SEO VS SEM

SEO VS SEM

Now that you know what the terms SEO and SEM mean, along with the different techniques that fall under it. The result of the SEO vs SEM battle is quite simple.

• SEO tends to give back quality hits, and higher rankings but that may take years. SEM, on the other hand, is quick and tends to give you instant results, like a lot of hits in a very short period of time.
• SEO vs SEM can be simple explained. SEO is equity, where you add something every few days and get results later, SEM, on the other hand, is the instant result for every rupee spent. As the rupee stops coming in, so do the benefits.

In the short term battle of SEO vs SEM – SEM comes out the obvious winner.

In the long term battle of SEO vs SEM – SEO wins hands down.

Similarly, is we were to see SMO vs SMM, they would as similar as SEO vs SEM respectively. Giving back the same results.

So where should your investment go? Organic (SEO, SMO) or Paid (SEM, SMM)?

The simple answer is – BOTH! There remains no SEO vs SEM when you come down to business. They are all two sides of the same coin, one requires time and effort, the other requires money. Other than Black Hat SEO, all the above techniques are required if you wish to get higher rankings in SERP, more visibility, and more traffic. However, the deciding factor about your campaign working or is not based on using all these techniques, but on how efficiently you use them. This requires you to have an iron-clad business campaign.

The Best way to make the best campaign for your Business/Website is to keep the following things in mind:

 Your budget

The first thing, to begin with, is to know your budget, or how much are you willing to spend. If you are a small business, you may not want to lose your money on pointless campaigns that yield no results. Squandering money on campaigns without really understanding them, will cost you more than you wish to spend. So get a financial management in the plan. Understand the market, the techniques that would work best for your niche, understand the SEO vs SEM differences and then go on to planning a campaign.

What's That Infographic Resume ???

In the present  competitive job market it’s tempting to want to make yourself stand out.And since we are such a visually driven culture (studies show that you can convey more information faster with pictures than you can with words), it's not surprising that some job seekers are considering turning their resumes into infographics.
These visualizations of data are everywhere, from the best places in the world to start a business to the sleep schedules of some of history’s greatest minds.
And some believe that the data on your resume is the next logical step. Matt Cooper, CEO of Visual.ly, an online visual content marketplace, argues that it’s getting more difficult to fit an entire career into a simple chronological list.
"The world has gotten so competitive that employers are less likely to take a risk on a new employee without doing a thorough check of their job performance. And that means data—lots of it," he says.
But before you turn everything on your resume into a bar graph and pie chart, there are a few things to consider:

While info graphics can certainly add value as a supplement to a candidate's resume or application, the position itself is most important when determining whether to submit graphic content along with a traditional resume,

Keep it simple and short.

It’s more effective to use charts that are easy to understand and convey your message quickly. "Remember, you get only a few seconds with the recruiter or hiring manager," Woo warns.

Social Media Tools That Will Help You Reach Your Marketing Goals

Whether you’re a solo marketer, startup or multinational enterprise, you'll find it's nearly an insurmountable feat to manage your social media without the help of some third-party tools.

It's these tools that make it possible for you to reach marketing goals, track results and engage more efficiently across a multitude of platforms. And, more and more, they're a necessary step, given that 52 percent of online adults now use two or more social media sites, and the average social media user maintains five accounts.
The good news is, when you're getting started, is that there are plenty of mobile apps and web-based tools to choose from; they range from specialized to multipurpose.
Below, I’ve compiled a list of my top five most recommended social tools for managing your marketing campaigns and making scaling your online marketing efforts that much easier.

1. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is considered to  a leader when it comes to managing social media. The platform offers everything you need to monitor social chatter and manage content publishing and multiple accounts. It also offers detailed reporting and collaboration features.
Each of your accounts can be displayed side by side in multiple streams for quick monitoring. This is especially helpful when big trending topics and conversations are taking place across all of your social channels. That listening ability is a big part of social engagement, and Hootsuite makes it easy.
“I use social media as an idea generator, trend mapper, and strategic compass for all of our online business ventures,” says Paul Barron, founder of Digital CoCo.
Hootsuite is available in a free plan as well as via multiple paid-plan options, and can be used on a desktop web environment or via mobile app.

