What is Mobile Marketing? Mobile marketing is the act of connecting with your target audience over a mobile platform, namely, through their mobile phones. It is about staying relevant to your audience whenever and wherever they go. With smartphones controlling 49% of the mobile market, marketers are rushing to incorporate mobile into their overall marketing strategy. To give you a snapshot of the mobile market, we made a list of the top 13 mobile marketing stats every business should know when hunting down their share of the mobile audience.

1. The global smartphone market experienced a 54% year-over-year growth rate in 2011
2. 64% of 25-35 year olds own a smartphone
3. 1 in 4 mobile subscribers over the age of 55 now own a smartphone
4. 44% of mobile phone owners use their devices more than 10 times each day
5. 53% of smartphone owners use search engines at least once a day
6. 90% look up local information; 87% of these users subsequently call the business, visit the website or store, make a purchase, or get directions to the business
7. 17% of mobile phone usage is attributed to looking for a store address (perhaps yours?)
8. 49% of smartphone owners use their device while shopping
9. 1 in 10 search ads clicked were through a mobile device
10. Display ads presented on smartphones have the highest click-through-rates (4.12%)
11. 40% of owners cited “difficulty of site navigation” as the biggest frustration with mobile browsing
12. 74% of consumers will wait 5 seconds for a mobile webpage to load before leaving the site
13. 46% of consumers are unlikely to return to a mobile website that did not work during their last visit

There are currently six Ad Extensions offered:

Social Extensions –  This extension allows you to link to your Google + Page. One benefit to this is that all your +1’s (from your page, your website, your ads and search) will all get added together. This extension will show all the recommendations that your business has received. And remember, this info is visible to all Google users via your ad, not just Google + users.

Product Extensions –  The product extension is linked to an existing Google Merchant account. This is necessary if you want your products to show in your PPC Ad. Your plusbox will contain images, titles and prices of your products.

Ad Sitelinks – This particular extension allows you to offer up different pages of your website, or even add links to a Facebook or YouTube account! You can currently ad six links, so choose wisely! This additional amount of real estate added to your ad should be accurate and relevant. If your ad is in regards to weddings, add site links to your wedding pages only.

Location Extensions –  The location extension is one of the most popular extension as it shows your address, business name and phone number under your ad. If you’d like to drive traffic to a location, this is a logical option.

Multiple Addresses for Location Extensions – If you have multiple locations, the Multiple Addresses for Location Extensions will appeal to you. This option show searchers all your store locations which gives them an opportunity to find an ideal location for them, helping to drive in-store sales.

Click to Call Phone Extensions – The phone extension enable a “click to call” feature on any mobile device that has full web browser capabilities. This means when searched from a mobile device, the searcher can click on the ad and call you directly. Eventually we will be able to utilize “Call Metrics” to discover info about the caller. If you have more than one phone number, you can test this extension out by setting it with a certain number and then tracking how many times it was called.

Keep in mind, you can only use one type of Ad Extension per campaign.

Ad extensions are one of my favorite elements within AdWords. It gives your site an opportunity to shine amidst others. Utilize this feature to the fullest extent!

Don’t forget, once they click through to your website, they need to land on the proper landing page or section of your website. Make it as easy as possible for the searcher to find what they are looking for! If you need assistance in any of these areas, call the experts at Mannix Marketing!

Actually, video may be more important than ever when it comes to your website, capturing the attention of potential customers and converting them into customers. And why is this?

Let’s start with what’s still the same.

• YouTube is still a huge place for search (by some estimates it would be the 2nd largest search engine)
• Creating your own videos is easier than ever
• Videos show up on search engine result pages more and more
• Transcriptions of video allow you to get added keyword rich text within a video page on your website

Now let’s take a look at what has changed over the past 18 months

• Search engines are looking at the ‘media mix’ that websites have to use in their rankings (re: more videos could mean higher rankings)
• People are adding the word ‘video’ to their search phrases at an increasing rate
• Search engines are getting closer to being able to ‘understand’ what a video is about
• Sharing of videos is rampant, and sharing is a social factor that is being looked at by the search engines (not to mention that sharing of avideo in itself can help spread the work about your business, service or product)

So now that you are convinced that videos are a must for your business, what are the next steps?

Decide what your videos will be about. What is the message you want to put out there? Will it be just one or two videos? Will it be a video for each product? How will the videos connect? Do you need professional looking videos, or can they have a lower quality look and still accomplish the goals? You need to start with a plan. A professional marketing company or video production house can help you with this (and all steps). But it can also start with a simple video that you take with your phone.

