“January’s seminar showed us that there is a demand for this sort of service and education,” Salem said. “With the IPO of Facebook during the last month, more and more people want to know about how to get online, how to market themselves and how to jump on the social media train.”

To give local businesses, organizations and professionals the power they need to jump start their online knowledge, SalemGlobal Internet is continuing to offer free marketing seminars in midtown Manhattan. The next seminar will be hosted by AXA Advisors at 1290 Avenue of the Americas on Thursday March 1, 2012. 8:30-10am. To RSVP please contact info@salemglobal.com. For a complete list of dates, locations and times, please visit http://www.TheSeminarSeries.com

These seminars will teach anyone the fundamentals of website marketing with the goal of motivating businesses to start promoting themselves online and professionals how to do it themselves. The SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing Seminar Series will focus on how to buy strategic domain names, where to host a website, how to write and upload content to a website, develop a linking strategy, conduct keyword research, implement meta data, write articles, construct and distribute interactive press releases, produce online videos (Youtube), use social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), generate leads from Google, Bing and Yahoo local listings and pay per click advertising (PPC).

“My seminars have really helped a large number of small businesses and professionals by giving them an edge over their competition and other job candidates.” Salem said. “In a matter of an hour, any professional can learn the fundamentals of getting online and marketing their organization on the world wide web.”

Salem is reaching out to local businesses and professionals in the healthcare, real estate, auto, insurance and financial sectors, but of course all are welcome. In the past even other marketing and advertising agencies and firms have taken advantage of these free seminars. Salem will also make house calls and teach his formula for success to mostly any group that invites him, shares his positive attitude and believes they can really make a difference by using technology and the internet to get ahead.

A 20-year old-school advertising veteran, Salem has appeared before hundreds of audiences both in the United States and abroad. Salem has spoken to and shared his online money-making strategies with countless students and professionals, at universities and organizations throughout the world.

Raphi Salem is the President of SalemGlobal Internet Website Marketing and Lead Generation. To find out more about his organization, please visit http://www.SalemGlobal.com

To find out more about The Seminar Series, please visit http://www.TheSeminarSeries.com

Ok. Before I start to rant about the “so called” sport of “curling,” I wanted to point out a few things.

First, take a look at this picture of the Ukrainian figure skating pair. I am not sure if I should be totally wowed by the stomach muscles on the guy, or how inappropriate this picture is. Regardless, figure skating is absolutely exciting and incredible to watch. The dancing. The fluid body movements. The muscle and balance that these people have. The choreography. Pure poetry in motion. And once again, let me remind you, all this is done on ice. A much much more worthy and worthwhile sport to compete in and watch than “curling.”

Second. Congratulations to the US Hockey team on finally beating the Canadians after 50 years of trying. It’s as if someone said 50 years ago, “Wow. Those Americans stink. But maybe if they practice and work hard, MAYBE in 50 years they will be able to beat the Canadians. Still. Hockey is an amazing, fast-paced sport. I mean, I can ice skate. I can go forwards. Backwards. Cross over. Hockey stop. But do all that while chasing around a little black round rubberized piece of plastic while huge guys with most of their teeth are trying to bash you into the sidelines, all the while you are trying to get that puck into your opponents goal. I mean, come on. Now THAT’S a sport to watch and play…. not like “curling.”

Ok. But maybe you want to talk about Skiing. Well how about Bode Miller? So maybe he didn’t make it in 2005. But I don’t see any “curlers” going downhill on 1 ski at 80 KMH!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Faa87IQhk Or how about losing your balance and not losing your ski and then bringing it back in 2006? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjMsvSof5O8&NR=1 I guess he was done fooling around this year and finally took the Gold.

And if you want MORE gold let’s talk about Linday Vonn! So what if she is the best female skier ever. I don’t see any “curlers” in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Do you? http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010_swimsuit/winter/lindsey-vonn/10_lindsey-vonn_1.html

Let’s face it people. Curling is shuffleboard on ice. There is no reason for this to be an Olympic sport. I mean, how many years did it take for snowboarding to go mainstream? Just ask Torah Bright’s parents (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/snowboard/news?slug=jp-torah021810&prov=yhoo&type=lgns) how many concussions they had to endure before their daughter made it to Olympic gold. Or how Bright’s chiropractor had to put her jaw back together again after dislocating it. What pain or workout does a curler have to endure in order to get on the ice and slide a stone into a bullseye? Dr. John Frank (http://www.HairClinicUSA.com) also known for manning the first ever Israeli Bobsled team (http://www.israelibobsled.com/about/summary.html) can probably do just as well as any curler on the ice. Or how about the Jamaicans? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106611/ Oh, ok. I will stop being so harsh. After all, their IS emotional pain in curling as evidenced by the Danes loss of concentration due to heckling and cheering by Canadians in the audience (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Candian-curling-fans-leave-Danish-player-in-tear?urn=oly,221320). Nuff said? Or should I go on

