internet marketing

Keywords, the most important aspect of any SEO campaign. But keywords in and of themselves don’t matter at all if the wrong ones are chosen for optimization. Understanding how to choose the right keywords for your website, and your niche market, is crucial. Choose the wrong keywords and your site may never be found by those that will actually purchase from you.

Before you start researching potential keyword phrases, let’s talk about what you shouldn’t do. First, save industry terms for your printed brochure, not your Title tag. Your potential client searching on the web for your type of product or service is totally unaware that you call the synthetic blue widgets you make “SynWidgers”.

Next, don’t assume you know what your audience is searching for. Unless you have a crystal ball, there is no way for you to know exactly what your visitors are searching for and how often. Hence, keyword research tools are your friend.We’ll talk more about those in a minute.

And, finally, don’t try to rank for single keywords or very broad keyword phrases. I’m telling you right now, you will NEVER rank for “business software,” or “white paper,” or “real estate agent”. Your goal is to find targeted keyword phrases that your potential client is actually using.

So now that we know what not to do, let’s discuss what to do.

1. Start with a brainstorm list. This is where you do sit down and think of all the possible keyword phrases a visitor will use to find your site. Remember, this is not the final list, so we aren’t breaking our 2nd commandment. We’re just giving ourselves a starting point.

2. Next, get to know your keyword research tools. We use a variety of tools when conducting keyword research. Each have their pros and cons, so you have to decide which to use, or if you want to use a variety of tools.

• Google AdWords Keyword Tool
• Keyword Discovery
• Wordtracker
• Google Suggest
• Thesaurus.com – to name a few…

3. Plug your brainstorm list into one (or more) of these tools. The key is to not only look at the average monthly searches, but you want to look at the competition as well. Understanding the competitiveness of a keyword is crucial. The more competitive a phrase is, the harder it will be to rank for it.

4. Do an actual search for the keyword phrase in Google. Now look at the top 10 results. Are the sites in the top 10 relevant to your industry? Do you see some competitors listed? How do these top 10 use the keyword phrase? Is it in the title alone; in both title and description? How many inbound links does that domain have? In other words, analyze the results and cross out the phrases that aren’t ideal.

5. Finalize the list. Now that we crossed out words that are overly competitive or irrelevant, it’s time to look at your list and compare it to the content on your website. Do you have the content needed to rank for that phrase? If you do not, then put those words on a separate list until you do. For example, you may really want your site to rank for “blue suede shoes” because that keyword phrase has a high search volume and a low enough competition volume. However, you haven’t made blue suede shoes yet, and right now are only offering “brown suede shoes.” If you optimize your site for blue suede shoes, but the visitor does not see those on your website, then you may drive traffic, but it will be traffic with a high bounce rate.

6. Optimize your site! Choose one to two keyword phrases per page and include your keywords in the copy, Title tag, meta Description, header tags, alt text, and anchor text of internal links.

7. Monitor your progress and rinse and repeat. Keyword research is never finished. To really be successful, you have to keep an eye on how keywords change as far as search volume, competitiveness, and those that drive traffic and convert to sales.

For all of you who could not make it to the Inbound Marketing Summit 2010 last week, I was a participant on the “Driving More Qualified Leads into Your Funnel” on day 2. Chris Brogan lead the discussion for the panel that included myself (Patti Fousek), Mike Damphouse the CEO/CMO of Green Leads, Benjamin Diggles the Agency Channel Sales of Webtrends,  and Bernie Brogan the CEO of Find and Convert.

The CreativeMind gang is back from the Inbound Marketing Summit 2010 (IMS) which took place October 6th and 7th at Gillette Stadium in Foxoboro, MA. IMS is the brain child of Chris Brogan, Justin Levy, and Colin Bower of New Marketing Labs.

This was my second time attending and speaking at IMS. I have to say, each year just keeps getting better and better. While last year seemed to focus on big brands and B2C, this year was chock full of great information for B2B companies. Here are the top 5 lessons learned for B2B marketers.

1. Don’t be afraid to engage.
   For the past two days I kept hearing  the buzz word “engage”. Scott Stratten (@unmarketing on Twitter) told a great story of how he gained 10,000 followers on Twitter in 30 days. How did he do it? He engaged with his followers and tweeted about 7,000 times in those 30 days. Now we all can not be as aggressive as Scott with our Twitter engagement strategy (and he doesn’t suggest it, either), however, we can get over our fear of meeting new people and start conversing. Those that do not engage their audience are those that won’t get anything out of social media.
2. Make useful stuff for free.
   No one likes filling out forms to get stuff.  Why not offer whitepapers on your website for free? There are plenty of ways to generate leads by those who download your free whitepaper.
3. Social Media is about building relationships and trust.
   Social media is about being “social” and building relationships and trust. Social media is not about broadcasting your message with the hopes that someone will buy from you. People buy from those they trust. If you’re pushing sales on Twitter, then you’re not doing it right.
4. Write great content.
   While you may have heard this tip before, ask yourself “are we writing really great content?” People share unique, they don’t share “meh” (thanks Mr. Unmarketing).
5. Think outside the box when it comes to lead generation.
   Many B2B companies focus on generating leads with a PPC campaign, then they wonder why their leads aren’t qualified. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t run PPC campaigns, but you should experiment with tools that can reach your target market better and see if it works for you. Try answering questions on LinkedIn, or running a LinkedIn paid ad. Or maybe a Facebook ad would work for you. The point is, social media generates warm leads. Try thinking outside the box the next time your boss says, “run a PPC campaign for this.”

Were you at IMS10? What lessons did you learn?

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.