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Posts Tagged ‘seo’
Are Your Customers Finding You Online? Quick Tips From the SEO Goddess #12SMBTips
December 16th, 2011 :: Karen AxeltonJenn Mathews, SEO Goddess, President of Wappow, Inc. & Founder of Search and Social Marketing (@SEOGoddess)
So you have this great website and you’re active across social media, but you’ve just heard of this strange thing called SEO. Search Engine Optimization – it’s really important—but how can your improve search results to make sure your business remains at the forefront?
The SEO Goddess gives a few of her simple tips on how to optimize search by integrating all of your social web components.
About Jenn: Jenn is known as the SEO Goddess. She is President of Wappow!, a company focused on staying ahead of cutting edge technologies and the digital world we live in. Her passion is not only staying involved and up-to-date with the latest in search and social media marketing but to educate and help others as they enter into this ever-changing industry.
#12SMBTips
Google+How to Use Keywords to Improve Your Blog’s Search Results
December 12th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen
If you have never thought to use keyword research as a way to improve the visibility of your blog posts, think again.
Whenever we search for information online, what do we do? We do a Google (or Bing, or Yahoo) search. It makes sense, then, that if you want your blog to get found and read (and shared and commented on), you should include the keywords people are currently using in their searches.
For instance, I just did a search for web video templates for another blog post I was writing. Not only did I find companies that offer templates, but I found plenty of blog posts, articles, and videos about web videos in general and web video templates specifically in the search results.
Now, the term “web video” is a very broad keyword search term and is therefore pretty competitive. Whether you are a management consultant, graphic designer, plumber, or attorney, you’ll run into the same problem: broad keywords won’t help you get found because they are used so often.
You need to do 2 things to find better keywords: 1.) get more specific and find less competitive keywords, and 2.) hone in on those keywords that could generate huge traffic.
Let’s use an attorney as our example, because I know a bunch of super fun and very capabile attorneys who must compete in this very broad category.
Our attorney specializes in employment law; specifically litigating discrimination cases. He is writing a series of blog posts about employment law that are aimed at small businesses.
Using Market Samurai (you can download a free trial version that is good for 2 weeks), I searched “employment law” and got 47 million results. This blog post, though, is a guide for small businesses – that gets 15.2 million results –that focuses on racial disrimination – that gets just under 3.5 million results.
So you see, the more our attorney focused on keywords specific to this particular blog post, the better the chance his blog post will be found online.
To really take advantage of search engine optimization, our attorney needs to use those keywords in the title of his post, in subheadings in the body of his post, in the text itself (of course!), and in the image tags.
Try it yourself and see if it helps your blog posts generate more traffic!
Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae.
Google+5 Website Mistakes to Avoid – and How to Fix Them
October 11th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen
Because I write and edit website content on a regular basis, I am constantly running into common mistakes that everyone – small businesses, high-tech startups and well-established mid-sized companies – regularly makes. Here are the top five I see most often, along with how to fix them:
1. Keywords mushed into the content
When I write website content, I add the keywords a company wants to use for SEO once the content has been approved. I simply replace words and terms that are already there with the ones that the search engines will reward, but I always, always, always focus on readability.
If you just mush as many keywords as you can into the content with no thought about keeping the flow natural and sentences readable, you will make the content so hard to read that it’ll actually end up sounding fake and forced.
2. The “About Us” page is not about you
The About Us page should delve deeply into your company and go beyond what you do, rather than regurgitating the benefits and features of your products and services. What is your philosophy? How do you do what you do? How are you different from competitors?
You also want to briefly introduce the people who matter – the founders, the company leadership, your advisors. Their bios should be short and friendly. List their role at the company and a brief background that illustrates their expertise and experience. I also like to include some personal stuff to make them more approachable and “real.”
3. Auto-play audio or video
When you arrive at a website for the first time, do you like to be accosted by auto-play audio and video? Me neither. The worst is when you can’t even find the “stop” button and you have to scramble to turn down the volume.
Think carefully about adding an auto-play feature, as it is basically the equivalent of a salesperson who won’t shut up glomming onto you as soon as you walk through the door. No one likes to have something forced on them. Add your audio or video, but give your site visitors the option of listening to or watching it.
4. Hard-to-find contact info
There is no reason your contact information should be hidden. If you have a home office, get a post office box, but you should have your mailing address, phone number and email visibly displayed on your site.
5. Confusing site navigation
It should be super easy for your website visitors to not only find what they are looking for on you site, but also find their way back to where they started. Leave breadcrumbs scattered around by hyperlinking your logo to the home page and adding a home page button on each page. But also make sure that when they enter your services or products sections, it is easy for them to start their search over again.
Image by Flickr user Paul Downey (Creative Commons)
4 Easy Ways to Get PR Like a Pro
September 26th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen
Just because you are not a public relations expert does not mean you should avoid writing and distributing press releases. Take full advantage of getting your company’s news into the hands of bloggers, journalists and potential customers by thinking and acting like a PR pro.
Much has been written about what to include in your press release – strong headline, keywords, powerful quotes, detailed descriptions that explain the benefits of the product or service to your target market. But what what do you do with the release once it’s written? Distribute it, of course–just make sure you cover all your bases.
