Internet Marketing Coaching – $150/Month

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To accommodate the needs of more small businesses, we’ve decided to offer an internet marketing coaching program. To many small businesses our services are out of their price range, with our Internet Marketing Coaching Program we can help more businesses grow. In the program we guide and assist so you may achieve success with your online marketing efforts. You’ll do the work, but we’ll give you our knowledge, give you guidance, and hold you accountable so you can make the internet work for your business.

“Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.”

– Phil Jackson

With your input and our expertise we will craft a custom plan for you and your business to build a strong online presence. Typically, our plan each month will consist of three actionable items that you can implement into your business immediately.  At the end of each month, we will analyze your efforts, hold you accountable and implement a new plan for the following month.

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

– John Wooden

We’re offering this service at a great price. But because of the demand we are receiving and the amount of time we can commit we are only offering this to 10 people and it’s first come, first served. We already have 3 people signed up and anticipate this deal won’t be around for long.

If you’re interested, you can try our consulting program RISK FREE. If you’re not happy with the suggestions we provide you can cancel after the first month at no charge to you. If you participate in this program we ask that you are willing to commit to working on your online presence for one year and be willing to record and share your results for your business with us.

We ask this because we know that at the end of the year your business will be better off than when it started and many new doors will open for your business.  We want to build success stories.

“We want to build success stories.”

– Zeb Welborn

Please don’t miss out on this opportunity and contact Zeb Welborn today to schedule your first appointment – 909 973 9089.

Internet Marketing Coaching Success Playbook from Zeb Welborn at Welborn Media

Internet Marketing Success Playbook

Duplicate Content | Distributing Product Descriptions Without Being Penalized by Google

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The question:  How can we distribute product descriptions to other websites without being penalized by Google for having duplicate content?

At Welborn Social Media, we make sure to have a deep, thorough, and (most importantly) up to date understanding of how social media works and the latest policies of key internet companies such as Google or Facebook. Every once in a while, a client will come to us with a question that requires us to do a little research, and we see this as an opportunity to learn new information, grow our knowledge, and share our findings with our community.

Such was the case when one of our clients came to us wanting to share their products on the websites of their affiliates.

Duplicate Content Search Engine Optimization SEO

Duplicate Content

From working with many clients and getting their websites to rank higher on Google search results, we have learned that Google does not like duplicate content. What is duplicate content? In simple terms, it is when words, images, or entire web pages appear over and over again throughout the internet. Most of the time this is done accidentally or with good intentions, like products sold on different e-commerce sites or sites that have both a normal and a printer-friendly version of a page. Other times duplicate content can be an attempt to gain more links to a site, which could make them rank higher on search results. However Google is not a fan of the latter and will often times penalize sites that are trying to “trick” Google into ranking them higher.

Another problem that arises is that Google will omit web sites that are too similar to each other. If I want to search for an article online, they don’t want the search results to show me 10 different sites with the same article. They want to show me several different articles. Sometimes a site will publish a story and also have that story published on five other sites. Google is then forced to choose only one of those to display. If a webmaster does not know what they are doing, they can run into a problem where their site is not showing up because other sites are being displayed instead of theirs.

So what are people with legitimate reasons for having duplicate content to do?

The answer:

The solution lies in a line of HTML code known as the Canonical Tag.

The canonical tag is a way for websites to point towards the original (or canonical) source of content and give them all the credit, ensuring that Google displays them over any other copies of the content. It is a way for people to publish their content on several sites, without making it seem like they are simply trying to trick Google into thinking that the content is important and should be ranked higher. However, it does mean that all the non-canonical copies of the content won’t show up on search engines, only the version that they are all pointing to will show up. In most cases, this is not really a problem because people can still access those pages by clicking through any website where a duplicate may be found. Because the canonical tag is all about giving proper credit, instead of taking undeserved credit, it can be used to have duplicate content online without problems.

