Archive for March, 2010
Is Your Business Being Squatted On?
Mar 31st
Some human predictions about the future have been amazingly accurate … just check out the Paleo Future blog. Some things we never saw coming … including the idea that there could be a full-time income made from domain squatting! With the prevalence of different sites that are available to create corporate profiles, your internet marketing campaigns could be in real danger of sabotage and blackmail, from social media profile squatters.
What is social media profile squatting?
Well, for starters, although it is recognized phenomenon, it doesn’t really have an agreed-upon name. Perhaps we’ll call it social squatting 
. Much like domain squatting, this would be the process of looking for companies, large and small, that have not yet registered an official profile on one of the major social media sites. The trolls would then set up a profile with your business name, in the hope of selling it to you at a later date.
Obviously there is a subtext to the offer of sale as well – whoever registers your official profile name on a site becomes (as far as the public knows) the spokesperson for your company. Choose to deal with them in a way they don’t like, and they may find an ingenious way to sabotage your internet marketing and drive away your customers.
What sites should I register on?
Here are some of the popular social media sites that it would be wise to register an official Page, profile or account on:
- Facebook (note that Facebook is taking steps to prevent people creating non-official brand name pages)
- MySpace
- Friendfeed
- Youtube – create a company channel
- Technorati
- Squidoo
- Yahoo Answers
But I don’t want to do social media marketing right now…
That’s okay. Most social media sites will let you register a profile, and then effectively make yourself invisible to the public at large. Leave it blank if you like – just make sure the account is registered to your business. This way all that careful brand building and internet marketing effort is carefully preserved.
How to Beat a Behemoth SEO Competitor – Final tips
Mar 30th
Beating a well-established Google number 1 in their own niche isn’t easy … but it is certainly possible. The greatest crime would be not to try …especially when we’ve given you so many awesome tips for doing it! Here’s the last of the bunch.
Yes, it can be done...
1. Build some unique, authority content
I once worked with a company that sold doorknobs, lever handles, knockers and locks, etc. One of the biggest traffic drivers to their site (thousands of visitors a month, for quite a niche business) was an authority piece on cleaning brass items. The company did an extensive amount of research, and put together a comprehensive 2,000 word guide to cleaning brass door furniture with household items. People just keep coming for this sort of content – it needs to complement your product or service and truly aim to help people. Don’t think about word limits when you’re building this content … you’ll end up with just another of the hundreds of pieces of mediocre content on the web.
2. Always use anchor text
Rather than saying ‘Visit www.yourbusinesswebsitehere.com.au for great deals on business websites’, say ‘Keep researching deals on business websites now’. People … and Google … understand the intention a lot better!
3. Get personal with database marketing
This is a big task, but definitely worthwhile. Create an email database with as much information about each recipient as possible, and then use it for targeted marketing.
4. Get personal with a blog, a Facebook Page, a Twitter account …etc
Social media creates a far richer face to your company than just whether you’re in the number 1 or number 5 spot on Google’s front page. This added dimension has flow-on benefits for SEO too, though – the greater your visitor count, the higher your ranking. And the more you interact with customers, the more people are likely to link to your website from their own.
5. Get an expert on your side
This is one of the most important things to remember. SEO is no longer an amateur’s game, and if someone ranks at the top of Google for their search term, it’s because expert web marketing help put them there. If you’re going to compete on a level playing field, you’ll need to call in the professionals as well!
By the way, the only reason tip 5 wasn’t at the very beginning of the article set is that we thought it might stick in your head a little better back here … and it is the most important SEO technique to remember.
How to Beat a Behemoth SEO Competitor – The Big List continued
Mar 29th
One of the greatest pities in the SEO world is when a great company fails to optimise their site because they feel they can’t compete with another large company that has more online experience, more Google Juice, and a bigger website. It’s a pity not only for the company itself, but for the general public and potential consumers who may miss out on the option of having a stellar product! Today we continue our look at how you can actually beat a big SEO competitor. Even the mighty must sometimes fall…
1. Don’t compete on price
It’s the lowest common denominator on the web. It’s tempting to think that if you offer a cheaper product than your big competitor, you’ll eventually siphon off all their customers, link popularity, etc. Not true. In many cases, you just end up being seen as the cheap alternative to the ‘good’ product. Being at the top of Google is an automatic ticket to being seen as a ‘trusted’ brand, according to surveys. Being cheap, and lower down, just makes you seem ‘safe to ignore’.
2. Look first to thyself
Sayeth the God of web marketing to his true believers! Make sure your offering is great, that your web design is awesome, that your customer service is in order, before you engage in a full-scale assault on that top Google ranking.
3. Spy on your competitors … to create a point of difference
It may sound sneaky … but it all depends on how you use the information. Copying your competitors tactics will not usually help you beat them. As Ries and Trout (the 27 Immutable Laws of Marketing) suggest, it is better to be first than it is to be better. However, if you want to know how to market yourself as different to potential customers, you need to know what makes you different. Which means knowing what the customer experience at your competitor’s business is like.
