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Black Hat or White Hat SEO?

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 02:38:00 GMT

Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short is what people are asking about when they tell me they 'want to get to the top on Google', even if they don't use those words.

There are tried and true processes to achieve good search engine visibility in a way that the search engines sanction, but there are also 'tricks' that some SEO 'experts' will use to try and achieve the same results without really following the rules that Google (and the other search engines) have in place. These 'tricks' are called Black Hat SEO after the old iconic image of the bad guy always wears black.

So why do I refer to them as 'tricks' and why do the search engines care?

Remember why people go to a search engine--they are looking for information they don't have, but need. People end up with a favorite search engine because they tend to find what they're looking for on with that search engine. If they find it is getting harder to find what they are looking for, they vote with their feet and find a new search engine. So the search engines want to keep you coming back by being as good as they can be at getting what you are looking for.

When you use Black Hat SEO tricks, you are not improving the quality of your information, nor are you improving the credibility of it. You're just trying to take advantage of the current search algorithm to get ahead of the competition. It's like taking a short cut in a race. In other words, it's cheating!

What happens when someone gets up high on Google for a search term that they are not really relavent or credible on? You, the searcher, are disappointed and look elsewhere, maybe usig a different search engine in the process.

That's why Google cares. It's in their self interest to get you to the most relevant and credible information available for your search. That's good goal alignment!

But, sometimes people do use these Black Hat SEO 'tricks'. What can Google do about it anyway? Quite a lot actually. They can remove you from their index altogether if they like. Now you don't show up at all, let alone at the top! Sometimes they are not as harsh and just force you down until you prove yourself worthy. Don't believe it happens? Read the article in the following link on the NY Times to see how they removed BMW's German site completely from the index and are more recently pushing JC Penney down from number 1 to below number 50 for millions of search terms. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13search.html?pagewanted=1&ref=general&src=me

So, what do you do to 'get to the top of Google' without falling into this trap? Work with a credible and ethical SEO firm. If they promise to get you to the top quickly, run away! They should tell you that it is a lot of work and will take time. Remember, you're trying to be the most relevant and credible source of information on the Internet for a particular search phrase. Across the entire world! Needless to say, you need to be careful when picking your topic!

Facebook – Uses and Advantages for Businesses Webinar

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:27:00 GMT

Keep March 24 open – Learn how to advertise on Facebook

Just a quick note to keep March 24 open for a special webinar entitled: “Facebook – Uses and Advantages for Businesses”.

Facebook is one of the fastest growing social networks available today. With over 350 million users worldwide, Facebook has even surpassed email as the most frequently used tool online.

At this webinar, WSI will teach you how you can leverage Facebook to enhance your brand, manage your reputation, drive more traffic to your website, generate more leads, acquire new customers and retain your existing customers. Registration details are below.

North American Market:

Topic: Facebook - Uses and Advantages for Businesses

Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT

UK/Europe Market:

Topic: Facebook - Uses and Advantages for Businesses

Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM GMT

Note: you will need to put my name, Joe Miner, to complete the registration.

I’ll send you more details as I receive them. If you have any questions, please give me a call.

Facebook Pages versus Profiles and Groups-What's what?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:40:00 GMT

So who's not heard of Facebook by now? Even my mother is using it now to keep up with her grandchildren. But it's sort of skipped a generation (that's me by the way). Odd since I'm on the computer all the time. Well, that is getting to be less and less true--Facebook is no longer just for college students (it's heritage), nor even the grandmothers out there.

According to Facebook, there are over 400 million active users and more than half of them are on Facebook every singe day. More than that, over 1.5 million businesses are on Facebook. What? Did I just change subjects--not at all. These are everything from small mom and pop operations to huge international corporations. If you think about it, it was inevitable. 400 million possible customers have a way of attracting businesses.

So how do you go about 'getting on Facebook' if you're a business? First you need to understand the differences between three different kinds of entities on Facebook: the profile, the page and the group.

Profiles are for individuals only. These are the accounts that your kids and parents have. Okay, maybe you too. They are for people to stay in contact with other people that they know or meet online. You communicate with each other and share things like photo's. It is social interaction in the 21st century.

Groups are for collections of people that organize around a common interest for discussions related to that interest. They also connect individuals like profiles, but with that topical focus.

Pages are for companies and organizations. Unlike profiles, pages are publicly viewable without logging into Facebook. Instead of 'friending' someone like you would in your profile, people can choose to be your 'fans'. These pages are there for you to promote your business, brand, message, what ever you decide. You publish updates that your fans can see.

You can setup yourFacebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and begin gathering fans. Just think, 400,000,000 possible customers!

