I was having a chat with Brian Meredith of The Marketing Bureau (they are always fun and insightful). We were talking about the low levels of response people have on their websites and it inspired me to these thoughts.

There are plenty of reasons to have a website and there are even more people who are disappointed with the results from their site. The vast majority of people I talk to say they don’t get the results from their site that they hoped for but this is probably because they are looking at the wrong measure.

“I don’t get many enquiries” or I don’t get sales from my site”.  These are all too common but for service providers especially, they are unlikely to get enquiries directly.

Image, if you are considering changing accountant, finding a new business coach or starting a marketing campaign, would you search Google, find a few options and then send them an email?  Probably not because they will bombard you with emails and you are even less likely get on the phone.  If you do call them, then they are going to pitch you and try to sell you their services which is the last thing you want.

More probable is that you would find the top websites in Google, look through the sites to see if there is anything that matches what you want and take some notes.

Life and work get in the way so then you might come back to the project a few days or even weeks later and you create a short-list.

Then for reassurance, you would do a bit more research about those on the list.

And still, you don’t want to call because you don’t want to be sold to or have to arrange a meeting – you are just not ready yet.  It’s human nature – we all hate being sold to.

But you can go back to the website and do some more checks and this is the key.  The website is a non-threatening reference point.  You are free to do as much research as you like without the threat of a sales pitch or any other interaction that would make you feel uncomfortable or have to say the “N-word” “No”. Few of us like to say “No” so we don’t put ourselves in the position of having to say it.

And that is the point that so many service businesses miss. Your website is not there to sell; it is there to provide comfort and reassurance before people have to make anything like a “dangerous” move actually talking to you.

So, give people what they want – information, friendliness and warmth. Only then you can start to measure the right metric and the effectiveness of your site.

Technorati Tags: non-threatening reference point

Internet marketing for Small businesses – The most important thing you need to get higher ranking in Google.

I recently did the first round of link-building for a client. I used a variety of different marketing outlets – articles, RSS feeds, directories and a few others too.  I sent them the reports showing where the material had been submitted. And then got an email saying they had checked a good proportion of the sites but there was nothing there.  Nor had they seen anything on their Google Alerts either.  So, was the exercise worthwhile was their question?

This is a very common situation when people expect to see “a result” and want something for their money.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way with Google.  Probably the most important thing you can have when doing SEO or search engine optimisation on your site isn’t a deep knowledge of Google, link building, super secret places to get high value links or any other technical skill.

Not, it’s patience. Here’s why.

Human not robot approval
Some SEOs use fully automated tools to generate links.  These are fast but rubbish.  Make sure The submission sites I use are human moderated. That means a couple of things:
•    The submissions may not be accepted.
•    Those that are accepted will take a while to be put on the sites.
The frustration doesn’t stop there though.
•    It can take months for the search engines (SEs) to index the links.
•    Not all links are indexed and reported by the search engines.
I know this from my own experience.
I have links to my site from my own blogs so I know they have been created. Some were put up 6 months ago and they are still not showing in Google or Yahoo link checker.  But I can see them when I go to the actual blogs and other websites. I can click them and they work. SO just relying on link reports isn’t giving the full picture.

That is one reason why SEO is a numbers game – to some extent.

But it can get worse still.

Up and down like a violinist’s elbow
There’s a phenomenon called The Google Dance.  You do some SEO and see your site rise – yippee! But then your site falls again.  That’s even more frustrating.

What’s that all about huh?

It’s Google reassessing the new content on your site and the additional links coming in.  It’s seeing where it thinks your site deserves to be based on the activity so far.

They key is to keep submitting over time and there will be a cumulative effect but the result is nothing that anyone can control. The only thing you can control is the diligence to keep adding
more links – the right type and the right places.

There’s more to life than search engines
Another aspect is that link building isn’t just for SEs. It’s for real people. So having your content in more places where there’s more chance of more people finding it is the key factor.

It’s also important to realise that Google is generally the entry point to the Web for most people. Once past Google they go all over the place looking for what they are after.  Just think how you surf around from page to page and site to site.

So if someone goes to look for an article on a topic for their newsletter they may go to a number of article sites.  Once in a site they will probably look at a number of different articles.

