It’s not often 111 million people turn their attention to the same thing at once, but come Sunday a good chunk of America will tune in and watch the New York Giants smack down the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time in four years.

Of course, many will be more interested in the commercials than the actual game, and with 30 second slots costing an exorbitant $3.5 million, advertisers will be looking to make the most of their spend. And as any savvy marketing pro on Madison Avenue knows this means spreading the messages socially long after their the TV spot concludes.

This year the method will be particularly effective because 60 percent of viewers are expected to be connected to a “second screen,” a smartphone or tablet, where they’ll text or interact with friends on Twitter or Facebook.

More than 70 commercials will air during the Super Bowl making competition fierce, so many have already released their ads on YouTube sparking viral reactions. For the first time ever USA Today’s Ad Meter will allow viewers to vote for their favorite commercial via Facebook. As fans anxiously await the rematch between the Giants and Patriots, one thing that is certain – it’s expected to be a “second-screen” Super Bowl.

Coca-Cola 

This year Coca-Cola plans to introduce the world to their new brand ambassadors, computer animated polar bears. Following their ad, the bears will come to life on Twitter, Facebook and Coke’s own dedicated bear site CokePolarBowl.com. They’ll watch the game in real-time, comment on the half time show and even respond to fans via their Twitter hashtag #GameDayPolarBears. They’re also expected to remark on other advertisements it’ll be interesting to hear their responses to competitor’s commercials.

Pepsi

Not to be outdone by their polar bear counterparts, Pepsi has plans to prompt viewers to interact with their advertisements. The company’s commercials will feature a performance by “X Factor USA” winner Melanie Amaro. During it, viewers will be prompted to “Shazam” (capture audio from the commercial) her song for an opportunity to download the video for free.

Audi 

Perhaps feeling the pressure to answer Volkswagen’s celebrated Darth Vader themed spot from last year, Audi’s commercial for Super Bowl XLVI is Twilight inspired. The company will highlight the force of Audi’s LED headlight technology which has dire consequences on a pack of young partying vampires. The company hopes to keep the buzz alive through the unveiling of its Twitter hashtag #SoLongVampires.

Chevy

The release of Chevy’s smartphone Game Time app is already causing a social stir. Individuals can play on their phones, tablets or even through their site: chevy.com/gametime for a chance to win prizes courtesy of Chevy, Bridgestone and Motorola. Those who download and register before February 6 will receive a code; if it matches one of the license plates in Chevy’s ads during the game, they’ll win one of 20 vehicles being given away.

A scant three months after Apple released its iPhone 4S, the debate over how the device’s speech –recognition personal assistant, AKA Siri, will change search is in full effect.

Siri, which can do everything from taking dictation for text messages to writing emails and scheduling meetings, has left digital marketers wondering how it will change online search behavior and what, if any, effect it will have on traditional SEO techniques.

The issue will only be compounded further in the coming years as mobile searches are expected to increase from nine percent to 20 percent of total queries by 2012, according to recent report from researchers at RBC Capital Markets. As mobile searches and voice recognition technologies gain popularity, the following marketing strategies can help companies increase the likelihood of ranking at the top of mobile search results:

Optimize social profiles

In some instances, Siri’s search results have nothing to do with a company’s current organic and pay-per-click rankings. For example, when searching for a venue, Siri’s search results are based upon a searcher’s physical location and data from Yelp. Because of this Siri won’t be sending customers your way even if your business ranks number one for “best local food.”

Advice: To better your chances of becoming one of Siri’s suggested answers focus efforts on strengthening content on geographically-based applications such as Foursquare, Facebook Places, Google Reviews and Yelp.  As Yelp recommendations are embedded within Siri’s current software, it’s recommended that companies optimize these profiles in order to target to mobile searchers.

Interact with customers

Simply setting up a profile on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks isn’t enough to spark communication in today’s digital age. Rather, businesses need to provide open communication with customers to establish an online presence.  Apple is reportedly working on Siri’s application programming interface, which will ultimately be the  protocol through which Siri would interact with other services (ie. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and apps. Be ready!

Advice: Research the applications your competitors use to interact with their audience and ensure you have a strong representation on these because soon Siri will be operating just about everywhere. Following this, be sure to monitor the activity your social networks receive and respond to customer feedback – both positive and negative.

Earn customer reviews

Companies looking to rank high on mobile search results should focus on acquiring genuine reviews by building an online fan base. Offer customers reasons to use your services through special discounts, incentives and most importantly, high-quality customer service.