Here’s how:
1. Submit your press release to distribution services.
Google News and Yahoo! News should be considered different search engines. Get your content indexed in these places by submitting your press release to one of the recognized press release distribution services (see #2 below).
2. Submit your press release to important news stations.
PRWeb, PR Newswire, Business Wire, Marketwire and PrimeNewswire are the five big news stations to hit, but don’t forget about other, less popular services and free services you may be able to use. Just be sure that you have access to the main search engines and the capability to hyperlink from the press release to your site.
3. Include hyperlinks in your press releases.
Free marketing! Hyperlink relevant words that will direct users toward targeted pages. For example, if your press release is about a new product launch, hyperlink important phrases and send people to your website page that corresponds to it, reaping the rewards of search engine optimization.
4. Publish the release on your site.
Sure, you’re sending the press release to reputable distribution services, but so often companies forget to publish a press release on their own website! Stick that baby on your media page, in your blog, news feed, anything! That’s the best way to make sure it is indexed by the main part of Google.
Image by Flickr user Maurina Rara (Creative Commons)
Google+How to Write Engaging Website Content That Will Generate Leads Part 3
August 30th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen
Even though I regularly write website content for other companies without a problem, I know how hard it is to write your own copy. In fact, I struggled with mine for a month till I felt like I got it right! So, I put together a three-part series that details how to do it properly so you will connect with your target market to the point that they can’t wait to work with/buy from you.
I already covered how to define your target market and services and write your value proposition in part 1, the beginning. In part 2, the middle, I discussed what pages you need to include and in what order on your website and what to write on each page. Now, we’ll put the finishing touches on the website.
1. Write the Home Page
The home page is always the last thing I write. You need to be happy with the rest of your website content first. So, on your home page, you immediately state who your company is, who your clients are, and what you do for them. In other words, this is where your value proposition is going.
Then expand a bit on how, overall, you help your clients. The very last thing you include is a list of the products and services you offer.
2. Write Calls-to-Action
So now you have all this great content that engages your target market and gets them, well, if not excited to buy from/work with you, interested in learning more and talking to you.
To get them to take that next step and do something by adding a call-to-action (CTA) on each page that urges them to contact you via email or phone. It will read something like this: “If you are interested in taking your social media marketing efforts to the next level, contact us today.” Hyperlink “contact us” to your Contact Us page.
You might be able to use one CTA on every page, but most likely you will want to customize it a bit for each product/service page. You will also add one to the home page, and a really strong, longer one to the actual Contact Us page.
3. Integrate Keywords
Because you are going to optimize your website for search (please don’t say you are thinking about doing it – you MUST do it if you want to get found online), you need to integrate keywords into your content. I do this last.
Ask the search engine optimization expert who is working on your site to do a keyword search based on your products, services, and other industry keywords that you use and are applicable to you. Go through the list and choose the keywords that have the most relevance for you AND that get high rankings.
Now, read through your website content and make sure those keywords appear on relevant pages.
Image by Flickr user neil conway (Creative Commons)
Google+Inbound Marketing and Online Advertising: Just-Released Stats and What They Mean for Your Business
August 5th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen
I recently downloaded the just published “The Marketing Data Box,” and I found the information super useful for decisions related to online marketing. In this, the first of a two-part series, we’ll look at data on inbound marketing and online advertising; in the second, we’ll look at video marketing and mobile advertising.
So, where should you be spending your marketing dollars? Let’s begin by looking at the big picture. When it comes to marketing online, B2B and B2C businesses use:
- Websites: 88%
- Email: 84%
- Social media: 66%
- Paid search: 50%
- Banner ads: 41%
If you are still relying on traditional marketing channels like direct mail and print ads because you think that online marketing is too costly, consider these numbers:
In 2011, the average cost per lead for outbound marketing was $373, while inbound was $143.
The least expensive inbound channels are blogs, social media and SEO, so if you are using those, you are likely spending your time and money well.
The most expensive? Paid search (PPC). (The most expensive source of leads overall, by the way, is trade shows.)
Don’t count out paid search, though, because it is still less expensive than traditional marketing or advertising. If you want to try it, use these numbers to help you decide where to spend your online ad dollars:
Google’s Ad Network reaches 93.1% of Americans online, followed by Yahoo Network Plus with an 85.5% reach, AOL Advertising with 85% and Yahoo Sites with 84.5%. Facebook.com crossed into the top 10 for the first time in January 2011 with a 72.3% reach.
So if you had to choose between advertising on Google and advertising on Facebook, you’ll need to know the demographics of your target market.
According to Gallup, men (42%) are about as likely as women (45%) to have a Facebook page. However, men (63%) are 12.5% more likely than women (56%) to say they visit Google in a given week. Overall, 40% more U.S. adults say they use Google in a typical week (60%) than have a Facebook page (43%).
“The Marketing Data Box” is a quarterly series published by Watershed Publishing’s Data Insights, based on HubSpot’s data and using graphics supplied by MarketingCharts.com.
