We are incredibly excited to announce the launch of the new ArenaDistrict.com. We built the site in less than four months, spending about two of the four months on development. The site is one of the first mobile responsive Websites in the central Ohio market. What is mobile responsive? Read all about this exciting new [...]

1. Pinterest is a game changer. The first true example of the perfect marriage between search and social, Pinterest is a collection of (largely photo driven) pieces of Internet content first discovered (search) and then re-shared or “pinned” (social) by the person who found the content and then by others (the pinner’s followers). Imagine a [...]

On March 30th, Facebook will automatically switch every brand page to the Timeline format, whether the business likes it or not. With the deadline looming, Cement Marketing has been meeting individually with clients to switch pages over to the new format. The most significant changes likely to affect your page include: 1. The new cover [...]

It’s a bold statement, we know. But here we are saying it – Account Directors are a waste of a client’s budget. The Emperor has no clothes. None. We swear it. Wondering why Account Directors are useless? It goes a little something like this: Client: “We just aren’t getting the leads we want from our [...]

We used to run into problems with RackSpace’s Cloudsites when we would start a new project because the dafault setup doesn’t give enough memory to run WordPress with a lot of plugins.  So we started adding this to the .htaccess of each project at the start: php_value memory_limit 128M php_value upload_max_filesize 16M php_value post_max_size 16M

You are now in the nerdy code zone of the Cement Marketing site.  The SEO and Dev team from Cement will be posting code here occasionally that we think will be helpful webmasters. Thanks and more will be coming soon!

We’d like to express a sincere “Thank You” to Athens Business Remixed for inviting us to speak at their February Lunch and Learn series.  Talking with entrepreneurs in Athens is always refreshing because the spirit of innovation and values-driven community is fully represented in their entrepreneurs.

We are huge fans of Columbus. In fact, we love Columbus so much we wanted to shout it from the rooftops. We chose our windows instead.

An overwhelming majority of websites aren’t built to display nicely on mobile devices like iPhones, android-powered cellphones, or tablets like an iPad.  These mobile devices do their best to display desktop websites, but zooming and panning around a website built for a desktop computer isn’t ideal for your mobile customers.

Join the Cement Marketing social and SEO strategists for our first Social/SEO Drink & Learn. On the fourth Thursday of every month, Cement Marketing will host free drink & learn sessions for our clients, friends and colleagues. Join us for cocktails and walk away with insider tips and tricks on making your social and SEO [...]

When Google introduced the +1 button, a lot of webmasters raced to add it to their websites.  The logic seems that if Google offers the button, then adding it to your website must help your rankings, right?

Cement Marketing is searching for a Lead Interactive/Web Designer. The ideal candidate has at least three years of interactive design experience

Meet Cement Marketing’s newest team member, Rod from Scotland. Or Rod Richmond, as he’s known back home. We had to steal him from the motherland because he is that good.

Just when we felt settled in, Cement Marketing’s neighbors announced their own expansion. They needed our space and we, as it turned out, needed more.

This is an entry into the Damn Fine Words Writing Contest. Our SEO copywriter, Sara Bradley, is writing for a chance to win an entry into a  writing class valued at $1,400. I had just walked in after a workout at the gym, burning off stress and clearing my head after a long day working [...]

Want a one stop shop for all your social marketing age demographics? See Facebook.

The Arena District’s Facebook scavenger hunt sent fans online, offline. Their mission: post photos of the Arena District to the Facebook page and win movie tickets.

The Cement Marketing team recently launched DropPoints.com, a site designed to grow with the Drop Points program as it expands nationwide.

OK, it hasn’t been that long since our last blog post. But maybe long enough for you to notice and think, “I really hope those guys didn’t forget they have a blog.”

Google is celebrating its 13th birthday today. But what do you get the search engine company that, literally, has everything?

Odds are good you’re one of the over 800 million Facebook users trying to figure out why the site put a Facebook in your Facebook, so you can Facebook, while you Facebook. Or why photo albums now appear as Mondrian-like compositions that take up much more real estate in your Newsfeed. And why you’re now [...]

The last few months were some of the busiest Cement Marketing has ever seen. So busy, in fact, we’re just now getting around to introducing our three newest hires: Sara, Megan and Eric. Click the jump to read more about these awesome new additions and how they contribute to our work culture and success as [...]

