The Bella Buzz: Successful Web Design, Internet and Social Media Marketing Strategies from Desiree Scales, CEO--Bella Web Design, Inc.

The iPad, Google's New Look and Facebook Open Graph

Download The Bella Buzz

On this edition of The Bella Buzz podcast, Joe and Desiree talk about a few of the current items that are making headlines around the tech world.  We get an update from Desiree about using her new 3G iPad on a trip to Chicago, we review the changes to the user interface on Google's search results page and we finish up with a few thoughts on the Facebook privacy changes.

The iPad made a successful road trip providing sufficient working functionality with a bluetooth keyboard and files synced to the desktop via a service such as Dropbox.  The device does not have any type of file system internally so there is no saving a work document to a hard drive, requiring saving to the cloud.  As more and more are taking advantage of the applications on the web to perform computational power, the iPad can become a total work machine.

Another consideration for working on the iPad is the cost above and beyond the price of the device.  The applications necessary for Desiree include Keynote, as well as Pages, plus the data plans from AT&T with $30 for unlimited access can start to add up for the cost of operating.

For some insight into the potential for widespread adoption, Desiree's mom used Google Earth on the iPad to get a good glimpse at the land of her family's heritage in Poland.

NOTE: Desiree also tried using the iPad for a presentation and found she couldn't use the VGA dongle and connect to the general Internet for browsing on a big screen. Apple has apparently blocked this feature. People can go to YouTube but no other sites. Look for a blog post on this in the near future.

The New Google Search Results Page

A cool update to the SERPs was recently rolled out  with a left hand margin that allows for sort the results into categories that includes News, Shopping, Books, Video, Images, Blogs, and even Updates which includes Tweets and other status updates across the web's social networks.  The Updates search results can give us an interesting look into conversations from an historical perspective.  A very unique approach to a "This date in History" report!

This provides some good SEO opportunity to optimize a site in a variety of ways as you attempt to rank well in each of the categories.  Make sure you have high ranking images, put out a lot of updates on the keywords you want to rank for, and go after any of the other relevant categories in the search results you might find traffic.

Facebook Privacy Changes

There has been a lot of talk lately about the changes that Facebook implemented which has impacted how much information they are providing as "open for everyone".  This is another way of stating that "you did not say we can't sell it to a marketing agency". In some cases, this has caused users to delete or deactivate their profiles. Desiree points out that her niece has deleted her account for another reason .. that it was a major distraction and unproductive. 

The other functionality that they announced during their F8 developers conference, Open Graph, gives the ability for site owners to add a Like button to blogs and posts. When a visitor with a connected Facebook account visits the site, they can vote to "Like", which gets registered on their Facebook profile.  This gives more opportunity as a publisher to get content discovered, while also providing Facebook with huge amounts of marketing data from locations that exist outside the Facebook walls. 

This is a very smart business decision on Facebook's part, could be beneficial to content owners .. but it also opens the questions regarding privacy, one company owning too much of web surfers data, and has piqued the interest of Washington. 

Check out the Like button in the right hand margin of the Bella Buzz podcast blog.  Let us know if you can find any value as a user, and if you have any concerns about how much information Facebook is getting about you and sharing with other companies. 

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

A Take on Magazine Publishing for the iPad, An Interview with Rajesh Jyotishi

Download The Bella Buzz

Hot off Desiree's speaking engagement at the Magazine Association of the Southeast, we speak with an award winning publisher Rajesh Jyotishi, publisher of Khabar Magazine. Khabar is focused on the Southeast Asian community of Georgia and surrounding areas.

 The topic of magazine publishing and content creation is very interesting taken as a bellwether for the direction that internet development is headed.  As consumer electronics in the form of an iPad become more prevalent with widespread adoption, the magazine industry and publishing in general will be looking at everything from production and distribution to revenue opportunities of the future.  It is great to have an industry leader to discuss the way some publishers are dealing with the changes.

The business model that RJ has employed for the course of his 17 years as a publisher is one where the costs are subsidized by the advertising revenue only. This allows him to publish a free digital version on his web site that can be read beyond his geographic target audience without cannibalizing any revenues.  This also provides some added value to his advertisers who might in fact reach some customers outside of the Georgia area.

