Social Networks – perhaps you’ve heard of them before, but are not quite sure what they are. Why is it that the “seo experts” just love using social networks to help their sites get “top rankings” in the major search engines?

Social networking is the online grouping of individuals into specific groups or niches, like real estate activities or home business entrepreneurs. Social networking becomes interactive, whereas Social Bookmarking is really just creating a library of links or letting others know they should visit some content that you have bookmarked a link to.

Just like Social Bookmarking, the search engines love Social Networks.  Sign up for some high profile social network sites and it will boost the page ranking of your business website and blog, not to mention the direct exposure you can get from the potentially millions of people that may read your profile.

While there are a number of social networking websites that focus on particular interests, there are others that do not. The social networking sites without a main focus are often referred to as “traditional” social networking websites and usually have open memberships (e.g. MySpace, Facebook).

This means that anyone can become a member, no matter what their hobbies, beliefs, or views are. However, once you are inside this online community, you can begin to create your own network of friends and eliminate members that do not share common interests or goals.

Social networking is based on the premise that people should both express their individuality and meet people with similar interests. This approach means that social networks will allow you to set up profiles, friends, blog posts, widgets, and perhaps something unique to that particular social networking website — such as the ability to ‘poke’ people on Facebook or high-five someone on Hi5.

When you join a Social Network you will find the following sections you either need to set up or should get active in.

Profile: This is the section where you set up your “About Me”. Profiles contain basic information, like where you live, what you do, how old you are, and in some cases personality questions (e.g. Social networks dedicated to a special theme like music or movies might ask questions related to what kind of music you like).

Friends: This where you can make friends with people and this is one of the major ways to develop business contacts.  Friends are trusted members of the site that are allowed to post comments on your profile or send you private messages. You can also keep tabs on how your friends are using social networking, such as when they post a new picture or update their profile. Friends are the core of social networking.

Groups: Almost all social networks allow you to use groups to help you find people with similar interests or engage in discussions on certain topics. A group can be anything from “real estate bloggers” to “People Who Like Cats” (which rules me out of that group) to “Marshall Tucker Band Fans” to “seo experts”. Groups are a way to connect with like-minded people, a way to identify your interests, and a way to gain exposure for your business.

Many Social Networks also have other neat features that can really boost your exposure on the Internet and help you get “top rankings” for your business.

These include:

• Blogs – where you can create your own blog entries,
• Discussions – for creating interaction between users,
• Widgets – where you can customize your social networking profile with web widgets.

Social Networking is fantastic for meeting people with similar interests and is a very effective business technique for business entrepreneurs that are looking for more sales leads and customers.

When you set up your Social Network sites you will be setting up backlinks to your business site, which the search engines love and also gaining direct exposure to potential customers.  This is truly a fantastic “low cost seo” tactic for “getting traffic” to your site and getting “top rankings” with the major search engines.  “Seo experts” love this strategy and you should too!

Here are just a few of the top social networking sites:

• http://facebook.com
• http://myspace.com
• http://friendster.com
• http://bebo.com
• http://hi5.com

And the list goes on and on.

HINT: Just like Social Bookmarking, you can use Onlywire and Ping.fm to simplify your social networking efforts. Once you set up Onlywire and Ping.fm you can syndicate your content and articles to the web’s top social bookmarking and networking sites with a single button click. Go to http://onlywire.com and http://ping.fm and sign up for your free accounts.

Setting up your Social Networking empire can take a lot of time (a lot more than setting up your Social Bookmarking network) but is well worth it in the long run.  If you need some more info on Social Networking and Bookmarking give me a call. I offer a variety of services to business owners whereby I will set up your Social Bookmarking and Networking spider web. My conversations are on the house.

BIG HINT: Sign up for either RoboForm (www.roboform.com/php/land.php?affid=m1953&frm=frame10) or LastPass (https://lastpass.com/) to help you manage all the Usernames, Passwords and demographic data you will need to enter when you sign up for all the Social Bookmark and Networking sites.  Either of these tools will make your job a lot easier.  Both offer Free versions.

This is how to create a gmail account and use a simple mass mailer through Outlook. It shows you the basics for using a mass mailer that can handle .csv files, which is how my method currently sends you 10000′s of emails collected through craigslist (first step of leadsevolution software alternative that I’m setting up now so that you don’t have to pay 00 for that program).

Having a blog is the center piece in building your own social networking spiderweb. After all, we need to have something to drive all your web traffic to. This is a Detailed video that shows you how to set up a WordPress Blog.

If you have always been challenged in how to create your own WP blog, this video shows you every step. I also made a powerpoint slide version of this with the same name, but I called it Step 13p (hey, people learn in different ways).

It really is easy to set up your own WordPress blog using a tool called Fantastico, provided by your hosting company. Have fun!

Does Setting up a WordPress Blog scare you?

If you’ve never set up a WordPress blog before it can be a little  intimidating. I was afraid to touch the keyboard on my PC the first time I tried it.  It really is easy – so give it a try.

This is the slide version which also shows how to set up your domain name on your hosting account.  There is  a companion Video to this titled  “Step 03p Setting up a WordPress Blog” that goes in to more detail than this video does.

Having a blog is the center for building your own social networking spiderweb. After all, we need to have something to drive all your web traffic to. This video shows you how to set up a WordPress Blog, so get out there and set one up. And, don’t be intimidated – you won’t break anything.

Here’s the video.  Remember to go build a blog when you’re done watching it.

Getting a Domain Name – Building Your Social Networking Spiderweb

Another major step in building your own “social networking spiderweb” that will drive massive amounts of traffic to your blog, is you need to have a domain name on a hosting account.