2. Flickr with Creative Commons search

This is a go-to source for great stock photos for any kind of social promotional purposes, content marketing, branding and more. It’s ideal for blogs and presentations. With its advanced search feature, you can browse photos that have been made specifically available under Flickr with Creative Commons licensing, which allows you to use photos with attribution.
Visuals are an important part of social and content marketing. When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10 percent of it, according to data collected and analyzed by John Medina in his book Brain Rules. But if a relevant image is paired with the same information, that retention rate jumps to 65 percent -- even three days later.
For slightly higher-grade photos, I recommend purchasing images from Shutterstock.

3. Bit.ly

Bit.ly is the dominant URL shortener, and in my opinion it’s the best choice for the function it offers as well as its value-added benefits. Bit.ly's tracking and analytics are on point, though I recommend utilizing a shortener whenever possible. The “+” feature is a nice perk, as well: By adding the “+” to the end of any bit.ly URL, you can see how many times it has been clicked on and who clicked on it.
It’s a great way to check in on trending topics, find influencers and even keep an eye on your competitors if they're using the service, as well.
Because creating unique bit.ly links is so easy, the tool is also a great way to do A/B testing, on real-time social networks like Twitter.

4. TubeMogul

Video is a big part of social engagement; that’s why sites like Facebook have upgraded their services to incorporate native video-uploading as well as live streaming. Twitter has done the same thing since its acquisition of Vine back in 2012, and Periscope in 2015. Video provides a means to engage your audience with fun, entertaining content -- content that drives social shares.
“The play button is the most compelling call to action on the web,” -- says Michael Litt, co-founder of Vidyard.
TubeMogul takes the demand of manual upload and simplifies it so you can upload a single video clip directly to dozens of video sites. In addition to faster upload, it gives you comparative statistics on the number of views and the length of each view, site by site. It’s a fantastic tool for moving beyond individual video upload into strategic video optimization as part of a broad social media strategy.

5. Notifier

Notifier scans your content for the names of influencers in your posts and gives you one-click access to generate @mentions on social media. It’s a simple and effective way to notify influencers (and their audience) that you’ve mentioned them within your content.

Four Must Have Apps

If you want to simplify your daily investing ventures, then I truly believe that you need to have a few of the right apps to help you along the way. The right app can simplify investing, help you stay connected with the outside world and expedite the entire trading process for you. Here are four of the best investing apps for any trader to consider.

1. iPhone’s stock app.

Let’s start with the basics. The iPhone’s basic default stock tracking app is actually a pretty good tool that you can use to keep an eye on the major indices throughout the day as well as select stocks in your portfolio. This isn’t an app that you should be using to do analysis and make buy or sell decisions. But it will help you keep your finger on the pulse of the market no matter where you are. The top mistake investors make is not checking in with the market frequently enough. That’s how small losses become major losses. So even when you’re away from your desk or do not have access to a trading dashboard, even a simple tool like this could save you a lot of money.

2. eTrade.

If you haven’t tried the eTrade app to manage all of your trades, then it is time that you start. This app is super convenient and it puts all of the wealth-building tools you need right at your fingertips. When you want to make quick trades on-the-go, this is one of the tools I suggest you turn to. Plus, it is filled with tons of information and analysis features to help you make smart decisions.

3. StocksToTrade.com.

When I need a program that can help with scanning stocks and examining charts, I use StockToTrade. This software program claims to be powerful enough for a hedge-fund, but that it’s built for the average Joe investor and in all reality, I agree with them. I love this software program. It is super powerful, it’s easy for my students to use and it’s easy for me to use when I need to make huge trades from my home office or whenever I’m traveling. StocksToTrade also has scans for news as it relates to trading setups and patterns. One of my favorite features is being able to sort stocks based on a multitude of characteristics such as share price, market cap, etc. The pre-programmed scans for certain trade setups also make it very easy to build a trading strategy.

