One of the most important aspects of this success is consistency in both the content and production value. Gramo told us that the lighting, sound, and product should be “awesome” all the time. Another important element of an effective live stream is a solid Internet connection with low latency speeds.

In terms of what not to do, Gramo told us that people wanting to live stream should not go live with just anything. In other words, there needs to be a lot of testing and rehearsing involved for it to really work.

Gramo also pointed out that, although television has the majority of the media market now, the trend will eventually switch to live streaming video content.

He went on to explain that passion blogging was dying to short “content thin” marketing messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

“I’m not real pleased with that development because I feel like there’s a lack of depth in a lot of areas that still need critical examination,” he said.

According to Pearson, this trend is happening since so many decisions are based on money. Going forward, he believes that marketers need to worry about what people want to read instead of money and produce quality content as a result.

Do you agree with Pearson that the publishing industry is suffering from a case of too much marketing? Let us know.

As she explained to WebProNews, both mommy and daddy bloggers need to put the goo-goo and gaa-gaa attitude away and be serious about what they’re doing. She tells us that parent bloggers need to define their own roles and utilize free tools that are available to improve the looks of their site.

According to Carr, parent bloggers are real people that can make a significant difference on society. They are not parents that have just decided to start blogging, but they are lawyers, doctors, and other professionals that want a balance between a career and life. For this reason, Carr believes they should be taken seriously.

For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

“Knowing where you’re going is actually irresistibly attractive… if somebody really knows where they’re going, other people want to follow,” she said.

Strauss goes on to offer 3 tips for being irresistible. First of all, she said that businesses really need to know what their customers love. Although this sounds obvious, many businesses do not do this. Once you determine what they love, give them more of it.

Secondly, Strauss pointed out that businesses should take away all the things that customers do not like. Often times, businesses have a lot of “bells and whistles” that get in the way of the customers’ wants. As a result, she believes businesses should get rid of these extra items that customers do not even want so the focus will be drawn to what they do love.

The third tip that she gives is for businesses to add something only they can add. In other words, she believes that businesses should not copy off other businesses. She said a business should be “fabulously you.” Since customers choose a particular business for a specific reason, it should capitalize on its own uniqueness in order to be irresistible.

Do you have an irresistible strategy?

The cause of the outage is unknown, but people speculate that it was a network problem and not a problem with Google. It covered areas in both England and Scotland.

During the blackout, people could not access services such as Google Search, YouTube, DoubleClick, AdSense, Google Analytics, and Gmail. One Twitter user, @therealtwin2, tweeted this regarding the outage, “Woah. Google just went down and my whole being felt empty. I didn’t know how to use the internet without it. Scary.”

According to Edward Cowell, who wrote about the incident on Econsultancy, Google Search, ironically, did not have the greatest impact. Not only were Google’s own properties affected, but numerous other websites were also affected.

“The real business risk which became immediately apparent was the huge amount of Google hosted code embedded in websites across the web for ad-serving, tracking and other services,” he said.

Cowell also offered advice to webmasters and developers in the event that another outage would occur. He tells webmasters to try using the asynchronous tracking if they use Google Analytics because it allows it to “fail gracefully” in service failure circumstances.

For developers, he suggests that they thoroughly test their websites to find out how they react when externally hosted scripts are blocked. Testing is also important if scripts will be embedded into other sites.

Although the outage only lasted for a short time, it is clear that it had a large impact since so many people have grown to depend on Google and its services. How would you survive without Google? Is it possible?

We all know that each of these platforms can be extremely valuable to business. However, many businesses do not allow their employees to use them due to a lack of productivity. For this reason, WebProNews would like to extend a challenge to you to see how long you can go without Facebook, Twitter, and Instant Messaging.

We are, by no means, suggesting that you drop these platforms entirely. Instead, we would like to see if you notice any changes to your personal well-being, your business, and your level of productivity.

For starters, you could try going without the 3 mentioned platforms, or any other technologies that consume vast amounts of your time, for 1-2 hours each day. When you turn everything off for the first time, it will probably seem way too quiet. In addition, you will likely struggle with the urge to share something.

Once these instincts pass, chances are, you will develop a stronger focus. Not only could you dedicate more time and energy toward one project, but you could also generate a greater appreciation for what you do. What’s more, you may find yourself developing new ideas and strategies that could take your business to the next level.

So, are you up for the challenge? How long can you go without Facebook, Twitter, and Instant Messaging? And, are you more productive for doing so?