The application provider, or digital publisher, that RJ uses for Khabar is called Page Suite. There are competitive companies that are also looking to help bring digital publications to the web. Another option would be Issuu.com. At the very basic levels these services allow you to turn a print document into a robust format that includes links, embedded video and reporting features for a solid business option.

There does need to be some distinction made between publishers building applications compared to creating a simple digital version of a magazine.  Popular Science magazine has been a well used demonstration version, and this is a great video that explains what their development team had to consider when building the app. 

Mag+ live with Popular Science+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

As you can see, building a magazine app is completely different than taking a current print edition of a publication and turning into a digital form.

From a publisher's perspective, RJ considers it a necessity to have a print edition to compliment all of the digital options that are available to us today.  His belief is that many will still want to have the tactile interaction with the content, especially with his niche audience.

Desiree's straw poll was that it is an even split regarding preferences for digital over a print version at this point. Other factors to consider in a digital publication is the ability to include affiliate marketing or performance marketing links which provide real ROI to an advertiser based upon reader activities.  Also, the social media "sharing" capabilities place additional value to a digital edition.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Interview with Robert Covington, Business Telecommunications Specialist

Download The Bella Buzz

Our guest on this week's edition of The Bella Buzz podcast is Robert C. Covington, President of eNable Business Solutions and BIZTech, focused on providing outstanding technology and telecom services to small and medium sized businesses.

The most recent mainstream news that had to do with telecommunications, was the offer from Google to provide fiber optic connectivity to select communities. Municipalities and business interests were developing creative campaigns to attract the attention of the decision makers at Google, positioning themselves as the most deserving of this ultra-high speed service.

Google will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. They will offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000, and potentially up to 500,000 people.

The overall topic of connectivity is a serious issue as it impacts everything ranging from the economy, education, businesses .. all of our livelihoods.  Robert reminds us that we are still in the 4% - 5% range of internet connectivity comes via dialup service. He believes that it is going to take some type of government program similar to early initiatives for telephone and electricity to ensure that all residents will have access to broadband.

A current package offer that is under consideration is AT&T U-Verse which is a combination of television, internet and phone service, based upon fiber technology.  This service is only available in certain locations.

As we go through these changes in telecommunications options, it might become more important than ever to have the resources that a consultancy like Robert's can provide. There are no easy answers to the best combination of services, and a package deal might not provide the best overall option. Robert can put together custom combinations to ensure best price and best service.

One significant piece of advice that got both Desiree and I laughing, was the answer that came to mind instantly for Robert .. Check your phone bills carefully!  He suggests that you regularly review the various line items that may appear due to old versions of billing software or random changes to plans. If there is something that you do not understand, question the carrier.  This goes for cell phone bills as well.

Looking down the road, the next big thing is VoIP, voice over internet protocol. Services like Skype are looking for business models that will continue to provide the excellent quality that they are currently providing, but more companies are getting into the space that is becoming a hot sector.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Interview with Chad Elkins: Celebrating Foursquare Day in Atlanta

Download The Bella Buzz

Our guest on this week's edition of the Bella Buzz podcast is Chad Elkins. You may remember Chad from the conversation we had about regarding the excellent social media efforts he is conducting on behalf of The Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. We are happy to have Chad back on the podcast with us to discuss Foursquare Day in Atlanta.

We invited Chad back to The Bella Buzz to tell us all about the hottest networking app Foursquare, and the grassroots event that took place on April 16th called Foursquare Day.

Foursquare is a location based application, which takes advantage of the social gaming excitement that has been most prevalent on Facebook. However in this case, Foursquare provides opportunities for real life customer acquisition and retention strategies for business. By checking in (identifying yourself as being present) at various locations, users can earn badges, points and even a classification as "Mayor." If it ended right there, it would be a fun game that did not have much relevancy. With a back end built for business, it provides opportunities for incentives to users for checking in, privileges for Mayors, and at even more sophisticated levels, deep analysis and actionable user data.

