It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients

The 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner

For this mini-article, we will look at 5 areas of basic SEO concepts. These are important to business who wants a local, top-performing search engine presence. By faithfully following this approach you will improve your Search Engine Rankings giving you superior Local Search Engine Results.

Tip 2 of 5) SEO Strategy:

The BEST and LOWEST COST SEO Technology for Small Businesses

In a word: WordPress. Our website is built on it (and so is this blog) and as of this writing (March 8, 2010) we are at 38 days of being live and we are quickly eclipsing several local firms who have been around for years. And if we can do this so can you! We went from no-where’s-ville to actually getting page 1 Google ranking for several primary and secondary keyword phrases… And we are just getting started.

Why WordPress? Because it works. Not only as a base package but also because there are a slew of 3rd party plugins that will Super-charge your Local SEO Performance unlike those low-cost “website builders” or “website generators” out there with all sorts of marketing hype attached to them. The problem is they all stink from the perspective of SEO (IMHO). They just under-deliver when it comes to SEO because they are not built on a strong understanding of what it takes to succeed with top-ranking SEO Performance.

But just because WordPress is “Free”, be sure to NOT use the “free WordPress themes” out there, but instead, opt for professional themes that are designed to be optimized for SEO. These are built with better code and also don’t have the built-in back-links to nefarious websites that can get you black-listed in Google (Not a good thing). Also be sure to include a solid set of 3rd party plug-ins or choose a WordPress template  that is already set up to optimize your site for the leading search engines, most notably, Google and Bing.

And remember, search engines are the friend of local businesses and should be apart of your online marketing strategy, no matter if you are in Reno, Sparks, Tahoe or New York City. Most people use the internet to find local businesses they can buy from.

So whether you are on a budget and just getting started, or if you are an established business with a strong website, WordPress, if set-up and managed consistently, can help you with your local search engine rankings. I like to think of blogs, and in particular, Wordpress Blogs, as today’s digital business card for your growing enterprise.

Coming next: “Knowledge, Research & Curiosity: Learn about your competitors”. Date for next post will be March 10, 2010

*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.

It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients

The 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner

For this mini-article, we will look at 5 areas of basic SEO concepts. These are important to business who wants a local, top-performing search engine presence. By faithfully following this approach you will improve your Search Engine Rankings giving you superior Local Search Engine Results.

Tip 1 of 5) SEO Strategy:

Divide and Conquer and look for the little successes first. In my case, Let’s say I want to get to top rankings for Web Design and Graphic Design. A fairly competitive field for local results becuase these are the people that know what they are doing and have been around a long time. What to do? Look for other things that you offer that local people might be seeking and concentrate on those. For me it was things like Reno Copywriting and Online Marketing Reno and some other niche offerings. Now if I make some content about that (Think text) then it’s easier to get top ranking since there is less competition for those terms.

Once you get some “Google top ranking words or phrases” for your local market associated with your website, you can begin to build on that success. The theory is that once you get some success in Google it is easier to get more becuase Google likes a winner and if you can get on that path then you can build on your successes… one step at a time.

Coming next: “The BEST and LOWEST COST SEO Technology for Small Businesses: WordPress”. Date for next post will be March 8, 2010

*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.

It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients

In most cities and towns around the world, including business right here in the Reno, Sparks, Tahoe area, the majority of businesses sell to the local customer base. This is of course as it should be because local business success is so vital to any regions economy. So with almost universal use of the internet to gather info about local businesses, it’s time for local businesses to to get savvy about how they can start to “show up” in front of local customers when they are looking to buy.

But it’s pretty clear that most businesses don’t have a clue about how do do this. More often than not, what I hear when I talk to prospective clients that are local Reno and Sparks businesses is the same question over and over:

“How to get to the top of Google… How, oh how, oh how?!” <insert much hand-wringing and sighing>

You have to wonder if there isn’t a straight-forward solution.

The good news is… There is! But first a little factoid for you (Source: Nielsen Online MegaPanel in October 2008):

“Though 63% of consumers and small business owners turn to the internet first for information about local companies and 82% use search engines to do so, only 44% of small businesses have a website and half spend less than 10% of their marketing budget online.”

What you need to know is that getting to the top of Google or Bing (or Bing, or MSN or Yahoo which I think will all one day be one search engine) really isn’t that hard. All it takes is some, Time, Commitment, a little Knowledge, the Right Technology, with a healthy dose of Strategy.