Speaking on sitemaps specifically, Watlington tells WebProNews that people still do not understand how to use them, even though they have been around for 5 years. She has recently encountered multiple sites that have thousands of pages that are not getting picked up by the engines. The problem is that many of their pages have not even been visited.

To correct this, she suggests that site owners rethink their strategy for pushing content. In other words, it is better to have less content that is high quality and link-heavy, than to have lots of content that the spider cannot see.

Watlington goes on to offer advice for situations pertaining to when a company makes changes to its site. She says by pushing a sitemap with content that has new urls or urls that it wants to be found through 301 redirects, the company essentially makes the spider notice the changes faster. She compares this process to sending out change-of-adddress cards in bulk.

“One of the most important things is to use the sitemaps as a strategic tool, not as a blunt club,” says Watlington.

Sitemaps are very powerful and useful, if utilized correctly. Are you creatively using sitemaps to push your content?

On a side note, Watlington also advises marketers to make improvements to their site in order to take advantage of the “early bird” opportunities that will occur when the economy recovers completely.

Taylor Pratt of Raven Internet Marketing Tools talks to WebProNews and offers some advanced advice regarding keyword research. First of all, he explains a trick that users can do with the Google’s AdWords tool. He tells users to conduct a logged out Google search, copy the url, and paste it into the AdWords tool. This will then scan the top 10 results and provide keyword recommendations. Pratt says users can take it even further and use this trick with Amazon, Wikipedia, eBay pages, directories, and more.

Unfortunately, many people often become biased toward certain keywords and, essentially, push for them to win even when they are not performing. Pratt suggests that users take the keyword list from their analytics package, export it, and then block out all the keywords. By doing this, users will only be able to see the metrics, which will determine the keywords that are converting and performing.

Many times, the C-level suite is guilty of showing partiality toward particular keywords. To reach them, Pratt says marketers should talk to them in a way that they understand. In other words, tell them if a long tail term is the one that is bringing in the money and traffic as opposed to the one they simply like.

Pratt also discusses another trick users can do with Google analytics. He says if users look at their keywords, there is a second drop-down menu. From that menu, if users select the “landing page” option, they will see a list of landing pages from which a specific keyword visited their site. This will also show how the keyword is performing. With this information, users can determine what they should be targeting.

In regards to advice for marketers doing mobile paid search, Pratt believes marketers should find out which action terms people are searching for. He goes on to point out that marketers should think about the user, since mobile users know exactly what they want when they search.

Are you taking your keyword research to the next level?

“Not all, but a lot of the search industry tends to be kind of search geeks who are trying to figure out what marketing is,” says Bill Leake of Apogee Results, formerly Apogee Search.

To make a long-term difference in customers, he believes effective marketing is key. Factors such as determining what the customer wants to do, how you can make it happen, and how you can transfer business objectives into strategies that can be implemented, are all instrumental aspects of marketing. He goes on to say that search is just one area of marketing that is important, but it works best when used with the other aspects.

Some people focus heavily on search, since it is easily measured. Other challenges of marketing could result from all the departments in companies and, particularly, within marketing itself. Due to the lack of communication these departments create, many opportunities are missed.

As online marketing increases in awareness, there is also the danger of neglecting offline channels. Online marketing is very valuable for businesses involved largely in the consumer space and B2B. On the other hand, online isn’t as valuable when reaching enterprise level companies and government agencies. Essentially, Leake says businesses need to market wherever their customers are, whether it be online, offline, or both.

He also discusses the recent re-brand his company made and the reason for it. As noted earlier, Apogee Results was formerly known as Apogee Search. Leake explains that the company began doing a lot of social media and didn’t want consumers to think they were limited to search. After tossing around many ideas, the company decided on Apogee Results to let others know that it could return measurable results no matter what it was marketing.

Alternatively, he suggests looking at analytics to find the primary areas of focus. Once these areas are determined, think about the customer and what he or she wants instead of simply making uncalculated changes.

Although changes will vary from site to site, Saleh recommends taking things such ad spend into account. In addition, he advises people to look at their analytics to see the navigational path users take. This not only helps site owners understand where the customers are going, but it also could identify any areas that they themselves need to modify.

By taking these factors into consideration, Saleh says people could see meaningful increases in conversion rates. Are you paying attention to these areas?

First of all, he suggests using Google’s Webmaster Tools to know for sure if you are banned. The dashboard offers very helpful information in this type of situation.

