How many times do you use “we” on your home page?

Never - Excellent, you most likely have a benefit driven customer focused page
1 - Sometimes It Can’t be avoided
2 - Careful how you go there
3 - Getting to the extremes of acceptable
4 - You have succeed in creating a page all about you that ignores your customers needs and wants
5 - Visitors are starting to feel seriously alienated
6 - Congratulations you have created the perfect company centric page, visitors will stick around for hours reading all about you and your processes… NOT
7 – Bounce rate going through the roof
9 - Phones stop ringing e-mail enquiries dry up
10 – You decide your products/services are incompatible with the internet and place a full page add in the yellow pages.

If you got this far why not go the whole hog; Stick a headline at the top of the page that says “Welcome to our website” and at the foot of the page add “so why not give us a call?” There’s nothing like asking people why they shouldn’t call you to get them to call you!!!!

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Word Of Mouth Viral Marketing

Before the Internet, before TV and Radio, before the printing press, marketing was done by word of mouth. In fact, at the time the printing press was invented (China, 593 A.D) only a very small percentage of people could actually read. It was another 200 years before the first newspaper was printed. So, it’s fair to say that up until then word of mouth marketing was as good as it got. Since then technology has evolved and marketing has become much more sophisticated… or has it.

Viral Marketing is a phrase often used to describe self propagating marketing techniques that encourage people to share interesting and entertaining content as well as news and relevant marketing messages. Isn’t this exactly what was happening in those early days? And isn’t this the exact same place that all the technological advances in marketing communications have brought us back to, admittedly with a few extra bells and whistles. Here are a couple of examples:

Pee in the Shower to Save Water

It’s now cool to pee in the shower and if you do you can call yourself an environmentalist thanks to a neat viral campaign by Brazilian environment group SOS Mata Atlantica. The video features cartoon drawings of people from all walks of life urinating in the shower and is narrated by children. The ad ends with: “Pee in the shower! Save the Atlantic rainforest!” SOS Mata Atlantica says if a household avoids one flush a day, it can save up to 4,380 litres (1,157 gallons) of water annually.

Blend It and They Will Come

Ever try blending golf balls, light sticks or Chuck Norris? Apparently, blenders aren’t just for smoothies anymore. Will It Blend has turned into the biggest viral phenomenon of the last few years. It has seen Blendtec’s sales soar and turned marketing director, George Wright, into an internet superstar. For an initial investment of less than $100 on the first video in the series, the company drove more than 6 million visitors to its WillItBlend.com Web site in less than a week.

Traditional Marketing

Prior to the advent of the Internet the goal of traditional marketing was to broadcast a well crafted marketing message based on what PR execs believed consumer should hear. Print, Radio and T.V. are prime examples of media channels where push marketing is most effective. Push marketing represents a one way communication (organisation to consumer) where the messages and the media over which they are broadcast are controlled by deep pocketed corporations.

While this type of marketing is still effective, it is often seen as intrusive or inappropriate. Today’s consumer is becoming less tolerant to the never ending bombardment of unwarranted commercial messages throughout their daily activities. How long will it be before this type of marketing is viewed as an unsolicited evil along with email spam?

Reverse Broadcasting

The internet changed things by empowering the consumer to choose when, where and which messages he or she chose to receive. This paradigm has become known a reverse broadcasting and core to its success are search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.

Now your customers start the communication by typing keywords into a search engine that describe the products or information they are trying to find. In this process the customer pulls information from the internet based on the keywords he/she uses to search.

The image below clearly highlights the fundamental importance of keyword research. Target the right keywords and you create a path right to your website, get it wrong and you make it difficult for customers to find your website. Simply put customers cant buy what they cant find.

Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine optimisation is the process of promoting relevant WebPages for the terms used by consumers when searching for information, products or services. The rational is simple, in the same way as someone would pick up a copy of Yellow Pages and look for a plumber, someone searching online for the services you provide is probably in the market for what you offer.

Search is still extremely effective despite many reports to the contrary. The problem is, every commercial website claims their company is the best in the field - their widgets are measurably superior and their services unbeatable. So, what seemed like a giant step for the consumer just a few years ago lacked any real level of social proof.

Business Blogging

Business Blogging is about communicating at a human-to-human level as opposed to the traditional institution-to-many approach. The real value of business blogging lies in the transparency and openness it fosters between a business, its customers and potential customers. Today’s online consumers want greater transparency from the businesses they choose to spend money with and are prepared to forge long term relationships with those that are.

As a strategic business activity, blogging can quickly establish your business as a leading industry voice while appearing more human and accessible. Blogs provide a powerful PR channel that helps to personalise your company and heightens consumer trust. Don’t be surprised if Blog readers become some of your most devoted and passionate word-of-mouth ambassadors.