That said, there are still methods that Google considers “best practices” and would be preferable over the canonical tag. Fresh, original, unique content will always be preferred over copy and pasting. So the best way to go about duplicate content would be ensuring that content is not actually duplicate. If you want to share the same text, image, or link, it would be best to always frame it in a new and unique way for every web page that it is on. Google’s policies are always changing and what is acceptable today may not be acceptable in the future. To safeguard against having to redo your web page in the future, just make it unique to begin with.

Was Article Marketing Killed By The Panda Update? Your New Strategy Part 2

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Can article marketing still work with a strategy that respects Google’s mission?

Google basically doesn’t want imbalanced situations anymore. And some of our behavior has tipped it off to how the lack of algorithm changes have left the door open for certain predators to be overfed and quality content, quality user experience, to suffer.

Google Search Engine Optimization SEO Article Marketing

Panda Update

So with keeping the above mind, how would you imagine that article marketing can be performed with success? If you’re familiar with what article marketing is and the SEO strategies themselves, you’ll likely have ideas of changes that could be made to the traditional strategy to see results again. It’s likely not very different from what’s actually worked for me and for others.

The ability to recognize what is needed in nearly every case is still in your hands.

Here’s a simple strategy that you can use to determine exactly how article marketing will work for yourself and for your clients.

  1. Understand which concepts are accepted and effective (on page seo, anchor text linking, posting on do follow directories).
  2. Have quality content on the site you work for which reflects the keywords you attempt to rank for (very important for small scale seo efforts)
  3. Experiment by implementing a common sense strategy which includes numbers one and two.
  4. Track what was done and recognize your averages; how much of such and such strategy had to be done and how many spots did I move up in the engines as a result?
  5. When you have a ratio, you’ll have a general expectation of how much you need to produce to get where you want to be.

The truth is that when it comes to article marketing, you don’t need a bunch of hidden websites, a spinner producing hundreds of articles a day or other tricks, although some may be doing just find with those right now…Others, obviously, have suffered. What you’ll likely need in the long run, and what Google is getting better at determining you have, is a creative and smart writer to do your research, provide quality content and weave in SEO in the ways that work, before posting the information on some of the most prominent article directories which will actually produce link recognition. And, of course, a good foundation is the best insurance. The better the site actually reflects your goals, your target keywords, the more manageable the job becomes with only a set of forthright tools in your SEO tool bag.

The following is true about the search engines and will likely remain true for some time:

  • Unique content is still valuable.
  • Quality content is still valuable.
  • Content which provides information for the keywords it intends to rank for is still valuable.
  • Giving the searcher what they want to find, being honorable with your use of keywords, both are still valuable.
  • All well intentioned tools which are in line with Google’s goals, mentioned above, still work.
  • Strategies which implement these tools can still work…

They might just need a little tweaking.

For more on the Panda Update from Google representative and leader Matt Cutts, hear his interpretation here.

Good luck in your SEO efforts.

Was Article Marketing Killed By The Panda Update? Your New Strategy Part 1

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Is article marketing dead? Did the Panda Update finally bid the strategy a strong farewell? Well, is anchor text dead? “Nope,” is the direct answer. Google just got better at determining when our use of the text was out of line with their ultimate goal. And for article marketing, the situation is no different.

When it comes to SEO, it pays to be a bottom line thinker. And the bottom line hasn’t changed even when the algorithms have; the algorithms that so many SEO experts have feared, these formulas which are actually misinterpreted in forums where people go to get the good information in regards to SEO…

These have simply helped Google accomplish its’ ultimate goal; and for those willing to get to the essentials of the situation and profit from that perspective, there’s still room for this good fortune.

Bottom line number one is that Google keeps formulating steps to create a user experience where their user finds the content they are looking for without being manipulated into trekking through a maze of websites which have absolutely nothing to do with user desires or poorly fulfill them at best. Part of what we have to do, as experts, and more honestly, as students of SEO, is experiment with that bottom line when updates such as these occur.

We have to realize what has worked for us in the past, the foundational tools that Google has no problem with, and look at how our strategies, the ways we implement those tools can be tweaked or altered to fit in line with this destination.

Article Marketing Search Engine Optimization SEO Google Panda Update

Article Marketing

A successful expert in SEO, is an experimenter and a scholar; someone who is capable of gaining insight, observing limitations, and falling back on the essentials as a framework to understand where to go next in ever changing situations.