But then they may then go to a different article site and look at yet more articles.

Have faith brother
So, SEO is  often a leap of faith in the beginning.  There are few obvious results to start with which is why the on-page is important to do to give a short-term boost. And then to keep plugging away at making regular submissions using
•    different anchor text,
•    different submission services
•    different media
•    different target pages in your site
•    different target keywords
By making a mixture it looks more natural to Google rather than a concerted effort to beat their system.

So for better Google results:

• Be sensible.
• Be consistent.
• Above all be patient

It comes down to a misunderstanding of the needs of marketing on the Internet.

People are fed the idea that by simply putting up a website, all of their marketing problems are over.  They can sit back and enjoy a steady stream of new prospects and customers but actually, successful marketing online demands an even greater effort and time than traditional marketing.

The problems start with the web design sales people who rarely explain, if hey themselves even know, what is truly involved in getting a website higher on Google.

Their function is to sell a website whereas it should be to help the client market their business better.

That might involve a website for sure but for most small businesses a big-project (read big expense) website is totally unnecessary.

The majority of the on-line marketing budget should go to ……errm marketing online.

An online marketing strategy will include market and keyword research as the first stage.

This will identify what your prospects are actually looking for.

How many times a month hey are looking for it.

Then the strength and extent of your competition.

Unless you know those three key aspects, your website is doomed to fail.

The second problem is that business owners think that once the sit is live, then the work is done.

Unfortunately, Google likes to see regular new additions to your site.  They take the view that market s are always changing so those local business owners who take the time and invest in educating their prospects, deserve to be rewarded with better rankings and getting higher in Google.

The third critical aspect is building links from other sites back to your website.  This is vital and it’s important to get the right type of link too.  For more information on links, you might find this useful – an item all about link building.

http://www.squidoo.com/seo-consultant-in-auckland-pt-4-back-links-the-most-important-part

What has all of this got to do with a car?

When you buy a car, you don’t simply drive it off the car-yard and expect that it’s going to stay that shiny, fresh and full of gas for the rest of its life.

• You clean it regularly which is like adding new content to keep you website fresh.
• You give it fuel which is adding back-links to your site because a good linking strategy provides a fuel injection of visitors.
• You service your car which is like looking at the analytics or visitor data so you can improve the performance of your site.

The fuel is the most expensive part of running your car and it’s also the one thing that you cannot provide yourself.  You have to rely on the petrol companies to source the oil, process it and then send it to your local gas station.  And so it is with link building.

You could do it yourself but it’s difficult, hard, time-consuming and requires specialist knowledge to do well.  You are best advised to engage an SEO consultant for this essential aspect of your website’s well being. It’s money well spent.

Technorati Tags: 5S SEO, Search engine optimization, seo consultant

That’s a time-tested and proven tactic but you need to use it with care and thought.

He used the example of “How to be better at time management aimed at busy execs.”

There;s definitely a need for that but almost by default, your target market isn’t going to bother looking at your lovingly crafted report simply because they are too busy.

And in all probability they aren’t going to be looking for time management stuff either – they are running around like headless chickens.

So you need to make your training available in places they may be scratching around being super-busy, getting nothing done – like industry forums or blogs.

You also need to make it resonate with them so instead of Time management for busy execs” call it “How to get your life back for execs who don’t see their family.”  That kinda thing.

What’s all that got to do with SEO?

Loads ‘cos SEO isn’t just getting higher in Google.  The real aim of SEO is to get more visitors to your site and they can come from a huge range of places, not just Google. And you need to have your “lead magnets” in lots of less obvious places too.

Go here for more search engine optimisation tips and  SEO marketing

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing, Search engine optimization, SEO

I thought the response would be helpful to other people:

“I would add too that it can be unwise to ignore low PR links for a number of reasons.

1 SEO’s main objective is to get your site in front of relevant eyes. It’s not just being higher in Google. Google is the usual entry point for folks to the ‘Net. Once past The Big G, they go all over the place which is why you need to be in loads of places, not just a single high PR place.

2 The second point is that relying on a few high PR links is a risky business. What happens if the go away? Your platform just got a bit thin. So a broad range of links makes your business more secure.

