SEO Needs A New Name

Written by Mark Figart

This is a reasoned exploration of the true nature of SEO, not so much a rant, but Mark makes all excellent points that boil down to the one main point that I think many of us frustrated SEO-ers agree on: it’s not about search engines anymore. It’s about the content and whether you can create content good enough that people to want to read it. In fact, Mark does give SEO a new name – and as much as I want to say it here, I’m going to keep you in suspense so you’ll go read the article. It’s sure to get you thinking about how you approach your content.

Read the article at digett.com and follow his company on Twitter @figart

Negative SEO Vs. Mattcutts.Com

Written by Martin Macdonald

You’re going to want to stop texting, shut that other browser window and pay attention to this one. Martin takes on Matt Cutts in a battle of negative SEO – and wins! At least until Matt figured out what was happening. But if Matt Cutts’s website can be “black hatted” and he arguably knows more about Google and SEO than anyone, then what hope do we poor average folks have? The good news is that if you read Martin’s post, you’ll understand where your website’s weaknesses may lie and you can take steps to prevent spammers and scammers from damaging your site’s search ranking.

Read the article at martinmacdonald.net and follow Martin on Twitter @searchmartin

Is Guest Blogging Becoming Risky?

Written by Graham Charlton

This one is a little bit depressing, considering that we’ve all been taught to guest-post our way to backlinks and SEO credibility. Now, there is certainly a benefit to guest posting that goes beyond link-building but Google is not yet in the business of reading intentions, so whether you guest post for other blogs or accept guest posts on yours, Graham warns that you could be heading for some serious trouble, especially as Google tightens the screws on the ongoing Penguin update. It’s not a clear cut issue but Graham makes some points worth considering and a bunch of other marketing pros weigh in. Food for thought for sure.

Read the article at econsultancy.com and follow Graham on Twitter @gcharlton

Does Alexa Rank Really Matter?

Written by Nwosu Mavtrevor

Take a detour from SEO and onto another frequent obsession… Alexa rank. I’ll be honest and tell you it’s one of those things I never bothered to care about or check because it’s inherently flawed and inaccurate. But you can’t go more than three blogs without someone posting their Alexa rank in a sidebar or celebrating a good one. And Nwosu makes some interesting – and valid – points about why Alexa rank does matter. These aren’t vague, questionable reasons, either. Nwosu  acknowledges that while it may indeed be flawed and inaccurate, that doesn’t make it any less important. Check out the reasons why and pick up a couple of tips for improving yours.

Read the article at netmediablog.com and follow mavtrevor on Twitter @mavtrevor

12 Common Misconceptions About Content Marketing

Written by Susanna Gebauer

And now for something completely different! If you’re tired of SEO and obsessing about minutia, Susanna’s post will get you thinking about something that really does matter and that’s well within your control – content marketing. Although she touches on the whole “content for SEO” thing, there’s a lot more here to mull over. I particularly like her misconception #3: “creating content is content marketing”. Bad news: it’s not. More bad news: there are 11 other misconceptions you’ll need to come to terms with if you really want to succeed with content marketing. Good news: it can be done! Read to find out what mindsets you may need to change.

Read the article at jeffbullas.com and follow Susanna on Twitter @dreckbaerfrau

Enjoy your weekend and if you come across any other awesome blogs worth sharing, let me know in the comments!

When publishers BenBella Books generously offered two free copies of the new edition of the Zen of Social Media Marketing for the subscribers of {Web.Search.Social} I jumped at the chance and was thrilled when a copy landed on my desk.

Here’s my review… and if this book sounds like one that’s for you, download a free excerpt and enter the giveaway at the end.

This Book Starts Where It Should: With The Marketing

Shama Kabani, author

“Social” is just a word we tacked onto “marketing”, but that doesn’t make it any less about marketing.

In this book, Shama starts out with some marketing fundamentals, discusses the importance of a good website as a vital component of any social marketing plan, tangents into SEO with some practical tips and then hits hard with “get up off the couch and start working” stuff.

I’ll get to that in a minute, but I want to mention first that if you read nothing else in this book… even if you think you know everything about social marketing… I want you to read Chapter 5. And then I want you to read it again. And when you’re done, I want you to rip the pages out and glue them to your office walls because Shama says quite possibly the single most important thing you can understand about social marketing:

People do not use social networks to connect. They use them to showcase their own identities.

I couldn’t do it justice without reprinting it word for word, but the key takeaway is that most of us start out thinking we’re going to brand our companies, tell the story of our businesses and get people to connect with us.

But that’s doing it backwards because people don’t want to connect with your business – they want to see their own identities reflected in your brand. They want to know: “What does liking/following/tweeting this company say about me?”

Think on that for a while. Read the book for the true brilliance of it.

Some Things You’ll Learn

Roll up your sleeves. If you’re looking for an introduction to the major social networks, want help getting started, need ideas for what to do once you get there and some advice for the what-not-to-dos, you’re going to want a highlighter handy.

These are some of the topics covered:

• Facebook: how to set up a page, manage your privacy settings, types of content to post, general etiquette plus info about events, contests and ads.
• Twitter: getting started with all those funky symbols, how and why to follow people, a simple step-by-step guide to finding opportunities and a nice list of helpful tools.
• LinkedIn: setting up your profile along with a laundry list of dos-and-don’ts for engaging on this most professional of networks.
• Google+: setting up your profile, managing circles, running hangouts, using business pages and a pretty nifty list of shortcuts that can help you style and post like a pro.

There’s more… (Groupon and Facebook ads and video podcasting, oh my!) But we’ve got a giveaway to host so I’ll leave it at that!

What This Book Is… And Isn’t

This book is a great introduction. It’s thorough, it’s got great checklists of dos and don’ts at the end of each chapter and it forces you think about what you’re doing before blindly jumping in.

There’s a focus on the “social” side of social. Shama reminds us that behind all the methods and tools, there are people, and that’s something you must understand to succeed.

As a get-started guide it’s not too detailed in any one area but gives an overview of important ideas and concepts. That’s great news for anyone who feels overwhelmed by social and all the options available.

No matter what your experience level, this is a book you can dog-ear and highlight and refer back to. Even for those of us who feel pretty comfortable with social media, it’s never a good idea to get too comfortable. A “back to basics” is sometimes what we need.

