When no one listens, there’s no use talking at all.

Do you hear me, do you care?

Remember the lyrics to the popular 80’s hit? I just got back from a dinner with a client and it’s all I hear in my head after the conversation we had tonight.  I’m really listening closely to what my clients understand about their message, and in a more ethereal sense, their words.

In my head, the lyrics are, “What are words worth, when no one listens anymore? No one notices, I think I’ll dye my hair blue.” As a chic, I get it. I don’t think that’s so different from a desperate small business point of view. When we’re young, like the song suggests, we’d do anything to get attention immediately, to be noticed – even bizarre to border line nuts.

Let me explain to you exactly why keyword research and word relevance are more important than flash and hype.

Keywords Are Powerful

Online, your words couldn’t be more powerful. You can have all the graphics and keywords, and even a fair number of readers, but to be found by the maximum number of people who need you, it will take more than that. You’ll need a small business marketing strategy. Could you use more customers? Better (paying) customers? More business?

Case in point:

Out of curiosity, I used one of the companies I represent as a model for some basic SEO and Page Rank experimentation. I’ve been doing their media releases and fliers, but not the Web site.  This company has believed that their Web site was optimized. Since competition in their field is minimal, they were easily found on the first page of Google search if you knew what to look for. I learned that not only were they absolutely not searched on for their most prevalent keyword phrases, they weren’t showing at all for the phrases people actually look for.

That blew my mind, because with a Page Rank of 3, you’d assume the keywords were working for them. But they weren’t. Zero traffic on the terms used.

So what to do? Is this a problem? Well, for one thing, if the words you think your customers use, aren’t in fact, the words they use, how will they find you if they don’t already know your specific Web site address? If your business presence online is new, will your market know your exact address?

Long Tail Optimization
Zero To Sixty Marketing decided to use this company as an example to see where we could improve our customer discussions. Using Market Samurai for keyword research, we ran the currently used keywords against long tail options that sounded more reasonable for searchers to use. Long tail keywords are words that are run through a system based on the original keywords and determined to have market merit based on the level of traffic and competition for that word or phrase.

What a difference. We realized the words we ran through Market Samurai, that were not used before, had huge amounts of traffic and very little competition.

What does that mean? It means that many people are surfing the net searching on terms and keywords that apply to this business, but the words weren’t used in tags, bullets, headers, and titles to cause that searcher to find the site. What’s more, very few other companies represented in that niche were using that term to promote their own business. Can you say ‘goldmine?’

What Are Words Worth To You?
So think about that. You may not be an SEO believer, but there’s undeniable merit to a case study like this. The advice I gave this company was to start using those keywords effectively in  posts to blogs, comments, and high authenticity sites. Working outside of the site (link building) to improve keyword strength for the term you want to use while you’re using the words that are already proven, strategically can – over time, cause your unused terms to become more common place, and therefore used. This is a very effective link building exercise, well worth the effort.

Take the time to develop relationships with high authority sites via comments and linking strategies. Use the keywords in such a way that the reader stays on the page to learn more about your quality information, interesting related links, and possibly – hopefully, comment and leave their link so that a relationship does in fact develop. That takes time. And that’s okay, because as in real life relationships, they will matter and become relevant to your business reputation.

So I don’t think you need to dye your hair blue, or anything, that’s just a song.

Picture Credit: danielleblue from Flickr

Related Posts:

Very Basic SEO 5 PT Series,

SEO: Where Do You Find Your Keywords PT 2,

Using Keyword Research Tools PT3,

How Do We Use Those Keywords PT4,

Where Are Keywords Most Effective PT5

I gave away a little of today’s post in my last one, where I addressed how to use keywords. Remember, I asked you if you could:

• Use them effectively in your H1, or header title.
• Use them in your H2, or header for a bullet or numbered list.
• Use them in the body of your short, opening paragraph.

That’s a start. Choosing one keyword, and using it like I showed you in Part 4 is very important. Using too many keywords can often take away from the quality writing you want to share with your readers. That one primary keyword should be used as described above, and it should be used in the opening lines of text under your title.

