When I signed up for a Facebook account several years ago, I was definately not the average Facebook user. I made a bargain with my then tween daughter that she could be on Facebook as long as we were friends and I could monitor her. However, it wasn't long before Facebook became part of my daily life. I am an Inbound Marketing Consultant and social media is an important part of my job. However, what has surprised me is how many other baby boomers have become Facebook users recently.
Companies are using social media for marketing purposes these days so a friend request from business associate or peer is common place. Surprising are requests from my friends and relatives in their 50s or older who have always rolled their eyes at my "geekiness". Facebook has become a strange mixture of work and every day life. Invitations to family events, the birth of my new nephew mixed in with messages about Inbound Marketing University and conversations with clients. It is both wonderful and a bit unsettling.
My kids say that we have ruined Facebook. It was a place for students to share their experiences and talk to friends. We've turned it into a business marketing tool, a family bulletin board and can now embarrass them in real-time. Truth be told I feel a bit bad for them. It was a lot easier to fly under the radar when I was a teen. My message to them is be careful what you post. Your next employer or your mother... not to mention the Pastor... may be reading and commenting on what you did last Saturday night. I'm sure the kids will find a new way to communicate without us looking over their shoulders but don't think they will have privacy for long. Social media is here to stay...for all of us!
I've spent my life chasing the elusive goal of being thin. Last spring I took the leap and joined a gym. The gym owner, Sandy Condon of New Life Health and Wellness and I met while members of a networking and mastermind group. Sandy needed some one to build her web site and develop an Internet Marketing plan for her business. I asked Sandy if she could help me reach my fitness goals. Ultimately, Sandy hired me to be her Internet Marketing Consultant and I hired her to be my Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach. Why a trainer?
1. I knew if I had a regular appointment I would show up which is half the battle.
2. I didn't have the knowledge, training or time to put together a plan for myself.
3. I wanted a good return on my investment of time and money. Sandy would push me harder than I would push myself.
Both Sandy and I have worked hard over the past year. When Sandy sees my energy lagging, we talk about our businesses and families as a diversion. Recently she told me she was having a difficult time keeping her marketing plan on track. I asked her if it would help if I spent an hour a month with her reviewing her progress and setting her goals for the next month. She agreed that it would be very useful. So now we are Personal Trainers for each other. By holding each other accountable, we will both see a return on our investments. My return with be continued good health and hers will be a healther bottom line.
Internet Marketing is similar to an exercise plan in that you have to do the work to see results. Hiring an Internet Marketing Personal Trainer (Internet Marketing Consultant) could mean the difference between success and failure or your Internet Marketing Plan.
Most web site development companies have tools that they prefer to work with and languages they prefer to code in. We become comfortable over time with what we feel works best for our customers and for ourselves. Since the focus of my business is Internet Marketing (or Search Engine Marketing), I tend to develop web sites that can be search engine optimized to the fullest. Organic search engine optimization is a passion of mine. So, I find myself a bit frazzled when I see a company selling web sites built totally in Flash. Don't get me wrong, Flash is a nice tool and can turn out some impressive looking web sites. But, do the companies that sell full Flash web sites to their clients do so because they like working with Flash? Do they feel it is better to have a beautiful web site than one that will rank well organically? Or, do they know something that I don't know about optimizing Flash sites?
A fully Flash web site in my mind is one that has no content other than what resides in the Flash files (.swf). It contains Flash navigation, all text is part of the Flash file and does not use HTML landing pages or a blog. Many successful sites embed pieces of FLash content to add visual interest. I am sure that some have built a Flash site and supplemented it with landing pages and a blog to keep it fresh and ranked organically.
Second, in my opinion, a web site that cannot be maintained by the client makes it difficult for them to implement an Internet Marketing Plan. Fresh, optimized content is the key. If an outside designer is needed to update title tags, description tags or add new pages the site will not become an effective marketing tool. Although it was the norm for many years to hire a web site designer to maintain the company web site, content management systems have become necessary and more desirable.
With these two things in mind, I struggle with believing that a company who builds a full Flash site for a client has their Search Engine Marketing needs in mind. I have had a number of Flash developers argue the point with me. They sight the fact that some advances have been made by the search engines that allow them to read Flash files. Some point out that an HTML version of the site can be used to submit to the search engines or XML copies of the site can be created. I remain unconvinced. If a second copy exists how are they kept in sync without a huge development budget. I assume that you would want all versions to have the same content. If the intention is to submit a version to the search engines and serve up a different, less up to date Flash version to the visitors, that seems a bit silly and black hat to me. Is a Flash web site so appealing to the eye that companies are willing to pay for the high cost of development and upkeep? Or, does the customer not understand that the site will not rank well organically if it is not search engine optimized and appealing from a content perspective? Is it worth adding pay per click costs on top of the development costs in order to draw visitors?