The 10-Second Wrapup

What I really appreciated was that each chapter started with the big, fat question, “Why?”

Knowing “how” to do something is only useful if you know why – and have a good reason!

I’m also a big fan of anything action-oriented so I loved the very practical tips and suggestions in this book. If you read it, there’s no way you’ll be able say, “I just don’t know where to start!” anymore.

For me though, Chapter 5 and Shama’s “reverse look” at what social networks are really about was worth the price of admission.

(pst… make sure you use the form ABOVE, not the orange one below if you want to be entered into the giveaway.)

But a few made me flinch.

Whether it’s your website, blog, brochure, newsletter, Facebook page, press release or newspaper ad, nobody reads your content because they’re simply enamored with your business.

Why? Because nobody cares about your business. Don’t take it personally. And please, stop scowling at me because I’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve heard this.

People read your marketing content because they’re looking for answers to questions. The first of these questions is usually, “What can your business do for me?”

That doesn’t mean people are selfish. It’s natural human instinct, so you should appeal to your audience’s self-interest with relevant content that focuses on their needs. More specifically, people want to know:

What problem can you solve?

What need can you fill?

How can you make their lives better, easier or more enjoyable?

Effective marketing – and effective businesses – do one or more of these three things. Depending on the type of business, these can be very broad questions with long answers. So let’s break them down further.

Your Content Should Answer The Questions Most Commonly Asked By Clients And Prospects.

Pay attention to all questions and conversations – in person, on the phone, on social media and via email – because any interaction could potentially be a goldmine for content ideas. This is the information your audience is talking about, so make your marketing content part of that dialogue.

Let’s use mortgage lenders as an example. If people are uncertain about whether or not they should refinance a mortgage, explain circumstances that make it favorable or unfavorable to refinance, as well as options that people may not be aware of.

If people regularly ask about out-of-pocket closing costs, you may want to show how someone could estimate their closing costs, or explain how closing costs may be rolled into a new mortgage and how little this can affect the new monthly payment.

What Emotions Do People Feel When Experiencing The Results Of Using Your Product Or Service?

Remember, people make decisions based on emotion more than logic or fact. How people feel when they experience the results of using your product or service is just as important as the results themselves. Again, your customers are your most valuable resource.

Mortgage lenders could and should talk about saving hundreds of dollars per month by refinancing, or how much interest can be saved by paying off a mortgage in 15 years instead of the 25 years or so remaining on an existing loan. Those are logical reasons to refinance.

But it’s even more important to identify the emotional triggers that affect these kinds of decisions. Mortgage lenders should also talk about how people will be less stressed out each month because of a significantly lower mortgage payment, or what kind of financial and personal freedom they would have by living without a mortgage payment.

Emotion drives decision making. Logic is used to justify those emotional decisions. Use your marketing content to tap into the emotions people will ultimately feel as a result of doing business with you.

What Are The Results Of Not Using Your Product Or Service?

Agitation, frustration or hardship conveyed by painting pictures of not-so-favorable “what if” scenarios can be powerful motivators. People hate to feel like they’re missing out on something.

Suppose the parents of a young child could have paid off their mortgage before their child started college if they had refinanced into a 15-year mortgage. Instead, they passed on that opportunity and are still paying their mortgage each month – in addition to thousands of dollars each month for tuition.

Think that very real and non-sensationalized scenario might motivate someone to seriously explore refinancing?

What Preconceived Thoughts, Misconceptions, Fears Or Assumptions Might People Have That May Be Preventing Them From Doing Business With You?

As I’ve written previously, every business has at least one obstacle that needs to be overcome before a sale is made. Otherwise, we all would close every deal. All the time.

Use your content to alleviate these concerns, debunk myths and explain the reality of the situation in the clearest and simplest of terms. This enables you to build trust by honestly educating people, and it could potentially speed up the sales process later by getting these obstacles out of the way now.

If people assume they won’t qualify for refinancing, explain why they shouldn’t jump to that conclusion and educate them about programs that make it easier to refinance. Let your marketing content do some of the heavy lifting.

Be Careful About Where And How You Answer These Questions.

Don’t try to answer every question at the same time. It’s overwhelming and unnecessary, and can create more confusion. This is why an integrated content marketing approach is so effective.

A website or brochure that contains mostly high-level information might only allow you to provide an answer of a few sentences. A social media post forces you to be even more concise. And that’s fine, as long as you’re able to provide clear, powerful answers.

On the other hand, a blog, feature article or newsletter allows for more in-depth answers. These platforms enable you to establish your expertise and position yourself as an authority by answering specific questions in detail.

Once you’ve answered some of these questions, people will begin to trust you and view your business as a solution to a problem. A way to fill a need. A way to make life better, easier or more enjoyable.

When people understand what’s in it for them, they’ll begin to care about your business, making them much more likely to hand over money for your product or service.

What kinds of questions do you try to answer in your marketing content?

And now, a rant.

I’ve been doing SEO for clients since SEO meant that changing a single word in your title tag could propel your site to ranking success.

Alas, though search results may have improved in relevance, the act of getting your website – especially your small business website – found in any relatively useful place has become a combination of intense purpose, a bit of luck and a whole lot of miracle.

I know some SEO companies out there are grumbling right now, saying how SEO is art and science and link-building is a massive feat of specialized skill.

But I read a lot of SEO blogs and if there’s one thing that’s been conspicuously absent lately it’s any talk of SEO.

There’s a lot about social marketing. A ton about content marketing. A vast amount about Google Glass (I guess anything with the word “Google” in it counts as SEO). And the occasional, “How to set up a Google Plus profile for your business.”

But it seems like SEOs are forgetting the whole “optimization” part of the acronym, sort of hoping to sweep the whole thing under the rug (Social signals! Google Earth! Look at the monkey!) and move along to plain old everyday unimpressive-sounding marketing.

The problem is SEO has changed fundamentally and forever. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the only reason anyone still uses that outdated acronym is because we’ve invested so much time beating it into customers’ heads (you need SEO!) that now they all tell us they need SEO. And they’re still willing to pay $199 a month for vague promises of number one rankings, so who are we to say otherwise?

But… do you need SEO? And now that the internet has become the Googlenet, what can we do about it anyway?

I don’t have a lot of answers, but I do have a lot of questions. Maybe you have some of the same ones, too. So take a little tour with me through the wilds of my thoughts on SEO, where it is, where it’s going and what’s both possible and practical for companies without the name or budget of Kmart or Target or Zappos.