4. Entrepreneur.com.

When it comes to the tools I rely on most for investing, there is nothing quite like Entrepreneur.com. This is a prime example of it being about more than just apps, this site simply makes it easier for me to invest. I truly believe that investing without knowledge is risky. This is why I am always reading and always finding out new information. I spend a lot of time studying the articles on Entrepreneur to see what is happening in business. 

And now, for the one app that I don’t use…

5. Robinhood free broker app.

I am always willing to look at different apps in order to find programs that can help me in my everyday investing ventures. Some apps are great, others are just OK, but this app is one that I simply won’t use. I warn all of my students against using the Robinhood app, for a few reasons. This app has bad executions, weak short-selling options and it tries to lure people in by being “free.” Be careful with this one. Plus, there are no after-hours trading. In my opinion, it is better to just pay for quality.


Keep these apps in mind whenever you are looking for a new program to help you with your investing ventures. The right app can help make all of the difference in how easy it is for you to handle your daily trades with ease.

Social-Media Mistakes Your Business Can't Afford

Social media marketing is something you need to be doing. It’s too effective when it comes to growing your business to ignore it. As more businesses make it a larger component of its marketing strategies, I see more mistakes being made.
Here are four mistakes you don't want to make on social media.

1. You're not interacting with followers.

Guess what the number one line of communication is for customer service? Social media.

The majority of consumers are constantly plugged into social media, which is the reason social media is a major customer support tool. I see a lot of businesses that understand this, but its social media feed is just a long list of support replies.

Since your followers are plugged in around the clock, use it as an opportunity to create raving fans of your business. Every business is going to have a different audience and target market, so you need to think of content that your followers would be likely to engage with.

For example, if your audience is millennials, memes might be a good play. Memes spark engagement, like comments and social shares, generating buzz about your business. Remember, your social media posts don’t have to be traditional advertisements to convert followers into customers.

2. You're overly promotional.

Continuing where the previous point left off, don’t post ad after ad, and expect your followers to stick around.

An offer here and there is fine, but if your followers feel that all of your posts are glorified advertisements, they will find other accounts to follow and leave you behind. They don’t need you. You need them.

3. You don't include calls-to-action (CTAs).

Collecting followers alone isn’t going to magically translate into increased sales and revenue. Every social media profile gives you a place to put your website link, yet so many businesses miss out on an opportunity to collect leads, or push traffic directly to an offer because it simply puts its website’s homepage URL in these sections.

Don’t do that. Instead, put a link to your newsletter offer, downloadable whitepaper or a direct-to-purchase offer. Most clicks originating from social media and hitting your homepage are wasted clicks. Nobody has time to try to find offers. Send them directly to your offers, and this will greatly increase your conversion rates.

You should also mix in some CTAs in your posts. CTAs don’t have to be promotional.

Let’s assume you created a very informative infographic for your blog and want to drive traffic to it. Most businesses would just post the URL on social media and hope people will check it out. By including a strong CTA, such as, “You have to check out this cool infographic we just did -- especially point No. 3,” will drive significantly more traffic than just listing the post title and a link.

4. You spread yourself too thin.

You have to accept the fact that you more than likely can’t be active on all social media channels, unless you have a dedicated social media team or outsource your social media to a digital agency.
It will benefit you much more if you are great on three social media outlets, rather than mediocre on more. Pick the social networks that your business thrives on, and focus on making your impact even bigger.
With just a small handful of social networks to worry about, it makes answering messages and engaging with your followers much more manageable. The faster you can reply and the more you can engage, the stronger that connection will become. Social media is a great tool to build relationships that create life-long brand supporters.

