Posted by Jody Raines
If your website isn't producing leads, perhaps you should
consider beefing up your blog. Blogging adds content, value and information and gives your potential customer a reason to find you. Here are 5 sustainable reasons that you should consider spendin
g more time on the lifeblood of your social media program, your blog:
1. Credibility. Based upon the less formal structure of a blog, your articles can encompass a wider range of ideas for utilizing products and services as well as share how-to's and guides. Generally, people turn to the Internet when they start to research their purchase, and the blog articles are a great way to answer questions that someone early in the purchase cycle may be asking.
2. Links. A well done Blog will feature the type of content that people and sites want to share with others. Some of the types of articles that you'd find on a blog are lists of links for resources, great how-to's and references for the rest of us. Sometimes blog posts can be controversial, and get attention on a more viral approach by being shared and discussed by others. This activity results in in-bound links, more than the factual information typically presented in a web site.
3. SEO. Blogs can be written by cleverly incorporating keywords into the article. Whether the goal is to be number one on Google, or whether it's to be found for certain keyword phrases, adding a blog post is like adding another page of content. As long as the info is presented in a readable and enjoyable format, it can add great value to be found in Google and to improve keyword ranking.
4. Anchor Text. One way that Google can distinguish what a page is about is by anchor text that links to the page. While you may not be able to control anchor text from outside sources, you can control anchor text within your own website. By using keyword phrases or keywords as the anchor text to link to pages within your site, you are reinforcing the optimization of your page content.
5. Fresh Content. Frequent updates to the site result in more frequent indexing by the search engines. While the company website may be somewhat static with the exception of new product additions, a blog is updated regularly. The fresh content not only lends the opportunity to add keywords and links, it also serves as an opportunity to improve ranking for your site.
If you haven't added a blog yet, it may be time to start blogging. If you already have a blog and haven't actively been posting, keep in mind that it's never too late to start.
Make a resolution to improve your site's Google Ranking and Alexa ranking performance by adding a well-focused blog with interesting and timely content.
Posted by Jody Raines
If you are like me, you've been glued to the television on at least one occasion, watching the activities of the Olympic Games in Vancouver. How exhilarating to watch these incredibly talented athletes perform at the pinacle of their chosen event. The competition is fierce, there is just one gold medal winner.
When it comes to having a terrific blog, there are some analogies that can be made with the Olympic champions. For example, when a prospect hovers above the search bar in a search engine, and types in their query, is your content going to be among the results? Will you be the Gold Medalist when they decide to click on a link?
Partially, this has to do with relevance, partially with your understanding of the audience, and partially with creating really great blog topics. The relevance and understanding of your audience are related to SEO and search engine optimization - in other words, understanding what terms to use, which relevant keywords will lead to being discovered, and how to create content that will rank for those terms. That's very important to being found, but you also have to have Gold Medal topics - you know, the one that gets clicked and read... This article is about how to create blog topics.
Great blog topics. What are they? In a nutshell, the idea is to create topics that creates interest in the reader. It's a way to share knowledge, develop relationships and create a flow of interested parties to your website.
What makes great topics? And how do you know that you have a great topic?
Before writing an article, I typically ask myself these three questions that I've boiled down into simple rules to follow when deciding what to write about:
1. Is my topic helpful? If my blog topic is preachy or salesy, I toss it. Frankly, there are enough people blasting you with commercials. That's not what 'inbound marketing' is about. The topic has to be of interest to companies or individuals in order to attract interest and readership. I liken this to the old days on the Atlantic City boardwalk - you may remember walking past those shops where they had an auction taking place - or maybe they were trying to get you to buy those knives that never get dull...? In any case, there was someone outside the store who was 'hawking' at you, or soliciting you to get you to come and participate. Today's consumer is smart, and when they decide to opt-out or block you, you are left without a way to appeal to them. If however, you offer information that they need at a time when they are looking for exactly what you are presenting, then you have a chance of appealing to them through opt-in marketing! Your prospect finds YOU and asks YOU for the information.
