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Last week we talked about why you should implement social media marketing into your SEO plan, this week we’ll talk about how.

Social media marketing can be a huge undertaking.  There are hundreds of social media sites and if you don’t have a clear plan you can waste away countless hours without seeing your desired results.  Follow these steps to get your social media marketing plan off the ground.

Define your audience. Think about who you want to reach, the best way to reach them, and what messages you want to convey about your company.  It’s important to understand your target demographic and then to utilize the types of social media that are most likely to reach them.

Get a crash course in the most popular social media channels. Once you know who you want to reach, you need to know which channels will provide the best way to reach them.  For instance, many people see Facebook as being something for kids to keep in touch.  While 18-24 year olds still make up the lion’s share of Facebook users, the fastest growing age demographic on the site is the 35-54.  Most likely you’ll end up using a variety of channels to reach your target demographic, but this will still keep you from aimlessly creating social networking accounts with no clear objectives.

Think about content development. Social media allows you to use blogs, videos and social networking sites to create content about your company and its products.  However, if you have a product that’s quirky, shocking, or solves a commonplace problem then it’s possible to have consumers themselves generate a good amount of online content for you.  The makers of Vibram Five Finger shoes understand this concept.  If you Google them you’ll see results for their website, blog posts reviewing the shoes by independent consumers, a link to their Wikipedia page, and links to retailers selling the product – all on the first page of search results.  You’ll get similar results with the keywords “five finger shoes,” “individual toe shoes,” and “finger shoes”.

Keep track of your progress. Companies like Context Optional provide solutions that allow you to keep track of your social media campaigns and measure their effectiveness.

Get going. The best way to sink your social media marketing plan is to not get started at all.  Follow these steps to create a comprehensive plan and then get in the conversation.

Social media marketing is one of those things that sounds complicated and high tech.  The truth is that, while there are several things to consider when developing a social media campaign, getting started is actually fairly simple.  As a matter of fact, the best way to fail at social media marketing is to not try it all.

In this week’s post we’ll talk about what social media is and why you should be doing it.  Next week we’ll address the steps you should take to implement social media into your SEO campaign.

One of the best definitions for social media can be found on Wikipedia where they define it like this: “Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction.”  Things like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, podcasts, bookmarking sites and even wikis are all forms of social media.  Each of these provides an opportunity for anyone to publish and/or promote their ideas online.  In a sense, social media platforms provide a way for everyone to participate in water cooler chatter from the comfort of their own laptop.

Why include social media in your SEO plan?  When businesses participate in social media, they’re joining a conversation that is loose, relaxed, and far less direct than traditional advertisements.  Is your blog going to be the next dooce?  Probably not.  But your social media accounts may be the perfect space for you to connect to those prospects who like to remain on the fringe.  The ones that don’t want to get your newsletter, won’t sign up for an RSS feed, but every now and then they may check out your blog or even follow you on Facebook because they have the power to turn that off.

Not only is social media marketing something you can get started yourself, it’s free.  It costs your business nothing to set up accounts on social media sites.

If you’re still not convinced, consider that these social media sites are considered to be highly reliable by Google.  So, if you use your keywords in your social media site and in your profile, then when people search using those keywords they may find your Facebook or LinkedIn page listed on the results page long before they’d see your actual company website.

Tune in next week for a detailed description of how to get your social media marketing campaign off the ground.

The world of sales and marketing has changed radically over the last several years.  Today’s consumers are now being asked for permission to advertise to them.  Small business owners are in a unique position to benefit from this shift in marketing, and the email newsletter is one of their most effective tools.

What is email marketing? Email marketing is a form of direct marketing.  Most email marketers utilize a service like Constant Contact to create HTML emails that have the look and feel of their organization’s website.

The goal of email marketing is to build trust and to educate. When people get to your website by clicking an online advertisement they’re in new territory and their guard is up.  They don’t know you and they don’t know your company.  Email marketing provides you with an opportunity to nurture these leads, to build the relationship and to turn them into paying customers.

Be sure that you’re attracting the right prospects. In your keyword research you’ll find that some keywords don’t necessarily lead to sales.  These are the keywords used by people who are still in the research phase; they aren’t ready to buy but they’re eager to learn.  This is your target audience for an email newsletter.

