Ideas for Business

ELITE Opinion, the business survey division of Lightspeed research, is strictly for those who make purchasing decisions or have influence over purchasing decisions of products and services at their place of work. Since I own a small business, The Lapis Connection, I have complete control over all of these types of decisions, but since my company is so small, the amount of surveys I have qualified for from Elite Opinions is very few and they only rank #23 out of my top 25 survey sites. The good news is every survey is worth at least $8.70 or more and usually only last between 30 and 45 minutes. I have earned $30 since March 11, 2009 from three surveys and have 1050 points pending:

ELITEOpinion Survey #23272 1000 2009-08-24
ELITEOpinion Survey #22009 1500 2009-04-24
ELITEOpinion Survey #21826 2000 2009-03-11

During registration, you’ll be asked about your level of personal involvement in purchasing decisions for products and services at work. The options are: Entire Organization, Entire Work Site or Division, Work Group, Department or Business Unit, Yourself or No Influence. If you do have some influence over purchases at your company or workplace, you will earn from 1000 to 2000 Opinion Points per survey (575 points = $5 PayPal) with special projects paying up to 20,000 points. Points can be redeemed for a wide variety of cash, merchandise or gift certificates. ELITE Opinion Points expire after two years. When you register to become a Member of the ELITE Opinion panel, you are automatically entered into a $1500 quarterly drawing. Members are provided with opportunities to express their expert opinion in surveys to shape business decisions, earn ELITE Opinion Points and additional entries into the $1500 quarterly drawing for completed surveys and access to White Papers on topical business issues. Mini Polls consist of one question surveys and Quick Matches are short surveys that help Elite Opinion better match you up with paid surveys.

Elite Opinions, like most other legitimate survey sites, has a very strict privacy policy and will not sell, distribute or make available in any form personally identifiable information of any member of the site without their expressed permission as outlined in their privacy policy. In the event of technical or other problems you can contact Elite Opinion via their Contact Us page on the main website or directly via email: support@eliteopinion.com . The Elite Opinions Help Center and FAQs can be found here: http://www.eliteopinion.com/help/member_help.html .

If you are involved in your company’s business purchasing decisions and you want to earn some extra money for your sharing your opinions, be sure to sign up for this paid survey panel by visiting the
Elite Opinions Registration Page.

With the race fully on for real-time search we can all wonder who will take the crown. Google has a stake in the outcome. As does Twitter. And Facebook. and Bing. But there is one other newcomer to search who has thrown a hat into the ring and they’re looking pretty good.

In fact, there are several real-time search engines vying for attention. But I recently took a look at OneRiot due to that company receiving a $7 million injection from venture capitalists.

I think it’s entirely feasible that in five years there will be a real-time search engine that dominates the present web in the same way that Google currently dominates the search market overall. And that search engine won’t be Google. It will likely be one of the 11 highlighted by VentureBeat in the above link.

Most of the real-time search engines are heavily weighted toward Twitter searches, but I think that’s too narrow. In order to gain real prominence in the here and now of search, a search engine will have to expand into blogs, social bookmarking services, social networking, and forums. A search engine will have to essentially do what Google does sans the emphasis on links and domain age, or authority. In other words, focus primarily on the latest results and their relevance to a search query with spam filters. So far, I don’t see anyone getting close. But there are some search engines that are getting close to close.

I’d say, at this point, it looks like the strongest contenders for real-time search are OneRiot, mentioned above, and Collecta, which we reviewed earlier in the year and the issues mentioned then seem to be fixed (for the most part). What do you think? Who do you think will emerge as the leader in real-time search?

According to WebProNews, the majority of Internet users spend more time on content sites (like SmallBusinessMavericks.com) than social media sites. Should we be surprised?

It may come as a shock considering that social media has been in the news so much in the last few years. First, MySpace captured everyone’s attention, then it was Facebook and YouTube, but this year has been the year of Twitter. Still, with all the social media hype going around, Internet users still prefer content sites over the social networks. So how can we use that information?

Well, first, it’s by a thin margin. We’re talking 53.1% preferring content sites over social media. That means that social media is still a powerful opportunity for small business owners trying to reach their preferred markets, if they know how to reach them through the media. But that doesn’t mean that online marketers should give up on content sites. In fact, the lesson here is to use both content sites and social media in a comprehensive online marketing plan that is designed to reach the right market for your product or service.

If you haven’t already nominated sites for the 2009 Irish Web Awards, go do it today:

Irish Web Awards Nominations

Quite possibly Ireland’s only real web awards, so don’t miss the opportunity to nominate your favourite websites now!

Want to read more?