Map out the plan. Once you know what the videos will include, start building a plan that includes shots needed, scripts, people who need to be involved and other details that will make the execution of the plan go smoothly.

Produce and edit your videos. This is the exciting part. Make the videos and edit them. You may have uses for different length videos (i.e., 30 second quick video of the CEO, and a 5 minute more in depth interview), so keep the end use in mind when editing them.
Optimize your videos. While in production, follow best practices when it comes to video SEO.

Post, embed and share your videos. Let people know about the videos. You may roll them out one at a time, or all at once. Whatever the case, be sure to put them where people will want to play them and share them. Remember to optimize pages, websites and posts where the videos are.

If you wouldn’t mind, please tell us about the favorite videos you have seen on the web and why you like them below.

Would you like some help with your video search engine optimization strategy? Give Mannix Marketing a call at 1-800-928-9154. We look forward to hearing from you and increasing your presence on the web.

Flesch–Kincaid Reading Levels & SEO

So you keep on hearing it and hearing it (from our awesome SEO team, anyway!) “Content matters for SEO! More content! Higher quality content! Unique content! Optimized content!”  Well, be prepared to add one more to the list: “Grade level appropriate content!”  For SEO? Flesch-Kincaid? What? Yes, the reading level of your website matters!

Each search engine has it’s own algorithmic system. Google’s is highly sophisticated and proprietary – we can draw conclusions as to what some of the most important components are by trial and error and hands-on experience, but the sum of the whole may largely be surmised.  We do know, for instance, that content is critical. How much, how well written, how optimized, how often it is updated, etc.

But there are signs that among the hundreds of items in the Google algorithm, the grade level of your website content may influence your SEO bottom line to a noticeable degree.  And that particular piece of the algorithm that is based on the  Flesch-Kincaid reading level may be weighted more heavily of late. Here is the actual formula:

• Calculate the average number of words used per sentence
• Calculate the average number of syllables per word
• Multiply the average number of words by 0.39 and add it to the average number of syllables per word multiplied by 11.8
• Subtract 15.59 from the result

The mathematical formula:

FKRA = (0.39 x ASL) + (11.8 x ASW) – 15.59

To keep it in perspective, both Time and Newsweek are at about a 10th grade level.

How does this work for your site? Let’s say you are an engineering firm in a competitive industry. Your website has an aged domain name, a  good number of content-rich pages,  high quality backlinks that support your relevancy, and a  navigation that is comprehensive, organized, and keyword rich.   All good stuff.  Yet if your Flesch-Kincaid reading level is 3.2, the message is that you’re appropriate to a 3rd grade level reader.  Appropriate or not? You must be the judge!

It makes sense that readability and comprehension apply to search results in that Google (and other search engines – let’s not forget there are others out there!) seeks to return the best, most relevant and appropriate answers to queries.  Therefore, if your engineering firm is on equal footing with your competitors in all other areas, yet is returning data that indicates a 3rd grade reading level on your website, who do you think Google will give preference to?

Whether your industry is hospitality, e-commerce, informational or retail related, it’s more important now than ever to have a thorough evaluation of your content.  When it comes to search engine optimization, your Flesch-Kincaid reading level may actually be a tipping point.

Contact Pam Sissons, Director of Search Engine Marketing at (518) 743-9424 to arrange a free analysis of your website,  or contact us online for more information.

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Remember when Facebook rolled out the Timeline Profile? Well, on March 30th, all Facebook pages will get this new design. This could be problematic for your business if you don’t know what to expect, and how to prepare for it. The following article will explain most of the changes, and give you some ideas for making the transition an easy one. First, check out the screenshot of a timeline for Facebook business page below. I have marked this up to show you what’s new on your timeline page.

Facebook Timeline for Pages (click to see full size)

First thing first, you can view your new Page Timeline now by clicking the Preview button at the top right, in the Coming Soon box. This will not change your profile yet, it just lets you see what your timeline will look like so you have a chance to optimize it before March 30th. If you have everything set up and ready to go, you can publish your timeline at any time prior to March 30th by clicking Publish Now at the top right of your timeline preview.