That person can still see gains via article marketing (and in other tools which are recognized as honest by Google), even though well known hubs may have some members whose results have tanked.

To become that kind of expert, we have to observe our success in work, track progress, think of why certain things have worked in terms of concepts we know through experience can breed success; such as accurate on page SEO and anchor text linking, personally testing limits on article proliferation, seeing if our results fair better with diverse website use rather than single website repetitive use, and basically giving the leader of the search engines another one of its’ bottom line objectives: plenty of quality original content, spread around well received websites, so that our balanced little search engine ecosystem is maintained.

Stay Tuned for Was Article Marketing Killed by the Panda Update?  Your New Strategy Part 2

Grow Your Business Through Social Media

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Zeb Welborn Grow Your Business Through Social Media HYPE San Dimas Chamber of Commerce

Zeb Welborn Grow Your Business Through Social Media

Tonight I will be presenting at the monthly HyPE meeting through the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce. My presentation is titled, Grow Your Business through Social Media. The event will be held at The Finish Line Sports Grill in Pomona.

HyPE, Helping Young Professionals Excel, is “exclusively geared for young professionals.”  It is a program intended to help young professionals develop the necessary skills to become future business leaders

The talk will be covering a variety of topics, including discussions about websites, Google Analytics, blog writing, social media, Facebook, Twitter, building connections, analyzing online efforts, email marketing, website design, understanding SEO, Google AdWords, Yelp, reputation management, LinkedIn, personal branding, being a human, building connections, developing a higher purpose and being thankful

Listen to Zeb Welborn speak as he shares his journey of going from a teacher, to living with his parents, starting his business and eventually becoming a successful entrepreneur.  Learn how developing a higher purpose and connecting with people will help you grow your business online and in the real world

If you’re interested in attending, here’s the information for the event

“Join us for the next HyPE ”Happy Hour With A Twist” Mixer – July 25th 6pm – 8pm featuring “Grow your business through Social Media” with Zeb Welborn. HyPE is a Chamber Program exclusively geared towards new and emerging professionals. Visit www.chamberhype.com for more information or call 909-592-3818Zeb Welborn speaks at Hype event on Grow Your Business through Social Media with the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce Grow Your Business Through Social Media[/caption]  

2013 Chino Hills Business of The Year | Welborn Social Media

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Welborn Social Media named the 2013 Chino Hills Business of the Year by the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce!

Last Friday night, June 28, I went to the 2013 Installation & Awards Dinner for the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce. I was already looking forward to the evening because it would be my first event as a member of the Chino Valley Chamber Board of Directors, but I had no idea how amazing I would feel at the end of the night.

Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce 2013 Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award Presented to the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce

2013 Chino Business of the Year Award

While at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino for the event I thought back over the last few years.

My sister, Lacey and I founded Welborn Social Media in 2011 while we were both living at our parents house. Before that I was running my Chino Valley tutoring company, The Tutoring Solution. It was there that I encountered business owners and found they were not what I expected (greedy and self-interested people who only care about money). Instead they were people who loved what they did and were simply trying to help others.

Before that, as an educator, I felt discouraged at the lack of drive and motivation in my students. My mind began forming a theory that our societal problems stem from a lack of passion and excitement in a person’s professional life.

Our goal at Welborn Media has been shaped by these experiences. We want to help business owners who are passionate and love what they do. Why? Because, if we can help them be successful more people will try to emulate them. In our opinion, the world will be a better place if there are more people who love what they do, are good at it, and are willing to help others.

Joining the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce in January, 2012 was an easy choice: it aligned with our mission.  Through the Chamber, Lacey and I have met some phenomenal people . . . all hard-working and all willing to help others.

Since then we have developed some strong relationships. We have been managing the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and have worked with friends of the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce: Rodell & Company, ABC Services, Alba Moesser, Los Serranos Country Club, Gotcha Covered, Beltone Hearing Aids, and Kardar Insurance.