1. Irish Web Awards – Nominate Now
2. Irish Blog Awards *cough* *cough*
3. Golden Spiders Awards 2007

There are many ways for company marketers to advance their knowledge in the digital marketing and PR space. A big part of TopRank’s consulting services are to provide clients with education so they can better implement recommendations and promote the advantages of SEO, Social Media and Optimized PR in house. We’re also active participants towards industry education on these topics through speaking at conferences.

September is the calm before the storm of speaking events for TopRank but October and November are packed with opportunities to learn strategy, hear case studies and understand specific tactics for implementation on the topics of Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing and Online Public Relations. Here are our upcoming events. We hope to see you there:

Oct 5, 2009 – MIMA Summit, Hilton Minneapolis

The Intersection of SEO and Social Media
Successful social media efforts build community, better connect brands with customers and can influence both media coverage and increased sales. Yet implementing a social media marketing program without optimizing content for search is literally “leaving money on the table.” Useful social content (blog, video, images, audio and applications) that cannot be discovered via search is a lost opportunity to reach audiences that are looking. Why do so many companies fail to leverage their participation on the social web for SEO? This session will provide specific “Do’s and Don’ts” of social media optimization and provide attendees practical examples of how companies can leverage SEO and social media content to improve their search marketing performance. This is a solo presentation by Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing.

Oct 19, 2009 – DMA09 Conference, San Diego Convention Center

Search Engine Marketing Experience
If you’re an in-house marketer that’s frustrated with your current SEO campaign (or new to SEO and need some basic tips), this is the session for you! Thought leaders are on hand to teach you everything you need to succeed with your SEO campaign—from SEO 101 to advanced technical and conversion tips. Two sessions (morning & afternoon) will be led by SEO Copywriting and Content Strategy expert, Heather Lloyd Martin. TopRank CEO Lee Odden will participate in the morning site review session.

Oct 22, 2009 – Digital PR Next Practices Summit, Grand Hyatt New York

Search Engine Marketing, Optimization and How to Write for the Web
Every element of digital communications has its own degree of importance, but there is one thing that consistently ties it all together: Search. In this vein, knowing how to optimize Web content for search is as crucial as knowing how to write Web content that supports your messaging, heightens engagement and meets bottom-line goals. This panel will untangle the Web of confusion surrounding how search engine optimization and marketing actually work; it will also provide you with the tools that will make media professionals and journalists more apt to engage with your brands online. Speakers include Daina Middleton and Lee Odden.

Oct 29, 2009 – MN PRSA Conference, Minneapolis Metropolitan Ballroom, Golden Valley

Breakout sessions on Social Media:
1) Panel discussion on social media – Rick Mahn, Lee Odden, Albert Maruggi & Greg Swan

2) Taking iMarketing to the next level with the intersection of SEO & Social Media for PR– Lee Odden

Nov 7, 2009 – PRSA 2009 International Conference, San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina
Looking Ahead: The Nexus of Social Media and Public Relations
Where do news releases, media training, message development and the tenets of crisis management fit into the new world communications order? A panel of thought-leading professionals shares examples of successful social edia/public relations programs across a range of industries. Learn how to jump-start promising new media tools and channels in your organization and incorporate them with many of the core public relations skills you’ve honed over the years. This panel is moderated by PR industry veteran, Peter Himler this panel includes: Rick Clancy, David Bradfield, Rob Key and Lee Odden.

Help Google Find Your Releases: Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Tactics for Public Relations Professionals
Nine out of 10 journalists, reporters and editors use search engines to do their jobs, according to a recent survey by TopRank Online Marketing. In this environment, public relations professionals must understand the ins and outs of search engine optimization (SEO). Find out how to choose the best key words, optimize your newsroom and press releases, build better links and sell SEO to decision makers. Plus, attendees will learn the No. 1 SEO tactic to implement today. This is a 75 minute workshop by Lee Odden.

Nov 10, 2009 – WebmasterWorld Pubcon, Las Vegas Convention Center
How do Social Media & Search Intersect? –  Does social media prevent the need for search? Does social media play an important role in search? This session will discuss both worlds with moderators Vanessa Fox & Brian Carter plus speakers: Tony Adam, David Wallace, Bill Hartzer and Lee Odden

How SMBs Can Use PR Campaigns to Grow Traffic - Online PR has become a profound contributor to search engine optimization as well as proving to be its own qualified driving channel. This presentation will show how small businesses can take advantage of online PR to increase traffic links, and how to overall do good business. Moderators Alex Bennert & Taylor Pratt plus speakers: Jiyan Wei, Lee Odden & Sean Jackson

Search Bloggers : What’s Hot and Trending? – This session is a round-table discussion featuring the prime bloggers and reporters of search examining the state of the industry moderated by Greg Hartnett and with panelists: Michael McDonald, Barry Schwartz, Lee Odden & Loren Baker.

Be sure to watch specific announcements and details plus discounts and giveaways for many of these events at TopRank’s Digital Marketing News Blog.

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