How does all this relate to Internet and website marketing? Well, for starters, don’t cry like a Danish curler if your website isn’t at the top of Google. It takes months and even years of linking and content writing to get on top. Even then, you might lose a ski like Bode Miller and have to come back in four years to win a medal. But sometimes, even though we have cracked our heads open MULTIPLE times like Torah Bright, we can still come out with a Gold medal. It all goes back to hard work, consistency and patience. You might have all of your keywords and meta data in the right place, blog and write the correct content, repeat this for years and still not get where you want to be. But if you do keep at it, and never give up, you might end up with a medal. If not gold, silver or bronze, then certainly a badge of honor. Will you take the Internet marketing challenge? Will you keep your website up to date, add content on a regular basis and try to get as many links as possible? If you do, then at least you have a shot.

Want to know more about “curling” or Internet marketing NY and getting more business through the web? (Concussions not necessary.) Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. Come to one of my Internet Marketing Seminars. I will guarantee you the tools and training you need to at least have the opportunity to compete.

The two things that come to my mind when I think about the great Reverend Dr. are Freedom and Dreaming. Freedom to live and work in this world, in the place that I want. To practice the religion of my choice. To maintain the lifestyle that I desire. And of course to dream. To raise my children in a world of peace and tranquility. Happiness and not sorrow. Pleasure with minimal pain. Should I go on? Well – just 1 more thing…

Sunday night I was with a group of friends after the JETS game and 1 guy walked in and he said he had been DREAMING of a JETS playoff and Super Bowl championship. So “dreaming” really can be whatever you want it to be. For the past 26 years (he is older than that but only been a JETS fan since 1984?, he has endured the PAIN of the JETS not winning a Super Bowl. And by the way, there are plenty of JETS fans older than him that have endured the pain of a no win since 1969 (before he was born…)

So what can we learn about Internet marketing from these two timely events? Well, for one thing, if I am a young student learning about King, all I have to do is go to Google or my search engine of choice and put in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Actually – before I type in the full name I will see “suggested searches.” These suggestions range from King’s name to “moving speech video” to “biography” “quotes” “speech” “speeches” “pictures” “timeline” “day” and “letter from Birmingham jail.” Obviously these phrases are the most searched and will give me the results I am most likely looking for. This goes back to how important it is to have proper keyword research and implementation into your meta data. If you don’t have the proper keywords, you will not be found. If you are not found, you will lose out on lead generation emanating from your website. (Incidentally, it is also helpful to have a 2nd grader come home and want to use your computer to search for Ruby Bridges so you can be reminded that she was the first black student to integrate a white school in New Orleans.)

Which leads me to why you really are reading this post. Because world peace and desegregation are nice and all, but on the cover of the NY Daily News today http://www.nydailynews.com/news/galleries/new_york_daily_news_front_pages_for_january_2010/new_york_daily_news_front_pages_for_january_2010.html as you can see, Gary Myers tells us why the JETS will win. As an Internet guy, I found it more interesting to search for “why Jets will win” and also “why Colts will win.” Even more interesting is that for each of these results you get daily newspaper article results as well as forums.newyorkjets.com and forum.colts.com which leads me tell you that forums and blogs are a great way to market your product and company. (And don’t forget to check out former NFL San Francisco 49ers tight end Dr. John Frank in honor of the upcoming football frenzy http://www.HairClinicUSA.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpajAIaULs8)

If you want to know more about freedom, dreaming, keywords, sports and forums, Give me a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. I guarantee it will be worthwhile to you and your company’s marketing efforts. Next week we will find out what happens when the Jets play the Colts and what searches and results come up and how content affects you in the search engines and your bottom line.

Macy’s created the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for a reason. They didn’t want to “give back” to the community; they wanted to sell more of their merchandise. Of course they get the benefit of “giving back” because the parade has evolved into a fun family treat for everyone in America. If I don’t take my kids to the parade, we usually watch it on TV. And there is the Macy’s logo, ingrained on my mind, on every float, every TV and every second of the hours it takes for all of the floats to be transported to the Upper West Side, get blown up, get handled, and then walked downtown. When I was younger I used to go to the balloons the night before Thanksgiving and watch them blow up the balloons. People have parties and it has become an event in and of itself. Then I got an office on Broadway and it over looked the parade. I used to host parties there until I moved. And then in 2005 Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s entourage pulled up down my block and I got a picture of him and my son (I still regret not taking off my son’s hat for the photo op but what’re you gonna do… http://www.raphisalem.com/mayor-michael-bloomberg-and-isaac)

So let’s be realistic. You aren’t going to throw a parade on the streets of New York City… But what you CAN do is throw a VIRTUAL parade on your and your friend’s computers. Meaning: using social media and creating a buzz amongst your friends and family. In the past few weeks we have talked about pay per click advertising, contests and emails. Now its time for you to rev up your social media engines and get everyone you know, multiplied by everyone THEY know, and start to spread the word.

