If you’re a marketer or business owner looking to learn about search marketing and you live in the Pacific Northwest, you have great educational opportunities through our local SEMPDX, Search Engine Marketing Professionals of Portland.

Last night, they sponsored a Hot Seat, a site review which allows business owners and marketers to submit their sites for review by a panel of professionals. This is one of the best ways to get a better understanding of how to improve your website, not just for search, but for usability as well.

Whether you have a site that generates millions or generates awareness (like one of the sites up for review, Donate a Life Northwest) you’ll get practical advice you can take back to your development team. Here are a couple of recommendations:

*Create simple calls to action on your home page. At search shows and with clients, I’ve gone through this process and 90% of the time, this piece is missing. What do you want people to do on your site? If you want visitors to pick up the phone and call you, give them your phone number, don’t make them search for it. If you want them to schedule a consultation, create a form that makes it easy to do that.

*Submit your xml sitemap to Google. Go to Google Webmaster Tools and follow the simple directions for submission. Vanessa Fox (speaker and the founder of Google Webmaster Central) recommended creating a script to resubmit xml sitemaps rather than remembering to manually resubmit.

*Examine your keywords and be realistic. Sometimes the most trafficked keyword for your industry is nearly unapproachable. Remember that “tail” terms can be even more powerful since they’re likely to generate intent that matches your service and be less competitive than “head” terms. Vanessa wrote a terrific blog post about this phenomenon.

Want to do your own Hot Seat? Do a mini focus group. Sit down with users or potential users of your site and create a dialogue about the site experience. What do you think you’re supposed to do on the site. Was it easy to find the info you were looking for? Is the site credible and trustworthy? Try this exercise just once and you’ll walk away with “ah hahs” that can improve site experience and conversion.

Don’t miss the next SEMPDX Event as well as the upcoming SearchFest in March. It’s a lot of great speakers from the big SES and SMX shows but in our own backyard and for a fraction of the price.

Since involvement with the search industry in 2001, we’ve used the SERP define as part of our reporting criteria to clients. It is one way to gauge effectiveness of natural search efforts. Once we show page one placement for a keyword or phrase then we show the amount of visits generated by that placement, then behavior of that traffic and the conversion of that traffic, pretty straightforward.

Now that personalized search define and custom SERPs are more common than ever, the search industry is left without a metric that it has used to dazzle current and prospective clients. It’s exciting when you can tell a client that they are #1 on Google for an important search query, but what do we as an industry do now that SERPs are difficult to replicate? What I see on my query is very likely to vary from what my client sees because of customized results. We can run the reports with personalized search off and advise clients to do the same so we can be on the same page, but results for their potential traffic will vary due to custom results that can be driven by geography, bookmarks, past queries and other information because engines want to drive the highest level of relevance for users.

This is great for users, but it can present some complexity for search marketers. This change in the search algorithm define places us in the same situation as more traditional marketing efforts. We can still monitor our visits and track them back to the engines, then proceed to return on investment and conversion. Though some search marketers may fear this transition we should be excited about it. We are now left to embrace more traditional, grown up methods of success like quantifiable growth, roi and increased revenue for our clients.

There are still many search marketers that point to their client SERPs and congratulate themselves for being masters of the universe. The real power of search lies in helping our clients complete the sales cycle (or other conversion goal), not just giving them placement on an engine. What does personalized search and custom SERP’s mean to SEO? Maybe it means it’s time for search to grow up and take its’ rightful place among traditional marketing strategies. Growing up means getting more responsible, and that’s good news for the industry and our clients.

As I’ve enjoyed the holidays, I’m reminded about how important foundational elements are to so many things. When it comes to preparing a great meal, there’s no fancy color coordinated table setting that will make up for a bad cut of meat. When it comes to hosting a party, it doesn’t matter if the food and cocktails are perfect if you didn’t invite people you like. It’s difficult to build anything sustainable on a rocky foundation. I meet with many business owners who want to skip the foundation. No matter where you are in your search marketing efforts take this quick quiz and determine if your foundation is solid and ready for building.

1 We’ve done thorough keyword research
2 We have good information architecture for our website
3 We have link popularity through strategic linking
4 We can be found for the keywords we’ve defined for our business
5 We know which search queries result in conversion
6 We understand our analytics
7 We send natural search traffic to other pages besides our home page
8 We have a plan for continued improvement
9 We’ve done competitive analysis and know what our competitors are doing
10 Our search goals are quantifiable so we can determine return on investment

If you don’t have these foundational elements, take some time to create a plan that addresses each. If you have mastered these elements, it’s time to start landing page optimization. We’ll talk about testing next post!

