3 Core SEO Strategies to Increase Small Business Sales

Getting your small business website found on Google.
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, is a buzz word in the marketing and web development industries. SEO strategies are the best methods of driving free visitors to your website. You can pay to generate online leads with Pay-Per-Click ads or other online ads and directories, however, organic traffic offers no fees. The only cost is within the website itself.

The higher your site ranks on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and Altavista, the more potential business you will gain. Your website is a billboard in the middle of no where. You need to put your site where your potential business is already looking.

Optimizing your site can lead to:
* Higher sales
* Increased profits
* Enhancing your reputation as a professional
* Boost your brand
* Establish tremendous customer loyalty
* Establish your credibility

Dominate your competition with these core SEO strategies.
1. On-Page Website Optimization
2. Content Strategy Development
3. Landing Pages

On-Page Website Optimization
Keywords are what your potential customers type into Google in order to find your website. As a small business owner you need to stop thinking in terms of “this is my business website”. Instead think like a customer. What words would your customers use to get more information about your business?

Using tools like Google Adwords Keyword Tool, you can start to identify relevant keywords and how much traffic they already get. A typical page can be optimized for 2 - 4 keywords. Choose 2 main keywords for your home page. Then go through your website pages and select 1-4 keywords that describe what’s on each page. Use no more than 40 keywords throughout the entire website.

Get your webmaster to change the following to keyword(s) you’ve determined
Page title, Headings (H1), Image Alt Text, update the page description, and link keywords to other pages on the site.

Content Strategy Development
As a business owner your job is to create content that best communicates who you are, be interesting to your customers, and is keyword-rich for the search engines to find the page.

This is easier said than done. You need to allocate time and resources to this effort but the results are worth it.

First, what does your business do best? By clarifying your business’s identity and clearly communicating what you offer, your content creation will be more effective.

Content comes in the form of website pages, blog articles, videos.

The primary point of a blog on your company’s website is to connect with customers and prospects. Allowing comments is a great way to receive feedback and this builds trust. Blog articles are generally short, contain tags to categorize articles, and offer various sharing options.

Creating a videos is a good way to boost traffic, entertain or inform your customer or prospect, and optimize keywords for the search engines. Having an optimized video on your site increases your chances of showing up on the first page of Google in an organic search dramatically – more than 50 times greater than if you just had text on the page.

Landing Pages
If one of your goals for having a website is to generate leads and convert visitors, then considering using Landing Pages.

If you do Pay-Per-Click advertising or email marketing, don’t send visitors to your homepage. Send them to a Landing Page (or squeeze page) instead. This allows you to traffic the effectiveness of your campaign and increase your conversion rate from visitor to lead.

A landing page offers a compelling call to action with a form & button to submit, is visually easy on the eye, and has no navigation so visitors stay to complete the form. Do not include a “Homepage” button for visitors to be able to get off the landing page.

Keep these pages simple but branded to your business. Ultimately your copywriting skills will sell your product or service. Test your message to see which ones generate the most forms completed and which message gets passed on.

Using Landing Page Best Practices when creating a new campaign will greatly increase your success rate.

But I Know I Gave Them The Right URL...

It's no fun losing a commission or a prospect you earned because they wandered off on their own and ended up buying or coming in under someone else.

Unfortunately, it's something we all have to deal with when doing business online.

One of the easiest ways for this to happen is when a prospect is given a website address over the phone. But it can also take place through an email or any other conceivable way they might view your link.

One of the most common reactions the first few times this happens to someone is: "But I know I gave them the right url."

The problem, however, was not that it wasn't the right url... the problem was that the prospect didn't like the url they were given.

You see, anytime you're marketing a product online for another company (whether as a network marketer or an affiliate or whatever), the url you're going to be using is going to look something like this:
www.yourname.xyzcompany.com or like this: www.xyzcompany.com/1a2b3c4d

The first kind of url is called a sub domain and it has a few advantages over the second kind which is called a file or a folder, but either way...

Both of them are causing you to lose business.

Which is why the very first thing I tell someone to do if they're planning on doing ANY kind of marketing or advertising on the internet (and especially if they're planning on doing offline advertising that leads TO a website... ) is to...

Buy your own domain name!

This is simply a must if you want to use the internet to grow your business. It's not optional.

And here's why...

Most people, when they see a url like this www.xyzcompany.com/123abc, will simply chop off everything after the "/" and just go to the main company site. Whether out of curiosity or because they can't remember the full url or because they actually don't want the affiliate themselves to get the commission (c'mon, you know you've done it yourself ; ), this happens all the time.

Sub domains (www.yourname.xyzcompany.com), like I said, are a little better... but you're still dealing with the same problem. For any number of reasons people will leave out the "bob" part and just go to the main site.

The problem is most pronounced when you combine the offline world with the online world (which is kind of a bummer because this is the most powerful way to grow an online business).

It's even worse on the phone.

If you've got a big, complicated url, no matter how many times you repeat it someone, even if they genuinely do want to go to your site, the odds of them getting it wrong are astronomical.