4. Ask what your customers thought about transactions
People LOOOVE being asked what they think! And this tactic doesn’t only endear your customers to you … it provides valuable information about improving your business for the future. There may be a tiny piece of the puzzle that your competitor has mastered, but you’ve so far missed completely. Implement a ‘Feedback’ form on your website, or get in contact with people who have had orders delivered via email and find out what they thought about the transaction. It works on eBay!
Keep watching for more ideas from the big list for beating those SEO behemoths at their own game!
How to Beat a Behemoth SEO Competitor – The Big List of Underdog Tactics
Mar 26th
Sometimes an SEO campaign seems hopeless. Much like at Kokoda on the Owen Stanley track, your larger competitor outnumbers you in staff and resources. They seem healthier and more experienced … but if you have the guts and determination, and use a little ingenuity in your SEO and general web marketing strategy, it is certainly possible to beat them! Today we start our catalogue of tips for beating a seemingly unbeatable SEO competitor.
Not such a mammoth competitor after all!
1. Persistence
This is the first thing you need to remember as you launch into an assault on the top position. If you only half-finish an SEO campaign, you waste all of it … not just half. Be prepared to go the distance – know that it is possible!
2. Know your market
In some cases a ‘competitor’ may not truly be competing with your business. If you have a slightly different offering, aim to be at the top of Google for the search terms that best describe your business. Know your unique selling point, and exploit it to the max!
3. Use review sites to boost your business name
Ask your customers to leave reviews of your business on well-respected review sites. If you’re in the tourism industry, Tripadvisor is the big name – but every industry can use sites like www.productreview.com.au. Please avoid the temptation to use review sites to denigrate your competitor(s)’ reputations, though! Keep it clean, people.
4. Don’t forget Google Local
Make sure you use your Google Local profile to the fullest extent possible. Add all the information you can Add your prices in Google Local as well – so many people use the internet for price comparisons, and may simply pass over your business if getting a price is too much like hard work. Price isn’t always the determining factor in supplier choice for the majority of people, anyway.
5. Don’t forget Google Local Reviews!
These may be one of the first things that prospective customers see – Google Local results often show up very high on the results listing, and click-throughs are a lot more evenly spread for these ten results. Get your satisfied customers to leave reviews here to start boosting your traffic.
Stay tuned – we’ll be looking at more ways to beat a behemoth SEO competitor in the coming days.
Successful Tweets … From Bones to Embodied
Mar 25th
Every studied cell biology? For a tiny thing, they are pretty complicated! The same is true of Tweets. They may be only 140 characters long, but they can speak volumes both within and between their lines. Today we break down what makes a good business Tweet, in terms of promoting your web marketing goals.
What type of Tweet is it?
Much like the cells in your body, having a single ‘type’ of Tweet just won’t work for your business. Every cells in your body needs most of the other cells in order to function … and in the same way, you need a well-rounded repertoire of Tweets in order to create a viable ‘organism’ of a business Twitter profile. Here are some of the types of Tweets you can, and should, be using:
- Retweets – If you come across something your followers might find interesting, you can re-tweet it
- Opinions and observations – Keep them professional, though. Be positive – don’t derogate anybody, especially your competitors or bad customers, tempting as it might be.
- What you are reading or watching: Share a link to interesting content you’ve found
- Events and plans – If you have an upcoming event for the public to attend, tweet about it often
- Content promotion – many blogs can be set to auto-tweet new posts. You may prefer to select Tweet-worthy content yourself.
- Replies: If somebody asks you a question via Twitter … answer them! (Refer to 4 Principles of Customer Service in Internet marketing)
- Quotes: I love quotes. Some people don’t love quotes. A small percentage is great to have as part of your Twitter ‘organism’.
The Control Centre
The link that you use is like the brain of many of your Tweets – the tweet itself would be useless without it. Twitter automatically uses bit.ly, but you may prefer another service. Is.gd uses slightly fewer characters, for example.
Watch out for…
These pathogens can ruin you’re the Twitter-creature you’ve created! Look out for:
- Naughty words. They make you seem angry, out of control, unprofessional, and like you have a limited vocabulary and no other way to express yourself.
- Abbreviations. Most people understand LOL and OMG, but if you’re using them more than once per tweet, you are trying to squeeze too much in! Another point here … I find that ‘WTF’ (pardon me!) is just as unprofessional as the spelt-out version.
- An imbalance forming. Check over your profile page regularly and see if you have been favouring one type of Tweet heavily. Bring a bit of balance back into your profile.
Twitter is a great web marketing tool – but even within 140 characters there is a lot of room for wasted opportunities!