At the end of 2012, the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce selected us to build their new website which was completed a few months ago. We have received so many complements on the new website. I know they are happy they chose us for the project.

When we decided to become a part of the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce we knew it would allow us to help businesses in our community grow. If we can help our passionate local business owners use the Internet more effectively then the people and businesses in our area will thrive. We want to introduce local businesses to the online opportunities available to them, and show them how they can maximize their efforts by developing a strong online presence for their business.

At the end of the Installation & Awards dinner the final award of the night went to the 2013 Business of the Year. Debbie Mitsch, the newly sworn in president, began, “This business started in 2011 and is very big in the social media world…” She announced “Welborn Social Media” as the 2013 Chino Hills Business of the Year. I was shocked.

There are so many successful, vibrant businesses… it is truly an honor. We are so very thankful the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce feels we were worthy of such an award.

My sister and I still have a lot of work to do to turn Welborn Media into the company we both know it can be. It’s a tremendous feeling to have others recognize the efforts and strides we have made as well as see the potential we have.

It’s amazing to see how supportive others in our community have been to us and how quickly our business has grown. Thank you to every person who had a hand in our selection as the 2013 Chino Hills Business of the Year.

Thank You!

Zeb Welborn

A Team Welborn Media Father’s Day

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Welborn Media sponsors Team Welborn Media in the Fast and Furious Bowling League at Chaparral 300 in Chino Hills. The team consists of our very own Zeb Welborn plus Larry Welborn, aka Maddog, aka Dad; Annie Welborn, aka Mom; and Rocky Welborn, aka Bro; plus Grandma, aka Coach. We could not have chosen a better team to sponsor, not only because the members of the team happen to be close to my heart, but also because they were the league winners! Just one more way Welborn Media is connected to winners.

After the official season ended our league went to sweeps in the third most visited casino and resort destination in Nevada. That’s right, exciting Laughlin. Sweeps happened to fall on Father’s Day weekend. Larry, aka Dad, is truly the heart of the team. He is clutch, our most consistent player, always putting up big numbers. At sweeps on Father’s Day weekend, we knew we had to make it special.

The team plus Coach Grandma was definitely making the trip to Laughlin, but we didn’t know for sure if I (Lacey), or Larry’s sister’s Aunt Holly and Aunt Lindra would be able to come. When the time came the whole crew made it. That plus the fact that Team Welborn Media would be presented 1st place at the Fast & Furious Bowling League awards ceremony ensured that our dad would have a great Father’s Day. Zeb had an idea to make it even better. Our gift to dad would be custom Team Welborn Media Bowling Jerseys. As the designer, I was put in charge of the task.

I wanted something that represented the spirit of the team, something that spoke to the intensity and drive they have, something that would help with one of the most important assets in head to head competition . . .intimidation. It took a while to get it just right.

I took inspiration from each player.

Larry, aka Maddog

larry

Rocky, aka Bro

rocky

Zeb, aka president of Welborn Media

zeb

Annie, aka Momma

annie

Grandma, aka Coach

grandma

The Final Design

caricatures

We surprised dad with the jerseys just before the tournament. He loved them. He wore his jersey all weekend along with his warm smile. Dad had a wonderful time in Laughlin with his family cheering him on in the most stylish shirt he’s ever worn (well since the 70s anyway).

The Whole Gang in Laughlin

The Whole Gang in Laughlin

What do you think of the jerseys? Who is easiest to recognize?

Read about Zeb’s bowling experience, The Perfect Game.

The Perfect Game | Welborn Media Wins 2013 Fast & Furious Bowling League!!!

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When I let it go, I knew it was good.

The blue and yellow swirled ball rumbled down the lane, hit the pocket, and sent all 10 pins exploding in different directions.  So excited, I yelled and gave a fist pump.  I turned around to see my dad, mom, brother and grandma screaming, yelling and applauding.  I hugged them each, one by one . . . we were all teary-eyed at what had transpired.

A moment I will never forget.