And heaven forbid you don't give them any url at all. Give them the name of the company or the product you're promoting, leave them to their own devises to find it themselves and you're basically building someone else's business.

Your prospect does have a mind of their own and they will go off and do their own research... and this isn't like the innocent "going to the library" type of research. With the kind of research we're talking about - research that involves cookies and ip addresses and all that fun stuff - merely "clicking" on someone else's website can mean they're connected to that person now and not you.

You have to do everything you can to ensure you get credit for your efforts. This means having your own domain.

If you're talking with a prospect on the phone you want to be able to direct them to www.yourdomain.com, NOT your affiliate url. This way, your domain is the only place they can go. There's nothing for them to remove from the url, there's no main site to go to. Your domain is the main site.

Then... you have your domain name redirect the prospect to your affiliate url.


You see, if a program that you're promoting uses cookies and ip address identification to ensure you get credit for the sale, once someone visits your affiliate url you've pretty much locked in the commission when they do end up buying. Even if they clear their cookies - something that many internet users do on a regular basis - they're still tied to you through their ip address.

The key thing is getting them there so that that they can be tagged. Once they're tagged to you, even if they totally forget about you and your url for 3 months and then end up coming back to the main site, they're still tied to you.

However... even cookies and ip address identification aren't bullet-proof. It's still possible to lose a prospect after they visit your url even if they never clear their cookies.

How?

By using a different computer.


Many people who work in an office surf the internet during the day and then come home later and buy whatever they were looking at.

Whatever cookies their office pc picked up won't carry over to their home computer and of course the ip addresses are different.

If the url you were using was something like www.xyzcompany.com/456789 do you think they're going to remember the whole thing? Are they going to remember the part that ensures you get the sale?

Maybe. But probably not.

The majority of the time they're just going to remember the main part of the domain and type that in.

See the problem with using affiliate or referral urls like this? They're not easy to remember. Having your own domain makes it easier for your prospect to come back to you later. If www.yourdomain.com was the only url they were given, that's the only place they can return to.

But even more important is that there's nothing unique or differentiating about having an affiliate url. Everyone's got one. You need to stand out from the crowd as someone worth paying attention to.



Is it worth it?

Well, if it helps you keep just one sale you would have otherwise lost you've made up for the $9 or so registration fee right there.

But that's not all.

Those are all just tracking problems - merely one way you're losing money by not having your own domain name. Another way (and perhaps a bigger way) these long, ugly, cumbersome urls are costing you money is...

Conversions!

It's very simple. More people will click on a url that looks like this www.bobsmlmreport.com as opposed to this www.xyzcompany.com/456789



The problem with www.xyzcompany.com/456789 is that it's nothing special. There's nothing exciting about it because you're blatantly stating right there in the domain itself that you're just one of who knows how many people that are promoting that website. It's missing the "curiosity factor" that is sooo critical in good salesmanship. There's nothing that really makes the prospect want to find out more.



www.bobsmlmreport.com however... is different. No one else has a domain like that. It immediately makes your prospect think "Hmm, I wonder what that's all about... "

In order to "pull" people in to you, you have to have a unique edge that sets you apart.

Plus, bobsmlmreport.com is cleaner... more attractive... it "flows" better... and it looks more professional.

Let's face it, who's gonna take someone seriously that claims to be able to help them make money online... when they don't even have their own domain name!?

This is the offline equivalent of not having your own phone number.

I can say for myself that there have been more than a few times in the past where I haven't clicked on an ad for the sole reason that an affiliate url was being used.

People want to do business with people who know what they're doing. It's very hard to convey this image without at least being able to say that you own a $9 chunk of internet real estate yourself with your own domain.

If you don't already have one, this is the first thing I would recommend you do before taking any further steps in your business.

You can do so through GoDaddy here. This is where I buy all of my domains and their prices are about as good as you can get.

Just make sure that you redirect your domain name to whatever url you really want it to point to. It's very easy and you don't have to know any code to do it. Go Daddy's help section covers the whole process.

Now, something else you really want to consider doing is getting your own email account. For example: bob@bobsmlmreport.com instead of bob_1963@hotmail.com.

This step is crucial because, again, it's all about positioning yourself as a valuable resource and an expert who's able to help people.

If you saw the two addresses above in your inbox, which one would give you the impression of a business owner who takes what they're doing seriously?

GoDaddy offers email accounts at your own domain and this is super cheap as well. I think it was $10 a year last time I checked.

What this all boils down to is getting people to come to you, right? That's the ultimate goal we're all striving for. Well...

... The key to attracting people is giving them good reasons to follow you (aka - "uniqueness").

Social Networking is a part of Internet Marketing

Connecting with past clients and potential new clients is what social networking is all about. How to connect depends on your business.

Target Audience:
What age range is your audience?
Do you offer a product or a service?
Where would your audience most likely be? If you don't know, we can chat on the phone to figure it out for your business.
What is your goal for connecting with them? Is it customer service, staying in touch, getting referrals, etc.?