Foursquare users can see others who are in a location where they have checked in, or simply just the Tips (reviews) they have written about the place. Since this is a location based application, it may push specials and offers from nearby locales as well.

Chad was putting together a group of venues who would participate with offers during Foursquare Day in Atlanta and for many this was their first foray into the service, so this application is still in its very early adopter stage.

In celebration of the "global social media holiday", there were swarm parties hosted around the world where Foursquare users would gather to celebrate the event.  The founders of Foursquare were gathered in New York City, while Atlanta guests attended an event at The Cheyenne Grille as seen in this coverage from MetroMix.

Rumors appeared recently that Yahoo was making a bid to purchase Foursquare, however these are the founders of the previous location based service DodgeBall that was purchased by Google but ultimately was discontinued. 

There are some serious branding campaigns that are using the badge features of Foursquare including Starbucks, Bravo and The History Channel. Chad has a great story about using the History Channel tips on a pilgrimage to the famous magnolia tree from the home of the Atlanta Crackers, Ponce de Leon Ballpark.

For more information about Foursquare, you can watch their blog and for Atlanta based activities watch Chad's site at Foursquare Atlanta.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Using Wordpress as an Effective Content Management System

Download The Bella Buzz

This week on The Bella Buzz podcast, we discuss a publishing platform that provides site owners an easy to use tool for managing content, WordPress.  The platform is expected to be releasing its version 3.0 in the very near future according to information that Desiree received at the WordCamp Atlanta that took place this past January.

Desiree points out that one of the major upgrades to the platform will be the ability to manage multiple users across multiple web sites.  Currently this would require individual logins for each user on each site.  This is just one of the many additional features expected with the launch.  According to this post at Mashable, the Beta of 3.0 is now available for testing.

One of the misunderstandings about using WordPress is that it is only a "blogging" platform, when in fact it can be a wonderful way to set up a site with static pages that only need infrequent updates.  Bella Web Design recently built a new site launched on this platform at BrightClaim.com.  Looking at this site, you will see a very fresh well laid-out site that does not have the appearance of a WordPress format.

A key aspect to the use of WordPress is the open source nature of the platform.  Since the code is easily accessible many plugins have been created to expand the functionality of a WordPress site beyond its strong baseline features.  As a service to Bella Buzz listeners we have made a list of suggested plugins that you should consider, in no particular order:

Google XML Sitemaps - This plugin generates a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap for stronger SEO
Share This - Let your visitors share a post/page with others
Twitter Tools - A complete integration between your WordPress and Twitter, passing links to posts via your tweet stream.
Wordpress Database Backup - On-demand backup of your WordPress database.
Powerpress - The plugin gives you everything you need in one easy plugin to use WordPress for Podcasting.
Akismet - Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not (Comes pre-populated in Wordpress & is a valuable tool).
Dagon Form Mailer - easily customizable contact form
All In One SEO - this plugin helps you to optimize all of the critical aspects of site design to achieve better ranking results.
WP Super Cache - this is a very efficient way for a site to load faster. Indications are that Google is looking a site load time as a factor in ranking, and this should help that requirement.

We should note that there are other options to consider when deciding on a content management system and we would at least call attention to Typepad and Squarespace, Joomla and Tumblr as other potential platforms.

As a guide for learning how to use WordPress, there are great resources that you can Google, but there is a site called WP Beginner that can be a big help.

There is also an iPhone app that allows easy access to the platform for managing posts.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

A Little Ditty About Social Media Performed by Desiree Scales at RETechSouth

For those of you who have missed our regularly scheduled broadcasts this week and last, we have a treat for you. The reason we haven't been recording is because Desiree was involved with www.retechsouth.com which is a conference for real estate professionals about social media and how to leverage the Internet to find business. Desiree was chosen with 3 others (all guys) to perform at the Home Run Derby on the last day of the conference. She decided to rethink the song "Makin' Whoopie" and turn it into "Gettin' Social" with some lyric changes. Here she is performing it live for the RETechSouth audience. You'll probably recognize your own social media experiences in some of the lines. The lyrics are written below. ENJOY! (We promise to get back to our schedule next week for those who have missed our repartee on everything web.)