On Facebook, this feature is called “becoming a fan.” In LinkedIn, this feature is creating a group and letting your network know it exists. Did you know that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of social networks? Though Facebook is my favorite personal one and LinkedIn is my favorite professional one, there is also Twitter, Ryze, MySpace, Ning and much much more. Sign up for as many social media sites as you can. First let them know you exist. Then let them know you are having a sale. After all, there are only 10 more days till Hanukkah and 24 days left till Christmas.

If you want to know more about Social Media, social networks or short terms strategies for the holidays, please give us a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. You’ll be glad you did.

Next week we will talk about getting ready for the New Year and planting the seeds for your long term online marketing strategy.

As you can see from this newsletter, SalemGlobal is “thanking” our newsletter readers with the opportunity to win $100 in the form of a gift certificate or equivalent. Now I have to be honest with you. We are pretty good at what we do. We have thousands of people that read our newsletter. Thousands of people visit our website each month… after all, we are at the top of Google for keyword “website marketing.” We promote ourselves and our clients over Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube. And to top it all off, we have our own networking organization that you can sign up for at www.BreakfastNetworking.com. So every week I am really already reaching thousands and thousands of people.

So why incent to get even MORE traffic? The answer is simple. Just because we have thousands of fans, readers and visitors, it does not mean that we can’t use MORE business. The goal of every business should be to try to improve upon what they have going on already. If you have thousands, you need to go after TENS of thousands. 10s… MILLIONS! (Think Mike Myers in Austin Powers) So contests get people who are on the fence to act. Your call-to-action should never be for people to just read your newsletter – it should be to get them to call you to hire you.

Contests are fun, exciting, exhilarating and motivating. And you don’t have to give away $100, you could give away a Wii. An iPod. A Flip. A Starbucks giftcard, Barnes and Noble. Amazon.com. You get the picture… Post this on your newsletter, your blog, your website, your Facebook profile and linked in status, and maybe even in a press release. You will be happy you did

I frequently tell people that I have over 200 videos on YouTube. But I am not telling the truth… I actually have MANY MORE than 200 videos but even more on other online video sharing and distribution websites. Perhaps you have heard of Google and Yahoo? Did you know that they have their own video sites as well? And then there are the lesser known video sites like FUNNYorDIE.com, a website supported by Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow (FunnyorDie). But for you and your business, you will want to check out Tubemogul.com. From here you can upload 1 video to several dozen video sharing websites. That means that with 1 video you are able to reach the people who aren’t hanging out on YouTube all day. And that means that your video aka your “business commercial may be seen by not just millions, but BILLIONS! But wait – there’s more. If you act now, we will also tell you about the fact that each of these video sharing sites also come with tags and links that are extremely valuable to your online presence.

If you have been paying attention for the last 2 years of my blog posts and newsletters, the most relevant results at the top of the search engines for your keywords will be the most popular and authoritative sites. To be the most popular, you need to have INbound links to your website. Videos are another way to get those links.

And if you act now and call me, I will even throw in a full year subscription to my newest video here: Salem Global Internet Marketing Videos

In all seriousness, in addition to the links, you never know WHO is going to be watching your video. And don’t make it all Steven Spielberg and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on your video shoot. Get a flip cam like we do and use a Mac or Windows, and Adobe or Pinnacle software to edit your video. Have your kids do it. An intern. Create a library of videos. Become not only the wordsmith authority on the internet for your industry, become the video authority as well. Tell people who you are, what you do and what procedures you perform. What services your company has. What products you sell.

If you want to know more about me, my company, and my videos, check out our YouTube channel: Youtube. And if you want know more about internet marketing, call me 212-993-5828, email me raphis@salemglobal.com or visit my website at www.SalemGlobal.com. Next week we will get more into videos, what you should say, how you should act and some directors and producers tips.

According to Alexa.com, the top 5 sites in the world are: Google, Facebook , Yahoo, YouTube, and Windows Live. Certainly you have all heard of those top 5 sites. But check out how many links they each have: (type link:www.DOMAINNAME.com into search window)
Google (565,000 links according to Google, 255 million according to Yahoo)
Facebook (176,000 G links, 55mil Y)
Yahoo (5,610 G links, 147mil Y)
YouTube (1,680 G links, 46mil Y)
Windows Live (37,800 G links, 1.6mil Y)

Now you and I will most probably never achieve these statistics. (Unless you are a budding Internet entrepreneur and you read my tips of the week LOL!) But one strategy that has been working for us is Interactive Public Relations. Writing press releases announces to the world what you are announcing and what you are working on. But writing your piece is not a battle at all; distributing it is. We happen to use PRWeb but there are plenty of other PR distribution companies out there at different price points so do your research.

