$10,000 contest is over! Get ready for our next one...

Our $10,000 video contest has come to an end. We would like to congratulate Thanks to my viewers for winning the contest with his video sending out a big thanks to his fan base. Complimenting Strangers came in second, Thank you Prairie! came in third, St. Albert the Great Compliments was fourth, and GNCS eCompliment rounded off the top five. We know all of the top vote getters worked hard at spreading the word about their video and sharing the good.

There were all kinds of submissions. We saw videos that went from one spectrum to the other. Both funny and serious; from professional quality to webcam, from a rap song to a commercial spiff to song and dance.

To everyone who submitted a video we say Thank You! for helping us share the good.

We will be running another video contest in January. We are making a few changes to the contest. There will be awards given to the top 3 videos instead of just one grand prize. Some of the new rules we are considering include having the ecompliments website URL on the video longer, stricter requirements on the complimenting nature of the video, and utilizing a panel to select the winning videos from the top vote getters.

Please email us with your suggestions about how we can improve our video contest.

Just 2 weeks remaining to our $10,000 video contest

There are just 14 days remaining to our $10,000 eCompliment video contest. There have been several new entries and the competition is heating up. Complimenting Strangers remains #1 but St. Albert’s is nipping at the heels.

This last week we have seen the addition of new videos such as You’re my #1, Calvary Christian School, Man who lives life through rose colored glasses, and Thank you Prairie!

Each day one spot gets removed from the leader board until there is only one left standing on October 1^st. The videos that have survived the cut have accumulated about 50,000 views.

We applaud the creativity and optimistic activism of those who have submitted videos. Good luck to all of our entries and we look forward to watching the new videos submitted.

A lot can happen in 2 weeks.

Share the good!

Utilizing keywords is one key to SEO

Continuing in the vein of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it is helpful to understand how exactly a search engine “chooses” the results it does, which plays greatly in the overall ranking order. Delving slightly below the surface, each search engine is developed to various specifications, creating a unique algorithm. Though the programming and specifics of each algorithm is truly one of a kind, at its essence, they're all looking for the same thing: Relevance.

Utilizing the Keyword Feature on YOUR eCompliments Profile

When you begin to build out your eCompliments profile, one of the first things you'll notice is the opportunity to list keywords under your “Listing Info. Summary.” After filling out all pertinent, business-related information, utilizing the keyword feature is one of the best ways to begin the SEO process for your eCompliments profile. The keywords you choose should be relevant and robust – imagine if you were searching for something online.

As an example, let's use a fictional Japanese Restaurant in Juneau, Alaska called “Bob's Japanese Joint”: The following would be a great list of keywords for the business – separating all words/phrases with commas:

Bob's Japanese Joint, Juneau, Bob's, Alaska, bobs Japanese joint, Japanese restaurant, food, appetizers, Japanese food, Chinese food, sushi, teriyaki chicken, teriaki, best Juneau restaurants, tempura, Japanese steakhouse, Asian cuisine, Asian food, Japanese beer, oriental food, lunch specials, miso soup, hot sake, sushi bar

Be sure to include common misspellings.

Keyword Rich Content – Another Key to Search Engine Optimization

As mentioned in the blog entitled, S-E-What?, original content is part of the effort in maximizing SEO. Relevant content is exactly what you want to present to the public and to the search engine spiders, which are “crawling around,” trying to help the “seeker.” You can greatly assist the spiders by offering robust keywords, which boldly state the relevance of your profile. With a Professional Profile on eCompliments, you'll enjoy the ability to create fresh, original content. Consider the example business from above - relevant keywords in bold:

Bob's Japanese Joint in Juneau, Alaska, is no ordinary Japanese restaurant. We are proud to present an artistic display of the finest sushi in the state of Alaska, prepared by our world-class sushi chefs at our one-of-a-kind sushi bar. At Bob's Japanese Joint, we offer a full service menu that includes Japanese food favorites such as Chicken Teriyaki, tempura appetizers and entrees, as well as many other Asian cuisine specialties. Our Monday – Friday Happy Hour includes half-price sushi, discounted appetizers and daily specials on Japanese beers and hot sake. Stop by, say hello, and enjoy the atmosphere at Bob's Japanese Joint - Juneau, Alaska's best Japanese and sushi restaurant.

Posted by James Sheldon, Regional Director

S-E-WHAT?

Welcome to the 21^st Century folks, where small businesses will struggle to thrive without SEO, and yet most businesses cannot tell you what SEO actually means.

SEO firms have become one of the fastest growing entities in the realm of online marketing and functionality. The Internet, thriving on the function of the word “algorithm,” was made far more efficient and effective through site optimization. As business owner, you may not get this, and you may not really care to understand it; however, if you hope to continuously grow and thrive, and perhaps even survive, it’s time to get up to speed on a few basics!

In terms of a website and all online presence, it needs to be well optimized (done from the programming end), and it needs FRESH, ORIGINAL content to drum up successful and consistent search results.