4 More Principles of Customer Service in Internet Marketing
Mar 24th
We’ve been looking at how some non-SEO related factors can really suck up the true value of the SEO itself, and subvert its end goal … to make your business money. Inattentive or badly coordinated customer service is something that definitely needs to be sorted out before an SEO campaign starts – today we continue our look at the core principles of good customer service, minute by minute.
Laugh ... but have you heard someone at your organisation say this?
1. Got a complaint – deal with it
If you hear of any complaints from your customers, try your hardest to resolve them to the customer’s satisfaction, without overly compromising your business principles. In saying that, sometimes a measure of compromise will be necessary to keep people happy – you may have to give something away for free that people would usually pay for, for example. Take the angle that you are trying to ‘make up’ for the customer’s inconvenience, and know that this sort of attitude will help your business in the long run.
2. Always ask your customers if they need something else
If someone approached you in store and asked where the milk was, you’d probably take them there, then wait to make sure they found the brand they wanted. The equivalent in internet marketing is not just directing customers to ‘the Products section from the Home page’ … give them a link to exactly what they need. Then ask if they have any questions about it, or the ordering process.
3. Be positive, be genuine
Learn to be positive about your work, your business … and life in general! Greet people with “This rain will be helping the grass grow/farmers/health of the river” instead of saying “Horrible weather we’re having, isn’t it?”. Positivity from the start sets the tone for all your customer’s interactions with your company.
4. Make sure ALL your customer service staff know these principles!
Run customer service refresher courses every so often, preferably with the managers as mock customers so problems can be easily identified. Even if people tend to ‘act’ a little because they know they’re being tested, it will still help them keep the ideals at the front of their mind. And even in an internet marketing context, it is possible to use training tools like mystery shoppers.
It’s a crying shame to see a top Google ranking go to waste through a lack of understanding about customer service. These principles are very simple … but they make a real difference!
4 Principles of Customer Service in Internet Marketing
Mar 23rd
For some people, good customer service comes naturally. But in many companies (very understandably!), people who are really specialists in very diverse fields have to engage in the customer service. We talked yesterday about the impact that your customer service practices can have on your internet marketing and SEO. Today we look at how to make sure you aren’t a victim of the Anakin Skywalkers out there (!), by reviewing some of the core tenets of good customer service.
1. Answer phones, emails and instant messages
I certainly understand the reasons why some people don’t answer their business phones, emails or live help requests. You’re just too busy, and it can ‘waste’ big chunks of the day communicating with people. However, if you’re at the stage where you are too busy to answer calls and messages, perhaps it’s time to hire someone to do it … or risk never being busy again.
2. Keep your promises
If something isn’t firm, don’t make it into a promise. If you tell a customer that you will definitely have their order manufactured by Friday, make sure that you do. If you aren’t sure whether it will be ready by Friday, use vaguer language. There’s no harm in being uncertain, but there is in breaking promises.
3. Listen to what your customers are saying
In the old days, this simply meant ‘listening’. Funny, that! In the context of internet marketing, though, ‘listening’ means taking on a whole new set of tasks. Set up a Google alert for your business name as well as possible variations, regularly look for your company mentioned in Tweets and on Facebook Pages. If you find dissatisfied customers, try to resolve their concerns.
4. Be helpful for no reason
Apart from the fact that helping people for no reason fills you with the milk of human kindness and gives you a serious case of the fuzzies, it could also boost your business. There may be no immediate reward … but be helpful to enough people and you’ll reap the rewards in reputation and eventually, profits.
Why Customer Service and SEO Go Hand in Hand
Mar 22nd
We’ve often talked on the blog about how SEO and web design, for example, go hand in hand. We’ve talked about how SEO and conversion optimisation are two very complementary practices. Obviously, there’s no use in having lots of traffic if none of them spend anything on site. Today we’re looking at why customer service is another of the complementary activities to SEO and web marketing- because there’s no point being at the top of the rankings if your bad reputation precedes you, and people refuse to click no matter how high you show up.
Some customers don't get mad ... they get the Dark Side
The angry consumer
We’ve said it in jest before (not that long ago, when we were discussing ‘Why the Internet Sucks’), but it is true. Getting behind a keyboard and a screen allows people’s anger to rise to amazing levels. Someone that has a bad experience at your shop will vent in a much more vicious way if left to stew, and then explode online, than if you’d tried to resolve the issue immediately in-store.
What can the angry consumer do?
Some extreme examples of venting by frustrated consumers include the website BanTarget.org, set up in response to the Salvation Army being banned from collecting donations outside Target Stores a while back. Or how about iPodsDirtySecret.com, a site set up including an actual recorded conversation with an Apple customer service rep over the fact that when an iPod battery died, the only alternative was to replace the entire machine.
