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Carol Lynn Rivera began her career as an educator and program developer for several private schools in New York and New Jersey. With a dual Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Education and a Master's in Education, she helped to architect programs in startup schools for both full day and after school enrichment programs. Her passion for education transcended industries in 1999 when she and husband Ralph Rivera founded Rahvalor Interactive, a creative services and marketing company, where she shifted her focus from teaching kids the ABCs to teaching adults the ABCs... of marketing.
In addition to acting as Rahvalor's project manager, Carol Lynn manages search and social marketing programs for both B2B and B2C customers where she enjoys being able to engage in her second passion: writing. When she's not writing for blogs she's planning her early retirement to Barcelona as a famous and wealthy novelist.
This week it seems everyone was on a rant about SEO. I found three great posts – one challenging our views on SEO, one warning of the dangers of guest posting and a third that’s both amusing and educational in which the author takes on Matt Cutts and does a little negative SEO on that famous Googler’s website. There’s also one about content marketing and an interesting take on what Alexa rank, as inaccurate as it is, matters. Read and learn, there’s plenty of good stuff here!
Do you want to get started using social media but aren’t sure how? Have you jumped in but feel a little like a boat drifting at sea, not sure when to post, what to post… or maybe even why? If you’re relatively new to using social for business or if you just want some practical, actionable tips, this book is a great place to start. With chapters covering everything from Facebook to Google+ and some SEO and video in between, you’ll be bookmarking and dog-earing all day long. Oh, and we’re running another giveaway! If you want to be entered to win a copy, just reply to this email and say “Me!” The drawing is open for one week and we’ll announce the winners in an email after the drawing. Read more to find out if this is the book for you!
Does SEO give you a bit of a headache? Do the “rules” about where to use keywords, how to build links and Google’s endless release of animal-themed updates have you wishing the internet had never been born? You’re not alone. Even as someone who provides SEO services, I’m constantly frustrated by the stream of do-this-not-that advice coming from Google headquarters. But what is SEO these days, really? And why do we need it? These are my thoughts… well, to be fair its more of a rant… on what SEO is, isn’t and what it means to us as businesses and marketers.
First of all Happy Mother’s Day if you’re a mom or about to be one… and a happy one to your moms, too! I hope you have a chance to relax and drink in some good reading this weekend because I found some good stuff about social media (measuring your ROI, updating your profiles to avoid being an egghead and more), a good warning about using jargon on your website (it may not be as obvious as you think!) and and interesting infographic about why email subscribers unsubscribe. Check them out and let me know which were your favorites.
I may be biased – after all, I’m immersed in everything “online” – but when you consider the volume of people who search for businesses and research products and services online, it starts to seem completely nuts not to have a website. If you don’t have one – or if you do but don’t see the value in it and you let it sit there gathering dust – here are some good reasons to reconsider.
I bet you’ve heard of “the five year plan” but have you really given thought to one for your business and marketing? Maybe you’re not sure where to start or having trouble executing yours. The truth is, five years will pass whether you pay attention or not! So why not start now by setting some goals so that when it gets here, you can enjoy your achievements? Here are some thoughts on why you need a plan and how to put one together.
ROI is a three letter word. (Or technically an acronym….) Either way, many people fall into one of two camps: the “you can’t measure ROI on social media” camp or the “Look at the monkey!” camp. The first throws up their hands and keeps going because someone told them to. The second is in a state of denial, terrified by the idea of numbers and what they might show. But measuring your social media ROI doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. Here are some things you can measure and how you can track them to your benefit.
Another weekend roundup of some smart marketing blogs, ideas and inspiration. This week I stumbled across some deep-thinkers and a few that amused me. Here’s a selection of reading to kickstart your weekend and keep your creative juices flowing. Lawn Watering Written by Jay Posey I wanted to share this post with you because it’s [...]
It may be time to say goodbye to the traditional home page design. Instead of the usual content boxes (a bit “about us”, a testimonial, a newsletter signup…), how about capitalizing on the funnel effect? Drive visitors toward your desired goal by segmenting your home page into sections that appeal to your customers’ needs, interests, budgets and more. Want to know how to do it? Read on!
It’s a good week to be in business! The interwebs was overflowing with great information and entertaining posts. Here are five that floated to the top and made some points worth considering. Learn and enjoy! Do As Google Says And Get Penalized Written by David Leonhardt Is Google’s nonstop release of animals into the wild [...]
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