3 A broad range also looks more natural to Google rather than purely focusing on high PR sites.

4 Another key factor is where those links go to, besides how they link to you. Keywords as anchor text are vital but again, it’s a range of keywords that’s important, and, the target page within the site. Aim for a broad spread of links into your site with a range of keywords. Again it’s more natural because not everyone uses the same search phrase. For example, there are at least seven ways to use panel beater for car body repairs. Same meaning, just different words for different people. And your site needs to be using all of those search phrases.

5 Finally, it’s not only about your site. For long-term strength and business building, you want to be able to control links as well as create them. Most people look at link-building as finding places to link to. That is important as I’ve covered above but there are other strategies too that can be even stronger and longer lived, give you more flexibility and enable you to be very tightly focused in your promotions. This is a marketing approach rather than purely link-building in a technical SEO sense. But as Google makes life easier for their customers (searchers), they inevitably become more market-focused and so should you. Simply if it’s good for the customer it’s good for Google.”

The original question is here if you want to read some other interesting answers:

http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=21005&type=member&item=30572825&qid=526f04ff-99b1-478d-a5f1-2e6c9af330e9&goback=.gmp_21005

Technorati Tags: 5S SEO, Search engine optimization, SEO

Over 60% of significant local purchases for products and services, start with a Google search.

As you read this, you may feel concerned about the level of sales in your business?

You may be curious to know how people find local services these days?

Perhaps you are thinking what you do when you want to find new suppliers?

As you read more, you may be wondering if your marketing is keeping up with the times?

You begin to feel like you ought to find out more about how to use the Internet to meet your customers’ needs.

When people look in Google for a local service provider like yours, it’s because they have a real need and they want it sorted.  And the exciting thing is, they are willing to spend money to do it.

The big question is….

Where will people spend the money?

The answer is with a company on Page 1 of Google, and in all probability, the one nearest the top.  (No.1 in Google gets 41.2% of clicks).

Is that you or is it a competitor who will be getting their money?

There is no doubt in the mind of smart business owners and managers, that being at or near the top of Google is the only place to be for customers to find them.

If you’re not on Page 1 of Google, you are losing business.

I was talking to a client about how we had got their site onto Page 1 of  Google. He was delighted because before we worked together, he was way down on Page 5 and no-one searches that far in Google. In fact, 94% of people only use Page 1.

He was saying how much better he felt about his business and how many new leads he was getting now that his site was

at the top of Google.  He said, “I think back to just a few months ago before you did the site optimization work and how poorly it was working.  I was way down on Page 5.  Not only am I number 1 but I have 39 different Page 1 results.  Now I see what a difference it makes having Search Engine Optimization done to a site.“

Now, maybe you are wondering how you can have the same feeling of comfort and confidence about the future of our business.  Do you want to see your website at the top of Google?

It’s absolutely possible.

That client isn’t the only one.   There are many, in different industries and services like yours including:

retail                   B2B                         lawyers                    car servicing
engineering        training                     public speakers         air conditioning
therapists            jewelery                   garden services        furniture
coaching            real estate                auto-panel beaters    engineering
plastics manufacturing                        time management

To see how you can achieve the same success for your business, enter your name and email here for a newsletter with regular tips and ideas about staying ahead of your competitors by using the Internet better.

Claim your no-cost, no obligation 27-point website assessment by clicking the link below. Search Engine Assessment Test

Andrew Haddleton
GIG Marketing
andrew@gigmarketing.biz

Anyway, what have two fugitive, poverty-stricken, unkempt musicians got to do with smart business owners?

Good question and the answer may surprise you.

Before I get to that though, for those who haven’t seen or have forgotten the movie, I’ll quickly re-cap the plot.

The two brothers, Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) and Jake (John Belushi), were raised in a church boy’s home before going on to become blues musicians in Chicago.  One of them is released from jail and the brothers go to see the nun who had raised them because they’d promised to see her when he got out.

They discover that the school is about to be closed because it owes thousands of dollars in city taxes.  Hmm, don’t we all love those taxes huh?

Jake and Elwood decide to raise money to pay the taxes so that other boys can have a home and basic education just like they did.  The problem was, how?