Our best example of Interactive PR is a campaign we are working on for Eva’s Village (http://www.EvasVillage.org, 48 Google links, 3,238 Yahoo links). The fact that our press releases have reached hundreds of media outlets is great. But even better is when it is picked up by local and national media as in the case when it was picked up by the Weather Channel and MSNBC. The links from any old website are good. Links from a popular and relevant website are better. But links from a local and/or national news media outlet is the best. So always strive to write something interesting about your organization and announce it to the world. You will be glad you did.

Next week we will talk about how to write a press release. If you would like to know more, please contact me for a free, no obligation website marketing evaluation, consult and assessment. Call 212-993-5828, email raphis@salemglobal.com or visit our site, www.SalemGlobal.com.

All of a sudden, blogging ceased to be regarded as merely the tech nerd’s favorite pastime.

Today, blogs are just about the fastest-growing feature of the Web 2.0 tool kit. Actually, to be a little more accurate, blogs are spreading across the Internet like wildfire. It certainly seems like everyone and his brother now runs a blog, from hot-shot celebrities to angst-ridden high schoolers. Blogging has changed the face of media as we know it — the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment, and daily news are now cocooned in a blogosphere that is bigger and more comprehensive than any information source previously known to man. And that’s no exaggeration.

Every business could use a blog. As far as SEO goes, blogs are great for creating new content for and generating backlinks to your website. If your business doesn’t have a blog, start one, either on your website or at a new domain. The smartest option, at least from an SEO perspective, is to host your blog on a separate server with a different IP address from your corporate website. You’ll be rewarded with a faster and more powerful indexation from Google and the other search engines.

Don’t know what to write about in your company blog? Well, that’s the real beauty of the whole blogging thing. Feel free to write about anything that enters your mind, even the most mundane events of your day. Spend a couple of minutes getting your thoughts together, and eek out a paragraph or two every so often. Before long, you’ll find that blogging isn’t just an important chore, it can actually be fun.

Does it really matter?

It’s hard to deny that this is a big deal. In fact, just look at the numbers. comScore’s Top 50 Properties (which analyzes unique visitors from home, work and university locations) reveals that a combined Microsoft and Yahoo would garner enough unique visitors to make Google look like a Silicon Valley startup. The same holds true for a Yahoo and AOL merger. But don’t start digging a grave for Google just yet — a combined Microsoft/Yahoo would not even come close to matching Google’s impressive 60-plus percent search market share. But what does all this mean for Web professionals?

To those working day in and day out within the digital trenches of the Web creating content, building applications, leveraging relationships and utilizing their own
insights to move towards profitability, the proposed takeover elicits little more than a shrug. For Web professionals it’s not about where you obtain visitors (Yahoo, Google, MSN, Ask or even Sneaky Pete’s Discount Web Traffic Depot) or how (display advertising, email advertising, PPC advertising, affiliate programs) but what you do with visitors when they arrive.

In the end, the company which acquires or merges with Yahoo (if it happens at all) matters little in comparison to how Web professionals will leverage the opportunity in that new environment. As it has always been, it comes down to users and how to reach them. Yahoo and Microsoft have secured massive email databases, so display advertising might play a much larger part in our minds and budgets. And because of the huge amounts of data they have acquired from their users, behavioral marketing might become a much more valuable and realistic marketing opportunity.

We don’t regularly cover industry news or mergers and acquisitions in Website Magazine, which explains why, as regular visitors to our daily blog, you haven’t read much about the proposed buyout. The reason is simple — while it’s important where we invest our promotional dollars, it’s more important to learn how to gain traffic using SEO, email marketing campaigns, establishing a viable e-commerce presence, leveraging affiliate marketing, deploying the principles of exceptional website design, exploring the depths of analytics solutions and of course building, buying and learning to support the software that makes everything come together. Should a merger happen, you can bet the farm that these companies won’t throw away the billions they’ve invested in offerings that force users to rethink their business models. You are more important to them than you might think. In the end, users always pay the bills.

So while mergers and acquisitions are exciting and entertaining, until something actually happens and these companies (who are vital to the Web economy) announce a shake-up in their Web operations, Web professionals should stay the course. This means not shifting your pay-per-click advertising budgets, not abandoning engine-specific optimization, and not avoiding the social communities managed or supported by these organizations. In the end, what is important is your success; continue focusing on the proven tactics and techniques that have made companies successful since the inception of the commercial Web and you will secure your long-term success.

From Website Magazine.