2. Can you tell me how-to? Many of my best clients are companies that understand what I do. They also recognize why I am good at it. It's not a matter of whether they can do it themselves - most likely they can. The value is the depth of knowledge and the level of understanding that I bring to the table. Here's what I mean - you are an attorney who practices divorce law. Can someone buy a kit to do-it-yourself-divorce? Yes. Is that advisable? Not really. So, if that's the case, explain what the pitfalls are, and how to protect yourself if you go that route. The people who are looking for this advice are in the market for what you offer. They may have thought that they would save money by doing it themselves, and that is what they are seeking. However, what they find (assuming that your content is well thought out and developed and that you used appropriate keywords and SEO positioning strategy) is that it's not as simple or easy or inexpensive as they originally thought. Now you are in a great position to help them.
3. Is it relevant? No one wants to read the same old stuff that you published last week. It's got to be fresh and new and timely. If the Olympics are today, then discuss the Olympics. If the Word Series is today, don't discuss the Olympics, discuss the World Series. In a day and age when 140 character micro blogs (such as Twitter) rule the planet, you have to be timely and relevant. Consider news events, topical events and activities that are compelling for angles and buzz.
Bottom line - keep your postings helpful, entertaining and relevant. Like the Olympic athlete, it takes training - the more you do it, the better you get. So, practice often. Learn from others. Watch the competition, and then when it's your turn, make it original and make it your best.
Posted by Jody Raines
Hub
spot, the award winning software that enables small and mid sized businesses to compete with large corporations on the Internet had a webinar today for partners and prospective partners. Brian Halligan, co-founder and Pete Caputa, Partner Relations Director shared their vision of how marketing is evolving and suggested that today's marketer's must evolve as well.
Partially based upon personal observations that traditional promotional methods and advertising were not working, and partially based upon the experience of an Internet program that was working, Halligan and his to-be partner, Dharmesh Shah put together the foundation of a strategy that would become the prototype for Hubspot. Halligan and Shah met while attending MIT.
According to the website "The founders of HubSpot® met at MIT in 2004. Both were interested in the transformative impacts of the internet on small businesses and were early students of web2.0 concepts. The discussions and early work were on-going for two years and in June of 2006 the company was officially founded and funded."
So, although Hubspot was founded just three years ago, the company has experienced geometric growth to it's present level of 2,300 subscribers. Part of the success of the program is based the (killer software) "marketing application and great advice Hubspot offers to small businesses enabling them to leverage the disruptive effects of the internet to "get found" by more prospects shopping in their niche and to convert a higher percentage of prospects into customers.
Most small businesses have a website that behaves like their old paper-based brochures, but just sitting online. It is rarely updated, is not given significant visibility by the search engines, has low traffic levels, does not encourage return visits, does not enable/track conversions, etc. What HubSpot does is transform that relatively static website into a modern marketing machine that produces the right leads and helps convert a higher percentage of them into qualified opportunities."
During today's presentation, Halligan described his experience with media and his observations of how much it's changed; In the mid 1970's, he shared how his family would gather around to watch television together. When a commercial came on, they would watch it, and perhaps even comment to each other about the commercial. Companies like Procter and Gamble and McDonald's built their brand and were very successful with broadcast advertising.
However, fast forward fifteen years later, there was his father, 'clicker' in hand, and when a commercial came on, the channel surfing began. No longer was the commercial king of the airwaves.
Today's marketers, must adopt an inbound marketing approach. Inbound marketing is a combination of search engine optimization, careful keyword rich content creation, link building, ongoing evaluation of performance and massaging the content, blogging, social media including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, YouTube, Flikr, Digg, press releases, pod casts, landing pages and compelling call-to-action offers. Content that is found and which appeals to the target audience, so much so, that they volunteer their contact information in order to be added to mailing lists and rss feeds.
A lead nurturing program is also incorporated into the software, which makes it a system that has a provable ROI.
The focus of the announcement today is for a special section where Hubspot Certified Partners can share their expertise with businesses who want the power of the Hubspot platform, yet don't have the expertise or the time to devote. Programs are offered, such as "Do Hubspot For Me", with pricing and metrics for customers to select a marketing partner to work with.
Disclosure: WebMarCom is a Certified Hubspot Partner and we are excited to be associated with such a professional organization. As an independent Marketing Agency, we can elect to work on any platform. We are honored to be one of 30 Hubspot Certified Partners, and to offer our services to clients and potential clients who would like to experience the power of the Internet through a trial. WebMarCom is the only Hubspot Certified Partner in Voorhees or Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and in the Philadelphia Metro Area.