Facebook tips for beginners Facebook holds loads of potential for building brand awareness and managing customer relationships. As we’ve shown you before, a well-planned Facebook strategy engages your fans while turning them into customers. But running a successful Facebook Page for your business begins at its creation.

Cement Marketing is growing rapidly and we need some help. If you’d like to join our amazing team please email alaina@cementmarketing.com. Account Director and Digital Strategist Our new Account Director and Digital Strategist must, love all things Interactive and have a passion for what they do, enjoy working with a small, tight-knit and super productive [...]

Growing your Facebook fan base through photo tagging. Facebook is all about your fans. That’s easy enough to say, but how do you prove it and also engage your fans at the same time? How do you drive them into an action with your Facebook page? One sure bet is through photos. Feature a photo [...]

A few weeks ago, Google launched its newest social networking platform, Google+. The platform is a revolutionary entry into the world of social media because it integrates many of Facebook and Twitter’s best features. And then some.

How do you earn over 3,700 Facebook fans in less than four weeks? When we launched the new Raising Cane’s of Ohio Website, our clients wanted more than just a Website. They wanted engaged customers. The Cement Marketing social media team stepped up to the challenge with a Facebook fan raising campaign.

Cement Marketing has some seats to fill. This is a fantastic opportunity to join an new, energetic and forward thinking Interactive marketing team. No drama allowed, so if you are packing any – move along. But if not, please send us your resume as soon as you can.

We’re frantically preparing for our big open house next week. In the midst of our planning someone came up with the winning idea of printing off some decals or bumper stickers with SEO-related phrases on them. That has had us all tossing out ideas for what said SEO-bumper sticker should say.

We have a lot of perks for new team members at Cement Marketing. A new MacBook, all of the software, books and conferences you need to keep up to speed, awesome healthcare, and a mandatory rule that everyone is out of the office by 5:30 – every day.

After months of tweaking our new downtown office has finally reached a point where we can safely describe it as “done.” Although the scene may be changing already because next week

Cement Marketing is proud to announce the launch of the new RaisingCanesOhio.com, a site developed in WordPress with complete social media integration and photo contest features.

The Cement Marketing team heads to SXSW If you’ve spoken with the Cement Marketing crew in the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard us buzzing about our trip to SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas.

If you spend any time at all with the Cement Marketing team, you quickly learn that we are obsessed with creating awesome content. Our mantra has always been–humans first, search engines second. Why?

Facebook is overhauling its fan page layouts. But Facebook fan page administrators need not fret — at least not that much — because these changes are mostly for the better.

Fan pages are about to get far more versatile, allowing brands and businesses to engage the Facebook community in new and exciting ways.

One week ago we moved into our new office. On each morning we’ve walked in down the Hickory Street alley off of Third Street, we have kept our heads down in the chill but this morning, we stopped dead in our tracks. Completely taken aback by this.

Learn SEO, Social Media and Web Design at Cement Marketing The Cement Marketing team, a creative and fun Web marketing group with a spectacular office in the heart of Downtown Columbus, is looking for our next intern.

Cement Marketing has grown (again). Meet our two newest team members.

After one year of developing highly functional websites and creating successful search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and social marketing campaigns for our growing list of fantastic clients, the Cement Marketing team is moving to space that fits our new staff size and has plenty of room for more growth in 2011. But [...]

Cement Marketing is incredibly excited to announce our newest client–Raising Cane’s of Ohio. RCO Limited has six central Ohio locations and will be adding more to the roster this Spring, Summer and Fall. Cement Marketing will be designing and developing the new Raising Cane’s of Ohio website and Facebook page. After the two launch we [...]

SEO shouldn’t be a mystery, but for many of us – it is. Even the most tech-savvy individuals today know very little about what constitutes a true SEO campaign and how to gain the highest rank in Google and other search engines.

Rise above your competitors on Google and Facebook If you still think SEO and social media strategy is some sort of Internet wizardy only meant to be mastered by seasoned designers and developers, you’re wrong. And, in the interest of your business, you’re dead wrong. At Sway, sponsored by Experience Columbus, you’ll learn how to [...]