I have researched this topic on a regular basis for many years and have not found convincing evidence that a Flash web site (as stated above) can compete with an HTML site for organic ranking. So, I am challenging any one who believes that have done so to comment here. If you have created a fully Flash web site that ranks well and competes head to head with HTML sites for a set of keywords, please comment. I am not trying to get you to reveal your secret but would appreciate some proof. I am genuinely interested in knowing if it is possible and I am sure I am not alone. Please send me a link so I can analyze the site. If you believe as I do that a Flash site is not the best choice from an Internet Marketing perspective, please comment as well. I will continue to gather information and will post on this topic again.
What is the ALT attribute? It is part of the HTML image tag. It is often mistakenly called the ATL tag and it is used to describe an image on a web page. It is often overlooked by web site designers that are not knowledgeable about organic search engine optimization. When I explain to my clients that it is important to use the ALT, they usually have either not heard of it or don't understand its importance.
The question when they find out that it is used as an image describer is "who cares?". Well, Google for one. Search engines cannot look at the images on your web site page but they can index your image descriptions. So, this makes it a good SEO practice. If you can adequately describe the image using keywords, that is even better. Do be careful not to keyword spam, however. So, if the search engines can't see the picture but do index the alt attribute why not just put keywords in whether or not they relate to the picture? Because there are a couple of other ways the alt attibute is used.
Have you ever wondered how you would surf the web if you couldn't see? There are browsers that assist people with visual challenges to surf the web using screen readers or refreshable braille displays. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to visit a site full of images without any description of what they represent? Remember a few years back when most web site pages (some still do!) had image buttons for navigation? Buttons without an ALT attribute were 'invisible' to visually challanged visitors. The federal government has issued guidelines for web designers under Section 508. For more information about these guidlines and making your web site compliant and therefore accessible to all visitors, visit http://www.section508.gov/ and http://www.usabilityfirst.com/intro/index.txl. Not only is it the right thing to do, it might improve your keyword ranking. That is a win-win.
Are there still more reasons to use the ALT? Yes, the primary purpose of this attribute is to describe and image that can't be rendered by the browser. Some web surfers choose to surf without images enabled. Either because of a slow internet connection or preference. The next time to visit a web site that takes a long time to load, look carefully at the page. If you see text where an image is trying to load, you are looking at an alt attribute. If it is linked to some information in the web site that you want to read, no need to wait for the huge image file to render. Simply click and be on your way. See, th ALT attribute is a good thing.
Planning a website redesign? If you haven't sent out the RFP, hold on to it for a minute. Does it include a CMS (content management system)? If not, you might be making a mistake.
Ask any Internet Marketing Consultant and they will tell you that it is important to be able to create content quickly and easily. Why? To obtain or maintain good page rank and high keyword ranking in the search engines it is important to add good quality content frequently. If you have to rely on a website design firm or a person in your IT organization to make changes, it is difficult, if not impossible, to do so.
If you are a marketing person, I am sure you understand the importance of landing pages with good calls to action. If you are not able to create them your self with ease chances are you probably missing opportunities to capture leads through your website.
Another reason it is important to have a content management system is for search engine optimization of your web pages. To optimize your web pages, you must be able to update your title and meta tags. Search engines use the title, the meta keyword field (although not as frequently these days) and the meta description field to gather information about your page. Each page should have unique keyword phrases in each of these fields that align with the content. So having the ability to create new pages but not the access to optimize them is not advisable.
When choosing a content management system for your website, be sure to keep these things in mind.
A good content management system or CMS ...
- makes it easy to change or add content to a web page.
- gives you the ability to add new pages quickly and easily.
- allows you to create landing pages with Calls to Action (forms).
- allows access to the web page and tags for optimization purposes.
When companies start a website redesign project, they rarely consider organic search engine optimization. This, of course, is a bad idea. If you are redesigning your website because you think a new look will bring more visitors, stop. Good content that is optimized around the right keyword phrases is what will bring more traffic and, if done correctly, the right traffic. Traffic that converts to leads that result in increased profits.
When planning your redesign and/or seo project, take a hard look at the length of your website pages. Do visitors need to scroll to read the content completely? Does the content lend itself to being split into more than one page? If so, restructure your content for a number of reasons. One, visitors do not like to scroll and another more important reason, it will give you more pages to optimize for seo. Each page is an opportunity to be found for a different set of keyword phrases. When you create a long page, you have missed opportunities and, if it is very long, probably guarenteed that most visitors will not see or read the content "below the fold".
No, this is not a negative post about social media. It is rather a post about the power of using social media for marketing purposes. I attended a session at MacWorld 2009 hosted by David Pogue who is, in my opinion, one of the funniest people on the planet. One of guests was Matt Harding of 'Where the Hell is Matt?' fame. If you are not familiar with Matt, a YouTube.com superstar, he made videos of himself dancing in front of various landmarks around the world. His videos went viral and he became an internet star. If you haven't seen any of them, take a look at this example and then visit YouTube.com to view the rest. They are a lot of fun to watch.
The reason for Matt's visit was to set the record straight. In an attempt to be funny, Matt gave a presentation telling the audience that he had been caught red handed by viewers of the viral videos and announced that his videos were faked and he was, in fact, an actor playing a role and a fraud.
