Conductor SEO Study
So, you’ve invested a lot of time creating great content, promoting it through Social Channels with the hope and intent of improving your overall SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Put simply, you want to get to the top of Google’s natural search results.
There was a great study done recently by Conductor SEO that shows not all Social Media outlets are ranked the same in search results. Twitter is almost twice as likely to yield a first position search result than Facebook. LinkedIn is ranked over Facebook as well. The new kid on the block getting so much media attention, Pinterest is not even in the Top 10 Social Networks that impact SEO. (not yet anyway).
This study should influence your Social Media efforts. Why? Well, if your goal is to drive traffic to your website, create awareness for your products/services/brand and you care about converting people into customers then this means everything! Google is still king of the hill when it comes to SEO and search. Studies show that paid keywords\adwords on Google result in less than 2% click-through rates. The best natural search results can be obtained by using the right Social Networks and by creating or linking to updated and fresh content with your keywords and links to your site.
Many people have a love/hate relationship with Groupon. Consumers love it. Business owners love to hate it. Just ask the cleaning business owner that I just hired who is completely understaffed and overworked due to her Groupon deal of last week. She is thrilled with the exponential growth in her services, but will people come back again? Its hard to say, especially since today’s Milwaukee Groupon is another cleaning service offering a 50% discount via Groupon (less than a week has passed since I purchased the cleaning service deal). Commodity services like house cleaning will probably not do well in the long-run with Groupon as I’d rather just wait until the next 50% deal than pay full price. I’ve purchased a total of 3 Groupons under my “Wm” account and today, I’m now considered a VIP.
This popped into my Inbox today:
For a mere $29.99/year I can be a Groupon VIP! Wow, what a steal. Well, to be fair there is a bit of value in the proposition. You can get first dibs on new deals, get access to expired deals (I’m sure retailers will be happy to know the bleeding continues after their deal expires) or trade in your deal for Groupon Bucks (have to look up that one to be clear of what it really means).
Reading between the lines, Groupon is trying to setup a new business model and some additional cash flow. It is a good strategy, but are they really adding value to their client base. Rewarding current Groupon Customers is a VERY good thing, especially if you agree with (@JaffeJuice on Twitter) Joseph Jaffe’s “Flip the Funnel” theories (as I do). But, to charge your best customers for VIP service is a bit of a slap in the face. We value you as a VIP, but you must pay for it. Huh?!?
It will be interesting to see how this develops and how many VIP Groupon deals they sell!
This past week, the New York State Bar commented that they are considering allowing non-attorneys to have an equity stake in law firm partnerships. Both the American Bar Association and the Wall Street Journal ran stories about the move.
This make sense as law firms start to break out of their closed niche and hire non-attorneys to run the activities of the firm. Lawyers can focus on what they do best. It seems like a natural evolution of business; CEOs and other non-attorney, top leadership in law firms would like to get the same type of equity ownership that they would otherwise get in a normal corporation. Many state bar rules prevent non-attorneys from having any type of equity ownership in formalized law firms.
Given the lack of consensus among the American Bar Association and the ethics committees, this is an interesting topic that will likely anger many more than it will please. After all, attorneys have put in the ‘sweat equity’ and long hours to earn their ownership shares. But, it does give law firms the equal footing in business circles to offer more than just base compensation and bonus. The leadership of the firm and the firm itself would benefit from making an owner out of the non-attorney C-Level ranks. Not only is there pride in ownership, but the equity stake serves as a tie to bind them to the firm. Law firms can also recruit and attract more seasoned business leaders without breaking the bank in cash compensation.
Even if the move is allowed by the state bars, how long will it take for law firms to hire non-attorney CEOs and then open up the option for equity ownership? Non-attorneys might be waiting a long time for their shares.
Post your thoughts below…
