Archive for the ‘Promoting Your Biz’ Category

5 Myths Of Online Marketing – Part 2

By: Ryan Freeman

We’re back for part two of the list I began yesterday [link to first post], talking about our Top 5 Online Marketing Myths.

3. Search Engines Are Your Friend

clip_image002Myth: Search engines are the best thing to happen to business owners – cancel all other advertising!

Background: Many business owners think that search engines exist to promote the interests of website owners by providing a steady stream of traffic. They view search engines as the saviour of small businesses – a reliable source of endless free business leads.

Fact: A search engine’s only responsibility is to the user – not the website owner. As above, search engines live and die on their ability to provide the most relevant results to a user, thereby creating loyalty and trust in the user. If the results are not relevant, the user might switch to a different engine (just ask Yahoo! how that works).

Best Practice: Enjoy the traffic you get from the search engines, and keep working to maintain or increase the flow of leads. Seek to diversify your traffic sources. Remember that a search engine has no loyalty or responsibility to you, so the moment your competitors position themselves as being more relevant, they will get your traffic. Don’t become complacent or you will lose market share – and the search engines will offer no sympathy or comfort.

4. Meta Tags Are The Secret Sauce

Myth: If I cram the right keywords into meta tags often enough into the pages of my site, I will rank higher in the search results.clip_image004

Background: Like keyword density, this fable keeps hanging around, likely because it, too, offers a simple and easy solution to the complex problem of search rankings. A decade or more ago, search engines placed some weight on the values in the “keywords” and “description” meta tags on a Web page. The meta tags are not visible to users of the website, but provided some contextual information for the robots crawling the site. As you can imagine, this was quickly exploited – and quickly devalued.

Fact: Search engines ignore the “keywords” tag. So should you. Stuffing it full of off-topic, repeated permutations of your generic keywords won’t help you, but it might hurt if you’re flagged as a spammer. The “description” tag won’t help with rankings, but can certainly help attract clicks as this descriptive text is often used to form your listing in the search results.

Best Practice: Write short, inviting descriptions of two or three sentences, including the key phrases targeted so that your listing will appear more attractive to a search engine user. As with keyword density, if your software or search marketing consultant focus is on meta tags, it’s time to cut your losses and run.

5. A No. 1 Ranking Is The Key To Riches & Success 

clip_image006Myth: If I can rank number one for “lawyer,” my law firm will have customers lined up for eternity.

Background: It’s true that having a number-one ranking on a search engine will drive much more traffic than a lower ranking, but as search terms become increasingly longer, it’s more and more important to focus on ranking for specific and relevant terms, not just one-word generic queries. If you’re practicing real estate law, it won’t do you any good to have a stream of traffic looking for a good DUI attorney. Additionally, ranking for obscure terms is vanity if no one is searching for those phrases.

Fact: Keyword research is an essential first step in building a website. Before the design, before the content, you need to know what phrases are best for you to target. There are several free keyword research tools available online to help you build a suitable list.

Bonus Fact: No ethical search marketing firm will guarantee search engine rankings, simply because no one can guarantee the behaviour of a third party – in this case, the search engine. Often the firms that promote guaranteed rankings will also mandate that they get to select the keywords. This leads to money being wasted on irrelevant, low-competition keywords where ranking is more easily achieved but is of little value.

Best Practice: Research your targeted keyword phrases at the beginning of your project and continually expand and revise your list. Target more generic (but relevant!) terms on the top-level pages and more specific terms on sub-pages of your site. By siloing your content, you will paint a thematic picture for the search engines, rank for the appropriate terms and provide a better experience for the user – which leads to more conversions and a profitable business.

Truth be told, this topic could easily be expanded into a twenty-post series dealing with myth and misinformation, but it’s my hope that the points I’ve outlined here will help you avoid costly mistakes and the occasional snake oil salesman.

Got questions or disagreements? What are your favourite SEO myths? Post your responses in the comments below.