Apparently Matt had been given really good advice by a friend who told him to make the facts that proved he was a fake totally absurd so every one would get the joke. He claimed that instead of being a not so great computer game programmer, he was
working as an actor for an ad agency. The viral videos were all done with Photoshop,
green screens and robots. You would think that folks might have at least questioned the robot part and get the joke. Well, they did at the conference for the most part but the story took on a life of its own and Matt has been labeled a fraud and a cheat. View the video below and judge for yourself. Joke or confession?
The problem it appears is not that folks thought this video was factual but that people commenting and reporting on video did not take the time to watch it. Beware when using social media. As my mother used to say "be careful what you wish for". Yes, there are gullible people out there and lazy ones as well. In the words of David Pogue, "live by social media, die by social media" (a very funny comment at the time). I am sure the word has gotten out that Matt is not a fraud. The message for the lazy folks who didn't bother to check the facts, shame on you! For any of the truly gullible who might have thought his presentation was true, I have a great business deal for you. Together we can make millions, overnight! I am the owner of the ad agency that Matt was working for and I can make you the next YouTube.com star ;) I AM ONLY JOKING!
2009 is just around the corner and many businesses are fine tuning their internet marketing plans. No matter what size company I consult with, the subject of organic search engine optimization versus pay per click advertising is on the agenda. Companies often ask how to reduce pay per click advertising costs, especially during economic uncertainty. Companies that are not currently using pay per click advertising wonder if it might be the answer to their dreams.
There are a number of things to consider when deciding how much, if any, money to budget for pay per click advertising. As an Internet Marketing Consultant, I am passionate about organic search engine optimization. In my experience, I find that people trust organic results over paid results. Organic SEO can be time consuming but it is usually less expensive than pay per click advertising. When you stop paying for pay per click advertising there is no residual effect. You drop in the SERPs immediately. With organic search engine ranking, if you stop working on seo and/or adding optimized content, at least there is a slow decline.
The very first thing I consider is whether or not the website is optimized or is search engine friendly. A website that uses frames (there are still some out there believe it or not), was developed with Flash or has navigation that is not easy crawled is not going to rank high with the search engines. Pay per click advertising is a necessity in these cases. Either pay for placement or redesign the website with seo in mind.
Next I discuss how quickly they need to see results. There is no doubt that ranking high organically can take time. If the company is not blogging to add optimized content regularly or using social media to build buzz, it may take several months. If their timeframe is very short and they are relying solely on their website, I usually suggest a temporary paid advertising campaign while the site is being optimized and climbing in rank.
When planning your budget this year, will you spend a little less money and a bit more time working on orgainic optimization? Please comment on this article and tell me what your plans are.
The folks at HubSpot are very bright and hard working. You wouldn't suspect how hard they work if you saw one of their videos though. They seem to have so much fun! They are all about inbound marketing - internet marketing may be a term you are more familiar with. What is it exactly? Inbound marketing leverages internet technologies such as your website and social media to draw potential clients to you. Traditional outbound marketing pushes information about your products or services to the marketplace hoping that the right people notice. There is no one better at describing inbound marketing than the marketing team at HubSpot. They just released a new video titled "You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing. If you haven't seen it, check it out here and then go to YouTube to see their other videos. They are all very entertaining...at least to us internet marketing geeks.
More HubSpot Internet Marketing Videos
Why do we refer to a search term as a keyword when it is most often not a word but a phrase? This is one of the questions that clients often ask if they are new to Internet Marketing and SEO (search engine optimization). It’s true that it is not typical to have a single word as a search term. Too many search results would be returned and they would not necessarily be relevant to what the person was searching for. Two to four word phrases return much more relevant results. This is something to keep in mind as you research your keywords or keyword phrases.
Keyword research is very important to the success of your Internet Marketing Plan. How can you hope to attract visitors to your website and convert them to clients if you don’t understand what they are searching for. When choosing your keywords, you have to put yourself in the head of someone searching for your service or product. The search engine will return a list of pages that are most relevant to the phrase that the searcher “googled”. Most people have learned to be specific when searching for a product or service. Here are some things to keep in mind when you research keywords for your website pages.
- Start with keyword phrases that visitors have used to find your site previously.
- Look for keyword phrases that get a high number of searches per month if possible. There are tools available to find this information.
- Who are you competing with for the top 20 search results? Google it and find out. If your direct competitors have the first two pages tied up look for a similar keyword phrase with less direct competition. The search volume of a singular versus the plural of a term can be thousands of searches.
- If your keyword phrases are too specific to your product or are too technical, try to find a different way to describe it. For instance, describe what it does rather than what it is. Many times people are looking for solution to a problem, not necessarily a product.
- Consider specifying the geographic area in which you do business as part of your keyword phrase. A lawyer that is practicing divorce law in Westborough, Massachusetts does not necessarily want leads from all 50 states or other countries. By adding the words Massachusetts, MA, Westboro (it can be spelled two different ways) or New England to the term divorce lawyer he or she will get leads that much more likely to convert to a client.
When you have a list, optimize your pages or blog using the keyword phrases (a topic for another post) and then monitor your traffic. If you are not successful in drawing the right type or amount of traffic to the page, try different keyword phrases