Other ways consumers get even
However, there are plenty of ways that consumers can vent about businesses they feel disappointed by, where someone doesn’t have to be annoyed enough to spend $25 on domain name registration and hosting. These include:
- Ranting on their own Facebook pages, and setting up Pages or Groups on Facebook that are anti-your business.
- Publishing negative tweets about your company
- Leaving negative reviews on review sites … including on Google Local’s feature, where if you rank highly, this will be one of the first things prospective customers see.
- File a report about your business with the Consumer Complaint Commission. US businesses can find complaints listed about them with the highly respected Better Business Bureau.
- Leave complaints on complaint sites, set up especially for the purpose.
- Write articles about your company online, create a hub page, Squidoo lens, etc
If you don’t treat your customers well, all that web marketing energy will go down the tube. The age of the internet is the age of accountability for customer service … both fortunately, and unfortunately
4 Biggest SEO Cash Leeches
Mar 19th
SEO can be great for business. Can be really, really great for business. We’ve personally seen quite a few companies make million-dollar differences to their bottom line, in as little as 12 months. These aren’t the steps to getting to your goal (the number one rankings, the traffic, etc). This IS the goal! But unfortunately, there are a lot of ways you can waste money with ineffective SEO techniques. Today we look at some of the biggest cash leeches in an SEO campaign – they are all give and no take.
1. You’re paying for ads on the Google content network that are not highly targeted
For starters, we are firm believers in the idea that organic SEO has a huge range of benefits over and above pay per click, which is the way the Google Content network is designed. Click on the image above to view it at full size, and tell me if you think the advertisers in question were actively trying to target ‘travel insurance’. If your ads are displayed like this, there is a far lower chance of getting clicks, and of getting conversions from clicks that you pay for.
2. Not using analytics
I love John Wanamaker’s quote – “Half of the money I spend on advertising is completely wasted. I just have no idea which half”. John Wanamaker was the inventor of the price tag and a department store owner himself, and obviously lived in the time before Google Analytics! Ask your SEO company about setting up analytics, if it all seems a bit too much like hard work.
3. Designing, building and writing content for the company, not the customer
You can have the prettiest website and the most grammatically correct content in the world. But if it doesn’t speak in the same language as your customers do, or appeal to them visually, then it is terrible. Why? Because it isn’t achieving its goals.
4. You are paying to get traffic to an old, non-functional or poorly designed site
Without an attractive, usable website at the other end of the click-journey, you’ll be paying for SEO that is driving up not much more than you bounce rate. In fact, many SEO companies can help you with your web design as well. You may not need to switch companies for this little cash leech – just ask about additional services.
Getting to the top of Google is not a license to print money, unfortunately. There are plenty of other SEO-related factors you need to keep an eye on in order to make money in the long term. Talk to an expert SEO strategist if you want any pointers for your own site!
Why Does the Internet Suck?
Mar 18th
Ha haa! We hear so much about the benefits of the web, SEO and internet marketing… its power to make money, to connect people with other people and with products, to give us more decision-making power and information … etc etc etc. People never stop extolling the virtues of the internet. Today I’m going to tell you why the internet completely, absolutely, sucks! And then, most likely, kiss and make up with it – “Let’s stop the fussin’ and the feudin’!”.
The internet is not impressed at our assessment
1. It’s a black hole for time
We all know exactly how much time the internet can waste. Entire weeks of your life are at stake. Information is fascinating … but not always useful in a broad context.
2. We depend on it … but it isn’t always dependable
Your connection to the internet arises out of a complex array of different factors. Your computer, software, hardware, the phone line, your ISP all collaborate to get you online. If one link breaks … all hell breaks loose!
3. It creates angry, mean people
This phenomenon, I’m sure, arises out of the same mechanism that makes us instantly angrier every time we get behind the tonne or so of metal, glass and plastic that is our car. When there is a keyboard, a screen, and in many cases entire continents between us and other people, human consideration is greatly lessened. Unfortunately.
4. You can’t always trust it
If I had a dollar for every time a Nigerian princess had contacted me, for every time a company had claimed to be able to either enlarge or shrink various parts of my body, and every time I had been told I could make over $40 per hour working at home, I would be a rich, rich lady.
5. Sometimes, we don’t need all that information
One very real effect of the internet on our collective psyche is the way it dispenses us to worry. We now the intimate details of people killed in natural disasters across the world, about exactly how many kidnappings occur every minute, and how often someone is diagnosed with cancer. But SHOULD we?
6. It’s permanent
If you’ve ever bookmarked an awesome link and gone back to find it a week later, only to be informed that the site hasn’t paid their hosting fees, you may dispute this point. But a very real fact is that if you have posted it on the internet, even if it has since been deleted, it may still exist in some form in somebody else’s internet history – or at least, the Google cache.
Our relationship with the internet is definitely more love than frustration … it’s like a marriage. It takes work to have a happy life together, but you know that leaving is not an option!