When we’re done, I’d love to hear what you think.

Google To Businesses: “We Hate SEO”

Ok, Google didn’t actually say that. But it doesn’t take a whole lot of Matt Cutts videos to get a strong sense that Google would prefer if we just went about our business building awesome websites and just being awesome in general and let them manage the internet.

The video below is perhaps one of my favorite (and by favorite I mean it makes me roll my eyes and want to punch a video in the mouth) answers that Matt Cutts gives about how to compete with big sites.

Take special note at about 1:55 where he gives very helpful and specific advice to “make sure your website doesn’t suck.”

And again at about 3:35 where he comforts with this gem: “don’t get so focused on just search rankings… there are a lot of other opportunities available to you.”

Translation: you can’t compete. We run the internet. Just go be awesome and do other stuff to market your business.

If Google via their talking mouthpiece tells me one more time to “build a great website”… well, I can’t state publicly what that might drive me to do.

You know, because we all set out to build crappy websites.

Seriously, I know there are some pretty bad websites out there. But there are some pretty good ones, too, and they have some pretty crummy rankings. Some of the best marketing blogs I’ve come across has been by pure accident or luck, usually from a tweet or because I followed a link to a link to a link – and never because I searched for “marketing blogs” or anything related to them.

But the usual suspects (the big ones, with the names we all recite in our sleep) come up every. darn. time.

Snore.

Sometimes I purposely skip the first two or three pages of results just to get to the stuff that doesn’t warrant an actual ranking because that’s where you can find some pretty interesting things. Good blogs, unique products, and valuable information lurk on websites that don’t have enough inbound links or plus-ones or whatever pixie dust the “top sites” have according to Google and its omniscient algorithm.

Do I sound bitter?

Nah, just tired. Tired of competing with math and robots that decide what’s popular enough to be worth my time. Tired of the same big-hitting sites showing up everywhere, every time and limiting the information, products and people that I could be discovering if the playing field were a bit more level.

Google To Businesses: “OK, You Can Do SEO. But We’re Going To Punish You If You Do.”

All right, they didn’t say that either.

But I dare you to lie to me and tell me it doesn’t seem like that!

Google said: use keywords!

So we plugged them into tags and images and headings and copy and then Google said, “Whoa! What’s up with all these keywords everywhere? Just use them, you know, sometimes.”

Translation: Want to know where and how often to use keywords? Guess.

Google said: be popular!

So we built links and got popular and then Google said, “Nuh-uh. That’s totally trying to game the system. Just get links naturally.”

Translation: “magically”.

Google said lots of things and then Google got mad and told us we were doing them too much.

Again, I understand that there are a lot of spammers out there who throw out links and stuff keywords indiscriminately. Evict those guys from the rankings, I say.

But don’t step on the small biz guy who’s trying to get ahead in the small ways available to him, who maybe uses keywords in too many tags at once but who still has a pretty darn good website.

I’ve seen a lot of good small businesses get hammered in the wake of recent Google updates with little recourse but to keep being awesome.

Google To Businesses: “It’s All About Links. But Not Really. Except It Is.”

I’m paraphrasing.

In this recent video Matt Cutts told us that linking between multiple sites that you own is ok, sort of, as long as you don’t do it too much. Mostly. And as long as the sites are really related. If you can count the number of interlinked sites on one hand, that’s ok. But 222 sites are too many. Usually.

One can only wonder about the poor souls who have four or six fingers and try to count interlinked sites. Hey, it could happen.

I understand the point he’s making, that putting up a boatload of low-quality and unnecessary sites for the sake of building your own link ecosystem is bad. Nobody needs that. But the question reflects a Google-induced paranoia surrounding links that’s almost ridiculous.

People are afraid to link to other people and they’re afraid of who links to them. They’re afraid of links that link to pages in their own sites. They’re afraid of dofollow blog comments. They’re worried about being hijacked by some spammy site that steals their content faster than you can say “duplicate content penalty” and adds a bunch of links that look like spammy link-building tactics on the part of the good guys.

The funny thing is that the spammers aren’t worried. Because as long as there is a system, they will find a way to game it.

People who spent time building link profiles, not thinking they were doing anything wrong, are finding themselves in the unfortunate position of having to spend hours in Webmaster Tools disavowing links that they spent years collecting.

The idea of links = popularity = quality sounded good in theory, just like the keyword tag sounded good in theory, but it might be time to retire that paradigm somewhere to the North Pole.

Until then, search results will be nothing more than the outcome of a second-rate math contest.

Businesses To Google: We Have Social

If you’re feeling frustrated by all this, the good news is that social media has opened the door of opportunity where Google has slammed it shut.

We can promote our sites and content and businesses on any number of networks. We can find eager audiences and connect with them in a way you can’t do via search results.

You can be where people are looking more and more for information, recommendations and communication. If you can look past Facebook’s Google-wannabe EdgeRank, it’s a pretty wide-open field.

Seems like we’d be better served taking the welfare of our businesses into our own hands instead of leaving it to the whims of an algorithm and learning how to use social media instead of where to shove keywords.

I obsess about my analytics and I can tell you without a doubt that social traffic trumps search every day of the week.

And when I do get search traffic? You wouldn’t believe the absurdity. One particular phrase that keeps popping up is about drinking tea – because there’s a photo in a blog post somewhere with an alt tag describing the actual photo as a cup of tea. Why Google thinks that post or this site have anything to do with tea is surely one for the Mensa grads. Yet that’s the “relevance” I’ve been assigned. Not once or twice or a few times – but repeatedly, bafflingly.

I bet you’ve seen a lot of junk keywords in your analytics, too. And yet somehow that’s what the algorithm that’s supposed to be so good at discerning quality, relevance and awesomeness thinks.

At least when I post a link to a blog post titled “How to use Pinterest for business” to Twitter, I can be reasonably assured that none of the people who click will be looking for a cup of tea.

Businesses To Google: Stop Spamming Us

I’ll admit something to you right now:  I couldn’t care less where my company site shows up in search because I don’t really want anyone to find us.

We use our website more as a conversion tool than a lead-generating tool because truthfully the quality of the cold leads we get through our site when someone has stumbled across us on the web is 100% terrible.

