internet marketing

Over the years we’ve all heard the over-used saying coined by the SEO industry: “content is King”. Well, it’s true. Search engines LOVE fresh content. However, I’m going to take this concept one step further by saying “beneficial content is King of the jungle” in 2009.

In today’s tough economic times it’s more important than ever to have a strong web presence. Why? Well, businesses and consumers spend more time researching a product or service before making that crucial buying decision. Consumers today choose to do business with, or buy a product from, companies they trust, and those that offer value.

Fresh website content helps increase keyword rankings on the SERPS (search engine results pages) and builds inbound links. However, beneficial fresh content will also build targeted traffic and customer acquisition too.

Here are 5 simple tips for adding fresh, and beneficial, content to your website.

1. Start a useful blog. It’s a well-known fact that blogs attract links and traffic, but a useful blog will also attract customers. Write value-added posts that give potential clients a reason to choose you over your competitors.
2. Create social responsible news. Many businesses have a News section of their site where they post their latest press releases – which is great. However, take it one step further by posting your “social responsible” news to your site as well. Has your company donated money to a charity, or organized a volunteer effort? Has your company joined the “green” revolution? Put it on your site.
3. Add tip lists or how-to articles. Whether your company offers dog sweaters or project collaboration software, there is always a helpful tip or a useful how-to to share. Free advice is not only valuable; it will be remembered by your audience as well. If your visitors find your tips helpful, they’ll be sure to share it with their friends or business associates. Make it easy for them by adding an “email this article” link.
4. Solicit customer testimonials, reviews or case studies. Your customers are your most important asset. Ask for testimonials or reviews and post them on your site. Better yet, if your product or service helped a client solve a problem, write a case study. People like to do business with companies that have happy clients.
5. Interview an expert in your field (even if it’s a competitor). With the birth of social media, collaboration has become part of the norm. Interviewing an expert in your niche not only gives your clients useful information, but also boosts your credibility as well.

Give visitors a reason to come back to your website over and over. Afterall, beneficial content sells in tough times, and in good.

Tell us what you think. Leave a comment.

Recently I participated in a marketing seminar sponsored by the Greater Somersworth Chamber of Commerce. The topic of the seminar was how to use marketing as a way to survive a downward economy.

During the seminar Kathleen Soldati, Director of Marketing at The Music Hall (also a co-presenter), brought up a great point. Companies that continued to advertise and market themselves during the Great Depression still strive today. Examples include Proctor and Gamble, Chevrolet, and Camel Cigarettes.

What does this mean for your business? Keep marketing!

When times get rough, the first impulse is to cut the marketing budget. Not only must companies, large and small, not cut their marketing budget, but they need to invest more effort and budget into marketing in order to get past tough times.

My portion of the presentation included a segment on Website Marketing. Highlights from the presentation include:

• 70% of internet users search online to find a local service
• 39% of internet users only click on the results found on the first page
• Your target market no longer uses the Yellow Pages or newspapers to find you
• Your website is a vital marketing tool
• Local businesses – even brick-and-mortar establishments – need an online presence
• Have 5 Seconds to make a positive first impression
• Could lose business if not found high on search results pages

What else did we talk about?

• It’s important to know your audience. In order to succeed in any marketing campaign, you must first know who your audience is and what they want and need
• Choose your keywords wisely. Avoid company jargon or very broad terms
• Create useful, well-written content on your website. Give visitors a reason to visit
• Focus on the visitor and not on search engines

To learn more about how you can use online marketing to survive a tough economy, contact Patti Fousek for a free, non-obligation, consultation.

Late on June 13th, Yahoo and Google announced that they have agreed to a “non-exclusive” agreement to display Google paid ads on the Yahoo network. Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the history of Yahoo, it goes a bit like this:

• Yahoo started as a school project in 1994 by two Standford University Electrical Engineering Ph.D. candidates, David Filo and Jerry Yang.
• In 1995, David and Jerry turned Yahoo into an actual company after receiving 1 million hits in a single day to their unofficial “guide to the internet”
• Yahoo then grew from an online directory to a search engine and an online directory.
• They did OK for a few years.
• In 2003 Yahoo acquired Overture, a pay-per-click advertising service
• Yahoo had a bright future….. or so it seemed
• In 2007 Panama – Yahoo’s version of Google AdWords – was born! It was a good day for Yahoo.
• Soon after it’s release, everyone in the search marketing world soon realized that Panama stunk (I mean, it was – and still is – awful)
• In 2008 Microsoft was pushing Yahoo into an acquisition … until Jerry Yang basically screwed it up. So what is poor little Yahoo to do….. join forces with Google of course. Is it me, or is Yahoo suffering from an identity crisis.

Before Panama, Yahoo was the 2nd largest search engine with 28% of the market share until 2007. Now, Google continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and all other major search engines continue to drop.

Today, Yahoo has 11.68% of the market share. Only time will tell if the recent “agreement” with Google will help Yahoo achieve the success they once thought was possible.

Websites, like cars, need periodic maintenance. Maybe not after every 100,000 miles (or visitors), but definitely regular updates are required. Like your car, when cared for properly, your website will run smoothly and without a glitch. If neglected, the repairs needed may cost far more than it’s worth.

Unlike cars, there is no handbook to refer to that tells us what to do when. The type of maintenance needed and the time frame it should be completed within is all up to us. However, there are certain things to look for (and maintenance to perform) on your website to keep search engines indexing your site and to keep the “search engine” light from coming on.

How to tell if your site’s “search engine” light is on?

• Your Site Has Not Been Updated Since It Was Created
• Your Site Does Not Have a Search Engine Friendly Design
• The site is not easily navigated
• New Products/Services Are Not on the Website
• No Keyphrases in the Title & Description Tags
• Missing Keyword Phrases in Body Copy
• Lack of Calls to Action on the Website
• Website is not ranking on search engines
• Lack of Website traffic

How to turn the “search engine” light off.

• Redesign your website for visitors

o If your site has not been updated since it was created, the easiest way to solve this problem is to redesign the website. Yes, redesigns are time consuming and costly, however, with Web 2.0 technologies in place, you may not have any other choice.

• Add regular content to the website

o Whether you have new products or services or not, regular content additions are needed on your website to keep search engines coming back. Adding new pages with quality content or revising current pages are an easy fix. Also consider adding an FAQ section, press releases or news items, a blog, podcasts, .pdf files.

• Conduct keyword research and add relevant keyphrases to the Title and Description tag on each page. Also be sure that your body copy includes keyphrases as well.

• Add “Calls to Action” on your website

o First you must determine what you want visitors to do on your site, and then make it easy for them to do so. Whether you want your visitors to download a newsletter, fill out a form, buy a product, or contact the sales department – each call to action should be easy to find and prominent within the site design.

Still not sure if your website’s “search engine light” is on? Contact CreativeMind Search Marketing for a FREE website evaluation.