Creating a plan of action for social networking isn't something that we immediately think of when everyone is telling us to get online.

I see people get online but don't really understand WHY and then don't fully utilize the power of the internet to build their brand.

Branding online is just as important as branding offline. Your offline and online marketing plan should be harmonious and social networking is only a part of your overall marketing plan.

We can spend alot of time reading this information but putting it into action means doing SOMETHING. Don't be afraid to mess something up. Even if you don't fully understand the social networking RULES, do something. People will tell you when you've crossed a line. But if you put yourself out there, you'll learn by doing.

Another thing. Don't put up a blog or a facebook page, post a couple times and think that's good enough. It doesn't work like that. If you are serious about internet marketing and want some help with creating a plan of action, please feel free to call me to chat. It doesn't cost anything to talk. I enjoy helping other business owners.

SEO can be overwhelming for a Small Business Owner

If you own and run a small business, then you know how time consuming handling every aspect of your business can be.

I'm sure you've heard business gurus tell you that a website is very important to your company. Unfortunately it's up to you to figure out how to make the website bring you business. That's where Search Engine Optimization is imporant.

You want your website to get found by potential customers. Here are few tips on how you can get your website found online.

1. Keyword Research. Small business owners tend to think only about their business from their point of view. Get out of yourself. Pretend you are the potential customer sitting down at the computer to research something. What would that person type into Google in order to find you? Type those words in to Google and see who comes up. Ahhh... so they found your competitors. Hummmm.... now what?

2. Page Title and H1 Header. Go to your website and see what appears in the very top left of the screen. This is your page title. If it says the name of your business, you need to change it. The page title and H1 Header is what Google uses to rank websites. These should be keyword specific. On to getting found....

3. Directories. When you typed in your keywords to Google, did any websites come up that listed all your competitors together? These are directories. Start investigating the ones appearing on page 1 to see how you can get your business listed on them. Yellowpages.com and Introlinks.com are examples of directories.

4. Linking. On-page and Off-page link building shows Google that your site has "authority" when it comes to the type of business you are in. On-page SEO is the page title and headers but the links within the content also are weighted with Google as long as they have your keywords. Off-page linking would be writing blog articles with a link back to your site using a keyword. It's also getting listed in directories. Do you have any vendors that you can get an inbound link from?

Remember, your website is a billboard in the middle of nowhere.

Getting found is step 1. Converting them to a lead is step 2.

Small Business Owner Dilemma in an Age of Too Much Information

We are in an age of information overload.

There is a “Guru” everywhere you turn trying to sell you their latest and greatest marketing tool. How do you know it will solve a business problem you are having?
So then you start to do some research.

Where do we turn to find an answer? Wherever we turn, there seems to be a new question brought up. We go on and on looking for an answer to our dilemma and spend countless hours not accomplishing anything.

In the end we haven’t answered our main question and are still confused. We probably won’t buy that guru’s “stuff” because we aren’t clear if it’ll actually work for us.

Who can we trust to help us grow our business?

Turns out there isn’t anyone who we can trust better than ourselves as the business owner. You got into this business because you want more time and money out of life and to have the life and lifestyle you dream of. Laying a framework for what we need to accomplish will eliminate the confusion of knowing if a guru’s tool is right for us or not. But what is stopping you from designing your framework?

Information overload!

We have too much information to sort out and think about in order to create that framework. After you spend countless hours laying the framework and sorting out all the information, if you make it that far; the next problem is how do you implement it?

Just having the knowledge isn’t going to solve your problem. Implementing a solution will. Will that guru actually give you knowledge on implementing the tool?
We get so busy in our business that we don’t have time to change what we are doing. Keep in mind that if you keep doing what you are doing you will get the same results. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. How many times have we heard this but still don’t pay attention to it.
Having an understanding of what isn’t working and what is, is the first step to changing for the better.

So now you know what needs to be changed because you’ve gotten some information. You might have attended a workshop, seminar, boot camp, webinar; talked to a guru, coach, friend, or another business owner.

How to you find the time to implement?

An entrepreneur’s strength is your SPEED, as well as thinking outside the box.

It costs big companies too much money to move quickly. Their money is better spent moving slowly and testing and training before implementing. It costs small companies too much money to move slowly. By the time you get around to changing you’ve lost market share and income. Being a small business owner has challenges that each of us face because of our past experience, personality, education, and values we hold near and dear to our heart.

By working together, we can help each other.

Networking is a powerful tool that is well documented to work.
When you get an idea, try it as quickly as you possibly can. See what happens when you test the tool, technique, or idea. If you don’t get any response, ask a question to your small business owner network for another idea and try again.
Keep in mind, when someone contacts you, the small business owner, they already want to work with you. You don’t have too much selling to do because the buyer has just about already decided to hire you.

Getting in front of buyers is where you need to spend your initial energy. Then sustain it through quality customer service and asking for a referral.

Sort out your problems to find a solution and learn how to implement! Let’s make money together.