We get spammed constantly. And I’m not talking about the “buy Viagra” type of spam. I’m talking about the “can you build me a website for $20″ type of spam and the “can you send me a proposal so I can compare it to the other six proposals I got and choose the lowest price” spam.

The problem is that search results don’t provide any context for our business. We’re just another link in a long list of links to an arbitrary business in an arbitrary town.

Getting a lead through search is about as effective as cold-calling someone during dinner and hoping they’ll want a subscription to your ceramic-collectors magazine club.

Do you know where we get better leads? Right through this blog. Because our blog creates context and creates relationships and builds trust in a way that a link in a search result never can.

Think about that if you feel the need to continue obsessing about keywords instead of working on your content marketing.

The Million Dollar Question: Do You Need SEO?

Search, in spite of my rant, is not dead.

People use it every day to find the products, services and information they need. I do. You do. We can’t pretend otherwise.

Search is more relevant to some types of businesses than others. For example, retailers want a search presence because so many shoppers use search to find what they buy. You can still use social but without a search presence, there’s a real opportunity lost.

If that’s you, better get acquainted with the zoo. It’s going to take a lot of work and very little of it is going to do with optimization. A whole lot of it going to have to do with marketing – getting your content out there, building a strong brand and… ahem… being awesome.

If you rely more on referrals or word of mouth for business, you may be able to ignore search completely. For some types of service professionals and bloggers, you’ve got a much bigger ocean of opportunity in social and community-based marketing. It’s still a lot of work! But at least it won’t involve worrying about whether you have the wrong number of fingers to count how many links you’ve created.

And you still get to be awesome.

What’s your take on SEO? Are you killing it in the rankings and using that advantage to build your business, or has one too many P-animals made your life miserable? What are you doing about SEO?

Is Your Website A Jargon-Free Zone?

Written by Marty Diamond

Jargon is one of my pet peeves… kind of like the phrase “pet peeves”, but oh well. You don’t need to list any of the dozens of cliché words or phrases to know exactly what I mean: you visit a website, you read some long-winded sentence about leveraging profits for synergistic relationships and the only thing that goes through your mind is, “Whu?” Marty nails this with an added twist: he asks whether you realize that what you’re saying is jargon. Some jargon is obvious but some is a byproduct of the fact that we know what we’re talking about – but that doesn’t mean our customers do. Read this for an eye-opener about how jargon can be more than what you think it is!

Read the article at diamondwebsiteconversion.com and follow Marty’s company on Twitter @DWebConversion

A Social Media Profile Is Like A Direct Mail Piece – 4 Ways To Optimize

Written by Robert M. Caruso

Quite possibly my favorite quote of the week: “Friends don’t let friends be eggheads.” If you spend any time on Twitter, you know what that means! And how often do you follow and engage with eggs, hm? I can tell you that for me the answer is never. Robert makes a great comparison between social media and direct mail. It may not seem obvious, but we use the same visual cues to sort the mail as we do to “sort” people. Egg? Trash. Logo? Hm… maybe. Cute guy? Sure! That’s why it’s important to be sure that your social profiles reflect you in a way that will encourage and entice people to click/like/follow/take whatever other action you may want. Read this for some act-now ideas for getting your profiles up to speed and keeping your image out of the trash.

Read the article at steamfeed.com and follow Robert on Twitter @fondalo

Are You In Social Media Overwhelm? Of Course, You Are!

Written by Shelley Webb

I love social media but I’ll be the first to admit, it’s making me a little crazy. Check this, answer that, update this, respond to that… now! And now! And everywhere! GAH! Just writing that stressed me out. If you feel a little pushed-and-pulled by social media, you are certainly not alone. Shelly cracked me up with this post because she opened with something we’re all familiar with: the supermarket. Used to be, you could go and buy a box of your favorite crackers. These days there are the original crackers, the salted, the low fat, the oil-roasted, the garlic-flavored, the extra crispy, the whole grain… and all you wanted was a cracker! She makes a great point about finding “the thing” that works for you and sort of tuning out the rest. Read this if you want a chuckle and also some good advice for cutting down on the over-stimulation.

Read the article at onthewebbsocialmedia.com and follow Shelly on Twitter @ShelleyWebbCSO

Social Media ROI: It’s Possible With These 7 Metrics

Written by Kathi Kruse

Just this week I wrote a post about this very topic, so this one seemed like the perfect complement. So many people struggle with how to measure their social efforts. They jump onto Twitter or Facebook usually because someone told them to, then they get there and wonder, “Now what?” And then they post a lot of updates without really knowing why or to what effect. It’s understandable – after all, social media is relatively new and much of the information about using it for marketing is a lot of cheerleading without a lot of substance. But that doesn’t mean you can’t measure your return! In this post, Kathi gives you seven ideas for doing just that, in simple, straightforward terms that won’t overwhelm you with spreadsheets or big-corporate words like “cost per acquisition”. Read more if you want to start measuring your efforts today.

Read the article at krusecontrolinc.com and follow Kathi on Twitter @kathikruse

Infographic: Why Email Subscribers Unsubscribe

Written by Jim Dougherty

Infographics are awesome because they can aggregate a lot of information into a readable and fun format. After a lot of weekend reading, a bit of visual can be a welcome reprieve! And the good ones – like this one – have some great stats and tidbits you can really use. Here’s a tidbit: 50% of email subscribers think your content is boring! Ok, maybe not your content… but… maybe. Jim also adds that giving people an incentive can work wonders for your list-building efforts. Check out some of these interesting numbers and see if you have anything to add from your email experiences.

Read the article at leaderswest.com and follow Jim on Twitter @jimdougherty

Enjoy your weekend, and Happy Mother’s day to all the moms and moms-to-be out there!

I suppose I’m biased – I’m immersed in an online world – but when you consider that anywhere from 50-90% of consumers (again, depending on who’s asking…) search for and research products and services online, that’s a pretty big chunk of the market to be missing if you’re one of those businesses without a website!

Whether your website is “good” or not is a whole other question, but let’s start with the fact that you need one.

Some people I know don’t agree.

Some “have” a website but only have it “because”. They don’t see any particular value in it and don’t use it for marketing.

Others think that their Facebook page will suffice. (Here’s how we feel about that.)

Here’s why all of the above is crazy. And why, if you fall into the “I don’t have/need one” camp or the “It’s not important anyway” camp – it’s time to rethink your premises!