Zeb Welborn's Perfect Game

Zeb Welborn

In September 2012, Welborn Media sponsored the Welborn Media bowling team in the Fast & Furious Bowling League at Chaparral Lanes in Chino Hills, CA.  The Welborn Media bowling team consisted of myself; my dad, Larry; my mom, Annie; my brother Rocky; and our honorary team coach . . . my grandma, Lenore.

My parents had bowled in leagues when I was extremely young and my brother and I had played for just a few months in the previous season . . . For all intents and purposes we were new to the game.

We somehow managed to stay atop the leader board for the entire season, but many teams were within striking distance going into the final week. We had just a 2.5 game advantage over two very talented teams.

During the season we managed to rack up some incredible performances.

  • My brother, Rocky bowled a 705 series with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Brenda looking on in amazement.
  • My mom, Annie scored a 728 handicap series while bowling in front of her sister, Cathy and her husband, Robert as witnesses.
  • My dad, Larry always came through in the clutch.  In one memorable outing, the pressure was on, we needed him to get three straight strikes in order to win, so he did.

As for me, I saved my clutch performance for the last match of the season.

In bowling, the last week of the season is called position week, where the teams closest to each other compete against one another to determine their final placement in the league standings.  We had to set up a pre-bowl because my brother, Rocky, was going to be out of town for a wedding.  To win the league we needed to beat the Ball Busters while also securing enough points to make sure that One Time Split didn’t sneak in and steal the title from us.  Our season was on the line.

I prepared more diligently than I had before, trying to figure out the lanes during our practice bowling, the right amount of curve on the lane.  I got dialed in.

My 1st game started off with 3 straight strikes, all perfectly placed in the pocket.  In the 4th, I let the ball go a little too late and it hit the back side of the headpin . . . a “brooklyn” as they call it, but the pins still fell.  Frames 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 went by like a blur as I continued to pile up the strikes.

In the 10th and final frame I let my first ball go . . . another perfect ball.  It hit, the pins exploded but one pin was left standing . . . the 10 pin.  Slowly one spinning pin began making its way from the left side of the lane to the right – headed towards the 10 pin . . . My family and I were screaming for it to hit.

It missed.

The wayward pin slid right by the 10 pin. I turned around, dejected, knowing I had missed my chance for a perfect game.  As I was looking over to my family — they suddenly burst out, cheering uncontrollably . . . Somehow, the 10 pin had fallen.  My perfect game was still intact.

Before I was able to remain fairly calm. To avoid jinxing the game or adding pressure my team had been containing their enthusiasm, but after such a close call they revealed their extreme excitement. Now, I was nervous. My hands and my body were shaking after the intense low and high of that previous ball.  I continued on. I lined myself up for the next throw and fired it down the lane for my 11th strike in a row.

For the 12th and final ball, I stood for a moment, gathered myself. I walked to my spot and let go.

A moment I will never forget.

Two weeks later we headed to Laughlin for Sweepstakes, the big, end of the year tournament which took place this past Father’s Day weekend.

Team Welborn Media in Laughlin Perfect Game

Team Welborn Media in Laughlin

It was a great weekend spent with my brother, his girlfriend, my sister, her boyfriend, my parents, my grandma and my Aunt Holly & Aunt Lindra.  My dad won a poker tournament, we all won some money, spent some great quality time together and had a fantastic time bowling with a spirited group of our loved ones cheering us on.

Walking into the awards ceremony, 4 trophies were positioned on the table at the front of the room – all 4 were for us:  1st Place – Welborn Social Media.

During the awards ceremony Rocky won the highest handicap series, my Mom tied for the highest handicap series for females, our team had won the highest team scratch game and I won the highest scratch game of the season with a 300 – a perfect game.

Welborn Social Media wins 2013 Fast & Furious Bowling League at Chaparral Lanes. Zeb Welborn bowls a perfect game.

2013 Fast & Furious Bowling League Standings

Looking back on my perfect game I can see the faces of my dad, my mom and my brother – sheer joy.  I’ll never forget walking to the table behind the alley to give my grandma a hug – a tear streaming down her face.  And I’ll always remember the love, excitement and support I felt that day – perfect.

Some may be able to say they’ve bowled a perfect game, but I think I’m alone when I say that I’ve bowled the perfect game.