More Keyword Effectiveness

Another important placement of your primary keyword is in the anchor text of a link. Here’s why:

• The anchor text, or the different colored wording used when linking, provided the links connect (and you must always check), adds good authority.
• Anchor text used for linking outbound to another, possibly higher ranking site, may naturally turn into an inbound link once a relationship between authors is established. Keyword-rich anchor text coming in on an inbound link is good for authority.
• Anchor text using effective keywords for your internal linking between pages of your website is also good for your reader, and by default, you.
• Posting comments on relevant blogs and forums will also bring links in from other sites, so you want to include good keyword-rich anchor text when you leave them.

You’re not completely limited to one keyword for all your content. If used too frequently, you can actually hurt your site, not help it. Shoot for using your primary keyword naturally 2-3 times on a page in the places we’ve talked about. Then, go back and see if another word or phrase that you’ve researched can be used as a subordinate, worked into the text of your content. Don’t use it more than a few times.

It’s imperative that you write for your readership; your potential customers, your existing customers, and others, such as information gatherers and peers in your business to business relationships. If you can do this fluidly, and maintain the quality of your content, you’ve got the basics of a recipe for success.

One more thing as I wrap up this series. Be a good steward of your site. Make sure to reply to comments and return links to readers who have helped you link. It’s not going to hurt your company to complement or agree with a competitor’s comments or product lines, and doing so can actually be helpful for more than just linking. Once relationships are built, and that takes some time, you may very well find yourself in a situation where you’re offered extra work. Sometimes a company finds it better to send extra work to someone they trust than to risk turning down work with no alternative for their customer. That could only be possible with effective link strategies.

We’d love to hear from you. Be sure to leave your comments or questions with a link to your company along with your name below. Here’s to your small business success!

Photo Credit:   Flickr’s danielle_blue

Related Posts: Very Basic SEO 5 PT Series, Where Do You Find Your Keywords PT2, Using Keyword Research Tools PT3, How Do We Use Those Keywords PT4

Now its time to put forth a little effort. I’m going to ask you my favorite question:

What do you have to say to your customers, viewers, and peers?

Notice I never asked you what you had to say to a search engine. Your content is king, and if you ever start filling your web pages, press releases, articles, and blogs with randomly placed keywords, they will no longer be keywords. They will then be useless, lifeless gobbledygook that will only make you look uneducated, and there’s absolutely no authority in that.

Page by page, start writing your quality content. Remember your audience. Some will be looking for information, some will be looking at their competition, and some will be looking for your services or goods. Write to them, and although a call to action on every page is a good idea, you want to spend more time expressing the benefits to the customer than the blatantly over-done, hit-them-over-the-head sales pitch.

Pick one keyword phrase. Pick the best one for your landing page. Most times your landing page will be your home page, but sometimes it’s your services page. What page is your customer coming to first? That is where you use your primary keyword. Hint: Its not in the drop-down menu. Current logic is that every page a person lands on must be considered a landing page.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Can you use the word or phrase in your title header, naturally? 80% of all SEO results are from the page title and anchor text.
• Can you mention the word or phrase in its entirety within a natural sentence, and will that sentence work in a 2-3 sentence paragraph?
• Can it be used naturally in any H2 bullet or numbered list?

If you believe those conditions apply, see if they work into the text you’ve written. Read it out loud.

• Does it flow?
• Did it lose meaning?
• Will your customers, viewers, and peers find value in what you’ve said?

If not, then try again. If your writing doesn’t meet those conditions, you’ve wasted your time on keywords. Trial and error, my friend. In the end you’ll be glad you put effort into the quality and style of your website copy.

Is SEO Just About Keywords?

ABSOLUTELY NOT. You also need to consider and address:

• The number of pages on your site. You want several pages of good content, including drop down 2nd and 3rd tier pages.
• The age of your site. Even when it’s built right, time improves rank because familiarity will bring necessary clicks and comments, and links.
• The frequency of updated, quality content. Blogs, calendars, and product reviews all add quality content if updated regularly.
• The internal linking strategy, and quality external links. Quality external links will build your inbound links, and we’ll be talking more about that in our next post.

Our next and final post in this series addresses where those keywords will be most effective. Did you find this helpful? We’d love to hear from you, please leave any questions and comments below, and be sure to use your name (not your keyword phrase) in the name box, and a link to your blog or website in the URI box. We’ll explain why that’s so important in our next post.

