As these posts evolve you’ll find I’m a huge fan of Google. Not just because they rule the universe I work in, but because they are fair. They provide a lot of great tools for free and, though they won’t share their algorithm, they share lots of great information about how to use design and content guidelines that help you get search placement in their engine. Though I’ve worked in the internet space for 10 years, I’ve been involved with search marketing for just five years. The stakes for winning at search engine optimization and marketing are high so it’s no wonder that there are a lot of black hat seo techniques put to use by less-than-scruplous developers and web marketers. Google is crystal clear about what spam is and, though there really is no excuse, many companies participate in spam. Google’s content guidelines read very specifically, “Don’t create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.” Trying to get search ranking by creating duplicate content across multiple sites is bad for everybody, it’s bad for the engines because now they’re serving multiple duplicate results for a search inquiry. It’s bad for customers because they have to wade through the duplicate sites, it’s bad for the site owners because eventually, they will be blocked from the index. Last piece of advise, make pages for users, not for search engines. If you’re not sure, ask yourself when you’re creating more content for your site or another subdomain, is this helpful to my customers? If it’s not, don’t do it. Period.

One of the coolest parts of my job is working with the team members of a company. You learn so much about other industries and I’m always amazed at the level of talent and enthusiasm. As I recently worked with my client, Avery Print and Mail Center and their fulfillment vendor, Modern Postcard, to launch the new site, I was constantly impressed with the level of commitment by all the teams coordinating to complete the project and offer value through their individual efforts. A sales person had great insight into site metrics, the CIO kept track of coordinating efforts that weren’t always within her job description, a designer gave fresh perspective on some important marketing collateral. It takes a lot of time, energy and talent to run a business effectively. In smaller companies, individuals are tasked with wearing many hats. Do you know the talent on your internal team? There may be a gifted writer in your midst, explore ways that the writer on your team can evaluate your website and offer ideas and generate content for your site. Get to know your team, you never know what you might be missing. As we launched the new site last week, I realized how much I had learned about areas of the business that don’t have much to do with search marketing, postal guidelines for example, that improve my ability to help market the website. Fostering a work environment that encourages open thought and sharing may not only help your marketing efforts, it may improve your bottom line.

Welcome to Search Marketing 101 and hello from Hood River, Oregon. If there were a heaven on earth, it might look a little something like this. Nestled between Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood on the Columbia River, on any given day you may meet a world class athlete, entrepreneur, musician, artist or world traveler. We all have many reasons for living here, the endless parade of outdoor pursuits, the beauty, the peaceful quality of this place, the forward-thinking of its’ community members. But at the end of the day, we’re all looking for the same thing, to find ourselves, to find our voice and people that share that voice.
Search marketing is much the same, whether we’re looking to generate leads, sell something or share information-we’re trying to be found online, trying to find the people who have a need we can fulfill.
Let’s ponder a couple of questions. Why do you have a website? When I ask this question to different departments of the same company, I always get different answers, which is okay as long as you are creating an objective that you can fulfill. How do you know if your website is successful, if you haven’t agreed upon why you have one?
What do you want people to do once they’re there? I’m always surprised at how little this topic is discussed during web development, but it’s the most essential question you can ask…and answer. Do you want people to pick up the phone and call you, then don’t bury your phone number 3 clicks into your site. Do you want people to learn about your widget, then give them educational material
When potential customers “meet” your web site, what is their first impression? Just like meeting a person, your site is going to have a lot more to offer people than what they see in the first 6 seconds (all the time we have to make an impression in today’s fast paced web world). You have to give then something to make an impression, before you become best friends. Don’t be afraid to share a little something about yourself. If you’re a kayaker, tell me about the region, share your favorite kayaking spots, offer me something, get to know me. Chances are if I’m buying a new kakak and researching kayak shops I’ll give you a chance because you’ve made a good impression. It takes time to create a relationship, in life and in business. Ask a few people, friends or better yet customers, what they think they’re supposed to do on the home page of your site. If they’re not sure, you have some work to do.
Email me at lisa@mediafortemarketing if you’d like to share your results.