Don’t waste the sign-up page. Your sign-up page should include a sampling of the type of quality material that consumers can expect to receive in your newsletter.  Many newsletter sign-up pages contain a promise of what the newsletter will deliver, a box to enter an email address, and nothing more.  Use your sign-up page to showcase some of your best blog entries, include links to guides, charts, and more.  Use it to convince consumers that your newsletter is one that’s really worth signing up for.  Always be sure to offer a freebie to seal the deal.  A free guide, a consultation, and a sample of your product are all good possibilities.

Deliver a high quality newsletter. Email marketing is not about smoke and mirrors.  It’s about delivering interesting and useful content.  Consider the keywords that these people originally used to find your company.  Tap into what interests them and use your email newsletter to answer their questions.  Don’t push your own products too soon.  They’re expecting high quality, free information.  Give it to them.  This will build trust.  After the first 4-5 emails, then start subtly pointing them back to your products.  Let them know how one of your products provides a solution to a common problem in your industry.

According to BusinessWeek, “videos are 53% more likely to appear on the first page of search results than text pages.”  Clearly, online video is a fantastic way to increase your traffic, propel your brand, and optimize your website.  Here’s a quick rundown of what to consider when creating and posting video for your company.

Video isn’t just about the big ideas. Don’t think that in order to record a video about your business that you need to have something amazing or groundbreaking to say.  In reality, video is just one more way to communicate with your target audience.  What are the questions your clients ask the most about your industry?  If you own a restaurant then make a video of your top chef creating your special dessert or appetizer.  If you own a body shop you can make a video explaining how quickly and easily your shop gets out the most common dents.  Here’s a good example by NYC dermatologist, Dr. Neal Schultz, who releases two to three new videos a week on various skin conditions.

Stay on point. Your video shouldn’t be longer than 10 minutes.  Videos that drag on and on just don’t work.  If you have a lot of information you’d like to cover then do a video series.  Remember that your video is not supposed to replace actual contact with the client.  You don’t need to reveal all of your secrets or tell your prospects how to build their own version of whatever it is that you sell.  Your video should provide a bulleted overview of one your products, services, or update people on what’s happening in your industry.  The key is to add value – inform, educate or solve a problem.

Come up with a title that ranks and gets people to watch. When creating a title for your video make sure that it’s catchy enough that people will watch it and remember to utilize your keywords so that it can rank appropriately on Google.

Consider third party hosting. You can either host your video on your website or through a third party like YouTube or Metacafe.  Hosting on YouTube or any other 3^rd party site offers you the easiest way to upload, share, and promote your content. You can also take the “embed” code from these services and paste the video on your site.

The bottom line is that online videos are another great way to market your company online.  So, get your camera ready and get in the game.

“Paid Search” is one of those phrases that gets thrown around a lot in the search marketing world.  If you’re not quite sure what paid search is or how it works, then this article is for you.  Let’s start with the basics.  What is paid search?

Paid search is an advertising strategy that involves the purchase of web traffic from search engines.  Paid search listings or advertisements appear in the “PPC Advertising” section shown above.  Clicking on the advertisement will redirect web users to a landing page on the company’s website.  Google’s version of paid search is called Adwords.  Paid search also refers to banner ads when they’re purchased directly from a website owner.

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, a form of paid search, is a method used for purchasing online advertising.  With PPC advertising a company pays for a listing on the search engine results page, but they’re only charged when a web user clicks on the listing.  Since hundreds or even thousands of companies are interested in paying for placement for the same keywords, Google created a service called Google Adwords which functions like a keyword auction.  Companies can create Adwords accounts, select the keywords they’d like to bid on, and then select their per-click price.

However, Google doesn’t simply give the highest placement to the highest bidder.  Google gives a quality score to each paid search advertising campaign that a company is running. Keep in mind that a website’s quality score is an ever changing variable.  It’s something that website owners need to manage and continually work to improve.

Quality scores are determined by three major areas.  The first is click-through rates.  Click-through rates are the percentage of people clicking on your advertisement divided by the total number of times it was shown.  So, if your ad appears a million times in search engine results pages, but only one person clicks on it, then you have a low a click-through rate for that specific set of keywords or keyword campaign.

The second area that Google assesses when determining your quality score is relevancy.  If you’re trying to purchase placement for keywords that don’t directly relate to your business offerings or your services, this will lower your overall quality score.

The third major area that Google assesses when determining quality score is your landing page.  This is the first page visitors see on your website after clicking your advertisement on the search engine results page.  Essentially, the landing page needs to deliver on the promise put forth in the advertisement.  For example, if your ad refers to an online special that your company is having, then when web surfers click that ad the first page they’re taken to on your website should be one that deals with the online special.