(Stay tuned for Part 2 coming Mar. 5, 2010 with more info about the first of the 5 core elements, Time, Commitment, Knowledge, Technology, Strategy)

*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.

If so, what are you going to do about it?

Chances are good, your customers are online… what with email, online newspapers and news feeds, hobby sites and online searches for products for services, you can bet that most people and companies are online for part of the day either for pleasure or work.

And if you know who your customers are, and can discover ways to get in front of them, then you can succeed in the local marketing game. Because, marketing IS a Contact Sport.

So if you think you have what it takes, then you too can dive head first into the online advertising world and take advantage of the opportunities that will get you in front of local customers.

Online Marketing Opportunities Here in Reno, Sparks, Truckee Meadows and Lake Tahoe

Here’s my growing list of the local opportunities for online advertising here in the Reno-Tahoe area. And best of all, some of it is Free Advertising, or at the least very low cost. And some of it if managed correctly can be targeted right to your customers

Here are the Free Online Advertising Opportunities here in Reno and the surrounding community:

1. Craig’s List
2. Google Business Listing
3. Bing / MSN Business Listing
4. FreeCycle.com (You Have to have something to give away free)
5. Friends of FreeCycle (You have to be selling things for a very low cost)
6. Ebay (Selling things locally)
7. And though not specifically “online” like a web site… think email… if you have customers and they have emails, it’s best to stay in touch so they don’t forget about you.

Low-Cost Reno Advertising Opportunities:

1. Local Bloggers
2. Local Retailers (non-competitive offerings)
3. Local Networking Sites
4. Local Reno Portal Sites
5. Local Chamber of Commerce websites (Sparks Chamber, Reno-Sparks Chamber, etc)
6. Local Online Banner Networks (we can help with this)

Local, Reno Chapter of the American Marketing Association website

1. Other Local Professional Membership websites
2. Nevada Women’s Expo
3. Local Non-profits (You can be a “supporter/sponsor”)

Traditional Paid Online Advertising in the Reno, Sparks area

1. The RGJ offers various online advertising opportunities on the following sites:
   • RGJ.com
   • RENOMagazine.com
   • RenoLakeTahoeWeddings.com
   • GoToRenoTahoe.com
   • Reno-Tahoe.YourhealthMonthly.com
   • Metromix.com
   • Momslikeme.com
2. Northern Nevada Business Weekly
3. Reno News and Review
4. Yellow Pages Online (Not a big fan of this one)
5. Local (Reno) Radio and Television Web sites (too many to list)
6. Reno.com
7. Tahoe Daily Tribune
8. Tahoe.com
9. Sierra Sun News (Truckee)
10. TahoeBonanza.com
11. MonshineINK.com

Other Paid Online Advertising for GeoTargeted Users here in Reno

1. Google Adwords (Radius results for Search Queries and local content networks)
2. AOL Content Network
3. Facebook Geo-targeted or based on user profiles
4. Bing/MSN/Yahoo Search and Content Networks

Is Social Media important to your customers?
Then use it (wisely)!

Social Media: Marketers love it, social butterflies love it, the cool and the hip love it, young people love it and traditional business models are experimenting with it, and trying to figure how, and if, they should love it.

As you can imagine, Social Media is not everything to everyone and there are definitely naysayers out there. But if you listen to the ongoing buzz of Social Media, it pretty clear there are a lots of reasons to embrace it and its not going away anytime soon. But like all things that are new, it is best to approach with patience, common sense, an attitude for learning and maybe a sense of adventure.

And if you have a tight calendar with lots of tasks and activities, then limit your time for engaging and be clear about your reasons for being involved. Otherwise you will drown in a seemingly endless sea of tweets, posts, tips, rants, links, “What I had for lunch” (Like I care), and thinly veiled self-promotional hype.

No Question… Social Media is here to stay

There are thousands of people, noted experts, self-proclaimed experts and social media minions, who endlessly preach and glorify social media while basking in its endless surge… yes endless.. (as long as we have electricity and the internet I guess).

But what about the rest of us?Does it really matter? Are customers listening? Well I think Social Media just a new way of delivering info and connecting with people? Just a larger scale of older technologies. that used to be the realm of real face-to-face interactions?

My Advise: Keep it Real, Honest, Inclusive, Enjoyable, and Value-Rich. And remember to get, or keep, you life intact… There is more to living than being online.