Consumers also get a chance to voice their opinion. Because this feedback is unsolicited, it’s likely to be more honest than paid focus groups and as such represents an incredible source of ideas and ways to market your products or services more effectively. Due to the social and viral aspects of blogging you can quickly create a positive buzz about your business.

Blogging, and the reading of blogs, is now such a widespread activity it is impossible to ignore. Those organisations who choose to do so are taking a risk; in recent research 34% of bloggers revealed they currently post opinions about products and brands on their blog. It is therefore vital to be part of those conversations, or even to initiate them. 36% of online users state that they think more positively about companies who actually run their own blog. Yet, many companies are reluctant to give this level of control over their brands, products and services to the customer and have shied away from blogging. However, this will not stop comments about a business appearing on other blogs.

Social Media

Wikipedia says “Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings”. So, Social Media refers to tools such as blogs, wikis, forums and social networks which give the reader the power to reply. Social media encourages the building of communities where members with shared interests or goals interact with one another on matters important to them.

The balance of power has shifted again - with even more control passing from the brands into the hands of the consumer, business must recognise the need to accept and embrace this shift. Today’s consumer can choose the content they want to view and are free to voice their views and experiences whenever they wish to do so, and be heard.

Here is a fact that may shock many online business owners: According to Nielsen Research, UK Internet users spend the majority of their time visiting social media sites, clocking up an impressive four billion minutes on consumer generated content sites in April 2008 alone.

Social media is changing business and corporate culture, the idea of command and control leadership is quickly giving way to “facilitative leadership” i.e. creating win-win partnerships by placing someone’s interest in front of your own.

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Working With an Edinburg SEO Agency: This article outlines some of the problems Edinburgh businesses face when attempting to build an effective web presence in-house and how partnering with an SEO Agency can accelerate development time and maximise Visibility.

These days almost anyone can build a website.  Powerful rapid web development tools (RADS) such as WordPress, Joomla CMS and Sugar CRM have simplified the process to a level where little experience of HTML or server side languages like PHP is required. These tools have democratised web development to a great extent and are major contributors towards the billions of personal and commercial web pages that can be found on the Internet today.

However, simply picking up a paintbrush and easel won’t turn you into an artist; that takes skill and an understanding of both medium and subject. Similarly, installing Dreamweaver on your PC or Mac does not install in you the skill set required to develop highly visible websites that grab the attention of your visitors from the second they land on your page to “desired action taken”.  Without these skills you can definitely build it but don’t expect them to come.

A website is no longer a luxury it’s an expected courtesy

An effective website has the potential to broadcast your marketing message to billions of consumers who use the internet and search engines on a regular basis to research, locate and buy products. Regardless of the products or service you sell, how niche they are or whether you market them B2C or B2B, your potential customers are online right now looking for them.

However, the success of any commercial website is completely dependent on its ability to be found.  That means achieving top search engine rankings for relevant keyword phrases and maintaining them long term. Therefore, any website owner that isn’t conscientiously working towards raising their own search engine visibility is contributing to the success of their competitors.

Is your website a White Elephant or a Cash Cow

If you attempt a DIY job without the requisite knowledge in graphic design, usability, accessibility, copywriting, website architecture, search engine optimisation and web analytics, any success that you achieve online will be limited.  The internet is jam-packed with websites that stand monument to their creator’s ineptitude in web design and internet marketing. Never forget that your website will be the first contact many potential customers have with your business and first impressions really do count online. Ask yourself, does your website engage potential customers and encourage them to buy your products or are they compelled to immediately hit the back button?

Talk to an Edinburgh SEO Agency

The services provided by an SEO agency go way beyond raising the visibility of your website and ensuring your target audience finds you online, although that’s a great place to start.  They are equally dedicated to increasing conversions, lowering cost per acquisition (CPA) and driving results that generate revenue.
If your Edinburgh business is experiencing poor search engine visibility, you are missing out on a golden opportunity to connect with potential customers on a global scale. These are people who are actively searching for the products or services that you sell, and many have already made the decision to buy. The question is, who will they buy from?

SEO Scotland is an SEO Agency that specialises in marketing companies based in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland. So, do something right now to improve your search engine visibility and ultimately your business, visit their site at http://www.seocotland.net or just Google ‘SEO Agency Edinburgh’ and talk to the experts.

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Why Blog About Your Business

According to recent studies around 12% of online businesses have incorporated blogging into their marketing strategy. Blogs provide an excellent way for customers to get their message across to the company. Because this feedback is unsolicited, it’s likely to be more honest than paid focus groups and as such represents an incredible source of ideas and ways to market your products or services more effectively.

