Tag You're It!

For years now I have played on social networking sites beginning with MySpace and then moved onto sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, and others.  It was a way to stay in touch with family and friends that, unfortunately or maybe you will say fortunately, lived on the other side of the country or even world. Not to mention, it was a fabulous way to spy on my boys.  Did I say "spy"?  I meant...keep tabs on.

As I began to think in more of a business fashion, I got involved with Linkedin, which I still do not completely understand how to utilize properly but appears to be more of a professional networking site. Why is it difficult to promote yourself and your business in a world where there are so many social networks?  My guess is, because you and thousands, maybe even millions of others are doing the same thing!  How do you set yourself apart from everyone else so you can be noticed?

Keywords!  Tags or keywords will assist your potential buyers in discovering you, providing you have the right ones.  What is the right keyword, you say?  Here's where things can get a little sticky.  

What do you mean there's no fish in here?

Some may even say it can be like fishing in a mud puddle when there's a river right behind you if you aren't choosing the words that your average user is searching.  Of course, fishing in a river where the fish are plentiful isn't any guarantee either.  You can have a great keyword like "photography" but so do 300,000 other photographers, amateurs and professionals alike.  

Do you know where that puts you? Out in the internet boonies, no man's land, that's where!  Help!  I didn't mean to use my invisibility powers so well.  

What does this mean exactly?  We are going to have to get a bit creative.  You can use Google AdWords to help you out.  They have a neat tool called keyword planner.  Use it! It's free!  It will tell you what keywords are being searched in that category, how many users per month and, if you have a budget to promote yourself, how much it is going to cost you to bid on that word.  

Bidding for a keyword?  What does that do?  It gets you the primo spots on page number one of Google search engines or its conglomerates, that's what.  It can get expensive, though, so choose your tags wisely.  For instance, "photography" is searched 450.000 times a month but it's going to cost you $1.83; if you bid on "outdoor photography", you will only get 3,600 searches but it's only $.74.  It also narrows your search down to buyers who are looking for that category of photography.  Still with me?

Well, folks, let's leave it there for now.  Smoke is coming out my ears, and I can take a hint.  Til next time....