Social Media Basics: Tremendous and helpful information from Mashable.com

Start here for the basics on how and why your business should be implementing a social media campaign.

Sign up, stay on message, and utilize some leading sites and apps that can give your business a social edge.

These posts have real-world advice and examples of how businesses have succeeded on social networks. From Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn () and beyond, here are the resources you’ll need to get started.

- Social Media 101: How to Avoid Alienating Your Customers

- Why Should Traditional Businesses Care about Social Media?

- 10 of the Best Social Media Tools for Entrepreneurs

- Putting Social Media in Real Life Context for SMBs

- Why Your Business Needs to Be on Facebook

- Making Social Media a Tool, Not a Distraction

- How to Use Twitter Hashtags for Business

- 5 Mistakes to Never Make on Twitter

- How SMBs Can Capitalize on the Twitter Woes of the Fortune 100

- 5 Small Businesses Successfully Using Social Media

- How to Build Your Company’s Profile on LinkedIn

- 3 Great Social Media Policies to Steal From

- 5 Secrets From Social Media Insiders

- Social Media: What’s Next

Copywriting & Copy-editing for websites requires a different approach to help with visitor conversion

As all SEO experts know, the best-performing SEO efforts start with great content or copywriting. The kind of content that is made of words as opposed to pretty pictures.

Website copywriting needs to get good results for search engines
as well as for website visitors

Here at Integris Marketing we have developed a set of guidelines that have given our clients good results for search engines as well as reader interest and all important buyer “Call-To-Action”. Conceived and designed on solid SEO principles, we also take advantage of the way people scan and absorb information. The result is that we end up with content that gets the attention of search engines, but also quickly provides the information people want or helps them take some desired action (think sales!).

So for our Do-It-Yourself Copywriters out there, here are Integris Marketing’s…

Top 10 Website Copywriting Tips

1. Simplify! This is true for print and web but we feel it is of utmost importance for the online reader. The goal is to allow the reader to get to the information they need quickly without having to really think about it.
2. Use the Right Structure: Make the main point at the beginning or top of the page. As the page descends add additional info broken up by sub-heads to deliver additional support information. This allows readers to scan and read more when presented with a topic or point of interest.
3. Don’t Scream, Yell or use Hyperbole: Internet users are getting more and more sophisticated. As a result they are very sensitive to overt and pressured sales overtures as well as excessive use of adjectives. Say it fast and say it straight… Be Factual, Clear, and Concise (and yes you can keep the message in your own voice and style).
4. Support Reader Scanning: Use simple Headlines and Sub-heads in your text with key ideas and keywords. Our general guideline is to use sub-heads often. We use them every paragraph or two. We try to never go beyond three paragraphs without introducing a sub-header for our web copywriting.
5. Keep Sentences Short: This is a hard one for me. But it is what we suggest. It’s just part of our sound-byte culture I guess. Enough said.
6. Bold or Highlight Important Words or Phrases: The goal is to catch the scanning eye. Search Engines seem to like Bold Text for copywriting SEO ranking. Do what works for your needs and audience.
7. Say it Plain: Don’t get too fancy with geek talk. And don’t use language that is too difficult to read or understand. Tailor the use of language so it works for the intended reader; veterinarian, plumber or bride-to-be. Get clear on your reader and their needs! Who knows, do this right and you may well become a copywriter guru of some fame (or notoriety).
8. Use Bullet Points (Or Numbered Lists): What’s easier to scan that a headline or a sub-head? A Bullet List! As long as they aren’t too long. We like to work in groups of 3’s when we can. We never ever go beyond 7. That’s when the dreaded eyes-glazed-over syndrome begins to set in… and that’s definitely a bad thing. Only use more than 7 bullet points for Corporate Annual Reports or college text books where people are used to that sort of thing, and as likely as not, are using them as sleep-aids already.
9. Use an Active Voice and Active Verbs: Make your writing something people can engage with mentally, and if for sales, take some action!
10. Use Links in your Text: People see links as resources. The reason they are reading is to get information they can use. If you have links then people can get more deeply connected to the information you are presenting (assuming you don’t send them away to other sites too often). Here’s a link to: Why we decided to use Wordpress to build this website >

Well there you have it. And just remember this is a process. Don’t toss out everything you have written on your website. As you move forward, just keep this in mind and you will keep more people interested in what you are saying (and keep the search engines coming back for more).

