Janine's Social Media, SEO, and Web Traffic Tips

Creating a great Web site is just the beginning. To build an audience, grow your network, and make the most of today's online opportunities, you'll need Social Media -- from Facebook to Twitter to Blogging and Email Newsletters.

Read through the tips below, sign up for Janine's newsletter, and start building your network one tip at a time.

Google+ gets a little 'buzz,' and a lot easier to join

Google Plus Google+ has been getting a fair amount of, well, buzz, in the geek press. Forgive the pun as I refer to one of Google's social media mistakes from the past, but new social media effort is getting far better reviews, especially compared to the angry backlash Google faced when it launched Buzz.

In addition to some early positive reviews, Google+ garned press attention this week because the initial launch was restriced to a few people lucky enough to score early invites, including most of the top tech bloggers and journalists.

We'll see if Google gets social media right this time, but the innovative features of Google+ combined with the growing list of intregrated services included in the world of Google Apps, shows Google is making some serious moves in the world of online collaboration, as well as social connection.

Here are a few tips and articles I've been collecting that will help you appreciate why you might want to score an invite -- something that seems to have gotten much easier to get as of today...

Learn more about Google+ Plus...

Email Marketing

Ten Tips to make your site more Search Engine Friendly with Dreamweaver

The best way to make your site search engine friendly is to design your site so that it’s easy for search engines to ‘read’ your pages. That means doing things like adding alternative text behind your images and using the Meta description tag. In this tutorial, you’ll find a few SEO tips and discover the features in Dreamweaver that will best serve your SEO efforts. Read more about SEO Tips for Dreamweaver

Earn ‘Status’ in Social Networks

If you haven’t updated your status on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter lately, consider using one of these ideas.

Ask a question related to your latest book, research project, or business venture.
Share a favorite link or hot news item in your specialty area – odds are, many of the people in your networks on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn share your interests

Make updating your status at least a weekly habit – and if you’re a daily poster make sure your followers welcome your status updates.

For those who barely have time to update Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, spend a few minutes this week linking the three together. Yes, you can now set up Twitter to update both Facebook and LinkedIn at once.

How to send email newsletters (without looking like a spammer)

As promised, this week I'm using an email service that includes a way to unsubscribe. Consistent with my "practice what you preach" ethos, I've used my research into finding the best email newsletter service to construct my tip this week.

The first thing you should know about building your online network through a newsletter is how not to look like a spammer. Anyone who has an email inbox knows that clogging it up with unwanted messages is the quickest way to infuriate the very people you want to reach.

Bulk email services offer a panoply of tools designed to help you get your messages out, while complying with both Federal laws and "netiquette." (Read more)

Email Newsletter Services: Reviews and Comparison Table

Follow these links to:

Learn more about what you should consider when choosing an email service, read this review.
Compare all of the different these bulk email services, I created this comparison table.
For this review, I tested these popular services: ConstantContact, iContact, BenchMark Email, AWeber and StreamSend.com.

How To Promote Your Web Site and Score Better in Google

My friend Amy sent me an email this week, asking how to better promote her site and why her pages seemed to be scoring worse in Google these days and it reminded that building a Web site, like building a business, is only part of the process. If you want your site to have value, you have to promote it. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Facebook: Should you show your face on a Fan Page, Group, or Profile?

Facebook is the unquestioned market leader in the social networking space. Their growth over the last three years has been mind-boggling. In December 2008, the site had 42 million registered users in the U.S.

As of December 2009, there were 100 million U.S. citizens on Facebook, and 350 million worldwide. That’s an enormous audience, one that authors, actors, and others around the world are trying to figure out how to use to promote their books, connect with their fans, and do market research.

But Facebook can be confusing so this month, I’m going to focus on the question: What’s the difference between a Facebook Profile, a Facebook Fan Page, and a Facebook Group, and how can I figure out which one is best for me?

In a nutshell, Profiles are for individuals, Groups are meant to foster discussion, and Fan Pages are designed for actors, authors, businesses, bands, and the like to broadcast information to an audience. (Read full comparison of Facebook Fan Pages, Groups, and Profiles.)