The vast majority of all traffic is organic, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon…

When it comes to referral traffic, however, that’s where you look for the patterns and trends that are changing the landscape. We’re seeing one right now — just look at the graphic below.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the “device-content link,” now we’re getting confirmation that this “link” is really shaking things up… and not in a way that the “Big Boys” are going to like (they pretty much don’t like any change that doesn’t help them consolidate their hold on the marketplace).

Just when they’d all got used to the world of Twitter and Facebook, everything starts changing…

Visual platforms are driving a bigger and BIGGER share of referral traffic. In February, Pinterest drove more referral traffic than Twitter for the first time. Not only that, but Facebook lost .54% of its share of referral traffic. WHY?

Part of it is the “device-content link.” Part of it is the shift to a more design-forward, visual web. Yet another part is the natural ebb and flow of business cycles (e.g. Facebook’s IPO) and human behavior.

When it comes to marketing, cheap and easy referral traffic is GOLDEN.

The problem is that explode or disappear overnight. It’s almost like the harder you try to drive traffic, the less ROI.

That’s why I always tell my team to OPTIMIZE EVERYTHING, before driving in more paid traffic…

The other BIG concept I recommend is exploiting all existing channels. Clearly, that now includes Pinterest.

According to this chart, Pinterest is driving more traffic than Google’s entire referral network (which includes AdWords and Google+).  Pretty impressive, especially when you consider that Pinterest is still invite only.

Perhaps even more surprising is who’s beating Pinterest…

Although “StumbleUpon for Marketers” isn’t a very sexy headline — but it ought to be for anyone who’s following the numbers. StumbleUpon is second only to Facebook when it comes to driving referral traffic. In other words, it’s probably worth reading StumbleUpon’s 5 Keys to Brand Discovery.

The main thing is that visual platforms like Pinterest and StumbleUpon are growing, while text-based platforms like Twitter (it doesn’t get much more text-based than Twitter, does it?) are losing eyes.

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter still has tons of active users and it’s important to marketing strategy… but driving traffic just isn’t what Twitter or Facebook are all about.

[Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy this awesome guest post by Facebook guru James Grandstaff]

The whole point of creating a Facebook Page for your business is to build a fan base of people interested in your product or service, right?

Facebook Pages are a great tool for interacting with your fans on a regular basis and for them to discover  whether or not your product or service is right for them.

But to build a HUGE fan base you need people clicking  the all mighty “LIKE” button. Yep, the tiny little button sitting at the top of your page.

Gone are the days of “Become a fan.” Today, it’s all  about the “LIKES” and YOU WANT THEM (a lot of them!)

Because without them… you have ZERO reach. If you have zero reach, you make ZERO dollars.

And this is where most Page Admins fall flat on their face.

Let me explain…

Have you ever visited a Facebook Page for a business, only to land on their “Wall” where you see the comments and status updates?

If so, did it make you want to “LIKE” the page?

Probably not.

Allowing your visitors to land on your “Wall” is the #1  mistake Page Admins are making all across Facebook.

But it doesn’t have to be this way…

As a Page Admin, you have the ability to create a custom landing page AND set this page as your “Default Landing Tab” for your Page.

You’ll first need to install an iFrame application on your page (which is beyond the scope of this post unfortunately.) This will allow you to create a custom tab on your Page.

Once you have your custom tab, you will want to create some type of “offer” along with a “call to action” to entice people to “LIKE” your page.

An example offer would be something like this:

“Click Like Above To Get Access To _______”

It’s proven that you will get more “Likes” just by making this one small change to your Facebook Page.

Good luck!

- James Grandstaff

James Grandstaff is an Internet Entrepreneur and all
around good guy. To find out how he got 52.94% more
“Likes” to his Facebook page, check out his amazing
FREE presentation at:

=> http://DoubleYourLikes.com/recommends/likes.html

If you haven’t set up a brand page on Google+ yet – now’s the time. And I don’t say this because having a Google+ profile will send tons of traffic to your site, YET.

I say this because it’s quick, it’s easy, and if you don’t do it…

…someone else may get there first and set up a fake profile where yours should be.

For some reason – perhaps to simulate a more organic social media startup – Google has adopted a pretty loose policy when it comes to verification. The thing is, Google+ is not exactly a startup – at all.

Mashable’s Todd Wasserman was apparently able to create a fake Coca-Cola page in minutes. To Google’s credit, it’s since been taken down.

Google+ has a few other shortcomings as well. For example, it’s hard for users to find brands (you have to search “Brand-X google plus,” not “Brand-X”).

Also, Google+ only allows one administrator to access to the brand’s page. ONE.

I’ve been pretty enthusiastic about Google+ and its marketing potential for a while. And based on Google’s reputation, I believe they’ll eventually get it right.

There may be a few hiccups, but Google+ will eventually become an important part of your social media strategy. It’s that simple.

Create a brand page, start experimenting, and you’ll be ahead of the curve. Resistance is futile… this is Google after all.

Check out what others are saying about Google+ brand pages:

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/28624/How-to-Create-a-Google-Business-Page-in-5-Simple-Steps.aspx

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/google-pages-gets-mixed-reviews-136444

http://scobleizer.com/2011/11/08/i-wish-i-had-never-heard-of-googles-brand-pages/

Have you had any awesomely positive or negative experiences with a Google+ brand page thus far?

A change is in the works at Google that’s going to leave a bunch of marketers wondering, “What the heck just happened to my SEO strategy?”

Last week Google announced a change in its search algorithm that will treat your search results like produce at the grocery store, ranking them according to “freshness.”

According to Google, this change will impact about 35% of its searches. That comes out to roughly a billion searches per day – maybe more.

Building on Google’s “Caffeine” update – an indexing system that’s been tested and distilled over the past year – the new algorithm automatically ranks fresh content higher when it’s related to recurring events or hot topics.

For example, if you were to search “World Series,” Google would automatically assume that you were searching for information about this year’s Fall Classic – not the 1911 World Series.

If you don’t like old and moldy search results (who does?), then you’re going to like the new algorithm feature. If you’re a digital marketer whose content has passed its expiration date, you’re going to want to change your approach…

You’ll need to adopt a farmer’s market strategy that includes more fresh-picked content. You may even need to plant a garden.

In other words, it’s time to get prolific…

The new algorithm is part of Google’s mission to favor the most timely and legitimate content. If the majority of your traffic shows up to read reviews about the latest smart phones, or the hottest trends in real estate, you better make sure that’s what you’re providing.

Fresh content is key… a strong social media push wouldn’t hurt either.

Promoting your freshest content by linking to it via Facebook and Twitter will help users find their way to your hottest leads. This traffic will help Google know that your content is not only fresh, but authoritative as well.

Ultimately, it’s about getting the best, most up-to-date search results. That’s what Google is about and that’s why they’ve been so successful. So don’t be discouraged.

Most of your competitors won’t even take notice of this trend. And the majority of those who do will bitch and moan about it… or even try to fight it.

That creates a huge opportunity for you. Strive to be the best, most up-to-date resource in your space and you’ll be rewarded by Google’s massive ranking system.

The fact is, most business books kinda suck and would be better off as 15 – 20 page reports. Personality Not Included is definitely an exception…

The author, Rohit Bhargava, spends the first half of the book explaining the importance of incorporating personality in business. It’s good information, but without the Part 2 of the book it would be “just another business book”.

But in Part 2 he includes exercices and turnkey techniques you can use to actually put his information into action. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to see in an expensive home-study course!

My advice: Buy this book, read it, and implement the techniques in your own business.

It’ll probably be the best $15.61 investment you make all year…