Archive for the ‘sem’ Category

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Easily Approachable and Quite Deep

Posted by pj on July 10th, 2009

Seth Godin writes

“There are very few products, services or organizations that are simultaneously easily approachable and quite deep. That’s an opportunity for you if you can figure out how to be both, but choosing just one is a more likely scenario. So, which are you?”

It’s a good question, here’s how I would answer:

The web seems really complicated but not to me. I just see it as a series of decisions that require particular expertise to do correctly. The best decision is the one that makes the next one seem more apparent. There is never going to be one person who is right about everything all the time. What’s important in doing a web site, or marketing strategy, or making any series of decisions is to make each one as close to right as you can so the next one is clearer.

We do that by first and foremost attracting the top talent in the region. Then we challenge them to do more, to understand the implications of these important decisions. Then we provide what we hope to be the top level of customer service for our clients.

The results are clear to me, some are big and some are small. I take a small amount of pride in knowing that we are growing while other web companies are going out of business or shrinking. But what I take the most pride above all is the relationships that I have built with those in the box with me, and the way we extend it to our clients. Of the huge number of sites we have helped produce, 99% of them are still online exactly as we launched them.

Key to our growth is the way we have extended our services beyond designing and programming websites. It is a complete array of services our clients need, and some they don’t. That’s the real Small Box difference right there, whatever people think they know about us, there is more.

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Posted in Everything Else, content management systems, culture, design, indianapolis, marketing, pay per click, search engine optimization, sem, seo, smallbox, technology, usability, web design, web development | 1 Comment »

SEO Tip: Google Local Listings for Businesses

Posted by jeb on May 11th, 2009

Here’s a Search Engine tip that many businesses don’t know about but should. It’s really, really easy to have a nice Google Local listing for your business. Also, these local listings often show up above the normal organic listings. Here’s the thing, it’s much easier to get to the top of your Google Local listings than the top of the normal listings. Check out the screenshot below. (click on the image to see the live search, results may differ depending on whether you are logged in or not located in Indianapolis, etc)
Note how our client Antique Helper Auctions is at the top of the Local Business results and then #2 for the organic listings that start below.

Now there are some “tricks” to getting a top local listing but the Google Local listings run on a different algorithm than the normal listings. It is widely agreed that the Local listings are much less competitive since you are only competing against your local competition. Why does this matter? Look below at the results for the search “auctions”. Google knows I’m coming from Indianapolis by my IP address (I wasn’t logged in to my Google account for these screenshots btw) so it gives me local results mixed in with general results. It knows what I want is probably a local service. Most services have a mostly local customer base.


Have you created your Google Local account for your business? If not, do it today, it’s free, easy and will definitely result in business coming your way. Getting to the top of the local and organic listings won’t happen overnight. But we can help…. :)

Sign up for Google Local

Posted in search engine optimization, search engines, sem, seo | No Comments »

Don’t Waste Money On A Business Blog

Posted by ben on March 4th, 2009

Doing this when you add a blog to your website?

I was recently asked by a client whether or not they should add a blog to their new website. They were particularly interested in knowing from an SEO perspective whether or not it made sense relative to the keywords they wanted to go after. I’ve been asked this question a lot. Our clients are a smart bunch and they want to allocate their limited resources effectively. If they can save some money by trimming a feature out of their web development budget while not missing out on a greater opportunity cost, then they’re going to do so.

As far as SEO goes, a blog is almost always an excellent way to build up your presence in the search engines regardless of your market, keywords and competition. Nevertheless, the answer I usually give is “You might not want to waste your money.” (I’m definitely aware of the delicious irony as I compose and publish this on the medium of a business blog!)

There’s three things you must consider when deciding whether or not to add a blog to your site:

  1. Is Search Engine Marketing a minor part of your overall marketing effort? If so, then don’t bother with a blog.
  2. Will your organization consistently commit the time and/or money into regularly creating content (i.e. 2-4 blog posts/ week for 12-18 months)? If not, then definitely don’t bother.
  3. Will your organization commit the time to socially promoting your content? If not, then you probably don’t want to bother with a blog.