Surviving Is Not The Same As Thriving

Some business owners argue, “I’m doing fine without a website. I don’t need one.”

I suppose there are some cases where that’s true but I bet there are plenty more where just because a business is “doing fine” doesn’t mean it can’t do better.

“Better” might come in the form of increased revenue. Or a decrease in repetitive tasks (like answering the same questions over and over and over…) Or better customer service. Or more qualified leads and customers.

“Doing ok” is nice but “better” is… well, better.

I mean, you didn’t open the doors of your business just to “do ok” did you? May I presume that you had grander visions? That you wanted to be good at what you do, make good money, enjoy your work and the freedom that comes with it? That you (gasp!) started with a passion that went beyond, “I want to do ok”?

Bakeries, restaurants, electricians, artists and massage therapists everywhere, listen up! People are looking for you. And a boatload of them are doing it online. If you’re not there, you’re missing out. Especially if you’re a local business, where the number of people searching for you online jumps exponentially, why wouldn’t you want those people to find, work with, and recommend you so that you can grow and thrive?

Dig deep… I bet you do.

The Web Is The New Phone Book

For a large chunk of my life, whenever I wanted to find a business I pulled out the phone book and looked one up.

Now do you know what happens every year when the phone book gets delivered to homes in my neighborhood, tossed into our driveways sealed in their clear plastic bags?

They sit there. It snows on them. The plows come through and scoop them into a pile of sludge. In the spring, they emerge as dirty, crunched, soggy masses of tattered paper and plastic.

They sit there some more.

Fortunately I live in a townhouse community where the landscapers eventually come through and clean them up.

I seriously don’t think I’ve picked up a phone book from my driveway in ten years. Nobody else on my block has either.

A chunk of your customers hasn’t either.

When people want to look up a business, especially a local business, they go online. Do you want to be there when they do?

Because I Don’t Want To Talk To You

We’re getting busier and we’re getting crankier.

We want results immediately and we want them easily. Sometimes talking to a human is so tiresome.

That’s not to say your website can (or should) replace human interaction but it can (and should) be a place where people can ask you questions or make comments without going through the hassle of calling you – during business hours – and sitting through your phone queue.

I’m one of those people who really dislikes picking up the phone for a simple request. But give me a web form and I’m happy as a clam. I bet I’m not alone.

I know a lot of people who are either shy (yes, that actually exists) and not particularly comfortable calling a business or just in a hurry and can shoot off a question via web form in a fraction of the time it takes to find a phone number, call, wait, explain, go through the conversational niceties and get an answer.

We tend to be skeptical of pretty much everything these days. I bet you’ve hesitated to call a business at least once because you feared the hard-sell or the up-sell or just having someone try to market to you when all you wanted was to find out if the shirt you like comes in red.

Don’t put your customers (and potential customers) off by failing to provide them with the comfort and simplicity of a web form.

A Website Is Open 24/7

Are you?

A lot of searching and shopping is happening when you’re not working, on vacation, or tucked snugly into bed.

Florists, doctors, plumbers, designers and spas, pay attention! People still want your products and services even when your doors are closed for the day. Do you want to simply hope they’ll wait until the morning to call you or do you want to be sure to capture their questions the moment they’re inspired to ask?

If you do business internationally, you’re competing with some very different time zones. Don’t make someone in the US work around your Australian schedule to contact you.

Just be on the web.

Because Answering Repetitive Questions Is Repetitive

How many phone calls does it take from people asking, “Do you clean upholstery, too?” before you put the answer on your website? Oh wait, you don’t have a website…

Every business has a pretty stock set of questions that people ask, whether it’s about pricing, services, location or other details that you can easily provide on your website.

People research online to find answers and if they can only find those answers at a competitor’s site then that’s bad news for you.

A website gives you the opportunity not only to answer questions but to educate your prospects and customers about your products, services, values and business. It may be the only chance you have to make an impression. Take advantage of it!

You Can Outpace The Competition

You know all those other dentists, attorneys, party planners, contractors and salons without a website?

Me either.

Because they don’t have websites.

It’s long past time for the excuse that “people in your industry” don’t have websites. The only thing I can say about that is: exactly.

Be the one who does and you’ll be the one who people find when they’re ready to do business.

One Word: Legitimacy

It’s a truth of doing business in a digital age: if you can’t be found online, your business just doesn’t appear as legitimate as one that can.

Imagine you’re looking for a new hair stylist. All other things being equal – meaning you don’t know anything about hairstylists and nobody has come through with any glowing referrals – would you rather entrust your silky locks to one that has a website with color photos of gorgeous hairstyles, bios and credentials of the stylists, an interesting story about their history and some hair care tips for winter frizz and summer chlorine-green… or one that just has a phone number and a pin on a Google map?

A website is your chance to create an impression, to build a brand and to convince people that you’re for real and you know what you’re doing.

It also gives people a comfort level that you’re not a shady fly-by-night that’s going to disappear tomorrow and abscond with their money. For small service businesses this is a real threat that you need to overcome. Take away some of the perceived risk by “proving” your legitimacy with a well-thought-out website that ensures people you do have a history, you do know what you’re doing and if things go wrong, there’s a way to find you.

Two Words: Home Base

With so many other options for being found online, including Facebook, Google Plus Local (previously Places), Yelp, Foursquare or other services, it may be tempting to think some good reviews and a presence is enough.

Nope.

You never want to rely on “other services” for your business welfare. When Foursquare disappears, Facebook changes the rules or someone finds a way to slam you with bad reviews that may be baseless, what are you going to do?

A whole lot of not much, that’s what.

Your website is your home base. It’s your property, where you make the rules and you create the experience.

It’s great to be found in a variety of ways but you want to be able to bring people back to your home where your own brand of hospitality is on full display.

And, if you’re smart, where you can test other marketing ideas, like offers, deals, sales pages, email list-building and content marketing.

If you don’t have a website – or if you do but it’s only there “because” – I hope you’ve reconsidered and are starting to see that a website can be an invaluable asset. Otherwise, it may be time to start counting those lost opportunities.

Do you disagree? Are you running a booming business without one? Let me know what you think!

The following is a conversation I had with a twenty-something who graduated college, worked for a few years and realized he wasn’t happy and had hit a dead end:

(paraphrased… but not much)

Grad: I’m going nowhere. I hate this job. My degree is useless and unless I get a Masters, I’ll be stuck here forever.

