and it was new and exciting. That just doesn't cut it anymore. From last count there were 183,000,000 domain names out there on the web.

36design isn't just visual; we guide clients to solutions. Google Analytics is a free software that lets you become aware of what people are interested in, how they are getting to your site, why they are leaving, how long they are spending, and if they are buying. The setup is painless and it's free, all we need is the email account you want to open an account with. Call us or email us for more information.

"Google Analytics is the enterprise-class web analytics solution that gives you rich insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. Powerful, flexible and easy-to-use features now let you see and analyze your traffic data in an entirely new way. With Google Analytics, you're more prepared to write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and create higher converting websites."