Using Linked In Efficiently

Social media is a double-edged sword for many business owners and entrepreneurs. On the one hand, it promises so much, but on the other hand, it can take up a lot of your valuable time -- especially if you don't have a proven social media plan. But if you're mainly selling to other businesses, then there's one place you definitely need to be -- LinkedIn.
With more than 400 million users and the ability to connect with new leads, new partners or influencers who can help you spread the word about your brand, it's the obvious choice for B2B.
But are you getting the most out of it or are you just tinkering around at the edges? Here are 11 giveaway signs that you've mastered LinkedIn.

1. You know your objectives.

So many people go round and round in circles in LinkedIn. Not you. You know exactly the outcomes you desire, and you go after them.

You understand that you need to do less to get more, so your focus is on three main areas -- getting more media exposure, creating partnerships and generating leads for your business. Your effort is focused on these three areas, and anything outside of this does not attract your attention.

2. You know who you're targeting.

Because you know your objectives, you know exactly who you want to connect with. You don't connect with people willy nilly hoping that somewhere, sometime, someone will get back to you. You know who you want to connect with, what they do and where they're based. You're not interested in spending time on building a network of people with half-hearted profiles. You're after the movers and shakers, the "A" Graders. Guesswork is not part of your approach.

3. You have a structured approach.

Because you know what you want, and because you know who can help you, your approach can be much more structured. But not only one approach. Each approach is dictated by your needs (e.g. increase exposure, identify partners, generate leads). Each approach is clearly structured and is tailored towards a successful outcome.

Ultimately, you know exactly where you want to get your connections. Whether that's on a phone call or a face-to-face meeting, it's a structured approach that isn't left to chance.

4. You're focused on relationships.

Selling yourself, your expertise or your products and services is your ultimate goal. But there's a time and place for that. People rarely buy on first contact. That's why your approach is built on creating trust and building a relationship from the start.

5. You're committed to content.

You understand the value of world class content, and you offer this to your networks. Because you know your expected outcomes, you understand the challenges and the problems that your target audience face. You create content that addresses these issues.

Whether that's regular LinkedIn Updates or longer LinkedIn Posts, you create world class content to make sure that you stay front of mind with your target audience.

6. A solution-focused profile.

Your profile isn't a dry read that looks like an online CV. Instead it reads more like a set of solutions that you can offer. When your connections come to check you out, they see that you are a solution provider. They see that you understand their needs and that you are a credible partner for them.

Your profile pops with your own media, whether that's articles, photos, videos or presentations.

7. You segment your contacts.

You've got several objectives, and that means several audiences. Not all of them will be interested in the same content. That's why you segment your contacts to make sure that they only get the content that's relevant to them.

8. You don't preach to groups. You ask questions.

Whether you're running a group or you're a member of a group, you understand that asking questions is more powerful than promoting your own content. You understand that asking questions elicits responses in ways that posting content to a group doesn't, and it allows you to direct them to useful resources.

Sure, you know there's a time and place to make a pitch. It just isn't here.

9. It's your comfort zone for cold calling.

One of the reasons you use LinkedIn is because you hate cold calling. You hate the way that it's unpredictable, intrusive and annoying. That's why you prefer a structured approach based on known objectives, targeted outreach and high value content.

10. You're patient.

It would be great if you could just hit it out of the park at the first attempt. But you know that's not going to happen. Building relationships and creating trust takes time. That's why you're patient and methodical. You know that things need to occur in a certain order, and that if you're in too much of a hurry, your prospects will notice.

11. You enjoy it.

Finally, above all else, you enjoy developing meaningful relationships based on mutual benefit. As much as you enjoy growing your own business, you enjoy sharing your knowledge and helping others solve their problems and grow their businesses. For you, this is where LinkedIn really comes into it's own.
LinkedIn is powerful. If you're selling to businesses, it's the place to be. But just going in all guns a-blazing isn't going to work. Whether you're looking for more media exposure, partnerships or new leads, you need to know your desired outcomes and have a structured plan in place to achieve your objectives.
LinkedIn works best for people who understand their outcomes, and people who understand who they want to work with and they have a structured plan to engage with them.

Penguin 4.0 In Nutshell