To make sure that your site doesn’t get banned, Stebbins tells WebProNews that you should think like a search engine. In other words, you have to realize that they are looking for genuine relevance and genuine popularity. If you try to fake either of these elements, Google will not want to partner with you.

Some people fake relevancy and popularity by linking to questionable websites, taking advantage of JavaScript redirects, and selling links. All these factors could result in Google banning your site.

To get re-included in Google’s index, Stebbins says you need to first decide if it is worth investing time in the re-inclusion process. There are some cases in which users commit so many “mortal sins” that is nearly impossible to rebuild a relevant and popular website.

At this point, he advises users to invest in another a site and apply a 301 redirect from the old site to the new one.  However, if you have not violated many of the guidelines, Stebbins says you could send a letter detailing what you did wrong and how you have fixed it. By doing this, it increases your chances of getting back into the index.

Are you taking preventative measures to make sure your site doesn’t get banned?

As she discusses, there are many dangers with jumping into search. For starters, the technicalities can quickly overwhelm people. Search efforts are also often isolated to one division, such as PPC. As a result, businesses could end up missing out on a lot of benefits they could be receiving from search. Another danger is that many marketers think they know what their searchers want, when they actually do not.

“Don’t stand in judgment of your own search, let your searchers tell you what they want,” says Lutze.

She goes on to point out that marketers need to focus on all 3 areas of search. These areas are PPC, SEO, and Social Media. She says if a business really wants to be findable, it needs to be where users expect it to be. Since it’s difficult to know where the users are, she advises being present in all 3 areas.

By utilizing these 3 components, businesses can develop a consistent message across all its channels, which will increase their chances of being findable.

Are you getting the maximum findability out of search?

As Reich points out, one way of doing it is through flattery. This tactic should come naturally since most all of us have probably used flattery to get things in the past.

The approach however, is often difficult. Popular link builder Debra Mastaler of Alliance-Link suggests looking for the source instead of targeting sites such as CNN or Digg. Reich also adds that users should target the people who are at the center of the community.

For example, see who is frequently being linked to and tweeted. He says Twitter and other social sites are very helpful because the best link building is done through relationship building.

Reich does offer a word of caution in regards to outbound links. He says users need to be careful and monitor when linking out. With WikiAnswers, Answers.com has to be especially careful since it is user generated content. In addition, they use nofollow and hope the community will not take advantage of them. (Correction: See Comments.)

As for the future of link building, Reich does not see it changing dynamically. He says it is similar to the search industry in that the “Wild West” phase is over and people are doing what works. Talking about on-page optimization, he recalls Google’s Matt Cutts saying that SEOs shouldn’t chase the search engine and alternatively, chase the user. Applying that idea to link building, Reich says, “It’s don’t chase the engines, chase the community.”

Are you link building through relationships?

Most consumers search for information related to legislation, government, health, and other important areas. The problem is that searchers see the top 10 results and think that they are accurate because they’re at the top. Unfortunately, that is not always true. To make matters worse, many governments do not always make their information available, and those that do, don’t always know how to do it well.

Another element that intensifies the concern is that search is not going anywhere and will only become a larger part of our lives over time. So, what does this mean for the future of the way we consume information? It’s an intriguing question that does not have an answer yet.

Fox believes it is important that we consider these types of issues to help find solutions for them. What are your thoughts on this matter?

In addition, she shares her excitement for recent advancements with HTML5 and how they will make the Web better. Fox also discusses her blog post explaining how not to move a url as well as her new book, Marketing in the Age of Google.

On the similarity side, one example is that the same sitemap can work in both Google and Bing. One example of a difference between the two is that with Google Shopping, it’s a free download; Bing Shopping on the other hand, is paid only.

In regards to on-page factors, Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz did an extensive study and found that, ironically, the on-page changes users make really do not boost positions in either Google or Bing. Instead, both engines place more weight on exact match domains and the variety of domains that users have inbound links from.

For Bing specifically, Driscoll Miller says a good rule of thumb is to have many inbound links coming from a variety of domains, as opposed to having lots of links coming from a single domain. Bing’s Webmaster Tools, which we are told will be getting a revamp soon, have a tool that places value on inbound links. This helps SEOs understand what type of links Bing values the most.

Although some people still only concentrate on Google, Driscoll Miller advises people to begin thinking about Bing.

“I think a lot of people have been somewhat ignoring Bing and probably shouldn’t, because it really does have some value, “ she says.

What are your SEO challenges for Google and Bing?