On a note of caution, think about why someone would want to be your fan. It's probably not because they are wanting you to bury them in promotional messages. Think about what they do want and use your page for good, not evil! (Okay, I'm getting silly, but you get the point (I hope)).

How to Use LinkedIn for Business Networking

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:44:00 GMT

LinkedIn.com is an online tool for managing and leveraging your professional network. If used properly, you can use LinkedIn to generate leads for your business.

But, as will all networking, you have to work at it actively and have a plan. Otherwise you end up expending energy and time without getting the business development you hoped for.

So, what should you be doing to use LinkedIn to generate leads?

Start by deciding on your goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Who do you need to connect with to make that happen? What do they need that you can provide?
Fill out your profile with an eye towards who will be viewing it. Keep it relevant to your lead generation goals.
Make connections. Should be obvious, but many people take a wait and see attitude about building connections rather than actively pursuing connections. Any updates you make to your profile will be disseminated to your connections. The more connections, the more people see that change.
Join groups. These are both sources of connections and participate in discussions to position yourself as a thought leader.
Use the search feature to find other users that fit your target market and use your connections to make contact.
Be careful however. Don't go into full blown sales mode or you will turn people off and they will be less likely to help you in the future.
Use the question and answer portion of LinkedIn to get involved in conversations about what you have to offer. People will see these conversations and what you have to offer.
Use the 'Network Update' feature to publicize what you are doing and items of interest to your connections. In particular, publicize your blog entries to expose your network to what you are writing.

LinkedIn can be a powerful networking tool if you set good goals and use the system to develop relationships and establish yourself as a real resource.

See my February 2010 Newsletter on LinkedIn for more information.

Incoming web site links

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:28:00 GMT

I'm attending a 3 day training course on business networking this week. It's all about word of mouth business and how you go about creating networks that want to refer business to you.

In the internet world we have an equivalent thing. It's called an incoming link. That's where someone puts a link on their web site to your web site. A simple thing, yet so powerful. Think about it for a minute. That person is willing to have their vistior leave their site and go to your site. They obviously believe that you provide something of value that will be of use to that visitor.

Google pioneered using incoming links as part of their ranking algorithm years ago and it is a big reason that they have grown as big as they have. They essentially leveraged all the research and relationship building that we all have done in our lives and are now sharing through our web sites. An incoming link is a sign of trust and usefulness. That helps Google and other search engines judge the usefulness of your web site.

So as you are networking and building relationships in the real world, do the same on line. It will help your search engine rankings.

Search Engine Visibilty

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:26:00 GMT

I talk to a lot of people that want to get more traffic to their web sites. In the last post I talked about getting into the local directories on Google, Yahoo and Bing/MSN/Live so that you could show up in their map listings, both on map searches but also on general search result pages.

Today I'm going to talk about the most direct approach to building traffic to your web site. That is search engine advertisements. You've seen them on most of the search pages you get. They're the sponsored links down the right side and sometimes at the top or bottom of the page. These are paid advertisements Internet style.

Most of the people I talk to claim to never click on these links or to not even look at them. I laugh and tell them that I call that the 'National Enquirer' effect. No one admits to buying the tabloid, but they keep publishing it anyway. As for sponsored links, let me tell you that Google makes most of their money from people clicking on those links and they make a lot of money! Advertisers are using it more and more every year.

The reasons are simple. First your ad only shows up in front of interested people. You can limit it geographically, by search phrase and by other methods as well. These people are actually looking for what you offer!

Second, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Not when it's displayed, but when it's worked and someone is now sent to you web site. Here's a really interested prospect that has chosen your web site. It's up to you to make the sale, but here's a pre-qualified lead for a relatively low amount of money.

Third, you can send them to pages in your web site that relate directly to what they're looking for. You don't have to send them to your home page (although you can.) Best practice is to send them to a landing page that you've written to tie directly to your ad. So here you have an interested prospect looking at a page on exactly what they're interested in.

Fourth, you can see exactly what is going on. All of the PPC providers give you incredibly valuable data on your campaign. It is a gold mine of market research that's very focused on your market and is incredibly fresh.

There are lots of other reasons, but the real reason it's so popular--it works! And the data is there for you to verify that it is working.

So, what are you waiting for? Someone is searching for your product or service right now! Are they going to end up on your web site?

Let's Get Local!

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:46:00 GMT

Do you remember something called the "Yellow Pages?" I do and many of my clients do as well. But my 20 something son and his friends think it's just too funny for words. They have something better at their fingertips virtually all the time. It's called "the Internet." Heard of that? Of course you have.

I've gotten into the habit of asking groups I speak to a couple of questions. First, how many of you have used the yellow pages in the last week? I'll often get one or two, depending on the size of the group. Then I ask them how many of you have used the Internet to look something up in the last week. Usually every hand goes up (and it doesn't seem to matter what the average age is.)