Advice: Encourage customers to review your services online. While this is the most time consuming marketing tactic, it is also the most influential to Siri SEO. Review-based websites such as Yelp and Urban Spoon have installed monitoring systems to block businesses from posting spam or stuffing inauthentic reviews on profile pages.

Create a mobile site

 This isn’t newsworthy advice, yet many companies have withheld developing a mobile version of their website for one odd reason or another. But as mobile searches are expected to grow exponentially in the upcoming years, the clock is ticking. Thankfully, creating a mobile site is quick and easy with publishing platforms such as WordPress and Drupal.

Advice: When designing the site, clearly feature your business’s contact information and operating hours directly from the homepage. This will improve Siri’s chances of locating the pertinent information to deliver to its searchers, and in turn help deliver customers to your doorstep.

Claim your business listing

The quickest and simplest way to enhance your rankings in mobile search (and online) is to list your business through the main search engines: Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Advice: Registering is free and some allow companies to add photos and videos to help personalize their advertisements.

Smartphone users are expected to download an astonishing 44 billion mobile apps within the next five years alone, and with only 600,000 or so iOS apps available today, it’s a safe bet you can expect a deluge of new arrivals in coming years.

So, after the challenge of creating, designing and developing an app is complete, the next logical step is figuring how to get noticed – and a climb to the top of the app search results is just about the best you can shoot for.

But how?

As with traditional search engine optimization (SEO), the foundation for success at the App Store begins with an algorithm. In this case, understanding how Apple’s algorithm functions is paramount.

Unfortunately, these algorithms aren’t as advanced as major search engines (Google) and in some cases functions quite differently. However, for those interested in learning its intricacies, the following crash course in App Store Optimization (ASO) is a great start.

Name your app

Much in the same way a title tag functions in the world of SEO, the name of an app is arguably the most important App Store ranking factor. Avoid including highly competitive, general keywords in your title. Instead, use descriptive keywords that illustrate your app’s theme. To coincide with this, if your app works in conjunction with another app  be sure to include their name within your title. This will ensure your application will be displayed within brand searches. For example a search for “Spotify” displays third-party tools (such as a remote and search function) that users can use alongside the popular music streaming service.

Research your keywords…carefully

As online marketers know, there are many free tools to help assess the competitiveness and search volumes for keywords. Targeting long-tail, descriptive keywords are usually easier to rank for than general, highly-searched keywords. But, how do these tools speak to the rankings within the App Store? A new tool, the App Store Optimization Keyword Volume Estimator, has the answer. It can give developers an idea of keyword difficulty as it translates to the App Store world.

Enter your app’s URL and some competitor’s URLs and the software analyzes the metadata of their apps and makes recommendations on which keywords to implement. As of now, the tool relies on third-party data (from sources such as Google Trends, AppStoreHQ, etc.) to derive search volume.

Note: Apple treats the singular and plural version of words differently. Searches for “vacation” and “vacations” will show two separate lists of search results.

Optimize your content

Although restricted to just 100 characters, the keywords field is essential to your search results. Apple states search results are pulled from both the company’s name and app name, so it’s not necessary to include brand terms within your keywords. As with titling your app, be sure to include terms that effectively describe what your app does. Do not stuff keywords within the description field. Apple has never stated rankings are determined based on the keywords within a description, and a spammy looking description can drive potential customers away. Include reviews from notable sources in your description and present your services in a bulleted easy-to-digest format. Finally be sure to include five screenshots which showcase and sell your product to consumers.

Popularity rules

Ultimately, nothing will drive an application to the top of search results faster than becoming the next big thing. Apple not only takes into account the number of downloads an app receives, but it also looks at install trending. The number of devices which have installed your app is noted, but a significant spike in downloads within a short time frame proves to be the biggest influencer on one’s ranking. Further, Apple monitors users’ satisfaction based on reviews, the amount of times your app is used, and the amount of times your app is uninstalled.

Choose your availability date wisely

Your availability date – the day your app will be made available for purchase on the App Store – can provide immediate exposure to millions of iTunes users via a special “just-released apps” list.

When submitting your app, choose an availability date two weeks in advance and check your approval status daily. If you’re still in pending approval status, push it back a day.

A common mistake made when submitting apps for approval is selecting the next day as one’s target availability date. Many believe this will only speed their app’s approval process. However approval times will take two weeks regardless.

Because of this many apps are released after their assigned availability date, which removes any chance of being featured on the “just-released app” list.