Four Tips to Boost Your Company’s Google Rank

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most important parts of any marketing plan. You could be missing out on potential customers if your company’s website doesn’t rank highly in search engines such as Google. Here are four ways to increase your SEO.

1. Stay up-to-date. Consistently update your website and social media networks. If your site is updated regularly, Google rates it as more influential and your company will appear higher in search results. Also, you’ll want to link to your website from all of your social media pages. If you have multiple accounts with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., this can make a difference in how Google rates your site.

2. Imagine yourself as a searcher. Use Google’s free keyword tool and the knowledge you have of your company to discover words that your audiences use to search for information relating to your business. Make sure the content of your website incorporates those keywords.

3. Google loves links. When you link your site on other relevant websites your Google rank gets a boost. Anytime you guest post or register your site on directory sites or any other website, be sure to include a link back to your homepage.

4. Stop with the flash. Although flash player is cheap, easy to launch and looks professional, it ranks poorly with Google. Switch to Wordpress or other platforms for your site and you’ll instantly boost your Google rank. Plus, most smartphones can’t view flash player sites, so eliminating this could boost your website’s monthly visits.

How does your website rank?

Read 13 expert tips to improve your Google rank from Mashable.

Party Rental Companies to Support More Special Events in 2012

Great news for the meetings industry! The new year likely will bring increased business, according to a survey conducted annually by Penton Media. The survey’s results showed that 64 percent of party rental operators expect to produce more special events in 2012 while only 18 percent of respondents expect to produce the same amount of events in 2012 than they did in 2011.

Additionally the survey predicts good news for both corporate and social events in 2012. For the new year a strong 60 percent of respondents said they expect business from corporate events to be stronger while 58 percent expect social or private events to be better in 2012.

Is your 2012 looking better than 2011?

Read the full survey results on SpecialEvents.com. 

Vote for MEET as the 2012 Event Site of the Year!

MEET Las Vegas is excited to announce it has again been honored as a 2012 Event Solutions Spotlight Award finalist in the Event Site of the Year category!

The industry-wide voting is now open. Please show your support and vote for MEET Las Vegas. Voting is open until January 31, 2012. Tell all of your friends in the industry to vote for us too!

We’d love to earn your vote. Feel free to check out our profile, and read highlights from our most memorable events from 2011. I think you’ll agree that we’re truly worthy of this prestigious award.

Vote online at http://ow.ly/84rQW. Recipients of the Spotlight Awards will be revealed at the Spotlight Awards Event in February.

Digital Graffiti Wall Draws Out Artistic Aspect of Event Attendees

Ensure a fun, interactive holiday party with the Digital Graffiti Wall by Classy Event Group. This fun party idea is a great way to get event attendees into the spirit of any celebration.

How it works:

A photographer takes an attendee’s picture and instantly displays it on the wall. Digital “spray cans” are used to draw on the displayed photo. There is a wide palette of paint colors as well as animated stars, swirls, drip-effect paint and a variety of stencils use to decorate the photos.  Graffiti wall vendors may even offer custom spray patterns and stencils to reflect your event or client. If you’d like, you can even hire an artist to work during your event to create exceptional art for the event attendees. Before the event ends, the guests can print a copy of the photo onsite or save it to a computer or website.

Do you have any cool holiday party ideas?

Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards Close to Ready

The meetings industry is nearly done with new standards for green meetings. The Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), an initiative of the Convention Industry Council, with its Green Meetings and Events Practice Panel. has created the meeting industry’s first comprehensive standards for environmentally sustainable meetings.

So far, standards from eight facets of the planning process have been ratified and should be published in soon. The eight sectors include:

• Audio-Visual

• Communication & Marketing Materials

• Destinations

• Exhibits

• Food & Beverage

• Meeting Venue

• On-Site Office

• Transportation

A ninth sector –Accommodations– is undergoing final balloting.

For complete details visit the Convention Industry Council’s website.

Use QR codes for Your Next Event

A hot trend in marketing right now is QR codes. These barcode lookalikes allow consumers with smartphones to scan a code and easily access a useful goodie from your company. The codes can contain almost any data you want, such as a website URL, a promotional flyer, contact info, etc.

 

QR code generators are generally free to use. Our favorite generator is from Delivr. Here are some of the ways you can incorporate QR codes into your events:

1.  Share contact Information: Speakers and attendees can use QR codes in their presentations or on their name bades to share their contact information. Vista print offers free online business cards that you can easily suggest to your conference attendees.
2. Conference Handouts: Post a QR code somewhere in the meeting room of your next conference or event and participants can scan the session handout into their smart phone.
3. Vendor Brochures: Tradeshow vendors that would like to save money and trees could print only a few copies of their brochure to put on display, and have a QR code that directs attendees to an online version of the brochure. This also helps cut back on the amount of extra material attendees have to carry around.  
4. Event Survey/Evaluation: Post the QR code to the evaluation form on the session screen and attendees can immediately provide feedback for the session they just attended.
5. Event Promotion: post a QR code on your event brochure and share it on your social networks.

 

How have you incorporated QR codes at your events?

 

Read these additional articles on QR codes at events:

Six Reasons Why You Should Use QR Codes for Your Next Event


 Get Noticed at Your Next Event with QR Codes

 

5 Tips to Running Your Internal Planning Meetings

Meeting planners hold planning sessions with the intention of getting business done quickly, but most of the time there is nothing quick about it. But planning a successful event requires regular meetings among the staff responsible for planning the event. Keep your next planning session on track with these tips:

1. Keep the amount of attendees small, about 5-10 staff members. If you have more, try breaking into small groups. 
2. If there is a “Dominator” in the meeting—a staff member who talks too much, too loud or over others—be direct with them by telling them that they have had their turn and it is time to let the others speak.
3. You can also give the dominator a task, such as taking notes, to keep them busy and feeling productive.
4. To engage the quiet ones in the meeting, ask them direct questions like “John, what is your opinion on this matter?”
5. Schedule the meeting to end at lunch time. If participants know that there is a specific amount of time available for the meeting, they will get their point across quickly and the meeting will end on time.

Check out these articles for more info about small meeting management: 

Meeetingsnet.com

CNN

Meetingsnet.com Blog

How do you keep your planning meetings on track?