Three things happened at this week’s Search Engine Strategies show in Chicago that make me think that search is becoming mainstream. First, one of the keynotes called attendees “traditional search marketers”. How exciting to have the descriptor “traditional” next to a job that’s only a dozen years old. Second, one of the keynotes was Professor Emeritus Don Shultz from Northwestern University giving direction for search marketers to become integrated into the traditional marketing mix. Third, companies are creating their own internal search marketing departments. So what does this mean for you as a business owner? Search is becoming a more organized, respected discipline. This means there are higher standards within the industry holding search marketers accountable for the results they provide their customers. It also means that more education is available for clients. One of the biggest complaints of clients new to search marketing is that it is an almost mysterious discipline and companies are writing big checks to almost unknown entities for a marketing medium they don’t understand. Make sure that the search marketing agencies you engage have shown results and referrals for their customers. Educate yourself. Sign up for search marketing newsletters through ClickZ, Bruce Clay or attend a local search marketing organization meeting (in Oregon, that’s SEMPDX) so that you’re asking the right questions when you’re ready to hire a search marketing agency. Lastly, include your search marketing agency into your traditional marketing planning. A great deal of synergy exists when all marketing departments work together to optimize efforts. As search becomes mainstream, prepare to reap the benefits of search maturing and, as importantly for your business, expect the same level of accountability from your search marketing efforts as you do from your traditional marketing efforts.

Last month, I wrote a post, Top 10 List “Why 70% of SEOs Suck” and, as the Search Commander pointed out, this list works both ways. So here’s it is, Top 10 List “Why Some SEO Clients Suck”

10. They want to do search marketing because it’s the cool thing. Unencumbered by real business reasons, they decide that they’ll give their first born child and 30% of their marketing budget for search ranking.

9. They don’t take time to learn the steps to good SEO. They underestimate both the complexity and the nature of SEO and they put less effort into an SEO Campaign than they would choosing a breakfast cereal.

8. They hire their cousins’ best friend because they heard he knows how to do SEO. Clients need to learn to ask the right questions, the most important of which is, “What have you accomplished for your clients”. They also need to ask more than the question about page one placement. Ask how search efforts have improved the bottom line.

7. They sit you down and ask “How do you do search marketing”. Really? If I do construction, would you sit me down and ask me how you build a house? Let’s say, just for argument sake, that I’m a contractor and I answer that question. I would give you the highlights, “We work with an architect to make plans and build the home to specification, we’ll need your help selecting materials, paint colors, tile, fixtures, appliances, etc.” Now let’s assume I’m a search marketer, when I explain that we start with understanding business objectives, then we do keyword research, competitive analysis and create a site with solid site architecture and exceptional content that facilitates strategic linking, they’re disappointed. It’s like it’s a secret club, and they just want the special handshake. That’s not how it works Spanky. (Spanky and Alfalfa, The Little Rascals, anyone?)

6. They want something for nothing. Ninety percent of proposals I submit to potential new clients get this reaction, “We can’t afford that”, without understanding what the value of an SEO campaign will net the company. They want you to build them a Mercedes and charge you for a Yugo. It’s our job to create a relationship between the cost of the campaign and the return on investment for clients and help them make decisions on acceptance or rejection of a search marketing budget based on ROI.

5. They consider using black hat search marketers. SEO clients should beware of search marketers who scream “Get your website number one on Google for $49.95!” and though their business savvy encourages them to run from such ploys, they can be swayed to engage in these practices just to get placement.

4. They want instant results. Good search marketing strategies take time to implement, we make short and long term goals for our clients so they can begin seeing results, but building a site with solid site architecture, relevant links and exceptional content take time, THEN it takes time for those strategies to get rewarded by the engines.

3. They want to do it themselves. I have 2 clients that came to me for proposals, went away to do it themselves, then came back to have it done the right way. Some clients believe “SEO isn’t rocket science, I can do it myself”, and spend a token amount of time learning about it and implementing a partial strategy that gets little result.

2. They think you just do it once. Good SEO/SEM requires long-term commitment. You don’t just do it once and turn your back on it, just as you wouldn’t buy one TV spot on the Super Bowl and quit other advertising campaigns. Products change, search queries change, competition changes, your SEO/SEM Campaign has to change and evolve as well.

