Archive for: July 2008

Like it or not, most people use search engines to find information on the web, and the search engine they use the most is Google.  If your site cannot be found in the search engines, look what you may be missing out on:

• People who perform web searches follow up with an off-line action such as a visit to a store or a phone call at least 82% of the time. (TMP Directional Marketing)
• Of all in-store purchases made in key categories, 89% of them were made by people who had done research on the web prior to making their purchases. (BIGResearch)

Clearly, your business needs a web site that can be found in the search engines!

Big Picture Thinking

Since the search engines are constantly changing and upgrading the way they deliver search results to their users, it’s nearly impossible for most small businesses to stay completely caught up. But one thing that does stay constant is the importance of good visibility in the search engines.

Rather than obsessing about how your site performs for your top one or two keywords, look at how all of your keywords are performing, and how many pages of your site are being regularly crawled by the search engine spiders. Monitor your search engine stats at least monthly, and make sure your site shows up for a variety of keyword phrases and pages across multiple search engines to ensure good visibility.

Search engine visibility is determined by a number of factors, including:

1. How many of your site’s pages are referenced in the search engines (also known as saturation)
2. The number of inbound links pointing to your site from other quality sites on the web
3. Where else your site is referenced on the web (industry profiles, directories, news sources, etc.)

It can take a lot of work to get your site listed in the top 10 results, and of course that is the goal for most businesses no matter how big or small.  But before you can land a top spot, you must make sure that your pages can be read and indexed correctly when the search engine spiders come to visit. (And in the case of Google, you cannot achieve high rankings without a good inbound link building program in place as well.)  All of these factors directly contribute to your site’s search engine visibility, and a visible web site is more likely to be found by customers who are searching for products and services like yours.

Web sites today often feature new, interactive technologies that have become very popular with consumers. Depending on how old your web site is, these newer sites may have been developed using tools and technologies that might not have been available when you first launched your site. But the bottom line is that to effectively market your business on the web, you have to be able to meet the needs and expectations of your existing customers, as well as attract new customers to your web site. If you can accomplish that, you will be well on your way to building a solid web strategy to help your business succeed and grow in any business climate.

Set Some Goals

The first step when thinking about your web site is to set some goals. To establish these goals, ask yourself the following:

• Who is my intended audience(s), and what do they expect?
• What are my competitors offering on their web sites?
• What is the message that I want to convey?
• What is the action that I want my visitors to take?

Then, consider what your visitors are trying to do on your site. Are they researching information? Comparison shopping? Looking to make a purchase now? Looking for something local? Keeping this information in mind will help you focus your web content and provide the right information pathways for users when they visit your site. Ultimately, these pathways should lead your visitors to the actions that you want them to take.

Send the Right Message

Having a good business web site is no longer a luxury, it is an expectation. As technology continues to improve, your customers’ expectations of your web site continue to grow as well. An old, outdated site is a huge red-flag to customers, and can send the message that you either don’t care or that your business may be in trouble. Make sure that your web site sends an accurate message about your business – that you are competent, professional, and completely capable of handling your customers’ needs now and into the future.

In With the New

Today’s users expect a certain level of sophistication in order to take your business seriously, and that means you need to consider adding new features and technology to your site. Visitors have come to expect well-organized, useful content on pages that load quickly, but you’ll score extra points for adding new technologies such as RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, video, and interactive tutorials.

Not sure which web technologies are right for you? Try them out! Go to www.blog-search.com and look at examples of blogs in your industry to get a feel for blogging. Also check out some RSS feeds from authority sites in your industry, and consider adding one or two to your own web site. Think about what would be useful to your customers, like an interactive calendar of events, interesting articles, how-to-guides, or even a site-search feature on your web site. Show your customers that your company is progressive by embracing new technology, and you can gain credibility and additional web site traffic as a result.

Of course, one of the worst strategies you can adopt is to do nothing. At the very least, make sure your web content is up to date, and that your web architecture is search-friendly (no frames, Flash-based, or image-based sites). Use an effective navigation system that clearly guides users to the information they are looking for, and make sure each page on your site has a strong call to action coupled with an easy way for users to take that action. Make sure your site meets or exceeds your customers’ expectations, and it can serve as the cornerstone of a web marketing strategy that will help your business grow well into the future.

Today’s sluggish economy can be tough for small businesses, but there are steps you can take to tighten your belt and still get great results from your marketing efforts. One way to do this is to trim the excess from your marketing budget, leaving only the best, most cost-effective tactics to do the work. Below are five tips that can help you save some money as well as help you build your own lean, mean, marketing machine, so give them a try!

1. Objective Analysis – Take a good look at the marketing activities you are currently investing in. Are they really working for you, or are you doing them because it’s always been that way? Before you renew your ad in the Yellow Pages or print that annual catalog, make sure they are still bringing in dollars and are really worth the investment.
2. Test & Measure – By keeping track of marketing campaign results, you can easily spot the activities that work well for your business and also identify the ones that don’t. Spend your dollars on the winners and dump the losers.
3. Update Your Web Site – When times are tough, customers tend to take longer to make buying decisions and thoroughly research their options before making purchases. And where do they turn to do this research? The web, of course! That’s why it’s important that your web site is up-to-date and can stand up to the inevitable comparisons to your competitors.
4. Segment Your Lists – When considering a new marketing campaign, be sure to segment your lists so you can weed-out the unlikely prospects. Spend your marketing dollars only on your “best-bets” to keep costs down and ROI up.
5. Use Web Marketing – Finding new prospects is easy and cost-effective when you use online marketing strategies. E-newsletters, web advertising, Google click-ads, and search engine marketing are typically far less expensive than traditional advertising and direct mail activities. Replace the pricey, old-school marketing tactics with some new online initiatives to get great results while keeping the budget under control.

Careful spending of your marketing budget can certainly help during an economic downturn, but it’s also good practice for the long-term success of your business. Don’t be afraid to try new things, especially new web initiatives that are typically inexpensive to test drive. Keep track of what works so you can build on your successes and drop the activities that don’t produce great results for your business.