Cover Photo

The first new feature you will have to implement is the Cover Photo. Dimensions for the Cover Photo are 851 x 315 pixels. I suggest you crop a photo to these exact dimensions, rather than leaving it up to Facebook (cropping is sloppy, and sometimes distorts images). There are also specific rules for Cover Photos that you must be aware of. You may think that this is the most valuable space on the page, and that it offers the perfect promotional opportunity. Not the case. Cover Photos cannot contain the following:

• Price or purchase information – “25% Off” and “Find it at our Website” are prohibited.
• Contact information – web addresses, as well as email and mailing addresses are prohibited.
• References to interaction – Like, Share, and other Facebook site features are prohibited.
• Calls to action – “Get it Now!” and “Tell your Friends” are prohibited.

The restrictions are rather tight, but in the interest of keeping this a social network, and not an advertising network, I agree with them. There are a lot of fun cover photo ideas out there, check out what Coca-Cola and Harley-Davidson have done. Look around and have some fun with it!

About

One of the most valuable pieces of real estate on your new Facebook timeline is the About section. The old About section lived on the left side of your page underneath the list of tabs, and was limited to 70 characters. The new About section give you 100 more characters to work with (170 total) and resides directly below your profile image. You can change this by going to your Admin Panel (more on that later) and clicking Manage > Edit Page. You should certainly include a link to your website in this About section, for added exposure.

Updates & Posts

Before your timeline is published, you will be able to backdate posts to fill in empty space. Do this by adding a post to your page, clicking the pencil icon, and use the Change Date option. Anything that you post on your wall can be highlighted, which expands the post to span both columns of the timeline. This can be achieved by clicking the star icon at the top right of the post.

You can also Pin a post to the top of your timeline. This can be used to bump an old post back up to the top, or to stick a welcome message there permanently. Do this by clicking the pencil icon on any post, and selecting Pin to Top.

If you use a third party app to update your Facebook page, you will have to manually break each post up into an individual story. Otherwise, all posts by your app will be grouped together. Hover over the group of updates, and click on the pencil icon and select View Individual Stories. You will see each story, click on the small circle to the right of the story you want to feature, and select Highlighted on Page.

Posts from others will all be grouped together on the right side of your timeline. To remove a post, just hover over it and click the small X and it will be deleted. If you would like to feature a post (this includes any photos that your fans might upload) go the Admin Panel > Manage > Use Activity Log. Find the post you would like to feature (they are organized chronologically), click on the circle, and select Highlighted on Page. You can then find the post on your timeline, and click the star to remove the highlight and move the post onto one of the single columns.

Admin Panel

The Admin Panel is like a control panel for everything on your page. Here, you will see notifications, messages, insights and more. One section of the Admin Panel is devoted to showing you the latest likes on your page. This is a nice feature, and you can see all the people/pages that like your page by clicking See All.

Messages is a huge change for Facebook Pages, and will also show up in your Admin Panel. Messages will allow your fans to interact with you directly, and privately. You will want to be sure to check this regularly and correspond with any of your fans that would like to interact with you. You can choose to hide the ability to message your page by changing the Show Message setting in Admin Panel > Manage > Edit Page > Manage Permissions. I don’t recommend you do this, as the two-way, private communication you gain through this function could be quite useful.

Edit Page option on the Admin Panel will bring you to the same Edit Page options that you saw on your old Facebook page. You can also view your Insights in the Admin Panel.

Apps & Tabs

These changes in your page may be the most crucial. There are several changes to the Apps & Tabs section of your page, and you may have to do some work to get everything where you want it.

You will no longer be able to have a Default Landing Tab for your page. This eliminates the like-gate, and is an unfavorable change in the eyes of many. If you would like to direct users to a specific tab on your Page, you will have to give them the full URL from that tab.

Tabs are wider. Tabs on your new timeline will be 810 pixels wide, quite a bit larger than the old tabs. If you do not optimize your tabs to fit this width, the old format will just be centered and surrounded by white space.

Only three tabs can be shown at all times. The Photos tab is locked, and cannot be moved. The next three boxes can be used to feature whichever app or tab you would like, and can be changed by clicking the number to the right of the tabs, then clicking the pencil icon for the app you would like to move, then selected whichever tab you would like Swap Position With.

Icons for your tabs have changed size, and will need to be updated. The new size is 111 x 74 pixels. You can design your own icons or download a free public domain image from the web. When you have a file that you would like to use for the app icon, click the pencil icon next to the app, then click Edit Settings. You will be able to upload an image here.

If you are having trouble setting up your timeline for Facebook business pages, feel free to contact Mannix Marketing, and we’ll give you a hand!