Me: So get your Masters.

Grad: I was thinking about it. But I’ll have to go to school at night while I work and by the time I get it, I’ll be thirty. (Said with the kind of disdain and despair that only a 20-something can muster for numbers greater than 29.)

Me: You’re going to be 30 anyway. You could be 30 in a dead end job or you could be 30 with a Masters. You decide.

It’s been… ahem… fifteen years since that conversation, and said grad has since gotten a Masters, run a business and travelled the world. He’s also made it past 30 without melting into a puddle of middle-aged goo.

I don’t know if he had a five year, ten year or any year plan, but he did have a vision and while I’d like to take credit for saying something so profound that it inspired him to get up and do something about his life, I’m pretty sure he just knew the truth of the situation, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

The truth is: time is going to pass whether we like where we are now or not, whether we know where we’re going or not, whether we know where we want to be at any given point… or not.

We have a very simple choice. We can act and create the lives we want or we can let life happen to us. Here’s how you can avoid the latter and take control of your destiny.

Start With Your Vision

We often hear about “the five year plan”.

Why five?

Because it takes time to execute plans and reach goals so a two-month plan wouldn’t give you the time you need to realize your vision.

But too much time can be just as bad. A 50-year plan is no better than a pipe dream. Who knows what might happen by then and in a real sense, who cares? It’s too far beyond our sight line to be real.

But five years… that’s doable. You’re going to be 5 years older someday, so what do you want to be doing when you are?

The first thing you need to do is set a goal.

You might be aiming for a certain growth in revenue. Or envisioning a particular product launch. Maybe you want something as grand as cornering a certain share of your market or as simple as publishing your first book.

But you need more than a goal. You need a “big picture” vision of what you want to achieve – you need a “so that…”

For example, my twenty-something friend had a goal to complete his Masters within 5 years so that he could achieve a broader vision and open up his opportunities.

You may want to publish your first book so that you can build a name for yourself as a thought leader.

Or grow your revenue by 50% so that you can retire to a nice little corner of Barcelona.

The goal is the relatively short term thing you want to achieve. The vision is the big picture of why reaching that goal matters.

Your turn: What’s something that you want to do with your business (or personally as part of your business) that you can achieve within 5 years? How does that contribute to your vision? Fill in the blanks: “I want to reach [my goal] so that I can achieve [my vision].” Write it down!

Define The Actions You Need To Take To Get There

Having a goal and a vision isn’t enough. As far as I know, nothing grand has ever been achieved by waiting around for it to magically happen.

It’s work, it’s sweating, it’s trying and even failing and sometimes readjusting.

And it starts by setting milestones for yourself so that you don’t wake up in five years and ask, “So where’s my book….. oh crap, I forgot to write it!”

Milestones are the steps along your path, the smaller things you can measure to ensure that you’re moving toward your goal.

My twenty-something friend wanted to get his Masters, but he also planned to “complete 6 credits by July.”

If July rolls around and those 6 credits haven’t happened… it’s time to reexamine and readjust. At that point you can ask yourself why it didn’t happen, what you can do to correct course, and whether or not your goals are realistic.

That’s much better than waking up in five years and realizing you’ve made no progress!

The key to a good milestone should sound familiar. It should be specific, reasonable, measurable and time-sensitive so that at a set point in time you can look at what you’ve achieved, know whether or not it hits the mark and be qualitatively closer to achieving your bigger goal.

Your turn: What’s the first thing that you need to do in order to move closer to your goal? How soon can you achieve it and what will success look like when you get there? Keep charting a path and set milestones with deadlines that you can achieve along the way until you hit the prize. Fill in the blanks: “By [specific short-term date] I will accomplish [specific milestone].” And…. write it down!

Learn To Adjust

Just because you decide where you want to be in five years and even make a plan for getting there doesn’t mean you’ll automatically wake up one day to plant a big success flag.

Sometimes life gets in the way. Things change. New challenges arise. We change our minds.

Five years ago I had a fairly different vision of where I wanted to be right now.

In fact, I recently stumbled across some documentation that outlined a change we were making to our business and the end result was, in some ways the exact opposite of where we ended up today!

That isn’t a bad thing. Actually, if my next five-year plan goes… er… according to plan, it will be far better.

Our overall vision is intact – we know where we’re heading – but the five-year increments along the way have led to different outcomes.

But it didn’t happen arbitrarily. It happened because we didn’t lock ourselves into an unyielding set of goals and milestones. When we hit a brick wall in one place, we dug a tunnel somewhere else. It’s leading us forward, but perhaps not in the straight line we’d planned.

Your goals can change too. Your vision may even change. As long as you recognize that and accept change, you can adjust your trajectory no matter where you are on your path.

It’s not always something you can anticipate so I don’t have any homework for you this time! And I’ve found that it’s not particularly helpful to plan for the “what ifs” either.

The problem is that you don’t know what all the “what ifs” are.

The other problem is that you set yourself up for a set of limiting beliefs.

I want to grow revenue by 50%… but what if I can’t?

That kind of thinking has never helped anyone I know. Far better to be realistic about setting milestones then evaluate and adjust as you go.

Evaluate successes and failures as you meet them. Revisit your goals and your vision often. In fact, set a schedule for doing just that, so you don’t blindly follow a set of actions simply because “it’s part of the plan”. Then you can either stay the course… or correct course.

If you apply this reasoning to all your marketing and business plans, I bet you’ll find that you can achieve more than you thought. And in five years you won’t look back and say… now how did I get here?

Do you think it’s a good idea to have a five year plan? What are your experiences? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

If you’re using social media as part of your marketing mix I bet the question of ROI has come up at least once, as in, “How the heck are you supposed to measure it?”

Social marketing is unique in that many times we’re perfectly ok doing it with no measurable results at all because “everyone is doing it” so it must be right. If we don’t at least have a Facebook page, we start to feel guilty, like we’ve gotten the party invitation but still can’t decide what to wear.

But that’s dangerous and unnecessary thinking. There’s no magic to measuring social media success and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few ideas for thinking about ROI and some ways you can start tracking yours today.

Start With Your Goals

This may sound like a whole lot of nothing new, but you can’t measure something if you don’t know what you’re measuring.