The Sway Day Camp at the Voinovich School in Athens, Ohio was a huge success. We had a phenomenal time and the audience (at capacity) walked away with some invaluable lessons about social and search marketing. We’re hoping to learn from each of the Sway Day camps we hold, so if you attended, please leave [...]

By Alaina Sheer Cement Marketing Founder and Chief Digital Strategist For years now, and even more so recently, the Mom blogger has been on the every major brand’s short list of prime audiences to infiltrate. Many don’t even know where to begin, others step bravely into our serene corner of the Internet and try to [...]

Blogging is by far the most important Internet Marketing tool you can have in your arsenal. A blog, adored by the search engines for its frequent and ever-changing content and loved equally by readers for the same reason, is a must have for any individual and business. With that said, most small businesses push their [...]

Over the next few months I’ll be writing a six-part series for The Metroprenuer, the latest brain child of Columbus Underground creator Walker Evans. The site is a fantastic resource for anyone in Columbus starting their own business, seasoned small business owners and those of you still stuck in Cubicle Nation plotting your escape. Here’s [...]

When you venture into the big bad world of Internet Marketing one of the first questions is often, where do I focus my resources – search marketing or social marketing? The truth is, there is no quick mix. Here’s a clip from a speech Alaina Sheer recently gave on the subject. To hear Alaina again [...]

We’ve been busy. Here are a few of the Websites and social media campaigns we’ve launched in recent weeks: Schottenstein Real Estate Group – Website Design and Development The new Schottenstein Real Estate Group featured dynamic property photo galleries, an interactive map and custom contact us forms. Facebook pages for each community offer exclusive tips [...]

The world has changed. So much so, that we now communicate with each other at lightening speed and in ways we wouldn’t have imagined just a few years ago. We are searching and socializing amidst a sea of information. For individuals it’s entertaining and exciting but for brands and marketers, the new Internet can be [...]

In a sea of architecture Websites flashing design at their visitors, the new Davis Wince website presents engaging and descriptive content without compromising on search engine optimization (SEO). DavisWince.com is now poised to jump in search rankings and wow potential clients with a focus on photography and info rich case studies. The site also has [...]

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Before Search Engine Optimization begins start with the Google Keyword Tool If you’re on the fence about whether or not you or your company should invest in search engine optimization – start by conducting a bit of keyword research using the Google Keyword Tool. It takes just a few minutes. To make it even easier [...]

Remember our E.T. and search engine optimization story? If you missed it here’s what went down. A nice man in California searches the Internet using these keywords, “Lifesize E.T. Doll”. He needed said doll for a charity bike ride. His search term leads him to this post on my personal blog. My son and I [...]

The Sway Social Media Workshop went off without a hitch. Our attendees walked away armed with new Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and guidance on exactly how to execute a social media campaign and a little extra sway in their steps. Testimonials coming soon, but until then check out our photos on Flickr. There are still [...]

We are scrambling to put the final touches on the Sway Social Workshop. Things are definitely a bit crazy but we’re going to pull this thing off and when we do it will be time to celebrate. After day two wraps up all of the Sway graduates will be heading upstairs from Wild Goose Creative [...]

Social media optimization, by my definition, is the practice of maximizing your message. To effectively maximize a social media message a brand or organization must use their analytics while also factoring in the human barometer. Analytics available via Google, Facebook Insights, Hootsuite for Twitter and YouTube now afford us the ability to measure every action we take online during a social media campaign.

Meet Alex Henderson. He won the hotly contested position as Cement Marketing’s first intern. Why? Because in addition to being a graduate of Purdue University with a BA in public relations he is also a budding WordPress developer, a social media savant and an all-around awesome guy. Follow Alex on Twitter here.

Lifeline of Ohio, Cement Marketing’s first major website overhaul and re-design, has launched. The project broke ground on January 28th and went live just six weeks later on March 17th. The new site successfully organizes the massive amount of content in a compelling way, leading the user through the story of organ and tissue donation [...]

By Alaina Sheer Chief Content Strategist Whether I am speaking one-on-one with a potential client, typically a marketing manager or business owner, or to a larger audience, typically a room filled with the latter, I use the experience to improve my translation skills. [Hint: kicking up your shoes and letting the sun shine in always [...]