The message is not lost on anyone in the room, nor you I suspect. The yellow pages is not dead, but it is definitely not the '600 pound gorilla' that it used to be. Some businesses still get a lot of business that way, but even those businesses are growing their Internet lead generation.

The yellow pages used to be how we all found local services. Today we get more and better information online. There are many local directories that have been working to replace the yellow pages for several years and they may be great resources for your business.

But, people have gotten used to using search engines to look stuff up and local services are in that 'stuff' category. So you need to show up when people are looking for your services. There are lots of ways to show up, but I'm only going to discuss one of them in this post. It's the local business directories of Google and Yahoo.

Both search engines display a map with a number of local businesses when you add a city name to your search. They're even starting to show them if they can figure out where you are from your IP number. The local business directories are how you get onto those maps. Both search engines offer free versions for basic listings. Yahoo has enhanced listings for monthly fees. Bing (the latest Microsoft search engine incarnation) has a version as well.

You should get your business listed in all of these directories--they're free! And the maps show up high on the search engine results pages. Always above the organic listings and sometimes at the very top of the pages. If you show up on the page one map, that's often the highest position on the page. And did I mention that it's free?

Now, just adding your business to the directory is not a guarantee that you will show on page one. You'll do better if you fill out as much of the information as you can. Try to use your primary keywords somewhere in the listings.

I also believe that the quality of your website (which should be included in your listing!) will play an important role in your placement. It's not clear that that is the case now, but I think the search engines are smart enough to figure out that people want to check out a company before doing business and today that means looking at their website. The better the website, the better the user experience and the better they feel about their search engine experience as well.

So, keep on doing what you doing and continuously improve your websites. But add the business listings as soon as you get done reading this post!

Here are the links to get you going:

Google: http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter
Yahoo: http://listings.local.yahoo.com/
Bing: https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

Related Terms for SEO

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:46:00 GMT

My daughter just got married! Going through the planning process was quite an education for everyone involved. One aspect of it all made me think about search engine visibility.

Most SEO experts will tell you that getting the right keyword phrases is the most critical and first step. You can't optimize until you decide on that set of phrases. Many things go into selecting just the right set of keywords. They have to be focused enough to give you a good chance to succeed, but not so narrow that no one searches for them.

As part of the decision process you should consider who your real competitors are and think about how they might be found. I'm not talking about other people that do what you do. I'm talking about people that provide substitutes for what you do. A simple example would be if you wanted to provide information about how to do something. People that actually perform the service are competitors, not just other providers of the information. Conversely, you are their competitor as well and can show up for search terms that they are interested in.

The wedding made me think about another way to show up in interesting searches. How about complementary services and products? People who look for wedding photographers are usually also interested in cake makers and bands and caterers and florists and the list goes on and on. Who provides complementary services and products to yours? What search terms do they want and are any of them good candidates for you to optimize on? Some may be easy pickings compared to your obvious terms!

Google page one

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:04:00 GMT

I often get this question: how much does it cost to get to the first page of Google? People definitely get that being on page one is the place to be. But the question begs many more questions and doesn't really have a straight answer. For example, to get on the first page of Google for a search phrase like "random search phrase framework for monkeys" will be much cheaper and easy than achieving it for a phrase like "Nike shoes".

So my first question back is always, "for what search term?" Unfortunately I often get an answer like "for everything about my business." At that point I often begin the education process about how search engines work. I shouldn't do that however. I'm trying to catch myself and redirect the conversation to a more productive topic such as "why do you want to do that?" Eventually I can get the conversation around to tangible business goals that would benefit from good placement on the search engine results page.

Eventually I can usually get people to ask about how I can help them sell more of some specific products to a particular market segment. Then I can tell them what I'd recommend and structure a proposal.

The thing to remember is that being number one on any search engine does not guarantee business success. You can be number one for phrases that do not generate business. How about being number one for the 'worst customer service' in your city? You need to decide what phrase can bring you business and then find versions that you can rank highly for because you produce highly relevant content about that phrase. And then you have to be able to convert the traffic that will follow.

I guess I'm trying to say that you should not fixate on a particular Google ranking. Clarify your business goal; find relevant search phrases, start advertising for those phrases for quick results, figure out how to convert that traffic into sales and then work on increasing your natural ranking using the money you make on the prior step.

Take the ego out of the equation and focus on the business results. If your competitor outranks you--so what? Out earn them and laugh all the way to the bank!

Web Site Objectives

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:18:00 GMT

I often ask my new clients why they want a web site. It's not a trick question, but I get a lot of blank stares. It seems like a fairly basic question, almost self-evident. It's that apparent obviousness that makes me ask the question. Some have a very clear idea of why they want a web site and some even have specific goals. But too few do.