If I asked you right now, “How wide is it?” I bet you’d look at me sideways and reach for the white jacket. But if I said, “How wide is the frame on that wall?” you could grab a ruler and go to work. If I said, “How wide is the ocean?” You’d probably need another tool.

The same goes for social media. You have to know what you’re measuring before you can measure it and before you can choose the right tool for the job.

So what goals might you have for your social marketing efforts?

• To make sales
• To generate leads
• To provide customer support
• To create brand awareness
• To build an email list
• To perform market research

It’s up to you to determine your goals and list them clearly so that you can decide how to measure each one.

The Metric: Conversions

If sales is one of your goals, you need to know whether you’re actually making any. Sales are probably the easiest thing to track and measure. And you do it the way you’d track any other sale on any other channel.

Tag your links: One way of tracking sales is to tag your links as part of a campaign so you can view analytics to see whether people who have clicked the link followed through with a purchase. Use a tool like Google’s URL builder to add specific parameters to your URL that you can follow through your sales funnel in Google analytics.

Use a special coupon code: You can track response to an offer by providing people with a special code to use at checkout and only make this code available on one social network. It may be tempting to use one code across multiple networks, but if you really want to measure the effectiveness of your social presence, you want to get granular and measure Twitter vs. Facebook vs. Google, etc.

Advertise: Given the uber-targeted nature of Facebook ads (and the pitiful likelihood of getting your posts shown in the newsfeed) you may want to experiment to see what kind of response you get to various ads and offers. Be sure to track your spend against revenue so you know whether you’re making out on the deal.

The Metric: Leads

If you don’t make direct sales, perhaps because your products are custom and require human interaction (not just a quick ecommerce transaction) or because you’re a service provider, you can still get people into your funnel who will eventually buy from you.

You’ll need to be extra diligent about tracking leads because it’s not as simple as tagging a link or creating a coupon code. That means you need a lead-management system in place so you can track the source of your leads, follow up, and assign revenue that you can attach to social marketing.

For example, in our business, we may “meet” people on social media, build that relationship and eventually engage them in a project. But if we don’t track that person from “favorited our tweet” to “paid us to build a website” then we’ll never know that our social efforts paid off.

Sometimes learning the source of a lead is as simple as asking. Whenever someone calls, we always ask, “How did you hear of us?” If the answer is, “I follow you on Facebook” then chalk up a win for social. And sometimes you may have to dig a bit. People may not lead with social but that doesn’t mean they don’t follow you there. Whether the lead is direct or indirect, it’s good to know.

The Metric: Service

This one is tough to put a number against. Some companies measure it by a percentage reduction in customer service phone calls. If you can do that, good for you. But most people I know don’t have entire customer service departments, let alone measure the number or duration of calls.

You may even get more service requests on social channels because some people are more comfortable tweeting than calling. If you suddenly get hit with a ton of customer service questions that you weren’t fielding before, it could be a good sign that customers are finding and engaging with you in a positive way. It may mean that you’re solving problems and answering questions that you would never otherwise have had a chance to address from people who weren’t inclined to pick up the phone or compose an email.

So this is more of a soft metric but customer sentiment is important. Try surveying your customers to see how they feel about your service and whether it’s working for them. Happy customers always equal more sales and more referrals.

The Metric: Engagement

What good is a like or follow? Not much, unless it leads to something bigger, something that ties into your goals.

Talk about soft metrics, engagement is one big squishy mess. But it can be valuable, it’s just that you need to understand what that value is.

Engagement in and of itself doesn’t mean much, but all marketing starts with engagement. You open the door, someone peeks inside, then they take a step in, then they give you their email address, then they let their troubles leak and you jump in with a solution, then they buy from you.

Engagement can build brand awareness. It can improve customer retention. It can foster evangelism. It can expand your circle by bringing in friends and followers of your friends and followers.

So yes, go ahead and count your fans, count the number of likes that you get on particular posts (so you can repeat the winners and ditch the losers of course), count the comments and evaluate the sentiment.

If you’re creating positive experiences for your leads and customers you’ll know you’re on the right track.

The Metric: Knowledge

One of the hidden gems of social media is the ability to conduct market research without the expense of market research.

Want to know how your customers feel about your products or services? How they feel about competitors? What they like/want/worry about? It’s all there if you look!

Want to know which features your customers would like added to your next product release? How about which ones drive them nuts? You’ve got an entire focus group online and all you have to do is ask. Post questions, conduct surveys and instead of guessing about what people really want and need, you’ll actually know.

Your fans and followers (and even those who are not your fans and followers but who are talking publicly about topics related to your business) are a treasure trove of information. And they love to share their opinion.

Value? Priceless.

It’s important to remember that there is often not a straight line between social media and sale. Someone may follow you on Facebook and get your emails and visit your website. It’s altogether likely that your social presence gave you the top-of-mind position that tipped the scales in your favor but chances are its a combination of efforts that led to your marketing success.

Social media ROI can be a slippery beast and if you’re focused exclusively on numbers you may be missing out on some of the higher-level benefits that it can offer. But that doesn’t mean ditching numbers, throwing up your hands and insisting it’s impossible to measure. It can be measured – as long as you start with a goal and then define what success looks like at the other end.

What are your social marketing goals? Is it something I’ve covered here, or something else? How do you measure success? I’d love to know!

Lawn Watering

Written by Jay Posey

I wanted to share this post with you because it’s just hilarious and because it makes a most excellent point about the truth of following your dreams and being an entrepreneur. Jay has a style of writing that I could read all day – witty, unexpected and insightful. I’ll quote this one line and then I’ll let you go read this amusing bit of thought-food for yourself: “The tedious will always be with you.” (But don’t let that depress you. There’s good news, too.)

Read the article at jayposey.com and follow jay on Twitter @hijayposey

A Conversion Question: Do Your Clients Really Need A Web Site?

Written by Chris Lema

This post caught me at the right time because I just finished writing one myself about why your business does need a website. So I was curious to hear what Chris had to say and what good reason on earth there could possibly be for not having a website! Needless to say, he told a story that was a little bit familiar and completely relevant. It reminded me that there is certainly no one-size-fits-all, and more importantly, that “having” a website isn’t the important thing – its purpose is. This is an interesting read about the whys of a website and something every small business owner needs to understand.