I suspect I’ve already inflamed some blog lovers and blog purists out there with #1. The blog purists tend to believe that “the journey is the destination” and that blogging is it’s own reward. While I’m sure this is the case for many bloggers, our clients are savvy business owners. They can certainly trim their web development budget and get the same personal edification and benefits by keeping a personal journal using old fashioned pen and paper for less than $5. I’m not going to advise our clients to shell out the extra cash to add a blog to their site, just because it can be a personally enriching exercise. Business Blogs have to give a return on investment that justify their cost.

However, the web development cost of a blog is just the tip of the iceberg. Building infrastructure into a website is the easy and affordable part. What you really need to ask is: are you willing to invest the time, energy, money and resources into developing and promoting your blog’s content? This can be a very substantial investment, but the rewards can be even greater. Here’s why:

Google loves blogs!

There are numerous reasons Google loves blogs and most pretty much boil down to them being a social proof of value for a particular piece of web content. One metric Google looks at on a blog post is how large and how active the comment thread is. I’ve seen a prominent national brand name badgered by a “Why Brand Name Sucks” blog post that shows right beneath their site on page 1 of the Google for a search of their own brand name. It has become THE magnet for that brand’s haters on the web. Anyone with a gripe against that brand that’s ever queried Google with the brand name appears to have read the blog and then shared their beef on the comment thread. It’s now a self-perpetuating feedback loop. That post is firmly entrenched on p1 right below the brand name’s own website (even though it has minimal backlinks and PageRank) which is too bad for the brand owner.

Also Google can be “gamed” via on-site structural tricks. Just repost identical content across multiple URLs and then shuffle those unique URLs across multiple keyword targeted category pages. Wash, rinse, repeat and presto! Instant and effective on-site SEO without the need for messy link building. Some might call that fishy, spammy or gamey, but no one disputes that it’s currently working.

Lastly and perhaps more compellingly, well written blogs that serve as linkbait can be a cornerstone of an organic link building campaign. For instance Jeb’s blog post on Compendium was interesting and controversial enough to get some in the blogosphere to join in the conversation and link back to his post that started the whole fracas. More natural backlinks coming into your site = better SEO! This is an SEO benefit that will survive many, many changes to the Google algorithm.

But here’s the catch!

After seeing all these SEO and SEM benefits to blogging you might think only an idiot wouldn’t bother adding one to their business website. However, there are two big catches you need to be aware of.

First, creating effective content takes time (or money to pay someone else to do it for you). Blogs start losing their value when you aren’t committed as an organization to blogging (i.e. to creating the content). At a minimum you’re looking at blogging at least 3-4 times a week for the first 12-18 months. Once your domain and blog get established and build some authority you can start to ease up the pace.

You can’t reasonably expect your web developer to write the content for you b/c it’s not their core competency. Jeb and I met with one of the owners of a local company that blogs on behalf of businesses for the business blog. It’s all they do. He seemed like a nice and able fellow and I’ve been wanting to try them out for some time. For some businesses with less time than money this could be a great solution.

Second, blogs have to be promoted which also takes time. If you build it, they will NOT come. Social bookmarking sites like Digg and Mixx, social networking sites like Facebook and SmallerIndiana, and the emerging wunderkind, Twitter, are all necessary tools. In the early days of Internet marketing you could use primitive, mechanical, spammy methods to promote a blog (or any site for that matter). But those don’t really work anymore. Successfully promoting a blog amounts to building a community around your brand and/or products/services.

So, for these tools to be effective you have to be social (after all they are first and foremost social media). This means seeking out like minded individuals that share common interests and having a conversation with them OUTSIDE your blog and ON the various social media channels. You might cringe at allocating resources to building content on other people’s sites, but it is a necessary evil. Building up a social network around each of these tools will require an investment of your organization’s time. Our own blog didn’t really take off until after Jeb built up his own Twitter network and then started using it to promote his blog posts.