 

 

Ryan Freeman is a fifth-generation small business owner and the founder of Strider Inc., an online marketing firm providing SEO consulting and online marketing strategies for businesses and non-profit groups. You can contact Ryan through the Strider Inc. website, email or by phone at 800-314-8895.

Posted by Lynnette in Promoting Your Biz on January 28th, 2010

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5 Myths Of Online Marketing – Part 1

By: Ryan Freeman

In my line of work, I am blessed to encounter many businesses of all shapes, sizes and varieties. From Mom-n-Pop retailers to international manufacturers, there are some truths that invariably apply when it comes to online marketing. When it came time to pick a topic for this post, I thought: “Does the world really need another ‘Intro to Web Marketing’ post?” When barely half of all small businesses even have a website, I think the answer is clear.

There is much that can be said to explain what online marketing is, but for this post I want to talk about what is isn’t. And so, based on conversations with clients over the past fifteen years, here is my list of the Top 5 Web Marketing Myths.

1. Keyword Density

clip_image002Myth: It is essential to have “keyword density” on each page of X%.

Background: The myth of keyword density is one that just doesn’t seem to go away. No matter how many times it is discounted, keyword density keeps resurfacing in cheap ebooks and low-grade SEO tools. I think this particular myth has survived for as long as it has simply because it creates an easy and understandable metric for people new to SEO, regardless of its effectiveness.

Fact: Using Google as an example (because they do deliver up to 80% of North American Web search traffic), there are reportedly hundreds of factors, each weighted differently, with the weights being adjusted daily. If you spend your time trying to find the right trick for today’s algorithm, you’re just putting yourself further behind tomorrow, as your competition invests in proven long-term strategies. Also, content written with keyword density in mind does not have a natural flow and will usually appear awkward to readers.

Best Practice: Build relevant and topical content that engages users, on a site that is well structured and easily crawlable by the search engines. Even if keyword density was a reality, it’s no good to you if your site is blocked by flash, forms or bad coding. If you come across any SEO “gurus” or software packages that advise a target keyword density, ask for your money back and run.

2. Search Engines Are The Enemy

clip_image004Myth: Search engines are adversaries that must be deceived.

Background: It’s not uncommon to see business owners frustrated by what they perceive to be a lack of justice on the part of the search engines. Of course, to the business owner, the “injustice” is ranking a competitor higher in the search results. No matter that the competition has a professionally developed website with engaging content and links from authoritative sites, while the offended business relies on  a site built by the owner’s fourteen-year-old nephew who’s really good at video games.

Fact: Search engines live and die on relevance. They are not able to suggest which is the better business, but rather, they offer results in order of relevancy to the searchers’ query. For the most part, that relevance is determined based on what clues you offer up in your site’s content and structure, along with the references to your site in links on other sites.

Best Practice: Don’t try to fool the search engines by playing dirty tricks like stuffing keywords in the text, or hiding type on the page. Not only will you be creating a poor experience for your potential customers (and likely driving them to your competitor’s professionally crafted site), but you run the risk of being penalized or banned by the search engines for employing spamming tactics. Instead, make sure you have your Web pages grouped into themed “silos” of information and write in a way that matches the searcher’s terminology. The more you can appear naturally relevant, the higher you will be ranked by the search engines – without the potential downfalls.

Tune in tomorrow for the three remaining Online Marketing Myths. In the meantime, let me know what you think about the first two in the comments below.

 

Ryan Freeman is a fifth-generation small business owner and the founder of Strider Inc., an online marketing firm providing SEO consulting and online marketing strategies for businesses and non-profit groups. You can contact Ryan through the Strider Inc. website, email or by phone at 800-314-8895.

Posted by Lynnette in Promoting Your Biz on January 27th, 2010

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Is social media a trend that’s too big for your business to ignore?