They had no jobs.  No assets.  And they had no money of their own.

Someone suggested they go to see a gospel singer, played by James Brown, to get some inspiration. It’s a great scene in the movie plus some fab music too.  A big gospel choir backing JB with Chaka Khan in the choir too.

As the choir and band are in full throttle, a light shines through the church window onto Jake with “hallelujah” resonating around him.

Then he said. “The Band.  The Band.  I’ve seen the light. Let’s get the band back together.”

And that’s what happens to some business owners.

No, they don’t form a blues band but they do see the light….. about their marketing.  Specifically, they understand the need to use the Internet for their marketing because it’s where customers turn for information about local products and services.

Being smart, they look at their own behaviour when they are looking to buy a new product or service. What do they do?

•    They turn to Google first to research the potential products and suppliers.
•    Then the probably look at a video about the product on YouTube.
•    Maybe read a review or two.
•    Look at some articles or case studies to get some background so they are better informed when they speak to the sales people.
•    Perhaps see what people on Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media sites are saying about it.

Plus they know the Yellow Pages ads, newspapers and flyers aren’t working anymore. So why not use the same tools for their own businesses?

Now most of those that “get it” don’t need or want to know the ins and outs of Internet marketing. They don’t feel inadequate because they don’t understand the technicalities.  After all, they are experts at what they do, not Internet marketing.  They just know it’s the right thing to do because it’s the best way to safeguard the future success of their business they’ve worked so hard to grow and nurture.

So my question to you?

Have you seen the light?

Are your own actions unique or are they typical of over 70% of the buyers when you want to finding local goods and services?

If you know that the Internet is the way of, not just the future but the here and now, then you might be open to some new ways to market your business.  You might want to try it before your competitors see the light.

Send me an email Andrew@gigmarketing.biz or call 021 458089 to see how the light can shine on your business.

Technorati Tags: Internet marketing, local marketing, SEO, Small business marketing

The April edition of NZ Business magazine has an article discussing some of the issues that business owners face regarding their website designs.

NZ Business magazine including my article on SEO

I hope plenty of people read it as it can help so many business owners and managers

to get better results from their marketing budgets.

I see so many people led up the garden path by so-called web experts and designers

who convince people that they need flashy designs on one hand and can “guarantee” top Google rankings on the other.  It really annoys me when people “mis-lead” clients that way.

Technorati Tags: Search engine optimisation, Search engine optimization, SEO, Website design

Many website owners are confused because they thought that having a site would mean they automatically got placed high in Google.

And most are still wondering where is that extra business that they were led to believe would appear once they had a website.

It’s all very frustrating for business owners, especially in these tight economic times.

And if you knew how essential Google is to your business success, you would be horrified.

How significant is a top place in Google?
Imagine what you do when you are looking for a new product or service provider.  Chances are you go to Google like most people do.

•    81% of potential customers go on-line to find out more about a business. (Neilson_online.com)

•    85% of websites are found by search engines rather than being typed into the address bar.  So if you think people know your name or web address, that’s a dangerous assumption.

•    91% of people only use Page 1 (google.com) so if you are on Page 3, you may as well not have a website.

•    42% of clicks go to Number 1 (google.com) so even being on Page 1 doesn’t help you much. 10th position gets less than 3% of clicks.

•    “Small businesses who use the Internet have grown 46% faster than those that do not”. (International Business Journal)

Yet few people know how to get up there and worse, they are sold websites that have no chance of being ranked high in Google

Yet it needn’t be that way.  There are 3 simple steps to getting high in Google but very few web-designers use them, leaving site owners high-and-dry or is that low-and-wet?

What gets a website high in Google?
It’s helpful to think what Google’s primary service aim is.

To deliver the best product (a search result) to their customer (a searcher).

That’s it.

There’s lots of technical stuff behind that but if you want your site to be ranked higher by Google, just give your customers the best match to their searches.

That means if your Home page says, “Welcome to our site. We’ve been in business for…and have .. employees” that’s why your site is low.

The technical term for the getting higher in Google is Search Engine Optimisation or SEO but I like to think of it as a translation service – translating what you, the expert, knows, into what your customer wants..