So, the company with the highest combination of keyword pricing and quality score will win the bid or get the highest placement on the search engine results page.  The company in second place will get the second listing and so on and so on.

What does all of this mean for today’s small business owner?  Serve your customer.  If you’re creating landing pages that meet the needs of your users, Google will reward you with a higher quality score and therefore lower pricing per click.  It’s as simple as that.  With paid search, even small business owners can compete with the big guys.

Search engine optimization is not simply about getting high results on search pages.  SEO can also be a powerful way to build your company’s brand or identity.  Regardless of how big or small your company is it has a brand.  In other words, your current and many of your potential customers already have an impression about what your company stands for.

One of the biggest challenges in building a brand is finding ways to deliver your company’s message to your target demographic.  When you use high search rankings as an advertising tool you’re much more likely to reach your target demographic than you are with almost any other form of advertising.

When you optimize your site for the keywords that best represent your company, you know that you’re advertising to people who already have an interest in your industry and your products.  To put it plainly, they’re actively looking for you.  They’re not trying to watch a football game when your company’s commercial comes on.  They’re not scanning their favorite magazine when they flip past your advertisement.  When you use high search rankings as an advertising tool, you’re marketing to people who are actively looking for information about companies just like yours.

When potential customers see your company listed in search results, they’ll be reading your title and meta tags.  While it’s important to optimize your title and meta tags for keywords, you can also use them to communicate messages about your company and your brand.  Title and meta tags are a great place to include your company slogan or key phrases that illustrate what your company is all about.

Remember that people trust their search engines.  If your website consistently gets high results for the most common keywords in your industry, it communicates to the consumer that their favorite search engine trusts your company.  Furthermore, most consumers will begin to think that your company is a leader in your industry.

The bottom line is that search engine optimization should be a part of every company’s marketing budget.  SEO is about more than clicks and conversions; it’s also a powerful yet simple way to keep your company in the minds of your target demographic.  If you’re looking for a way to get the most bang for your advertising buck, don’t overlook search engine optimization.

Here at SurchSquad we spend a lot of time helping businesses achieve first page rankings for their websites.  At the same time, we’re always working to increase our own rankings on the major search engines.  Late last week we achieved the top place position on Bing for the search keyword phrase “SEO for small business.”

Our #1 ranking on Bing is a terrific example of the SEO process at work.  These results didn’t happen overnight.  We achieved them by using the proven SEO strategies that we talk about on this blog and in our Small Business SEO guide.  They’re also the tools we use for our clients every day.

One of the most effective tactics we used was to think outside the box when it came to exploring our keyword options.  The most obvious keywords for our business are phrases like “SEO” and “SEO companies.”  However, the competition for these keywords is fierce.  Ranking for them could literally take a year or more.

So, we got creative.  By focusing specifically on three and four word phrases, we were able to come up with keywords that worked for our business, but had a lot less competition.  Don’t get me wrong, there was still a lot of work to do in getting to that #1 position.  Bing lists almost 4 million results for the keyword phrase “SEO for small business.”  Getting to the top meant consistently using tried and true SEO tactics like taking the time to conduct extensive keyword research and building a comprehensive link building campaign.

We can’t stress enough how crucial it is to know which keywords to focus on when you set out to optimize your website.  Here are a few ideas of what you can do to determine which keywords you should emphasize to increase your results with the search engines.

1. Get creative with your keywords. We focused on three and four word keyword phrases that had less competition than our main keywords.  Utilize keyword research tools like Google’s Keyword Analyzer to find relevant modifiers to your main keywords that will be most effective for your company.
2. Get more bang for your buck by focusing on specific geographic locations. Geography is a great modifier for companies that sell and operate locally.  For example, focus on a keyword phrase like “New York City Plumber” instead of “Plumber.”
3. Examine how most people navigate to your website. Google Analytics or your server logs can help you determine which keyword phrases people are using to navigate to your website.  You might be surprised at the keywords on your website that drive your traffic.
4. Use Paid Search campaigns to analyze conversions. One of the best ways to know which keywords are the most profitable is to run Pay-Per-Click or Paid Search campaigns and focus on the keywords that have the highest conversion rates.  Use these high converting keywords to build your SEO campaign.

Getting a #1 ranking on a major search engine is not impossible.  Decide now that you will take the time to implement proven search engine optimization tactics.  You will see better results and you will see your business grow.