If it felt like everyone was talking about Twitter last year, it wasn’t your imagination. According to the Global Language Monitor, which documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language, Twitter was the top word of 2009, beating out other trendy words like H1N1, 2.0, Deficit and, of course, Obama.

That’s not all. According to Nielsen Online, Twitter grew 1,382% – and that was just from February 2008 to 2009! Other social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn also saw impressive growth.

Forrester’s Nate Elliott says the social craze is here to stay and Canadians are the world leaders in embracing it. In fact, he says 57% of us use social networks like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn at least once a month. (Americans are second, trailing at 51%.)

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Okay. So how does all this twittering, facebooking and linking in impact your business?

It turns out some Canadian marketers like Vancity and Molson have been using social media for 3 or 4 years. For the rest of us—social networking newbie’s—we have some catching up to do.

Forrester developed a cool tool your business can use to better understand your customers who use social media. Check it out here.

And the Harvard Business Blog’s David Armano, offers some additional insight with his six social media trends for 2010:

1. As networks continue to fill with noise, more will allow users to select the chatter they most want to hear.

2. Most companies will use social technology to find effective ways to serve customers more economically.

3. Businesses will become more savvy at providing incentives to increase activity within their networks.

4. Companies will formalize how their employees can—and should—use social media network to interact directly with customers.

5. As many organizations ban social networks on work PCs, smartphones will become the social media vehicle of choice.

6. Email sharing will become so ‘Year 2000’ as more websites allow users to share information directly through networks—why email when you can tweet?

What’s your experience with social media been like? How do you plan on taking advantage of the power of social networks in 2010?

Posted by Lynnette in Promoting Your Biz on January 26th, 2010

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Tara Hunt is all about inspiration in ‘10.

“…If your job is to dance, do your dance… If the divine cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed for just one moment through your efforts, then olé. And if not, do your dance anyhow and olé to you nonetheless….just for having the … stubbornness to keep showing up.”

– Author Elizabeth Gilbert at TED, on finding inspiration

A 21st century renaissance woman if ever there was one, Tara Hunt is an entrepreneur, pioneer of Web 2.0, public speaker, author, mom, admitted karaoke addict, Twitter-holic and one of Fast Company Magazine’s most influential women in technology.

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Tara Hunt

And if she could wish for one thing in 2010, it’s probably as much inspiration as she can muster. We caught up with her during a quick timeout from her computer.

“I write business books. You’d think that’s pretty straightforward,” Tara says. “You have the research, you fill in the blanks. But it takes me so long to get that piece of inspiration. And usually it’s at the worst possible time. I’ll be grocery shopping and I have to rush home so I can get in front of my computer and start typing.”

What’s she’s typing about these days is her message to businesses to think a little less about what they can get out of online social communities and a lot more about what they can contribute.

It’s something she’s dubbed “the Whuffie Factor” in her last book of the same name. It’s social capital, or a culture of generosity that can’t be measured in ROI or PR, but in loyalty, trust and admiration from customers.

It’s not a new idea. First nations of the Pacific Northwest called it “potlatch” and it was a central part of their culture.

“A chief gave riches away so that when it came time for him to rally tribes against invaders, they reciprocated because they admired him so much,” Tara explains. (A modern day example of this kind of fierce loyalty? Maybe ask an Apple customer why s/he owns a Mac or iPhone.)

Tara offers inspiration of her own.

So while Tara toils on her latest book, we asked her for how small businesses can start using social media tools like blogging to create and nurture a generous corporate culture and build social capital in 2010. It turns out it’s something like putting together a cultural business plan.

1. Define the culture you want. What’s your company about, what’s its higher purpose? Who are your customers and how can you make them happy?

2. Align your company to that culture. Build your team with people committed to the same goal: to deliver an experience that makes your customers happy. Think about what you can give them, instead of what you want from them. Be real, she says. Your customers can smell fakeness a mile away.