You might think you know what people are searching for.  After all, how difficult is it to describe your business?

You’d be surprised.  Most clients are amazed at how many variations of their business people use.  Some examples of different Search-terms people have used for the same industry.

•    Business consultant and business consultants.
•    Book-keeper and bookkeeper.
•    Event manager, events manager, event management.
•    Panel beaters, panelbeaters, panel beater, panel beating, smash repair.
•    Tree surgeon, arborist, tree services, tree pruning.

Clients haven’t included all of these different Search-terms on their websites. And, in most cases, they have been using the wrong Search-terms.

What makes a wrong Search-term? Each of those phrases has a different quantity of searches and different numbers of competing pages. And more competition means it’s harder to get to the top.

The key to success is finding the combination of reasonable traffic with less competition.

So now you know your site needs to match what people are searching for, how do you find out what they are typing, how many people are searching for them and how much competition you might have?

The three steps are….
First, learn to speak your customers’ language.

Google actually tells you what people are typing in their Keyword Search Tool. It’s free to use but, as with most things free, it comes at a price….. understanding what it all means.  And there is a ton of data there to learn.

Frankly, many people who regularly use the data, don’t use it properly.  That’s why so few websites make it to the top.

Second, use that language everywhere, even off-line.  After all, it’s what your customers are saying when they think of your business or service.

For your website, it’s essential to use that right language in the right places in the right way.  Again, very few web-masters or designers know what or how to use it.

Third, don’t rely on a sexy web-design to get you top rankings.

Google doesn’t care what shade of red you have, where the images are or whose face is in the picture.  It only cares how close your words are to the searcher’s.

So make your first priority finding out what people are looking for rather than spending your dollars on a design which people will never find.

Make SEO the foundation of your site, not an afterthought.

Bill Gates said, “In the future there will be two types of businesses. Those on the Internet and those out of business.”

It’s safe to amend that to those on Page 1 of Google and those out of business.

Technorati Tags: 5S SEO, Search engine optimization, SEO

As an SEO guy, I look at myself as a translator… translating the language of the expert (business owner) into the language of the customer. And then using that language on the web pages. Those pages should be very specific so that searchers can find the answer quickly.

The only way to achieve this is to do a Search-term assessment exercise. I call it the STACA – Search-term, Traffic and Competition Analysis.

This shows the site owner the number of searches for each term but crucially for them, the level of competition that they can expect. That way we can target lower competition Search-terms which will get ranked faster than those with more competing pages.

This STACA has another massive benefit. It becomes the centre point to your whole business and marketing planning.

Why?

Because a good business plan is written around a solid market research exercise.

There are two main problems with any market research project:

•    Response and
•    Bias

Getting people to respond in suitable numbers, especially if your budget is limited, is a real headache.  How can you find people.  Where are they?  How can you get them to participate?  And many other questions too.

And however, well phrased the research questions, there is always an element of bias.  People will feel that you want a particular answer or they feel obliged in someway.  And the results are clear in the number of new products that don’t make the grade, sales profits.

So what better market research than the exact words your customers are typing into Google when they are eager to spend money.

It simply couldn’t be better research material.
You can use those exact terms in all of your marketing messages then – off-line too.

By finding out exactly what people want I’ve helped companies go from the obscurity of Page 4 to over 30 different Page 1 results.

They may be very small search volumes but when added together they come close to the big 600 pound gorilla terms they were failing to rank for previously.
That’s much better business for them and…… far better for the customer too as they can easily find what they want.

In business you will always fail if you don’t find out what your market wants.
Using good keyword tools, the market tells you what they want.

And for the local businesses or local branches of big businesses, t’s important to understand that around 60% of significant local purchases start with a Google search.

Finally, most people get the web process the wrong way round.

They spend hours and $000s agonising over the shade of a colour, the position of an image, what’s on the image. Then tack on keyword research and SEO if there’s any budget left. None of that is relevant to Google. None of that will get you ranked.

What will get you ranked and found is using the right Search-terms in the right places.

And it will help you write your marketing plan too.

Technorati Tags: 5S SEO, Market research, new zealand marketing, SEO