Posted by Jody Raines
Congratulations to Jody Raines, President of WebMarCom.net and newest certified partner for Hubspot. "There are approximately thirty partners across the US, said Raines, and it's truly an honor to be among this elite group". The Partner Certification means that Ms. Raines has passed a rigorous test that measures knowledge of Search Engine Optimization, Internet strategy, website design, social media marketing, blogging, public relations on the Internet, creating effective websites, generating leads through online marketing and the components of an "Inbound Marketing" program.
"My frustration with doing the things the old way was the catalyst for starting WebMarCom.net. Many of the 'Old School' web companies are still just building pretty sites. A website has to be an effective tool for the company, otherwise, why invest in fixing it?"
Raines started WebMarCom.net in November, and it has already rising in Alexa rank to one of the top nine percent in the United States. This means that it's outranked over 91% of the websites that are out there. "I use the same techniques for my clients that I use on my site" Raines stated. "They are effective and they work."
The goal for a website is to become a "lead generation magnet". It's first important for the site to be found, by practicing great search engine marketing. This is an ongoing process - if you can imagine, with all the blogs and new websites and updates every day, nothing is static. A website should continue to change and adapt to maintain ranking. In addition, it's not enough just to be found - once the site is sound, the content has to be excellent. Plus there has to be a call-to-action or reason for a potential client to ask for you to contact them.
'I'm gratified and excited", Jody shared, "and I'm ready to work with businesses, not just in Philadelphia, Cherry Hill and Voorhees, but in the entire south Jersey region as well as Philly metro who recognize that their website is not working and they want to make it into a 'lead generation magnet'."
Posted by Jody Raines
Argh. Are you tired of Cold Calling? Another week of rejection on the phone?
Recently, when I attended the Voorhees Business Association lunch, one of my business acquaintances was sharing his frustration with making fruitless calls. It occurred to me, something is wrong with that picture...
Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if the leads came to you instead of doggedly pursuing them? Imagine a business where potential clients volunteer their contact information and even request you call them when they are ready to buy! Even more exciting, imagine that there are so many of these leads coming in that you barely have time to respond to them.
What's a sales person to do?
If your company is smart, they'll get on the band wagon of a new wave of Internet Strategy called inbound marketing. Inbound marketing in a nutshell, is positioning your website in a way that it becomes a lead magnet... But let me explain...
As an "Internet Strategist" my role is to help businesses take advantage of the power of the Internet to get found. How? The method I use is not really a secret, and I'm happy to share this with you.
Formula for inbound success on the Internet:
1. Develop your website with correct architecture. If your links are broken or your code is 'funky', you risk Google or Bing or Yahoo spidering your site and penalizing it. Make sure that your website is constructed correctly, and if you are not sure, try using our website grader. You can find this at www.websitegrader.com
2. SEO is important, but content is KING. Do you have a blog? Are your pages optimized? Is someone checking to be sure that you are being found in searches? What terms would your customers be using?
3. Are you posting comments and articles? Using Social Media? When did you post on Facebook last? How is your Linked In account holding up. Has your business created a Linked In business profile? Are you Tweeting on Twitter and if so, are you tracking the clicks on the shortened URLs?
4. Once you've been found, do you have a call-to-action that is compelling? Are potential customers sharing their contact info with you?
5. Who does your lead nurturing? What is the system you are using to follow up when someone submits their info?
SO much to do, so little time.. but if you consider that most people will search the Internet before making that large purchase, it makes sense to be found, and it makes sense to connect.
In closing, keep us in mind if you'd like a plan to help put an Internet marketing and strategy program together for your business. In the meantime, put your rap hat on and enjoy the video...
Posted by Jody Raines
Well, it's only a few weeks into the New Year and I've managed to break my resolution for blog articles! I wanted to post two each week, but last week definitely got away from me. With Social Media and Internet Marketing it's important to be consistent. By posting on my blog and also reading and posting on other's blogs, I am able to grow Internet Presence and help my cause with the search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.
So, here we go, with part III, the rest of my resolutions for 2010.