If you have to pick one social media tool to focus your energy on, I’d currently recommend Twitter. It’ll one day implode under it’s own weight (like a super nova or MySpace), but should be good for at least a couple more years.

Well there you have it. Don’t waste your money on a business blog (unless search engine marketing is an important piece of your overall marketing efforts and you’re going to invest the time and effort into making it work). I defy you to get me to change my mind.

Posted in blogging, marketing, search engine optimization, search engines, sem, seo | 2 Comments »

A 7 Step Web Strategy to Save Your Business

Posted by jeb on March 1st, 2009
Is your business struggling to survive in the current economic environment? Are you seeing your cash reserves dwindle as new business drys up? Even if you are doing well I have the same advice- Use the web to save and grow your business.

Here’s a 7 step strategic plan that should fit most small businesses. Naturally a good deal of hustle will be needed to implement this kind of plan while doing everything else you need to do to keep your business afloat. There are businesses that can help you implement this plan as well- wink, wink. But if you can dedicate the time and resources I have no doubt that you will see serious ROI. I have seen it in my business and with many of our clients.

  1. An Effective Website- your website is really your front door and sales floor. If you had dozens of people coming to your door everyday, looking around and leaving then you would probably freak out! This is happening right now on your website. Your prospects are sticking their heads in, looking around, finding nothing of interest and moving on. An effective website is one that knows its audience, guides them quickly to where they want to be and removes obstacles for conversions or contact. An effective website is also an active one, updated often and doesn’t look dated. Think of a grocery. If you went every week to find the same thing wouldn’t you shop somewhere else? Don’t underestimate the importance of a fresh website. So make sure your new website is built on a Content Management System (CMS). This way you don’t have to pay a web company to make the updates you should be able to easily make with a CMS. This is really important since it plays into all your other efforts.
  2. Email Marketing- now that you have an effective website it’s time to build on your contacts. Now you have somewhere to link to without shame. Send out monthly email newsletters with specials, updates and useful information. Once you have this rolling you will want to divide your email list into interest categories in order to tailor the emails to different audiences. I also recommend doing some A/B testing with your email titles. It can really impact your open rate. There are many email list providers. I’ve been really happy with Constant Contact and have used them for the last 8 years with no major issues.
  3. Search Engine Marketing- time to step it up a notch. You are confident in your website and communication so now is a good time to increase your site’s traffic. There are many ways to do this but the most effective is using search engines. If you are a company serving a local audience then chances are people are already looking for your products or services. If you sell Widgets then people are searching for “City Name Widgets Store”. Make sure your site is optimized for this. Are you on the top of page one of Google for this and other related searches? If not then someone is eating your lunch. It doesn’t matter if you are best Widget maker in town. Google doesn’t know this unless you tell them. If you can’t get to the top organically (meaning showing up in the unpaid listings) then you can pay to be there. Regardless, you need to be there. Local search is increasingly important and there is a land grab going on around you. Start paying attention now and it will be much easier to get your spot on the first page of Google for your local search.
  4. Blogging- your website and email newsletters will get you some good results but in order to take it to the next level it’s time to establish yourself as an expert in your particular field. So if you know widgets better than anyone else around- prove it! Talk about what you know, share your knowledge. This benefits you two ways. The first is that it adds valuable content to your site. Your existing visitors will appreciate your insights and your site will become a destination for them if they need your knowledge/information or share your passion. Blogs really help create a comfort level with your prospects. Remember, these are real people so the more your site feels like a real person is behind it the more comfortable that prospect becomes. The second benefit is that your blogs will create new content that is indexed in search engines. So if you blog about “10 Tips on Installing Widgets in your House’s Thingabob” then you run a good chance of showing up for a related search. The people typing that search in are probably looking for the goods or service you offer so you are well on the way to gaining a new customer.
  5. Social Media Engagement- with an active blog you are well on the way to jumping in the Social Media waters! What is Social Media? It’s Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. It is also a Webinar or Instant Messaging. Anything that using the web to create an environment for people to gather and have a conversation. So chances are you are already using Social Media on a regular basis. But I also bet you aren’t really finding it a good lead generation environment, yet. The key to Social Media is to focus on the relationship and not the sale. Sales as we once knew it is in danger of extinction. Instead of pushing products and services on people you must now enage them in a conversation. You will need to listen as much as talk. I personally find Twitter a great environment to quickly share information with others, get their feedback, join in their conversations and build relationships. Some relationships will never result in business, some will. That’s ok, I still get value from the conversations. Focus on meaningful conversations since those are the ones most likely to bring value to your life and business.
  6. Press Releases- time to toot your horn and blow the trumpets! You have really made some exciting changes that others should know about. Maybe you’ve set up a cool microsite for a special promotion or sponsored a series of events that you promoted across all your different platforms (website, email, social media, etc). So now is a good time to go after some earned media. Put together a concise but exciting press release letting everyone know about the cool stuff your company has been up to. How you’ve shirked the industry trends to grow in a downturn, how you’ve launched a new product and used these New Media tools to get the word out. Send it out to the local/industry press and also promote it using PRWeb.com. Make sure to add links back to your website when you send out the release!
  7. Analytics or Tweak and Repeat!- by now you should really be rolling with great website traffic, lots of leads or sales coming through your site, an active and meaningful online conversation with colleagues and prospects, good buzz in your industry, an overall increase in business and new energy in your team. So what now? Make sure when you set up your website and email marketing that you have good Analytics set up as well. For the web I recommend Google Analytics and Get Clicky. They give you two different ways of looking at traffic and both are valuable. For email I recommend using Constant Contact or another email list provider. This will let you see what emails were opened, what links clicked on, etc. Valuable stuff all around. Not everything you do will get the same return. So find out what works, tweak and repeat!