Lyrics to "Gettin' Social" (copyright Bella Web Design, Inc.)

So you're on Twitter

And Facebook too

Your 4th grade teacher

Keeps tabs on you

You really love to share

But do we really care

You're gettin' social

I follow you

You follow me

Your status updates

Fill me with glee

But did I have to know

You stubbed your little toe

You're gettin' social

Picture yourself on Foursquare

Trying your best to win

Notice the guy beside you

Posting a fake check-in (I fake it too!)

You're on delicious

and Flickr too.

You're so ambitious

Ning, Digg, Jaiku

So don't forget folks

That's what you get folks

For gettin' social!

Best Public Relations Practices in a Social Media World: Interview with Rebekah Lovell

Download The Bella Buzz

Rebekah Lovell from Renown Promotions is our guest on this episode of The Bella Buzz podcast.  We discuss the field of public relations and how social media has changed the game for small and medium sized business.  Renown is a communications consulting company that specializes in community-minded marketing and PR for small business. From copy writing, to full campaigns, they are a source for original and creative approaches to communication challenges.

Change is a constant in this day and age, and nothing has been impacted more than PR. We begin by looking at the way a PR professional goes about practicing client communications.  Rebekah points to the fact that the old form of a press release is dead. The thought leader David Meerman Scott wrote the book The New Rules of Marketing and PR, and promotes the paradigm shift from a press release to a news release, and advocates that companies become publishers themselves. You no longer have to rely on the media as being the gatekeepers of information distribution.

In the past, a cultivated and proprietary media lists used to be one of the greatest assets that an PR agency could own, ensuring that a client's story would be seen by the right media person covering that industry.  In today's social world, there are tools available for everyone to access with details about contact information. Sarah Evans has developed the extraordinary resource called Media on Twitter.  Using this social form of communication eliminates the prior practices of mailing or faxing, however it has shortened the pitch time for presenting the story and gaining interest from a media contact.

A valuable insight that Rebekah shares with us is how to use Twitter Lists to see what the media is talking about each morning. She can direct client messaging and ensure real relevancy as a source on the latest topics.

The latest form of communication distribution comes from the web site pitchengine.com, which combines written and visual elements into what they term a social media release. Desiree points out that a key feature of this type of release is a "Share" button, allowing for easy re-broadcast of a message. An SMR will also provide good search engine optimization benefit delivery traffic to a web site.

The one thing that has not changed with the implementation of social tools is the clear and concise delivery of a story.  There is no time for fluff and filler to appear in a pitch, with the speed of the news cycle, and it is even more of a challenge to pitch within the confines of 140 characters.

When trying to decide whether to work with a PR professional, make sure to look into the ways in which that person is practicing the profession.  Someone who is simply spamming and broadcasting re-purposed press releases and calling it social media will not be successful in effectively representing you and your brand. There is a great shift in the balance of power where the smaller specialty agencies can be quick and nimble in applying new technologies as they prove successful, while a larger agency must be concerned with maintaining billings.  This allows for affordable, high quality work for clients who might not have been able to use a professional in the past. 

In the end, good media relations is a mutually beneficial relationship where the client's message can be presented to the right person at the most relevant time.  A PR person will know what the media member is writing, their niches, how they prefer the stories to be presented .. whatever is necessary to make sure that the reporter / blogger is successful as well. 

BTW, we are celebrating our one year anniversary here on The Bella Buzz! We are so grateful to everyone who has inspired us, appeared with us on the show, left us encouraging feedback .. and most of all, to the listeners who graciously allow us to express ourselves each episode! Thank you for all of the great comments and message you send us about The Bella Buzz!

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Personal Branding Webinar Preview with David Cohen from Equation Arts

Download The Bella Buzz

Who watched the Academy Awards show on Sunday Evening?  As we have discussed plenty of times on The Bella Buzz podcast, we have another missed opportunity to tie in social networks directly with a live event!  There was plenty of discussion taking place by following the #Oscars hashtag but no mention of any direct acknowledgment of the conversation. Our guest today David Cohen, from Equation Arts has some insights into a Facebook campaign that indicated it might be the entire broadcast, but may have been just red carpet and backstage. 