Author of The Long Tail, Chris Anderson, makes an interesting point in a post titled Social Networking is a feature, not a destination:

“Right now the world is focused on stand-alone social networking sites, especially Facebook and MySpace, and the fad of the moment is to take brands and services there, as companies build Facebook apps and MySpace pages in a bid to follow the audience wherever they happen to be. But at the same time there’s a growing sense that elements of social networking is something all good sites should have, not just dedicated social networks. And that suggests a very different strategy–social networking as a feature, not a destination.”

The Benefits of Business Blogging.

Unlike mass marketing, the purpose of Business Blogging should be informational rather than promotional so as to give your company or organisation a human face. Blogging is about communicating at a human-to-human level as opposed to the traditional institution-to-many approach. Business blogging is a strategic activity that can quickly establish your business as a leading industry voice while appearing more human and accessible.

1. Blogs provide a powerful PR channel that helps to personalise your company, the services that you offer and fosters much higher levels of consumer trust. Don’t be surprised if Blog readers become some of your most devoted and passionate word-of-mouth ambassadors.
2. Search engines love blogs because content tends to be fresher and generally exhibits higher levels of editorial control – as a result, Blogs tend to rank well. Incredibly, some results can be seen in search engines within minutes of a post going live.
3. Business blogging practically eliminates the need for intrusive e-mail campaigns and the problems of over zealous spam filters. People come to your blog because they want to. If your blog is interesting, regularly updated and informative, readers can choose to subscribe to your RSS feeds. This lets subscribers read your blog updates at their convenience. Planning a new offer or product launch? Just post the details and all the people who access your blog will come to know of it.
4. A blog gives you a platform to quickly and effectively address adverse publicity. By letting your customers, and prospective customers, know you are aware of an issue and explaining remedial actions taken to ensure a satisfactory resolution goes a long way. Due to social networking or viral aspect of blogging you can create a positive buzz about your business if you are seen to answer customer concerns in a prompt, caring and professional way.
5. There are literally thousands of Social Networking and bookmarking sites online today. If any of your blog articles was to go ‘viral’ on just one of these sites you should expect an enormous surge of new customers and possibly numerous high quality inbound links to boot.
6. Each new post adds to your ever growing index of content. The more content you have, the easier it becomes to rank for industry specific and consumer centric keywords. Remember to weave both branded terms and generic terms into your posts to get the best possible results.

Consumers will continue to use search engines to research products and services – and they will continue choose from a list of companies who all claim to be “the best.” However, today’s consumer tends to be a bit more web savvy and will often seek reassurances from a company blog to find what’s being written by a real people.

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Summary: An article describing how to choose the right SEO Company. The article describes the guidelines of finding a good SEO firm.

Search engine optimization is a crucial element in achieving and maintaining success online, it’s therefore important that you do it well. However, few webmasters or website owners have the necessary skills or knowledge to manage the SEO process alone.

Trying to optimize your website, especially if you are in a highly competitive market, can be a daunting task. One solution is to hire an expert.

Having a highly ranked site has a lot of benefits including, improved search engine visibility, increased product reach, raised brand awareness and increased sales. This is why you really have to get involved when choosing an SEO Company. Rather than simply choosing the first SEO that promises you the earth, you want to make sure they can actually deliver.

There are two major steps in choosing an SEO partner:

1. Finding the potential partners
2. Analyzing each potential partnership

How do you find potential SEO firms?

Well, the best advice is to get a recommendation from somebody who has used the services of an SEO Company and was happy with the results. Ask the SEO Company for a list of past clients and contact them. Never consider working with any SEO company that contacts you out of the blue.

Ask for recommendations on SEO related Forums. There are a few famous webmaster forums where you can totally get an advice from somebody.  Try to get as many recommendations as you can from multiple forums.

Don’t forget about the search engines themselves, any SEO worth his salt is going to rank well for many of their industry terms.

Analyzing potential partnerships

Start with the SEO company web site, if you can’t find them in the search engines it’s very unlikely they will be able to do much for you. Check the rankings they have attained for other clients, this way you can see what this firm has done for other people. If you find any similarity between you business and that of a former client who is now ranking well, you may benefit from a similar improvement.

Arrange a meeting with a representative and ask him absolutely everything, from timescales to traffic expectations, from ongoing maintenance costs to how often you will receive updated reports. Price is important too – cheap can be low quality but expensive does not necessarily guarantee page one positions for your most valuable keyphrases. The price should be realistic and proportional with the services they’re offering.

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The World Wide Web has made it possible for many companies to grow and flourish with incredible speed. Just a few short years ago brands link Google, Amazon and EBay were complete unknowns, yet today I doubt if anyone reading this article is not familiar with all three.