9. Facebook Is Important. Facebook, which started as a platform for College students to communicate has now become a platform for the over 30-somethings to re-connect with friends and family. Even more important, however, is the presence that Facebook poses for businesses. With over 350 million subscribers who are incredibly loyal (over 50% log on every day and the average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on the site), the power and visibility for businesses who use Facebook is enormous. Interesting - that Facebook user profiles are generally not google-able, but Facebook pages (which are great for businesses) are! Today there are over 700,000 local businesses who have a page on Facebook.
I do have a Facebook page, which, when it reaches 100 fans, I can customize with a vanity URL. (I'm close, so please become a fan!) I use the page to post updates on Social Media and Internet Strategy for friends, fans and family. My resolution is to continue to use my page, and to post more often.
10. Read And Post. Repeat. There are some fantastic blogs that share wonderful thoughts and information on this rapidly changing landscape that we call "Social Media" or "Social Media Marketing". I learn from my colleagues and as I do, I try to post a note with a thoughtful response to their article. Again, it's a great way to network and communicate. And that's what it's all about. Isn't it?
The Internet has become the required instrument of communication. If you aren't being found and you aren't using the tools, your business may suffer. Join me in utilizing the tools - it takes some time and there is a learning curve, but the benefits in fast-forwarding your business for SEO, being discovered on the Internet, capturing leads, interacting and communicating through social media marketing is wonderfully enriching.
Start your 2010 right, and join me on your Social Media and Internet Marketing regimen!
Posted by Jody Raines
In the spirit of keeping my resolutions, my last blog post promised that there would be more! And, being a person who intends to do what I resolve, I kept promising to sit down and write this blog post.
Time was passing and while I had these resolutions and blog media tips in my head, the process of committing to paper (or screen) means time. Plus, of course, the mere posting of articles means more opportunities for keywords, for optimizing my site (yes, links to your blog do help with Google ranking if your blog is part of your website), for adding content (another SEO tactic), and also for sharing my resolutions!
Therefore, I think you'll get a chuckle out of these next resolutions.
6. Time Management - Always important to make a list and prioritize. If you are like me, I start on one project and especially when it comes to the Internet, I can be sidetracked to others. Which leads me to our next resolution, but I'll explain: For example one of my tactics to improve SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is to post comments on articles in the blogs of others. This helps me two ways - first, it helps me connect with the writer of the blog - everyone wants to think that their post is being read, it's a compliment to see that it is. Second - when I post a comment, it typically asks me for my email address and my website. If my comments are well thought out and someone who reads that blog wants to know more about me, then they can click on my name and find my site. This also means that I've generated an inbound link to my site. (Again, very important for SEO. Incidentally, this is also know as Search Engine Marketing or SEM.)
7. Inbound links - As mentioned in number 6, it's a goal to produce inbound links. I'd like to say that I'll do this every day, but reality is that I'm committing to at least once a week. My goal is to do this more. I find that by grouping my contacts on Twitter by their interests helps me to find great articles to comment on. Using Tweetdeck or Seesmic to follow Tweeps by their interests enables me to quickly read the most recent posts and see which I want to dive into the links to read the articles. It's great Social Networking and also a great way to use (SMM) Social Media Marketing.
8. LinkedIn - I truly think LinkedIn is one of the neatest social media sites. I like to think of it as a business community and living contact directory. When one of my connections winds up changing companies, I know about it and can send a congratulatory note. I can keep in touch with former co-workers and share with them what is going on with my business. I can join groups (such as the Cherry Hill Regional Chamber of Commerce, or Voorhees Business Association) and be appraised of upcoming networking events. I can find new groups and meet new people. I can comment on my business and "crow" about upcoming events that I'll be speaking at. I can post questions or responses to questions to position myself as a "thought-leader". Bottom line, my resolution is to use LinkedIn more as a tool to establish my business. At least once a week, I will post or answer a question. At least once a week, I will update my status. (This helps with inbound links too, by the way). Also, here's where I share my shameless advertisement that I am available to Speak on "How To Use LinkedIN to Build Your Business". Which leads to resolution 9, but that's coming soon...
Well, it looks like we will have resolutions part three coming soon! Stay tuned.
Posted by Jody Raines
Like many other people, I start my New Year with resolutions - usually these are personal lists of things I feel I could do better. I've decided this year that in addition to going on a diet and exercising more, I am going to make some business resolutions.
These are thoughts and ideas that I have that I feel would improve my Internet presence and which will help position my business on the Internet.