Image by Flickr user epSos.de (Creative Commons)
Google+How to Turn a Press Release Into a Marketing Campaign
May 10th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen
So your company has a big announcement to make. You’ve released a new product, added a new service, published an eBook, or launched a webinar series. Awesome! Time to tell the world, so of course one of the first things you’ll do is write a press release.
Once you have written a press release that is chock-full of interesting information that your target market will just gobble up (fingers crossed), don’t limit yourself to distributing it on PRNewswire and PRWeb and, oh yeah, posting it on your website’s news page. Go a step (OK, a few steps) further and turn it into a full-blown marketing campaign.
It’s not that hard—really. Here’s what to do (though not necessarily in this order):
Distribute on Social Media
Post your press release on Facebook, send it out to your Twitter followers, and share it with your network on LinkedIn. You’ll reach a lot of eyeballs this way, and they’re not just any eyeballs, either. They’re the eyeballs of the people who already know and like your company (and maybe you, too).
Pitch Bloggers
Now that I’ve been blogging for Tech Cocktail for a few months, I have started getting pitched directly by companies, which is not only rather flattering, but very helpful since I am the lead editor and therefore in charge of the editorial schedule. I might not be able to write about the company immediately, but anyone who takes the time to email me gets a little gold star next to their email.
If there are bloggers who cover your industry that you read and admire, go ahead and send them your press release (especially if they have a big readership!).
Include in Your Newsletter or Email Marketing
Though you may be very well connected on social media, don’t forget that we are all really busy, forget things, and don’t visit our social networks every day. On the day you publish your big announcement, we could be on vacation. So, distribute your press release in even more places by including it in your e-newsletter or creating a special email announcement.
Add Keywords
Once your press release is out there, you’ll want even more people to find it via search engines. Make sure your press release is loaded up with relevant keywords that will ensure your news pops up when people, especially prospects, are searching for information online.
Branding
Think about all the big marketing campaigns from big companies you see every day. Let’s take Gap, for instance. Their emails, postcards, print ads, online ads and in-store signage all looks the same. That’s because when it comes to marketing, consistency is extremely important. That consistency is what we call branding.
So, no matter where you distribute your press release, keep the tone of voice, style, and look in perfect sync. You should also make sure it is consistent with your overall online presence, from your website to your blog to your online ads.
Image by Flickr user Grant (Creative Commons)
Google+Social Media Analysis: Which Sites are Best for Customer Engagement, Branding, CTR, and SEO
April 27th, 2011 :: Monika JansenWith all the social media sites out there, should you be using any of them besides Facebook and Twitter for marketing your small business?
This is an excellent question, and one that I think about fairly regularly. Luckily, at some point last year I downloaded a fun data sheet, The CMO Guide to the Social Landscape, that was distributed by CMO.com.
The data sheet breaks down all the major social media sites, from Twitter to YouTube, to provide an overview of how each performs in four key categories: customer communication, brand exposure, click-through rates (CTS) and SEO.
Because Twitter and Facebook are discussed ad nauseum everywhere, I will skip those and focus on other social media sites. (But in case you are wondering—big surprise—both Twitter and Facebook received high marks for customer engagement and branding.)
In terms of customer engagement and branding, Flickr can really only help you put faces to names and “humanize” your company a bit. Click-through rates are also very low; however, Flickr is great for SEO, which surprised me. According to the guide, Flickr is
…heavily indexed in search engines, passing links and page ranks. Also helps images rank higher in Google Images and in building inbound links.
When it comes to customer communication, LinkedIn can be used to answer industry-related questions, but not for much else. Click-through rates are not that great, though the few people who do visit your site could be potential customers, and unless someone is searching for your company by name, it won’t really help with SEO either. Instead, LinkedIn is great for personal and company branding and establishing your industry knowledge and expertise.
YouTube is a great way to engage your customers with funny and/or informative videos, and if you really build and promote your YouTube channel, it is one of the most powerful branding tools available. Because videos tend to rank high in search engines, it is great for SEO. However, YouTube is not the best way to drive traffic to your website, since traffic is directed right to the videos. If you want to drive click-through rates, add a hyperlink in the video description.
Because Digg is a social news sharing site, it is not the best way to communicate directly with customers. However, it gets high marks in the other three categories. There are lots of branding opportunities, especially to promote objective press and blog coverage of your company. If you post something that becomes popular, you will see a huge spike in website traffic and links from bloggers, both of which will help with SEO. Even if your posts aren’t super popular, SEO will still be goosed, thanks to indexing.
Another social news community, which means the chances of reaching your customers are not that great. You can buy targeted ads on StumbleUpon, which is good for brand exposure, but it can get expensive. Instead, StumbleUpon excels at driving traffic to websites and SEO, because it
…enables a diverse range of people to discover your content and share links via the su.pr link shortener on Twitter.
If your story makes it to the top StumbleUpon page for its tag, SEO will be helped considerably, especially since the site’s large use baser makes it easy for people to find and link to your content.
***
What other social media sites have you found helpful for marketing online? Leave a comment below!
Image by Flickr user webtreats (Creative Commons)
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