As a business owner, what makes you believe that your little corner of web space is enough to draw “Joe Public” product seeker into your business? If your website isn't properly optimized, and doesn't offer fresh, original content on a regular basis, it might as well be a poster on your business wall... the only people who are seeing it will be your existing customer base. A static web site will collect dust and become antiquated, just as other once-proud possessions sit and collect dust in the attic or basement.

The good news is you are a short distance from owning a huge edge over your competition by simply working your eCompliments profile. Though a little effort, it can become the ambassador for your business and/or your business website.

By utilizing their eCompliments profile, many businesses are getting their eCompliments result to come up on the first page of search engine results. If online reputation management and new business is important to you, and I know it is, then this is the easiest and most effective tool you can be using right now.

eCompliments provides the space for your customers to create fresh and original content for you. This diminishes the need for having to hire or rely on a webmaster or an SEO firm that can cost THOUSANDS!

You can and should ask (and yes, you'll actually need to ask) your customers to share the good about your business! Request our eCompliments “Share the Good” sticker badges to put at your physical location. Or, if you have a virtual based business get your eCompliments digital badge for your website. Even if only small percentage of customers follow through, you will have significantly increased your profile optimization. It's a numbers game for you, as it is for everyone in any line of work.

eCompliments can give you the exact kind of positive word of mouth traffic that will increase revenues. In the digital world, the only thing worse than not having a website is having an outdated static one.

Your Pro profile on eCompliments.com gives your business an online presence that has fresh and relevant content (and the right key words), which serves as a powerful marketing tool to drive NEW customers to you.

When even a few customers share the good about you on your profile it does a lot of good for your search engine optimization!

By James Sheldon, eCompliments Regional Director

eCompliments Launches Affiliate Program

eCompliments Launches Affiliate Program

This week marked the launch of our anticipated eCompliments Affiliate Program (ECAP)! We are excited that now more people can benefit from sharing the good.

What is ECAP, you ask? It’s a program where people or websites can be official affiliates of our site and receive a one-time $75 referral fee for each person/business they help upgrade to a Pro Package. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

There is no limit for referral fees.

It's real simple.

Here's how it works:

1. Apply on our website right HERE.

2. Once approved you will be given a personal code to use to give to your friends, family, contacts and acquaintances. If they use the code when they are upgrading their profile, then you get the referral fee.

3. If you have a website, you can put the eCompliments banner on your site with a special link to our site. If anyone follows that site and upgrades to a Pro Profile, then you will get the same referral fee.

I know some of you might be asking, “Why would you have an affiliate program?” or “Why should I be an affiliate?” The answer is going to sound cliché, but it is the absolute truth and it reminds me of that line in the movie Jerry Maguire, where he tells his client “help me help you.”

Seriously, we want to give you a little extra cash for doing something you are already doing. You already know small business owners in your community, right? Some are friends & family, right? Why wouldn’t you encourage them to enhance their business’ online reputation and upgrade to the Pro Package? When they do, they will get all of the benefits our Pro Package gives to small businesses.

There are many benefits a business receives from upgrading to the Pro version. You will be helping them increase traffic, drive positive word of mouth and ultimately increase their bottom line. It truly is a win-win situation for everyone involved. The small business owner is happy because you’ve told them about a fantastic tool their customers can use to share the good about their business. You are happy because you’ve got some extra money to pay that nagging credit card bill, buy those back to school clothes or simply put in your savings account!

Sign up to be an Affiliate today and start helping those small business owners you know! In today’s world, with bad news all around, it’s always refreshing to receive a compliment or even better, to let a business know that you have given them a compliment!

Posted by Trey Tipton, VP of Operations

Become a Facebook Fan!

eCompliments is growing our Facebook presence through our business page and Facebook Connect. I encourage you to visit our page on Facebook and become a fan of eCompliments at http://www.facebook.com/ecompliments. We update our wall frequently and encourage your comments.

After you become a fan we encourage you to send a request to your Facebook friends asking that they become a fan too. Join the share the good movement and encourage others to be optimist activists!

If you have a Facebook account then use the Facebook Connect button on our home page. Facebook users now have instant access to eCompliments without having to create a separate profile and log in. Share the good about any person, place, or thing on eCompliments and have the profile and your comments post on your wall. This way your friends can see who, what and where you’re sharing the good about.

$10,000 video contest is half way over

The eCompliments’ $10,000 YouTube Video Contest has reached it’s half way point. The quarter long contest started on July 1st and ends September 30th. The video compliment which receives the most votes wins $10,000.

There have been all kinds of entries so far accumulating about 20,000 views. Several new entries last week are making a run at the top spot. Recently, David Lehre’s eCompliments commercial, who had been sitting at number one for weeks, was overtaken by Great Neck Community School eCompliment. GNCS is actively sharing the good about their school and this contest.

I love you, Ruth and Haven Horse Ranch just posted last week and have already shot up to #3 and #4.

Will David Lehre return to the top? Will the parents, alumni and community of Great Neck keep GNCS at #1? Will eCompliments Rap rally? Will a new video be posted that steals everyone’s thunder?

It’s now less than 6 weeks until we hand someone $10,000. Who will it be?