Want to add anything else? Please do below using the comments feature!

Posted in internet marketing, marketing, search engine optimization, search engines, sem, seo, smo, technology | 1 Comment »

What’s On Your Hook? Quality vs Quantity on the Web

Posted by jeb on February 21st, 2009


Is it better to have 100 hooks in the water with stale bait or only 1 or 2 with the tastiest bait in the world?

I’ve been thinking about content, SEO, blogging, etc a lot recently. Some of it has to do with a recent post that has stirred considerable interest but mostly from some private conversations with industry folks I really respect.

It suddenly hit me that there are generally two approaches to content. Quantity vs quality.

If the web is an Ocean and Google the tour guide then what is the best way to be a featured stop on the tour? Is it to have as many attractions (read pages) that aren’t necessarily that vibrant (read activity) but show up at every turn or is it better to invest more energy into the BEST stop on the tour (assuming a search query is the “tour”) that people go out of their way to find?

I think the answer is different depending on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are looking to sell a trinket and make a quick buck I would argue that having a shack at every stop makes sense. The web version of a hot dog cart.

But if you are looking to be a destination, build customer loyalty, have repeat business, charge a premium for your services and products then I would argue you should invest in one really good destination (your website or blog) and maybe put up some signs along the path pointing to your awesome place. The web version of “Rock City”.

By “invest” I mean engagement. Be active, encourage others to engage, be that “tasty bait” that the fish can’t resist. Google will see that activity and reward you for it.

Neither approach is wrong, it really matters who your audience is. I would argue that a service company is best served by being “Best In Class” and a product company is better served by having as many hooks in the water as possible to catch all the fish swimming by looking for a quick snack but not a relationship.

Ideally you want both but there are only so many hours in the day and it’s important to use your time effectively. I would argue you closely consider your audience, your product and put together a strategic plan that finds a good mix between quantity and quality.

Posted in blogging, search engine optimization, sem, seo | 6 Comments »

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