We’ve all seen them, the SEO ads that guarantee overnight success.  They promise that your website will be listed in the first position on the major search engines within 24-72 hours of hiring their firm.  Many business owners who are just beginning to explore their SEO options will logically think that it makes more sense to hire a company guaranteeing first page or first position placement almost immediately as opposed to the company that is offering this same level of success in three to six months.

Here’s the problem.  No company that utilizes ethical SEO techniques can guarantee immediate first page results.

One of the most important things to know when you begin thinking about how to optimize your website is that there are several SEO techniques that will get your site banned from the major search engines.  Google, Yahoo, and Bing may refuse to list your site at all for an extended period of time.  Unfortunately, SEO companies that guarantee incredible results are most likely utilizing techniques that will get your website banned.  You’ll still need to pay for their services because they delivered on their promise, even if your website was eventually pulled from the major search engines.

Optimizing your website for the long haul is not like turning on a switch.  It requires employing a series of tactics and strategies on your website and elsewhere on the web.  It requires extensive research and keyword testing.  To put it plainly, it requires patience.

Almost all of our clients have and continue to achieve first page rankings for their top keywords however, these results occurred over the course of months not hours.  To read about the kind of success our client’s have achieved, check out our free SEO guide “6 Tips on How Search Engine Optimization Can Help You Grow Your Business.”

No matter which firm you hire for your optimization needs, make sure to choose one that’s not going to get your site banned or damage your brand.

If you’re looking for a way to shake things up during this holiday sales season, consider adding a live chat feature to your website.  Many business owners think live chat is only for companies that have difficult to understand products.   The fact of the matter is that online retailers of all types can benefit from the power of live chat.  Consumers are impatient.  Even if information is easy to find on your website, they frequently want someone else to find it for them.  Here are a few tips about how and when to use live chat.

Use live chat to connect with consumers before they decide not to do business with you. If there’s a page on your website that is often the last one visited before prospects leave without converting, that’s the perfect place to put a live chat button.  You may be able to capture the questions and concerns that these people have before they leave your site.  Adding a live chat button to that page will provide you with the chance to turn a consumer that’s ready to walk into one that’s ready to do business with you.

Use cookies to cultivate. If you’re concerned about the cost of offering live chat to everyone who navigates to your home page, consider using cookies to ensure that you’re only offering live chat to a select group.  Offering live chat to previous customers is a great place to start.  If someone has purchased from you before, then the time spent on live chat can actually be a cultivation tool.  These people will often buy additional products or accessories after chatting with your sales reps.

Use live chat to convert. Another group to offer live chat to is anyone who appears to be visiting your website multiple times to conduct research.  Visitors who get to your site and click through almost every page and then return again, are a group who you definitely want to target in a live chat marketing plan.  Many of these people just need one bit of information or assurance about your product before they’ll convert.

Don’t miss out on one of the simplest ways to take your sales to the next level.  Make live chat an integral part of your marketing plan.

People love to buy things online primarily because of how convenient it is.  They can see the product they’d like to purchase being advertised at ten different stores without ever having to get in their car.  Just as online shopping has become a common part of our culture, so has a lack of trust for online retailers.  Most people have at least one horror story detailing an online purchase gone awry.  To keep themselves from getting taken advantage of, many online consumers will look closely at a couple of critical areas to determine a website’s credibility.

1. Can they reach you? If you’re selling something online, it’s critical that you have an 800 number that appears prominently on your website.  If consumers have to hunt all over your site to find your phone number, they very well may believe that you don’t want to be reached.  What company doesn’t want their consumers to call them?  A company that sells junk products.
2. Do you have a customer friendly return policy? Savvy consumers will read your return policy before they buy from you.  While no company wants to have consumers returning products that are old, banged up, and can’t be resold, you should still think of your return policy as a way to win their business.  If it’s clear that your return policy was written to protect you and not to serve the consumer, buyers will be wary.  Depending on the product, give a reasonable amount of time for consumers to make returns.
3. Don’t go overboard with fees. Requiring consumers to pay for their return shipping is only fair.  Charging 30% of the value of the original sale to put the product back on the shelf may be a little extreme.
4. Security and online sales go hand in hand. Consumers want to know that when they make a purchase on your website their credit card isn’t going to be used to finance a stranger’s European dream vacation.  Having a secure website is fantastic.  Advertising your website’s security is even better.

Even if a consumer will never meet you personally, they still need to know that they can trust you.  While they’ll definitely be paying attention to the claims you make about your product or service, they’ll also be assessing these four basic areas before they decide to do business with you.  If you follow these simple steps you won’t only gain the consumer’s trust, you’re also likely to win their business.