It’s not for the faint-of-heart…

I love the small business owner who wants to make their own website… So courageous! And perhaps a bit shortsighted.

But then again, we all have to start somewhere.

I must admit in the early days (with one or two days of hair-pulling way back in the exciting days of 1994-1995ish when the web was oh so young and small) I thought that I could probably learn to code a website myself…

Soon though I was asking “But why should I? I don’t really like this coding part… It never looks like what my vision is”. My brain just seemed to be wired in a different way and I realized right away I needed help.. or if you will, a team to help me.

And so began my journey into the realm of team interaction to build projects for myself, clients, friends and family.

Does anyone ever really build their own website anymore really?

Take this site.. even at first simplistic overview. This humble website has taken 7 people to make it happen and get it to the current state of soft launch.

1. Creative Director & Designer & Writer (Yours truly, Blair O’Neil)
2. Another writer & editor (Judith Harlan)
3. Yet another editor, collaborator and vision holder (Jenna O’Neil)
4. System administrators (Melissa W. & Jenna)
5. IT & Server Manager (Ken Williams)
6. A project manager and Google Adwords promoter and SEO-minded individual (Stephen R.).
7. And of course the critical job of HTML coder and Wordpress expert (John Schroedel).

Plus website bells and whistles – Time for research!

And even though we had the team and the vision, se still needed the right technology that fit that our needs and vision.

Enter the dreaded “Time for research” black hole.

Now we have to find, evaluate and integrate all the other software and plugins that need to installed linked and configured… Things that do email, that stop spammers, that help with SEO, that organize content, display portfolios and that are helpful for gathering information about site visitors, linking to social media and other sites… plus the various forms for questions, RFQs and Referrals. Then there are the site visitors and friends that are more than happy to give advice (thank you very much!) that allows us to evolve, have fun and still provide good value to our treasured clients.

And for lots of businesses it doesn’t stop there. You need database connections, ads, live-feed data streams, video feeds, live chat modules, e-commerce, appointment setting software integration, calendars and on and on. And it just keeps getting more and more complex as the days roll by.

I think that if you begin to total everything up you end up with a huge pool of people that are indirectly involved.. likely thousands… and we are just getting started!

So does it take a team to build a website?

Well I say “YES” if you are truly serious about the well-crafted message, the integrated design, adherence to your brand and integration with best practices for SEO.

But can you do it yourself? You bet you can. Lots of people do. It’s just that very few of them do it successfully. (But if you are a business owner why are you working on your own website instead of making sales? Do you know what your high payoff activities really are? What really brings the cash in the door? Sounds like another post in the making. For now just check out these local Reno/Sparks Sales and Business Consulting resources that might be able to help you with this… Sales Class, Sales Training Information & Consulting, Business Consulting that Actually Works!)

But if you are going to do this yourself I have one word of advise: “Wordpress” (Because it will grow with you and you can grow with it. It’s not too hard, it’s a low cost item, relatively easy to deploy and gives you access to some of the best web technology on the planet… but’s that another blog post or so)

So if you think you can build a website yourself—All I can say is good luck and be sure to send me an email when you’re done.

Sometimes clients rave, sometimes not, and sometimes things just click and you don’t even know it… all while you are busy in the trenches doing what needs to be done and busily doing the best you can.

Then something like this pops into our email “in box” that makes us all smile. It’s an affirmation of why we do what we do and why we do it.

OK, so I admit it… I am a little prejudiced.. but when one has been schooled in all things art, taken advanced classes in typography,  art history, all manner of design and communications, both historical and contemporary, plus being indoctrinated into formal graphic design and communications standards, comic sans becomes mostly taboo except for the true intended use, bubble text in cartoons.

So ban Comic Sans? I say a resounding (& qualified) YES!… (We don’t let children play with matches so why should we let adults play with Comic Sans? OK.. so I digress a little).. My wife says no.. (but that’s a different blog post and likely a different blog) and most people say “But I like it! It’s cute and fun”… well I might be outnumbered in this, so all I can say is you better not put it on my gravestone!

That all said, I leave it to you dear reader, to determine whether Ban Comic Sans is really the best approach.

Here’s a great little video that captures some of the reasons why Comic Sans should be only used after careful consideration.

Enjoy!

Comic Sans from Sam and Anita on Vimeo.

Quoted from the Description from YouTube:

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks — including death itself — at the university’s 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.

Transcript of Steve Jobs’ address:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news…

Stanford University channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanford