Currently viewing the tag: "search engine optimization"
Summary: Good web sites convert traffic into revenue by providing informative, high-value content to visitors and by issuing compelling calls to action.
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Third in an ongoing series of small business online marketing tips, this post covers search engine optimization, the process of improving a web site’s visibility (or rank) in a search engine (Google, Bing, etc). Read last week’s small business online marketing tip here.
Summary: In today’s Internet-focused world, if you want to meet new prospects and close more sales, you need to be visible in the search listings (i.e., Google, Yahoo and Bing) for the search terms/keywords that are relevant to your business, a goal achieved through search engine optimization (SEO).
Do you ever get PPC mixed up with the BBC? Or thought that hosting a web site meant that you had to prepare appetizers?
A search engine results page, or SERP, in Google.
My first forays into online marketing left me asking a lot of questions. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. Luckily, for people like us, there is a wealth of resources and expert knowledge available on the Internet to help even the greenest of online marketers get started.
My first step was to get a working definition of SEO. I quickly learned that SEO stands for search engine optimization, the process of optimizing your web site so it is easier for the search engines to find it, thus driving more visitors to your site. More visitor traffic means more chances to communicate, and more communication can provide opportunities to produce more sales.
The current rage—the whiz-bang, change-the-world way to market your business—is social media.
Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, you could spend your entire day being lured into it all. And there are many bloggers and business consultants out there touting the big benefits to social media. They’ll tell you that if you’re not using social media, you’re missing the boat.
There certainly are benefits to social media, but let’s be clear—its not the big solution to the problem that is paramount in your mind—How the heck do I drive more traffic, close more deals and make my business thrive?
That’s not to say that some small businesses aren’t successful using social media tools to help market their businesses. The New York Times recently published a story about a few small businesses using Twitter to alert people about deals, specials, etc. And, I know of a few small businesses here in Colorado that are using Facebook and Twitter to stay in touch with customers. Here’s the thing though: All of them have a web site where they are hoping to drive traffic to. They use social media as one way to drive that traffic.
James Omdahl, our Online Marketing Director, gave a talk in January at the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas’ Joe Vincent Management Seminar. His presentation is recapped in the June 2009 edition of the Insurance Journal, which you can access here ( the article isn’t posted online).
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Here’s one easy thing you can do today to raise your profile on Google: Claim and fill out your Google Profile. Google is now giving individuals the ability to control how you look when someone searches for you in Google. This is for your personal profile, but you can also include links to things you’re involved in (like your company blog, for example).
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- HOWTO: Make yourself more visible online by building a Google Profile (dougbelshaw.com)
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