Photo Credit: Le Petit Poulailler on Flickr

Related Articles:
Very Basic SEO – Pt 1
SEO Where Do You Find Your Keywords – Pt 2
Using Keyword Research Tools – Pt 3

We’ve been giving you the nuts and bolts breakdown of SEO, and we want to make sure you have access to some of the easiest keyword research tools out there. We’ve been using Wordtracker for several years now, but I’ve only recently started using this tool myself. A couple of years ago I had tried it and thought it difficult, but then again I had very little working knowledge about how to use the tool, and they’ve improved the experience for the researcher (you) by leaps and bounds. Anyone can figure this out.

First, make sure you take the tour. I don’t remember taking the tour, if they offered one on my first try years ago, but I’ve taken the tour since then and now think that it’s very helpful and can’t imagine trying to use it without taking the tour. I like things spelled out.

Wordtracker Tour

Very basically, there are four steps that you’ll be walked through in more detail:

• Enter a keyword (one you’ve chosen off of the list we worked on in the last post)
• Find the actual search traffic volume for your keyword
• Evaluate competition for the word
• Export results, and
• Research again from your list

While you’re there, take a look at some of the blogposts in the Wordtracker Academy. I thought Lyndon Antcliff’s post on social media was a really great breakdown for any business owner.

Using Market Samurai Keyword Research Tools

Another keyword research tool is Market Samurai. The 30 Day Challenge kicked off on August 1, but you can still get in. Shari and I have both taken the 30 Day Challenge, consisting of video tutorials and introductory versions of several Internet marketing venues, and have come away inspired and empowered. Neither of us has been able to complete it, however, and it’s pretty time intensive alongside a busy work schedule. We just keep going back! Give it a try, tell us what you think.

With this tool, you have access to every level of SEO information; link strategy comparisons of your competition, and a rank tracker tool that does exactly that, tracks your rank and so on. Complete introductory information is available with this system as well.

I don’t want to give too much away with either of these tools because I’d really like to see your unbiased comments on both.

In our next posts, we’re going to show you where and how to use these keywords that by now are excellent choices. Was this post helpful? Have you used Wordtracker.com or Market Samurai? Tell us what you think of these tools in the comments below!

SO you need keywords, but if everyone in your service industry is using the same words, how will that help you? With that logic, how do the right words help you? First of all, you’re not completely wrong! Random words aren’t going to be the Holy Grail you’re looking for. Second of all, start your list already! We’ll discuss where you use what words and how you use them later.

Your keyword list should include:

• Brainstorming the words and phrases you think people use when looking for your company or service.
• Look at your competitors sites, what words are they using?
• What problem does your service solve?
• What names are used in your product lines?
• Your list should be extensive, a couple hundred to start.

What words are we supposed to be using?

Now that you’ve compiled your basic list of keywords and keyword phrases, how do you know which will perform best? After all, if everyone else is using them, how will they help you more than your competitors? This is time consuming, but remember, you could pay to have it done.

• Check out your competitors that outrank you on the search engine pages. Pay special attention to the top ranking positions.
• Can any phrases or wording be altered just enough to be similar, but not exactly the same, and still get the point across? Circle.
• Wordtracker.com and Market Samurai have excellent keyword/phrase analysis tools that will help you decide what words will have the most impact. Both have free versions for a temporary basis, and I think that’s great for comparison sake.

Now, using your new tools, plug in your keywords and phrases. You’re looking for:

• High volume of search traffic, preferably over 30,000 searchers.
• Low volume of competition, under 300 is optimal.
• Relevant words and phrases that can be used conversationally and fluidly. Remember, you’re not writing for a spider, you’re writing for your readers at all times.

You need to know this information because you not only want to stand out, you also want to be able to “answer the cry” of your market. If people are searching on certain terms, but few of those terms are actually being used by your competition, you’re on to something. Obviously, meeting needs that aren’t being met is a huge benefit for your company.

Remember, SEO is an ongoing, constantly updated science involving not only keywords and their use, but also effective linking strategy, number of pages, and even length of time your site has been updating new quality content. You may want to revisit these tools occasionally if you see your rankings start to slip over time.

In our next posts, we’ll be covering a little more about Wordtracker and Market Samurai, and show you where and how these words you’ve discovered will help you the most. Was this post helpful? We’d love to hear from you! Leave your questions and comments below.