Have you discovered any other additions to the Facebook Timeline for Pages? Is there anything that you like, dislike, or wish to see coming in the future? Comment below!

Social media is a launch point for consumers looking for recommendations.  When you’re looking to buy a product, what do you consider the best referral? Word of mouth, of course!  It’s been that way for centuries, and that hasn’t changed.  Even if a product has great results or reviews online, glitzy ads or a brand that is skillfully presented, will you feel differently about it if everyone who has actually used it hates it? Or loves it? Absolutely.  Real users, real experiences, real reviews matter.  For small businesses, the new Facebook timeline can put you that much closer to your customers.

Social interaction on Facebook continues to develop an “across the fence” type of conversation. Friends, neighbors, family, acquaintances, co-workers and colleagues, they all want to share what they know with others. Why is that information so valuable? Because it’s their word.

As the changes to Facebook business pages emerge the question is, of course, why and how will it benefit your business?  Much remains to be seen, but there are some benefits for businesses – including small and local businesses with Facebook pages – that will be visible right away:

• Getting to know you: With a more personal look, the timeline will allow people to engage more easily with your brand.  Without allowable calls to action or visible marketing strategies, it’s all in the message! Interactivity will also be increased via a private message area where current or potential customers can contact you. (Don’t worry; you can turn it off…)
• The big picture: One of the benefits of the new Facebook is that unique, relevant content mean more visibility organically.
• Advertising is just that: Because landing pages will no longer be available, Facebook will be rolling out advertising options that will be far more visible and targeted than those in the past.
• All business:  By creating a consumer-comfy environment via an interactive business page, Facebook will now have the ability to develop real advertising options that work.   (After all, how many people do you know who were really successful with Facebook ads? How many people even knew which were the ads and which weren’t?)
• The Catch:  Gotta be there.  If your business has just now started thinking about getting into the social marketing arena, you need to ramp it up!  It’s “go time”!
• Your business palette: The new timeline cover photos images will be called upon to greatly enhance your message! You can creatively highlight your product via an image…tell what’s in it, who buys it, or how it will make them feel.  Specific rules for it, though – no overt calls to action or advertising:

• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”

• Activity = Interest = Engagement: Your activity in the Facebook environment will become more important than ever. This is truly a case of “use it or lose it”! (In a good way…)  Your page statistics will be a clear indicator of how engaged you are with your followers, and more frequent posting means more visibility in search.
• Analytics:  Huge uptick in the usability of the admin panel. You can hide it if you prefer; it keeps a pretty good finger on the pulse of your activity, and lets you know about it!

It’s easy to see why the Facebook timeline for small businesses may be a  key component of a complete and comprehensive internet marketing plan.

Questions? Contact Mannix Marketing, Inc. and find out how we can help you enhance your Facebook page!

We wanted to put together some unique reasons why rich media ads are a successful marketing tool.

Although there are more than just five, Here are my top reasons why I love rich media ads:

1.  High Interaction Rate. Because rich media ads have functions like video, movement and other engaging features, potential customers can interact with the ads. This engagement could provide uplift in brand awareness and message association.
2.  More Calls to Action.With rich media ads, instead of only being able to link to one landing page, you can have different zones to link to your social media outlets, contact form and landing page.
   

   Example of a Rich Media Ad

3. Larger Space to Provide Visuals and Messaging. Some ads have limited spacing that you have to play with and provide your messaging. With a rich media ad, you have much more space to display photos, offer more calls to action, and engage.
4. Can Include Video. Video is fast becoming a HUGE marketing medium on the web. With YouTube and video consumption exploding online, it is important to make sure you have an online video marketing campaign in the works. Rich media video ads are a great way to utilize your video and gain engagement.
5. Increased Tracking. With rich media ads, you have the opportunity to view other measurable statistics about your consumers. For example, with video ads, you can see how many people watched a video, or the percentage of videos viewed.

Want to learn more about rich media ads? Contact one of Mannix Marketing’s internet marketing consultants at 800-928-9154 for even more reasons why rich media ads are an incredibly strong and powerful marketing and branding tool for your business.

Click here to view sample rich media ads

The Internet has been buzzing about SOPA lately; how you can oppose it, how to sign the petition, what you should do about it. But what if you don’t know anything about it? I am without a doubt, opposed to the SOPA bill, but I don’t condone opposing anything if you don’t know the facts. You wouldn’t sign a petition if you didn’t know what it was for, would you?