For example, I have a blog. Blogging is very important. A blog is very important to help boost SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Therefore, if I am not posting, I am not helping myself get higher ranking in Search Engines, like Google, Bing or Yahoo!
My exercise for my business is goal oriented. I am a new business and many of my connections (and future connections) may not know that I exist or what I do. Therefore, it's critical for me to get the word out and establish some "buzz" around my business. In fact, whether my business is new or established, the goal should really be the same - to keep my name in front of my audience and develop the reputation as an expert for my field.
So, here is my list. Please feel free to borrow my list and make it yours as well. And... if you need help with any of these, this is what WebMarCom does, so give me a call! I'm happy to help with your New Years resolutions as well!
NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS FOR INTERNET MARKETING:
1. Blog (at least twice a week) - Blogging improves SEO. In fact, each blog article is a new page. Especially important to optimize each blog article for a keyword or keyword phrase that can help boost placement in the search engines. This acts as new content and also, like having lottery tickets, assures that you have more 'tickets' to win (be found) on search engines, like Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
2. Tweet daily (on Twitter) - Tweeting is a relationship based exercise. If I am not responsive to the Tweets that other's send my way, then they eventually will stop tweeting me! I want to connect with more people and develop new relationships. These relationships add value and I learn tremendously from the information that I receive. I think of Twitter as a newspaper - I scan the headlines and every now and then I want to read the article. That's the way I use Twitter. The articles are the blog postings and links to information that I may not have seen any other way! Twitter is also great for promoting things that I've posted to my blog! Or new services that I've added to my website. It's only effective that way, if I have relationships, though. So, I also resolve to use Twitter wisely!
3. Web analytics (evaluate and improve keywords and pages) - Every day the Internet is changing. There are new articles posted and new websites being created. Just in the Philadelphia and South Jersey marketplace, there are dozens of listings created. In order for me to continue to improve my Search Engine Optimization, I need to evaluate how my pages are performing and work to optimize my site. Again, this is an ongoing process. Using Google Analytics is one way that I can see where traffic is coming from, and I can see what my bounce rate is for each page. If the bounce rate is high, then I have to determine why. Only by continuously examining my success and failures am I able to improve my Google rank and my placement in search results.
4. Lead nurturing - Every time someone asks for information on my website, I should have an auto-response that goes to the potential client and I should also have an auto-response that goes to me to alert me. I also should be pro-active at following up these requests. After all, that's why I have my website set up as a lead generation tool. So, my goal is to set up a 'drip' campaign of information that helps to keep my name in front of my potential clients, and also is a value. This means that I will provide great information that my potential clients will find useful and therefore they are more likely to read it. This is a one time exercise that I need to set up in my website.
5.Outbound Email Marketing Campaign - In addition to the people who find my website, I have a rich list of connections that I've met at various networking events. These connections may have need for the services I provide. Yet, I don't want to hammer them with sales information. Instead, I want to share knowledge with them in the hope that something I mention may spark the glow of interest. In the outbound email campaign, my goal is to have a link to at least one landing page with a call-to-action which is focused and directed at just one offer. This will encourage my potential clients to request more information and therefore be an opportunity for me to address this request with them. My goal is to offer these emails at least once a month.
Stay tuned for Part II - I have more resolutions that are incredibly useful to optimize your business!
Posted by Jody Raines
When your web design company is busy building your website, one of the frequently overlooked details is adding an "alt tag" to the graphics or photos. What, you may ask, is an "alt tag"?
The "alt tag" is a label that is behind the picture - you won't see the tag unless you have pictures turned off on your browser or you are visually impaired and you are using a device to read the page for you.
Why is this important? If you realize that search engines do not read pictures, the tag becomes much more important as a great method to help with the goal of search engine optimization.
As an example, if a picture is posted that says "picture of me", it really doesn't help with optimization. If the same picture now has a caption that reads "Jody Raines of WebMarCom.net speaking at the Voorhees Business Association in Voorhees, New Jersey about Search Engine Optimization", you can now see that I have identified my company, I've identified myself, I've used one of my keywords, and I've geo-targeted my location. Not too shabby!
Using keywords for the tag is much better than a description that has no SEO or Search Engine Optimization value. I think the following video from Google explains the theory quite well.