Although my expertise is in content, online content marketing today is so intertwined with search engine strategies (how content on the web is often found), I also study, practice and teach about search engine marketing best practices. It is with that introduction that I want to tell you how I didn't listen to my own advice, and lost customers an

How many times have we heard, "all it takes is a dollar and a dream"? This phrase seems to always follow a commercial for the lottery. Of course the odds are that there's no chance in hell of you winning the big prize but people line up like sheep to try their luck.

Why not take some time and create a Facebook application? The odds might be better to make a quick million. Especially after hearing month after month at the NY Tech Meetup that many of the "hot" apps were created in less than a week.

A while ago people would submit every story they wrote to Digg. Not just to get it voted up, but because "just being on Digg" was apparently good for SEO. I wasn't always convinced of this but I heard it so much I started to believe there might be something in it. Still, I didn't follow the practice.

It's tough coming up with great content day after day. Some bloggers make it look easy, while others intersperse in-depth articles with shallow posts that don't offer much value. Your blog is what you make it, though--and you'll do better if you make an effort every time.

The bad news is that Writers' Block happens to bloggers, too--trust me, you will occasionally sit down to write and have absolutely no idea what to say. The good news is that there are many things you can do to make it...

The Web experienced a roller-coaster ride in 2007 with Social Networking emerging as the happening area. More and more user activity moving to the clouds was another phenomena. But it was also the year which raised serious questions on security around web applications and web services.

Issues galore

Let me come clean with you, I don't do many of these things. I don't do them at my blog, but I have executed multimedia marketing programs, and they work. They work because multimedia helps a site stand out and it helps the reader, your customer, have a more complete experience with your content.

Clement James at ITNews wrote an interesting piece recently where he outlined reasons why in 2008 social media will come into its own as a necessary online strategy for businesses.

The article referenced Will Beresford, a strategy director at Beyond Analysis who gave several predictions on where the social media is going in 2008. While I don't necessary agree with all of Mr. Beresford's predictions I do think that they are good discussion topics.

Every now and then I write a post that seems to really resonate with my readers. I wish I was better at figuring out how to strike a chord with every word, but what the heck, I'll take what I can get. (Even a broken clock is right twice a day)

When you hit the mark with a seemingly magical post, one that draws lots of comments, trackbacks and bookmarks, you should take the extra effort to use it as a tool to extend your readership. There's a good bet that if your current readers were moved enough by your post to comment and share it with others then it might just be a door opener to some new readers.

Where's the flag on your ship?

If you're one of the lucky leaders in the virtual world, that flag is stuck firmly in the bow of the ship, front and center. It's visible from far, whipping in the wind, proudly displayed as an icon of moving forth to conquer the world.

Flagship bloggers like Dosh Dosh, Problogger and Copyblogger lead the fleets. These commanders are the forward thinkers that beat us all to the punch. They come up with content that makes us all nod and wish we'd thought of that first.

(Books, blog posts, breakfast cereals, whatever).

I was talking to someone yesterday about naming books, and I realized that there are three useful schools of thought here.

You can pick a completely descriptive, generic, boring name that precisely describes what's inside. Like "Shredded Wheat" or "12 Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog" or "Installing Linux on the 8088 Platform in 24 Hours". The advantage of this approach is that Google likes it, and so do people who are quite goal directed. If you've got a Linux installation problem and you find that book at your local B&N, not only are you going to buy it immediately, you're going to do it with a smile on your face.