I am not a politician or an expert on legal jargon, but I will try to break down the important points in the SOPA bill so that you will have a better understanding of what effect it will have on the Internet that we know and love.

Let me start by providing you with the full text of the bill (as of 1/15/2012) in the case that any of you are legal experts, or if you want to follow along and try to decipher the gobbledygook.

Censorship

The first part of the bill that I would like to bring to your attention is Section 102(a)(2), which includes Action By Attorney General To Protect U.S. Customers And Prevent U.S. Support Of Foreign Infringing Sites. This heading causes you to think that this bill will somehow protect you. What this section really states, is that the attorney general can take action against foreign sites if “the owner or operator of such Internet site is facilitating the commission of [copyright infringement].” This makes me nervous, as it includes sites that simply facilitate copyright infringement, not encourage or enable it.

If the AG takes action against your site, a few things will happen. Service providers will be required to block access to the site within five days, search engines will be required to remove all references, ad providers will be forced to stop providing their services to your site, and payment providers will be required to end your payment service. Nobody will be able to access your site, it will not appear on Google, you will no longer be recieving payment from ads (Google AdSense) or for services (PayPal).

This also gives the AG full power to censor foreign sites that the government doesn’t have jurisdiction to remove. If this becomes a reality, the power of web censorship could get out of control in a hurry. In my opinion, the SOPA bill should be opposed based on this alone, but there’s more.

Theft of Property

This next part, Section 103, gets pretty confusing. The section is titled Market-Based System To Protect U.S. Customers And Prevent U.S. Funding of Site Dedicated To Theft Of U.S. Property. If I understand this correctly, Section 103 (1) states that a site is “dedicated to theft of U.S. property“ if the site is used within the United States and is designed or operated in a manner which facilitates or enables copyright infringement.

This means that any site that allows users to post content and comments are at fault. The purpose of the site is irrelevant, as long as users are able to post content. This means that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and a million other websites are “dedicated to the theft of U.S. property”. All you need is a feature that allows users to post anything, and you’re banned. Have a blog? If you deliberately fail to monitor all comments and uploads, you’re in trouble.

Wait, It’s A Felony?

This is the real zinger. In Section 201 (b)(1) states that crimnal copyright infringement includes:  ”…At least 10 copies or phonorecords, or of at least 10 public performances by means of digital transmission, of 1 or more copyrighted works, during any 180-day period, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500.” The way that the courts will determine retail value is by taking the value of the work and multiplying it by the views.

This means that if you upload a photo that sells for $1, and it gets viewed/used 2,500 times, you will be guilty of felony copyright infringement. Even if you sing a song and post it on YouTube, after the video has been viewed enough times to bring the retail value up to $2,500 the copyright holder may decide to sue you, and you now have a felony on your record. A felony, for posting on the Internet.

A few large companies chose to ‘blackout’ their websites yesterday in protest of this bill. Wikipedia and Reddit were offline for 24 hours straight – which left me wondering about quite a few things throughout the day. Google blacked out their logo, and Craigslist made you think about the bill for 15 seconds before it would redirect back to the site you were looking for. Several supporters of the bill have already reversed their opinions as a result of the widespread blackouts.

This bill will undoubtedly ruin the Internet. If it passes, and you continue to use the Internet the way you have been, you might be the next target of one of these copyright infringement lawsuits. It is widely thought that this bill will destroy any innovation and further development on the web. If it’s too risky to do anything new, nobody will try.

Now, after explaining some of this to all of you, I would like to ask you to visit this link and pass the message on to your Senators.

STOP AMERICAN CENSORSHIP OF THE WEB

Mobile Marketing Tips & Trends

What Every Business Should Know About Mobile Marketing

What Will I Learn?

Some mobile FAQ’s we will be answering: What is a mobile website? Who needs one? How can I use the surge in mobile phone usage to my advantage? And if Geofencing, Push Notifications and Near Field Communication all sound like Greek to you, then this seminar is your ticket to understanding mobile! Each seminar will cover the latest mobile marketing trends and technologies, prove just how important, powerful and widespread mobile usage really is, and offer tips on how to get a leg up on your competitors through mobile marketing.

There are 2 different dates and locations for this seminar, so you can register for whichever one is most convenient for you. All will cover the same topics.

MOBILE MARKETING SEMINAR DATES

Choose your date:

Great Escape Lodge in Queensbury
Thursday, January 19, 2012 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Cost: $10 Client / $20 Non-Client
SPACE IS LIMITED

Hyatt Place in Malta
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Cost: $10 Client / $20 Non-Client
SPACE IS LIMITED

Note: Please register for only ONE seminar date. They will both cover the same topics. After RSVPing, you will be directed to a secure payment page.