Photo Credit: jurvetson on flickr

Shari does a great job explaining what SEO is not, a very important read I strongly recommend. This is a very basic synopsis broken down for the small service company that is just now learning that their site can do more for their company than just hold a place for chance visitors.

Search engines are not as hard to understand as it can seem to a smaller, service website owner. Most businesses understand by now that they must have a website so their company information can be easily accessed by prospective clients, but just having one doesn’t guarantee that.

The major search engines are Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Whenever you look for something online, these engines have a search box that you can type information into, and then click on ’search.’ The engine then goes through its data, and pulls up information from sites that correlate exactly with what you’ve entered into the box. I told you, very basic.

So what gets entered by the searcher matters very much, but so does the wording on your site or blog. You want your site to be accessed by a person or business who is already looking for you. The art of causing that to happen, is SEO.

You want the wording you use on your website to produce the most favorable result possible, and that would be for your website to exist on at least the first Goggle, Yahoo, or Bing search page, hopefully the upper third, and optimally the first listing for what your customers are typing into the search box when they are looking for you.

The wordsmithing part of SEO simply combines the science of researching what words are best for you, and then weaving those words naturally into the sentences, titles, links and phrases used throughout your website. It also involves the number of pages and links you’ll be using, and how you’ll be using them.

Small service companies of America, stand strong. I encourage you to learn from these pages and the excellent information available on ExpressMarketingMemo.com so that you can adopt practices that will keep you in the running through this economy. We not only offer services, but  consulting as well. Many of you are working very hard and are finding yourselves stretched to capacity. We can get you back up to speed, so you can enjoy the business of doing your business again.

Was this helpful? Is there any specific information you would like us to elaborate on further? Leave your comments below.

Photo Credit: Ambient Damage on flickr

Search engine optimization (SEO) is probably one of the most misunderstood terms by small business owners. It’s a huge topic; many things go into optimizing a website for search. Unfortunately, nearly anyone can pass himself off as an SEO expert, and many small business owners are taken in by “experts,” only later to discover that there were some serious holes in the actual expertise.

SEO is an easy upsell for the web developer. When the benefits of SEO are spelled out clearly, no business owner in his right mind will say they don’t care about a search engine optimized website. Clearly, there’s a financial incentive to the developer to sell SEO services, but not every website developer has enough of a grasp on the basics for it to be of any real benefit to you.

Likewise and for the same reasons, SEO on existing websites is an easy sell for the search engine marketing firm. Either way, you want your website to be found prominently online, not as #106 in the search results. You’d think a firm that specializes in SEO would know what they’re doing, right? Many do, but others engage in practices that will actually hurt your website’s rankings … and it can be hard for the untrained eye to know the difference.

To begin with, there’s more to the equation than what gets done to your site. On-site SEO is only one piece of the puzzle, albeit an important one. Real search engine optimization is an ongoing process, kind of like marketing overall. Just like you wouldn’t (shouldn’t) expect droves of traffic to a brick and mortar store based on it being set up properly for business, with only an “open” sign on the door … it’s not realistic to expect droves of traffic to your site after only the initial search engine optimization process.

In future posts, we’re going to be hitting consistently on the topic of effective SEO, breaking it down in manageable chunks. Whether you do it yourself or hire it out, you owe it to yourself and your business to understand what SEO is and what it isn’t. If you’re not yet a subscriber, be sure to take a moment to subscribe so that you don’t miss any of this vital information.

A few quick tips – SEO is not:

• a design-only function. When you purchase an SEO website design or template, you’re buying a design prepared and friendly for SEO, not to be confused with a site that is effectively optimized for search.
• adding a hidden directory or link farm on your site.
• automatically submitting your site to every irrelevant site online to gain irrelevant links back to your website.
• stuffing your META tags with every loosely related keyword you can think of on every page of your site.
• adding hidden keyword text to your pages (using text the same color as your background).
• using the same title on every page of your site.
• some strange voodoo that only the elite can master. Anyone can master it; the question is not whether it’s out of your reach, but whether you have sufficient time to learn it and carry it out consistently, over time.
• optimizing your site for keywords you could never rank for. It’s about understanding the ratio of search traffic to competition in the search results, and putting your effort where it will bring results.

I’ll come back and add to this list over time. Please chime in with what you’ve learned about useless “SEO strategies” and empty SEO promises. Next up: What exactly is search engine optimization?