3. Learn and be patient. Developing your own social capital will come together over time. You’ll learn and make mistakes and you’ll need to be patient. You won’t be able to measure this through traditional ROI. What you’re looking for is a way to gain power and loyalty by giving. The getting will get there soon enough.

What steps can you start taking right now to make your customers happy in 2010?

Posted by Lynnette in Promoting Your Biz on January 7th, 2010

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Put your best blog forward

“Your website is the front door, your blog is the board room table.”

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between a website and a blog, this analogy from Daniel Patricio of bizlaunch.ca’s Small Biz Blog at should help clear things up.

It’s a common misconception that a blog is just another corporate website. It’s not. A blog is the conversation you have with your peers after you’ve stepped away from the website.

Patricio continues:

“The role of the website is often a destination where visitors can quickly learn about the products, people and services behind a company; however, that only serves to answer the ‘Who and What’ of the marketing mix. The blog is where people go when they say, ‘Yes, I’ve read your marketing copy but what [do] you guys really do?’”

In other words, you don’t want to use a blog to regurgitate your press releases and annual reports – that’s the job of your website. Instead, you want to use your blog as a virtual boardroom table where you can reach out to your prospects and customers on a personal level, listen, share ideas, offer expertise and build relationships.

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In Who’s There? Seth Godin’s Incomplete Guide to Blogs and the New Web,  Seth puts it this way:

“…blogging especially, is social. Not antiseptic or anonymous or corporate. This means that the writing skills you and your organization have honed aren’t going to help you much.”

In other words:

“Your business blog is to traditional communication what casual Fridays are to the suit.”

Keep in mind none of this suggests your blog’s content should be anything but professional. It simply means you ought to loosen the tie. A lot.

Seth sums things up:

“Blogs work when they are based on:

1. Candor
2. Urgency
3. Timeliness
4. Pithiness
5. Controversy

And:

“If you can’t be at least four of the five things listed above, please don’t bother. People have a choice … and nobody is going to read your blog, link to your blog or quote your blog unless there’s something in it for them.”

Ouch. But so true.

Think otherwise? Leave us a link to your blog, tell us what it’s about and what it’s doing (or not) for your business.

Posted by Lynnette in Promoting Your Biz on December 2nd, 2009

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Do you need a blog?

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

- Quote famously misattributed to former IBM Chairman Thomas Watson

Funny in hindsight. But to be fair, tons of innovations come and go. The ones that stand the test of time – which become part of what we call trends – do really transform the way we live our lives or do our work. (Think, for instance, about air travel, a mouse or mobile phones.)

I’ll go out on a limb and say social media in general and blogs in particular are here to stay. Proof (besides the fact you’re reading this one)?

· 133,000,000 – blogs indexed by Technorati since 2002

· 346,000,000 – people globally who read blogs (comScore March 2008)

 

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That’s a lot of eyeballs with the potential to discover your small business and read your big ideas.

So why not a blog?

“Building business through social media is not something most small businesses are doing very well right now,” says Roger Pierce, co-founder of BizLaunch.ca. “Like a lot of new inventions, social media holds plenty of promise yet it is failing to deliver for small business owners.”

The problem? Unlike established forms of marketing like newspaper ads or TV commercials, small business owners don’t really yet understand how to use the new technology medium – which isn’t a complete surprise since the rules are only just being developed.

So, back to my question in the header: do you need a blog? The answer is a definite maybe. As with any new marketing tactic, learn all you can then decide if you want your business to dive in.

I’ll offer more thoughts and tips on developing a blog for your small business in the next few posts. Until then, here are two great resources to get you started – if you haven’t already:

· www.bizlaunch.ca, which conducts free seminars and webinars on using social media tools like blogs to market your business.

· John Moore’s blog offers some straight talk about your social media plan.

If you’ve already launched a blog, how has it helped your business? If you haven’t, what’s stopping you?

Posted by Lynnette in Promoting Your Biz on November 27th, 2009

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