Last weekend the Cement Marketing team joined our client, Lifeline of Ohio, for a photo shoot of the quiet heroes behind organ donation. Soon their stories and the photos will be revealed on the new LifelineofOhio.org, set to launch in mid-March. If we do our job, the site will see a tremendous boost in online [...]

The Sway Interactive Workshops are here. The two-day workshops will be held at Wild Goose Creative in Columbus, directly below the Cement Marketing offices. Visit the Sway Workshop website to find out what makes Sway different than any other conference you’ve been to before. Register now to take advantage of the early bird ticket rates [...]

Cement Marketing is looking for our first intern. If you’re interested, watch this video to find out how to apply and what your job will entail. Cement Marketing Intern Position How to Apply Don’t just e-mail us your resume. Respond to this blog post with a social media application. Use YouTube, a blog post, Twitter [...]

By Alaina Sheer Chief Digital Strategist (and blogger) A blog post is the most valuable catch of all for social marketers and public relations professionals. But so few of them know how to actually reach out to bloggers. In fact, out of the hundreds of e-mails I’ve received from marketers as a blogger very, very [...]

This is a tale about an E.T. doll, a three-year-old and a guy named Josh in California. And what do all three have to do with your marketing strategy? Everything. In July of 20o7, I wrote a blog post and included this picture of my son and his new E.T. doll. Over a year and [...]

The Sway Interactive Workshop is coming. Unlike any other search or social marketing conference you’ve been to, Sway will teach you how to truly sway your audiences through a hands-on workshop with one-on-one instruction from Cement Marketing’s Bradley Spencer, Alaina Sheer and special guest instructors John Raymond and Leigh Householder. Seats will be limited to [...]

We can’t help but wonder why the colors of the antique chairs we found on Craigslist in the 12th hour of our office make over are exactly aligned with our logo. Fate? Destiny? Or just some really cool chartreuse and burryberry mustard chairs. Either way, we’re beyond pleased with our new space. And our first [...]

Cement Marketing is proud to announce a move to our first studio/office space. Located above Wild Goose Creative, the Cement Marketing offices will be at 2489 Summit Street, just south of Hudson in Columbus, Ohio. We can’t wait to show you our new space! At this very moment, our space looks like this: And because [...]

What Matters Now, a collection of essays from Seth Godin, is incredibly inspiring and thought provoking. What Matters Now? Creating real solutions, not band aids. The trick is taking the time to make it happen – to find out what matters to you, to your company and to your brand.

If you are still skeptical about the value of social media or if you are wondering why your company should invest in a social media strategy, then you need to watch this video.

One of the most common myths of social media is that marketers can’t measure its impact. In truth, we can measure everything we do, whether it be on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. And if we weren’t measuring our actions and tracking our progress we wouldn’t be doing our jobs. It’s 8:00 am on Monday morning [...]

We don’t just build Websites. We build audiences. It starts with a Website designed to answer your visitor’s need. It continues as we deliver your message to the right audience at the right time through social marketing and search marketing.  It’s not easy. True ties can’t be earned at the end of a line item [...]

If you’re reading this you have probably already heard a social marketing spin of some kind, been to a seminar promising to unveil the secret to it all or have read countless blog posts on the topic.

Chances are, by now, your head is spinning.

During every one of our meetings with new clients we always hear this question, “I just need someone to tell me where to start, what do we do with all of this stuff.” Our answer — “What’s your message? What do you offer your target audience?”

Fortune 500 companies are about to eat your lunch. How can you stay one step ahead of them?

If your website is less than a decade old, has less than 100,000 inbound links, or less than 10,000 indexed pages, then enjoy the year or so. Relish the traffic you are getting from search engines. Stew in the delight of ranking high for some pretty common search terms. Because that’s all about to end.

You’re so money and you don’t even know it. Believe it or not, even the flashiest of websites may not have what it takes to rank in the search engines or convert surfers into customers. Is your website a hidden treasure? Let us take a look.

What is social marketing in Columbus, Ohio? Communicating online, wherever it may be – on a blog, a social network, Twitter or even by leaving a product review – is social because we are sharing information and joining a conversation.

Over the years of being a social media evangelist I have spoken with many companies about social marketing and each, no matter the size, has a group set of fears they recite back to me.

A presentation we like to give on the hows and whys of social marketing. Social Marketing 101 View more OpenOffice presentations from AlainaSheer.