Published Columns, Articles and Guest Blog Posts by Inbound Marketing Expert Ellie Becker
Guest post on Network Solutions - How My Inner ‘Motorcycle Mama’ Helped Me ‘Get’ Twitter. You can too!
Grow Smart Business
Guest post on Network Solutions - In collaboration with Bernadette Nelson

Working the Web - Monthly columns for the WestFair publications:
Fairfield County Business Journal and Westchester County Business Journal
Topics: Inbound Marketing, Social Media, Marketing Metrics
The early years of Inbound Marketing have focused on ‘getting found’ online to build website traffic for lead generation. In effect, inbound marketing tactics and automation tools have been about stretching the top of the sales funnel. The rapidly evolving industry is now shifting emphasis to the middle of the sales funnel (known as MOFU). Read More.
Topics: Inbound Marketing, Small Business, Online Marketing, Leand Generation, Sales Conversion
By now you’ve likely heard about Google Plus – or G+ as it’s known. In case you missed it, G+ is Google’s new social network, which is still in test mode, or beta. Since it launched at the end of June, G+ has attracted about 16.5 million users, a very fast ramp up, even by social media standards. As of now, Google+ supports only individual users, not business pages. So what’s in it for your business right now? Read More.
Topics: Inbound Marketing, Small Business, Social Media, Google+
Topics: Inbound Marketing, Online Marketing, WordPress, Website Development
About a year-and-a-half ago we introduced you to the inbound marketing concept – and have been deconstructing it into its elements for you ever since. Now, let's put it back together. Read On.
Topics: Inbound Marketing, Small Business, SEO, Social Media, Marketing Plan
Guess what everybody? Twitter is rolling out New Twitter! Yes, we hear you. You haven't figured out Old Twitter yet. Well, you're not alone.
According to Network Solutions' Fifth Wave of the Small Business Success Index and a recent study from American Express OPEN, small businesses are jumping into Facebook with both feet -- 60 to 70% of those doing social media marketing. However blogs and Twitter are down in single digits.
Have you started your company's blog yet? If yes, congratulations and read on for updates on the value of your efforts. If no, let us try to convince you further why blogging is one of the best marketing investments you can make. We'll even help you decide whether to go with a templated blogging platform or a custom blog.
It's amazing how many websites we see where no attention has been paid to Search Engine Optimization – SEO. Yet it's one of the most important aspects of attracting business through your website.
We've written about various aspects of SEO in the past, including keyword research, but it's a constantly evolving practice. Let's take a fresh look at where on a web page you have the opportunity to provide words that tell search engines what that page is about.
Ga-Ga for Google: 10 Free Marketing Tools from the Search Giant
Posted on Mon, Jun 13, 2011 @ 18:06 PM
Google is almost always in the news. Just a few days ago, it announced changes to its search engine algorithm that reinforce its commitment to favoring useful, original content. This is good news for inbound marketers and bad news for content farms – sites that recycle content from around the web in an effort to game the system and come up high in Google rankings for search terms not necessarily related to their actual content and motives.
Attention Retailers: Should your next location be on the Web?
Posted on Mon, Jun 13, 2011 @ 18:06 PM
The fastest retail sales growth is not happening on Main Street or at the mall. According to ecommerce tracker comScore, Inc., non-travel online spending reached a record $32.6 billion during November-December 2010, up 12% from 2009. Yet, overall U.S. retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose only 5.5% in a similar comparison, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse. If your retail business has weathered the recession, perhaps the best way to make up for the tough years is to consider expanding your business to the Web. Ecommerce offers a growth opportunity that might not otherwise be realistic here in Fairfield and Westchester Counties.