This video will show you how to get a domain name.  If you are an internet pro, move on, this is for the millions of people out there that have no idea how to get a domain name.  The next video is on getting a how to set up your domain name on your hosting account and create a WordPress blog.

Many of us that have been dorking around with technology for a long time forget about the trials we faced when we first started out.  I remember how terrified, or just plain clueless, I was when it came to doing things that now are second nature to me.

So, these next three posts are going to be targeted directly to those of you that are just starting out.  Hopefully, you will see how easy some of these things are to do – IF you just have someone to show you how.

Let’s cover getting a hosting account.

To begin building your own social networking spiderweb that will drive massive amounts of traffic to your blog, you need to have a hosting account that you can install your blog or website on. This video show you how to get a hosting account. If you are an internet pro, move on, this is for the millions of people out there that have no idea how to get a hosting account. The next video is on getting a domain name.

Here’s the video…..

Yahoo Profiles.

In previous posts, Google Profiles – Creating Your Social Networking Spiderweb – Tip 08, we covered setting up Google and Microsoft Live Profiles and why they are such a great idea.  This is a continuation on that theme, only this time we are covering Yahoo Profiles and why you should set one up to promote yourself.

And here is an example of what my Yahoo Profile looks like http://profiles.yahoo.com/markvschwartz

Live – Bing Profiles.

In a previous post, Google Profiles – Creating Your Social Networking Spiderweb – Tip 08, we covered setting up a Google Profile and why it is such a great idea.  This is a continuation on that theme, only this time we are covering Microsoft’s Live (Bing) Profiles and why you should set one up to promote yourself.

And here is an example of what my Live Profile looks like – http://cid-76eddf7545e67454.profile.live.com/

“Google Profiles” are a great way to promote yourself, your brand and get your name out on the web.

Google Profiles are being given very good placement in the search engine results, so it is worth it for you to set one up.

A Google profile is exactly what it sounds like: A personal profile that appears when someone does a Google search of your name — it lets you display to others more about who you are and what you’re all about. My advice: Create one now to make sure you’re properly represented on the Web.  Creating a Google profile is a great “low cost seo” tactic used by many “seo experts”.

Once you set up your Google profile it will (soon) be available in other Google web applications.   For example, when you are in Google Maps there is a link to your profile at the top of the page.

Profiles are public and contain basic information about yourself: a nickname (the real name is displayed only to your contacts), your occupation, your location, a list of your links to other sites, a photo and a short description.

To begin with, you can upload a photo of yourself so people that have met you will know you are the person they are looking for. A profile also lets visitors send you messages (but doesn’t give them your e-mail address — nice bit of privacy protection there), read your bio, get contact information (whatever you care to provide), and see any links you care to share. And, Google now lists name-search results in a Profile section at the bottom of the query page. By creating a profile, you can stake a claim to that section and, hopefully, steer searchers to the real you.

Creating a Google Profile is easy:

1. Go to Google Profiles (http://www.google.com/profiles) and click ‘Create my profile’.
2. If you already have a Google username, sign in. If not, you’ll need to create one before you can proceed.
3. Enter information like your name, where you grew up, where you live, where you work, where you went to school. The more information you enter the more interesting you will be to people viewing your profile.
4. Profile Photo – The key to a good profile is a good photo of yourself so people know who they’re reading about when they get to your profile. So add a photo of yourself because everyone wants to see a photo when they’re reading a profile.
5. Create a short bio about yourself (and your business).  Make it engaging, yet professional. Remember, potential employers may look at your profile so be careful what you say.
6. What you Offer – Do you have a home based or personal business? If you offer some sort of product or service, your Google profile is a great place to promote it.
7. Keywords – What do you like to do and who are you? Those are your keywords. Are you a network marketer? Enter keywords into your Bio, your Super Power etc
8. Custom Links – Google Profiles allows you to enter all your important links. If you have a business website, blogs, or social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, you can include all of them in your Google profile. Including links to your other sites on your Google profile is also good for the other sites because it will give them a search engine boost.
9. Photos – In this section you can have your pictures from Picasa display.  If you have a business this is a good place to show pictures of your products (if for example you sell art or website designs, etc.).
10. Contact Info – I think this is self explanatory.
11. Profile URL – You can choose your own URL for your Google profile at the “Create a Profile URL” (at the bottom of the profile page) — otherwise, your profile will look like http://www.google.com/profiles/109806878684291553078. Use a name instead so your profile will look like http://www.google.com/profiles/markvschwartz, which is much nicer (and better for search). Be careful to choose a name that suits you (like your name or the name of your business). This will be what people see at the top of your browser bar and also what they see in search engines. You can copy your Google profile’s URL and add a link to it from your other websites so people can come and read all about you.
12. Click on “Create a Google profile”.

Setting up a Google profile provides an easy opportunity for you to promote your business.  Your Google profile is one more tool you have to network, connect online and improve how people find you on the Internet.  Ultimately, you have everything to gain by setting up your own Google profile as part of your “social networking spiderweb” and Internet marketing strategy.

Social media sites are popping up all over the place at a rate that defies the imagination. The trend is non-stop, so you can sit on the sidelines and watch or you can get involved and use them to your benefit, perhaps on a truly social basis or to promote your business.

With the hundreds and hundreds of “social networks” and “social bookmark” sites available, how does one make sense out of them and how to use them? From a business perspective, it is a fact that the major search engines love the social networks. As a result, you can use social networking as part of your “low cost seo” strategy for getting “top rankings” on the search pages and subsequently driving traffic to your website/blog/business.

There are many, many strategies for how to start using social networks and bookmarks sites for SEO and getting traffic purposes. The following video shows one basic strategy that anyone can do, although it does take some time and effort.

So enjoy the video and I would love to hear your perspectives and insights.

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