BONUS – Each seminar attendee will receive a $25 gift certificate toward mobile marketing services from Mannix Marketing!

Want to be the first to know about our upcoming seminars and announcements? Add your name to our email newsletter!

Pinterest has jumped from only 40,000 users in October 2010, to more than 3.2 million in October 2011! This is pretty surprising, considering you still need an invitation to join the network. You can request an invitation from Pinterest, or if you know anybody that is already active on the site, they can hook you up with one. Once you get your invitation, you can sign in through Facebook or Twitter. (Pinterest does not post status updates or tweets automatically, unless you ask them to). I think that the most striking thing about Pinterest’s popularity is the amount of time that people are spending on the site. The site is relatively addicting, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if most users spend upwards of an hour there, each time they visit.

How Do You Use It?

There are a few different ways to go about your pinning. You can visit Pinterest and just browse the general boards, which are split up into categories: Art, Fitness, Food & Drink, Humor, Apparel, Outdoors, Pets, Travel, etc. By selecting a category, you will be shown a page that is full of images pertaining to the category. Decorating a room in your house? Head to the Home Decor category and get some ideas! Need some new threads? Check out the Apparel category and catch up on the latest styles!

You can also pin images while you are surfing the web. When you sign up for Pinterest, they will ask you to install the ‘Pin It’ button on your bookmarks toolbar. This button allows you to pin almost any image you come across while you browse the Internet. So lets say you’re a bit of a foodie, and you like to search for recipes online. If you see one that you would like to try, or have tried and love, pin the image of the dish and spread the love! When you pin an image, a link appears on the Pin that will lead any viewer back to the source. This will lead anybody that is drooling over your image of those homemade potato-cheese pierogis straight to the recipe!

This brings me to the next way to use Pinterest. As an SEO tool! Every Pin on Pinterest has a link included with it, leading back to the source of the image. There is an exception to this, as users are able to upload images directly to Pinterest, without finding them on the web. Users do do this, but at least 95% of the images on Pinterest were either pinned or repinned from the web. So how does pinning images help your SEO rankings? Back links. If you have images on your website, I suggest you start pinning them. This offers extra off-site exposure for your website, as well as providing back links. Even if nobody follows the link, it’s still there, and it still counts.

Why Should You Use It?

The obvious reason to use Pinterest is: because it’s awesome! Most of the users on Pinterest are just there for the images (which is a perfectly good reason to use the site). You can search images through the categories, by viewing a users specific boards, or by doing a keyword search on the top left corner of the page. Feel free to just browse Pinterest, the pin boards are almost never-ending. NOTE: Don’t visit this site if you have something important to do, as you will likely spend hours browsing pages and pages of the web’s finest imagery.

Pinterest is also quite useful as far as SEO goes. Each Pin contains a few links, that will certainly help SEO rankings. ‘Pin It’ buttons can be positioned right next to an image on your site, which is what I see a few retailers doing. If you are browsing the Internet, and see something that you want, pin it up for everybody to see! This is a fun and useful way to share what you think about the products you have, or wish you had. This also promotes the product itself, and depending on the popularity of the subject, could be repinned or shared over and over again.

This is a what a Pin looks like. (I've added the green arrows)

As you can see, there are several links being created each time an image is pinned. The link in the top right of the Pin will always be there, this shows where the image originally came from. The image itself also acts as a link, directing you to the source of the image. The third link, in the description of the Pin, was put there by me. Any URL in the description of the Pin is automatically turned into a link. As the image shows, it doesn’t have to be a complete URL, it can be something like Zappos.com. That link does not direct the user to the specific product or image, but the Zappos homepage instead.

When multiple images are pinned from the same site, there is a box that appears to the left of your pin, which shows pins that are from the same URL. After you stumble upon an image that you like, you’ll notice other related images from the same site, which you will surely want to check out. See how this could become addicting?

So if you are sick of tearing recipes and fashion inspiration out of magazines only to be left with a pile of clippings, or if you want to boost the SEO rankings of your website, OR if you just want to check out some of the best looking imagery on the web, you really need to check out Pinterest.

If you’ve asked for an invitation to Pinterest, and haven’t gotten one yet, email me and I will send you one (my email address is at the top of this post). Happy pinning!