Quora is one of my favorite sites for reading & discovering great info on various topics. Why? Because of it's simplicity, the community dynamic and the ability to get credible information directly from sources I'd otherwise never have a chance to interact with anywhere else. (I've asked questions & received replies from the likes of Dennis Crowley, Ashton Kutcher & one of the original developers of Photoshop) I'm also a fan of being able to vote answers up or down; letting you weed through the junk very quickly.

Here's a simple explanation of Quora, from CrunchBase, if you're not familiar with the site:

Quora, founded in June 2009, first launched in private beta in January 2010.

Quora is a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it. The most important thing is to have each question page become the best possible resource for someone who wants to know about the question.

One way you can think of it is as a cache for the research that people do looking things up on the web and asking other people. Eventually, when you see a link to a question page on Quora, your feeling should be: “Oh, great! That’s going to have all the information I want about that.” It’s also a place where new stuff–that no one has written about yet–can get pulled onto the web.

Quora also continues to add new features, such as the ability to create F.A.Q sections, boards (think Pinterest) & the ability to add video to it's Q&A boards.

Besides the hordes of brilliant content within Quora, another way the site can help you is it's ability to rank within search results. Google plays nicely with Quora because of how fresh the content is and because it's generated from authentic sources.

You should be able to rank using the Q&A feature within Quora - our link jumped quickly, after just one post. Click image to enlage.

Anyone else using Quora? What are your thoughts?

What were the most Googled cars in 2011?

Hat tip to VJ for this gem.

Source: Most Googled Cars Of 2011

What were the most Googled cars in 2011?

Hat tip to VJ for this gem.

Source: Most Googled Cars Of 2011

Whether you've already created a Google Plus Business page for your dealership or plan on doing so eventually, here's two simple things you can do to help make sure it stands out. One is for esthetics, the other for search. 

G+ Business pages allow for a profile image and five window panes to display images from your scrapbook. Why not dress it up a bit? 

Use this tool to create custom profile images with G+ banners, logos and landscape shots for the window panes: Make Google Plus Banners

Once your page is set up, be sure to add a link to your site in the about page. You'll need a link on your G+ page pointing to your website and then from your website back to your G+ page to complete the loop required to have your page indexed properly and included within Google Direct Connect. (G+ Pages don't have custom URL's)

You'll also need to confirm ownership of your G+ page by adding a short snippet of code to your website. Just as Google created the new "author" attribute for individual G+ pages, they also created the "publisher" attribute for these pages.

Get the proper attribute information and the G+ badge code snippet here: Google Webmaster Tools - Google+ Pages

I hear a lot of people wish they had set up their other social properties much earlier. (Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn) - here's your chance to plant a few seeds early.

Enjoy.

Whether you've already created a Google Plus Business page for your dealership or plan on doing so eventually, here's two simple things you can do to help make sure it stands out. One is for esthetics, the other for search. 

G+ Business pages allow for a profile image and five window panes to display images from your scrapbook. Why not dress it up a bit? 

Use this tool to create custom profile images with G+ banners, logos and landscape shots for the window panes: Make Google Plus Banners

Once your page is set up, be sure to add a link to your site in the about page. You'll need a link on your G+ page pointing to your website and then from your website back to your G+ page to complete the loop required to have your page indexed properly and included within Google Direct Connect. (G+ Pages don't have custom URL's)

You'll also need to confirm ownership of your G+ page by adding a short snippet of code to your website. Just as Google created the new "author" attribute for individual G+ pages, they also created the "publisher" attribute for these pages.

Get the proper attribute information and the G+ badge code snippet here: Google Webmaster Tools - Google+ Pages

I hear a lot of people wish they had set up their other social properties much earlier. (Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn) - here's your chance to plant a few seeds early.

Enjoy.

Nicely organized side-by-side comparison of Google+ and Facebook. Click image to expand.

Nicely organized side-by-side comparison of Google+ and Facebook. Click image to expand.

Everyone knows how powerful Word of Mouth marketing is. It's about to get an incredible shot in the arm thanks to the new social graph features within the upcoming Timeline profile.

Facebook's goal is to let you share every facet of your life with anyone and everyone you care to. Sure, on a personal level we may not be in interested in all of this activity (hello lists) - but from a digital marketing perspective, this is just huge. 

One of the activities users will be able to share is that new car they just bought. (When, where, who they were with, description & share a photo) Should be a fun feature to leverage. 

Click image to expand

Everyone knows how powerful Word of Mouth marketing is. It's about to get an incredible shot in the arm thanks to the new social graph features within the upcoming Timeline profile.

Facebook's goal is to let you share every facet of your life with anyone and everyone you care to. Sure, on a personal level we may not be in interested in all of this activity (hello lists) - but from a digital marketing perspective, this is just huge. 

One of the activities users will be able to share is that new car they just bought. (When, where, who they were with, description & share a photo) Should be a fun feature to leverage. 

Click image to expand

Another wonderful infographic showing how businesses are using Facebook. As more business solutions such as Google Plus for businesses, social eCommerce tools and mobile pay wallets gain momentum; social retention will shift even more towards social acquisition. 

Click image to expand.