A web site is like any other business tool. Get one if you need it, don't if not. It should serve a valid business purpose and be an investment that yields a return, not an expense that "you just have to do."

What are good reasons to have a web site? Try these on for size:

Be an online brochure. It can support your existing sales process just as a paper brochure would. You would point people at it with other forms of marketing such as your business card, bill boards, you name it. Online brochures can hold a wealth of information that would be hard to fit into a paper version. Many web sites perform this function well and if that is why you want a web site, that's okay.
Attract new business. This is different from the first reason in that it brings you prospects that may not have seen your other marketing efforts. This kind of web site is a more active tool in your collection than the brochure site, but it's also more difficult to do. It requires work to both attract prospects and then convert them into contact. All without you being there. You need to show up in search engines and then persuade visitors to become leads. At this level, a web site is more about marketing than sales. The prior reason was more sales oriented. This is often the type of web site my prospects ultimately end up wanting.
Sell products. This is where the web site takes things yet another step forward--it actually makes the sale you. All you have to do is deliver the product and if it's an electronic product--not even that. These sorts of web sties are called ecommerce sites and are actually online businesses. This is the modern day equivalent of catalog sales.
Customer service. This is another valid reason to have website. Your existing clients need information from you. If you can anticipate the questions, you can put the answers on line for them. I was talking to a restaurant that puts it lunch special on their web site. That way the phone calls asking about it are reduced and they can focus on the customers in the restaurant and still help out the ones that are thinking about coming if the special is appealing.

These are the most common reasons I hear about why a business wants a web site. They are all good reasons and you should have a good reason!

Testimonials

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:14:00 GMT

As part of my website redo, I have taken my own advice and asked some clients to provide testimonials. As with other forms of marketing, testimonials help your visitors see more about you from a client perspective. Your clients can (and will) say things about you that you could never say about yourself. It has been said many times that word of mouth marketing is the most powerful form. Testimonials is one way to leverage that on your web site. But don't stop there--use them wherever you can.

I also have to say that it has been gratifying to receive these testimonials. They are from clients that I have forged working relationships with over time. While I knew that they valued what I was doing for them, having them articulate it for others shows me how much they value it. To everyone that sent in a testimonial I give my very sincere and heartfelt thanks!

Web Site Analytics

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:20:00 GMT

We held our monthly webinar last week on web analytics. It just amazes me the range of information available from Internet marketing. It is one of the key differences from traditional marketing.

Take the example of one of my clients (www.Austin-All-Maids.com). I built their web site last year. Of course I installed Google Analytics throughout the site. From that I can tell them many things about the traffic on their site. We know how many visitors, how many repeat visitors and how many new visitors. We can tell what pages they came to originally (landing pages) and what pages they visited during their stay. We can tell which pages the most people 'bounced' off of and did not look at other pages. We can tell where the visitor came from geographically and where they came from referral-wise (not to mention the search terms they used to find the site.)

While that's all very helpful if analyzed properly and reacted to, there's even more. Through tracking phone numbers, we can tell how many people called because the found the website. We can tell how many called from the search engine advertising. We can even tell how many people called them from their Craig's List ad's.

Better yet, we can tell which search terms on which search engines resulted in phone calls, emails or form submissions. That let's us shift money around to take advantage of the best yielding advertising.

Finally, we automatically send a follow-up email to every price estimate requested. That email contains a coupon to encourage them to try the service out. We can tell how many people open those emails to gauge the success of that campaign.

All in all, we have a wealth of information about our Internet marketing program that allows us to intelligently improve it on an ongoing basis. Not to mention that the client feels good about the money they're spending because they can tie it to specific results. Don't you wish you could do that with all of the marketing dollars you spend?

Dressing up my website

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:15:00 GMT

There is a common saying about how the children of the cobbler don't have shoes. We all can get caught up in the day to day operation of our businesses and taking care of our customers to the point that we neglect to take care of ourselves and our own business. You would expect an Internet Marketing Consultant to have great website and these days a blog. Well, I've decided to take my own advice and redo my website and start this blog.

It's been my pleasure to work through new websites with many businesses and see how thinking about their website makes them think about their business and in particular their marketing and their core value proposition. That has certainly been true for me as I reworked this website. The value of this exercise has caused me to sharpen my messaging not just for the website, but also in my other marketing efforts.

Even this first blog entry has me thinking of all the things I want to talk about and at the same time thinking about how to stay focused and provide value. The beauty of a blog is that it develops over time--I don't have to get it all out right now! It's an ongoing discussion. I look forward to having that discussion with you!