advertising | SEO & Social Media MarketingSEO & Social Media Marketing

Are you using the right bait?

March 12, 2011
Internet Marketing, SEM, SEO
No Comments
advertising, Internet Marketing, search engine optimization, SEO

Are you fishing in the right pond?

Sales pros often use metaphors such as these to describe the selling process. The “bait” is typically advertising or promotional offers that get people’s attention. The “pond” might represent a demographic or an advertising channel.

The point being that if we catch the attention of people who may be interested in our offer, we stand a better chance of landing those “big fish”.

Okay, enough of the fishing metaphors, but the idea holds true with our websites and online, marketing efforts. The big difference is that to reach people who are searching for our products or services, we must first attract the search engines and literally sell them on our offer.

Unless Google (and Bing, Yahoo, etc.) see the value in our website for our particular keyword phrases, no prospective customers will ever discover our remarkable offer.

This is what a well implemented search engine optimization strategy will do for you. It get’s Google’s attention, and searches for your keywords means that your website will be listed above other sites. Page one of Google search results means traffic to your website. There is little difference between being listed on page two - or page two-hundred-thousand.

Fish where the fish are!

Oops, I lied about the fishing metaphor, but you’ll forgive me when you realize how important the message really is. We’re in business and our first priority is to sell somebody something. Today, consumers search online before they shop. If we don’t capture their attention online, they will never walk into our store – or call us on the telephone.

Doing business in 2011 requires that we have a website that attracts search engine spiders and provides unique, quality information to site visitors. SEO is imperative! It is no longer optional; it is more important than having a business phone.

If you get this… get my book. You’ll thank me for it some day! Seriously, can you possibly imagine what having your website on page one of Google would mean to your business?

Content is still king!

January 27, 2011
Internet Marketing, SEO, Social Media
No Comments
advertising, Internet Marketing, SEO & Social Media Marketing Book, Social Media, videos

In the early days of Internet marketing, the mantra of “Content is King” was accepted by every knowledgeable web marketer. The basics never change.

Possibly one of the best examples of good quality content becoming viral is this video. The creators didn’t have a budget for promotion, or a seven-figure Hollywood spokesperson hyping it – they merely created quality content.

When all of the search engine marketing tactics are stripped away and the advertising dollars are exhausted, the only thing that remains is the quality of the content you produced. Whether it is a video, an article or merely a blog post, if the content stands on its own, it will be discovered and shared. That sharing process is the driving force behind social interaction online.

Who could watch this video and not love it – or at the very least appreciate the message and the presentation. It begs to be shared, just as I am doing with you now via this blog post. And yes, I’ll also talk about this on my Facebook page and Tweet about it.

Content was, and always will be king!

Creating interesting content about your products or services will eventually attract people to your website. Creating exceptional content will encourage those visitors to share their discovery with others in their network of influence.

Admit it, you will probably tell someone you know about this video. The social sharing buttons are just below this post, so go ahead and share. And if you really want to do your business associates a favor, tell them about my book. You can make them feel good with this video and you just might help their business survive this depression if they learn about the quality content in the SEO & Social Media Marketing Guide.

Go ahead; do your friends a favor…share this.

2011, Zodiac luck or purposeful SEO?

December 30, 2010
Marketing Guide, SEO, Social Media
1 Comment
2011, advertising, SEO & Social Media Marketing Book, Social Media

2011, Year of the Rabbit?

A few thousands of years ago, some well-meaning Chinese fellow decided that 2011 would be the year of the rabbit. Heck, he didn’t even own a computer or know anything about Google. The world has changed a little since he chiseled our future on a clay tablet. Today, much of our world is ruled by Google – not the planets.

Unfortunately, no lucky charms or planetary positioning of the Zodiac will have an effect on how your website ranks with Google. If you want good fortune to smile upon your business in 2011 you will need to employ SEO tactics and reinforce it with a social media strategy.

2011 New Year Resolution

Most of us use the New Year as a psychological trigger point to make personal improvements like losing weight or getting in shape. I would suggest that you make a unique personal resolution for 2011. Give yourself a gift that can make your wallet gain weight and your customer list swell.

Make the commitment to invest the time to make your website work! It is your strongest marketing asset, but only if it is optimized to be search engine friendly. If your web presence is optimum, you can reduce your advertising budget and put the dollars you save into your business (or in your wallet) wherever it will do the most good.

Talk the talk of SEO

Learn to speak the language of search engines in 2011. When you use the right words, they respond and treat you more kindly than your competitors. The search engines want to reward you with better search results, but you must convince them of your site’s value…and you must speak their language.

Make your 2011 New Year’s resolution to get the definitive guide to SEO & Social Media Marketing. Do something for yourself and do something for your business, get optimized and get found!

Wait! You don’t need to wait for 2011, download the book now and get a jump on making 2011 your best year ever!

Cable TV suffers biggest decline in 30 years

November 18, 2010
Internet Marketing, SEM, SEO, Social Media, Technology
3 Comments
advertising, search engine optimization, SEO & Social Media Marketing Book, seo for small business

So why is cable TV a newsworthy topic on an Internet marketing blog?

Because it illustrates another factor in the accelerating trend of consumers going online for virtually everything they want; news, weather, sports, movies, games, shopping, banking, investing and networking with family, friends and business associates. (See report from Financial Times)

Let’s face it, small businesses struggling to survive in this challenging economic climate simply don’t have the time to keep abreast of trends in technology. The paradox is that occasionally those technological developments may offer the one thing that could cause the business to thrive.

In other words, if you knew that hordes of potential customers were to congregate in one place for a public event, would you not consider an advertising buy that would reach those targeted prospects? Of course you would, it makes sound business sense and is good utilization of your advertising budget.

Small Business Survival Plan

This is exactly what a well-implemented search engine optimization and social networking plan can do for your business. When a prospect searches for your products or services, your website appears in the organic search results. This is the same as advertising your message to that horde of potential customers we mentioned above except they’re not all in one place or searching at the same moment.

The BIG difference between advertising to the crowd and targeting that one buyer is cost. It takes serious money to blast an advertising message to the general public, but it only takes some time and $39 to be able to attract prospects at the exact moment they are ready to buy. This is what SEO and Social Media Marketing can do for your business; help you attract serious buyers without needing to spend the money advertising to the drive-by public.

My book, the SEO & Social Media Marketing Guide, is geared to small business. It’s written in plain English, not technobabble. It explains what you need to do and why it is important, and then shows you step-by-step how to perform each task.

Possibly the most important benefit of SEO is that once in place, it can literally work forever. I have websites that get thousands and thousands of unique visitors every month without spending one penny on advertising or promotion. Once you have optimized your web presence you can focus on the other things that need attention, like running your business. Or maybe you might want to watch some TV.

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