But we didn't bring David on to get his Oscars review, we wanted to talk to him about his specialty helping people and companies uncover their branding message.  He is a self described Brand Therapist. His first words of advice are to look at the current results that are being achieved, and analyze where the message may be missing the mark. David works with clients to identify up to 10 unique elements that make up a brand such as leadership, culture, understanding lingo, rituals etc.. that must in the end be crafted to allow people to understand what you are capable of delivering.

David will be providing specific information about Personal Branding for Social Media Success with two distinct sessions as a webinar on March 18th.  Why am I not getting results from Social Media? Digital Reputation Building kicks off at Noon, followed by Awful to Awesome - Authentic and Effective Personal Branding at 6:00 pm.

One of the cautions that David gives for anyone listening who might be considering branding advice or educational sessions is to dig into the qualifications of the presenter.  Do the strategies that have been developed match with the overall objectives of your organization or does the prepackaged advice only work if you are in a very narrow niche.

A major challenge in the world of social media consulting today is crossing the chasm in front of business owners who believe they do not have the time to invest in personally executing social media tactics and assigning brand responsibility to someone who either is not clearly representing the brand, or may indeed move on from the business and take some brand reputation with them.  David's advice is to make sure that the pillars of the brand are clearly documented and to never assign full responsibility to a single individual.

He brings to light the difference between the original CNN Twitter account which was an RSS re-posting of news headlines into the Twitter stream, and the personalized fan account CNN BRK which raced Ashton Kutcher to 1 million followers.  The CNN account that was more human oriented, speaking in a real voice was the account that grew the largest and was eventually incorporated by CNN into their regular social networking strategies.

An additional example that David uses to demonstrate a company that understands its brand and does not get off track from its intended mission is 37 Signals, the makers of the project management system BaseCamp.  Both Desiree, who uses BaseCamp for managing projects, and David believe that 37 Signals is successful in maintaining such a loyal user base by having strong brand awareness. They are in business to build easy to use tools.

We want to express our sincere thanks to David Cohen for taking the time to appear on The Bella Buzz, and if you are interested in participating in his webinar on Thursday March 18th, follow this link and use the code BELLABEACON to get 50% off.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

How The Historic Oakland Cemetery Uses Social Media to Attract Guests

Download The Bella Buzz

On this week's episode Desiree speaks from the cockpit of The Bella Beetle, as we welcome Chad Elkins, the voice behind the social media strategy of the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. He first came to our attention through a writeup on the blog Not Easy To Forget from its author James Ball. 

For those who are not familiar with this Atlanta landmark, Oakland Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries and one of the largest green spaces in the City of Atlanta, and it is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Famous "residents" include Bobby Jones the golfer, Margaret Mitchell the author, Maynard Jackson the former Mayor of Atlanta, and Joseph Jacobs who was the proprietor of the soda fountain where Coca-Cola was first served in 1886.

Chad brings a great perspective to his use of social media in attracting new visitors to the cemetery, and believes that his use of a Twitter account has reached a different demographic than the traditional destination / attraction marketing that tourism venues typically enact.

The content that Chad likes to generate through his social media efforts include the same types of things that any business should consider distributing.  Don't let the fact that he is interacting on behalf of a cemetery fool you!  He is looking to engage in conversations about events and answer customer service type questions, plus he can include some interesting history that makes his tweet stream an interesting read.  Chad believes that it helps to share information about other things that are happening around the City of Atlanta so that it incorporates Oakland Cemetery as part of the "eco-system" of venues.

Successes include driving measurable traffic to the web site at Oakland Cemetery.com, as well as seeing additional friends and fans attend their events such as the Run Like Hell 5K, Halloween Tours, and Sunday in the Park. All of their events had record attendance which can be attributed to these efforts.  It also pays off from a volunteer recruitment standpoint (and must also be applied to employee recruitment in more traditional business).

Chad suggests that the Atlanta Tourism community look into something like the new location based application Four Square. Another service of this same ilk is Gowalla.