Read the article at chrislema.com and follow Chris on Twitter @chrislema

How To Plan Your Entire Website With A Content Map

Written by Gazalla Gaya

Speaking of websites… you know you can’t just pop into a chair at your desk and start building one, right? If you want a site that does something more than “exist” and that actually converts visitors into customers, you need a plan. Gazalla outlines a super practical guide to planning a site – from identifying your objectives to outlining user personas and figuring out the “why should people do business with me?” question. If you’re in the market for a website, do-over or just want to check yours against your goals, this is a great post to bookmark.

Read the article at webcontentblog.com and follow Gazalla on Twitter @gazalla

Is Code-Switching Eroding Your Personal Brand?

Written by Tessa Wegert

This post was fascinating. “Code switching” is what you do when you adjust your tone, language, voice and behavior based on who you’re with. You can catch yourself doing it as you switch from “Sunday dinner with the family” to “Monday at the office” and even “Friday at the bar”. Tessa points out that we do this on social networks, too, especially as we tend to use different networks for different purposes and with different groups of people. But she also makes the point that this can create inconsistency to the detriment of your brand. It’s something worth considering and perhaps recognizing it is half the battle.

Read the article at leaderswest.com and follow Tessa on Twitter @tessawegert

The Dangers Of Blog Envy And How To Overcome

Written by Sonia Winland

It must be going around… just last week I wrote a post about self-doubt, a week before I had a long conversation with someone who was wondering whether he should go back to his “day job” and other people I know have been in worry-mode over whether they’re really succeeding. In this post, Sonia takes it another step and talks about those times where you may wonder whether you’re blogging in an empty room and why you’re not as popular as that other guy. This post is in problem-solution format (my favorite! A fluff-free zone.) and is worth a read if you’re having even the tiniest doubt about where you are, where you’re going or whether it’s all worth it.

Read the article at logallot.com and follow Sonia on Twitter @LogAllot

Enjoy the weekend!

Why?

The truth is, people are getting busier, more impatient and less inclined to stop and look at your pretty pictures and meticulously designed banner graphics. They’re becoming more action-driven, and sites that have callouts to “buy”, “get” or “join” are going to win over those that don’t.

Not to insult your average consumer (hey, I’m one of them!) but the more you can cattle-drive people toward your desired end result, the more likely they are to do what you want them to do.

The key lies in figuring out how to do this, and a funnel-centric home page may just be the answer. If you’ve got more than a single product or service at more than a single price (ie: just about all of us!) then consider these ideas for designing your home page to drive leads and sales more effectively.

(Warning! Requires homework!)

Segment By Needs And Interests

In other words, categorize! This can be as simple as grouping your products by type (dinner plates, placemats, decanters) or as conceptual as grouping by use (family dining, holiday parties, late-night entertaining).

This requires that you know your target audience. For instance, shopping by product category may be intuitive for your audience if you’re selling straight-up dinnerware. But if you’re creating more of an experience for a unique consumer, then a “use” category could have more appeal.

You can apply this to services the same way. A landscaper may categorize by service type (poolscapes, water gardens, patios) or use (commercial, residential, municipal).

Or how about a resort that categorizes by service type: boat rides, hikes, shopping excursions… or experience (use): family events, nightlife, romantic occasions.

I could give you lots of examples but the best thing for you to do is to think about how this applies to your business! Your answer will depend entirely on your audience, their expectations and the type of funnel you want to create.

Try it now: think about your products or services and come up with two ways to group them so you can reel people into your funnel. Which way fits your business model and your customer needs best?

Segment By Price Range

Sometimes you can funnel people more effectively toward a sale if you consider their budgetary constraints.

For instance, if you install telecommunication systems, your prospects may want the super duper high end amazing phone system that walks the dog and washes the dishes, but they are probably limited by a corporate budget. And though you may be able to upsell, it’s probably not in your best interests to show all the bells-and-whistles to the low-spenders.

Likewise, for those with higher budgets, you can direct them to your top-of-the-line systems.

You’ve probably seen a budget-based approach on a lot of service sites, from Mailchimp to Salesforce to Hootsuite. Each of those has a budget-based series of service packages. It’s better than getting a customer all hyped up about a bunch of features only to lead them down the pipe to an end cost that makes their jaw drop into their soup.

Again, knowing your audience is key. If there’s a good chance that your customers choose based on budget, then keep their expectations in check and lead them to the products or services in your line that make the most sense for them.

Try it now: think about how you can package your products or services based on price. Even if this isn’t a route you choose, it can be a good exercise to help you think a bit differently about your offerings.

Segment By Demographic

This can work well for lifestyle-based products or services. For example, you may have a spa with packages for kids, teens, moms and seniors. Your services and prices will vary in this case based on age. Maybe the little kids get a choice of three nail polish colors and a cucumber facial, but moms get the full range of colors plus a massage.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record… it depends on your audience!

There are a variety of ways to segment by demographic, age being only one. How about gender? You might sell skin care products for men and different products for women.

Or by residence – how about a line of garden products for suburbanites vs. apartment dwellers?

You’re only limited by your imagination… and how well you can make your products or services specifically relevant to your audience.

Try it now: how can you group your customers by demographic factors like age, gender, marital status or some other factor? Will doing this help you create a better sales funnel?

Offer Multiple Funnels

Just because you can segment your audience by need (family vacations vs. romantic getaways) doesn’t mean you can’t also segment by price range (budget trips vs. luxury excursions).

In fact, if you can legitimately segment your audience in different ways then use that to your advantage! Don’t go overkill here and segment for the sake of segmenting… but if it makes sense then give your website visitors the option to shop in a variety of ways. You’ve probably seen clothing retailers that give you options to shop by size, occasion, price range, even color palette.

Some of your customers may not know if they want a woodland garden or a hardscape but they’re probably confident that they fall in the residential category. Others may be pretty certain that they want a stairway fountain.

Try it now: Can you come up with multiple ways that your customers might want to find and buy your products or services?

The better you can define your prospects’ specific needs, the more likely you are to pull them in.

So forget that pretty-but-useless photo carousel – it’s fashionable but what benefit are you (or your customers) getting out of it? Stop worrying about the page header or the number of columns in your footer. Focus instead on how you can use your home page to lead your prospects down the path you want them to follow to the sale at the other end.

What do you think of the funnel concept? Have you thought of a way you can use it to focus your home page on conversions? Let me know, or if you’re stuck, tell me and maybe I can help!