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Michael Fruchter.com - My thoughts on social apps, and a little bit of everything else.

My thoughts on social networking applications.

Catalogs.com Shares Their Insight On Search Engine OptimizationJune 15

Catalogs.com, the premium domain, and leading Internet source for mail-order and online catalogs has been successfully operating for more than a decade. Having learned quite a few things along the way, they realized early on through trial and error that optimizing for search is a crucial and key element for organic traffic generation.

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I sat down for a Q&A session with Leslie Linevsky, who is the founding partner of Catalogs.com, along with Matt Craine, who is the Information Services Director and in charge of their SEO. I wanted to find how they got started, and any insights, tips, or tricks they could share on search engine marketing and optimization.

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1) What prompted you to start catalogs.com?

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Leslie: Recognizing the untapped potential of aggregating and indexing a wide array of catalogs that shoppers might not know about or have access to, we developed an ingenious way for internet shoppers to select and receive catalogs of their choice all in one place.  Allowing cata

Internet Marketing: Don’t Skimp On The BasicsMay 25

It’s the year 2009 and maybe you are a late comer to the Internet. You have an existing business but you have finally been persuaded to start an Internet marketing initiative. You might be a local small business or you might be a national brand, whatever the case may be you know, you need to establish a presence on the Internet. It’s no longer an optional decision, it’s a mandatory. After all, your competitors are way ahead of you, your customers are on the Internet, and in todays economic climate, it makes sense to look at alternate marketing solutions.

Starting with the basics first: your website

Assuming you own your business domain name and have a reliable web host,the next step is web design. You probably already have a website. It’s more than likely a static brochure that’s years old. What worked years ago is ancient today. Invest the money and have your website professionally designed. Your website is not a set it and forget it strategy, don’t let it become a dinosaur from 1999. You may know a little html and probably have played with Front Page, this does not qualify you as a graphic designer. Establish a  clear road map of what your website will be, then let the pros do the work. When I see an ancient website I walk away, but when I see a modern website, it catches my attention, and personally I’m more

Social Media Outposts – Guest Post on Louisgray.comMay 7

Think of outposts as a sort of toll booth. This is the analogy I’m making here. It’s pretty much the same in real life. On the Internet there are many toll booths for many destinations. You need to own and operate that toll booth, instead of your competitors.

Head over to Louisgray.com to read part one & part two.

My State of Social MediaMarch 27

It seems that for many, this thing or shall I say buzzword we call social media has become strictly a numbers game. He who has the most followers wins. We are seeing this time and time again,  on Twitter, Facebook and so forth. It’s at a point where it’s out of control, I feel. The true value of social media or conversational media has been lost for some, including myself.

The power of one-on-one relationships has been lost:

It’s been lost due to the popularity game of who can acquire the most followers on any given network. Take Twitter for instance, while it’s clearly gone mainstream, it’s also the number one haven for drive by spammers.  The service is riddled with marketers attempting to make a quick buck.  When I mean marketers, I don’t mean responsible corporations who are  using Twitter for customer outreach.

I’m a list builder, look at me!

Then you have the mass list builder crowd. These people follow anyone and everyone just to build a massive following. These people make no attempt to have a conversation or get to know the people they are following. They simply create lists. I don’t see the purpose of this. What’s the point of saying I have 10,000 follow

ABC: Always Be ClosingFebruary 23

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If you have ever seen the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, you will know it’s about sales. The movie was filmed and takes place in 1992, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn NY, the place I was born and raised. The movie depicts four struggling salesmen and how they became desperate when the corporate office sends a representative, played by Alec Baldwin, to motivate them by announcing that in one week, all except the top two salesmen will be fired. In the movie, as with all sales jobs,  it comes down to leads.  Without leads you’re nothing, you might as well find another career path.  If you have watched the movie before, you will see that the salesmen constantly complain about their leads. Their leads are stale, recycled and consist of “deadbeats with no money”.

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