The success that Chad has witnessed on behalf of the Oakland Cemetery demonstrates a couple of key points that we stress on the Bella Buzz podcast, it can be accomplished no matter what the business is. If a cemetery can find a voice in social media, anything can have a voice.  Also, Chad works on a volunteer basis so it is not an all consuming time commitment requirement.

We have often heard the question raised that it can be a complicated scenario when an employee who has taken on the social media responsibilities, in effect, has become the voice of the organization, leaves for other opportunities.  Have the gains made been lost? Does that employee end up carrying the followers with them to the next stop?  Chad beautifully answers this concern by stating that the "voice" of the organization should simply be a reflection of the internal culture within the organization.  The term that we have used, and Chad reinforces is transparency.  By being honest and transparent, and reflecting a community culture, there should be no loss in effectiveness when reassigning the social media duties and responsibilities.

Chad can also be found at the Twitter handle @Ratpack

Just as we are about to sign off, we end up talking about Listening tools such as the ones we discussed on last week's episode.  One item we did not bring up last week was the search for commonly misspelled terms that you are monitoring.  Chad keeps an eye out for the misspelled Cematery and uses it as a chance to reach out to a potential visitor.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

Link Building: Why it's Important and How to Get it Done

Download The Bella Buzz

We quickly acknowledge the fallout from the Kevin Smith is Too Fat to Fly on Southwest Airlines controversy we had discussed on the last episode of The Bella Buzz, recognizing that social media has the ability to generate headlines in all forms of media now.  The story was covered everywhere from ABC News to Entertainment Tonight, spreading loudly and rapidly.

Should we be concerned with how much power does someone with many followers hold over a company?  Could it be that someone who grows a following (for whatever reason) might decide to use that voice for negative purposes? A blackmail opportunity?  Fortunately, Desiree points out that in a straw poll regarding the Kevin Smith situation 58% of respondents said they were on the side of Southwest. So maybe that points out an interesting development.  It might be considered that social media does actually portray a "wisdom of the crowd" mentality, and the greater good or the best opinions might actually win out in the end over sheer numbers. 

Our main topic for this episode is Link Building.  It was instigated by a thread in a Webmaster World forum that is one person's live link building process. He actually lays out his process in step by step detail that gets the topic flowing in regards to the value of the effort.

Without a doubt, the early days of the Google algorithm required that links point to a web site so that the search spiders could discover and index the site.  The higher authority of the site linking in, would pass along some of the relevance "weight" so the Google could get a signal about the importance of the site.  However, as the algorithm has become more robust, should the focus be more on creating incredibly powerful content and let the links come naturally?

Desiree describes that process and service that she uses with clients as a way to get a site useful inbound links. A valuable link must be looked at two ways.  There are links that bring value through actual visitor traffic, and there are links that bring the Google Bot and page rank value.

With her search specialist, a client's site can require up to 40 hours of intensive research and submission looking for sites to link to.  A Google search within a particular niche will uncover potential sites to inquire.  She looks at all of the many directories out there as valuable targets for inclusion. This is a regular monthly task to address to some degree, since there are many new sites cropping up all the time.

There are also consumer review sites such as Kudzu.com or Yelp that would have quality link value.

A service like Link Popularity can provide some information for measurement regarding the number of sites linking to your web page, or the Google webmaster tool using the parameter "Link:www.yourdomain.com" to see where the links are coming from.

Of course as we have said many times, creating quality relevant content is the best link building strategy for the long term.  It might be a short term effort to grow organic search engine ranking through link building efforts, but it takes quality, evergreen content that will provide long term inbound links.

Be aware as well .. the 40 hour commitment that Desiree shares does not mean that the listing will be at the top of the search results at that point.  What she means is that the foundation is set for the links to start appearing on other web sites so that the search spiders can crawl and index the link in the first stage of getting a good ranking.  It will take many months and years to achieve the highest ranking possible.

We are still in a Link Economy.

How do you do your link building?  Can you share with the rest of the Bella Buzz community how you go about getting others to link to your web site?  Share in the comments.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.