1. They haven’t been educated. The number 1 reason SEO clients suck is because we haven’t done a good job as search marketers of educating them. I hate to pass the buck back to the industry, but that’s where some of the responsibility lies. We make it our job to educate our clients, give them achievable results and deliver. Maybe SEO clients would suck less if SEO’s suck less;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

So the next few posts I’ll be talking about last week’s Search Engine Strategies Conference (highlights: video search engines, ask.com 3D launch, social media impact, blog pages outpacing web pages for the first time probably by the end of this quarter, SEMPDX Karaoke of Love Shack on YouTube at the Google Dance…) But I want to start with a practical and simple strategy. Start a blog for your business. We recently created a blog for a client, they’ve only written a handful of posts, but already they’ve had user generated content on their winery site regarding a food and wine pairing recipe, “The recipe came out perfect and the wine was a great touch” and an event “So glad I found your site and came to the Diva Wine Picnic”. Many businesses don’t ask for user content, fearful they may not like what they have to say. User generated content (UGC) is a great way to begin having a dialogue with your customers. Worse case scenario, you learn about how to improve your business and customer experience, best case scenario, you get comments like the ones referenced earlier and it really doesn’t get any better than that. The blogsphere is full of comments about companies who shut the door on UGC and suffer the consequences. If you don’t start allowing dialogue online between you and your customers, they may just start without you. So how do you get started, did I already mention this? Start a blog for your business. Plan to post at least twice a month, plan to get involved in the conversation, comment (thoughtfully) on other blogs within your industry. Spend time reading a blog that you like so you get a feel for the interaction. Read a book about blogging, “Naked Conversations” has some great insight and case studies. Happy posting!

What is Google Universal Search? Search Guru (the Lance Armstrong of the SEO world) Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land notes, “Google is undertaking the most radical change to its search results ever, introducing a ‘Universal Search’ system that will blend listings from its news, video, images, local and book search engines among those it gathers from crawling web pages”.
Though this rolled out a couple of months ago, the roll out will take place over time and search marketers are just starting to see the impact. As video and other results take page one placement, traditional text entries will be pushed further down the list. What does this mean for your business? Prepare to communicate with your customers via video. When faced with a choice between text only option for a search query and a text option with video, it’s the theory that searchers may prefer rich media to help them with their search query.
We’ll learn more about Google Universal Search at Search Engine Strategies-San Jose, CA
The Wednesday Keynote Presentation will be from Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products & User Experience at Google. We’ll learn about Google’s moves in search, including recent changes to add more personalized and “universal” search results and we’ll tell your more about it after the show!

I went to Disneyland last week with my family, wonderful experience! if you’ve ever been to Disneyland, you know there are 100 things that can go wrong-a ride can be delayed, ice machines can break (meaning only warm water on a hot day), fireworks can be cancelled due to high winds, but how does Disneyland still manage to be the happiest place on earth? They do an exceptional job of creating expectations. On any ride with a wait you’ll see a sign that determines how long you can expect to wait, it can be 5 minutes, or it can be 90 minutes (as was the case with the new Submarine Finding Nemo Adventure). Is anybody happy about the wait? Not really, but how can you be mad when you’ve been told what to expect. As service providers, retailers and business owners, we all want to achieve great results for our customers, under promising and over delivering is a great philosophy, regardless of your business model. It’s amazing how empowered we feel when we have all the facts and we can make decisions based on reality. As I stood with thousands of adults, my teenagers and countless small, tired children, the announcement that warned us that fireworks may be cancelled due to weather conditions was sobering. Here we stood, cotton candy in hand, expectations of seeing the magic kingdom spectacularly lit up pink, purple majestic sky was so close, so tangible, but (maybe for today) out of reach. Surprisingly families, for the most part, made the best of it, enjoying the beauty of just standing still for the first time all day with those they love most. And when, 15 minutes after what should have been start time, the fireworks began, we weren’t just happy, we were ecstatic. When the collective ahhs and wows subsided it all seemed just a little more special because it happened at a time when we didn’t expect it. So what should we learn from Mickey and his friends? Be honest, do your best to create expectations, even if they’re sometimes a little unknown, under promise and over deliver. As search marketers, we are trying to understand different algorithms, presented differently by ever major search engine. Then we create expectations based on what we think (based on past experience) will happen. According to Google Engineer, Matt Cutts, there are more than 200 elements to their algorithm-elements that they aren’t going to share. What we do know is that they do the best job possible to deliver the most relevant results to every search query. So as I learn every day how to be a better search marketer, it’s my vow to all my customers, current and future, to do a better job of creating expectations-and though Disneyland owns the position of “Happiest Place on Earth”, maybe we can learn from them and share a little of that magic in our day to day search efforts.

If you’re wondering how to get involved in search marketing education, check out Search Engine Marketing Professionals of Portland (SEMpdx). The group was created to provide a resource for both local SEM professionals and area businesses.

The main objectives of the group are:
 To build national credibility for Portland as a hub for the search engine marketing industry
. To develop and enhance member businesses and employees
. To inform and educate the Portland community on the benefits of SEM.
It’s a great way to network and find search marketing professionals. They also host events for business owners who would like to learn more about growing their business with search marketing,
 view their event calendar.
If you’d like to learn more about our team, Read our SEMPDX interview