Still, things are not as simple as some might initially think. We all know that achieving good search engine rankings is the key to commercial success online. In fact, some companies take their online marketing so seriously that they have hired their own in-house SEO staff in preference to outsourcing. This trend has caused much debate within the SEO industry– what’s better, hiring an SEO company or having your own in-house SEO?

Whether an SEO works in-house or as part of an outsourced solution should not affect the level of SEO dramatically. What really maters is:

• The caliber of the individual or team entrusted with the task of SEOing your site
• Their understanding of your commercial goals
• Their understanding of your target customers goals

However, there are advantages and disadvantages to both in-house SEO and outsourcing that are dependent on your individual requirements.

In-House SEO

An in-house SEO will, over time, develop an intimate understanding of the site, incumbent technologies and site structure. He’s working with one site, one set of web logs one brand. Therefore his heightened understanding of the website should quickly extent to products, customers and the organizations goals which, in turn, should help identify technology issues, conversion problems and accelerate completion of tasks.

It sounds like the perfect solution, but should you ask any top flight SEO if they would be prepared to work in-house on the payroll of a single organization I can assure you the answer would be no. Why? It’s very unlikely that any organization, unless they have very deep pockets, would be prepared to pay the going rate for a recognized SEO expert with a proven track record.

Initially there may be plenty of tasks to keep an SEO working full time, link building, copywriting etc. but after a while the level of work required to maintain the site could eventually drop to perhaps only a few days per month. What happens then?

So while in-house SEO promises many benefits, you will have to locate an SEO that is prepared to work for a fraction of what he could earn elsewhere (unless you can afford to pay upwards of $100 per hour) or accept a less experienced optimizer. This may be possible if your market is not overly competitive, however, if you are in insurance, mortgage or any number of extremely competitive online markets, then you really need the skills of a seasoned SEO professional.

There is no doubt that the trend towards in-house SEO is gaining momentum, the main reason is that many SEO companies are simply beyond what is affordable for most small to medium sized businesses. Unfortunately, this places small businesses especially new starts on the back foot from day one.

Outsourcing to an SEO Company

The success of the SEO industry is entirely founded on a proven ability to generate traffic, raise brand awareness, extend product reach and increase profitability. The goal is simple, to make your site the best it can be. By partnering with an experienced SEO agency you can gain those coveted front page positions on Google that drive a continuous stream of qualified customers to the most relevant pages on your site.

So why is there such a large ticket price attached to buying into this expertise? SEO companies invest in and develop proprietary SEO tools, content management systems and customer relationship management software. There is also a wide range of indispensible online resources like, Spyfu, Wordtraker, Keyword Country and many others that need to be subscribed to. And there are development tools like DreamWeaver and Photoshop that need to be purchased. SEO can be a very expensive business, even for SEOs.

When you work with an SEO company you gain access to these invaluable resources, the information they provide and the expertise to interpret that information. Add to this web analytics, keyword intelligence, competitor research and ensuring that your website is search engine friendly and you have a blueprint for a highly effective marketing strategy.

Most SEOs have come to realize that simply optimizing for search engines is no longer enough. To this end accessibility is now being embraced by the SEO Community. Optimizing for search engines and users is now where it’s at. Old school techniques like keyword stuffing or invisible text are no longer effective and will probably do more harm than good. Instead, today’s SEO has learned that by providing content that is good for visitors is also good for Search Engines.

Many people still think that accessibility is just about making a site available to visitors with disabilities. Accessibility does this; furthermore, it is now a legal responsibility of the website owner to ensure that the website is accessible. Accessibility is good in the commercial sense as well and opens up your website to the millions of people with internet capable PDA’s and many other benefits that positively affect ROI. (It is estimated that 58 million Internet ready PDAs will be sold worldwide in 2008.)

Conclusion

In-house SEO may be the perfect solution for small companies or new starts with tight budgets, especially if their market is extremely niche with few competitors.
Companies in competitive markets might need the expertise and skill set of a professional SEO agency. There are many skills and technologies to be mastered in order to develop an effective SEO campaign that cover organic and paid results, affiliate programs, usability, accessibility, CSS, HTML, ASP, PHP, link building, article submission, press releases, blogging, copywriting, server technology, HTACCESS and many others.

So where does these leave small companies in competitive markets who can’t afford to pay the price demanded by the best SEO agencies. One solution is to optimize the site in stages when you can afford it. Many SEO companies will provide a free site audit that outlines the problem areas of your site. Talk to the SEO Company to ascertain which issues should be resolved first to have the greatest benefit on your bottom line. Work with the SEO Company to put together a program of work that to some extent should be self financing.

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